Just booked Magic!

[EBFURR]

We just booked our annual anniversary cruise on the Magic for next August 2018. We have only been on one Carnival cruise but have a short one on the Liberty coming up in October. We are long time Royals but we are finding that we like the Carnival ships and the experience. We got a cove balcony after reading on here about them and watching some videos. Port Canaveral is our preferred departure port so Magic was a no brainier. I watch the boards for Magic info and would be glad to hear any info or tips that you Carnival Magic veterans can share. We have a lot of time to fill before we board. :D

[pcvtmom]

LOVE the Magic! It has so much outside "public space", like all around deck 5. There are many hot tubs, and a lovely Serenity area. The musicians performing around the ship in the evenings were exceptionally good. Dr. E was the funniest and most talented cruise director we've ever experienced. We cruised on the Magic in June and had an amazing time!

[A&Jfamily]

She is a nice ship with lots of food options. That's always a plus.

 

Tandoor - great but limited hours so if you like Indian, watch for it.

 

We liked the cove and would book again. But if you are used to higher balconies, expect constant hulk noise from the waves. I liked it but DH found it a bit bothersome. The balcony however is wonderful and private. We loved that.

 

The hot tubs on deck 5 were just warm. I love the location but could not sit in them with the wind on sea days - brrrr

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[bury me at sea]

The Magic was my first Dream class ship. I loved everything about it.

 

The flow is easy, especially if you use deck four if going fore-aft interior, and deck 5 if exterior.

 

The exterior decks at the front of the ship are open on several levels and the night view cannot be beaten.

 

The aft pool area on deck 10 was generally fairly quiet and not crowded both times we were on her.

 

The atrium is great for people watching. Decor is typical Carnival.

 

Hope you enjoy her as much as we did.

[riclop]

Nice ship, enjoy it.

[easyboy]

Great choice on the cove balcony. Continue monitoring price downward movements and deals. May just come along the way while waiting.

[Jamman54]

Congrats on the booking! We will be on the Magic for the first time in October doing B2B Eastern / Western cruises. Look for our review when we get back. :cool:

[Hogladyrider]

Congratulations on booking the Magic!

 

We sailed on her last January western and we booked her again for this coming January eastern!

 

Are you sailing eastern or western?

 

Our favorite class of ship is Spirit class, with Dream class right behind. We LOVE the cove balconies. We spend a lot of time out on our cove balcony being so close to the water and having the opening in the balcony ILO glass allows more breeze, it is just wonderful!

 

Magic is a great ship.

 

I enjoy lounging by the pool for the day and spent my time at the aft pool which was very crowded but quieter than the main pool. I enjoy chatting with fellow cruisers meeting new people and sharing info and just chilling.

 

Happy cruising!

Susan

[ryano]

Great ship with a wonderful crew, great service, good food and one of the best CDs in the industry hands down. Nice choice :)

[Florings]

Glad to hear all the positive comments. We are cruising on Magic in September - the first Dream Class ship we've booked.

 

Really looking forward to it!

[joydisney]

Totally enjoyed our cove balcony on Magic in February.

[pirate4me2]

Awesome, congrats on the booking!!

I sailed on Magic last November and have a review in my signature if you want to read it. Beautiful ship!

I'm a Carnival cruiser who is booked on my very first Royal cruise for 2019, I can't wait to see the differences!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[watermelonqueen99]

You picked a great ship! The Magic is very special to us. :) The cove balconies are absolutely AMAZING. Have a great cruise!

[EBFURR]

Awesome, congrats on the booking!!

I sailed on Magic last November and have a review in my signature if you want to read it. Beautiful ship!

I'm a Carnival cruiser who is booked on my very first Royal cruise for 2019, I can't wait to see the differences!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

I read your review and also the Sunshine review since that is our only Carnival cruise so far. I am glad to hear you liked them, especially since we are "almost neighbors". We have a RC Liberty of the Seas coming up soon, but we honestly wish we were going on Magic then. The ship is out of Galveston and we did not realize what a hassle it would be to get there from here. Anyway, we like Royal but in all honesty we are finding that the Carnival ships offer more of what we cruise for than the newer RC ships. the are awesome and huge, but they just do not offer enough ocean views for us and we do not care for some of the gimmicks that are aimed at the younger crowd. We like to relax and enjoy the ocean. We might party just a little to, but at our age not so much. :) The outside promenade on the Magic really excites us. We also hope that the CD stays until then.

 

Oh yeah, and we are on the Eastern run. Would you believe that on 24 cruises we have never been on an Eastern Caribbean?? True, we are creatures of habit and always go west (young man). That is one reason we got to be Diamond on RC. We just keep doing the same things over and over. We enjoyed all of them but now the change factor is sort of recharging us.

 

You should like RC. The cruise experience is very close to the same with the main differences being in terminology. I am giving Carnival a slight edge in the "no extra cost" dining department and the MDR is a dead heat. Disregarding the main showroom, we liked the Carnival entertainment with the dedicated comedy club and the atrium theme parties. We prefer RC's belly flop competition to Carnivals hairy chest but they both do the trick to bring out the silliness factor (very important). If you have not seen the RC ice skating shows, aqua shows, etc. they are fun at least for the first time around. We actually are taking to the Carnival decor which we were not sure about. Royal's ships are very, very nice but to some extent they all look the same. The atrium bar and serenity area are both welcome changes from RC for us. In any case, I think that anyone who has not been on RC should try it at least once. Same for Carnival, it just took us 20+ years to figure that out.

[ryano]

 

You should like RC. The cruise experience is very close to the same with the main differences being in terminology. I am giving Carnival a slight edge in the "no extra cost" dining department and the MDR is a dead heat. Disregarding the main showroom, we liked the Carnival entertainment with the dedicated comedy club and the atrium theme parties. We prefer RC's belly flop competition to Carnivals hairy chest but they both do the trick to bring out the silliness factor (very important). If you have not seen the RC ice skating shows, aqua shows, etc. they are fun at least for the first time around. We actually are taking to the Carnival decor which we were not sure about. Royal's ships are very, very nice but to some extent they all look the same. The atrium bar and serenity area are both welcome changes from RC for us. In any case, I think that anyone who has not been on RC should try it at least once. Same for Carnival, it just took us 20+ years to figure that out.

 

Very nicely put :) Royal ships and entertainment with the included Carnival food options and extremely friendly crew would be the perfect cruise for me I think.

[Hogladyrider]

I

 

Oh yeah, and we are on the Eastern run. Would you believe that on 24 cruises we have never been on an Eastern Caribbean??

 

You will love eastern! If you are looking for a relaxing beach day with fabulous snorkeling when in St. Thomas and you like to get away from all the crowds then I highly recommend Secret Harbor.

 

You can do a web search, it is an easy ride from the cruise terminal, great ahi tuna nachos, cold beer, sandy beach and wonderful snorkeling.

 

We are NOT shoppers so we prefer to get away from the crowds. A trip over to St. John is nice if you are in port for all day, but be warned the beaches over there get very crowded.

 

Once we discovered Secret Harbor, thru CC boards I might add, it has become our favorite spot when in St. Thomas.

 

Whatever you do you will have a great time!

 

Susan

[pirate4me2]

I read your review and also the Sunshine review since that is our only Carnival cruise so far. I am glad to hear you liked them, especially since we are "almost neighbors". We have a RC Liberty of the Seas coming up soon, but we honestly wish we were going on Magic then. The ship is out of Galveston and we did not realize what a hassle it would be to get there from here. Anyway, we like Royal but in all honesty we are finding that the Carnival ships offer more of what we cruise for than the newer RC ships. the are awesome and huge, but they just do not offer enough ocean views for us and we do not care for some of the gimmicks that are aimed at the younger crowd. We like to relax and enjoy the ocean. We might party just a little to, but at our age not so much. :) The outside promenade on the Magic really excites us. We also hope that the CD stays until then.

 

 

 

Oh yeah, and we are on the Eastern run. Would you believe that on 24 cruises we have never been on an Eastern Caribbean?? True, we are creatures of habit and always go west (young man). That is one reason we got to be Diamond on RC. We just keep doing the same things over and over. We enjoyed all of them but now the change factor is sort of recharging us.

 

 

 

You should like RC. The cruise experience is very close to the same with the main differences being in terminology. I am giving Carnival a slight edge in the "no extra cost" dining department and the MDR is a dead heat. Disregarding the main showroom, we liked the Carnival entertainment with the dedicated comedy club and the atrium theme parties. We prefer RC's belly flop competition to Carnivals hairy chest but they both do the trick to bring out the silliness factor (very important). If you have not seen the RC ice skating shows, aqua shows, etc. they are fun at least for the first time around. We actually are taking to the Carnival decor which we were not sure about. Royal's ships are very, very nice but to some extent they all look the same. The atrium bar and serenity area are both welcome changes from RC for us. In any case, I think that anyone who has not been on RC should try it at least once. Same for Carnival, it just took us 20+ years to figure that out.

 

 

 

Well hello almost neighbor!! :) thanks for that info on Royal. I am glad to hear they are more alike than different!

You will love the eastern ports! Don't get me wrong, I love Cozumel and I will take a western itinerary if it means being on a cruise instead of at work, but the eastern ports are my favorites. The water I think is much prettier, and they are just nicer I think. I really cannot explain it!

I've yet to do a cove balcony, I really need to book one. Guess I can add that to my cruise bucket list.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Auralia]

If you are in a cove make sure you are not under the galley ... we were just barely under the galley in 2371 and we didn't sleep for 6 days because of it. Sounded like people were dropping huge heavy pots above us constantly at night. My husband is in the military and can sleep through life fire and he couldn't sleep through this!

[simplelife]

LOVE the Magic! It has so much outside "public space", like all around deck 5. There are many hot tubs, and a lovely Serenity area. The musicians performing around the ship in the evenings were exceptionally good. Dr. E was the funniest and most talented cruise director we've ever experienced. We cruised on the Magic in June and had an amazing time!

 

 

 

I agree. We sailed last July as an (adult) family group. We absolutely loved the Lanai deck (deck 5) as there were plenty of conversational areas and the hot tubs there were never crowded. There was also an early continental breakfast on that deck each morning that was enjoyed by the early risers in our group.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums