Celebrity fans try Carnival Magic - chrismas cruise review

[travellerin1984]

We are a Scandinavian couple in our thirties and early forties who recently sailed on Carnival Magic. We have cruised on Celebrity many times, couple of times on Royal and once on Oceania. We wanted to do two cruises when in Miami and first went one week on Msc Seaside and then one week on Magic. We had quite low expectations for Carnival because of the mixed reviews. We were positively suprised...

 

It was a holiday cruise and there were a lot of families with children. We booked the spa inside cabin and spent time on Serenity deck and in the spa. Pools and jacuzzis were crowded but we usually found a spot at least in the inside spa jacuzzi. We had a more casual cruise experience this time and ate only twice in the mdr. The food in the mdr was good but nothing outstanding. We loved the choices for lunch. Guys burger and tacos and taco bowls were great. Pizza was good too. On Christmas eve we ate in the Prime steak house and had a lovely dinner. Very good food. Dinner buffet was somehow limited but we always found something to eat. Casual food choices were very good and we enjoyed eating lunch onboard.

 

Entertainment was mainly good but there was couple of singers that weren't so good. It was a bit embarrasing at times when there was a couple of artists that didnt really couldn't sing the songs. Music by the pools was lound during the sea days but we expected that. Embarkation and disembarkation was very quick. There were couple of information misses. They didnt really communicate why we were late to Roatan and early to Belize and it affected our booked excursion on Roatan. There was long lines when coming back to ship.

 

Ports

Cozumel- My husband went to diving which was very good. I walked to Money bar (about 40 minutes walk)

Belize- Cave tubing and ziplining with cavetubing.bz Nice excursion but not that organized in the morning. We waited almost an hour before start. 

Roatan- Wonderful catamaran excursion with Radical adventures, just a bit short because of the delay in the morning. Worth the extra money. Good food and drinks.

Cayman Islands- Stingray city and Rumpoint beach with nativeways. Very good but basic excursion. Good price for Cayman Islands.

 

We had low expectations but were pleasenly suprised. We enjoyed the food (Guys Burgers!!!), interesting ports and entertainment (mostly standup). We didnt like the lines, non existent information about the delays and loud music by the pools. I have to admit that the carnival decor is not my cup of tea.

 

Would I sail Carnival again? Yes, if the ports and the price are right. I think it would be nice to go on a Carnival cruise with friends but I prefer other cruise lines when travelling only with my husband.

 

 

 

[shdixon]

Glad you had a good time. Glad you tried things out for yourself with an open mind I have yet to find a perfect cruise line. If people keep that in mind they would have a much better time

[JaniceB]

Thank you for your well written review.  I have mainly sailed Carnival but sailed Celebrity once and enjoyed it very much.

[bury me at sea]

I enjoyed your review and am glad you mostly enjoyed the Magic.

 

The loud music around the pool bothers me too, but not particularly enjoying the sun, I just avoid that area.

[evandbob]

Thanks for your review.  I certainly agree with preferring other cruise lines when sailing as just a couple.  I didn't know know what I was missing until I branched out from Carnival.