Magic Review 7/14/19

[tbndx]

This is my first post. I have been using this site for years to do research and it’s much appreciated. Here’s my two cents on my most recent cruise. 

 

We chose this cruise for our ten year anniversary trip. We liked the itinerary and the six days worked well for our schedule. 

We flew into Ft. Lauderdale the day prior and stayed at the Renaissance Hotel. We have stayed here before cruises in the past. It’s a nice clean hotel and is right at the entrance to the port so it’s a very short taxi ride. 

 

We left the hotel around noon and were on the ship within about 30 minutes. Smooth embarkation. We are not the type to be the first people on board the ship and I think this helps as we have not waited in lines for the last several cruises. 

 

Half Moon Cay was our favorite stop. We slept in and hopped on a tender after the crowds died down. This beach is beautiful. We found two chairs pretty easily and spent a few hours in the water. The water is crystal clear and the beach is some of the nicest sand you will find. Carnival has done a great job with this island. The one big complaint is getting back on the ship. We went back to the tender about an hour and a half before the all aboard time and found an extremely long line. We waited in line for well over an hour before getting onto a tender. I know there’s only so many tenders, but standing in the blaring sun for that long is a real downer after a great day. Carnival needs to at least put up some shades along the long path people line up on. 

 

Next stop was Amber Cove. We booked the Terracross Off-road Adventure through Carnival. Melvin our tour guide did a great job and this was an enjoyable excursion. We are experienced off-roaders and I will admit there was times it was a little annoying when stuck behind a first timer. But I knew that from reading the reviews. I give this excursion 4 out of 5 stars. One thing to note at this stop is that it didn’t seem like there was anything to walk to other than the typical cruise shops. 

 

Last port was Grand Turk. We had been to this port once in the past and was aware of the decent beach and areas right off the ship. We booked a cabana through Carnival at the Margaritaville pool. This was a nice relaxing day. The cabana was nice with cold A/C and a comfortable couch. Service was good and the food and drinks were just ok. Typical of these type of places.

 

We had late dining, which we prefer.  The only issue is that you miss most of the shows. We don’t mind as we don’t really care to go to them anyway. Our waiters were the best we’ve ever had.  

 

We absolutely loved the layout of this ship and what it had to offer. By far our favorite yet. We spent a lot of time on deck 5 and found ourselves in the Redfrog Pub often. Naomi is an amazing acoustic performer, and she is often in there performing.

 

This cruise had an interesting crowd for some reason. We have been on several Carnival cruises and expect to see all different classes on board. This cruise was particularly low. I can’t quite figure it out. I know Carnival has no control over who pays to take their cruises. There was several occasions where my time was disturbed by disrespectful people. There was a very loud cabin above us. It sounded like they were letting their kid jump off the bed repeatedly. A couple nights this continued after midnight. Then there was a cabin two doors down from us. They partied in their cabin with loud music and numerous people several nights. I’ve never understood partying in a small balcony cabin. There is so many places on a ship that you could have completely to yourself if that’s what you’re looking for. I saw security there at least once, and that was nice to see actually. I have also never smelled so much marijuana on a cruise. We have smelled it on probably every cruise we have ever taken, but this seemed to be everywhere. 

 

Then there was the announcements. We love to sleep  in on our cruises. Especially when we get the chance to leave our son at home. I don’t think sleeping until 10am is unreasonable on a vacation. For some reason the cruise director, Simon, loved to make announcements at 9am. Although they are in the hallway, they are impossible to sleep through. Carnival loves using their loudspeakers. It’s often to tell you something that 90% of the cruisers don’t care about. 

 

On night 3 or 4 we were woken by two announcements about ten minutes apart over the loudspeakers in the hallway at 4am. They were announcing a persons name and asking he call guest services. Then about fifteen minutes later they did it again two more times. This time they blasted it through the speakers in every room in the ship. I can only imagine these poor people that had kids sleeping. I understand someone was probably worried about someone, but come on Carnival. This is unacceptable. We all know the guy is passed out drunk somewhere or is in someone else’s room having fun. There was no reason for this. 

 

Overall all, I had some serious disappointments with this trip but we still had a great time. This was our 10th cruise. 8 on Carnival, 2 on Princess. We are at a point that we intend on cruising twice a year, as we did this year. Unfortunately, I need a break from Carnival. I was really looking forward to getting that platinum status in the next few years. I’m afraid my wife is set on being religious Princess cruisers after this. We shall see, perhaps we return down the road

[Butterbean1000]

If there is a request for a guest to contact guest services, there is a good reason.  This is the first step when a passenger is suspected of going overboard. Even though you don't think there is a good reason for this, I disagree. I believe you would feel differently if it was a loved one of yours. To assume it was just a drunk passed out in a corner is disturbing. 

 

Edited July 22, 2019 by Butterbean1000

[PhillyFan33579]

35 minutes ago, Butterbean1000 said:

If there is a request for a guest to contact guest services, there is a good reason.  This is the first step when a passenger is suspected of going overboard. Even though you don't think there is a good reason for this, I disagree. I believe you would feel differently if it was a loved one of yours. To assume it was just a drunk passed out in a corner is disturbing. 

 

 

I was thinking the exact same thing when I read his post concerning this issue. He also believes he is better than other people with his comment about the low class of people who cruise on Carnival. I am glad I won’t have to worry about running into him on a Carnival ship in the future, especially since I can afford to cruise way more than the two cruises he can afford per year, despite my low class as a frequent Carnival cruiser. 

[Butterbean1000]

2 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

I was thinking the exact same thing when I read his post concerning this issue. He also believes he is better than other people with his comment about the low class of people who cruise on Carnival. I am glad I won’t have to worry about running into him on a Carnival ship in the future, especially since I can afford to cruise way more than the two cruises he can afford per year, despite my low class as a frequent Carnival cruiser. 

Agreed, from one low life to another. 😉

[Amadawn1]

5 minutes ago, Butterbean1000 said:

Agreed, from one low life to another. 😉

Yep.  After listening to a guy on our HA cruise from Ft. Lauderdale in March diss Carnival by using the "WalMart of cruise lines" bit on us, while sitting at various tables at the Sea View lounge area. He would sit at various tables in that area, hoping people would buy him drinks.  The only drinks I ever observed him buy were during the afternoon happy hour (buy one, get one for $2.00) down at the Ocean bar, with free snacks.  I now have 6 Carnival cruises booked over the next year and a half and zero cruises booked on HA.  Go Figure.

[Butterbean1000]

7 minutes ago, Amadawn1 said:

Yep.  After listening to a guy on our HA cruise from Ft. Lauderdale in March diss Carnival by using the "WalMart of cruise lines" bit on us, while sitting at various tables at the Sea View lounge area. He would sit at various tables in that area, hoping people would buy him drinks.  The only drinks I ever observed him buy were during the afternoon happy hour (buy one, get one for $2.00) down at the Ocean bar, with free snacks.  I now have 6 Carnival cruises booked over the next year and a half and zero cruises booked on HA.  Go Figure.

I want to scream every time I hear Walmart of the seas. 

[tbndx]

To be clear guys...I also hate the term Wal-Mart of the seas when applied to Carnival. That is definitely not a fair assessment. We have had several great cruises with them, including this one. We are go with the flow kind of cruisers and rarely let things bother us on vacation. That’s why I was surprised by the disrespect on this one particular cruise. We have never had issues with prior Carnival cruises. My complaints of passengers are no reflection on Carnival. 

[Amadawn1]

11 minutes ago, Butterbean1000 said:

I want to scream every time I hear Walmart of the seas.  

I found it very offensive myself 🙁

[TNcruising02]

As far as noise in the hallway, you might want to think about booking a cabin at the very front or back of the ship.  Those areas are usually very quiet and you are less likely to be disturbed.  That doesn't do a lot of good about people the floor directly above you making noise.  That's just bad luck.  Thankfully, I've never had that happen to me.

It does seem like Carnival should provide plenty of shade if the wait time to get back on the ship from HMC is an hour.  We always got to HMC early and returned early, so there was never a line.  Waiting for an hour in the sun would be tough in the summer.

I've never heard them announce a person's name in the middle of the night. There must have been an urgent need.  The off road adventure sounds like a lot of fun.  Sorry the cruise wasn't what you hoped it would be.  Some cruises are better than others.  My cruise on the Magic in June was nothing like what you experienced, so it could just be a series of bad luck experiences. Nothing is wrong with wanting to go back to Princess.  That might be a better fit for you and your wife.

 

Edited July 22, 2019 by TNcruising02

[Amadawn1]

7 minutes ago, tbndx said:

My complaints of passengers are no reflection on Carnival

I understand tbndx.  It's just that Carnival gets a bad rap in my opinion, when it shouldn't.  We've been on several different cruise lines and I've found that Carnival staff is top of the line, and the cruisers have been friendly, unpretentious and a whole lot of fun. I'd say give Carnival another chance.  Sailing Carnival out of Galveston is fantastic.  I've never met so many friendly people in one place.

Edited July 22, 2019 by Amadawn1
punctuation

[jbethel11]

OP! This is perfect for me! I know you're scheduled debarkation time was 8am! What time did Magic actually end up arriving at the pier? Thanks!

[tbndx]

2 minutes ago, Amadawn1 said:

I understand tbndx.  It's just that Carnival gets a bad rap in my opinion, when it shouldn't.  We've been on several different cruise lines and I've found that Carnival staff is top of the line, and the cruisers have been friendly, unpretentious and a whole lot of fun. I'd say give Carnival another chance.  Sailing Carnival out of Galveston is fantastic.  I've never met so many friendly people in one place.

You’re right about the bad rap. I have read many reviews of people unfairly bashing them. 

 

I looked a lot at the Galveston and New Orleans itineraries prior to booking this cruise. They definitely appeal to me. Turns out I got lucky by not booking those this time due to Barry going through there the day we were leaving. 

[tbndx]

6 minutes ago, jbethel11 said:

OP! This is perfect for me! I know you're scheduled debarkation time was 8am! What time did Magic actually end up arriving at the pier? Thanks!

I’m not sure what time we actually arrived but I know they were letting the self debark folks off by about 7:00. We were one of the last groups off and we were off by about 10:30.

[sprint180]

I don't really think 9am is all that early for announcements and if there is an announcement at 3 am there is a good reason for it.  

[modes]

4 hours ago, tbndx said:

This is my first post. I have been using this site for years to do research and it’s much appreciated. Here’s my two cents on my most recent cruise. 

 

We chose this cruise for our ten year anniversary trip. We liked the itinerary and the six days worked well for our schedule. 

We flew into Ft. Lauderdale the day prior and stayed at the Renaissance Hotel. We have stayed here before cruises in the past. It’s a nice clean hotel and is right at the entrance to the port so it’s a very short taxi ride. 

 

We left the hotel around noon and were on the ship within about 30 minutes. Smooth embarkation. We are not the type to be the first people on board the ship and I think this helps as we have not waited in lines for the last several cruises. 

 

Half Moon Cay was our favorite stop. We slept in and hopped on a tender after the crowds died down. This beach is beautiful. We found two chairs pretty easily and spent a few hours in the water. The water is crystal clear and the beach is some of the nicest sand you will find. Carnival has done a great job with this island. The one big complaint is getting back on the ship. We went back to the tender about an hour and a half before the all aboard time and found an extremely long line. We waited in line for well over an hour before getting onto a tender. I know there’s only so many tenders, but standing in the blaring sun for that long is a real downer after a great day. Carnival needs to at least put up some shades along the long path people line up on. 

 

Next stop was Amber Cove. We booked the Terracross Off-road Adventure through Carnival. Melvin our tour guide did a great job and this was an enjoyable excursion. We are experienced off-roaders and I will admit there was times it was a little annoying when stuck behind a first timer. But I knew that from reading the reviews. I give this excursion 4 out of 5 stars. One thing to note at this stop is that it didn’t seem like there was anything to walk to other than the typical cruise shops. 

 

Last port was Grand Turk. We had been to this port once in the past and was aware of the decent beach and areas right off the ship. We booked a cabana through Carnival at the Margaritaville pool. This was a nice relaxing day. The cabana was nice with cold A/C and a comfortable couch. Service was good and the food and drinks were just ok. Typical of these type of places.

 

We had late dining, which we prefer.  The only issue is that you miss most of the shows. We don’t mind as we don’t really care to go to them anyway. Our waiters were the best we’ve ever had.  

 

We absolutely loved the layout of this ship and what it had to offer. By far our favorite yet. We spent a lot of time on deck 5 and found ourselves in the Redfrog Pub often. Naomi is an amazing acoustic performer, and she is often in there performing.

 

This cruise had an interesting crowd for some reason. We have been on several Carnival cruises and expect to see all different classes on board. This cruise was particularly low. I can’t quite figure it out. I know Carnival has no control over who pays to take their cruises. There was several occasions where my time was disturbed by disrespectful people. There was a very loud cabin above us. It sounded like they were letting their kid jump off the bed repeatedly. A couple nights this continued after midnight. Then there was a cabin two doors down from us. They partied in their cabin with loud music and numerous people several nights. I’ve never understood partying in a small balcony cabin. There is so many places on a ship that you could have completely to yourself if that’s what you’re looking for. I saw security there at least once, and that was nice to see actually. I have also never smelled so much marijuana on a cruise. We have smelled it on probably every cruise we have ever taken, but this seemed to be everywhere. 

 

Then there was the announcements. We love to sleep  in on our cruises. Especially when we get the chance to leave our son at home. I don’t think sleeping until 10am is unreasonable on a vacation. For some reason the cruise director, Simon, loved to make announcements at 9am. Although they are in the hallway, they are impossible to sleep through. Carnival loves using their loudspeakers. It’s often to tell you something that 90% of the cruisers don’t care about. 

 

On night 3 or 4 we were woken by two announcements about ten minutes apart over the loudspeakers in the hallway at 4am. They were announcing a persons name and asking he call guest services. Then about fifteen minutes later they did it again two more times. This time they blasted it through the speakers in every room in the ship. I can only imagine these poor people that had kids sleeping. I understand someone was probably worried about someone, but come on Carnival. This is unacceptable. We all know the guy is passed out drunk somewhere or is in someone else’s room having fun. There was no reason for this. 

 

Overall all, I had some serious disappointments with this trip but we still had a great time. This was our 10th cruise. 8 on Carnival, 2 on Princess. We are at a point that we intend on cruising twice a year, as we did this year. Unfortunately, I need a break from Carnival. I was really looking forward to getting that platinum status in the next few years. I’m afraid my wife is set on being religious Princess cruisers after this. We shall see, perhaps we return down the road

I know what you mean some of the Carnival cruisers leave a lot to be desired. Princess has a different vibe and people.

[Boxerjim]

Wow, listening to some of you wine about the OP makes me sick.  Carnival is my favorite cruise line, but the annoying announcements all day every day SUCK!!!  Take off the cheerleader outfits and blinders, you will see he didn't disparage the CCL in the least.  OP, great review, much appreciated!!!  Magic is a great ship, loved it myself.  If you do travel Carnival in the future, realize the announcements will never go away.  Happy cruising!!!

[Countrygurl]

I wasn't offended by the OP's review.  We all have an opinion.  I have cruised both Carnival and RCI.  I prefer Carnival.  But I would definitely cruise RCI again and will depending on the itinerary and the ship.  I've never had a bad cruise.  Loved them all.

 

With that said, the 5-day Carnival was probably the least favorite.  I'll let you guess why.  Not a bad cruise at all and I had a great time, but the atmosphere was definitely different.  I'll leave it at that.

 

Happy cruising.  Excited for my next....my first Halloween cruise!!

[Buffalofirsttimer4]

OP -thank you for your honest review- we are looking at making this itinerary the first leg of a back to back in April '20- we are already booked for an 8 day on Magic.

 

Countrygurl- I feel you on the 5 day experience.... we took a 5 day on Carnival Destiny (before it became Sunshine) for DH 50th- lots of drinking, didn't see any shows- lots of drinking.....

 

Happy Sailing everyone- with whatever line you feel is best!! 

[TEXSUN46]

I have sailed on Magic twice and  have never experienced issues that the OP was bothered by, but I have never taken anything but 7 day plus cruises so might be a different crowd. Also I am awake by 6 am even on a cruise since I do like to enjoy the peace and serenity of the early morning so never have tried to sleep in. Each person experiences things in their own way, so I won't bash a person for their review if it is given honestly like I feel it was in this case. I don't let a negative review bother me, I take into consideration the circumstances they describe and decide if that would bother me or not and in most cases it wouldn't. 

[markieb]

On 7/23/2019 at 12:18 PM, Buffalofirsttimer4 said:

Countrygurl- I feel you on the 5 day experience.... we took a 5 day on Carnival Destiny (before it became Sunshine) for DH 50th- lots of drinking, didn't see any shows- lots of drinking.....

 

Buffalofirsttimer4. please enlighten a noob (me) of the pitfalls of a 5 day cruise. We had an 8 day stay on the Magic in June and other than the loooong lines at the buffet it was an enjoyable vacation. I'm looking forward to another trip and wonder why I wouldn't want a 5 day stay.

 

[Countrygurl]

11 hours ago, markieb said:

 

Buffalofirsttimer4. please enlighten a noob (me) of the pitfalls of a 5 day cruise. We had an 8 day stay on the Magic in June and other than the loooong lines at the buffet it was an enjoyable vacation. I'm looking forward to another trip and wonder why I wouldn't want a 5 day stay.

 

I am not a snob.  But there is definitely a whole different class of passenger on a 5 day cruise versus a 7-8 day cruise.  That's all I'm saying.

[Buffalofirsttimer4]

2 hours ago, Countrygurl said:

I am not a snob.  But there is definitely a whole different class of passenger on a 5 day cruise versus a 7-8 day cruise.  That's all I'm saying.

Markieb-I am not a snob either but I concur with what Countrygurl is stating. I've tried to make sense of it maybe it's the fact that your vacation time is shorten so you are trying to cram everything into that time frame- so you over indulge or maybe there is another reason- I really don't know. I just have realized that cruises of less than 6 days seem to me to be a "boozefest" and there is nothing wrong with that- I am just  a little too "seasoned" (I'm not calling myself old) to need to subject myself to that. 

[BNBR]

I sailed Magic last month and had similar thoughts about the passengers and Carnivals product.  For the first time, I felt the stereotype was fitting that Carnival passengers were trashy.  It was undeniable.  We are unlikely to be sailing Carnival again anytime soon as well. Unless maybe an out of season (school season) sailing. But a Carnival summer sailing? No way. 

 

As for HMC and the line.  You went too early. 1.5 hours before the last tender is exactly when everyone goes. We wait for the last 30 - 45 minutes then walk over and the line is super short and all contained within the building. 

 

We too had an amazing dining room staff. They do handle dining quite well. 

 

Hopefully you didn't get the awful comedians we did!

[TNcruising02]

16 minutes ago, BNBR said:

I sailed Magic last month and had similar thoughts about the passengers and Carnivals product.  For the first time, I felt the stereotype was fitting that Carnival passengers were trashy.  It was undeniable.  We are unlikely to be sailing Carnival again anytime soon as well. Unless maybe an out of season (school season) sailing. But a Carnival summer sailing? No way. 

 

As for HMC and the line.  You went too early. 1.5 hours before the last tender is exactly when everyone goes. We wait for the last 30 - 45 minutes then walk over and the line is super short and all contained within the building. 

 

We too had an amazing dining room staff. They do handle dining quite well. 

 

Hopefully you didn't get the awful comedians we did!

We may have been on the same cruise.  However, my husband and I had a great time and didn't think there were huge numbers of trashy passengers.  Maybe it's all a matter of perspective or just where we hung out on the ship, but we met some very nice people and enjoyed the cruise.  I didn't see any fights, hear anybody screaming, or notice any really bad behavior.  I just didn't notice anything different from any other cruise I've been on regarding the behavior of the passengers.  There were more young people because it was a summer cruise.

Summer cruises are a bit different though.  The adult comedy shows were very crowded, but we did like it that they didn't clear out the room for the next show.  It was nice to not have to line up again.  The comedians weren't the greatest.  The lady comedian wasn't very funny at all.  Usually, we have had better luck with comedians on Carnival cruises.  Our first Carnival cruise on the Magic we had Cowboy Bob, or something like that, and he was hilarious.  I guess it's the luck of the draw, but I do like the number of comedians that Carnival has on each cruise.

[grandmarnnurse]

On 7/22/2019 at 6:27 PM, Butterbean1000 said:

If there is a request for a guest to contact guest services, there is a good reason.  This is the first step when a passenger is suspected of going overboard. Even though you don't think there is a good reason for this, I disagree. I believe you would feel differently if it was a loved one of yours. To assume it was just a drunk passed out in a corner is disturbing. 

 

Totally agree.