Carnival Magic Review: Dec 29 - Jan 4

[jungle1]

I’m a long time reader, infrequent poster, and first time reviewer (please be gentle!).  I devoured everything I could find here before our cruise and wanted to give a little bit back.

We just got back from a 6 night NYE cruise on Carnival Magic.  We went to Half Moon Cay, Amber Cove, and Grand Turk.  About us – we are early to mid-forties with a 15 yo son and 13 yo daughter.  This was cruise number 8 for the family (my wife and I have done a few more without the kids).   This was our first time on Carnival as a family after 4 on Disney and 3 on Royal Caribbean (all Oasis class.) 

I wanted to give a quick rundown of things that our family cares about (and doesn’t care about) on a cruise so you have some context for the comments.  Since we all travel so differently things that might matter to you (like an amazing spa or chair hogs) make no difference to me.

 

Things we care about:

• Entertainment options
• Trivia
• Production shows
• Breakfast & lunch quality/options
• Main dining room quality/variety
• Walking/jogging track
• Balcony size
• Crowds

 

Things we don’t really use:

• Spa
• Pool loungers (we prefer to hang on our balcony or in adult area)
• Specialty dining
• Nightclubs
• Bingo
• Casino
• Anything after midnight (other than sleep!)
• Formal dress

 

Overall, we had a very enjoyable trip and Carnival compared very well to our experiences on RCCL.  We would cruise Carnival again on the right itinerary/price.  We felt that there was much more in common than different between the two lines.  This won’t be a full play by play but happy to answer any questions you might have.

 

Pre-Cruise Hotel

We stayed at Embassy Suites Ft. Lauderdale and we wouldn’t stay there again.  The staff and location were great but the rooms really show their age (who doesn’t have HDTV in the rooms now?) and it was just way too crowded.

 

Embarkation/Debarkation

We had a port arrival time of 12:00-12:30 at Port Everglades and a boarding group of A02.  We had to check out of our hotel at 11:00 so we just headed over to the port to try our luck.  We arrived at the port around 11:30 or so and they just waved us through.  No lines, quick check in, and we were on the ship by 11:45.  Couldn’t have been smoother.

Debarkation was a bit less smooth.  They had to stop the process a couple of times and were running about an hour behind the expected time.  Once we got off there was a long customs line but it kept moving.  No major issues getting an Uber – took maybe 15 minutes from clearing customs until we were on the road.

 

The Rooms

• We had a balcony cabin and inside cabin on deck 8 toward the front of the ship on the starboard side.  I was concerned about noise coming from the promenade deck/hot tubs but it generally was a non issue.  We also couldn’t see the promenade when seated which was nice.  I would be careful about getting a cabin above the smoking section (think it was port side aft) and wouldn’t want to be on deck 6 with the noise/privacy.  I’d also recommend avoiding rooms near the atrium as there was quite a bit of noise in that area.
• Cabins were plenty spacious, beds were comfortable, showers were tiny but sink/bathroom storage was good. 
• Cabin steward was good and we got twice daily service (he asked us to fill the form). 
• TVs are pretty small but that isn’t a big deal for us. 
• Balcony is pretty small as well – miss having the footstools from RCCL – but adequate.

 

The Food

• I don’t like the layout of the Lido Marketplace – seemed to encourage long lines.  I much prefer the different stations on RCCL.  We avoided the Lido after the first day there for breakfast other than to grab some desserts (the cakes were pretty good – much better than RCCL or Disney.)
• We went to the dining room for breakfast most days and the service was good – good variety, made to order, reasonably fast.  That was really the first cruise we’ve done that and we will probably do that more going forward.
• Loved the variety of free options at lunch – had lunch twice at the pasta bar, had more Guy’s burgers than we can count (we thought they were great – esp. the fries), had a few tacos/burritos from Blue Iguana (also really good) and even got some BBQ from Guy’s (it was OK – nothing to write home about but I still ate it.)
• My pizza loving son hated the pizza – had one piece and never went back for more.  RCCL win’s big here in his eyes.
• My ice cream loving daughter loved the 24/7 ice cream options – can’t get that on RCCL.
• Main dining room was OK.  The service was good and fast (which we like).  The quality was hit or miss but we didn’t go hungry. 

 

The Bars

• We are moderate drinkers and were paying by the glass.  We brought on our two bottles of wine (and ordered two more at dinner).  We also ordered a liter of whiskey for the room. 
• Drink prices seemed reasonable compared to other cruise lines.  
• Bar service could be quite slow at times.
• The candy straws are pretty terrible – get very floppy before I could even finish a drink.  Not a fan.

 

The Entertainment

• We enjoyed the production shows – thought the cast in general was pretty good and we liked the music.  We saw 88 Keys (although technical difficulties meant they basically just did the singing), Flick, and America Rocks.
• Simon London was the cruise director – I’m not sure that guy ever sleeps but he seemed to do a good job engaging the crowd.  CD doesn’t really play a major role in my enjoyment of the cruise but we liked him well enough.
• Loved the piano bar – Scott Lyles was amazingly talented.  Ended up there a few nights.
• We didn’t make it to the 18+ comedy (tried once but couldn’t get seats) but saw both comedians do the PG shows and they were entertaining.

 

The Ship

• The ship is showing it’s age a bit.  I know it spends it’s life in salt water but I was surprised at the amount of surface rust all over the hull, rails, etc.  I remember constantly seeing people on Disney touching up the paint during the week and didn’t see any of that on Carnival.  It didn’t really detract from the vacation but it is very noticeable.
• Interior finishes are also a bit worn but it was much less noticeable.  Again, didn’t really impact the trip for us.
• The pools were always very crowded but I think that is just part of cruising.
• Really liked the promenade on Deck 5 and you could always get a lounger on that deck (at least on the shady side of the boat).
• We didn’t love how small the jogging track was so we just used Deck 5 for our sea day walks and it worked fine.
• Seemed to have plenty of elevators for the crowd although being in the middle of stuff on Deck 8 (and eating lots of cheeseburgers) meant we usually took the stairs to everything.
• Never felt overly crowded except for the buffet and the pool deck.
• Casino was pretty smoky – we generally tried to avoid the whole area.
• We liked Red Frog Pub – played a few board games, shuffleboard, foosball
• Trivia could be hard to get seats on occasion but generally the space was large enough
• Sports deck was fun – water slides were OK, kids loved the ropes course, played some mini-golf.
• Serenity deck was nice – went up there for a couple of hours on a port day when our balcony faced another ship on the dock.

 

Again, overall it was a fun trip.  Had just as much fun as the RCCL trips (and therefore a bit higher fun/$ ratio).  Our next cruise is on NCL (Baltics 2020) but I am sure we will be back to Carnival again.

 

Thanks to those who made it this far and if I missed any topics or you have questions let me know.

[g-cindy]

Thank you for your review.

[luvcruzing]

Sounds like you had a good time.  Thank you for taking the time to do the review.

[SMSACE6]

good review!  thanks for posting your thoughts.  I am hoping to cruise on this ship some day.

 

[Buffalofirsttimer4]

thank you for your review!

[Mr305]

I was on this cruise as well, had a great time.  Food was good, portions have gotten a bit smaller since I last cruised with Carnival (Vista/Horizon).  As the OP stated, this ship has an incredible amount of rust.  I mostly cruise Carnival and have never seen so much rust on a ship while cruising with them.  There's no effort to paint, they mostly spray a cleaning solution to remove the rust stains.  We had a Cove Balcony, rust was all around you when sitting out on the balcony.  Our room was dated, rugs had stains but it was clean.  The ship is definitely long overdue for a dry dock.

 

Great staff, always smiling and quick to assist.  We had anytime dinning, I. Komang and I. Ketut as well as Agusto were incredible.  Room steward was Darvin, he took care of a few issues (sink/shower not draining) and loud fridge right away.  Besides these issues, room was spotless throughout the trip.

 

Went to the steakhouse the second night, as always, good service and tasty food.  Guy's and Blue Iguana were also good as well as Bonsai Express.  Pizza lines were incredible long throughout the cruise, not something I really care for but all I can say is that it was busy.  WiFi was horrible, don't recommend you spend a lot of money on it.  The further we got from Fort Lauderdale, the slower it got.  We got the value plan, should have gone with social and saved some money.

 

 

[ctsharpie05]

On 1/5/2020 at 6:03 PM, jungle1 said:

I’m a long time reader, infrequent poster, and first time reviewer (please be gentle!).  I devoured everything I could find here before our cruise and wanted to give a little bit back.

We just got back from a 6 night NYE cruise on Carnival Magic.  We went to Half Moon Cay, Amber Cove, and Grand Turk.  About us – we are early to mid-forties with a 15 yo son and 13 yo daughter.  This was cruise number 8 for the family (my wife and I have done a few more without the kids).   This was our first time on Carnival as a family after 4 on Disney and 3 on Royal Caribbean (all Oasis class.) 

I wanted to give a quick rundown of things that our family cares about (and doesn’t care about) on a cruise so you have some context for the comments.  Since we all travel so differently things that might matter to you (like an amazing spa or chair hogs) make no difference to me.

 

Things we care about:

• Entertainment options
• Trivia
• Production shows
• Breakfast & lunch quality/options
• Main dining room quality/variety
• Walking/jogging track
• Balcony size
• Crowds

 

Things we don’t really use:

• Spa
• Pool loungers (we prefer to hang on our balcony or in adult area)
• Specialty dining
• Nightclubs
• Bingo
• Casino
• Anything after midnight (other than sleep!)
• Formal dress

 

Overall, we had a very enjoyable trip and Carnival compared very well to our experiences on RCCL.  We would cruise Carnival again on the right itinerary/price.  We felt that there was much more in common than different between the two lines.  This won’t be a full play by play but happy to answer any questions you might have.

 

Pre-Cruise Hotel

We stayed at Embassy Suites Ft. Lauderdale and we wouldn’t stay there again.  The staff and location were great but the rooms really show their age (who doesn’t have HDTV in the rooms now?) and it was just way too crowded.

 

Embarkation/Debarkation

We had a port arrival time of 12:00-12:30 at Port Everglades and a boarding group of A02.  We had to check out of our hotel at 11:00 so we just headed over to the port to try our luck.  We arrived at the port around 11:30 or so and they just waved us through.  No lines, quick check in, and we were on the ship by 11:45.  Couldn’t have been smoother.

Debarkation was a bit less smooth.  They had to stop the process a couple of times and were running about an hour behind the expected time.  Once we got off there was a long customs line but it kept moving.  No major issues getting an Uber – took maybe 15 minutes from clearing customs until we were on the road.

 

The Rooms

• We had a balcony cabin and inside cabin on deck 8 toward the front of the ship on the starboard side.  I was concerned about noise coming from the promenade deck/hot tubs but it generally was a non issue.  We also couldn’t see the promenade when seated which was nice.  I would be careful about getting a cabin above the smoking section (think it was port side aft) and wouldn’t want to be on deck 6 with the noise/privacy.  I’d also recommend avoiding rooms near the atrium as there was quite a bit of noise in that area.
• Cabins were plenty spacious, beds were comfortable, showers were tiny but sink/bathroom storage was good. 
• Cabin steward was good and we got twice daily service (he asked us to fill the form). 
• TVs are pretty small but that isn’t a big deal for us. 
• Balcony is pretty small as well – miss having the footstools from RCCL – but adequate.

 

The Food

• I don’t like the layout of the Lido Marketplace – seemed to encourage long lines.  I much prefer the different stations on RCCL.  We avoided the Lido after the first day there for breakfast other than to grab some desserts (the cakes were pretty good – much better than RCCL or Disney.)
• We went to the dining room for breakfast most days and the service was good – good variety, made to order, reasonably fast.  That was really the first cruise we’ve done that and we will probably do that more going forward.
• Loved the variety of free options at lunch – had lunch twice at the pasta bar, had more Guy’s burgers than we can count (we thought they were great – esp. the fries), had a few tacos/burritos from Blue Iguana (also really good) and even got some BBQ from Guy’s (it was OK – nothing to write home about but I still ate it.)
• My pizza loving son hated the pizza – had one piece and never went back for more.  RCCL win’s big here in his eyes.
• My ice cream loving daughter loved the 24/7 ice cream options – can’t get that on RCCL.
• Main dining room was OK.  The service was good and fast (which we like).  The quality was hit or miss but we didn’t go hungry. 

 

The Bars

• We are moderate drinkers and were paying by the glass.  We brought on our two bottles of wine (and ordered two more at dinner).  We also ordered a liter of whiskey for the room. 
• Drink prices seemed reasonable compared to other cruise lines.  
• Bar service could be quite slow at times.
• The candy straws are pretty terrible – get very floppy before I could even finish a drink.  Not a fan.

 

The Entertainment

• We enjoyed the production shows – thought the cast in general was pretty good and we liked the music.  We saw 88 Keys (although technical difficulties meant they basically just did the singing), Flick, and America Rocks.
• Simon London was the cruise director – I’m not sure that guy ever sleeps but he seemed to do a good job engaging the crowd.  CD doesn’t really play a major role in my enjoyment of the cruise but we liked him well enough.
• Loved the piano bar – Scott Lyles was amazingly talented.  Ended up there a few nights.
• We didn’t make it to the 18+ comedy (tried once but couldn’t get seats) but saw both comedians do the PG shows and they were entertaining.

 

The Ship

• The ship is showing it’s age a bit.  I know it spends it’s life in salt water but I was surprised at the amount of surface rust all over the hull, rails, etc.  I remember constantly seeing people on Disney touching up the paint during the week and didn’t see any of that on Carnival.  It didn’t really detract from the vacation but it is very noticeable.
• Interior finishes are also a bit worn but it was much less noticeable.  Again, didn’t really impact the trip for us.
• The pools were always very crowded but I think that is just part of cruising.
• Really liked the promenade on Deck 5 and you could always get a lounger on that deck (at least on the shady side of the boat).
• We didn’t love how small the jogging track was so we just used Deck 5 for our sea day walks and it worked fine.
• Seemed to have plenty of elevators for the crowd although being in the middle of stuff on Deck 8 (and eating lots of cheeseburgers) meant we usually took the stairs to everything.
• Never felt overly crowded except for the buffet and the pool deck.
• Casino was pretty smoky – we generally tried to avoid the whole area.
• We liked Red Frog Pub – played a few board games, shuffleboard, foosball
• Trivia could be hard to get seats on occasion but generally the space was large enough
• Sports deck was fun – water slides were OK, kids loved the ropes course, played some mini-golf.
• Serenity deck was nice – went up there for a couple of hours on a port day when our balcony faced another ship on the dock.

 

Again, overall it was a fun trip.  Had just as much fun as the RCCL trips (and therefore a bit higher fun/$ ratio).  Our next cruise is on NCL (Baltics 2020) but I am sure we will be back to Carnival again.

 

Thanks to those who made it this far and if I missed any topics or you have questions let me know.

Great review! We sailed her in July & are sailing her 2 times this year! 

I do have a question though: This time we are taking the kids. Wondering how ya'll spent your time on the balcony? Did they bring you extra chairs? Were the kids fine sitting on the floor? I love putting my feet up and reading on the balcony but I also want to be with my kids. Thank you! 

Edited January 7, 2020 by ctsharpie05

[jungle1]

2 hours ago, ctsharpie05 said:

Great review! We sailed her in July & are sailing her 2 times this year! 

I do have a question though: This time we are taking the kids. Wondering how ya'll spent your time on the balcony? Did they bring you extra chairs? Were the kids fine sitting on the floor? I love putting my feet up and reading on the balcony but I also want to be with my kids. Thank you! 

 

My kids weren't really interested in hanging on the balcony much - no more than 5-10 mins at a time and it was usually standing at the rail looking at the ocean or chatting.  There didn't seem to be any room for additional chairs so we didn't bother asking.

[sw33twif3]

Thanks for the review!  I just booked for Sept 2020.

[Kib16]

Great review, thank you!

[shaner2148]

Thanks for the review.