Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Just Back from Carnival Magic.....Mini Review - Awesome trip!

Cinnamon2

By Cinnamon2,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

 Share

Recommended Posts

Cinnamon2

Cinnamon2

Posted
Posted

We just returned from 6 days on Carnival Magic.  I will list all the positives and then a couple of not so positives at the end.  Background:  We were a group of 8 mostly retired ladies, some single and the rest of us left our husband’s home because they were not interested in cruising.  We each had our own cabin and were mostly near the front on decks 1 and 2 with one lady on deck 11.

 

Feel free to ask any questions.

 

Positives (we all had a great time)

 

Flight on Southwest Airlines from Albany, NY to Ft. Lauderdale was onetime and stress free.  We arrived at 10:30 the morning of the cruise (January 12).

 

A Carnival representative was right at the baggage claim and he immediately walked us over to a check-in area.  One of the ladies didn’t purchase Carnival ground transportation in advance, and she was able to purchase it for both ways right there.

 

We were loaded on the bus and quickly taken to the Port.  Luggage was unloaded, we turned our luggage over the the waiting porters.  It’s a good idea to make contact with a porter, show him you luggage, tip him a couple of dollars so you can watch him put your luggage on the cart.

 

We arrived at the terminal at approximately 11:15 a.m.  We had check-in times of 12:00-12:30 and 12:30-1:00 but were all able to enter the terminal and go through the lines smoothly.  Didn’t take long at all to go through check-in process and security.  We were probably onboard by 11:45.

 

First stop was the Shore Tour/Excursion Desk to select our Beach Villa for Half Moon Cay.  Then 4 of us headed to my room to drop off our carry-ons - I am Platinum so my cabin was ready.  The others were off finding lunch.

 

We headed to the Cucina del Capitano Italian Restaurant on Deck 11 because it is usually a quiet place to have lunch on embarkation day.  Good food and service.  This is an extra charge place for dinner, but no charge for lunch.

 

My room was on Deck 2 inside category but with portholes.  The room was really nice with a standard bathroom and closet, sofa, desk, and a single bed.  The sofa could be made into another single bed if necessary.  The room was clean and comfortable and my room steward took excellent care of it.  I did feel the motion of the sea but it did not bother me.  There was some noise from waves hitting the hull and perhaps engine noise, but that’s ok, this was the lowest priced cabin and worth the minor inconvenience.

 

Dinner in the Southern Lights Dining Room was awesome every night.  On Elegant Night the lobster tails were the best tasting that I’ve had in a very long time.  Desserts were decadent.  We ate most breakfasts in the dining room, either open seating on port days or Sea Day Brunch on sea days.  Always a good experience.  Guys burgers were good as were Deli sandwiches.  Didn’t get a chance to try the pizza or the Guys BBQ; will have to do that on another cruise.

 

Carnival HubApp - worked fairly well.  We had to keep signing out and back in to get messages sometimes.  The App was helpful but it would be great if they could improve it to be more reliable.  One of our group forgot to download the HubApp from home but was able to do that on the ship with help from Guest Services and/or a Carnival Hub area.

 

First stop was Half Moon Cay.  This is my all time favorite port.  We rented the Beach Villa which was awesome!  The Villas are 2 story buildings with a porch on both levels.  The lower level has a full bathroom for our private use and a 5 person hot tub.  Also available were float mats and snorkel equipment for our use.  The upper level had a dining table with seating for 8, a refrigerator, sink, counter area.  They provided a cooler of soft drinks and water, trays of veggies and dips, salsa and chips and plates and utensils.  Even though the Villa is open in the front and has open windows, there is an air conditioner blowing a cool breeze.  We got our lunch from the dining pavilion (Carnival food and included) and brought it back to eat in the comfort of our Villa.  We sat on beach chairs and floated the ocean.  The sand is soft and white and the ocean absolutely beautiful.  Divided 8 ways, the Villa cost $75 each and was well worth it.

 

Grand Turk is another nice and easy stop.  The ship docks and you walk in to the port.  We walked to some chairs in Margaritaville and it was much too sunny and hot for me, so 2 of us went to a Starbucks and sat in the shade, enjoying a nice breeze, and using their free WiFi while enjoying our drinks.  We found some beach chairs with umbrellas and went into the ocean and swam around for a while.   A rain storm blew in and it rained hard.  We figured we couldn’t get any wetter and stayed in the water for a while.  It cleared quickly and we dried off and went back to the ship.

 

Amber Cove is a fairly new port that I’ve never been to before.  Most of our group took a Carnival tour into town to shop and see some things.  I and one companion went into the pool area and found a nice spot in the shade.  There are plenty of small palm trees that will eventually grow and provide more shade.  People whiz by on the zip line over the pool and sitting area.  There are plenty of cabanas visible and a swim up bar in the pool.  Also music going on.  My friend and I found a shady spot under a bridge and spent some time there enjoying the water and atmosphere.  Everything is beautifully set up on Amber Cove.

 

Casino was fun and I was able to play Roulette with my predetermined gambling money and was still able to buy some tanzanite earrings and pendant spending only my allotted amount.  So I was happy.

 

Debarkation was easy.  We all had zone 1 tags because we had an early flight.  Flight was on-time and got us home to Albany, NY in 3 hours.

 

Negatives:

 

We had to get off the ship and go home to a very snowy day west of Albany, New York.

Didn’t get much sleep the last night possibly due to engine noise.  Not really an issue because I did have the cheapest cabin they sell so I am not complaining.  When you have a single occupied cabin, you pay double cruise fare so I did not want to pay for a premium cabin for just me.

 

We are looking forward to sailing again in a couple of years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Like 13
  • Thanks 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
grandmarnnurse

grandmarnnurse

Posted
Posted
21 hours ago, Cinnamon2 said:

We just returned from 6 days on Carnival Magic.  I will list all the positives and then a couple of not so positives at the end.  Background:  We were a group of 8 mostly retired ladies, some single and the rest of us left our husband’s home because they were not interested in cruising.  We each had our own cabin and were mostly near the front on decks 1 and 2 with one lady on deck 11.

 

Feel free to ask any questions.

 

Positives (we all had a great time)

 

Flight on Southwest Airlines from Albany, NY to Ft. Lauderdale was onetime and stress free.  We arrived at 10:30 the morning of the cruise (January 12).

 

A Carnival representative was right at the baggage claim and he immediately walked us over to a check-in area.  One of the ladies didn’t purchase Carnival ground transportation in advance, and she was able to purchase it for both ways right there.

 

We were loaded on the bus and quickly taken to the Port.  Luggage was unloaded, we turned our luggage over the the waiting porters.  It’s a good idea to make contact with a porter, show him you luggage, tip him a couple of dollars so you can watch him put your luggage on the cart.

 

We arrived at the terminal at approximately 11:15 a.m.  We had check-in times of 12:00-12:30 and 12:30-1:00 but were all able to enter the terminal and go through the lines smoothly.  Didn’t take long at all to go through check-in process and security.  We were probably onboard by 11:45.

 

First stop was the Shore Tour/Excursion Desk to select our Beach Villa for Half Moon Cay.  Then 4 of us headed to my room to drop off our carry-ons - I am Platinum so my cabin was ready.  The others were off finding lunch.

 

We headed to the Cucina del Capitano Italian Restaurant on Deck 11 because it is usually a quiet place to have lunch on embarkation day.  Good food and service.  This is an extra charge place for dinner, but no charge for lunch.

 

My room was on Deck 2 inside category but with portholes.  The room was really nice with a standard bathroom and closet, sofa, desk, and a single bed.  The sofa could be made into another single bed if necessary.  The room was clean and comfortable and my room steward took excellent care of it.  I did feel the motion of the sea but it did not bother me.  There was some noise from waves hitting the hull and perhaps engine noise, but that’s ok, this was the lowest priced cabin and worth the minor inconvenience.

 

Dinner in the Southern Lights Dining Room was awesome every night.  On Elegant Night the lobster tails were the best tasting that I’ve had in a very long time.  Desserts were decadent.  We ate most breakfasts in the dining room, either open seating on port days or Sea Day Brunch on sea days.  Always a good experience.  Guys burgers were good as were Deli sandwiches.  Didn’t get a chance to try the pizza or the Guys BBQ; will have to do that on another cruise.

 

Carnival HubApp - worked fairly well.  We had to keep signing out and back in to get messages sometimes.  The App was helpful but it would be great if they could improve it to be more reliable.  One of our group forgot to download the HubApp from home but was able to do that on the ship with help from Guest Services and/or a Carnival Hub area.

 

First stop was Half Moon Cay.  This is my all time favorite port.  We rented the Beach Villa which was awesome!  The Villas are 2 story buildings with a porch on both levels.  The lower level has a full bathroom for our private use and a 5 person hot tub.  Also available were float mats and snorkel equipment for our use.  The upper level had a dining table with seating for 8, a refrigerator, sink, counter area.  They provided a cooler of soft drinks and water, trays of veggies and dips, salsa and chips and plates and utensils.  Even though the Villa is open in the front and has open windows, there is an air conditioner blowing a cool breeze.  We got our lunch from the dining pavilion (Carnival food and included) and brought it back to eat in the comfort of our Villa.  We sat on beach chairs and floated the ocean.  The sand is soft and white and the ocean absolutely beautiful.  Divided 8 ways, the Villa cost $75 each and was well worth it.

 

Grand Turk is another nice and easy stop.  The ship docks and you walk in to the port.  We walked to some chairs in Margaritaville and it was much too sunny and hot for me, so 2 of us went to a Starbucks and sat in the shade, enjoying a nice breeze, and using their free WiFi while enjoying our drinks.  We found some beach chairs with umbrellas and went into the ocean and swam around for a while.   A rain storm blew in and it rained hard.  We figured we couldn’t get any wetter and stayed in the water for a while.  It cleared quickly and we dried off and went back to the ship.

 

Amber Cove is a fairly new port that I’ve never been to before.  Most of our group took a Carnival tour into town to shop and see some things.  I and one companion went into the pool area and found a nice spot in the shade.  There are plenty of small palm trees that will eventually grow and provide more shade.  People whiz by on the zip line over the pool and sitting area.  There are plenty of cabanas visible and a swim up bar in the pool.  Also music going on.  My friend and I found a shady spot under a bridge and spent some time there enjoying the water and atmosphere.  Everything is beautifully set up on Amber Cove.

 

Casino was fun and I was able to play Roulette with my predetermined gambling money and was still able to buy some tanzanite earrings and pendant spending only my allotted amount.  So I was happy.

 

Debarkation was easy.  We all had zone 1 tags because we had an early flight.  Flight was on-time and got us home to Albany, NY in 3 hours.

 

Negatives:

 

We had to get off the ship and go home to a very snowy day west of Albany, New York.

Didn’t get much sleep the last night possibly due to engine noise.  Not really an issue because I did have the cheapest cabin they sell so I am not complaining.  When you have a single occupied cabin, you pay double cruise fare so I did not want to pay for a premium cabin for just me.

 

We are looking forward to sailing again in a couple of years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sailing the Magic for a B2B in April. Thank you for the review.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
NonnaGa

NonnaGa

Posted
Posted
23 hours ago, Cinnamon2 said:

We just returned from 6 days on Carnival Magic.  I will list all the positives and then a couple of not so positives at the end.  Background:  We were a group of 8 mostly retired ladies, some single and the rest of us left our husband’s home because they were not interested in cruising.  We each had our own cabin and were mostly near the front on decks 1 and 2 with one lady on deck 11.

 

Feel free to ask any questions.

 

Positives (we all had a great time)

 

Flight on Southwest Airlines from Albany, NY to Ft. Lauderdale was onetime and stress free.  We arrived at 10:30 the morning of the cruise (January 12).

 

A Carnival representative was right at the baggage claim and he immediately walked us over to a check-in area.  One of the ladies didn’t purchase Carnival ground transportation in advance, and she was able to purchase it for both ways right there.

 

We were loaded on the bus and quickly taken to the Port.  Luggage was unloaded, we turned our luggage over the the waiting porters.  It’s a good idea to make contact with a porter, show him you luggage, tip him a couple of dollars so you can watch him put your luggage on the cart.

 

We arrived at the terminal at approximately 11:15 a.m.  We had check-in times of 12:00-12:30 and 12:30-1:00 but were all able to enter the terminal and go through the lines smoothly.  Didn’t take long at all to go through check-in process and security.  We were probably onboard by 11:45.

 

First stop was the Shore Tour/Excursion Desk to select our Beach Villa for Half Moon Cay.  Then 4 of us headed to my room to drop off our carry-ons - I am Platinum so my cabin was ready.  The others were off finding lunch.

 

We headed to the Cucina del Capitano Italian Restaurant on Deck 11 because it is usually a quiet place to have lunch on embarkation day.  Good food and service.  This is an extra charge place for dinner, but no charge for lunch.

 

My room was on Deck 2 inside category but with portholes.  The room was really nice with a standard bathroom and closet, sofa, desk, and a single bed.  The sofa could be made into another single bed if necessary.  The room was clean and comfortable and my room steward took excellent care of it.  I did feel the motion of the sea but it did not bother me.  There was some noise from waves hitting the hull and perhaps engine noise, but that’s ok, this was the lowest priced cabin and worth the minor inconvenience.

 

Dinner in the Southern Lights Dining Room was awesome every night.  On Elegant Night the lobster tails were the best tasting that I’ve had in a very long time.  Desserts were decadent.  We ate most breakfasts in the dining room, either open seating on port days or Sea Day Brunch on sea days.  Always a good experience.  Guys burgers were good as were Deli sandwiches.  Didn’t get a chance to try the pizza or the Guys BBQ; will have to do that on another cruise.

 

Carnival HubApp - worked fairly well.  We had to keep signing out and back in to get messages sometimes.  The App was helpful but it would be great if they could improve it to be more reliable.  One of our group forgot to download the HubApp from home but was able to do that on the ship with help from Guest Services and/or a Carnival Hub area.

 

First stop was Half Moon Cay.  This is my all time favorite port.  We rented the Beach Villa which was awesome!  The Villas are 2 story buildings with a porch on both levels.  The lower level has a full bathroom for our private use and a 5 person hot tub.  Also available were float mats and snorkel equipment for our use.  The upper level had a dining table with seating for 8, a refrigerator, sink, counter area.  They provided a cooler of soft drinks and water, trays of veggies and dips, salsa and chips and plates and utensils.  Even though the Villa is open in the front and has open windows, there is an air conditioner blowing a cool breeze.  We got our lunch from the dining pavilion (Carnival food and included) and brought it back to eat in the comfort of our Villa.  We sat on beach chairs and floated the ocean.  The sand is soft and white and the ocean absolutely beautiful.  Divided 8 ways, the Villa cost $75 each and was well worth it.

 

Grand Turk is another nice and easy stop.  The ship docks and you walk in to the port.  We walked to some chairs in Margaritaville and it was much too sunny and hot for me, so 2 of us went to a Starbucks and sat in the shade, enjoying a nice breeze, and using their free WiFi while enjoying our drinks.  We found some beach chairs with umbrellas and went into the ocean and swam around for a while.   A rain storm blew in and it rained hard.  We figured we couldn’t get any wetter and stayed in the water for a while.  It cleared quickly and we dried off and went back to the ship.

 

Amber Cove is a fairly new port that I’ve never been to before.  Most of our group took a Carnival tour into town to shop and see some things.  I and one companion went into the pool area and found a nice spot in the shade.  There are plenty of small palm trees that will eventually grow and provide more shade.  People whiz by on the zip line over the pool and sitting area.  There are plenty of cabanas visible and a swim up bar in the pool.  Also music going on.  My friend and I found a shady spot under a bridge and spent some time there enjoying the water and atmosphere.  Everything is beautifully set up on Amber Cove.

 

Casino was fun and I was able to play Roulette with my predetermined gambling money and was still able to buy some tanzanite earrings and pendant spending only my allotted amount.  So I was happy.

 

Debarkation was easy.  We all had zone 1 tags because we had an early flight.  Flight was on-time and got us home to Albany, NY in 3 hours.

 

Negatives:

 

We had to get off the ship and go home to a very snowy day west of Albany, New York.

Didn’t get much sleep the last night possibly due to engine noise.  Not really an issue because I did have the cheapest cabin they sell so I am not complaining.  When you have a single occupied cabin, you pay double cruise fare so I did not want to pay for a premium cabin for just me.

 

We are looking forward to sailing again in a couple of years.

 

Thank you for your review it was helpful.  Did the Miracle have the bigs screen on the pool deck?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Cinnamon2

Cinnamon2

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Beary', no first time cruisers, but first time on Carnival for one.  We were all impressed with everything.  We didn't watch the big screen but did notice it is in fact there.  We tended to find quieter locations.

 

The seas were rocky the first couple of days but not enough to stop our activity.  I did hold on to the handrails at times.

 

Was so busy with other things that I didn't experience Guys BBQ, the Pizza Place, Seafood Shack, the Comedy shows, or the Serenity deck.  I guess we have to go back and make sure to do so.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites
bearybubba

bearybubba

Posted
Posted
31 minutes ago, Cinnamon2 said:

Beary', no first time cruisers, but first time on Carnival for one.  We were all impressed with everything.  We didn't watch the big screen but did notice it is in fact there.  We tended to find quieter locations.

 

The seas were rocky the first couple of days but not enough to stop our activity.  I did hold on to the handrails at times.

 

Was so busy with other things that I didn't experience Guys BBQ, the Pizza Place, Seafood Shack, the Comedy shows, or the Serenity deck.  I guess we have to go back and make sure to do so.  

Thank you for responding!

What other things did you do on the ship? Trivia? Bingo? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Cinnamon2

Cinnamon2

Posted
  • Author
Posted
4 hours ago, bearybubba said:

Thank you for responding!

What other things did you do on the ship? Trivia? Bingo? 

We enjoyed the shows at night.  Sat and listened to music in the lobby.  Ate breakfast, brunch and dinner in dining rooms.  Went to the Piano Bar, spent time in casino, looked around shops.  Watched the ocean and people.  Visited with each other.   Occasional afternoon nap.  Lots of excitement for this retiree!

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
coevan

coevan

Posted
Posted

Spa Balcony on the Magic is wonderful. Steps to the Serenity, elevators, spa, and lobby. Loved getting out of the elevator  and smelling the eucalyptus wafting from the spa. As the Spa is for over 18, we had no kids in our cabin area

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • ANNOUNCEMENT: Set Sail Beyond the Ordinary with Oceania Cruises
      • ANNOUNCEMENT: The Widest View in the Whole Wide World
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...