Just back from the Magic... a few thoughts

[Frank12]

• Cruising on a reduced capacity sailing will spoil you! Plenty of lounge chairs and no lines...even on debarkation!
• The crew is as glad to be back as you are. They were wonderful!
• Based on things I had read I expected less than stellar service in the MDR. Not the case on the Magic! We never spent more than an hour or so at dinner and the food was fantastic!
• Masks were really a non-issue. Compliance from the guests was way better than I expected.  The strictest enforcement was the casino and the Lido buffet.  Definitely not a deal breaker for us.
• I expected the first few months back to be mostly veteran cruisers who missed it as much as we did, but I was really surprised at the number of blue cards I saw.  This is a strange time for folks to be trying their first cruise ever, but definitely a good sign for the cruise industry!
• As a final thought I will repeat....cruising on a reduced capacity sailing will spoil you!

[ladychater]

Do you know what percentage they sailed at?  I saw a video from JJ Cruise today where they said that both the Horizon and Mardi Gras were so crowded that they feel that Carnival is unsafe right now.  Were you in the theater or in the Piano Bar?  They said people were packed in like sardines in those places, among others.  I'm sailing on the Panorama in November and this all has me nervous.

[Frank12]

I heard 70%.  There was no social distancing in the theatre but everyone was masked up. We went by the piano bar twice after 10:00 pm and there was not a soul in there.  The last day they were advertising the piano bar on the hub app, but we did not make it by there.

[Lee Cruiser]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.  Really good to hear you had a good experience.

[nwcruiselover]

Thank you for your input.  I’ll be on the Miracle next week and I’m hoping for the same type of reduced capacity experience.

[Frank12]

6 minutes ago, nwcruiselover said:

Thank you for your input.  I’ll be on the Miracle next week and I’m hoping for the same type of reduced capacity experience.

It will spoil you! 😜

[Knights on the Beach]

Thank you for posting - we're on Magic in 10 days!

 

[Frank12]

20 minutes ago, cruisemom2 said:

Thank you for posting - we're on Magic in 10 days!

 

Other than the masks and lack of lines, it was just like old times!

[groundloop]

Great to hear.  We'll be on Magic next month, really looking forward to it, and masking up won't bother us in the least.  

 

Is there any word on when the ships will increase the capacity they're sailing at.  I can only hope to be lucky enough to be on a ship at 70% capacity.

[tidecat]

20 minutes ago, groundloop said:

Great to hear.  We'll be on Magic next month, really looking forward to it, and masking up won't bother us in the least.  

 

Is there any word on when the ships will increase the capacity they're sailing at.  I can only hope to be lucky enough to be on a ship at 70% capacity.

I doubt we'll see any changes before November 1. The CSO requires allocating cabins for quarantined passengers. Ramping up from 70% of double occupancy to 104% (or more) of double occupancy will also require increasing the size of the crew complement for guest-facing positions such as bartenders, kids clubs, and waitstaff - not really sure that's possible right now if crew are restricted on sharing cabins.

[BoozinCroozin]

3 hours ago, tidecat said:

I doubt we'll see any changes before November 1. The CSO requires allocating cabins for quarantined passengers. Ramping up from 70% of double occupancy to 104% (or more) of double occupancy will also require increasing the size of the crew complement for guest-facing positions such as bartenders, kids clubs, and waitstaff - not really sure that's possible right now if crew are restricted on sharing cabins.

We are 96 days away. I don't think there will be any changes to capacity until 2022 at the earliest. I expect cruise lines to continue as is until this pandemic is down to acceptable levels. Cruise ports are closing up quickly and limiting where ships can go. Grand Turk and Grand Cayman are out. I think Jamaica is done as well. I expect similar with Haiti (Labadee for RCL) will be down from the earthquake. St Thomas is limiting the number that can debark I believe. OSJ is having similar issues. 

 

I think cruise lines are going to have a difficult time but will handle it. Just don't get set on an itinerary that is likely to change. 

[ProgRockCruiser]

12 hours ago, Frank12 said:

We went by the piano bar twice after 10:00 pm and there was not a soul in there. 

Interesting.  On the Book'o'Faces there is a group dedicated to Carnival Piano Bar fans, and on that group someone posted that on a recent Magic sailing there was no guests allowed to sit at the actual piano, only about 10 or more feet back at tables (to give the performer the space they need, understandable), and that mask wearing was strictly enforced - you take it down to sip your drink, and it better be back up as you swallow!

 

Maybe after a night or two of that, the pax got disinterested and moved on.  Too bad, Brad is a very funny guy, plays great songs (and plays them well).

[Frank12]

36 minutes ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

 someone posted that on a recent Magic sailing there was no guests allowed to sit at the actual piano, only about 10 or more feet back at tables (to give the performer the space they need, understandable), and that mask wearing was strictly enforced

All the seats around the piano did have signs marking them as closed

[tbjl24]

Are you able to sit down at the bars? If so, are any seats unavailable due to social distancing?

[Frank12]

16 minutes ago, tbjl24 said:

Are you able to sit down at the bars? If so, are any seats unavailable due to social distancing?

All bars were open with no social distancing.  In the casino they were insisting on sip & cover. (pull mask down to take a drink then put it back on) but not any of the other bars. 

The only bar that was not open was the piano bar and all seats around the piano were blocked off.  They were advertising the piano bar on the hub app on the last night but we did not make it by there. The two nights prior we did and it was closed.

[Frank12]

I thought I took a pic of the sip and cover sign, but I guess not. Here is the elevator sign.

[ninjacat123]

@Frank12Did you spend time out on the Lanai Promenade on Deck 5?  I saw on the deck plans that there were tables for Guy's Pig and Anchor and tables for Red Frog Pub on the other side of the ship.  I am curious if one could grab a table there to have a cocktail outdoors.  TIA!

Edited August 17, 2021 by ninjacat123

[Frank12]

2 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

@Frank12Did you spend time out on the Lanai Promenade on Deck 5?  I saw on the deck plans that there were tables for Guy's Pig and Anchor and tables for Red Frog Pub on the other side of the ship.  I am curious if one could grab a table there to have a cocktail outdoors.  TIA!

Yes you can!

[Djptcp]

DH and I were also on this Magic cruise and we felt very safe. I would agree with what the OP said about the cruise.

 

We do not have a cell phone, but the Fun Times were printed out every day and in racks in various places around the ship. We ate two nights in the Cuchina del Capitano (would highly recommend it) and were given menus to look at. We never made it to the MDR as we had large late lunches those two days and weren't hungry at dinner time, but I assume paper menus were given to those without cell phones.

 

The buffets were normal. I spent most of my time in the casino when it was open and lots of jackpots announced. I also won a $1,360 jackpot on a Buffalo slot! There was a walkway that divided the casino into two places - one side was smoking and the other was non-smoking. Also a smoke-free casino on Deck 4, but I didn't go there. DH said it had slots and table games.

 

Had to choose between morning or evening cabin cleaning and we chose morning. Cabin steward was great and had our cabin cleaned by mid-morning.

 

This was our 56th cruise overall and 40th on Carnival, first time on the Magic. Liked it so well we booked a 6-day Magic cruise for late Oct. Also loved our balcony cabin on Deck 10 (Lido Deck) and booked another one for the next Magic cruise.

 

Our only negative was that as Platinums we couldn't get into our cabin right away upon boarding. We decided not to bring any carry on luggage so we wouldn't have to lug it around before we could get in our cabin. 

 

Wearing masks was a non-issue and most seemed to comply.

[ProgRockCruiser]

2 minutes ago, Djptcp said:

DH and I were also on this Magic cruise and we felt very safe. I would agree with what the OP said about the cruise.

 

We do not have a cell phone, but the Fun Times were printed out every day and in racks in various places around the ship. We ate two nights in the Cuchina del Capitano (would highly recommend it) and were given menus to look at. We never made it to the MDR as we had large late lunches those two days and weren't hungry at dinner time, but I assume paper menus were given to those without cell phones.

 

The buffets were normal. I spent most of my time in the casino when it was open and lots of jackpots announced. I also won a $1,360 jackpot on a Buffalo slot! There was a walkway that divided the casino into two places - one side was smoking and the other was non-smoking. Also a smoke-free casino on Deck 4, but I didn't go there. DH said it had slots and table games.

 

Had to choose between morning or evening cabin cleaning and we chose morning. Cabin steward was great and had our cabin cleaned by mid-morning.

 

This was our 56th cruise overall and 40th on Carnival, first time on the Magic. Liked it so well we booked a 6-day Magic cruise for late Oct. Also loved our balcony cabin on Deck 10 (Lido Deck) and booked another one for the next Magic cruise.

 

Our only negative was that as Platinums we couldn't get into our cabin right away upon boarding. We decided not to bring any carry on luggage so we wouldn't have to lug it around before we could get in our cabin. 

 

Wearing masks was a non-issue and most seemed to comply.

Awesome report - thanks for the insight.  Can't wait for our cruise in Sept!  We're not platinum, so we expect to board as usual with the hoi polloi and get to our cabins sometime after 1:30pm...  😉 

[peteandpris]

Great to hear that you had a great time, can't wait till my turn next Nov.27.2022. Thank you for your review.

 

 

[GonzoWCS]

Thanks for this!

[ninjacat123]

7 minutes ago, Djptcp said:

DH and I were also on this Magic cruise and we felt very safe. I would agree with what the OP said about the cruise.

 

We do not have a cell phone, but the Fun Times were printed out every day and in racks in various places around the ship. We ate two nights in the Cuchina del Capitano (would highly recommend it) and were given menus to look at. We never made it to the MDR as we had large late lunches those two days and weren't hungry at dinner time, but I assume paper menus were given to those without cell phones.

 

The buffets were normal. I spent most of my time in the casino when it was open and lots of jackpots announced. I also won a $1,360 jackpot on a Buffalo slot! There was a walkway that divided the casino into two places - one side was smoking and the other was non-smoking. Also a smoke-free casino on Deck 4, but I didn't go there. DH said it had slots and table games.

 

Had to choose between morning or evening cabin cleaning and we chose morning. Cabin steward was great and had our cabin cleaned by mid-morning.

 

This was our 56th cruise overall and 40th on Carnival, first time on the Magic. Liked it so well we booked a 6-day Magic cruise for late Oct. Also loved our balcony cabin on Deck 10 (Lido Deck) and booked another one for the next Magic cruise.

 

Our only negative was that as Platinums we couldn't get into our cabin right away upon boarding. We decided not to bring any carry on luggage so we wouldn't have to lug it around before we could get in our cabin. 

 

Wearing masks was a non-issue and most seemed to comply.

Thx for your review and congrats on your Buffalo win!!

[Frank12]

14 minutes ago, Djptcp said:

DH and I were also on this Magic cruise and we felt very safe. I would agree with what the OP said about the cruise.

 

We do not have a cell phone, but the Fun Times were printed out every day and in racks in various places around the ship. We ate two nights in the Cuchina del Capitano (would highly recommend it) and were given menus to look at. We never made it to the MDR as we had large late lunches those two days and weren't hungry at dinner time, but I assume paper menus were given to those without cell phones.

 

The buffets were normal. I spent most of my time in the casino when it was open and lots of jackpots announced. I also won a $1,360 jackpot on a Buffalo slot! There was a walkway that divided the casino into two places - one side was smoking and the other was non-smoking. Also a smoke-free casino on Deck 4, but I didn't go there. DH said it had slots and table games.

 

Had to choose between morning or evening cabin cleaning and we chose morning. Cabin steward was great and had our cabin cleaned by mid-morning.

 

This was our 56th cruise overall and 40th on Carnival, first time on the Magic. Liked it so well we booked a 6-day Magic cruise for late Oct. Also loved our balcony cabin on Deck 10 (Lido Deck) and booked another one for the next Magic cruise.

 

Our only negative was that as Platinums we couldn't get into our cabin right away upon boarding. We decided not to bring any carry on luggage so we wouldn't have to lug it around before we could get in our cabin. 

 

Wearing masks was a non-issue and most seemed to comply.

This was our 31st on Carnival and we were neighbors (Lido deck cabin also!)

Yes they did hand out paper menus in MDR if requested. The doors to the cabins were closed upon boarding but all you have to do is open them and take your stuff to your room and drop it off.

[ninjacat123]

7 minutes ago, Frank12 said:

This was our 31st on Carnival and we were neighbors (Lido deck cabin also!)

Yes they did hand out paper menus in MDR if requested. The doors to the cabins were closed upon boarding but all you have to do is open them and take your stuff to your room and drop it off.

Good to know about the availability of dropping off bags.😎