Just back from the Magic... a few thoughts

[Frank12]

1 minute ago, ninjacat123 said:

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

In fact, prior to the cruise a letter was sent out to diamond / platinum that said due to the new protocols your room might not be ready but you are welcome to drop off your things.  Ours was ready and the room key was in the mailbox.  This was around 12:00-12:30.

[ninjacat123]

1 minute ago, Frank12 said:

In fact, prior to the cruise a letter was sent out to diamond / platinum that said due to the new protocols your room might not be ready but you are welcome to drop off your things.  Ours was ready and the room key was in the mailbox.  This was around 12:00-12:30.

We are platinum and that's one of the perks that I was hoping would still be around.  Now I just need to check in tomorrow at midnight and schedule our Covid tests. 👍

[Frank12]

@ninjacat123 Enjoy your cruise!

[CJinFLA00]

We were on same cruise. We also agree with Frank12 assessment. We were really surprised that most passengers adhered to the mask rule. That was nice to see. We spent so much time at Serenity, love that place!! The only complaint i have is the embarkation process. No one comes at the assigned time and Carnival doesn't even check. That terminal was jammed packed with people. The only time I felt unsafe (lol). Great cruise!   

[Frank12]

3 minutes ago, CJinFLA00 said:

We were on same cruise. We also agree with Frank12 assessment. We were really surprised that most passengers adhered to the mask rule. That was nice to see. We spent so much time at Serenity, love that place!! The only complaint i have is the embarkation process. No one comes at the assigned time and Carnival doesn't even check. That terminal was jammed packed with people. The only time I felt unsafe (lol). Great cruise!   

I was shocked by the mask compliance.  Way better than I thought.

I also agree 100% about the embarkation.  It was a complete cluster.  They really need to start turning away those who show up whenever they feel like it!😡

[S&DMOM]

We were on this cruise too and thought the service and the food was EXCELLENT!!  Really the best food we have had in all the cruises we have been on!

[Frank12]

2 minutes ago, S&DMOM said:

We were on this cruise too and thought the service and the food was EXCELLENT!!  Really the best food we have had in all the cruises we have been on!

MDR was spot on! DW and I decided this one was definitely in the top 5 as far as food quality in the MDR.

[ninjacat123]

Anyone have MDR menus from Magic?  TIA!

[Frank12]

4 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

Anyone have MDR menus from Magic?  TIA!

Sorry I do not, but do yourself a favor and do NOT miss the braised short ribs!

[mylittleone2000]

16 hours ago, Frank12 said:

• 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!

I just got back from the same cruise and I couldn't agree more with everything you said. Had a fantastic time! 

[mylittleone2000]

26 minutes ago, Frank12 said:

Sorry I do not, but do yourself a favor and do NOT miss the braised short ribs!

I don't have the menus, but if you follow John Heald on Facebook, he posted the Mardi Gras 7 day dinner menus and it was exactly the same as the first 4 days of those! 

[BoozinCroozin]

2 hours ago, Djptcp said:

. Also loved our balcony cabin on Deck 10 (Lido Deck) and booked another one for the next Magic cruise.

We have a lido balcony in November. Splurged for a 20th anniversary present. We can't wait to go.

 

My only concern from people have said is Carnival still does not do any control of arrival times. With all of the restrictions/mandates, they should be enforcing this very strictly!

[Knights on the Beach]

So good to hear all this great stuff about Magic!  We're Platinum and have a 10:30 - 11:00 arrival time next week with a Lido balcony and I'm glad to hear we can drop off our bags in our cabin when we arrive.  

 

Since it seems they're allowing anyone and everyone to check in when they arrive, are they calling boarding zones?  Another couple (not Platinum) is cruising with us and they have the same arrival time but we have A01 boarding and they have A03. We did the online check in two days before they did, so I was a happily surprised they got the same arrival time - which is great because we figured we'd have to get to the port later since we're Ubering over together.

Edited August 17, 2021 by cruisemom2

[JaniceB]

Thank you for sharing your trip.  

[Frank12]

2 hours ago, cruisemom2 said:

 

Since it seems they're allowing anyone and everyone to check in when they arrive, are they calling boarding zones?  Another couple (not Platinum) is cruising with us and they have the same arrival time but we have A01 boarding and they have A03. 

Yes they were calling boarding zones.  We had check in time of 11:30 and arrived right on time. By the time we made it inside and before we made it through security they had already called our zone. The terminal was slammed and there is no way all of those people in there had between 10:30 and 11:30.

The check-in system could work well if they would just grow a pair and turn the early birds away.

[Green4me]

Great news indeed, thanks All.  We look forward to our 6 night in October.  We sailed the magic back in 2011 Barcelona RT 12 nights.  Awesome ship.     I honestly don't care if we have all sea days🙂

[keels81]

I saw the JJ Cruise video and it annoyed me ... but I will say, on the Magic sailing on 8/7 that if you wanted to be among crowds, you could ... if you didn't there was plenty of relaxing spots to hang out.

 

They were constantly making announcements in the casino, piano bar and theaters about masking and most people were really great about it in large, non-distanced groups.

[Cruise Related]

47 minutes ago, keels81 said:

I saw the JJ Cruise video and it annoyed me ... but I will say, on the Magic sailing on 8/7 that if you wanted to be among crowds, you could ... if you didn't there was plenty of relaxing spots to hang out.

 

They were constantly making announcements in the casino, piano bar and theaters about masking and most people were really great about it in large, non-distanced groups.

Yep. I unsubbed after that. Seemed super melodramatic to me, they were on like 4 cruises since the restart. But I felt the precautions Carnival took even before the mask and the test, were good enough. 

Edited August 17, 2021 by Cruise Related

[keels81]

Just now, Cruise Related said:

Yep. I unsubbed after that. Seemed super melodramatic to me, they were on like 4 cruises since the restart. But I felt the precautions carnivals took even before the mask and the test were good enough. 

 

Yup - I unsubbed too, as well as from a few vloggers in the comments that I previously enjoyed echoing the same sentiment (AK Adventures, etc.) ... they're all chasing the Disney media list at this point and they'll be back on Carnival the minute they get a comp'd cruise or they need the content.

 

I know the Magic isn't a mega-ship like the Mardi Gras or the Horizon, but there were plenty of people on my sailing (about 60-percent capacity). Theaters were full for comedians and shows like Deal or No Deal. Piano Bar still had seating at the bar and was very crowded and boisterous ... but when I didn't feel comfortable, I put my mask on and distanced as best I could or just leave the space and go somewhere else. 

 

The deck parties were too much for me, so I watched from afar. Didn't go to the nightclub. 

 

I truly felt that you had whatever opportunity you wanted to participate in crowded activities or not participate if it wasn't up to your comfort level.

 

PLUS, masks weren't required on the Mardi Gras when they sailed ... so complaining about protocols that have been since put in place was also annoying.

 

Anyway. Loved my experience on the Magic and felt very safe! Also came back and have since twice tested negative!

[Cruise Related]

2 minutes ago, keels81 said:

 

Yup - I unsubbed too, as well as from a few vloggers in the comments that I previously enjoyed echoing the same sentiment (AK Adventures, etc.) ... they're all chasing the Disney media list at this point and they'll be back on Carnival the minute they get a comp'd cruise or they need the content.

 

I know the Magic isn't a mega-ship like the Mardi Gras or the Horizon, but there were plenty of people on my sailing (about 60-percent capacity). Theaters were full for comedians and shows like Deal or No Deal. Piano Bar still had seating at the bar and was very crowded and boisterous ... but when I didn't feel comfortable, I put my mask on and distanced as best I could or just leave the space and go somewhere else. 

 

The deck parties were too much for me, so I watched from afar. Didn't go to the nightclub. 

 

I truly felt that you had whatever opportunity you wanted to participate in crowded activities or not participate if it wasn't up to your comfort level.

 

PLUS, masks weren't required on the Mardi Gras when they sailed ... so complaining about protocols that have been since put in place was also annoying.

 

Anyway. Loved my experience on the Magic and felt very safe! Also came back and have since twice tested negative!

Was on the Horizon July 18th. Been home pretty much a month now, myself nor anyone else in my group for Covid. People are making this out to be much bigger than it is. I rather be on a ship with 95% vaccinated folks than go to my local grocery store. When I’m home, I instacart my groceries. Peeps are nuts! 

[Frank12]

27 minutes ago, Cruise Related said:

Was on the Horizon July 18th. Been home pretty much a month now, myself nor anyone else in my group for Covid. People are making this out to be much bigger than it is. I rather be on a ship with 95% vaccinated folks than go to my local grocery store. When I’m home, I instacart my groceries. Peeps are nuts! 

I agree. I truly believe cruise ships are the safest place in Florida right now!

[pogoism9]

46 minutes ago, Cruise Related said:

Yep. I unsubbed after that. Seemed super melodramatic to me, they were on like 4 cruises since the restart. But I felt the precautions Carnival took even before the mask and the test, were good enough. 

 I was never subbed, but what part of this doesn't scream clickbait?

 

 

I think what pisses me off the most is, the day before, they had posted a video about all the stuff they were doing on Mardi Gras, not a mask in sight. If you felt that "unsafe" would you continue to run around without your mask?

 

 

Edited August 17, 2021 by pogoism9

[BroadwayGirl]

2 minutes ago, pogoism9 said:

 I was never subbed, but what part of this doesn't scream clickbait?

 

Yep and this isn’t the first one. They haven’t been the only ones with clickbait titles like boarding being refused (they had to take a test) and other drama headlines like this is how cruisers are treated, etc. I refuse to subscribe to those channels that do that. 

[pogoism9]

Just now, BroadwayGirl said:

Yep and this isn’t the first one. They haven’t been the only ones with clickbait titles like boarding being refused (they had to take a test) and other drama headlines like this is how cruisers are treated, etc. I refuse to subscribe to those channels that do that. 

 

Give me ParoDeeJay all day long instead of those clowns

[BoozinCroozin]

With all the talk about boarding times not being adhered to at the ports, I reached out to Carnival and they messaged back. They said they have been strictly adhering to arrival windows at the terminals and not allowing people in if it was not their boarding time. I trust y'all who have been through before some canned garbage response like that. 

 

Carnival is forcing this protocols down our throats (I agree with them), they need to be force fed a bit of it as well to strictly enforce their arrival time windows.