Carnival Magic recent reviews

[umpisoccer]

Has anyone sailed on the Carnival Magic out of New York recently?  Any thoughts or  reviews of embarkation, entertainment,  shows, comedy, capacity, etc. would be greatly appreciated.   We sail Aug 3rd on the Magic for our 29th anniversary. 

[ChuckF]

There is another thread. "Carnival Magic -- Few Questions".  You might want to check that out.

[biggieboy]

I was on the 6/20 Magic sailing out of NY. Embarkation was awful but I learned some tips and tricks from other guests to avoid it. Try to get the earliest embarkation time. If you don't, the wait gets longer. We waited 2 hours from arrival to walking on the ship with a 12:30 embarkation time. Other people told me the waited only 30 minutes arriving as early as possible.

Capacity was high. The number we were given was 4500 people (not sure if this is just guests or guests plus employees). There were a lot of kids so I wouldn't be surprised if we were over the standard capacity. We were never able to find an open seat on the pool deck, and there was no enforcement against people hoarding chairs with towels without showing up. We had trouble disembarking, tendering, and getting luggage tags due to the high capacity.

 

The entertainment was wonderful. We had the late dinner and usually go to bed early so we missed a lot of the stage and comedy shows but what I heard was hit or miss. We did go to one comedy show and we somewhat liked it but it was too PG for our tastes but we don't knock the comedian for this as it was a PG show. We enjoyed all live bands, orchestras, and musicians we heard around the ship. If you like entertainment I would not recommend choosing the late dinner as it often conflicts with many events (unlike the early dinner).

Edited July 2, 2022 by biggieboy
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[AnitaVacation]

I was on the 6/16 sailing, first sailing out of NYC.  It was a total sh*tshow from the moment we showed up.  Parked my car up above, took the escalator down to the terminal.  I am platinum, so I asked for the priority line.  I was rudely told 'no priority, everyone has to go outside and come back in' ... the terminal was super crowded, unorganized, no one knew anything... we had an 11-1130 check in time and we arrived right at 1130.  We went outside as instructed and the line was almost all the way to the next pier... there was no one there to instruct us... there was no way I was going to walk all the way to the end of that line without talking to someone.  We went back inside and I found someone to show my papers to (regarding check in time) by now it was 1145.  She put us through and things moved quickly after that, we were onboard probably in about 20 minutes.  That was the first red flag... if I could, I would go back in time and cancel that cruise.... it was a free casino comp and it wasn't worth the money we paid (port fees & taxes)... even with the free drinks.  The cabin was a deck 2 oceanview (2464, aft corner, large)..never again will I stay on a lower deck...everyone assured it that decks 1 & 2 were great, very little movement, very nice....(they lied)... lots of complaints about the smell on decks 1&2 (garbage? sewer?)...anyway, it was a rough ride (I swear the thruster was directly under my bed).  The ship was definitely overcrowed and understaffed...Carnival did not promote any kind of social distancing...our dinner table was 3 inches from the next (pretty much group dinning) the food was okay, but not outstanding... one afternoon, we waited in line at Mongolian Wok for 45 minutes...the wait was horrible and the food, again...just okay.  This was a short 4 day run to Bermuda...so only 2 shows...the first was Flick... it was okay, reminiscent of the usual Carnival song and dance...the second was America Rocks and that was pretty awesome for those of us that loved the concerts of the 80's.... The serenity deck was closed most of the time, the location of it is terrible, top deck/front of ship... it was way too windy, so closed... there was not a single lounger available around the pool (that's ok, it's not my thing)...but we did discover, on deck 5... there is a promenade all around with loungers, tables, chairs and 4 hot tubs and most of time was really nice and quiet!!  Anyway, my cabin mate ended up getting Covid.  My husband and I had gotten Covid on our May cruise.  I will say this... the line at guest services was a mile long everyday... lots of problems apparently. 

[AnitaVacation]

Also, and unfortunately... the friend I brought with me on this sailing...this was her first (and I'm pretty sure last) cruise with Carnival.  She is an avid cruiser with ncl and was curious about Carnival.  

[jerseyjjs]

1 hour ago, AnitaVacation said:

Also, and unfortunately... the friend I brought with me on this sailing...this was her first (and I'm pretty sure last) cruise with Carnival.  She is an avid cruiser with ncl and was curious about Carnival.  

 

 

I was booked for this cruise, but I rebooked for Sept. once I received the email for the $40 shakedown "Application" for Bermuda and all the hoops I'd have to dance through for a 7.5 hour stop.  I was a member of the FB group and there was a lot of unhappy posts over those 4 days.   Thank God I didn't move it to the next sailing.  

[Yankeegirl49]

I was on the 6/20 sailing out of NYC and had a fantastic cruise. The only issues I had were in regards to fellow passengers who were very rude (blasting loud music on the lido from a huge personal speaker, talking during the comedy shows, cutting lines etc). I had zero issues with Carnival or how they handled anything. 
I had 10:30 check in so the line wasnt very long, though it took some time for my friends who had a later time. The ship was definitely full and we felt it, but we were on vacation and were in no rush to do anything so we went with the flow. There were always spots to find where you could get away from the crowds. 
Only went to 1 of the shows, the rock show on the last night and we enjoyed it. Went to a few of the comedy shows and other than people talking loudly behind us and getting an attitude when told to speak lower (security was told and they came and took care of it), the shows were great, the comedians were very funny. 
The food was what I expected, this was my first cruise in 10 years and I was aware that the quality and selection had gone downhill..and they did, but the food overall was still good. Loved Blue Iguana, that way my favorite thing on the ship. 
Staff were fantastic, from room steward to dining room staff to bar tenders and servers..all were wonderful and worked their butts off. 
Iy was the first cruise for one of the people I was with and he loved it and cannot wait for the next, so even though he had nothing to compare it to, Carnival is still doing something right.

[ChuckF]

Need to understand that embarkation/debarkation employees working in any cruise terminal are NOT employees of the cruise line, but rather employees of a contractor hired by the cruise line. While the cruise line provides the IT tools and processes, it is the contractor's responsibility to hire, train, and supervise those folks. Not surprised that the first sailing out of a new port city with quite likely some new staff would be a bit rocky. 

[biggieboy]

8 hours ago, ChuckF said:

Need to understand that embarkation/debarkation employees working in any cruise terminal are NOT employees of the cruise line, but rather employees of a contractor hired by the cruise line. While the cruise line provides the IT tools and processes, it is the contractor's responsibility to hire, train, and supervise those folks. Not surprised that the first sailing out of a new port city with quite likely some new staff would be a bit rocky. 

The biggest problem with this was that no one was enforcing rules for embarkation time windows. Plus I witnessed multiple parties cut the line particularly on the outside line down two terminals.

[beanie315]

We were also on the 6/16 sailing out of NY . It was not my favorite cruise on Magic ( 4th since Sept. ) but it wasn't all bad , we had a good time . Ours was also a free casino cruise ( free spa balcony , freeplay , drinks , etc ) .  I guess because we had an earlier check in ( 10:30 ) we did not have the embarkation issues , We were onboard by 11:50 , not bad considering they didn't open the security line until 11 .  The ship was crowded but I never really waited in line except for the last sea day at guest services , when we switched my wife back to my room , her credit card on file ( mine ) somehow got deleted so I had to fix that. Other than that , food was good , service was great  , comedy show one comedian was fantastic , the other was so-so . I personally would not do a 3-4 day cruise again. 

[MsTabbyKats]

On 7/3/2022 at 7:52 AM, AnitaVacation said:

Also, and unfortunately... the friend I brought with me on this sailing...this was her first (and I'm pretty sure last) cruise with Carnival.  She is an avid cruiser with ncl and was curious about Carnival.  

I've gone on 3 post-pandemic NCL cruises out of the Manhattan cruise terminal.  The first 2 were to the Bahamas and embarkation was a breeze.  Number 3 was to Bermuda and embarkation was a long and tedious process,  I'd say the issue was "the destination" and not the ship or cruise line.  There was that "extra step" that slowed the line down.

I'm hoping my 7day Magic to Canada in Sept won't have children or college aged people.....hopefully it will a ship full of seniors.

[shof515]

4 hours ago, MsTabbyKats said:

I'm hoping my 7day Magic to Canada in Sept won't have children or college aged people.....hopefully it will a ship full of seniors.

for canada, make sure you do the arrivecan. it is required for the new england cruises

[MsTabbyKats]

52 minutes ago, shof515 said:

for canada, make sure you do the arrivecan. it is required for the new england cruises

I downloaded it when I was afraid my 6/5 NCL cruise to Bermuda was going to be diverted north (there was a storm).

[ladychater]

12 hours ago, MsTabbyKats said:

 

I'm hoping my 7day Magic to Canada in Sept won't have children or college aged people.....hopefully it will a ship full of seniors.

I've done that itinerary twice, and, yes, it's all seniors and tame 40+ folks.  Lovely crowd.  The ports are a bit boring, but I had a fun time on both cruises.

[Bernardo62]

On 7/4/2022 at 11:01 PM, ladychater said:

I've done that itinerary twice, and, yes, it's all seniors and tame 40+ folks.  Lovely crowd.  The ports are a bit boring, but I had a fun time on both cruises.

I'm hoping my 7day Magic to Canada in Sept won't have children or college aged people.....hopefully it will a ship full of seniors.

 

Carnival is called the "FUNSHIP"!!!

You are looking for the 55+ ship!!

[DandMinNC]

On 7/11/2022 at 12:14 PM, Bernardo62 said:

Carnival is called the "FUNSHIP"!!!

You are looking for the 55+ ship!!

 

Oh young grasshopper, apparently you're not hanging around the right 55+ crowd! 😂 We definitely still know how to have FUN! 💃🥳

[MsTabbyKats]

On 7/11/2022 at 12:14 PM, Bernardo62 said:

 

 

Carnival is called the "FUNSHIP"!!!

You are looking for the 55+ ship!!

I guess you've never done the "fall to Canada" thing.  I've done it about 10 times and fit right in.  I'm 73. 

 

[pe4all]

Happy Anniversary! My family was on the 6/28-7/6 cruise.    Had 10 am checkin - used verifly - easy - through in less than 5 minutes.  Were onboard by 11:15 - dropped our backpacks in cabin and went off to explore ship as dh had never been on her.  Observations - crew was fantastic, ship was clean, though many hand sanitizer stations were empty during the cruise.  Passengers were terrible - yelling in hallways 2-3 am, kids running wild, etc.  Food was CCL food - no better or worse than ever.  Our your time dining waitstaff was fantastic - ended up asking for their table each evening. (table 102 in Northern Lights - ChiChi, Jovan).  Guest Services was overwhelmed whenever we walked past - always a very long line.  Same for Mongolian Wok and Guys Burgers.  Had no glitches on the cruise except for rude hall-mates. Saw 2 shows, 2 comedy shows.  Be aware - very few masks were worn by passengers, and many in our Facebook group came home with an extra souvenir - covid.

[DMac1983]

Got off the Magic two days ago on Thursday. Wok and Pizza typically had longer waits. Even if the Burger line was to the elevators the wait is about 4 1/2 minutes, no issue. You can catch pizza right for no line. If you go to BBQ at noon when it opens, there is a line. If you go at 12:07… no line. Staff are great.

 

Issues would be with other passengers. My solution: don’t interact with other passengers. I’m not rude or antisocial, but generally I don’t interact with other passengers for a long period of time. Yes, there are chair reservers. Yes, line cutters. Yes, it was a disaster to get tender tickets but most of this is caused by other people’s decisions to be asshats. Ryan Rose, the cruise Director, got on the PA a bunch reminding people to be good people. It didn’t work, but hey, he was trying. He’s a great CD and great for the company. He’s got a vision for progression in the future, I hope they let me give it a shot.

 

If you went solely on the cruise FB group you would think it was the worst cruise ever. Mine was quite the opposite. No true complaints. Yes, there were asshats. I just didn’t interact with said asshats or let them ruin my day if something went slightly off because of said asshattedness. 

[Bernardo62]

On 7/15/2022 at 7:49 PM, MsTabbyKats said:

I guess you've never done the "fall to Canada" thing.  I've done it about 10 times and fit right in.  I'm 73. 

 

NAW..... Canada does not impress me! Do you honey, I will stick to the beaches and going south!!

[Bernardo62]

On 7/15/2022 at 3:58 PM, DandMinNC said:

 

Oh young grasshopper, apparently you're not hanging around the right 55+ crowd! 😂 We definitely still know how to have FUN! 💃🥳

Hey I'm 60 and not over the hill...... Have the best time ever on a CARNIVAL CRUISE!!

[DONIC]

On 7/4/2022 at 9:20 AM, MsTabbyKats said:

I've gone on 3 post-pandemic NCL cruises out of the Manhattan cruise terminal.  The first 2 were to the Bahamas and embarkation was a breeze.  Number 3 was to Bermuda and embarkation was a long and tedious process,  I'd say the issue was "the destination" and not the ship or cruise line.  There was that "extra step" that slowed the line down.

I'm hoping my 7day Magic to Canada in Sept won't have children or college aged people.....hopefully it will a ship full of seniors.

We are two seniors on the 9/17 cruise

[Bookbug53]

On 7/3/2022 at 7:48 AM, AnitaVacation said:

I was on the 6/16 sailing, first sailing out of NYC.  It was a total sh*tshow from the moment we showed up.  Parked my car up above, took the escalator down to the terminal.  I am platinum, so I asked for the priority line.  I was rudely told 'no priority, everyone has to go outside and come back in' ... the terminal was super crowded, unorganized, no one knew anything... we had an 11-1130 check in time and we arrived right at 1130.  We went outside as instructed and the line was almost all the way to the next pier... there was no one there to instruct us... there was no way I was going to walk all the way to the end of that line without talking to someone.  We went back inside and I found someone to show my papers to (regarding check in time) by now it was 1145.  She put us through and things moved quickly after that, we were onboard probably in about 20 minutes.  That was the first red flag... if I could, I would go back in time and cancel that cruise.... it was a free casino comp and it wasn't worth the money we paid (port fees & taxes)... even with the free drinks.  The cabin was a deck 2 oceanview (2464, aft corner, large)..never again will I stay on a lower deck...everyone assured it that decks 1 & 2 were great, very little movement, very nice....(they lied)... lots of complaints about the smell on decks 1&2 (garbage? sewer?)...anyway, it was a rough ride (I swear the thruster was directly under my bed).  The ship was definitely overcrowed and understaffed...Carnival did not promote any kind of social distancing...our dinner table was 3 inches from the next (pretty much group dinning) the food was okay, but not outstanding... one afternoon, we waited in line at Mongolian Wok for 45 minutes...the wait was horrible and the food, again...just okay.  This was a short 4 day run to Bermuda...so only 2 shows...the first was Flick... it was okay, reminiscent of the usual Carnival song and dance...the second was America Rocks and that was pretty awesome for those of us that loved the concerts of the 80's.... The serenity deck was closed most of the time, the location of it is terrible, top deck/front of ship... it was way too windy, so closed... there was not a single lounger available around the pool (that's ok, it's not my thing)...but we did discover, on deck 5... there is a promenade all around with loungers, tables, chairs and 4 hot tubs and most of time was really nice and quiet!!  Anyway, my cabin mate ended up getting Covid.  My husband and I had gotten Covid on our May cruise.  I will say this... the line at guest services was a mile long everyday... lots of problems apparently. 

They have not had priority boarding for platinum or diamond since the shut down.

[polarman]

On 7/31/2022 at 6:07 PM, DONIC said:

We are two seniors on the 9/17 cruise

us too!!!! celebrating our 42nd anniversary and watching our son perform!!

 

[matymil]

On 7/16/2022 at 1:11 PM, DMac1983 said:

Got off the Magic two days ago on Thursday. Wok and Pizza typically had longer waits. Even if the Burger line was to the elevators the wait is about 4 1/2 minutes, no issue. You can catch pizza right for no line. If you go to BBQ at noon when it opens, there is a line. If you go at 12:07… no line. Staff are great.

 

Issues would be with other passengers. My solution: don’t interact with other passengers. I’m not rude or antisocial, but generally I don’t interact with other passengers for a long period of time. Yes, there are chair reservers. Yes, line cutters. Yes, it was a disaster to get tender tickets but most of this is caused by other people’s decisions to be asshats. Ryan Rose, the cruise Director, got on the PA a bunch reminding people to be good people. It didn’t work, but hey, he was trying. He’s a great CD and great for the company. He’s got a vision for progression in the future, I hope they let me give it a shot.

 

If you went solely on the cruise FB group you would think it was the worst cruise ever. Mine was quite the opposite. No true complaints. Yes, there were asshats. I just didn’t interact with said asshats or let them ruin my day if something went slightly off because of said asshattedness. 

Love that asshat is allowed in here lol. I agree with everything you wrote in here. I was on the cruise after you. The teens/pre-teens were like nothing ive seen before. Im not gonna get into it again but it was basically Hunger Games at Sea. This is my 3rd time out of NYC, not saying i wouldnt do it again but never in the summer when school is off thats for sure. Also really liked Ryan alot