Carnival Magic Problems?

[jljlinda]

Why did the Carnival Magic return to Port Canaveral this evening soon after departure?

[young_k92]

I know nothing official. Not like anybody actually would because the truth will be scrubbed by Carnival anyway. But we were on the Magic in late January-early February. It was obvious to anyone who'd ever been on another ship that something was wrong, either with stabilization or propulsion, or possibly both. We attempted to dock at Amber Cove. Several passengers reported mud being thrown as the ship attempted to dock. Then the ship abruptly left port. It was announced that the seas were too rough to dock. Even though another Carnival ship had docked less than an hour before. This was after leaving PC 5 hours late and having as rough a night as we've ever experienced, and we've been onboard a cruise ship at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay during a n'oreaster, so we know what rough seas are. We were not in rough seas. The sounds coming from the ship were being talked about by seasoned and honest cruisers (not the "cheerleaders," you know what I mean) during the entire cruise. We were scheduled for a B2B and were so disturbed by the ship that we elected to lose over $400 just to get off once we got back to PC. I would not get back on the Magic for a free cruise plus a $1000. I'm not sure I'd do it for any amount of money. Something is seriously wrong with that ship.

[StephPS79]

Most of the info I have seen says medical emergency... And that it's since left again...

Edited March 6, 2023 by StephPS79

[pe4all]

8 hours ago, young_k92 said:

I know nothing official. Not like anybody actually would because the truth will be scrubbed by Carnival anyway. But we were on the Magic in late January-early February. It was obvious to anyone who'd ever been on another ship that something was wrong, either with stabilization or propulsion, or possibly both. We attempted to dock at Amber Cove. Several passengers reported mud being thrown as the ship attempted to dock. Then the ship abruptly left port. It was announced that the seas were too rough to dock. Even though another Carnival ship had docked less than an hour before.

We were on CCL Spirit, and watched your ship try to dock,  sail out, hang out and then leave.    After we docked (with no problem) the wind definitely picked up.  They had even closed the zip line on AC for a bit due to the wind.  Our CD said that since the Magic was larger and as the wind had increased they couldn't take the risk of docking safely, and that there were currents  in the water we couldn't see.   We were on Magic in June and had no issues, but things can pop up at any time.  Going on her again in January, and hope there are no issues! BTW - for the first 3 days our Spirit cruise was one of the windiest we had ever been on after 30 CCL cruises.  It was even hard walking on the deck at times.

[mz-s]

1 hour ago, pe4all said:

We were on CCL Spirit, and watched your ship try to dock,  sail out, hang out and then leave.    After we docked (with no problem) the wind definitely picked up.  They had even closed the zip line on AC for a bit due to the wind.  Our CD said that since the Magic was larger and as the wind had increased they couldn't take the risk of docking safely, and that there were currents  in the water we couldn't see.   We were on Magic in June and had no issues, but things can pop up at any time.  Going on her again in January, and hope there are no issues! BTW - for the first 3 days our Spirit cruise was one of the windiest we had ever been on after 30 CCL cruises.  It was even hard walking on the deck at times.

 

Indeed, weather changes frequently. And the bigger the ship the more it is affected by the winds. Carnival makes a lot of money off shore excursions so it is absolutely in their best interest to make every port of call, 100% of the time.

[ninjacat123]

We were on Magic Jan 14-22 and didn't experience any issues with the ship although our excursion (2 stop catamaran snorkeling) in Amber Cove was cancelled due to strong currents.  We were able to dock at every port (St Thomas, St Maarten, San Juan and AC).

[chengkp75]

13 hours ago, young_k92 said:

This was after leaving PC 5 hours late and having as rough a night as we've ever experienced, and we've been onboard a cruise ship at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay during a n'oreaster, so we know what rough seas are.

So, you think that stabilizers were to blame for this?  You do know that stabilizers do not stop rolling, nor even reduce the amount of rolling much, they merely slow the rolling motion down to a more comfortable level.  And, what were the relative weather conditions in your two case points, including sea direction and wind direction relative to ship's course, along with current direction and strength, and water depth?

 

13 hours ago, young_k92 said:

Several passengers reported mud being thrown as the ship attempted to dock.

This is not uncommon when propellers or thrusters are being used in the shallow waters at docking, especially when they are being used hard to counter the environmental factors of currents and wind.

 

13 hours ago, young_k92 said:

It was announced that the seas were too rough to dock. Even though another Carnival ship had docked less than an hour before.

What were the environmental differences between the previous ship's docking and yours?  Was the other ship on the other side of the dock from the Magic?  Which direction was the wind, relative to the direction of the dock?  This makes a huge difference in how the ship handles, whether the ship is being pushed away from the dock by the wind, or being pushed into the dock.  Was the Magic on the "inside" of the "L" of the dock, or outside?  All of these factors play far more into whether the ship could dock, than a propulsion problem.

 

13 hours ago, young_k92 said:

The sounds coming from the ship were being talked about by seasoned and honest cruisers (not the "cheerleaders," you know what I mean) during the entire cruise.

Did any of these "seasoned cruisers" have any maritime background?  Otherwise, I'd discount whatever they said about "sounds" as worthless.

 

Sorry, I don't have a dog in the fight, as I've never sailed on Carnival, but none of your claims make much sense from a "mechanical issue" standpoint, and sound far more like what Carnival said, it was weather.

[ozzie0075]

14 hours ago, young_k92 said:

I know nothing official. Not like anybody actually would because the truth will be scrubbed by Carnival anyway. But we were on the Magic in late January-early February. It was obvious to anyone who'd ever been on another ship that something was wrong, either with stabilization or propulsion, or possibly both. We attempted to dock at Amber Cove. Several passengers reported mud being thrown as the ship attempted to dock. Then the ship abruptly left port. It was announced that the seas were too rough to dock. Even though another Carnival ship had docked less than an hour before. This was after leaving PC 5 hours late and having as rough a night as we've ever experienced, and we've been onboard a cruise ship at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay during a n'oreaster, so we know what rough seas are. We were not in rough seas. The sounds coming from the ship were being talked about by seasoned and honest cruisers (not the "cheerleaders," you know what I mean) during the entire cruise. We were scheduled for a B2B and were so disturbed by the ship that we elected to lose over $400 just to get off once we got back to PC. I would not get back on the Magic for a free cruise plus a $1000. I'm not sure I'd do it for any amount of money. Something is seriously wrong with that ship.

 

We just got off the Magic 2 weeks ago and didn't have any issues. 

[simkoreb]

Just off the Magic last week and we had no ship issues.  It was a great cruise!!!

[ChuckF]

Great to hear.  Getting on Magic in April. 

[groundloop]

15 hours ago, young_k92 said:

....We attempted to dock at Amber Cove. Several passengers reported mud being thrown as the ship attempted to dock......

 

I have to assume they're talking about the bottom getting stirred up by thrusters.  This happens virtually every time the ship docks or leaves a docking, totally normal.

 

Also, one of the best cruises we've had recently was on Magic this past Christmas.  

 

 

Edited March 6, 2023 by groundloop

[pe4all]

4 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

What were the environmental differences between the previous ship's docking and yours?  Was the other ship on the other side of the dock from the Magic?  Which direction was the wind, relative to the direction of the dock?  This makes a huge difference in how the ship handles, whether the ship is being pushed away from the dock by the wind, or being pushed into the dock.  Was the Magic on the "inside" of the "L" of the dock, or outside?  All of these factors play far more into whether the ship could dock, than a propulsion problem.

 

 

As I stated above - we watched the Magic try to dock, then sail away.  We (Spirit) was on the "outside" part of the dock, and Magic would have been on the inside L part - closer to the port.  Many people on Spirit watched Magic trying to dock, as they closed the pier down from passengers debarking for safety, as they always do when a ship is trying to dock.  Wind was quite strong.  I know it was disappointing to those on Magic, and the captain definitely tried,  but safety first in all situations.  

[Stick93]

Maybe its time for Carnival to take better care of their money makers - 

[Mr305]

We sailed Magic on 2019, New Years cruise.  She was a rust bucked at the time, long overdue for a dry dock.  Room rug was heavily stained and some of the drawers were broken.  However, we had an amazing time and the crew was fantastic.  To date, we still talk about how much fun it was.  Shortly after, COVID changed the world.

Edited March 7, 2023 by Mr305

[hard_eight]

2 hours ago, Stick93 said:

Maybe its time for Carnival to take better care of their money makers - 

The bars and casino?

[Stick93]

1 hour ago, hard_eight said:

The bars and casino?

Maybe - but I was thinking the ships themselves which are literally withering away.