Anyone on the Magica Dec. 17-23?

[Hoosiergirls]

Four friends and myself are sailing on the Magica Dec. 17-23 and wondered who else would be sailing? I was on the Magica in March and it is a great ship. The crew and cabin were both wonderful. Can't wait until Dec. for this next trip.

[dromMOM]

We are just doing our research for this cruise as a possibility. Did you see many teens? I have a teenage son.. he is concerned about this ship.. for him.. he has been on carnival.. before.

[Hoosiergirls]

When we sailed in March it was Spring Break so to answer your question, yes there was a lot of teens. I am also thinking that since Costa is still running their kids said free promotion that there will also be a lot of kids in December.

[dromMOM]

When we sailed in March it was Spring Break so to answer your question, yes there was a lot of teens. I am also thinking that since Costa is still running their kids said free promotion that there will also be a lot of kids in December.

Thanks.. now we are again looking at a repeat trip on the Carnival Liberty. They had a great teen progam and a separate teen disco....

 

Big decisions..

[joetrizeo]

how old is your teen son drommom?

[dromMOM]

how old is your teen son drommom?

He will be almost 17 by Dec.

 

Really leaning toward the Liberty. I can get a triple balconey cat E on the Panorama deck for 1860!

[joetrizeo]

elena, i think your son will have a great time, 16-17 is an iffy age for a cruise though. magica has events for teens 13-17 but from the other 17 year olds, they felt too old for the events planned and instead set out to find other friends of their own and have their own fun. so if your son is a mature 17 year old who is outgoing and likes to have fun, he might be better of finding friend of his own. on the other hand if he's kinda shy and doesnt like to venture off on his own, he might fit in with the teen activities.

the teen activities are at varying times throughout the day but mainly from 10-11:30 in the disco. about 11:30-12 the adults come in the disco. the kids are not kicked out like on carnival which i totally love because i was young once and that would have sucked. besides i had fun dancin with my new friends who aged 17-20 and up till 2am.

but no there is no seperate disco on the magica. there are about 4 other adult dancing places but the disco was the only place you found youngsters.

 

as for other teens i cruised the week before springbreak and saw a good amount. now if you cruise dec 17-23 i'd say its a fair bet that there will be a good amount of teens on any cruise ship you choose, even magica :)

 

let us know your decision!

 

-Jim

[dromMOM]

elena, i think your son will have a great time, 16-17 is an iffy age for a cruise though. magica has events for teens 13-17 but from the other 17 year olds, they felt too old for the events planned and instead set out to find other friends of their own and have their own fun. so if your son is a mature 17 year old who is outgoing and likes to have fun, he might be better of finding friend of his own. on the other hand if he's kinda shy and doesnt like to venture off on his own, he might fit in with the teen activities.

the teen activities are at varying times throughout the day but mainly from 10-11:30 in the disco. about 11:30-12 the adults come in the disco. the kids are not kicked out like on carnival which i totally love because i was young once and that would have sucked. besides i had fun dancin with my new friends who aged 17-20 and up till 2am.

but no there is no seperate disco on the magica. there are about 4 other adult dancing places but the disco was the only place you found youngsters.

 

as for other teens i cruised the week before springbreak and saw a good amount. now if you cruise dec 17-23 i'd say its a fair bet that there will be a good amount of teens on any cruise ship you choose, even magica :)

 

let us know your decision!

 

-Jim

Jim, The newer Carnival Valor and Liberty has a separate Teen disco. They dont have to share the disco with the Adults. There are more activities for teens they have things scheduled all day and night. That is why we stick with the newer ships that have the better facilities. The teens also tended to hang out in front of the teen disco. This was a great cruising location.

 

My Carnival Guy is very agressive. He just called to check in. He is working on sweeting the deal.. so tempting...

[joetrizeo]

wow thats interesting considering the valor and liberty are the same age as magica and they all are sister ships.

 

where is the 'teen' disco located and where is the 'adult' disco located on the carnival ships?

[dromMOM]

wow thats interesting considering the valor and liberty are the same age as magica and they all are sister ships.

 

where is the 'teen' disco located and where is the 'adult' disco located on the carnival ships?

It is located pretty much next to the adult disco.

[joetrizeo]

so basically right below the casino right?

[dromMOM]

so basically right below the casino right?

well if i recall there was the sushi or coffe bar between them i think..

[clb4894]

I too am deciding between the liberty and magica for that week. We have a slightly different situation though, my boyfriend and I will be going for a little vacation. No kids, just dogs :)

 

Anyways, I posted a thread about it, but if you guys can help me make a decision that would be great. We are relatively go with the flow kind of people, so we just want to get the best cruise for the money

[joetrizeo]

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[BambiRumsey]

Me (36), Him (44) and Her (7) are also looking at this cruise. It is too cheap not to, also very interested in visiting Roatan for the first time. The Liberty is on our list too but honestly the Magica balcony guarantee is the same price as an outside cabin on the Liberty sooooo......

 

Wondering about a few things - demographic of cruisers this time of year? Mostly older guests because not everyone is horrible parents like us and pulling thier children out of school? We went on HAL and while everyone was quite nice, most were older than my grandparents. We like cruising with people like us, youngish-middle aged. Not so concerned that there be a lot of kids for Hannah - her favorite cruise ever only had 17 kids on it TOTAL and she got LOTS of attention from the staff. Not concerned about folks from other countries cause it's always fun to meet new people but since my French is beyond rusty, I hope at least a few speak English.

 

Food - I am more of a foodie than my husband and having a best friend who's dad is fresh of the boat from Sicily, I love true Italian cuisine. Can a man get your basic man foods too? I assume some form of dead cow is served everynight....what about breakfast and lunch and the buffets? Also, the cannoli - are they soggy or do they get stuffed right before serving - nothing pisses me off more than a soggy cannoli that has been sitting filled all day long.

 

Cabin - I figure this looks very similar to the balcony cabin we had on the Miracle so no problems there but I have read some not great things about the mattress? Have they changed over to the Carnival bedding (fingers crossed)?

 

Activities - someone mentioned something about arts and crafts in their review I think. Is this true, it sounds like fun! Hubby and I are not the sort to dance the night away but we like good shows and maybe a funny comedian. I sailed Costa when I was 25 and loads of fun on Toga night - do they still do this?

 

Smoking - My understanding is that it is not much of a problem on the caribbean sailings - true or false?

[BambiRumsey]

We booked this cruise yesterday! YEAH - so excited to have my next one planned!

[BambiRumsey]

anyone else books this cruise yet? it's super cheap....still lets you be home and do the family thing for the holidays......

 

we got a balcony cabin on deck 7, come join us!

[dromMOM]

We are still deciding.. My Carnival rep just quoted me $1700 for a top notch balcony.. this is for a triple balcony.. on C or better deck!

[BambiRumsey]

Hi Elena,

 

Which Carnival ship are you comparing it to? The Liberty was the other choice for us (having a 7 year old, we wanted to be home before Xmas eve).

 

That is about the price we got on Costa ($1600 and change) but I think it has gone up since we booked by about $150.

 

Looks like you have crfuised a lot at that time of year - can you tell me a little bit about the makeup of passengers you have come across o0n any line the week before Christmas?

 

Is your triple a child? How old? Kids club boring because not enough people or too many people and overwhelming?

 

Thanks!

[dromMOM]

Hi Elena,

 

Which Carnival ship are you comparing it to? The Liberty was the other choice for us (having a 7 year old, we wanted to be home before Xmas eve).

 

That is about the price we got on Costa ($1600 and change) but I think it has gone up since we booked by about $150.

 

Looks like you have crfuised a lot at that time of year - can you tell me a little bit about the makeup of passengers you have come across o0n any line the week before Christmas?

 

Is your triple a child? How old? Kids club boring because not enough people or too many people and overwhelming?

 

Thanks!

 

Hi,

The prices I quoted were on the Liberty. We loved that ship last year. My son who is now 16 had a great time in the teen center. This is a great time of year.. LOTS of kids.. we loved the outdoor movie screen on the Liberty. The sister ship Valor did not have this. We took advantage of this every night. It was our time to chill out.. have a snack.. whether it was the midnight buffet, a slice of pizza.. or icecream. We enjoyed the movies etc.

 

Though my son was older we did meet people who had kids in the Camp Carnival program who loved it!! And never wanted to leave. It always depends on the childs personality.. as to how that works..

 

there are lots of schools out this week before christmas so it is a fairly popular time. But half the price of a Xmas cruise so you can't beat it.

 

Though at first we thought of trying another cruiseline like Costa.. etc.. we have been lured back to Carnival because we are comfortable with what they have to offer. No surprises..

 

Have fun I want to hear what you think of Costa..

[BambiRumsey]

Sad and lonely, lonely and sad...where did you go hoosiergirl?

 

is NO ONE sailing on this with us?!??!

[The PTCruisers]

Yipppeee!!!! We are getting ready to book this cruise - we have a 17 year old boy and an 11 year old girl. We are already sailing on 12/23 but I have to check to make sure my son can get off from work - he is a bagger in a grocery - wouldn't want him to lose his first job!!!!

[BambiRumsey]

HI PTCRUISERS!!!

 

Before I get into the cruise chit chat, I have to ask - do you drive one? A PT Cruiser that is? I do. It's purple. Well DH says it is black cherry but really it is purple....

 

Book away dear cruisers...lots of fun to be had this week I am certain of it! If you go to the xmas week sailing thread there is a family of Brits who just booked a back to back on the 17th as well so they will be joining us too.

[The PTCruisers]

I do drive one and guess what it is the purple one also. I have to say black cherry sounds better. What I am really itching for now is the convertible. I LOVE the car!

 

Now, on to the cruise stuff. Have you booked any excursions or do you know what you are doing? I have never been to any of these ports except Key West. Cannot wait! :D

[JoeAndrew]

We just booked the Magica on 12/17 as well!

 

I am curious about some of the excursions (AND some that are not offered by the ship). We've already booked the the "Tulum and Xel-Ha-Lagoon" excursion from the ship in Cozumel which takes all day seeing some of the ruins on the mainland and some swim time as well. Anyone been on the Cave Tubing and Zip-Line tour in Belize? We missed the zip line in hawaii and want to try it on this cruise.