Carnival Magic Review
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My wife and I got back a little more than a week ago from our trip on The Magic. After reading other reviews, I have to wonder if we were on the same ship. If you are a pissy person in everyday life, no cruise line is going to change that. Magic is in the eye of the beholder sometimes, so here's my view with some helpful tips.
As we live really close to Galveston, it was our best choice. We hitched a ride and were dropped off at the pier at about 11:30. By 12:30, we were on board, heading for lunch. Tip #1; eat lunch in the Italian restaurant, as it is free for lunch. The Chicken Alfredo was probably the best I've ever had! Our room was ready by 1:00, so we dropped off our carry on and went for the drink of the day (loved it!). Tip #2, they will refill it for a cheaper price, so keep the glass! Our room steward was really good (he goes by Sue). The fridge didn't cool very well, so he got us a bucket of ice to put our soda in. Based on the delamination of the counter top in the area, it appears to be a problem for others as well. Tip #3, the room was the standard size, but the cove balcony was larger than the standard balcony (cheaper rate too). We didn't care for having to keep a room key in a slot by the door to keep the lights on. Turns out (tip #4) that you can put a playing card or business card in the slot to do the same job. The galley was above, so we heard noise sometimes during the day, but never at night. No neighbors to one side, so again, very quiet.
After we set sail, we explored the ship. Overall, we loved the ship and the decor. The decor on The Legend really wore on me. While it was a big ship, it never seemed any more crowded than any of our other cruises, even in the buffet area! Even in rough seas, the ship didn't move that much. We really like that most of the kids' indoor stuff was on deck four, while the bars/clubs were on deck 5. We didn't like walking through the smoky casino to get from one end of the ship to the other though. As with other Carnival ships, it is sometime easier to get from one end of the ship to the other by going through a floor with all cabins. We also learned that during busy times, it is sometime easier to just get the first available elevator, no matter what direction it is going. The flow of traffic seamed really good, except when they had a good sale in the gift shop area. They should consider doing the special sales in a lounge, as it clogged the walkway. Water slides were very fun, rope course was also fun. Miniature golf requires some co-ordination, as one of the holes covers two floors and the kids behind us didn't have comprehension skills that they should wait for someone else to finish below before they start.
Cabin Review
Cove Balcony
Our cove balcony was fantastic! Being low and at the center of the ship, we had very little movement. While it was a standard size room, the balcony was bigger than the standard balcony, and we were able to use it as a foot rest. I was concerned that the hull would block the view, but the standard balcony has tinted glass, so it wasn't much different. Better price too! We were under the galley and next to where the luggage carts get stored, so it was very quite. There were only two small drawbacks. One, the fridge didn't work good at all. Our room steward brought in a bucket of ice and a towel to put it on. The counter in that area was delaminating, so I'm assuming we were not the only one who felt that way. Second, we didn't like that we were suppose to keep a room key in a slot next to the door. I don't like coming back to the room at night and finding a dark room. We found out though, that you can put a playing card, business card, or any other card in the slot to do the same thing. In other words, we got by pretty good.