Carnival Magic Review
Rating by category
Additional details
We were on the 11/4/2012 sailing of Carnival Magic to Montego Bay / Georgetown / Cozumel. This was our 11th Carnival cruise (2nd time on Magic) and our 28th cruise overall.
Embarkation - There as a "Biker Weekend" going on in town the day of embarkation, so earlier in the week we received an e-mail from Carnival to arrive early. When we arrived at 11:00 traffic was a non-issue (we stayed on Harborside Drive). In fact, after we dropped off the baggage and parked the car, we checked out some of the vendor displays associated with the event. This proved to be a bit of a mistake as by the time we finished (12:30) there was quite a queue to embark. I didn't think too much about it as we are now Platinum, but to get to the "VIP" embarkation line you first had to wait in line with everyone else. This is something that Carnival could improve. In any case, once we did get into the VIP line, going thru security, getting the sign and sail card and boarding took just 10 minutes. By this time it was 13:00, so we were able to drop off our personal belongings in the room and go to a delicious lunch at the Cucina del Capitano. Muster drill on Magic is nice in that we assembled in the theater rather than out on the lifeboat deck. It was much more comfortable / relaxing. One thing that surprised us in a positive way on the sail out were the number of dolphins in the harbor. They were everywhere! Who would think that the turgid waters of Galveston Bay would be teeming with dolphins.
Dining - The food was generally good. We had made to order omelets each morning that were great. Carnival has added a George Lopez branded comedy brunch on sea days. One of the 2 comics on board would give a 15 minute set at the top of the hour. This was a nice, pleasant surprise. One night we paid the $12/person for dinner at the Cucina del Capitano. The food was OK, but IMHO not worth the premium over the regular dining room. One gripe is with the 'anytime' dining. My wife and I are pretty introverted, and we like dining alone. However, in the dining room the "tables for 2" are adjacent to the next couple's table. Didn't like the arrangement at all. We didn't try the steakhouse this time as we tried it last year and were disappointed with it (especially at the $35/person price point).