Our family of eleven ranging in age from 7 to the 70's cruised on the Carnival Magic in July of 2013. There were six adults and five children in our group and the level of cruising experience ranged from first-timers to long-time cruisers. This was, however, the first time on Carnival for all of us and was chosen to accommodate the children's school schedule.
My strongest opinion is that this ship is WONDERFUL for children. Our's ranged from 7 to 15 and everyone had a great time. The waterpark was a favorite - hard to get the children off the slides. The only "rule" we set prior to the cruise was that everyone had to appear at dinner every night and dinner became the highlight of our day due to staff that served us. They were so good to all of us that we felt like they were part of the family. Kudos to Damir and Dino!!
Additional thanks to Varman, the magician who came to our table in the dining room and thrilled the children with his skills.