Carnival Magic Review
Not Perfect, but Pretty Good (Eastern Caribbean)
Rating by category
Additional details
This was our fifth cruise, third on Carnival. We decided on this cruise about a year before sailing. Picked the date because it was an Eastern itinerary, which we wanted to do after four Westerns in a row. It turned out to be Magic's last cruise from Galveston which made it a little bit more special. The ship had come out of a dry dock and refurbishment about a month earlier and it showed. The ship looked great. Loved the decor. A little loud in some spots, but not over the top like some of the older Carnival ships. It's easy to see that Magic was where Carnival started to get away from the "Floating Vegas strip" look.
We had FTTF and embarkation went pretty smooth. From the looks of the regular lines in the terminal the new staggered check in seemed to be working. We were sent an e-mail a few days before the cruise telling us boarding would be around 1230, but they actually started around 1145. Room was ready when we boarded so we dropped our bags and went to get some lunch them meet up with some people at the Red Frog Pub.
The crew were very nice and always went above and beyond, but at the same time they seemed a bit detached. Others I talked to seemed to get the same vibe. We think it was the upcoming change of home port which had them a bit distracted. Our cabin steward, Ernesto, was great and there were times we almost had to fight him to get him to not do the evening turndown service if we decided to have an early night.
Cabin Review
Balcony
L shaped with long balcony. We booked this for the long balcony with the lounger, but found that we didn't really like the cabin layout. There's a single chair instead of a couch. If you want to watch TV you have to lay or sit on the bed, which I find uncomfortable. Also just didn't seem to be as much room as a standard balcony. I can see why a lot of people like these, but next time I'll book a cove.
Port Reviews
Galveston
Embarkation with FTTF was smooth and easy. Boarding commenced sooner than we had been told it would , which was a nice surprise. From looking around at the regular lines, the new staggered check in seems to be working.
Freeport
Not much to do in the small port area and we couldn't find an excursion we wanted to do. Got off long enough to have lunch and sample the local beer then go right back on the ship.
Nassau
Not a bad port and didn't seem to be as dangerous and scary as some people make it out to be. If you keep your head about you and don't act like you've never traveled before you'll be OK. Mainly did some shopping and visited the Pirate Museum. It's really more of a display than an actual museum, so unless you have an interest in pirates I'd give it a miss. Stopped at Pirate Republic Brewing Company to try their craft beer. Great place and the beer was great. Plan to visit there again next time we're on this itinerary.