Carnival Magic Review

4.0 / 5.0
1,504 reviews

First time Carnival cruising

Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Carnival Magic
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worcestersam
10+ Cruises • Age 80s

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Additional details

Sail Date: May 2017
Cabin: Balcony

After 14 sailings over three years we decided to try a Carnival cruise to see why so many people say they love Carnival Cruises. After this cruise it will be difficult to find my wife and me on another Carnival cruise. The embarkation went well and on time and the balcony cabin on deck 9 was well chosen. We stopped at the buffet and that's when it began to go downhill. All 4 stations at the Lido Lounge were open and each one had at least 20 people waiting in line to get to the start. This happened every day of the cruise at breakfast because not all 4 stations would always be open. The line for made to order omelets was set in the middle of the two buffet stations and for those who took the omelet, they would then have to get in the back of the line to get the rest of their food such as potatoes, bacon, or sausages. Then get back to their seats and enjoy a cold breakfast. Why Carnival has their buffet set in their manner is a question mark. In order to get what you want you still had to slowly work your way through the line past the salads station, the cheese and sandwich meats station, past the soup station, to finally get to the main course station. Then the disappointment sets in to find that only 4 or 5 different choices were available to choose from. My wife who does not care for foods that are marinated or seasoned had the worst of it and was confined to mostly bread and butter to choose from. We did eat at Guy's hamburgers a lot and did enjoy that because it was good. We did not have any improvement by eating at Northern Lights because she ordered Salmon with no seasoning which the waiter said was no problem and when it arrived it had seasoned butter on it which the waiter said was normal even when ordered without seasoning. They took it back and brought her Salmon finally with no seasoning, but by then I was done eating so we could not enjoy our meal together. Needless to say the food choices on this ship was less then desired. The ice cream station was well received and visited often. The pizza station was of poor quality with the crust very thin and not baked completely, plus the cheese was watery and poor tasting. We went there only once.

The pools were small and had no steps for elderly entry. Also, the hot tubs were located outside the pool area around the edges of the ship. No way to enjoy the tub and dip into the pool. The entertainment was good but not exceptional. Carnival has only their own entertainment troupe of singers and dancers which were good and entertaining, but a person can only enjoy so many songs by the same group. The live music band from other cruise lines was missed by us. The adult comics were very poor and not too funny. You couldn't understand them because they spoke too fast or enunciated poorly. We knew that foul language would be part of their act, but when a comic relies completely on the F word then he should look at his routine closer. But finally, something good. This cruise director Dr. E was fabulous. He was funny and entertaining. He kept the audience amused and informed. His energy went into the crowd and filled the room. The debarkation also went well and was organized.

Cabin Review

Balcony

Cabin 8E

The cabin in itself was nice. The a/c worked well and the bed was comfortable. The TV needs to be replaced with a better model. It is small and the contrast was poor. The desk space was good. The shower could have used a curtain that reached the floor so the water didn't splash out on the floor.

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