Just back from the 12/26 departure with my wife on the Carnival Magic out of Galveston. The ship was full with nearly 1500 kids on board. We are in our late 50's and didn't find the kids to be a problem. Overall an enjoyable cruise, so I thought I would share my observations about the boat etc.
Embarkation: No real problems, a little slower than we're used to but not bad.
Ship: The Magic is a nice ship with a good layout. There are most of the features that are incorporated into the new generation of cruise ships, with a focus on a large number of small venues. The variety is nice, but many of the stations were undermanned, causing some lines at the more popular ones. The pool areas are not the largest for a ship this size and finding a place by the pool was impossible due to the ever-present chair hogs that are on every ship. Getting in the pools was out of the question anyway because the water was freezing. The expanded number of hot tubs was a nice touch. There are a large number of elevators and getting one was seldom a problem.
The balcony was a wrap-around and was really large. The cabin was typical for this type of room and was spacious with plenty of storage(3 large closets). This cabin is triangular in shape so the layout is a little different; the only bad point is that the built-in couch and the TV are on the same wall so you couldn't sit on the couch and watch TV. The one bad part to this room was the vibration. When the thrusters are used for maneuvering the whole room vibrates loudly. I assume other rooms do also as the vibration was by far the worst I've seen on the 10 ships I've been on. One other thing of note about this cabin is that it is directly over the Spotlight Lounge and sounds from there (primarily bass) could be heard at night. They were never very loud, nor did they keep us from sleeping, but they could be heard.