This was my first cruise ever after a co-worker talked me in to trying it. I was always hesitant to cruise thinking I probably wouldn't like it very much because I don't drink and have children, and envisioned just sitting bored on my balcony for 7 days. Boy, was I wrong. I wish I would've started cruising 20 years ago! My family and I had a FANTASTIC time aboard the Carnival Magic, and never had a drop of alcohol or sat around doing things we could do at home.

The ship was beautiful, I loved the design and decor. There were two definite downsides to the ship's design, however. One was a lack of sufficient elevators. There are only 4 elevators aft and midship, and they were always busy and packed. It was not uncommon to wait 3-4 minutes, which doesn't sound like long, but when you are standing there watching three elevators sit on the same floor and trying to make an activity, it is extremely annoying. Many people gave up and walked the stairs. Then there are 10 elevators forward, a group of 6 and a group of 4 (glass elevators), but the wait was just as long from people pressing both buttons to get whatever came first.

The other complaint is a lack of drink stations for the "free" (included) beverages (water, lemonade, juices and coffee). There were two in the Lido deck and one by the Beach pool that I remember or could find. There were always lines, and the dispensers were ridiculously slow. I recommend bringing your own thermos cup or bottle, because the provided cups are very small and by the time you get back to wherever you were when you got thirsty, your drink will be gone. Read more