This is a review of our Eastern Caribbean sailing on the Carnival Magic August 6-13 from Port Canaveral. I am a frequent cruiser of most of the mainstream cruise lines and this was my 20th sailing on a Carnival ship. I set my expectations accordingly when sailing Carnival and plan on a family-friendly fun vacation. We had rented a car and visited Legoland the Friday before the cruise so we drove over to Port Canaveral from Winter Haven the Saturday morning of the cruise. I did not rent a transponder for the toll roads and had no problems paying the tolls with cash along the way. We dropped off the bags at the port and returned the rental car to Alamo. It was a total zoo at the rental car office (10:30AM) and then line to get on a shuttle back to the port was literally out the back of the building! Thank goodness we dropped off the bags before getting on the shuttle-it was very cramped and blazing hot with so many bodies packed like sardines in the shuttle. I should have dropped off the car earlier.

I had priority embarkation and quickly got checked in and walked on the ship-they were already boarding zones by 11:15. I have always found Port Canaveral to be very efficient in processing passengers. I booked a spa inside cabin on deck 12 and dropped off our carryons and met the room steward. The ship was VERY crowded with many large family reunions, etc. onboard. I knew it was prime summer travel time so I was prepared for this. Did some swimming and played at the waterpark before muster drill. Checked out Camp Ocean and made sure my son was registered.

Our inside cabin was laid out a little differently than a standard inside cabin and it felt more spacious than a regular inside. The upgraded linens and toiletries in the spa cabin were great. Cabin service was twice a day with no form to fill out. I requested ice and my room steward, who was great, gave me fresh ice twice a day. Mini fridge was empty which was helpful to store waters and beers in. Minimal noise from above, just noise from rude people in the hallways, drunks at night, etc. My biggest complaint about the cabin was the temperature-it was way too hot! This was my complaint on the Breeze earlier in the year, as well. It got very stuffy at night and made it uncomfortable to sleep. I did not bother to complain because I knew they would say it was within their standard temperature. I did not utilize the spa amenities too much, but they were nice when I did. There should be an attendant to remind passengers of spa etiquette though, such as loud people shouting on cell phones in the sauna/heated lounge areas. I don’t get that. Read more