Carnival Magic Review

4.0 / 5.0
1,506 reviews

Not quite the experience we were expecting

Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Carnival Magic
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Chris82785
First Time Cruiser • Age 30s

Rating by category

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Value for Money
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Additional details

Sail Date: Apr 2018
Cabin: Cove Balcony
Traveled with children

My family chose this particular cruise because we were going to celebrate my father’s birthday. There were a total of 7 of us in our party. We were very impressed with the embarkation the first day of the cruise, it was very efficient considering how many people were getting on the boat. The cruise director Cookie was great and he went out of his way when my son would see him to engage our group and speak to us! We were very impressed with our experience with him and some of the shows we went to. All of the other crew members on the boat were friendly and helpful. The boat had quite a few amenities that we took advantage of and we were able to stay busy for the entire journey.

We did however run into some issues that we believed were not what should be expected. Our first issue relates to the service we received during dinner. We elected to eat at 1800 every night in the northern lights dining room. The wait staff was very knowledgeable and friendly but we felt the service was lacking. Our beverages were constantly empty and we had to continuously ask to get hem refilled. We were also one of the first families in the dining room but the last to leave. Our table was always the last to order and the last to be served. Dinner ended up being a 2-2.5 hour ordeal so we missed many of the movies that were playing on the Lido deck. Unfortunately, the speed of our service was not as good as one would get going to a regular restaurant on land. Additionally, on numerous occasions the food was overcooked and we just ended up either sending it back for the same thing that was overcooked as well or just going to the buffet afterwards. Furthermore, when we ate brunch in the two days at sea, the service was not much better and numerous people made comments to the hostess upon leaving about the lack of service or the poor quality of the food.

Our room, a cove balcony, was very large and provided a beautiful, but private view. We were overly surprised with what we got in that room, but we also received more than we bargained for when we were at port or during dinner. Our room was located right below the galley and throughout the night we would hear the sounds of metal items being dropped on the floor.

Cabin Review

Cove Balcony

Cabin 7C

The cabin was roomy and very nicely equipped but was very noisy from all of the sound from the galley above during meal times.

Port Reviews

Amber Cove (Puerto Plata)

Beautiful port. Good shopping close to the ship.

St. Thomas

Beautiful scenary. Enjoyed the pirate museum.

San Juan

Close shopping to the ship. Enjoyed walking around the fort.

Grand Turk

Beautiful water and beach. Close shopping nearby.

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