Our first cruise was on Carnival Magic. Even though I have nothing to compare it to, it has set the standard on what I will expect. We chose this cruise because it fit in my work schedule and was a good price. With 5 in my family we were on deck 1 with an ocean view room. The room seemed small at first with all of our luggage out, but after everything was put away it fit is nicely. The steward met us shortly after to introduce himself and find out about the family. From that point on he called us all by our names. He left towel animals for us each day, which the kids loved. We ate at the steakhouse on the first night, which was great. Not many took advantage of the free bottle of wine. Service and food was great. The fun started right away, the sail away party was in full swing after the safety briefing. The CD, MarQ, was constantly full of energy and seemed like he had clones because he was all over the ship hosting events and keeping everyone smiling. The shore excursions were fun, and let us experience new things. One of ours lasted a little long and the ship waited for us to return shortly a problem. Everything on the ship was well kept, everything was always cleaned even if it seemed like it didn't. I did notice that they emptied and cleaned the pools every night. We really enjoyed the movies at night on the lido, catching at least one a night.
Beds were comfortable and I slept great each night. Always cleaned each day without fail. Have the 2 bathrooms was great. Each had a shower. Only 1 had a toilet.
The area looks rundown, but could be because of the recent storms. Did the dolphin encounter. The kids loved it, the dolphins were fun. One of them even played catch with a rock with us while we waited.
Decided not to do an excursion and rented a golf cart to do our own thing. It was amazing! Everything went at our own pace and seen the island as we chose. Spent time at Jack's Shack snorkeling. The water was amazing.