We stayed in a Spa cabin (12009) and although the balcony was on the wrong side for the beach view at Grand Turk, the view at Amber Cove was amazing! From our door, The Fitness Center was only about 30 ft away and just inside was a cold water fountain (including a faucet for water bottles) with the best tasting water on the boat. The only noise issue with the cabin was one morning at 4:30 am, for about ten minutes a repeating squeaking noise could be heard reverberating through the steel hull (from the crew members straightening the lounge chairs on the serenity deck [2 decks above]). The spa rooms cost about an extra $100, and include free use of the saunas and large hydrotherapy whirlpool (thalassotherapy)...these facilities are located one deck above The Fitness Center and from the cabin, the stairs/elevator can be quickly accessed by walking through the Fitness Center. The hallways of the Spa cabins always had classic rock playing and I enjoyed that the Magic constantly played classic (60's/70's) rock in the Lido buffet, as well as the aft pool area...I also liked the reggae music playing on sea days in the main pool area and although we didn't sit near the pool, the music was a great background to our giant chess games (located above it all, at the entrance to rope course). All the evening shows in the Showtime Theater were good productions, with a lot of set changes and theatrical effects. The country music show was followed by a very fun sing-a-long (in the ship's main atrium) that was so loud it could be heard at the main pool.

The main reason we like to cruise with Carnival is The Punchliner Comedy Club, and on a 6 day cruise, we had 4 comedians who each performed about five, 30 minute routines. All comedians were good and they performed at various times between 3 pm and midnight. The Main Pool area showed movies most evenings ($3 popcorn) and blankets were provided for chilly evenings. I ate a lot of different foods while on the boat and everything tasted great to me...my favorite meal was grabbing anything from the Lido Deck (Marketplace Buffet, Ice Cream, Cakes & Pastries, Blue Iguana Cantina (burritos & tacos), Guy's Burger, Mongolian Wok [am, omelet station], Deli [am, omelet station], Pizza ) and sitting at one of the 5 tables (with umbrellas) located in the Aft Pool area (next to the Tides Bar).

We cruised as a party of 6 adults and we never had a problem finding a place where we could all sit together...especially on deck 5, either outdoors on the Lanai Promenade or inside at the Ocean Plaza. This area has the Red Frog Pub, Alchemy Bar (heavy pouring) Plaza Cafe, and Guy's Bar-B-Que (only open Noon-2:30 on embarkation day (no line) and on sea days (long Line). The Ocean plaza also is the location of trivia/games and performing acoustic duos. On port days, the casino and all the bars on deck 5 are closed during the afternoon and on sea days, it usually takes awhile to get a drink from any bar. The Alchemy Bar makes the strongest drinks, but they are also the slowest service because all their "potions" and "elixirs" take a lot of time to concoct. The Magic experience was my favorite of any cruise ship, but we've only been on about 10 cruises...if you don't have a good time on the Magic, the problem might be in the mirror. Read more