Carnival Magic is big, new, and typically Carnival, but there are some problems. Some they can fix, and a few that can't be fixed. I went on the Magic on its first Jamaica, Cayman, Cozumel cruise so some of the issues may be worked out as they get more experience with these ports. Here's what happened;

First sea day there was a meeting for veterans listed on the schedule. It was to be in the Piano Bar that afternoon. When we arrived for the meeting, the Piano bar was closed and the only crew member present, the guy cleaning the room, knew nothing at all about any meetings. Finally a call to the pursers desk brought a member of the Cruise Directors staff down to conduct a totally adlib meeting for a group of about 30 vets including two from WW II and two recently returned from Iraq. No explanation, no apology, no open bar, nothing at all was provided. Normally at things like this they at least have the bar open early, but this time they seem to have totally forgotten about this event! Same day my wife went to a "shopping show" but found that the "art auction" had run over and cancelled the shopping show. As we all know, the art auction is a scam anyway, so why let them take over and cancel planned events!

Finally we got to Jamaica, and began sailing in circles in Montego Bay. Now the "excuses" started. OK I know they emphasize safety, and that bay is small for a ship this size, but two hours of circling actually didn't change conditions that much. Also think about it, if the wind and sea conditions were bad enough to prevent us entering the bay, wouldn't the same conditions that evening have prevented us from leaving? We were two hours late arriving, but they extended the stay by only thirty minutes (which turned into an hour because tours were late getting back). The whole thing was explained as a "safety issue" without even noting that the ship, and it's Captain, had never been to Montego Bay before and were concerned about their ability to handle a ship that size in a bay that small. Conquest would have had no problem at all. Then there is still the question, if there was so much concern about getting into the bay, why was there no concern about getting out under almost identical conditions? We used the forward departure area in Jamaica, and found the first design flaw in the new ship. The stairs narrowed down once you get to deck one and going on down to deck zero to the departure area was a mess. The mob scene was worse than usual, and the pushing and shoving was getting bad. More on this later. Read more