In the beginning, there was Cruise Critic. And it was good. Some say, a must-read option for any cruise taker (especially first timers such as my wife and I). Then, there were Debbie-Downers, who have found their way to gripe about things no man can control, such as bad weather at ports, or whose reviews contain misinformation all around. I'll try to limit this to straight facts with the presumption that subjective opinions are entirely just that, so let's give it a go!

First off, the all around experience with Carnival Magic was absolutely fantastic. The ship sailed out of Galveston for a 7 day Western Carib trek from Montego Bay, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. You guys have read the stats on the ship itself, massive, large passenger and crew capacity, great breadth of amenities on-board. Each day's itinerary is packed with things to do, decks to explore. You can be as relaxed and non-engaging as you like, or never let the slightest shadow of boredom take over any part of your day by trying to do it all. We took in trivia games, comedy shows, headliner illusionist and juggler shows, dancing competitions, movies on the giant screen by the beach pool, games at the video arcade, lounging in the Serenity deck, running track/working out (both with great views of the sea), ropes course, mini golf, well, you get the idea!

The food selection is immense; from the dining hall options to the buffet and specialty food places (Indian, Japanese, Mexican, Outdoor Barbecue, etc), I couldn't find one dish that would be considered horrible and several that were really tasty. I know others like to go 'Iron Chef' and lambast the server working the breakfast shift at the Grill section because he forgot to give you extra cream cheese for your bagels. Fair enough. At this time you can either take the snooty approach and demand satisfaction for the king's ransom you paid for your trip (unlikely) or attribute a minor lapse from one of 1500 crew members to, *gasp, human error at the workplace. Either way, how this, or other 'mishaps', affect your vacation is entirely under your control. In the grand scheme of things, the entire food scene was wonderful. Read more