Just off Magic & disappointed

Although many of you are Carnival loyalist on here and that is great for you but this is our experience so please don't inflame as this board is for all opinions. We had large group of family and sail every other couple years together have been on Royal, Carnival and Disney. Our last Carnival cruise though was 2010 on the Dream which we enjoyed. However this time Carnival Magic lacked so much which makes cruising fun!

Embarkation was fine until we got on the boat at about 12:15 & it was a complete zoo never have i seen a lido buffet area with lines that wrapped around the entire inside, huge lines for burgers and burritos, no where to go and down right stifling hot it was so frustrating off to bad start however next time i will make sure we arrive after 1:30 when cabins are open and maybe less people everywhere!! However this foreshadow what was to come, Lines, Lines, and more lines, and people everywhere on this ship!!

The ships public areas are just too small especially the pools and lido buffet etc for the amount of passengers!

Definitely carnival cutbacks, sorry but the food on this ship was below average & not what we have experienced on past cruises. Buffet was awful & dining room dinner choices were few and overall food came out cold and flavorless, the servers are so overworked that when we asked for other things they were never brought and refills were non existant on drinks and drinks took forever, many drinks we ordered but never received.

Entertainment was sparse and consisted mostly of line dancing to same songs, sea days had few activities by the pool only hair chest contest & loud music. The shows were few and not very good and there just weren't a lot of night time activities, the deck party was no food, no midnight buffet or snacks just once again passengers dancing. Only late night food was pizza and the line was so long and slow! Room service twice ran out of food we ordered on menu!

Our cabin was great if it wasn't so hot and never cooled down and basically carnival did nothing to help us offered a fan but never received it! However the cabins are spacious and tons of storage and the closets were big with lots of hangers the bathroom had lots of shelves.

On a good note, the ship was very clean and always being cleaned especially the bathrooms, all the workers we encountered were very friendly and helpful, and working hard! The ports were great, nassau, amber cove (although wished they made a beach area not just a pool) and Grand turk was the nicest! Embarkation was rather painless! The weather was great all week so that was nice, best part the drinks were strong so we drank more then we ate!

We've always liked carnival in past but after not sailing on them in 7 years, things have changed for the worse and too many other choices out there when your spending way over $1000 pp and additional $380 for drink package! If you have any questions i will try to help, every cruise is what you make it of course and we made it fun cause we had large group but the Carnival Magic disappointed all of us:(

If it was so bad why did you not take advantage of the guarantee? I really hate when I see threads like this that everything was so horrible from the start that they did not just get off the ship.

The guarantee does have to be invoked within 24hrs. What they experienced during that time may not have been enough to want to invoke it. I don't think they are saying they hated their entire vacation, they just went over their experiences that weren't great and referred to times that were and that they did enjoy a previous cruise with Carnival. I had a not so great experience on the Sunshine, but it wasn't enough for me to want to get off the ship and it wasn't enough to ruin my vacation or stop cruising Carnival. I mean out of 10 cruises, I was bound to not have a "not so great" cruise. Some of the things the OP listed maybe something that would concern someone, not me, but others and its good information to compare.

OP, have you cruised in the main part of summer before? I know that when I went in June with my mom, I was surprised at the number of people, but I didn't take into account that more families would be traveling during this time and therefore the ship would be over 100% capacity (more rooms with 4 people instead of 2). That could be the cause of all the extra lines and such. Not making an excuse, just trying to give information. The rest of it is subjective to your personal preferences so I'm sorry things didn't live up to those expectations. I hope you try again.

Do wish they would have more than one person running pizza late at night no way can they keep up with demand and you always have long lines

We have logged nearly 50 cruises with Carnival and were on the Carnival Magic twice within 6 weeks. The first trip was crazy busy with lido deck manic as the reviewer states. As seasoned cruisers we have realistic expectations and know when to go and not to go to avoid the rush. I will say that particular cruise in March - lido was just slammed all the time. Lines, lines and more lines. Fast-forward six weeks later and the same lido was quite manageable the whole week. We know the senior staff well on the Magic so I inquired about capacity and there was nothing out of the ordinary.

I think each cruise is just unique. I'm sorry the original poster came away with a bad feeling about the cruise and the Carnival Magic- I think it was just the lick of the draw of that cruise population.

Sorry you had so many disappointments. It seems cruise lines tend to chip away at services and having a long time between cruises makes the gradual chipping away to seem more like using a sledgehammer than a chisel.

Suggesting you abandon ship at the first opportunity isn't helpful.

I have sailed on the Magic three times. Prior to cutting back on servers and wait staff it was a real pleasure.

I routinely read the RCI and NCL boards and have the feeling Carnival is not alone.

I somehow feel like I have read this review before. Is it like term papers - find one that suits you and cut and paste? EM

Sorry your cruise was disappointing....We felt the same on our Splendor cruise last year.

BUT, we continue to cruise Carnival because I think it was just a fluke and have had the best of times on all of our other Carnival cruises.

We are sailing on the Magic in just under 7 weeks....and I hope it's not as crowded as when you sailed!

I somehow feel like I have read this review before. Is it like term papers - find one that suits you and cut and paste? EM

If the complaints are repeated perhaps it is an indication they are fleet-wide and pervasive.

Although many of you are Carnival loyalist on here and that is great for you but this is our experience so please don't inflame as this board is for all opinions. We had large group of family and sail every other couple years together have been on Royal, Carnival and Disney. Our last Carnival cruise though was 2010 on the Dream which we enjoyed. However this time Carnival Magic lacked so much which makes cruising fun!

Embarkation was fine until we got on the boat at about 12:15 & it was a complete zoo never have i seen a lido buffet area with lines that wrapped around the entire inside, huge lines for burgers and burritos, no where to go and down right stifling hot it was so frustrating off to bad start however next time i will make sure we arrive after 1:30 when cabins are open and maybe less people everywhere!! However this foreshadow what was to come, Lines, Lines, and more lines, and people everywhere on this ship!!

The ships public areas are just too small especially the pools and lido buffet etc for the amount of passengers!

Definitely carnival cutbacks, sorry but the food on this ship was below average & not what we have experienced on past cruises. Buffet was awful & dining room dinner choices were few and overall food came out cold and flavorless, the servers are so overworked that when we asked for other things they were never brought and refills were non existant on drinks and drinks took forever, many drinks we ordered but never received.

Entertainment was sparse and consisted mostly of line dancing to same songs, sea days had few activities by the pool only hair chest contest & loud music. The shows were few and not very good and there just weren't a lot of night time activities, the deck party was no food, no midnight buffet or snacks just once again passengers dancing. Only late night food was pizza and the line was so long and slow! Room service twice ran out of food we ordered on menu!

Our cabin was great if it wasn't so hot and never cooled down and basically carnival did nothing to help us offered a fan but never received it! However the cabins are spacious and tons of storage and the closets were big with lots of hangers the bathroom had lots of shelves.

On a good note, the ship was very clean and always being cleaned especially the bathrooms, all the workers we encountered were very friendly and helpful, and working hard! The ports were great, nassau, amber cove (although wished they made a beach area not just a pool) and Grand turk was the nicest! Embarkation was rather painless! The weather was great all week so that was nice, best part the drinks were strong so we drank more then we ate!

We've always liked carnival in past but after not sailing on them in 7 years, things have changed for the worse and too many other choices out there when your spending way over $1000 pp and additional $380 for drink package! If you have any questions i will try to help, every cruise is what you make it of course and we made it fun cause we had large group but the Carnival Magic disappointed all of us:(

I am sorry your cruise was disappointing. Lines are annoying, but you did travel during the peak of the summer, which likely had something to do with it. Perhaps if you traveled during a less crowded time, you would enjoy yourself more.

I don't know what to say about the food. Its obviously very subjective, but also individual. And things like temperature had vary depending on the speed of the wait staff, which could impact the food quality and taste. I have never found the food to be awful, but sometimes better than others. I know when we were on celebrity, I thought the buffet was atrocious, but others praise it.

The room issue would be annoying as well. I don't know what happened with that, but its super hot and maybe the AC just did not keep up. They should have given the fan- likely they forgot. No its not an excuse, but an explanation.

All in all, it sounds like a not fabulous cruise. I don't know that I would write Carnival off forever for it, but I can understand your disappointment.

If it was so bad why did you not take advantage of the guarantee? I really hate when I see threads like this that everything was so horrible from the start that they did not just get off the ship.

If you really hate to see negative reviews, perhaps you should take your own advice and stop reading them and then perhaps not log on to cruise critic.

If you really hate to see negative reviews, perhaps you should take your own advice and stop reading them and then perhaps not log on to cruise critic.

Same can be said to anyone... and therefore is a meaningless. This is a public forum...

Maybe we don't experience the line issues and crowding issues because we have a balcony. But we have found when there are SLOW lines (I'm talking to you, Mongolian BBQ & omelet station!) it's due to food being prepared fresh, and so we don't mind the wait. We take that opportunity to chat with others in line, and we know from the get go that some lines will be longer than others, some will take longer than others, and that if we're feeling impatient that would not be the time to get in a long/slow moving line. There are options: go later/earlier; chose a different food option...It's like grocery shopping on a Sunday. If you're in a rush, Sunday is NOT the day to grocery shop. As seasoned cruisers (and we're not nearly as seasoned as others) we've learned some of the get-arounds.

That's why we went to the Italian restaurant for lunch on embarkation day. We had read before hand about it being open, free, and usually pretty sparse. The Windjammer buffet on our recent RCI cruise was a zoo on sea days, especially embarkation day. We couldn't find a seat anywhere, with the standard people hogging tables.. But I recognize that's how it goes on days when everyone has to be on the ship, with limited places to eat.

Some of the things you mentioned are true on other lines as well. There were really no options later at night on our RCI cruise either. I think a lot of the lines have gotten rid of those options because of the costs and waste. I know Carnival used to have those midnight buffets when we cruise them 10 years ago, but not in our recent cruises. I don't know when RCI stopped them, if they did them too.

I actually thought the Indy had more closet space and room space then the Magic. The closet could hold more because it was one big one, not the divided ones on Magic. Plus, we could move our coffee table between our bed and the balcony doors, with room to spare.

I guess I just try to have fun with whatever I've got. We see small pros & cons on both lines/ships, but nothing that ever makes or breaks our cruises.

We were not pleased with the Magic either. It was a noticable difference in the quality of food and the immense crowds (in Spring). We have been on a good number of Carnival cruises and know what to expect, but Magic was lacking. Extremely long lines for everything and the food reminded me of the mid-level all inclusives in Mexico...bland and just blah. We are not foodies or picky by any means.

It really is subjective....we sailed on the Magic twice and had a blast, sailed on Dream last year and didn't enjoy ourselves as much. It depends on when you cruise and who is cruising with you. Both times on Magic it was out of Galveston, Dream out of New Orleans. The people and their manners were very much lacking on the Dream and that does affect your experience. We always make the best of it but because of our Dream experience (not) we took a cruise break. I tentatively have MSC booked for June 2018, felt like trying something new. But if I find a great deal on an all inclusive I would rather do that instead. I do miss the old ships, these new ones just pack on the rooms and don't expand on the public areas and it is obvious.

Although many of you are Carnival loyalist on here and that is great for you but this is our experience so please don't inflame as this board is for all opinions. We had large group of family and sail every other couple years together have been on Royal, Carnival and Disney. Our last Carnival cruise though was 2010 on the Dream which we enjoyed. However this time Carnival Magic lacked so much which makes cruising fun!

Embarkation was fine until we got on the boat at about 12:15 & it was a complete zoo never have i seen a lido buffet area with lines that wrapped around the entire inside, huge lines for burgers and burritos, no where to go and down right stifling hot it was so frustrating off to bad start however next time i will make sure we arrive after 1:30 when cabins are open and maybe less people everywhere!! However this foreshadow what was to come, Lines, Lines, and more lines, and people everywhere on this ship!!

The ships public areas are just too small especially the pools and lido buffet etc for the amount of passengers!

Definitely carnival cutbacks, sorry but the food on this ship was below average & not what we have experienced on past cruises. Buffet was awful & dining room dinner choices were few and overall food came out cold and flavorless, the servers are so overworked that when we asked for other things they were never brought and refills were non existant on drinks and drinks took forever, many drinks we ordered but never received.

Entertainment was sparse and consisted mostly of line dancing to same songs, sea days had few activities by the pool only hair chest contest & loud music. The shows were few and not very good and there just weren't a lot of night time activities, the deck party was no food, no midnight buffet or snacks just once again passengers dancing. Only late night food was pizza and the line was so long and slow! Room service twice ran out of food we ordered on menu!

Our cabin was great if it wasn't so hot and never cooled down and basically carnival did nothing to help us offered a fan but never received it! However the cabins are spacious and tons of storage and the closets were big with lots of hangers the bathroom had lots of shelves.

On a good note, the ship was very clean and always being cleaned especially the bathrooms, all the workers we encountered were very friendly and helpful, and working hard! The ports were great, nassau, amber cove (although wished they made a beach area not just a pool) and Grand turk was the nicest! Embarkation was rather painless! The weather was great all week so that was nice, best part the drinks were strong so we drank more then we ate!

We've always liked carnival in past but after not sailing on them in 7 years, things have changed for the worse and too many other choices out there when your spending way over $1000 pp and additional $380 for drink package! If you have any questions i will try to help, every cruise is what you make it of course and we made it fun cause we had large group but the Carnival Magic disappointed all of us:(

If it was so bad why did you not take advantage of the guarantee?

If it was so bad why did you not take advantage of the guarantee? I really hate when I see threads like this that everything was so horrible from the start that they did not just get off the ship.

Is it really an advantage using the guarantee? Does Carnival pick up the expense of you getting off at the first port of call to go home? I think it would cost more than staying on the ship and finishing the cruise.

Does Carnival pick up the expense of you getting off at the first port of call to go home?

The guarantee must be executed within the first 24 hours after sailing.

The passengers MUST have a passport in order to fly home. Many do, but many also do not.

Interesting. How you feel after this Carnival cruise is how I felt after our last Royal cruise. Crowded, terrible food and lackluster entertainment.

Do want works best for your cruising group, whichever line that ends up being.

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Summer cruising can be a pain, almost all your issues were caused by a full ship. Plus I think you may have been expecting alot for the money you paid. Other cruise lines you mentioned that you have used recently are much more per night during high season. But if all the things you experienced happened to us we would be moving on too. But would know it will cost more per night.

Great...hope the cruise this Saturday is less crowded. (I doubt it)

How do you get off and go home if your first day is a Sea Day? Medivac lol?

Great...hope the cruise this Saturday is less crowded. (I doubt it)

 

How do you get off and go home if your first day is a Sea Day? Medivac lol?

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I just get really bummed when people get worked up over a negative review. These boards are a wealth of information and that's wonderful!! We are all entitled to our own opinions.

sorry that many do not like what i had to say about our experiences I don't think its an option for 15 of us to get off the ship and end our family reunion like really?? Thats your reply? Ridiculous to even post! My title was disappointed!! I did say we made a great time however I was reporting our experiences and opinions & of course they are subjective and if yours are not the same then great for you and you can report that too. We always cruise in the summer and yes have had good experiences with Carnival Glory and Dream in the past but it has been several years being back on Carnival and we were all surprised by what we felt was cutbacks on food quality dining room service, entertainment, and the overall crowdedness of the cruise ship. We had a party of 10 in the italian specialty restaurant and we were in there for almost 3 hours that is way too long service was that slow. Maybe I would give Carnival another try at different time of year but this ship is made to hold these many passengers and the public areas are just too small and lines are long and that is what we experienced. I asked not to be inflamed for differing experience and opinions these boards are for information and experiences good and bad. Nothing to say from the beginning but negative is not true, obviously you don't like to hear others experiences so then you should have scrolled on! This is for others who would like to know all experiences!