Embarkation and Disembarkation times on Magic. and other various input

While we are frequent cruisers,usually not with Carnival.......Only my 3rd time......so I have a couple of questions..

My boarding pass says 12:30 embarkation.......If we arrive earlier,will we be allowed to enter the terminal to check in?? I read on a post here,they stop you at the door,if you don't have the right time.

Also,disembarkation......trying to figure out when we will be allowed to get off...Unlike other lines,we do not have status with Carnival so we know we won't be the first.......

I am reading soooo many negative reviews on Magic,it is disheartening...Not like I have a choice of changing ships. We are going Aug 19th....Please,does anyone have anything good to say about the ship??

Thanks!!

I have read many positive reviews. I do think there is something to be said for the attitude with which anyone brings to their cruise impacting how they enjoy it. My next cruise will be the first one with a "check in" time. We were able to select our time online when doing our precruise online documents. I believe disembarking depends upon several things, including what time the ship arrives and clears customs. If you self carry your luggage (which I'm not into) apparently you can disembark first, I'be heard as early as 7:30am. If you haven't been to Pt. Canaveral before, you may like it. To me it is easier than some other ports we've sailed from. Good luck

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When we sailed the Dream, the check in time were the earliest you were allowed to arrive. So, if you have 12:30, you can arrive at 12:30 or later, just not before.

We are on the August 19 sailing with you. I too have noted an uptick in people complaining about the Magic, but I take most of that with a grain of salt. Big ships will have a wide variety of experiences, and I for one will be on board to have fun with my family, something I am supremely confident in :).

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Thanks all.

Well,now I know do not get to the port before 12:30.

And we do not do carry off...no way!

I cruise a lot out of PC and on Oasis..so I am used to the port and large ships.

I am going with a positive attitude,as always...just sooo many whiners!:eek:

If you selected a time for embarkation, you will not be allowed to check in any earlier than that time.

The Magic is a great ship and you will have a great time. Go in with a positive attitude, and you will have a positive cruise. I am going on her for the second time in October.

We were on the Magic in May and didn't note any real changes from our B2B on her last November. We enjoyed the pasta bar at lunch on that first day. It's not so busy and with sit down service, we find it a nice change from the busyness of the Lido buffet, and it is free!

We enjoyed Flick, 88 Keys and the comedy club. Our cabin was cleaned 2x a day. The pools are small, but we didn't have real problems with chair hogs as attendants were marking the times and removing items if guests did return before that time. Not so fond of the Serenity deck on this class, but it was popular. We spent a lot of time on Deck 5. Live music there and in the atrium.

Others are correct about the staggered check in times. As for disembarkation, if you don't do self-assist, you will get Zone tags the night before and that determines when you can leave the ship.

I too have noted an uptick in people complaining about the Magic, but I take most of that with a grain of salt.

We have been on this ship twice and will be on her again this December then the first week of April 2018 (she is leaving PC some time next year). Our favorite ship and we do not have the issues that some people have I guess for whatever reason. Hope you have a great trip!!!!!

Don't all ships have an uptick in complaints this time of year due to the uptick in cruises that embark over capacity?

This is exactly the reason of the complaining. We have cruised over summer months in the past when we had children in school and had to fit it in their schedules and found the crowding to be overwhelming sometimes. However, since we cruise on our schedule and changed to the months of November & December, don't have any of those complaints any longer. We have sailed on Magic twice now and have her booked again this November and can't wait. This time of year is crowded and with lots of children and that doesn't always appeal to everyone. We have done that and prefer to now go in a more adult setting. But it is a great ship regardless so just try to keep an open mind and you might be surprised. :D

Been on the Magic twice and have her booked for two more next year before she moves from PC. looking forward to it.

Enjoy your cruise. :)

Don't all ships have an uptick in complaints this time of year due to the uptick in cruises that embark over capacity?

I hadn't thought about it like that, but I am sure that is a big factor. I guess we will be adding to the overcrowding with four in a cabin! As we tell our kids, everyone's parents have different rules for their kids. You are unlikely to see my kids pressing elevator buttons and running crazy (I hope!), mostly bc we spend almost all day with them (outside of some time in the kids club).

Either way, it is when we can do our vacation and we are looking forward to it!

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Magic is or favorite ship! I wrote a review back in May on here. Hands down or best cruise, so we booked another cruise on her for April 2018.

We have been on this ship twice and will be on her again this December then the first week of April 2018 (she is leaving PC some time next year). Our favorite ship and we do not have the issues that some people have I guess for whatever reason. Hope you have a great trip!!!!!

We will be on your April 2018 sailing! :D

We were on the Magic in May and didn't note any real changes from our B2B on her last November. We enjoyed the pasta bar at lunch on that first day. It's not so busy and with sit down service, we find it a nice change from the busyness of the Lido buffet, and it is free!

We enjoyed Flick, 88 Keys and the comedy club. Our cabin was cleaned 2x a day. The pools are small, but we didn't have real problems with chair hogs as attendants were marking the times and removing items if guests did return before that time. Not so fond of the Serenity deck on this class, but it was popular. We spent a lot of time on Deck 5. Live music there and in the atrium.

Others are correct about the staggered check in times. As for disembarkation, if you don't do self-assist, you will get Zone tags the night before and that determines when you can leave the ship.

I agree! We were on it in November last fall and it was great. Although we did find the pool decks a little crowded, they weren't really enforcing the chair hogs issue, but there was only 1 day where I couldn't even find a decent single chair. Then the other couple of days I found a spot that we seemed to be able to get each time. I don't like or need to sit right by the pool either.

We also went to the shows, had our room taken care of, etc...

Oh, and I agree about going to the Cucina restaurant on embarkation day. While we did get on earlier than before, we had FTTF and our friends are Platinum, it was still getting busy on board. But the restaurant is fairly empty and a little more relaxing. Even on our embarkation day on RCI last month, it was super crazy busy at their Lido buffet. We couldn't find a table for about 10 minutes. But again, there were people hogging empty tables, while we walked around looking with our food.

I always say - it's your vacation. YOU make of it what you want. Yes, unless there's a true disaster beyond your control. But for the most part, it seems what people get upset about isn't really worth it. Don't let the little things ruin your trip. :D Enjoy!!

Oh, and I do have a trip report in my signature. Sorry the photos have been deleted by Photobucket! Argh!!

I enjoyed 2 sailings on the Magic when it was ported in Galveston. Great ship, my 2nd fav behind Vista. The 1st cruise had a fog delay of a few hours, and it was the most chaotic debarkation I've experienced in over 40 sailings. It seemed like everyone was upset about the delay and they all wanted to exit as quickly as possible, so there were crowds lining up and blocking others with the lowest zone #'s. A real zoo.

Now that Magic is in Canaveral and MIA, , those fog delays are rare.

Thanks for all the advice.

We are going with positive attitudes!

Love the tip about Cucina for lunch when we board!

One more question.

On RCCL,we have my time dining....you can pick a certain time to eat or just show up.

Now,how does it work with Carnival?

One more question.

 

On RCCL,we have my time dining....you can pick a certain time to eat or just show up.

 

Now,how does it work with Carnival?

We did that just once, on our cruise to Alaska. Each time we would just show up to the dining room and they would seat us at a table. We always chose to dine by ourselves. We had one kind of off night with the waitstaff in Alaska, felt that it may have to do with the YTD, like they're not trying to earn an extra tip. Not sure, but they just didn't give us the attention we normally received. The rest of the nights, with all different waiters, were good though.Oh, and we would go a little bit after the early dining was seated, so like 6:15-6:30 I think.

I did like on RCI that we could actually make a reservation and have the same table every night, so the same waitstaff. But a couple times we still had to wait in line.

I've heard people on CCL say they had a good experience with it, but traditionally, I've always enjoyed having the same waiter in the MDR. We are considering trying it in October.

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One more question.

 

On RCCL,we have my time dining....you can pick a certain time to eat or just show up.

 

Now,how does it work with Carnival?

You will need to pick early, late or YTD. We always do YTD and never had a problem being seated at the same table with the same crew. If you like the crew you have the first night just ask to be seated with them the rest of the cruise.

You will need to pick early, late or YTD. We always do YTD and never had a problem being seated at the same table with the same crew. If you like the crew you have the first night just ask to be seated with them the rest of the cruise.

Right there with ya! We ALWAYS ask for the same waitstaff if they are good. AND we always tip them extra at the end of the cruise. We just got off a short 5-day cruise on Fantasy and found our head waiter before we even sat down for the first meal. He was up on the Lido deck selling wine packages and told us he had just switched from the fixed time dining to YTD. Benjamin and his crew of Lucky and Jovan were OUTSTANDING!!!

You will need to pick early, late or YTD. We always do YTD and never had a problem being seated at the same table with the same crew. If you like the crew you have the first night just ask to be seated with them the rest of the cruise.

WE did pick YTD........I just wondering how it worked compared to what I am used to with RCCL.

WE did pick YTD........I just wondering how it worked compared to what I am used to with RCCL.

On Carnival, you just show up at the dining room entrance assigned for YTD. No reservation time required.

On any occasions when you can't be accommodated immediately, they will give you a pager and buzz you when they have a table ready. Don't be like us and wander into the casino with it; it might not get the signal. :)

Thanks everyone for their input.........I still have 6 more days,if you have any other tips or hints for me.......

I am also on this cruise, and I actually have forgotten to read any reviews this summer. Probably a good thing... I'm a bit worried with the crowds, and I'm in a group of 19 where I'm the one that planned it, so I am concerned I'll be hearing complaints from my family since I was the planner. This would happen anywhere though! :)