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Carnival Magic review and FunTimes


Jolewis1436
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In a word....Fantastic.

 

I meant to keep it short, but it didn't turn out that way. Feel free to ask any questions. I'll scan and post the FunTimes tomorrow.

 

We are a family of five-Myself45, DW28(so she would want), DS4, DD8, DD12 (disabled in wheelchair). We had a balcony cabin 11267 and an interior wheelchair accessible cabin 11269. My only "complaint" about the cabins is that you can hear the Lido deck music/parties. It kind of annoyed me when sitting on the balcony in the evening. Not a huge issue, but thought I'd put it out there.

 

FTTF-totally worth it. Got to the port around 10:15 (parked at parking deck). By the time we got though registration, they called FTTF and we were on the ship around 10:45! We went straight to the cabin and dropped off our carry-ons.

We didn't go to Belize, so can't comment on the priority tender.

It was definitely worth it for guest services. 10-12 people waiting in the regular line at times. No more than two waiting in the FTTF/platinum line.

 

Dr. E-We never cared about the CD in the past. But, he was pretty funny and can see why everyone raves about him.

 

Restaurants-Guys Burgers was awesome. Not just for a cruise, but anywhere! The burrito joint was ok. Never had a chance to try the BBQ joint (odd hours/location and only open on sea days). The pasta bar at the Italian restaurant was great. Never tried the menu for lunch or dinner.

We had YTD and went to the MDR every evening around 6. We got a table pretty quickly. Saw that there was a wait after 7 or so. Our waitstaff (Rhoderick from the Philippines) was great. The hostess, Verica, came to our table every night for DD12s food needs.

 

Camp Ocean-Took a couple days for DS4 and DD8 to go there on a regular basis, but they made friends and went every evening after that. They even wanted to stay late and we paid the money for Night Owls after 10pm.

 

Ports-

Cozumel-We were the first of only two ships in port. Went to Mr. Sanchos and it was fantastic. $23 taxi each way for the five of us. $210 total at Mr. Sanchos for the all-inclusive. We thought it was worth it. We got a table/umbrella and two loungers right on the beach. Kids had fun snorkeling and gathering shells/dead coral. Buffet or menu food brought right to the table. Two pools with walk up bar. It was nice not worrying about how much the kids ate and how many virgin daiquiris they wanted. I was impressed with the bartenders/bar manager cutting off a group that was getting rowdy.

 

Roatan, Honduras-DW reserved a tour from Rony's Tour for $25 pp. To leave the port, we had to walk though their shopping area to the taxi stand. We could either walk to the gate (about 1/2 mile over a hill) or take the taxi for $2 pp. We took the taxi (pushing a wheelchair in the heat was tough) and met the driver and "tour guide." It was a nice Nissan van that fit all of us comfortably. I don't know if they have strict driving laws, but the driver was very cautious and drove slowly. The guide didn't know that we chose the "long" tour and what we planned to do. She gave us the scripted details about the island, but couldn't answer some specific questions. Anyway, we went to the Daniel Johnson Monkey and Sloth Hangout (wildlife rescue). It was $10pp (5 and under free) and lasted about an hour. It was great. You can hold "Sid" the sloth, monkey and birds. The kids really had a great time and we got some great pics. We then went to "Rony's neighborhood" to "shop." It was part of someone's house with a few t-shirts and handmade jewelry/items and the poverty was very evident. We bypassed any other shops, stopped at a grocery store for water and snacks, then to Bananarama at West Bay Beach. It was a typical day pass...$10pp for use of the lounge chairs on the beach with shower and changing room facilities. We were there for about 3 hours. It was a typical beach, lined with restaurants, beach venders and watersports. Everyone had fun.

I wasn't impressed with the "tour." But, it was probably worth the $125 to have the van for the day.

 

Belize-Stayed on the ship. We've been there a couple of times previously and it was nice to enjoy a partially empty ship.

 

Costa Maya-Missed due to weather. It was raining and the seas were rough. Our waiter said that it's a tough port to get into due to the ship having to back into the dock.

 

Dr. Seuss Breakfast-It was a lot of fun. They had the tables decorated and a large Cat In The Hat ice sculpture. Cat In The Hat, Sam I Am, Thing 1 and Thing 2 came out and went to each table for pictures. They had themed food, including green eggs (scrambled) and ham. lol.

 

This was our first summer cruise in a while. It was definitely people soup in the pools during the sea days. Long lines at Guys and Lido during lunch. I don't think the staff was adequately prepared for the unscheduled sea day when we missed Costa Maya.

 

Overall, it was a great cruise and can't think of anything really negative to post.

 

For those who travel with someone in a wheelchair, Carnival was very accommodating. On port mornings, we went to guest services and they would help us get an elevator to get to the gangway. Though we didn't send DD12 to camp his time, they have always been helpful and understanding with her needs. That's one of the main reasons why we have always cruised with Carnival (with the exception of Disney last year).

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Do you know what time you got into port on the way back? Wondering if 8 am arrival into PC is accurate of if you arrived earlier.

 

I woke up at 6:30 and saw that we had already docked. We had FTTF and was instructed be in the theater at 8. They called our group number (2) around 7:45. We left the Lido restaurant and debarked without a problem. Got though customs pretty quick and were on the road by 8:30.

Another thing about FTTF....there were later groups that weren't scheduled to debark until 10:30-11. I can't imagine how packed the luggage pick-up area and customs was for them.

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Here are the FunTimes. The camp pdf files were too large. Contact me and I'll email them to you (I only have ages 2-5 and 9-11).

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to provide us with copies of your Fun Times! I am on the Magic next month and just got even more excited after reviewing the Fun Times from your cruise. Again, thanks so much! Deidre

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Great review, and we are booked in the same cabin 11267 in August!! Other then the noise from the Lido deck on your balcony, did you have any other noise above/below when you were trying to sleep at night?

 

No issues at all.

It's also in a great location...down the hall from the forward elevators on one side and, in the other direction, easy access to the outer deck and stairs to the Lido pool.

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