BiscayneBay460

Loved your review!  First cruise since COVID scheduled for May on Mardi Gras.  Great information.  

We were just on Glory and went to tea.  I purchased specialty tea.  It was like $2.30.  Art of Teas brand.  I had a white coconut creme,  that was so good.  My daughter had a chamomile but I don’t remember if there was another flavor with it.  

We chose the Hilton Riverside.  Anyone have any reviews of this hotel?  Chose the cruise package so we could leave the car there for $13 a day.  Came with continental breakfast.  From what I’ve read, it’s attached to a mall and close enough to walk to port.  

We rented one last October.  Didn’t even use it.

This is our first cruise on Glory.  Have cruised on her sister ships, Conquest and Freedom.  Looking at some pictures online and it appears that the spa deck balcony doors are sliders.  They were not on Conquest and Freedom.  Can anyone confirm?  Thanks in advance.

We did not have internet except social package. 

Just a quick review of our cruise.  This is our second time on Conquest.  The family includes DH, DD and her boyfriend, DS and a friend, and myself.  This was the six day cruise out of Fort Lauderdale.  Ports included Nassau, Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, and Amber Cove.  

We live in Tennessee and usually drive to ports due to the number of us and the price of flights. We left Friday after work and made it to Valdosta, GA by midnight.  We stayed in the Hampton Inn right off the interstate.  It was very nice and clean.  Nice breakfast included.  Drove to our next stop of Orlando.  We had made reservations for lunch at Planet Hollywood at the Disney Springs area.  Disney Springs has grown so much in the last few years.  We did some shopping and then headed to Fort Lauderdale.  We checked into the Comfort Inn  Airport and Cruise.  Tired by the time we were in our room, so take out supper for us.  Can't wait till tomorrow .  

We we were up early, had breakfast, then headed to Walmart and Burlington.  Both are close by.  Then off to Port Everglades.

We arrived at port at 10:33, dropped everybody and headed to park.  We usually park at port to save time leaving.  We had priority for 3 of us due to suite and the other 3, I had purchased FTTF.  We were walking up gangway at 11:08.  This had to be the fastest embarkation for us.  As the boys room would be ready, we headed to deck 7 to put our belongings in their room.  We had to pass our suite on the way and it was ready.  Our cards were in the mailbox, so we were able to check it out.  Checked out boys cabin, interior about 12 cabins down.  Next stop, lunch.  We all split up, going after our favorite foods.  We made it a point to always eat on the 10th deck.  Just up the stairs from the buffet.  It is hardly utilized the first few days, so always a table.

 We like your time dining, but make it a point to get there as its opening.  I'm going to group dining all together.  There was always something good to eat at dinner.  The basic menu, but always several great choices.  I will say that we had 5 different serving teams.  In the past we usually ask to stay with the same team, not this time.  The first 3 nights, I was not impressed.  Adequate service, but not the happy servers I'm used too.  The next 2 nights we did have the same.  Of the three servers, only 1 was happy and smiling the entire time ( extra tip for him).  The last night we had the best service.  If only we had started with them.  

Nassau - This was our first time at this port except for our daughter, she's been twice in the past.  We walked to Junkaroo beach.  At the Tiki Hut, we had 6 chairs, one umbrella, and 12 drinks for $150.  That included gratuity.  The water and beach were clean, but there were a lot of rocks.  Shopped a little in town then back to ship.

Half Moon Cay - OMG!  Our first time and I could move there in a minute.  Gorgeous beach, water, sun.  I have never seen sand so fine and white.  I truly think it is the most beautiful place I have been to.  I did rent a clamshell, but it ended up not getting used.  

Grand Turk - We have been here before.  There must have recently been a storm in the area, as there was massive amounts of seaweed in the water.  We ended up at the pool.  Back on board early this port.

Amber Cove -. New port for us.  DS and friend stayed at pool.  The other four of us took taxi to Puerto Plata.  My daughter has a friend from there and she assured us it was safe for tourist.  It was $70 to town and back.  We were taken to Amber Museum first with its attached gift shop.  Next to the town square and cathedral.  Each stop we were handed to someone to show us around for tips of course.  We were taken to gift shop where our driver would be picking us up.  Amazing how this works!  After this last handoff, I told the driver we wanted to go to the chocolate factory.  Del Oro is an organic chocolate factory with a free tour and samples.  We purchased quite a bit to bring home.  When we returned to taxi, we told him just to take us back to port.  You pay him when you are back at the port.  I think if you just tell them where to take you, you'll save a lot of tip money.  

Our cabins - the boys had the normal interior.  They like this as its dark and can sleep in.  This was our very first suite.  I had originally booked us an aft balcony.  After reading reviews, changed to a regular balcony.  As I was checking one day for price drops, I found a suite that was lower in price.  I immediately called my PVP.  She said she'd never seen one this low.  Booked it quickly.  We went from balcony $2265 to suite $2221.  Now we are spoiled and a balcony will never be the same.  

Debarkation was also amazingly fast.  We were off, thru customs, and on the road by 7:30.  Unfortunately, our 12 hour drive took 15 due to traffic issues.  Can't wait till next year!

Does anyone know the reason that suite gratuities are $1 more each person / each day? We are going on our fifth cruise soon and this is our first suite. We pre-pay our tips and am just curious about the price difference.

Our October cruise ports at Amber Cove. This will be our first visit here. I was reading about the poolside cabanas and someone mentioned VIP area with lounge chair rentals. Could someone enlighten me about price and their experience? Thanks in advance!

Unfortunately, no. We have a suite on our next cruise, but the kids are in an interior cabin. So I purchased FTTF for the kids room. This way we get priority boarding together and their cabin will be ready on arrival to put the carry on luggage in.

We attended one last October on Magic. It was listed in Funtimes and we received an invitation in our stateroom. It was scheduled for 5:00 pm. Over 25 signed up for this event, but only 6 showed up. Carnival had a room set up with juice, tea, water, snacks, and cookies there for us. I wouldn't blame them if they quit having these, due to poor attendance.

Have had the same PVP for our 5 cruises. She is great and answers quickly or returns call promptly. I recently found price drop, filled out form on website, as I hate to bother her, never got price drop, called her and she spoke with supervisor, price drop immediately fixed. I truly believe there are good and bad PVP's. We just got lucky!

Our cruise in October dropped $96 between the 2 cabins booked. Every little bit helps! Called my PVP, immediately had adjustment , followed by email confirmation .

The cruise overall was great. Great weather, great foods, met new friends. If you are going on the Magic anytime soon, there was a trio of string instruments, The Polaris Trio, don't miss them. We sat on the couches on deck 4 in the atrium for at least an hour when they would play. They played classical to rock to movie themes. It is an electric violin, and electric cello, and an acoustic violin. Just beautiful music.

Ask for Komang in the Northern Lights if you do the your time dining and watch him dance!

We had Matt as our cruise director. He has energy and is friendly but that is all I can say. His assistants are not as outgoing. It also seemed that they make friends with a few passengers and then they get picked for everything.

As I said before, the shows did not seem as good as those on past cruises.

You also need to visit Alexander at the Alchemy Bar. He makes a chocolate cherry drink which he calls the "Lucky Me". It is delicious.

We were deck 9, right under the lido buffet. Only can remember twice that we heard any noise. It was a very good place for access to the lido, aft pool, pizza place.

We ordered room service every morning for coffee. This was our wake up call. We did get room service one night when it was after a show. Paid for a pizza and banana split. Was well worth the cost, as the line for the pizza was a mile long. The pizza was not as good as on the lido, but hit the spot.

We had joined the roll call here on cruise critic for our group. Signed up for the meet and greet. Only 9 people showed. It was scheduled on the Belize day at 5:00. We received an invitation in our cabin the night before.

Please feel free to ask questions.

This is just a short review of our cruise. This cruise included myself, husband, daughter and her boyfriend, son and a friend. This was the first time on the Magic and the first time on a Carnival ship of this size. We have cruised the Freedom, Conquest, and Sunshine. I read lots of reviews on the Magic. I have to say, I didn't feel as though is was over crowded. We never had to wait very long for dinner and the kids used Sportsquare every day without waiting. I do think that I prefer the smaller ships. I always felt as though I could find the kids within minutes on the smaller, I don't think I could have found them as easily. Also, they are older, 23 and 16, so I didn't feel that I had to keep up with them as much.

Port Canaveral:

We had a port arrival time on 11:00. Arrived right on time, we were never asked to see our paperwork for arrival. Pulled right in to unload luggage, to parking garage, then right into terminal. As we were walking into terminal, they were already calling for boarding. We received our sign and sail cards at the desk as apposed to them being at our cabin. Boarding was very quick and easy.

Had a quick lunch, Guy's burgers and some ate off the buffet. Found chairs in the shade on deck 11 and waited on 1:30 for cabin to be ready. At the appointed time we went to cabins, 9380 and 9384. My self and husband and our daughter were in one and the three males in the other. Both were balcony rooms next to each other but did not connect and were set up where the balcony divider couldn't be opened. We booked too late for that. On arrival to the cabins, I noticed that there was no toilet paper. About an hour later the steward arrived asking about morning or evening service. He left out the part about you could have both. He showed me the paper to fill out and both was included on the paper. I marked both. I also informed him that we had no toilet paper. He asked if we needed anything like an extra blanket or pillow. My daughter asked for a pillow and I asked for an extra beach towel as there was only 2 in the room for the 3 of us. He stated ok. Never got the extra pillow and the toilet paper didn't come until we had left the room for sea day brunch on Sunday. Luckily, there are tissues in the bathroom. Had a wonderful dinner that night. Did not make food pictures. We had your time dining in the Northern Lights dining room. Had so-so service that night.

Sea Day #1

Got up early for the sea day brunch. Everything was good. All the guys had the steak and eggs. Looked delicious. Service was very good this visit. We silent this day exploring the ship and playing up on sports square. This was elegant night in the dining room. There were many, many people dressed to the nines. We followed dress code but were not nearly as dressed up as most.

Day # 3 Cozumel:

We have been to Cozumel before, so we just walked around a little while then went to Fat Tuesday. They have the best chips and salsa. We spent quite awhile there as they have free wifi and very good adult beverages. Did some shopping and back on board right after lunch. Found some great lounge chairs deck 10 aft. We were facing the water. There is a pool and 2 hot tubs there. Also a fresh water shower, which I used to cool off multiple times. Dinner that night was also very good. Had different waiters again this night. But they were very good. Didn't make it to the Love and Marriage show, but saw the rerun on TV.

Day # 4 Belize

Went to the Southern LIghts dining room for breakfast. We were seated with two other couples. Very nice to talk to others. We all ordered at the same time. I was surprised at how one of the servers acted. There was an older woman and her daughter both of whom their orders were wrong. Items not brought. I didn't get part of mine either. The female server was almost rude. The male server came behind her and made everything right. We had been here before and almost didn't get off the ship. Last time, it was sort of scary. We had had no time to get familiar with the ports, as our ports were changed 3 years ago to this same itinerary due to Hurrucane Gonzalo. Changed again this time due to hurricanes, but that is what you get in the Fall sailings. But we did get off and walked around and shopped a little. There was a bar at the end by the name of the Wet Lizard. We had drinks and nachos there, was just so-so as far as the drinks and service. Walked back to tinder and returned to ship. We didn't go to Country Road show that night. The kids didn't want to spend the time to eat in the dining room, so just my husband and I went. Asked for a booth and that is where we found Komang and his assistants. He gave excellent service and just seemed like he loved his job. When the servers got up to dance, he could dance like no other. We went to karaoke that night, and the guy working the mike was funny. He cut off the kids singing about 9:00, so then it got better. There was a teenager named Kensie that could really sing. Off to bed after karaoke.

Day # 5 Roatan

Had an early breakfast at the buffet, then off to the beach. It was overcast and humid that morning. Got great lounge chairs, front row. We were near the guy selling coconut water. He kept telling people that it was going to rain and would not clear up this day. Boy, was he wrong. Within a couple of hours, the sun was shining and everyone was in the water. I'm not sure why, but the water has a white look to it. You can't see the bottom. My daughter and I did the fish therapy. Did it really help? No, but it was something to say we did and make pictures. Servers from Fat Tuesday walk around all day, so we ordered nachos and drinks to hold us over. They have wifi that you can buy for $5 for one device for the day. Back on board by about 3, looking for food. That night for dinner it was myself, husband, daughter and her boyfriend. We asked for Komang's table and were seated there. Again, excellent service. Went to see America Rocks, the show for this evening. It was okay. It seemed as though there are only 2 that really sing and they aren't great. I thought we had much better entertainers in the past on other cruises.

Day # 6 Costa Maya

Again, we were worried about this port. Last time there were armed guards everywhere. I have to say I was blown away by the changes. It has been completely commercialized by the cruise industry. I didn't feel unsafe at all this time. Last visit I bought a ring with my children's names cut in to it. I wear it every day. My sister wanted one, so we went to get her one. The price had doubled! I'm sure it was due to the commercialization of the area. Shopped a little, then back on board. Dinner that night was elegant. All of us went, but Komang didn't have a table for 6 available :(. Went to the show, Flick, this night, again was ok, not a waste of time, but not great either.

Day # 7 Sea Day.

Got up early and headed to deck 10 aft. Again got great loungers facing the water. There were no chair hogs in this section. Did have a brief rain shower, but then sunny skies the rest of the day. Tried the Pig and Anchor for lunch. Had to wait too long in the sun. I felt like it was just ok as far as bbq goes. My husband liked it. We spent almost all day on deck 10. Dinner that night was all of us again, only they made a table for 6 for us to sit in Komang's section. Great food and great service.

Debarkation:

We over slept! We were taking our luggage with us though. I thought it went fairly smooth. The problem is the elevators. They called for decks 9 and 10 to leave. We went to go down and there was probably 50 people waiting on elevators. They would come to our floor, but people from decks below would get on before and so they were always full. We decided just to take the steps. 6 flights of stairs!! We basically walked right off and to customs. They checked licenses and birth certificates and we were off. We were out of the parking garage and on the road by 8:00.

I will post more later.

My sister and her husband are on MSC Divina now. She messaged me as the same above. Heading to Miami now. Those who wish, can disembark. Those who disembark hopefully are the ones who drove and can get out of South Florida quickly. My sister's flight is not until Sunday, so as of now, they are staying on ship and heading to Cozumel to wait out Irma.

We've cruised 11 times during hurricane season, with another couple coming up this fall. Not worried in the least... if they need to change the itinerary or ports, so be it, and we actually enjoying the rockier seas (no motion sickness for at all, thank goodness!).

 

Only once in all of those cruises have we had to make a change: October 2014 we were scheduled for a B2B2B that was supposed to be Eastern Caribbean - Western Caribbean - Eastern Caribbean. On the first leg, just after sailaway, the captain informed the ship that due to hurricane Gonzalo gaining strength in the Eastern Caribbean, our ship (the Conquest) was going to change the entire itinerary over to the Western Caribbean instead. We had a fantastic time and we were safe. The sad part was watching the devastation that Gonzalo wreaked upon the islands that we were due to visit that week.

 

One final thing to note - we ALWAYS get travel insurance that includes trip interruption and cancellation... just in case!!

We were on the Conquest with you. We sat in atrium just listening to all the people arguing about the change in itinerary. We were just happy to be on a cruise ship.

We are in East Tennessee, our kids go back to school the first of August. They get a Fall break in October (1 week), Thanksgiving is usually Wednesday to Friday, Christmas is usually 2 weeks and then a Spring break in March for a week. They finish the school year the end of May. This will be our fourth October cruise, always Eastern Caribbean, and always a sold out cruise.

We are booked on Magic for the week of October 7, this cruise has been sold out for weeks. It is fall break for many schools in Tennessee. This will be our first cruise on Magic, very excited!

How do you get the ships on a stick? We are going on our first cruise do they sell them?

You can win them on the cruise. They are the prizes for trivia and other games throughout the week.

We have cruised in October 3 times. Our second cruise was October 2014 out of Miami, on the Conquest. We diverted from eastern to western Caribbean. We received a notification at boarding that they were watching hurricane Gonzalo. After the muster drill, we were informed of the change. Talk about a LOT of unhappy people, thought there was going to mutiny. LOL! We were just happy to be on vacation. Cruising that time of year, You just need to go with an open mind, that changes might occur. We have booked this October on the Magic, counting down the days!

Is there anyone here at cruise critic that has sailed in these cabins? I know they are under seating in the Lido Marketplace, but any information is appreciated. We booked for October and these were the only balconies side by side. Also, if you stayed in one of these cabins, could the balcony barrier between the two be opened. I haven't found any pictures online, but by counting down a few cabins it looks like the balcony doors are placed so that you can't open the barrier door. Thanks in advance.:)

I have a postcard with a picture of the ship. It was our honeymoon 25 years ago. We had a porthole cabin with a double bed and a pull down. It was a 4 day cruise and was $1500. No tv, just a radio that turned off around midnight. I made a picture of it and tried to upload, but it was too large. I don't know how to change the settings. If you want to pm me with your email, I will send it to you.

I did keep fun times. I tried to add photos to review with no luck. I can try to email them, or when my computer literate child comes home, she can maybe add them to my post.

This is my first review. So, a little about us. Myself and husband, daughter and her boyfriend, son, sister and brother-in-law, aged 14-55. This was my family's third Carnival cruises. My sister and brother in laws 7th cruise with Carnival. This was everyone's first cruise on Sunshine. I had read all the reviews on CC, good and bad, but went into this vacation with an open mind.

We traveled to Cocoa Beach on the day before our cruise. We stayed at the Best Western, close proximity to port. Clean rooms and ok breakfast.

Now to the Sunshine. We had FFTF and practically walked straight onto the ship at about 10:30-10:45. Our cabins were on the 7th deck. Perfect deck in my opinion. Took 2 flights of stairs up to Lido, 2 flights down to 5th deck. Those are the most important decks. We had 2 interiors and 1 balcony. I had read about concerns about the temperature in the cabins, but we about froze. No concerns for us! I thought the cabins were smaller than the others the we had on the Freedom and Conquest. The bathrooms are laid out differently, but the shower was the biggest. No shower curtain up against you while showering.

I had read about over crowding, but we were always able to find lounge chairs either at the serenity or by the beach pool. The lines for buffet or dining room moved quickly.

The Marketplace (lido buffet) had smaller areas to get your food, but there were more of them. There were 2 salad bar, main entree, and dessert areas. I thought it moved quickly. The pizza and deli were in the main area also. The BlueIguana and Guy's burgers are out by the beach pool. The Havana Bar was a great place to eat, with seating looking out aft. We tried JiJi and Cucina for lunch and both were good. We had dinner in Cucina del Capitano and enjoyed the peace and quiet, the food was good, and the wait staff very attentive.

The lobby was laid out differently, with the bar in the center. Not much seating due to this. The casino was placed on both sides of the walkway on the fifth floor, so you had to walk thru to get to Ocean Plaza. The smoke smell was incredibly strong. The stairs at the back of the casino had smoke smell all the way up to 7th deck. The ocean plaza was usually crowded, but that was where the fun was. Karaoke, a band (DejaVu) that was great, and trivia was always held here. The comedians were in the Limelight Lounge and it was not designed right. Some of the seats are actually behind the stage and you must watch the show on TV screens. The Liquid Lounge for the Playlist shows is noticeably smaller than its counterpart on other ships, but we always got a seat.

The DejaVu band was really good. They played a mixture of decades of music and were the band for Superstar live karaoke. The Playlist shows were OK. My husband says I'm very blunt. We saw Latin Nights, Studio VIP, and Epic Rock. We saw Epic Rock last year on the Conquest and I thought last years was better. For all the shows, there was one man , I think his name was Ben, that I thought really sang well. It seemed as though the women all screamed instead of sang their songs.

The ports:

St. Maarten - We took the water taxi over to Phillipsburg ($7 unlimited trips each person). We walked a couple of blocks back from the beach and caught the public bus to Mullet Bay ($2 each way per person). It was a beautiful beach. We rented 2 chairs and an umbrella for the day for $15. The sky was blue and the water clear, white sandy beach, just gorgeous. By the time we left, it had started to fill up. We took the bus back to Phillipsburg and walked around the shops a little then back to the ship.

St. Kitts - As we pulled into port that morning, I could see a rock church not far from the port. We walked around the shops. There were men there with monkeys for you to hold and make pictures, one wanted $10 and another $5 for the pictures. We then walked to that church. It was St. George's parish church. It was open and we walked inside then up to the top of the tower. Five flights straight up! My sister and I made it to the fourth level, my husband and son all the way to the top. Then back into town and to the ship.

San Juan - Such a pretty place. Cobblestone streets and beautiful buildings. We walked a few blocks then got on the free trolley that circles the town. We went to Castillo del Morro. $5 to get in, but the view is well worth it. There is also a cemetery right next to it. The fort is for the most part the highest point, so we walked back and stopped at shops on the way back to port.

Grand Turk - we used this as a beach day. Got off and chose lounge chairs partly in the shade and a couple in the sun so we could switch out. Again the water was clear and the sun was shining in the blue sky.

We had great time and enjoyed the Sunshine. The 8 day cruise is great, its only drawback is the itinerary. We were on the ship 10:30 Saturday until 9:00 Tuesday, then 4 ports of call back to back. I would prefer them spread out a little. It wouldn't stop me from going again though.

Off the ship and on the road back to Tennessee by 8:15. Can't wait until our next cruise!