Open Mind23

I recommend not to get the Internet package unless you absolutely need it. The speed is so slow it is next to useless. The Chat plan, however, is invaluable to any parent with a teenager.

There is also the onboard movie channels and pay per view like option. The movie channels run a single movie each day, one a child appropriate the other usually a PG-13 drama, romance, or action genre. These are on a 2 hour loop starting at midnight, many times these will be movies that are or have been shown on the big screen up on the Lido deck recently (just not the same night). The pay per view option is more of adult subject matter, and will be listed on the final S&S account statement.

Just a heads up many times, except for cruise line generated content, channels will go offline, as the ship moves out of 1 satellite's service zone before reaching another. This can also affect the TVs in the sports bar.

Just got off the Paradise and they no longer run a single movie per day. They had a rotation of about 6 movies that were looped throughout the cruise, with 30 minutes intermission between each successive movie. Off the top of my head, the movies were Sherlock Gnomes, Ferdinand, The Commuter, Murder on the Orient Express, Midnight Sun and one other movie (which I can't remember off the top of my head.)

Last year, my daughter was 12 and we cruised on the Carnival Magic (capacity over 6,000), she went to Circle C for young teens and didn't seem to like it very much and did not make any friends. Last week we cruised the Carnival Paradise (less than half the capacity of the Magic) and we couldn't get her away from Circle C. She walked away from that cruise with about 6 good friends she had met (BFFs :-)) and several more acquaintances.

My question is this: has anyone noticed that it is a lot easier for teens to make friends on the smaller ships? Does the overwhelming number of passengers on the larger ships make it more difficult for your kids to see the same kid twice?

It's possible that my daughter has just grown a year older and become more independent and outgoing, or maybe there was just a great set of girls that bonded on this trip. But I suspect the smaller ships make it easier for kids to make some good friends. Tell me if I'm wrong.

I'll be sailing "Magic" later this year, so I appreciate your review. The BIG shows have always been a highlight for me on a cruise, and I too, have noticed that they have REALLY slipped lately. What shows were presented on your cruise?

Once again, THANKS for posting.

 

"SKY"

I only saw two shows. Opening Night was the Cruise Director Dr. Reverend E., then some of the show performers doing some songs. Much of the audience started to walk out when the show performers were on (which I find rude and would never do, but it does show that a lot of people did not like it).

The second night was 'Country Road' or something like that. I did not see that because I am not a big country music fan, so I cannot rate it one way or another.

The last night was a Rock N' Roll retro show. I thought it was pretty good, but not spectacular. At least I did not enjoy it as some of the past shows Carnival used to do.

The other nights I believe were audience driven shows (game shows with audience members), which I did not attend. That's not really my thing.

Also, I did see one of the comedians perform at the comedy club, a country guy from Georgia. I saw the PG show only and it was pretty good, but I did not laugh as much as some other comedians I have seen on Carnival Cruises before. Unlike in past cruises, I did not see a sampling of the comedians on the opening night show.

Maybe someone else who saw the other shows could pipe in about what they saw, especially if they saw any of the other nights that I missed.

Yes, my kids are athletic and love anything video games. I did see this ship has an arcade and a basketball court along with many other teen friendly things. I'm getting excited!

Yes, I really liked the athletic area and so did my daughter who shot some hoops with my dad. The video arcades are about $1.25 per one play.

Great review, thanks for sharing.

 

I'm a first timer planning a family cruise for next summer. I came across this site the other day while doing some online research. I'm a bit overwhelmed and don't even have all the cruise lingo down so sometimes I don't even know what I'm reading. :)

 

I see a cruise I'm interested in that goes to the eastern Caribbean in late June 2018 on the Magic. My boys will be 18 and 13 at the time of the cruise so I'm looking a ship that will have lots of fun and excitement for them. This being one of the bigger newer ships I think they will enjoy that.

 

I need to do a little more research on the Magic and also figure out how to get the best price/perks. I figure starting this early in my search is to my advantage.

 

Your review was very helpful!

My daughter is 12 and she did use the Circle C 'Tweens' club, and it did look like a very cool place to socialize and meet other kids, but she is a little shy with kids she does not know, so she did not spend much time there, so she met other friends in the swimming pool.

But I can imagine these cruises are blast for teenagers, be it Carnival or any other cruise line. A great chance to meet a whole bunch of new friends and have a great time. Unfortunately, I never had the chance to go when I was a teenager. Are your sons outgoing? I think they'll have a blast.

The logic extends to Carnival as well. Some might say why cruise at all, given the expense? All that money could go toward one's retirement.

 

This message may have been entered via voice recognition. Please excuse any typos.

Actually, I was going to add that as well. That garners even more savings, and believe me, I have tried to argue with my wife that some years we should just go to Smoky Mountain National Park or something for less than $1,000. But she really likes cruises and Carnival is a compromise. We usually spend less than $2,000 for everything (cruise, hotels, transport) for a 5 day cruise.

Having done Carnival x 4 (and soon #5 next month), as well as Disney x2, the difference is night/day. The level of service, the new ships, the really cool technology on the new ships, large staterooms, really good food, and to be honest, no casinos - which is great when travelling with kids. Also really cool water slides!

 

While I was apprehensive at first in fear of too much Disney 24x7, it actually wan't bad at all. In fact, we found many people do Disney without kids purely because the level of service is that much higher. While I can't recall any specifics, I would agree that if Disney is 5 star, then Carnival would be around 3.5. The pricing is high during the busy season because hey, it's Disney and they can, but you can often find some pretty good deals too if you can travel in non-peak times.

 

You would do Disney not just for the cruise aspect, but for the Disney experience.

No offense, but screw all that. I'll pocket the difference between Disney and Carnival, invest it into mutual funds, and retire at an earlier age (hopefully :-)). Now, if I were a multimillionaire and money was not an object, I would probably feel differently. But I am not a multimillionaire, and IMHO, spending that kind of money like one would need to spend to go on a Disney Cruise is financially irresponsible (for most middle class people).

At the end of the day, after a vacation, any vacation, I feel completely refreshed and happy. The extra bells and whistles on a Disney ship are unlikely to do anything to increase my satisfaction.

Kudos to Carnival for making cruises affordable to the middle class.

Thanks so much - question - we will be at those ports when the Conquest will be docked - 7,352 people - how crowded were the ports for you?

Amber Cove: I was surprised the pool at Amber Cove was not crowded at all. That being said, it was an overcast day with a little bit of rain, so I am not sure how much the sparse attendance at the pool was influenced by the lack of sun vs. how much the attendance was influenced by people wanting to take excursions instead of going to the pool.

Grand Turk: Very crowded but very fun!!! If you want to have an umbrella by the Margaritaville pool, I suggest you get off the boat as early as possible. We got off the boat about a half hour to 45 minutes after docking and got the very last umbrella. They are free but there are a limited number of them by the poolside.

There are many more umbrellas by the beach, which I did not go on because we went to the beach at Nassau and because I was told the Grand Turk beach right by the port is man-made and not so great. I can tell you that the small beach was absolutely packed and once again you should get off the boat early if you want to get a spot.

Note: Only our ship the Magic was docked at Grand Turk. I have heard on some days there may be two ships, but hopefully not with a ship of your size.

Nassau: Junkenoo Beach, a short walk from the cruise port, was the same as always, so no need to get off the boat early. If one area is crowded, you can always walk down a ways to get a less crowded spot.

Let me know if you have any other questions, I would be happy to help.

This was our first cruise with Carnival since 2014, and our first one a boat from the Dream Class, so I thought I'd post some observations for the benefit of anyone going anytime soon on a Carnival Cruise:

1. First of all, a Carnival Cruise is still FUN, FUN, FUN, so any observations that seem negative should not negate the fact that the entire family had a real blast and would go again in a heartbeat. With that out of the way...

2. Newer Ships: Of course, the facilities are nicer on a newer ship. That being said, the larger ships seem a touch more impersonal (like never seeing the same person twice during the cruise) and the lines are longer. I honestly think I prefer the older and smaller ships. The facilities may not be quite as nice, but they feel more 'cozy' to me, for lack of a better word.

3. Cruise Elegant: I know some people complain about two Cruise Elegant nights on one cruise. I can tell you that I noticed very few people dressed up for the second Cruise Elegant night. I myself had forgotten about it being the second Elegant night and walked in the main dining room with shorts and a collared shirt with no problem at all. A prediction: the second Cruise Elegant Nights will eventually be phased out at some point by Carnival, if this cruise was any indication.

4. Carnival Hub: I would highly recommend getting the $5 chat feature, especially on a larger boat like the Magic. It was an invaluable tool in keeping track of our tween daughter, and it allowed us to allow her more leeway to come and go as she pleased.

5. The Shows: If there was one disappointment, I feel the shows are not as good as they used to be. It seems the amount they spend on production has been cut from what I remember. It was somewhat made up for by the highly entertaining cruise director, Dr. Rev. E.

6: Sail Away Party: This was the best Sail Away Party by far. Dr. Rev. E has a ton of energy. It lasted a long time.

7. Excursions: This is a great cruise to go on if you do not like spending money on excursions. All three ports (Nassau, Amber Cove, Grand Turk) either have a beach, a giant pool or both within walking distance of the ship.

All in all, another great cruise from Carnival!

Actually, the dress code has gotten so lax, I think you could walk in naked on cruise elegant night and no one would say a word :)

Well, for anyone still interested, Carnival did not hesitate to get my stepmother straight through to the check-in counter, and I don't think they ever looked at the time on her boarding pass.

My understanding is that they no longer give priority to disabled guest. I'm guessing too many people were taking advantage of it to get on early. I would assume you need to wait until the later time if you want to board with them.

Thanks for the info-terrible that people would pretend to be disabled to get on to the ship early, it really hurts things for those that are truly disabled.

Unfortunately, my father and stepmother chose the wrong embarkation time when they finalized their paperwork for this Sunday's Magic cruise, and they are scheduled a half hour later than the rest of us.

Since my stepmother is disabled (wheelchair) and is with us, do you think they will let my father and stepmother in with us at the earlier time? Or should we just all go together at their later time?

In the past, once the cruise lines have seen she is disabled, they always whisk her straight to the front of the line, but I do not know if the same applies for changing her appointed time.

Thanks for the review! We sail on Sunday and can't wait! We love the comedy shows so I'm glad to hear you enjoyed them. Did you see the family shows/adult shows or both? This will be our first time doing tickets for the shows so I hope our experience goes as smoothly as yours.

We're going on Sunday too! Looks like there may be a little rain on Sunday, but so far the rest of the forecast for the cruise is looking pretty good!

OK, I gotta bite on this one....how is it "disruptive"? :confused:

 

We all agree that the dress codes on most, if not all cruise lines have gotten more relaxed....Back in the 60's and 70's, at the bare minimum it was a suit w/tie....many cruisers wore tux's and evening gowns for dinner....Any reasonable person agrees the dress codes have relaxed significantly....Fast forward to today that on a 7 day cruise, 2 nights are considered "Elegant". Elegant consists of a pair of slacks and a collared shirt for me, yet that is unreasonable? Seriously?

It's just the times we live in. People would rather be relaxed than pressured to be dress up (even to the lowered 'dress up' standards).

That being said, as long as you don't go into the main dining room, you can really dress however you want, even on cruise elegant night.

Argggh, only 4 people per cabana? We will have a party of 5. Is it a nice swimming pool?

The price is now $160.

 

 

https://www.carnival.com/shore-excursions/grand-turk/poolside-cabana-rental-440035?b=69364D62306A3443426F564377657457676D58724F673D3D

 

I was about to post a similar question but it looks like you did not get a response.

It looks like the swimming pool is really nice in Amber Cove, but I am wondering if after being in Grand Turk the previous day we might not be up for something different.

We are also going to Grand Turk- the free pool and free beach sounds great!

That being said, are there other parts of the island worth touring, and how much would it be to book a local tour of the island.

The Carnival activities look very expensive. A private cabana is about $300, though sometimes I think it may be worth it to stay out of the sun.