csoud68

Not very happy about that since we bought a spa suite...no real benefits at all. 

We are gonna get a day pass at the four seasons. Looks stellar.

ill look into that everglades excursion just in case...ty

yes, we do have all day. not sure about renting a car. its probably easier to contact the hotel we are staying at the previous week and ask them if we can drop our bags there. then we can just return around 5 and get them on way to airport. 

coming off the celebration next february and wont have a flight back home until 9 pm that night..we wanna be last off..lol....how long can we get away with staying in the lido before we gotta roll out? again we arent in a rush.

just got back from Bimini. the water there is stunning.  i highly recommend the resorts world day pass to the bimini beach club. i have been cruising for 20 years and that was one  impressive place.

the tram picks you up at the end of the pier and takes you right to the front of the place. there are a ton of beach front chairs and umbrellas and also tons of chairs around 2 pools.  my wife likes the pool and i like the beach. we started at the beach for a couple hours and then went to the pool. i suggest you be one of the first off the ship to get your pick of the chairs.  we were in the first tram over. 

also starting at 11 am you can absolutely walk down to the left and go to the vip area and order a sit down lunch and have a clear view of the ocean while you eat. the burger and fries there was $18. 

if i could go back tomorrow id do it the exact same way. just go there and spend as long as possible.

i can post some pics if you need to see it for yourself. i took quite a few and they are very good.

The sodas we get always seem to be flat. Who knows how old those cans are...and I think they sit on pallets in hot areas...

We don't do that up charge anymore..

5 hours ago, geochick73 said:

Thanks for sharing!   We are sailing on the Magic in 3 weeks.   First time out of Norfolk and our first time on the Magic.  We've booked an aft wrap balcony on deck 7....also our first balcony!  Looking so forward to it!    

 

Happy to hear that the MDR experience was good.  Did you happen to catch the production numbers?  We enjoy going to those but on our last cruise out of Mobile, they were pretty bad. 😞

This will help immensely..you can walk through the middle of the ship on decks 3, 4, 5..but for quick access depending on where u are...

Forward elevators go to

1. Deck 12 spa...if you walk to the rear of the spa there is an elevator that goes to serenity deck 15

2. Showtime theater on decks 3,4,5

3. Guest services deck 3

4. Main atrium on deck 3

5. Deck 3, 4..Northern lights mdr

Mid ship elevators

1. Deck 5 casino 

2. Deck 5 ocean plaza..pig and anchor is outside off ocean plaza, alchemy . bar, coffee and cake station..down past that area is red frog pub

3. Deck 10 Front of lido/pool 

Rear elevators

1. Deck 5 Spotlight lounge..piano bar 

2. Deck 10 rear of lido/ aft pool/pizza/seafood shack 

3. Deck 3, 4 southern lights mdr..

Our room was 7343..we were close to mid elevators so I could get to the casino and ocean plaza and front of lido fast

I had a bit of a walk to get to the rear elevators and fronts...

I suggest using your stateroom hallways to walk to proper elevators..much faster than using the wrong elevator and then wading through crowds..

4 hours ago, geochick73 said:

Thanks for sharing!   We are sailing on the Magic in 3 weeks.   First time out of Norfolk and our first time on the Magic.  We've booked an aft wrap balcony on deck 7....also our first balcony!  Looking so forward to it!    

 

Happy to hear that the MDR experience was good.  Did you happen to catch the production numbers?  We enjoy going to those but on our last cruise out of Mobile, they were pretty bad. 😞

Yes..we really enjoyed the rock show and flick..

We walked out of The 88 keys piano show before it started..we could see it was not good. The guy can't sing..lol

14 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

I would be so mad because I love hanging out on my balcony. My DH wouldn't let me but I would want to throw ice cubes at them.  Grrrr....

Not gonna lie I thought of zinging a golf ball down there.

Problem is, I didn't have any golf balls and I wouldn't have anyway🤣

47 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

Sorry that happened. Did you complain to Guest Services?  Just curious if they would have done anything.  Probably not😞

No; didn't even try. 

1 minute ago, mz-s said:

 

Did you find that you got a lot of noise in your room or did the windows do a good job of blocking noise?

Couldn't hear a thing with deck door closed. You could here a pin drop. 

Sleeping at night was great. Occasionally we heard loud people walking the hall but not much else..

19 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

I'll say something that a lot of Carnival apologists are unwilling to say, I'm sorry you had to deal with that. Carnival should do a better job of ensuring a family-friendly, fun atmosphere on their ships. It is ruining their reputation with the general public.

Thanks and i Agree. Luckily for me I had wall to wall full windows and I had amazing views while sitting on my bed. 

10 minutes ago, cruisesoon said:

If you are getting dropped off can you go directly to the port?  How about disembark same thing?  

Yes on both...depending on how busy the port traffic circle is, you may have to get dropped of across the street. but porters are there curbside to assist.

I will say leaving looked alot more chaotic. I saw cars backed up with nobody to picknup..that blocked traffic..be precise as possible as to when you think u will actually be our front to leave.

I was just on the magic and my suite was over the deck 5 hot tub.

Most times  I went out on my deck I heard terrible language. I mean the foulest language.

I paid a pretty penny to have that deck and view. I had envisioned in my head how great it was going to be.

Then I was quickly shown that I had a choice to make. Sit out there and hear the barrage of language or go inside and not use my deck.

That was a choice I never expected to make. 

1 hour ago, stobe1 said:

Nobody at all? 

I was on the ship for a week and there was zero negative talk on the process.

But its so good of you to point  that out!! It's people like you that hold us all accountable. I tip my 👒.

We sailed on the first 23' norfolk sailing. This was my second Magic cruise. My first was in 2017.

Embarkation and debarkation are covered in another thread so I won't address that. We definitely enjoyed our cruise . I'll just do some fast positives vs negatives..

Positives

1.  We thought the dining room dinners were very good. Service was great.

2. The carnival hub app is much better than last time. We saved copies of "fun times" for nostalgia but you end up relying on the hub app. The chat feature for $5 is a steal.. It's a breeze to check in for dinner. They notify you within minutes what actual table you have.

3. Carnival does a great job entertaining everyone. Very fun.

4. Our suite was well appointed and comfy..we were in 7374. Ocean sounds and views were stunning. 

5. Elevators are in good spots..I encourage newbies to use them to your advantage.

6. Non smoking casino was very nice to lose 💰.

7. Guys burgers and fries were yumm.

Negatives

1. The lido is a disaster at peak times. 9 am-11 am is a cattle call. Sesrching for a table can be frustrating.

But...You can easily offset that by going in earlier. 

2. Magic balconies overlook deck 5. Just forget going onto the deck for peace.

We were down from a hot tub and heard loud drunk people all week without fail.

Early mornings and late evenings were the only times to be out there. Fortunately we had huge windows to see the ocean from inside..

3. Carnivals  politics seem to be forced on the cruiser more than ever. That can be irritating to a segment of cruisers. Some cruisers are more outspoken than others. 

That's all...much more positive than negatives... 

3 hours ago, seaman11 said:

Thank you . Do you know how much is parking there per day? 

$15

I just got off the magic this morning..I liked the fries with the seasoning.

I've had both versions and these were just fine..

People were boarded earlier than arrival time..

They have enough staff to handle it. The crew is from Baltimore. They don't mess about..

8 minutes ago, mz-s said:

Thanks for the review, I am sailing in September and was nervous. Last year seems like it was a complete cluster. Glad to hear of the improvements made.

 

Do you know if the cedar grove lot filled up? I'll be parking but probably won't be arriving until closer to Noon on our embarkation day. I wonder if it fills where do they send the overflow guests.

No it doesnt, its a huge lot. You will be fine. You may just have to roll your luggage from the actual car to the bus area.

We had a 10 am appt so we arrived very early and had to park across the street and wait until the lot opened. 

We parked at 9:40 and were at check in counter by 10:10...

With embarkation or debarkation...now that I've done it I can clear things up..

Embarkation...if you are driving in then you have to park at cedar Grove parking lot.

Lot opens officially at 9:45....if u come earlier you will be turned away. 

The Norfolk police control lots. Carnival has zero responsibility there. The lot opened 7 min early.

Handicap parking is very close. 

The earlier you arrive the closer to the busses you will be. Porters get your bags quickly and get you on a bus.

Your checked bags go on a uhaul and they take those later. Just take a carryon.

At the port they filter you in and get you checked in. Follow appt times. We were onboard at 10:45.

You can be dropped off if u live local. Porters are available. 

Debark...self assist people were walking off at 7:15...

If u don't self assist you go to a location and wait until the bags in your assigned section are offloaded. They will then let u know and you just have to be patient in line...

We are at the cedar point lot. It doesn't open until 9:45..

Our carnival boarding time is at 10...this lot should open much earlier...

No way you can park, catch a bus, arrive at the terminal and be up there in 15 min...

Absolutely...they are beautiful..I use them on each magic sailing..

Priority debarkation is big.  When I get up the last morning I'm ready to roll.  Get me off faster is way better than mingling in lounge for an hour.  

And getting on early and accessing your room is sweet.