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Magic 11/11/17: My thoughts


funinthesun1964
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Just returned yesterday from a one week cruise on the Magic. We flew into Orlando one day prior. We visited Cozumel, Belize, Roatan, and Costa Maya.

 

We left Cleveland Friday morning, November 10. We had a direct flight on Spirit airlines to Orlando, arriving around 10:30am. No problems with with flight.

 

We had booked with GoPortCanaveral for a hotel and cruise transportation package. We had a choice of hotels to choose from at various prices, and one price includes the transportation to the port and back to the airport upon return from the cruise. Upon arrival at the airport, however, we were to call hotel for shuttle for the transportation there. Now I had originally intended to stay at one of the hotels in Cocoa Beach; but by procrastinating on the booking the prices were higher than I wanted to pay for those hotels. Plus, the hotel I was considering had some sketchy reviews. I decided to play it safe and go with the Hampton Inn Orlando Airport on TG Lee Blvd, which I am glad I did.

 

The shuttle for the hotel arrived within ten minutes after calling. But first, we did have to collect our bags from the airport, which took around 20 minutes or so.

 

The shuttle driver was very nice and offered us a bottle of water. We arrived at hotel and they immediately checked us in and gave us a room, even though it was only around 11;30. Extremely nice. We went to Hooters (nearby) for lunch. There are many restaurants in the area to choose from. Also, a place to buy beer/wine, and a host of other stores in a short distance which you can either walk, or the hotel shuttle will drive you. We met a friend of mine at Bar Louie's (also nearby) for dinner and drinks later, which was nice. Went to bed fairly early to prepare for cruise the next day.

 

GoPortCanaveral had sent instructions to meet in the hotel lobby at 10:45 for pickup at 11:00. The bus was there slightly early, maybe 10:55 or so we departed. We picked up other passengers from the airport and proceeded to the cruise port.

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BOARDING SHIP

 

We arrived at the terminal somewhere around noon. I believe they were boarding zone 21 when we entered the terminal. We were shown to the priority area for check-in (we are platinum) and we were on the ship quickly and efficiently within minutes.

 

So then DH and I went to our cabin, left carry-on items, got situated and decided to head for lunch.

 

We are used to getting on the ship earlier, Lido Deck was CRAZY! People everywhere! I wanted to get Indian Food, which is at the rear of deck 10. DH wanted to get a Guy's Burger. I told him that we would meet somewhere in between the two on the starboard side. After I had a plate of Indian Food (yummy), I headed that way to find a table. None. Nowhere. I went to Guy's Burger and he was just adding toppings. I told him I couldn't find a place to sit. We stalked and walked up and down. Nothing! Then, we saw some people that were getting ready to leave. We waited and waited for them to leave. How much time does it take to leave? Well, another table was telling us that they were leaving also and they were out, we sat down started eating. The other table had still not left and now other people were hovering there. SMH.

 

We were at a table for four (a booth). We decided to both sit on one side so another 2 people could have a place to sit. Soon another couple came, and we met a nice couple from Tennessee to talk with while we had our lunch.

 

By the way, the Indian Food was delish! Loved it. DH was not impressed at all with Guy's Burger. He had previously liked the burgers on other ships, but was not thrilled with this instance. He never had this choice for lunch again. I had a bit of his burger and it tasted dry to me. DH said he preferred other burgers (at home) much more.

 

Later in the day....

 

MUSTER. We were in the conference room on Deck 4. Sitting down, it was painless. Did not drag on and on.

 

MET FOLKS FOR M&G. Informal, social media group. Met some nice folks.

 

DINNER. I'm going to have a post for the dining alone. We had early assigned dining.

 

BED. Ship was really rocking the first couple nights. In fact, all week! But the first two nights were the most noticeable in my opinion. Out of 19 cruises, I think this is the one we felt the most movement throughout the week, but not per night. We've had more movement on particular nights.

 

I'll also do a separate post on our cabin. We had a cove balcony (deck 2).

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CABIN

We were in cabin 2354, a cove balcony. The room was nice, typical layout and bathroom, etc. Sofa and table.

 

This was the first time we had the cove balcony and I did enjoy being close to the water. The seas were not calm, always "wavy" although not horrible. I think I enjoyed it most while in port, we had a port side cabin and we could look down when they brought out the gangway, and when people were returning from port.

We had Pushpa for a cabin steward and she did a great job. She gave us twice a day service, we met her on the first day and asked for robes, which she brought soon thereafter. She also gave us ice, which we didn't request, but we did receive it throughout the week. I did end up using it a couple of times. I had bought a 12 pack of water and two 4-packs of beer for our cabin, so we did end up using the refrigerator as well.

The hairdryer seemed better than other ships, you did have to keep pushing the button, but it seemed to be a little higher power or something. It was still attached to the drawer at the desk. I have short hair so I didn't have a problem at all with it.

We received our platinum gifts (insulated tumblers) and the chocolate covered strawberries on the second day of the cruise.

We sent out laundry twice. The first time we received it the same day in the evening. The second time we didn't receive it in the evening, however, we saw Pushpa in the hall and she said that it would be back the next day, which it was, in the afternoon.

All in all, very satisfied with the cabin and our room attendant.

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DINING ROOM: EARLY ASSIGNED DINING

 

We had early dining in the Southern Lights Dining Room, deck 3 (first floor). We had went to the dining room earlier on the first day, so we knew where to sit and we also found that we had a table for two. This was one of those tables that is just inches away from the table next to you. We had neighbors to one side, and the waiter's stand on the other side.

 

We had I Wayan, I Wayan (yep, two of them!) and Komang (I think that was his name - there was not a name plate on the table as there normally is).

 

The service we had was very slow. The waiters were not personable. I had asked for coffee and never received it. There was a space of at least 15 minutes between appetizer and main course. It just seemed like mass confusion between the members of our dining team. We chalked it up to first day adjustments, maybe a new team working together. However, it did not get better during the week. We saw several mistakes just from our table and we didn't have to look around much. We returned to the dining room a few more times during the week and that was it. We saw a person complain near us around the 4th night and the team did appear to try a little more after that (the main server told us he was going to get in trouble), but still was not great. We did notice the head waiter in the next section was well organized, he had time to chat with his guests and looked like he was having a good time. Sometimes this just happens, but it does not make for a great dining experience.

 

However, we went to the MDR for breakfast on a port day, and we had great service! I have the waiter's name and will mention him in my survey. Wonderful service on both times to the MDR for brunch and breakfast.

 

Not satisfied with our Main Dining Room waitstaff for dinner.

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OTHER DINING VENUES

We decided to go to Cucina Del Capitano for dinner one evening. It was just a spur of the minute decision, we were out on deck and decided to go that evening. We went and were accommodated for a 7pm dinner time.

The food was good, the service was outstanding. We were checked on several times to see if our food was to our liking. We were asked if we would like coffee or anything else at the end of the meal. Dessert, sides, app, main course all included. We did not get the sides and glad we didn't. We couldn't even eat all of the main course. There is also bread on the table soon after you are seated. It is a buttery-garlicy bread, very good and warm and soft. Loved it. We were very happy with our decision on this. For $15 a person, a nice change from the dining room and a lovely atmosphere.

OTHERS

As I mentioned before, I loved the Tandoor. I love Indian food and it was very good. Twice I had this for lunch.

We did eat at Lido for dinner and it was mediocre, but normal for Lido deck. Something to eat. One night I was not feeling well, so I cannot really judge for that reason.

Deli has changed on Magic. Sandwiches are premade. DH went there twice. He loved the BBQ Chicken sandwich. It comes with fries if you want them! I tried the fries and I liked them. Another time we had the reuben sandwich and it was very good. The bread is now thinner, which is fine with me. I had the turkey wrap one night but did not care for it. It was cold and bland.

We had pizza one day for lunch. Very good. Thin crust and good flavor. Pepperoni and mushroom. Hot, made just for us.

We had the sea day hot dog (near sports square). Very good, but pretty difficult to mess up a hot dog. You could get various topping if you chose.

Chocolate Buffet last sea day - meh. I had a white chocolate cake which was fair, but then again I'm not as much of a dessert eater as I used to be.

We did get the Taste Bar offering on one night just before dinner. It was good, just like the other ships. Just a bite.

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CRUISE DIRECTOR

This guy was a hoot. Rev. Dr. E. Is he really a Doctor and a Reverend? I don't know, but he could be a comedian. Very funny. First noticed him at muster drill with the announcements. He made it funny. All cruise, he started each announcement with a little song. The past guest party and pre-shows were entertaining because of him. And he didn't go crazy with the announcements. Minimal interruptions to the day.

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ENTERTAINMENT/ACTIVITIES

I will say that I did not try to cram everything in on this cruise. I was tired and wanted to relax. Here is what I did observe.

Comedians:

Happy Cole was on board. We had seen him before on two other ships and he was funny, however did not make it to one of his shows this time.

 

Jeff the Fun Dude. Just ok.

 

Another comedian: maybe "Jerry"? Not sure. But just ok. Did not see too many shows, so maybe these last two that I have named may have had funnier material at the other shows.

 

PIANO BAR: His name was Patrick. He must have been really good. Every time we passed by, the place was full and everyone was having a great time. We did not participate on this trip.

 

MAIN SHOWS: We saw Flick, we had seen the show on Vista and felt that it was better done (better performers) on the Vista. However, I much prefer the theater setup and seating on the Magic. We also saw the Country Show, it was nothing spectacular but entertaining.

 

TRIVIA: I participated in the trivia about Rock Music. I am fairly knowledgeable here, but only scored 27 out of 30. Someone won with 29 points.

 

DH did the bean bag toss. He did fine, however you have to pick a partner and his partner did not keep up his end of the deal! It was just for fun though, and it was fun.

 

Although I did not follow the fun times for every part of every day, it seemed that there were activities planned throughout. I chose to just do whatever I felt like at the time.

 

CASINO: I lost alot on the first night. The machines I played were tight! Later in the week I returned and hit $45 on one machine and then hit $105 on another. This was playing the minimum. I was down overall. And yes, of course it was smoky in there.

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PORTS

Cozumel: We did the famous Bar Hop Tour. Had a great time. I was glad we chose this for Cozumel, because it had rained off and on this day. At least we were in a bus or in bars/restaurants. We had the shrimp ceviche at Coconuts and it was good and the coconut shrimp at the last place (Rastas) and it was delicious. It was fun seeing other places and at the end of the tour they dropped us off at the port. We boarded the ship then because of the rain.

BELIZE: We stayed on the ship since we had been to this port twice before. We are also going again in February, so we had a relaxing day - gym in the morning, breakfast in the dining room, and on deck to relax and sun. We were at the back of the ship and it was not crowded. The clouds were out in the morning but we got more sun than we realized. DH got burned on his forehead and later peeled. We had a nice day.

ROATAN: I had pre-booked Tabyana Beach, about a 45 minute drive from the ship. We boarded the bus and left, it was sunny when we arrived. We enjoyed the ocean and our seats for about an hour, and then the rains came. We had a lunch there, which was good, and went back and forth between the rains/sun for a couple times before we decided to leave. We arrived there at 10 and left at 1. They have buses going back every half hour or so and last one to ship is at 4. There is security there around the sun lounges so you don't have to worry. Also, there are vendors walking up and down the beach, but security keeps them away from guests and they are not allowed to approach. Once you enter the beach however, you are fair game. We just said no thanks and enjoyed the water for a while. No problem. Once back on the ship, we showered and changed, went to Red Frog Pub for some Thirsty Frog Red. A nice day in spite of the rain.

COSTA MAYA: We stayed on the ship as we had been to the port before. Also, this was an early port day, all had to be onboard by 1:30. We had a relaxing breakfast, went to the aft of the ship, talked to a fellow cruiser (Skymaster-hello, nice to meet you! Enjoyed talking with you). Then we decided to spend some time at the Serenity. Speaking of Serenity, we met some great bar staff there - Hart and Gusti. They were great. Gusti took great care of us up there. It was a beautiful day this day, until later in the afternoon when it turned very windy. Chairs were moving. The next day, which was our last sea day, the serenity deck was closed due to high winds.

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The last sea day we spent at the rear of deck 10 again. It was a little cooler than what I expected (I think because of the wind) but we managed to get more sun. I took a nap on the deck chair and spent some time in the hot tub and met some nice people.

 

We attended the past guest party (VIFP) which was held in the front theater and was fairly crowded. The recognized all of the diamond members, there were several on board. We were introduced to the management staff and the captain, and the usual games, etc. The drinks and apps were plentiful. We left with drinks in our hands.

 

DEBARKATION

Many people evidently wanted to leave the ship early, an announcement was made to please clear deck 3 near the gangway. We waited a little while for the ship to clear (not long). They had left a note in our cabin to meet at one of the dining rooms for VIFP debarkation at 6:30. We weren't there at 6:30 but we were down there by 7 and by that time they had started debarkation process. We found our GoPortCanaveral bus and waited for about 20-25 minutes for some more passengers to get on the bus. Then they radio'd someone and we went to the Disney ship to pick up some passengers there. Then we were on our way to the airport. We checked in and went through security - a mess! and I'm clausterphobic! - but we had plenty of time for our 11:30 flight.

 

Overall, a nice cruise, but with poor dining room service. I got some much-needed extra sleep this cruise and enjoyed our cabin. Most of the staff friendly with a nice greeting, a few I noticed said nothing and did not even smile or acknowledge. The balcony deck chairs were being replaced during one of the port days of the cruise, and some wood railing was being replaced on another day. We did notice painting, general maintenance being done on several occasions.

 

I will also say that personally, I prefer the smaller ships - with less people - but I did like this ship over the Vista. Loved the atrium too! The crowding was most noticeable on the first day. There were times we had to wait for elevators and it seemed they stopped at almost every floor most of the time. A few times we were really squeezed in there.

 

I hope I covered many useful areas. I will try to answer any questions. Enjoy your cruises, everyone!

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Following along. We were on Magic in September to same ports and had a great time.

 

Excellent. We are going on Miracle (Tampa) next, in February 2018 and will be going to three of the same ports again. Will book an excursion in Belize for that trip, and not sure yet on the other ports.

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I stood in line for 45 minutes before boarding at 11 am. Debark wasn't much better, didn't get off until 9:45 am.

 

We got off early but did self assist, we were off around 7 or shortly after. I know on Splendor out of Miami last October, the boarding process was a mess. We are platinum and didn't get to board until the same time as zone 4.

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Once again another great review filled with good information and insight. One question: did you hear any sounds from the galley above your cabin?

Welcome Back!

 

Thanks! Luckily, in our location I did not hear any noise from the galley above. One exception: the very last night I did hear something that I thought was thunder, but was not - it was evidently some noise from above. Either there was not much noise throughout the week, or else I was so tired and I slept right through the night. Which is very, very unusual for me.

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Great review. I enjoyed Magic, but I found the crowds extremely overwhelming compared to the smaller ships.

 

I'm not a fan of crowds either. That is why I do prefer the smaller ships. Plus, I enjoy seeing the same passengers over and over again. On a ship of this size, you rarely run into the same people again.

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