Just off Magic

We had a wonderful Western Caribbean cruise last week. There were 8 of us. The following are my thoughts and my thoughts only.

The ship: the Magic was beautiful. We always saw someone cleaning. Most venues were easy to access. There were some lines, but we learned fast which venues and times to avoid.

The crew: we met our steward soon after they opened the rooms on embarkation day. That was the last time we saw him. Don't get me wrong, I dont have to have daily interaction with our steward. I just found this unusual. I chose evening service and that was fine.

We ran into some chair hogging on our last sea day. Chairs were saved with a flip flop for well over two hours. We complained to a crew member who did not want to do anything. She finally said she would put a sticker on the chairs, but the clock would start over at 40 minutes. I said never mind. They showed up 1/2 later and took their flip flops having never used the chairs! WTH?

Other cruise members were extremely friendly and helpful. I am waiting on a hip replacement so I used a knee scooter and a cane to get around. The crew was so helpful. One morning I had an officer get me a bowl of grits. I didnt ask, he offered. We bought a spa pass so we spent a lot of time in the spa. The spa personnel were friendly and attentive. I can't say enough about the thelossotheropy pool-heaven. My husband bought me a message for Christmas. It was wonderfu! Guess what!? She didn't try to sell me anything!

The food and dining. Ugh. I wish I could have some better things to say. We ate in the MDR most nights. The service was good, the food, not so much. The quality has really tanked. We had some good dishes, but it was hit or miss. We ate at the Italian restaurant one night - meh. I got linguini and clams, it was way too salty. My husband got the fettuccini alfredo, he said it was ok. Twice during the height of breakfast, they decide to clean the coffee machines. No coffee for breakfast! Because of my mobility issues, it was easier for us to eat breakfast on lido. They were constantly running out of food. One day they would run out of French toast. Another day, they would run out of eggs Benedict. (I always get this because I can get a real egg without having to go to the omelette line). They ran out of potatoes a couple if times. The answer was always the same "it'll be 10 minutes". They know its breakfast time, I would think they would have a back up. But, oh well, I survived.

The high spots were Guy's, always a crowd pleaser. Blue Iguana, and Tandoori. The pizza was ok.

Entertainment. Like i said, I had mobility issues so we only saw one show, it just wasn't worth the hassel. We saw Flick. We enjoyed it. We tried to get into a comedy show. Again, it was just too crowded for me to try to get in.

Anyway, like I said, we had a wonderful cruise. We are already planning our next one.

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Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Thank you for your review! I agree with everything you said, but never not seen my cabin steward all the time, that was strange, or maybe he just don't linger in the hallway much as many do?

I totally agree with you on the food...we never eat dinner in the MDR, we always go nightly to the Steakhouse, amazing overall! I also love Blue Iguana, found myself there nearly every afternoon lol.

I am sorry about your hip, and good luck on the surgery, I know a handful of people who had that done and they all pleased and happy they did it. I am going for my surgery on my herniated discs Wednesday, I also have bone spurs protruding into my spinal cord, causing me a great deal of pain, burning and pins and needles in extremities, I had it so its time before I get paralyzed in my hands and arms, already lost use of some fingers (I can type extending fingers out and tapping on keyboard) and toes so its time. Surgeon says I need six weeks to recover from the worse of the surgery (but 4-8 months for the bone grafting) and that I will make my cruise in 7 weeks, thank goodness! Good luck with your surgery at least you got to enjoy a cruise before it, and with me, I will get my surgery done and look forward to my cruise afterwards lol.

Thanks for your review. We enjoyed our three cruises on the Magic. Nice ship, great crew.

I agree with your assessment of the MDR. It was never gourmet but it used to offer a variety of selections, mostly well prepared, and served at the appropriate temperature. The American Table not so much, and the wait teams are running ragged.

Thanks for taking the time to post.

Thank you for your review! I agree with everything you said, but never not seen my cabin steward all the time, that was strange, or maybe he just don't linger in the hallway much as many do?

 

I totally agree with you on the food...we never eat dinner in the MDR, we always go nightly to the Steakhouse, amazing overall! I also love Blue Iguana, found myself there nearly every afternoon lol.

 

I am sorry about your hip, and good luck on the surgery, I know a handful of people who had that done and they all pleased and happy they did it. I am going for my surgery on my herniated discs Wednesday, I also have bone spurs protruding into my spinal cord, causing me a great deal of pain, burning and pins and needles in extremities, I had it so its time before I get paralyzed in my hands and arms, already lost use of some fingers (I can type extending fingers out and tapping on keyboard) and toes so its time. Surgeon says I need six weeks to recover from the worse of the surgery (but 4-8 months for the bone grafting) and that I will make my cruise in 7 weeks, thank goodness! Good luck with your surgery at least you got to enjoy a cruise before it, and with me, I will get my surgery done and look forward to my cruise afterwards lol.

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Thank you!!(y)

Did you save your FunTimes ? Was your itinerary Cozumel, then Belize, Honduras, Costa Maya ? Would you mind posting your FunTimes ?

That was our itinerary, but I didn't save the Fun Times.

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Get well soon. Follow doctor's orders.

Going on Magic in 6 days. Thanks for the review

I was on this cruise too with my senior citizen mom.... MDR 5 nights, and five nights I had Indian Vegetarian. Desserts are 'weak'. I'm fine with fruit though. Did the Chef's Table and it was fantastic. Thought the Cucina was delicious but I can not remember what I ordered! Heading back in April with hubby. Got a few things at the Tandoor and had just 1 small piece of pizza. Both were good.

Spent most of my time in the casino--and left with a whole lot of money! Lucky me... the 1099 was in my mailbox for some of it when I opened my door the morning we returned to port. :D

Never had a problem with food in Lido and ran into one coffee machine that was inop. One Guy's Burger (eh, I'll skip it next time). DIdn't do the deli. Never made it to Red Frog or a show, because I've seen all those shows. We had a Spa Balcony and it is really quiet up there. Didn't spend a lot of time outside due to winds.... and the aforementioned lucky streak every day in the casino. I was drinking for free on Day 2 but don't really drink, lol. My entire alcohol consumption on that cruise was 1 beer in the lobby bar, my free glass of wine (which cost me $1.44 as i wanted the Pinot Grigio and I gave $2 for a tip) and the wine at the Chef's Table. In the casino I had just 3 diet Cokes.

I have not been thrilled with Carnival desserts in the Lido for a long time. On the plus side I don't find myself overindulging. The veggies were very fresh and what I had up there was good. Their french toast is delicious as is the oatmeal. They also know how to boil eggs.

Did a couple of excursions including Cozumel by Land and Sea, which was pretty good. In Belize we did Altun Ha and River Wallace, which I've previously done. The river was very high and we saw lots of gators but not much other wildlife. Didn't venture out of the port in Roatan or Costa Maya, despite having plans to go to Mahajual. It was too cold and windy.

Boarding was easy with the 1230pm arrival time, and we did a walk off at 715am. We were walking in the house by 745am (and I was in the bank parking lot with a wad of cash to deposit before I flew home! My mom is about 10 miles from the port while I am a 2 hour flight away.)

There were 4055 passengers on board (was the John Heald cruise.) Never saw John, unfortunately. Lots of things to do, and the SuperBowl on the big screen was awesome.

The ship was clean, but the floor in the Lido needs a good scrubbing as it is too slippery. Otherwise no complaints. Hope I get that lucky run in the casino again, but I probably won't. At least I am prepared to stop if I'm losing. lol

Thanks for the report!

Thanks for your reports.

Keith

Thanks for the review.

Thanks for the wad of cash.......

:confused::confused::confused::confused: