JUST BACK FROM THE MAGIC 7/15-7/22 - RANDOM thoughts from a Platinum

[Texarribean Chick]

We are just back from our vacation and I must say that we thoroughly enjoyed our 23rd sailing with Carnival. I am 47 and DH is 50 and these are just some random thoughts, comments, and observations from our perspective.

 

EMBARKATION - we arrived at the terminal at around 10:00. The weather was misty and cloudy. We had prepped our luggage with shrinkwrap to avoid any wet items if the luggage had to linger on the pier while be loaded. When I had mentioned this in another thread before leaving on our trip, there were those that said the wrap would be removed; but it was not removed while on the pier; but was removed before the luggage was delivered to our cabin. We passed through security carrying on a case of water. The water was removed and only about three random bottles were shaken and replaced. We also had (4) bottles of champagne in our carry on - only (1) was confiscated. DH also had a rum runner containing rum in his cargo shorts pockets and it passed with no problems. We were on board immediately after photos at 10:45am.

 

CABIN - we stayed in Cabin 9268. Typical balcony room. This particular room opened immediately to the elevator/stair lobby forward. We had no noise what so ever from the elevator "dings"; but I will say that the very last night of the cruise - we had very rude young teens standing right outside our door until around 12:30 playing, yelling and screaming. I finally went and opened the door and asked them to take the party somewhere else. This particular group of kids was around 13/14 years old. Their response was "yes ma'am" and that was all I heard from them. However, out closer to the staircase was another group of 17-20 years old who saw me ask the younger kids to quiet down; but this older group decided they didn't care and continued their loudness until around 1:30am when I called security and finally the party stopped. For the life of me, I cannot quite figure out exactly "why" they chose to party right there in the elevator lobby instead of find a more comfortable place elsewhere that would not have disturbed anyone (???)

Our Cabin steward did a wonderful job of keeping our room clean and neat. He even provided a small hard side ice chest to ice down our champagne and water. Our ice bucket was regularly filled. We did tip extra for his service, however the one thing that upset me was that when luggage tags were put out before debarkation, we only received (2) tags for Zone 1. We needed one extra tag and we asked the steward assistant for an extra (tipping him an additional couple of bucks). He said he would get it for us. The next thing we know - there was a knock at the door, and this was our steward telling us that we needed to go to Guest Services to request add'l. luggage tags. I do not quite understand this, considering every other person we knew on board received (4) luggage tags each for their zones.

Also, our steward never once greeted us by name. Considering this was recently a topic with John Heald, we were only greeted with a kind hello.

 

FOOD - We at most nights in the MDR scheduled for YTD. We typically went to dinner around 7:00. We did wait in line a couple of times for about 10 minutes; but were never given a pager. The first two nights, the service was horrible and the food just okay. Finally on the 3rd night - we asked for a more private table for two and we were placed at a table for 4; but just for the 2 of us. Our waiter was Roberto. He was absolutely FANTASTIC! Pleasant, kind, prompt, attentive, always greeted us by name while welcoming us back to CCL. Our dinners were served HOT and each course immediately following the next without delay. He was an older Gentlemen who had been with CCL for 19 years. The service he provided was what we had been missing in recent years with the recent CCL cutbacks. As a matter of fact, he told us, "I love my job and I am fortunate to have it. I have 5 children that I have put through school working for CCL for the past 19 years." You could tell that he had an attitude of gratefulness and that was reflected in his service and definitely in his extra tip.

 

SERVICE - all around, good enough I suppose. We are accustomed to many bar staff in the main pool area. We go to the main pool area early and we are usually immediately approached by more than one waiter offering service. On this sailing, the walking bar staff didn't begin serving each sea day until around 11:30 am - until then, you were on your own and had to go to the bar yourself for service. We never found one of the bar staff that attended to our needs repeatedly and that was disappointing.

Casino bar staff was very friendly except for the Hat Trick Casino bar. I am a smoker and spend a lot of time there and would sit for quite a while without being asked if I needed something. Finally, I would have to wave down a bartender and ask for what I needed. There were usually at least (5) bartenders to perhaps 20 patrons.

 

CHOGS - were out in full force everyday. We were always fortunate to arrive early and reserve our own loungers. I did see CCL staff on the last sea day removing towels, flip flops, shoes, etc. upon request. Good to see!

 

GUEST SERVICES STAFF - Exceptionally friendly! When asking for priority tendering in Belize, we were immediately taken down to the tendering area and were the last to arrive on the first tender out. Upon debarkation, we were escorted immediately to the waiting area were we waited for approximately 15 minutes before leaving the ship. We were warned with a letter that since we had visited Belize, US Customs will examine each piece of luggage and the disembarkation time would be long. We were off the ship by 8:30am and in line for Customs and out the terminal door by 9:00am.

 

LINES - we did not eat very many times at the casual Lido buffet; but the times we did eat, the lines were minimal and seem to move smoothly. We ate fresh eggs every morning and only had to wait for approximately 2 guests ahead of us. DH did each at the Mongolian grill a couple of times and only had to wait for approximately 15 minutes.

 

ENTERTAINMENT - we did not attend any of the Theatre shows (seen them all); but we did go to the late night comedians. The comedians were very good without being terribly vulgar and the profanity was kept to a minimum. We also enjoyed the late night Burlesque show "A Kiss Goodnight" - it was quite entertaining and different that the burlesque we had seen last year on the Dream (although the title of the production was the same).

 

PAST GUEST (Gold, Platinum, Diamond) PARTY - we did attend this year with the recent changes. There were quite a few GPD on this sailing because the party was held in the Showtime Theatre and quite packed. Rum drinks were served along with a variety of appetizers. There seemed to be enough served for everyone to have plenty. DH and I are not fruity type drinkers, so we asked a server for a different drink. The first two waiters told us they weren't allowed to go to the bar for a special order. The third server, Ivana, said she would get it for us no problem. She immediately came back with 2 gin & tonics and within 15 minutes, she came back with 2 more. DH tipped her $10. bucks and before we left the party, she had served us again. Needless to say - we were a little "loopty lou" before the end; but her extra attention and service was greatly appreciated and we thoroughly enjoyed the party.

 

PORTS - unfortunately we missed Roatan. The winds were too high for the Captain to safely dock. Disappointing yes (the reason we booked this itinerary was to visit Roatan); but understandable and unavoidable. We had originally planned to skip going in to Belize and spend a day on board with lesser crowds; but having missed Roatan the day before and having been on the ship for 4 days in a row, we decided to go into Belize. We had no excursion booked and just shopped around the main port area. We had not been to Belize in 7 years and we were pleasantly surprised to see the growth of the terminal area.

Cozumel was our last stop and FINALLY we had a nice sunny day. We shopped briefly at the pier and then spent our afternoon relaxing on the Beach at Mr. Sanchos. We partook in a beautiful day full of sand, sea, sun, excellent service drinks and food. Our most fun day!

 

As mentioned, these are just some random thoughts that "stick out" in my mind after returning home. We will probably NOT sail the Magic again. After sailing the Dream last summer and trying the Magic - we are not too thrilled about this class of ship. Everything seems very closed in to us and we prefer the Conquest and Spirit class ships. We did enjoy our time together and enjoyed out vacation.

 

I would be happy to answer any questions anyone might have.

[jsmac3]

Thank you for posting this review.

[Texarribean Chick]

A couple of other things.................

 

Casino was very friendly - DH won enough at the BlackJack table to cover our Sail & Sign bill. :D :D :D

 

We bought (2) FCC's that were supposed to be delivered to our room. They were never delivered and the morning of debarkation we asked about them at Guest Services and were told to contact the FCC department this week and they would be mailed to us. I was quite disappointed in that response considering I am trying to book another cruise before the end of this month. I did however, receive an email this morning from the FCC representative apologizing for his delay in our delivery and giving me the (2) FCC certificate numbers in case I was wanting to go ahead and book a cruise now. The actual certificates will be mailed to us within the month.

[scperk]

We were on the Magic back in Jan. and we enjoyed it too..Had a great waiter and Ken the Maitre D came by to visit our fun group every night...We can't wait to try the Breeze next Jan. with the same group plus some others who heard what a great time we had...Our Texas friends(Kemah) are great to cruise with and the group just keeps growing....:)...Dennis

[ward6226]

Thanks for posting. We sailed the Magic on the inaugural out of Galvestion. That was trip where we docked at Progresso for two days due to thruster issues. On the first night, Ken the Maitre D was whacked in the head by a waiter with a big stir stick. We still had a blast and love the ship.

Went again in December where we had to slum by docking at (Roatan) Coxen Hole (RCCL) due to winds that would not let us dock in Mahogany Bay. I hate you missed Roatan.

We love the Magic!

[vivavegas]

Welcome Back! Thanks for posting your quick review!:)

[cruiser fanatic]

Thanks for the Review we sail August 19th with the same ports can't wait!!!!!!!!!

[daveo6313]

Thanks for posting the review! I was on the same itinerary back in May and we had a great time.

 

DaveO

[rsjc]

Thanks for the review. did you do self assist disembarkation? if so how did that go?

[EnTnSA]

Looking forward to our trip in October. I can't wait!

[Texarribean Chick]

Thanks for the review. did you do self assist disembarkation? if so how did that go?

 

We did not do self assist. We checked 2 bags the night before and met in the Northern Lights dining room at 8:00am for VIP escort debarkation. The escort arrived at 8:15 or so and we were off the ship immediately. From what I could see though, with the self assist debarking - the lines seemed to be running smoothly.