Thoughts on MAGIC June 18-25

[visibilityunlimited]

A few thoughts on the "highs" and "lows" of the June 18-25 Carnival MAGIC.

 

We are not frequent cruisers (by uber-cruiser standards), but we've been on ten or so including Hawaii, Alaska, the Caribbean, Panama Canal and a couple in Europe. Our thoughts are based on these experiences.

First the "highs"

Port Canaveral: Best port in the US to sail from and return to. On and off ship in a timely way, friendly Carnival and US govt. officials.

Magic Ship: Clean and tidy state rooms and public spaces. Decor in the atrium is "glitzy" to a fault while Northern Lights and Southern Lights dining restrained to a point of monotonous. Nearly "invisible" hand sanitizing stations.

Southern Lights Service and Food: Both very good-to-excellent. Hand sanitizing station at entry difficult to locate and empty most times.

Lido Buffet Service and Schedule: Food very good but schedule was such that lines were very long on many occassions. Biggest issue was that guests were not "reminded" to sanitize hands before going through the line. This was a big issue for our group of 16 people.

Lido Cooked-to-order stations: This includes omlettes, stir fry-wok, etc. food was fine, queueing was awkward. Again, no hand sanitizing visible.

Guy's BBQ: Some in our group was in line pushing 90 minutes--the food was definitely not worth this kind of wait. It was ok, but when we got to the service area, the staff was out of three (3) different items (with a resultant delay in service to everyone waiting in line), the portions were paltry, and--in my case--the pulled pork, beans, and collard greens were "glommed" into one oozy mess on the tin plate. It was not appetizing to see, and only marginally tasty. Curious hours of operation (or maybe better stated curious hours "closed"which was most of the cruise),

Guy's Burgers: Good tasting burgers and no extra charge, but not gourmet by any stretch of the imagination. Check hours of operation.

Blue Iguina: Very good tacos, burritos and salad and generous portions but limited hours of operation.

Bars: Glitzy cruise-ship genre, what else can we say.

Water Slide: The younger members of our group enjoyed it, but the wait was so long that even they said it wasn't worth the wait. Too many adults sitting at the bottom of one slide, eating food (and spilling food and beverages). There could be some "footwear management" at the entry point. I saw one woman step on a buckle to a sandal and hurt her foot. Footwear is truly an issue, the deck is so hot near the slide entry point that one can't take but 4 or 5 steps before her/his feet are burning, but there's no place for the hundred of pairs of sandals, flip flops, etc.

Mid Ship Pool: Nothing remarkable about the pool itself. The deck chairs were numerous--but while there were large numbers guests would "stake out" their chairs by throwing a towel in them, then never occupy the chair. I saw a young woman laying on a towel on the deck in response to many unoccupied chairs nearby with only a towel in them. It really was out of hand.

Aft Pool: Just as pleasant as the mid ship, but less crowded, and yes, unoccupied chairs with towels.

Pizza Joint: It is the only game in town for later-evening food. Considering it starts out as a frozen disc, it is okay, but no better than any other frozen pizza.

Public Toilet facilities: Always clean and well taken care of. It was a huge deal not to have hand sanitizing devices at the entry-exit door. There were mini-tissues to use to grasp the door levers, but I didn't see them being used very often (remember our comments about the Lido Buffet?

Cruise Director: Cute and clever to a super-annoying level. This cleverness even spilled over into the "safety drill" at the start of the cruise--and was totally out of place.

Luggage Handling: We used the Carnival shuttle from Orlando International. The operation was smooth and trouble free.

Well, this is long enough. All in all a great week, but there are several important things that really do need attention.

[Trumpster]

Well go back to the cruise that makes you wash your hands then. Dr.E made people pay attention to the safety drill.

 

Oh and thanks for the review. ;)

[Clarea]

Good report, thanks.

[ryano]

If those are the highs, I hate to see the lows :eek:

 

Who ever called Guys burgers "gourmet" anyway? LOL!

 

 

Dr E is the best Cruise Director Ive had hands down. I will stop with that as I dont want to be accused of butting in on someones Magic "review" again :rolleyes:

Edited June 27, 2016 by ryano

[ryano]

Well go back to the cruise that makes you wash your hands then.

 

Lol. Has it REALLY come to the point where people have to be reminded or made to wash their hands anyway? :rolleyes::eek:

 

Carnival Magic had more handwashing stations and hand sanitizer stations than any ship Ive ever been on. Seriously, I dont get this complaint at all? :confused:

Edited June 27, 2016 by ryano

[RjayB]

Thanks for posting your review :)

I may not agree with everything, but your individual viewpoints are just as valid as anyone else's. :)

 

I am glad you had an easy time flying to Orlando and transferring to Port Canaveral...we did that one time and it is the reason I preferr FLL and MIA departures. :o

Edited June 27, 2016 by RjayB

[KPfromCT]

WOW! Sounds like you had a miserable cruise.

Not much positive in what you wrote above.

 

I agree with the above poster, as an adult, you should know where the sanitizing stations are. NEVER had an issue locating them on Lido.....

 

90 minute wait at the BBQ seems like a bit of a stretch, but since I've never been to that one, I cannot say for sure........

 

Yes, the pool decks are HOT. Seems like common knowledge to most..

 

Oh, one more thing. The pizza is NOT frozen pizza. We have stood there and WATCH them make/spin the dough, put the sauce/toppings and cheese on. Their pizza is VERY GOOD in comparison to RCCL. Definitely NOT frozen. Not sure where you got that from.........

 

I'll stop here.....

Maybe Carnival is not the line for you.......

Edited June 27, 2016 by KPfromCT

[ryano]

WOW! Sounds like you had a miserable cruise.

Not much positive in what you wrote above.

 

I agree with the above poster, as an adult, you should know where the sanitizing stations are. NEVER had an issue locating them on Lido.....

 

90 minute wait at the BBQ seems like a bit of a stretch, but since I've never been to that one, I cannot say for sure........

 

Yes, the pool decks are HOT. Seems like common knowledge to most..

 

Oh, one more thing. The pizza is NOT frozen pizza. We have stood there and WATCH them make/spin the dough, put the sauce/toppings and cheese on. Their pizza is VERY GOOD in comparison to RCCL. Definitely NOT frozen. Not sure where you got that from.........

 

I'll stop here.....

Maybe Carnival is not the line for you.......

 

Well I can say for sure. The line for Guys Pig and Anchor BBQ was HUGE both days I had it but we never waited over 10-15 minutes tops. Seems like a 90 minute wait would have the line all the way around the ship? :eek: Seriously questioning that one.

 

I didnt understand the frozen pizza comment either. There are bags of flour everywhere and I personally watched with my own eyes them making and spinning the crust and putting the FRESH toppings on :confused: I personally thought that Magics pizza was excellent for cruise ship pizza! Royals Sorrentos pizza should not even be mentioned in the same sentence. It truly isnt as good as many frozen pizzas lol.

 

Just so many questionable things about this "review" that I cant help but speak up? Ive been on some great cruises but Magic by far topped them all so I guess I just automatically go into defense mode anytime I see Carnival Magic lol. A real Magic cheerleader here if you will ;) But just think, all that above is listed under the "highs" lol. We havent even seen the lows yet.

Edited June 27, 2016 by ryano

[KPfromCT]

Well I can say for sure. The line for Guys Pig and Anchor BBQ was HUGE both days I had it but we never waited over 10-15 minutes tops. Seems like a 90 minute wait would have the line all the way around the ship? :eek: Seriously questioning that one.

 

I didnt understand the frozen pizza comment either. There are bags of flour everywhere and I personally watched with my own eyes them making and spinning the crust and putting the FRESH toppings on :confused: Royals horrid Sorrentos pizza should not even be mentioned in the same sentence. It truly isnt as good as many frozen pizzas lol.

 

Just so many questionable things about this "review" that I cant help but speak up? Ive been on some great cruises but Magic by far topped them all so I guess I just automatically go into defense mode anytime I see Carnival Magic lol. A real Magic cheerleader here if you will ;) But just think, all that above is listed under the "highs" lol. We havent even seen the lows yet.

 

LMAO! Agree with you, Ryano......100%!!!

Sorrentos was GROSS!!!!!

Had they left it in the oven 10 more minutes ( and we said this EVERY single time we went ) it would have been MUCH better.......But for some ODD reason, we'd walk by and grab a slice. And then complain about it.:D:D

 

Yes, this was NOT a good review of Magic.

[MichMan72]

I said to my wife during this cruise that I understand both those that complain and those that praise a certain cruise. We had both great and bad experiences, but as long as you don't sweat the small stuff, I find it hard for anyone not to enjoy themselves.

 

We had a cove balcony. On the first day, we flooded the bathroom floor after what I thought was a quick shower. The room steward quickly cleaned it up and supposedly had someone fix the slow drain, but we discovered throughout the rest of the cruise that it was not possible to shower with full pressure.

 

We had a mysterious noise in our cabin. We made sure to get a room under the dining room as we heard rooms under the galley can be noisy. It was a loud bang followed by a roar with the whole room shaking. Loud enough to startle us awake from a deep sleep. Sometimes it only happened once per hour. Other times it was non-stop. Every time a loud bang followed by a roar and then the room shaking. Each time identical to the last. I reported it to the cabin steward, he said it was probably just the rough seas. We had a couple of storms but nothing terribly rough. The 4th night we had no noise and I figured it was due to the boat traveling at slower speeds between Bellize and Roatan. The 5th night was terrible. Kept us awake all night. We finally got a couple ship engineers into the room and they finally determined it was a life boat above hitting against the ship sending vibrations down through the wall into our room. What are the odds? We were offered a key to another room, but they fixed the problem and had no noise the last two nights. The last night I did notice the room temperature was much warmer which again kept us tossing and turning. So sleep was an issue, but everything else was great.

 

Really enjoyed the multiple comedy shows. Most comedy shows offered on any ship I have been on. The main showtime theatre shows were just ok. The welcome aboard show was very similar to other cruise ship shows we have seen as well as the "newlywed type show". I feel these shows are catered to first time cruisers. Enjoyed the gameshow type musical show the best.

 

The cruise director was very memorable to say the least. Probably will not be forgotten as others have been from past cruises. He really works hard at his job. Again see how some can say he is a little annoying, but we enjoyed his efforts to keep everyone smiling and having fun. The bingo guy was the one I really did not care for. But then again, I just chose not to play and to go do something else.

 

Loved the Red Frog Pub. Jesse the guitarist was very good. Wings were delicious and a great alternative to the late night pizza and hot dogs. Pizza was very good also in my opinion. Much better than the Pizza Pirate pizzas we had on other Carnival ships.

 

Piano bar performer and Alterr band were just ok. Jesse the Pub guitarist was in my opinion the ships best musical performer. Played a lot of country music if that is your thing.

 

Roatan is absolutely one of my favorite places. Had a great time with Rony's tour company. I highly recommend them. Will go into more detail in the port section. Bummed that we missed Costa Maya as that was the only port I had not been to on this cruise. Other than that really can't complain.

 

The cruise is what you make it. As far as cleanliness, I thought the boat was very clean. If you have a problem with people not using hand sanitizers, then buffets are probably not your thing. There are plenty of other sit down options. I noticed the sanitizer stations everywhere. I thought it was funny that some bathrooms had 3 doors to go through before you actually got inside, but each door had a hand towel dispenser on them. Wish this was the case in most public restrooms back home.

 

It was not a perfect cruise, but how can you not enjoy yourself regardless. Needless to say, I have slept extremely well now that I am back home. Nothing beats your own bed when it comes to sleep, but then again I don't cruise to sleep. :)

[MichMan72]

Well I can say for sure. The line for Guys Pig and Anchor BBQ was HUGE both days I had it but we never waited over 10-15 minutes tops. Seems like a 90 minute wait would have the line all the way around the ship? :eek: Seriously questioning that one.

 

Agreed. We waited in a long line the first sea day but it only was about 15 minutes. My wife actually got back in line for seconds which took maybe another 10 minutes. Did not eat their the last sea day, but thought the food was extremely good. Guys burgers were just ok. What made it better was the toppings bar.

[riclop]

Thanks for your thoughts.

[Keith1010]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

 

Keith

[dchoney]

Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. I love reading all perspectives of people's experiences. I'm on the Magic next month and can't wait!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[meatloafsfan]

A few thoughts on the "highs" and "lows" of the June 18-25 Carnival MAGIC.

 

Public Toilet facilities: Always clean and well taken care of. It was a huge deal not to have hand sanitizing devices at the entry-exit door. There were mini-tissues to use to grasp the door levers, but I didn't see them being used very often (remember our comments about the Lido Buffet?

 

Washrooms come with sinks, soap and hot water. They do not require additional "hand sanitizing devices". Hand sanitizer is meant for times where soap and hot water are unavailable; in washrooms, those items are in vast supply.

 

I find it odd that people often mention the lack of crew members pushing hand sanitizer and yet, Carnival has one of the better records when it comes to Noro. Royal Caribbean basically has a crew member tackle you and force the hand sanitizer on your at both the buffet and the MDR and yet their record is one of the worst. Go figure. :cool:

[Florings]

Thank you for your comments and review. It's always good to get different perspectives.

[theplanner2010]

 

Roatan is absolutely one of my favorite places. Had a great time with Rony's tour company. I highly recommend them. Will go into more detail in the port section. Bummed that we missed Costa Maya as that was the only port I had not been to on this cruise. Other than that really can't complain.

 

. :)

 

I see you did the Western itinerary. Can you comment about the time zones in Belize specifically. Our itinerary from Carnival says we will be there from 9am to 6pm. Is that ship/Florida time or local Belize Time which I believe is 2 hours earlier. thanks!

[ryano]

I see you did the Western itinerary. Can you comment about the time zones in Belize specifically. Our itinerary from Carnival says we will be there from 9am to 6pm. Is that ship/Florida time or local Belize Time which I believe is 2 hours earlier. thanks!

 

We were on ships time last month.

[theplanner2010]

We were on ships time last month.

 

Thank you! To be clear cuz I'm a dunce, if our itinerary says we are in Belize from 8am to 5 pm that really means that we are there from 6am-3pm Belize time right?

[MichMan72]

Thank you! To be clear cuz I'm a dunce, if our itinerary says we are in Belize from 8am to 5 pm that really means that we are there from 6am-3pm Belize time right?

 

Yes. That is correct!