Back from Carnival Magic July 9th, Never Again!

[xprmntl1]

Ok, I have been on 2 cruises, so I'm a newb. First was on Carnival Ecstasy, had a blast. Great crew, great food and drinks on our first 5 day cruise. While in cozumel we were docked next to the navigator of the seas, royal Caribbean ship. The ecstasy was tiny compared to the much larger navigator, so we decided next cruise we would go with Royal Caribbean. Ok, we board the navigator and all is well, ship is impressive, I'm delighted. We had a room overlooking the mall inside the ship. That is until our first night, we are right next to the storage closet which is next to service elevator. The elevator thumped and rattled our room all hours of the night, I asked our room guy to have maintenance look at it as I am unable to sleep. This went on our entire 7 night cruise. The crew were nowhere as friendly as on carnival, the crowds were more snobbish and uppity, compared to carnival. All I had heard was how much better everything was on a royal cruise, I beg to differ. I scheduled another carnival cruis on Carnival Breeze in December.

[louanne93]

Agreed. We have been on mostly Carnival, two RCL, 1 NCL. We always have fun. RCL and CCL smaller boats (shorter cruises) are literally the same experience, food, entertainment, cruisers, etc. Have to say the NCL Boston to Bermuda in September was kind of boring and lack a lively pool area. Rascals parked 4 deep around the pool desk. Not what I was expecting, put a damper on fun for a minute until I found the bucket of beers came with 5 soldiers not 4. happy day.

 

Your take on Princess is concerning, going on our first Princess in Nov on Regal Princess. I bet the food is good. I guess I will just relax and have fun anyway...

 

Don't take just my word for it (although we are close in age). Do your research. My husband and I are go, go, go, kind of people. We are not shy, and love talking to people. I don't think we know how to relax.

 

Steakhouse is AMAZING! We ate there 3 times! We were on the Grand out of San Francisco (Pacific Coastal).

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Ok, I have been on 2 cruises, so I'm a newb. First was on Carnival Ecstasy, had a blast. Great crew, great food and drinks on our first 5 day cruise. While in cozumel we were docked next to the navigator of the seas, royal Caribbean ship. The ecstasy was tiny compared to the much larger navigator, so we decided next cruise we would go with Royal Caribbean. Ok, we board the navigator and all is well, ship is impressive, I'm delighted. We had a room overlooking the mall inside the ship. That is until our first night, we are right next to the storage closet which is next to service elevator. The elevator thumped and rattled our room all hours of the night, I asked our room guy to have maintenance look at it as I am unable to sleep. This went on our entire 7 night cruise. The crew were nowhere as friendly as on carnival, the crowds were more snobbish and uppity, compared to carnival. All I had heard was how much better everything was on a royal cruise, I beg to differ. I scheduled another carnival cruis on Carnival Breeze in December.

 

Those people on RCI cruise are real jerks.

 

Msybe if you hadn't booked a room next to the service elevator and had that noise all eerk you might have looked at things a little differently.

 

Book a room in the deck above the disco on CCL and you might have a different take on things.

 

All I'm basicslly trying to say is that once you encounter a problem sometimes it snowballs out of control.

 

Bill

[xprmntl1]

Those people on RCI cruise are real jerks.

 

Msybe if you hadn't booked a room next to the service elevator and had that noise all eerk you might have looked at things a little differently.

 

Book a room in the deck above the disco on CCL and you might have a different take on things.

 

All I'm basicslly trying to say is that once you encounter a problem sometimes it snowballs out of control.

 

Bill

 

I am by no means bashing Royal Caribbean, this was just our experience. I am simply saying royal is in no way a better cruise than carnival, imho. And we booked through an agent, I didn't request a room next to a malfunctioning elevator

Edited July 20, 2016 by xprmntl1

[manmachine]

You know its a darn shame that this site is made up of folks that can't handle if someone has a negative comment or review of something. I just experienced more issues on Magic.

 

Just because I love Royal doesn't mean all my cruises on Royal have been without any issues etc. In fact, the Pizza on carnival is a lot better,tastier then that on the RC ships I have been on that offered it. And NO the "adult" area on the Magic was nothing compared to that of a RC ship, in fact the Magic was lacking a lot to be desired. No pool to enjoy away from kids, area just seemed to be filled with hammocks,lounge chairs and in my opinion that area should have more.

 

Not "all" crew was rude so I guess I should of clarified "some" to be fair, but most of the time there attitude wasn't very good and when asked where the BBQ eatery was they couldn't tell us, Several times we were told "Oh I just got on this ship 3 weeks ago", thats not a good answer. At the very least they could of said "let me get someone who might know the answer" But.... they didn't

 

As for the Itchy issue, Yes I complained about that as well as the AC not cooling our room several days. NO I didn't use any products such as lotion that I don't normally use so that wasn't the problem.Was it "bed bugs" I have no idea as I have never encountered them b4, I just said it could of been but I don't know. All I know is that I itched every night and only when I got under the sheets and at no other time.

 

We started to eat in the MDR on the 2nd night and walked out about 20 mins into it because the service,food etc was terrible. In fact my hubby asked for Ice Tea and it took forever for them to even bring it to him.Needless to say we walked out and said no more MDR food.

As for the Buffet, we tried it several times and like I said in my 1st post ,the breakfast buffet and made to order omelettes was great, no issue with that at all and we ate the breakfast each morning. The other buffet food like others also mentioned was not that good so we ate at the eateries when open instead. In fact, RC Oasis buffet wasn't all that great either last year when we went, but on the Freedom the year b4 it was awesome. So you see its not just issues with carnival!

 

Dr E was great as I mentioned, comedy shows were also great, we didn't go to any other shows. Muster drill was like any other muster drill on other ships.

 

I am happy to read from others that the guy that had a heart attack didn't die, we were told he had died so thank goodness he is ok! And again I will state that the medical issue and the bomb threat scare "DOESN'T effect any part of my decision to NOT go on another carnival because we have no control of those issues.

 

And lastly, I didn't come on here for your sympathy or for any other reason other then to just simply post my thoughts on my cruise on the Magic. I will say that from now on I will NOT post anything in cruise critic ever again about my thoughts on a cruise whether good or bad because you people that flamed me are just to rude, and frankly its not worth my time. From the attitudes of people on this board, I would never recommend cruise critic to anyone again like I have in the past. I use to think this was a great site to learn about cruise ships,ports etc without all the "attitude" but I now see I was wrong. So with that being said I am done with this and my post, Buh Bye!

 

 

I can see how much you love everything Royal from this post you did in 2014.

 

 

 

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[cruizinisthebest]

Yeah it's pretty apparent that this chick is simply a chronic complainer combined with drama queen!

 

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[S.S.Oceanlover]

I am by no means bashing Royal Caribbean, this was just our experience. I am simply saying royal is in no way a better cruise than carnival, imho. And we booked through an agent, I didn't request a room next to a malfunctioning elevator

 

Fair enough. Hope your nect cruise is a great one and erases all the bad memories of the RCI.:)

 

Bill

[beerman2]

So now OP has had the worst experience ever on both Carnival and RCCi, even though it pertained to an excursion on RCCI.

 

 

If those 2 experiences OP has had are the "worst ever" that has happened she is one lucky person.

 

In 8 cruises Carnival, RCCi, and NCL I guess I've been pretty fortunate. Nothing remotely close to a " worst ever" experience.

[hftmrock]

Worst cruise ever on royal.... check

Worst cruise ever on carnival .... checkl

 

And lastly, I didn't come on here for your sympathy or for any other reason other then to just simply post my thoughts on my cruise on the Magic. I will say that from now on I will NOT post anything in cruise critic ever again about my thoughts on a cruise whether good or bad because you people that flamed me are just to rude, and frankly its not worth my time. From the attitudes of people on this board, I would never recommend cruise critic to anyone again like I have in the past. I use to think this was a great site to learn about cruise ships,ports etc without all the "attitude" but I now see I was wrong. So with that being said I am done with this and my post, Buh Bye!

 

Worst experience on Cruise Critic..... Check

 

 

Bucket list stuff folks!

 

:p

Edited July 21, 2016 by hftmrock

[DreadPirateRobert]

That is the beauty of the cruise industry. There are a wide variety of cruise experiences for a wide audience and a wide price range. Find one that works for you and stick with it. Me, I've never had a bad experience on Carnival, sorry you did.

[AdoraBelle]

Worst cruise ever on royal.... check

Worst cruise ever on carnival .... checkl

 

 

Worst experience on Cruise Critic..... Check

 

 

Bucket list stuff folks!

 

:p

 

 

Ok, the post that someone took the time to cherry-pick was regarding an EXCURSION, not the entire cruise.

 

I know you guys enjoy the self-righteous piling on here, but it's a bit specious to pretend you're doing it for some greater truth or justice.

[Sigyn]

You have the right to express your opinion and you did so. I may not agree (which I don't) but that's what makes Cruise Critic what it is, a place to exchange viewpoints. I was on the Magic on a May 7 cruise and had a very good cruise. The crew that I dealt was very friendly and helpful. That may not have been the case with those who served you.

 

 

I find that those who have a frown and a grumpy attitude are those most often who will receive the same from the people they encounter, whether a ship's crew or in other places. As my grandma used to say, "you catch more flies with sugar than vinegar."

[hftmrock]

Ok, the post that someone took the time to cherry-pick was regarding an EXCURSION, not the entire cruise.

 

I know you guys enjoy the self-righteous piling on here, but it's a bit specious to pretend you're doing it for some greater truth or justice.

 

so, if it makes you feel all better...

 

Worst excursion ever on royal.... check

Worst cruise ever on carnival .... checkl

 

Worst experience on Cruise Critic..... Check

 

 

Bucket list stuff folks!

 

:p

 

that make it better?

[AdoraBelle]

Yes, my whole life is solved now.

[Luke Dawg]

Don't take just my word for it (although we are close in age). Do your research. My husband and I are go, go, go, kind of people. We are not shy, and love talking to people. I don't think we know how to relax.

 

Steakhouse is AMAZING! We ate there 3 times! We were on the Grand out of San Francisco (Pacific Coastal).

thanks for the advice, I am sure it will be more relaxing and not as rushed as we are use to, so it will be a nice change. I remember travelling to Florida and visiting her parents at a 55 plus community, we took a walk around 8 pm, no one on the streets. Might be what we will see on Princess. We will be there someday, just not anytime soon. Looking forward to the trip.

[manmachine]

so, if it makes you feel all better...

 

Worst excursion ever on royal.... check

Worst cruise ever on carnival .... checkl

 

Worst experience on Cruise Critic..... Check

 

 

Bucket list stuff folks!

 

:p

 

that make it better?

 

 

I am dying laughing!!! [emoji16][emoji1][emoji13][emoji4][emoji23]

 

 

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[gpas1]

I was on he same July 9th Magic sailing and sadly had a similar experience. We cruise with another couple twice a year, 11 times on Carnival and one time on Royal Freedom of The Seas. We are huge Carnival fans and frequently recommend the line to friends and family. We don't spare expense. We usually sail 7 days and frequently tip above and beyond the standard. This was the only poor cruise experience we have ever had and has really made me doubt my loyalty to Carnival. We live on the west coast of Florida and drove to Port Canaveral. We arrived between noon and 1:00 and were left standing in the shade of the parking garage for almost an hour before being herded into an adjacent terminal. People were lined up at he vending machines trying to get a beverage or snack. It took the friendly Carnival staff two hours to bring some warm bottled water. We were not allowed to use our phones or electronic devices. In total, we were in there for there hours and then had to wait as they boarded the people that were arriving after us. They explained to us that an unattended bag with a leaking can of hair spray caused the bomb squad to respond. I understand this was out of Carnival's control, but they were completely unprepared to manage the situation and had it been a real crisis it would have been very bad, It was well after 4:00 when we finally boarded and we were starving because we traveled hungry planning lunch on the ship. We hit the buffet and by the time we were done we had no interest in our 6:00 dinner seating. It was my wife's birthday and I had made special arrangements for dinner - didn't happen. Next day we were diverted to Miami to drop off the ill passenger. We were then informed we would skip Honduras and go to Key West instead. We live in Florida on the coast and there is nothing for us in Key West. We could have skipped Costa Maya. There is nothing there and we had a stop in Cozumel anyway. They did it to save fuel. They also changed the order of the remaining ports and screwed up any excursions not booked through the line.

The dining room was understaffed and the staff taking the orders could not answer basic questions about the desert offerings. We were never offered anything from the bar or coffee. Our food was served at different times and one member of our party waited ten minutes for her meal after we were served. There was a small child at an adjacent table allowed to cry throughout the meal on multiple evenings. And by the way, when were the table cloths done away with? The steak house and Italian restaurant service and food were exceptional as usual. The Barbeque restaurant was only open for two hours on the two sea days and the line was so slow and so long we gave up. It smelled delicious.

We tendered in at Belize. There were many ships there and not enough tenders, The Dream and Magic both arrived the same morning. We went early to catch a tender and ended up with a number waiting over an hour in the dining room. We had a twenty-five minute tender ride in an open boat and got drenched in salt water spray.

When we went to the guest services desk to voice our dis-satisfaction, we were rudely informed that we were not the first to complain and they would do nothing in the form of compensation. We were told to read our cruise contract and if we still had issue we should call Miami.

I could go on, but I'm sure my point is made. I am saddened more than angry. Carnival is our line. We are almost platinum and were looking forward to the upgrade. When the Freedom of The Seas was slowed due to a mechanical issue and our port time limited they credited our account $200.00 per person. When Carnival had an incident we got rudely dismissed and were referred to Miami.

[nealstuber]

I was on he same July 9th Magic sailing and sadly had a similar experience. We cruise with another couple twice a year, 11 times on Carnival and one time on Royal Freedom of The Seas. We are huge Carnival fans and frequently recommend the line to friends and family. We don't spare expense. We usually sail 7 days and frequently tip above and beyond the standard. This was the only poor cruise experience we have ever had and has really made me doubt my loyalty to Carnival. We live on the west coast of Florida and drove to Port Canaveral. We arrived between noon and 1:00 and were left standing in the shade of the parking garage for almost an hour before being herded into an adjacent terminal. People were lined up at he vending machines trying to get a beverage or snack. It took the friendly Carnival staff two hours to bring some warm bottled water. We were not allowed to use our phones or electronic devices. In total, we were in there for there hours and then had to wait as they boarded the people that were arriving after us. They explained to us that an unattended bag with a leaking can of hair spray caused the bomb squad to respond. I understand this was out of Carnival's control, but they were completely unprepared to manage the situation and had it been a real crisis it would have been very bad, It was well after 4:00 when we finally boarded and we were starving because we traveled hungry planning lunch on the ship. We hit the buffet and by the time we were done we had no interest in our 6:00 dinner seating. It was my wife's birthday and I had made special arrangements for dinner - didn't happen. Next day we were diverted to Miami to drop off the ill passenger. We were then informed we would skip Honduras and go to Key West instead. We live in Florida on the coast and there is nothing for us in Key West. We could have skipped Costa Maya. There is nothing there and we had a stop in Cozumel anyway. They did it to save fuel. They also changed the order of the remaining ports and screwed up any excursions not booked through the line.

 

The dining room was understaffed and the staff taking the orders could not answer basic questions about the desert offerings. We were never offered anything from the bar or coffee. Our food was served at different times and one member of our party waited ten minutes for her meal after we were served. There was a small child at an adjacent table allowed to cry throughout the meal on multiple evenings. And by the way, when were the table cloths done away with? The steak house and Italian restaurant service and food were exceptional as usual. The Barbeque restaurant was only open for two hours on the two sea days and the line was so slow and so long we gave up. It smelled delicious.

 

We tendered in at Belize. There were many ships there and not enough tenders, The Dream and Magic both arrived the same morning. We went early to catch a tender and ended up with a number waiting over an hour in the dining room. We had a twenty-five minute tender ride in an open boat and got drenched in salt water spray.

 

When we went to the guest services desk to voice our dis-satisfaction, we were rudely informed that we were not the first to complain and they would do nothing in the form of compensation. We were told to read our cruise contract and if we still had issue we should call Miami.

 

I could go on, but I'm sure my point is made. I am saddened more than angry. Carnival is our line. We are almost platinum and were looking forward to the upgrade. When the Freedom of The Seas was slowed due to a mechanical issue and our port time limited they credited our account $200.00 per person. When Carnival had an incident we got rudely dismissed and were referred to Miami.

 

 

Sorry to hear you had a bad cruise, but I'm surprised a season cruiser such as yourself is not familiar with the fact that all lines handle compensation differently when the issue is somewhat under their control (mechanical) vs when the issues were clearly out of their control.

 

Had saw the same things you saw in the Magic MDR but wish you had not "watered down" your position with the Belieze tender issue. If it was that choppy, you're lucky you tendered at all and you should understand that this was likely tied to the excessive wait and transport times.

 

You're expecting the cruise line to compensate you because they turned the ship around due to a passenger with a heart attack - I hope you brought your flame retardant suit with this post.

[SASA13]

I have been on many cruises and cruise lines. In my experience, CCL has the best staff and we always have the best time on a Carnival cruise. A change of port due to an ill passenger, does not make a cruise bad. Taking precautions due to a potential bomb, does not make a cruise bad. It says to me that Safety comes first to Carnival, and that is important. Sorry to all who had a less than perfect cruise, but stuff happens. Make the best of it and move on.

[E&B]

And by the way, when were the table cloths done away with?.

 

 

Just curious. How is it that if you've been on Carnival 11 times and sail twice a year you were unaware of the change to the American Table format in the MDR (thus the lack of tablecloths)? I'm a newbie with Carnival and have only been researching details since October and I'm well aware of this.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[amandajean06]

There/their/they're [emoji58]

[Rudyard]

I was on he same July 9th Magic sailing and sadly had a similar experience. We cruise with another couple twice a year, 11 times on Carnival and one time on Royal Freedom of The Seas. We are huge Carnival fans and frequently recommend the line to friends and family. We don't spare expense. We usually sail 7 days and frequently tip above and beyond the standard. This was the only poor cruise experience we have ever had and has really made me doubt my loyalty to Carnival. We live on the west coast of Florida and drove to Port Canaveral. We arrived between noon and 1:00 and were left standing in the shade of the parking garage for almost an hour before being herded into an adjacent terminal. People were lined up at he vending machines trying to get a beverage or snack. It took the friendly Carnival staff two hours to bring some warm bottled water. We were not allowed to use our phones or electronic devices. In total, we were in there for there hours and then had to wait as they boarded the people that were arriving after us. They explained to us that an unattended bag with a leaking can of hair spray caused the bomb squad to respond. I understand this was out of Carnival's control, but they were completely unprepared to manage the situation and had it been a real crisis it would have been very bad, It was well after 4:00 when we finally boarded and we were starving because we traveled hungry planning lunch on the ship. We hit the buffet and by the time we were done we had no interest in our 6:00 dinner seating. It was my wife's birthday and I had made special arrangements for dinner - didn't happen. Next day we were diverted to Miami to drop off the ill passenger. We were then informed we would skip Honduras and go to Key West instead. We live in Florida on the coast and there is nothing for us in Key West. We could have skipped Costa Maya. There is nothing there and we had a stop in Cozumel anyway. They did it to save fuel. They also changed the order of the remaining ports and screwed up any excursions not booked through the line.

The dining room was understaffed and the staff taking the orders could not answer basic questions about the desert offerings. We were never offered anything from the bar or coffee. Our food was served at different times and one member of our party waited ten minutes for her meal after we were served. There was a small child at an adjacent table allowed to cry throughout the meal on multiple evenings. And by the way, when were the table cloths done away with? The steak house and Italian restaurant service and food were exceptional as usual. The Barbeque restaurant was only open for two hours on the two sea days and the line was so slow and so long we gave up. It smelled delicious.

We tendered in at Belize. There were many ships there and not enough tenders, The Dream and Magic both arrived the same morning. We went early to catch a tender and ended up with a number waiting over an hour in the dining room. We had a twenty-five minute tender ride in an open boat and got drenched in salt water spray.

When we went to the guest services desk to voice our dis-satisfaction, we were rudely informed that we were not the first to complain and they would do nothing in the form of compensation. We were told to read our cruise contract and if we still had issue we should call Miami.

I could go on, but I'm sure my point is made. I am saddened more than angry. Carnival is our line. We are almost platinum and were looking forward to the upgrade. When the Freedom of The Seas was slowed due to a mechanical issue and our port time limited they credited our account $200.00 per person. When Carnival had an incident we got rudely dismissed and were referred to Miami.

 

According to this, everything was out of Carnival's control except the MDR issues, yet you complain about that stuff as if it's Carnival's fault. As for the change of itinerary, Carnival changed a distant port, where they might have had to significantly reduce the time in port, for a closer and very popular port. Remember, a lot of passengers sailing out of Florida don't live there. Not sure why Key West would have "nothing for us" with so much to do there. Just because it's in your home state and you've probably been there before doesn't make it a wasteland. I've lived in Texas since 1974 but can always find something to do when I visit a part of the state where I don't live. Being almost Plat, you should know how Carnival is about compensation.

[Florings]

gpas1, I understand your frustration but hopefully there were so many good times, that this will only bother you for a brief time - and soon you will be looking forward to your next cruise!

 

Such is life, that the same activity is wonderful a dozen times, then there is that one time.... Don't let it skew your overall enjoyment of Carnival.

[woodman]

Don't let the door hit you.

Edited July 22, 2016 by woodman

[declansdad]

Just curious. How is it that if you've been on Carnival 11 times and sail twice a year you were unaware of the change to the American Table format in the MDR (thus the lack of tablecloths)? I'm a newbie with Carnival and have only been researching details since October and I'm well aware of this.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

 

That's what I was thinking.