Carnival Magic balcony choice?

[nware411]

First, I would like to thank everything here for the wonderful information provided.

 

I am looking at booking the Magic next year and I think I have decided I want a balcony cabin. I understand the promenade deck (deck 5) on the Magic protrudes out far enough that people can see up to your balcony or if you look straight down its the deck not water. After some picture studying I have noticed you if you pick either all the way forward or all the way aft the deck is either flush with the ship or not nearly as far out. Can anyway confirm or deny this? Do you have any photos?

 

Now to my real question, if you go as far forward as possible you are near the bridge and the navigation extensions off the side (for lack of a better word); do they block your view at all? Does this limit privacy? Also I saw somewhere there are rules like keeping your balcony light off after some hour and keeping curtains closed to prevent interference with navigation. Thanks in advance!

[originalgeek]

Last week on Conquest we were in a balcony on deck 8 - even with the bridge. We were a in the forward section a few cabins forward of the elevators but probably 8 or 9 cabins aft of the very front. I could lean out and see the bridge personnel but as long as I stayed behind the rail it was just me. What I mean to say is it was very private. I think even a few cabins forward of our location would have still been fine but we took a ship tour and when I was on the bridge I could see onto balconies 3 or 4 deep on level 8 and below.

 

as long as you're back a ways and level with or above the bridge, you should be fine BUT with the caveat that, while I was on a similarly sized ship, I have 0 experience with the Magic so if there's some weird configuration that might open you up to more exposure than you desire I wouldn't know about it.

 

The bridge doesn't stick out as far as the deck plans make it look but it does stick out.

 

And yes, the balcony is lovely. I loved sitting out there listening to the wind and sea and sipping a drink in the dark. It helps a lot if your neighbors leave their lights off. You can see stars for miles.

Edited August 3, 2016 by originalgeek

[beachbum53]

First, I would like to thank everything here for the wonderful information provided.

 

I am looking at booking the Magic next year and I think I have decided I want a balcony cabin. I understand the promenade deck (deck 5) on the Magic protrudes out far enough that people can see up to your balcony or if you look straight down its the deck not water. After some picture studying I have noticed you if you pick either all the way forward or all the way aft the deck is either flush with the ship or not nearly as far out. Can anyway confirm or deny this? Do you have any photos?

 

Now to my real question, if you go as far forward as possible you are near the bridge and the navigation extensions off the side (for lack of a better word); do they block your view at all? Does this limit privacy? Also I saw somewhere there are rules like keeping your balcony light off after some hour and keeping curtains closed to prevent interference with navigation. Thanks in advance!

 

I'm not sure why balconies have lights on them anyway. Not only do they interfere with navigation at the front of the ship, balcony lights are very annoying to your neighbors. Having a balcony cabin on Deck 5 would be like sitting in a fish bowl. Don't sit out there in your underwear. :o If you want to have a good view of the water, as well as privacy on your balcony, give some thought to booking a cove balcony.

[Steveanaruss]

First, I would like to thank everything here for the wonderful information provided.

 

I am looking at booking the Magic next year and I think I have decided I want a balcony cabin. I understand the promenade deck (deck 5) on the Magic protrudes out far enough that people can see up to your balcony or if you look straight down its the deck not water. After some picture studying I have noticed you if you pick either all the way forward or all the way aft the deck is either flush with the ship or not nearly as far out. Can anyway confirm or deny this? Do you have any photos?

 

Now to my real question, if you go as far forward as possible you are near the bridge and the navigation extensions off the side (for lack of a better word); do they block your view at all? Does this limit privacy? Also I saw somewhere there are rules like keeping your balcony light off after some hour and keeping curtains closed to prevent interference with navigation. Thanks in advance!

 

We just got off the Magic on July 30. We were in a Spa Balcony 12040, which is forward. Deck 5 protrudes all over the ship and no room has a direct view of the water, however forward and aft has less interference because of no life boats obstructing. The bridge does stick out, so if you are too far forward, they can see directly into your balcony. We were far enough back that we could only see the bridge when looking out over the rail.

I never saw any rules about the lights on the balcony, but they were off at night. We were out there a couple of nights with the curtains open and no one said anything.

 

Hope that helps :)

 

Check out my post (Carnival Magic - It was Fantastic!) for some more input.

Thanks!

[nware411]

Last week on Conquest we were in a balcony on deck 8 - even with the bridge. We were a in the forward section a few cabins forward of the elevators but probably 8 or 9 cabins aft of the very front. I could lean out and see the bridge personnel but as long as I stayed behind the rail it was just me. What I mean to say is it was very private. I think even a few cabins forward of our location would have still been fine but we took a ship tour and when I was on the bridge I could see onto balconies 3 or 4 deep on level 8 and below.

 

as long as you're back a ways and level with or above the bridge, you should be fine BUT with the caveat that, while I was on a similarly sized ship, I have 0 experience with the Magic so if there's some weird configuration that might open you up to more exposure than you desire I wouldn't know about it.

 

The bridge doesn't stick out as far as the deck plans make it look but it does stick out.

 

And yes, the balcony is lovely. I loved sitting out there listening to the wind and sea and sipping a drink in the dark. It helps a lot if your neighbors leave their lights off. You can see stars for miles.

 

 

Thanks for the quick reply. If I did book forward cabin it would be one of those rooms 3 or 4 back from the bridge because of the promenade deck sticking out mid ship. If you are familiar with the magic or have looked at the deck plans you will see the promenade deck stands out pretty far from the other decks and limits you from looking straight down to the water. It looks like the 5-6 most fwd cabins or the 5-6 most aft cabins will not have the promenade deck below them.

Edited August 3, 2016 by nware411

[nware411]

We just got off the Magic on July 30. We were in a Spa Balcony 12040, which is forward. Deck 5 protrudes all over the ship and no room has a direct view of the water, however forward and aft has less interference because of no life boats obstructing. The bridge does stick out, so if you are too far forward, they can see directly into your balcony. We were far enough back that we could only see the bridge when looking out over the rail.

I never saw any rules about the lights on the balcony, but they were off at night. We were out there a couple of nights with the curtains open and no one said anything.

 

Hope that helps :)

 

Check out my post (Carnival Magic - It was Fantastic!) for some more input.

Thanks!

 

That does help! I am starting to lean towards a aft balcony cabin, but would prefer a forward one. My DW would say I am way overthinking this, but to me this is half the fun of planning a cruise :).

[originalgeek]

Thanks for the quick reply. If I did book forward cabin it would be one of those rooms 3 or 4 back from the bridge because of the promenade deck sticking out mid ship. If you are familiar with the magic or have looked at the deck plans you will see the promenade deck stands out pretty far from the other decks and limits you from looking straight down to the water. It looks like the 5-6 most fwd cabins or the 5-6 most aft cabins will not have the promenade deck below them.

 

I'm glad you're asking because I want to go on Magic next - it's much closer to me than FLL or Miami (Or even Tampa). I will look up and familiarize myself with the ship before we book. I bet there's some good ship videos on youtube. I'll check. Enjoy your trip!

[NoJolt4U]

I'm glad you're asking because I want to go on Magic next - it's much closer to me than FLL or Miami (Or even Tampa). I will look up and familiarize myself with the ship before we book. I bet there's some good ship videos on youtube. I'll check. Enjoy your trip!

 

I have a spa balcony booked on the Magic for an upcoming cruise. I will post a review in a few weeks and let you know. Mine is forward

[poz222]

Cove balconies are below the deck 5 and really close to the water with unobstructed views below... However they are below the lifeboats...

[springs741]

Three sailings on the Magic while she was in Galveston.

 

Once we did a cove. Very nice, close to the water, no foot traffic. Just be careful not to book under the galley. No matter where you choose you want to be mindful of what is above and below you.

 

The other two sailings were in the same stateroom on deck 8. We booked slightly aft of the aft elevator to minimize looking down on the promenade deck. This allow us the have a good view of the water and we had staterooms above and below us.

[originalgeek]

I have a spa balcony booked on the Magic for an upcoming cruise. I will post a review in a few weeks and let you know. Mine is forward

Awesome! thanks!

[Jona7]

We sailed on the Magic this past May and already rebooked for May 17,even got the same cabin. I picked deck 8 midsection which was quiet and not near the Lido deck or pools. We had an wonderful view of the ocean and docking areas. The hot tubs do get busy at times and you will experience noise from them. If you do want to spend the money for a balcony cabin and enjoy the view-book higher up.

[crusinpsychRN]

I used my balcony light to read at night. Always turned it off.

[DebJ14]

We prefer the spa balcony cabins on the Magic. We had 12014 and 12016 on 2 of or cruises. They were in a quiet location, unobstructed view from the balcony an DH could just pop in the side door of the gym and work out without having to go all the way around through the spa entrance.

Our second favorite location for a balcony on the Magic is Lido Deck. We had 10249 and found it a great location. It was great to just walk out to the pool and was close to the elevator when we wanted to go down to Promenade deck or dinner, but was also a quiet location and the balcony had an unobstructed view.

On the Breeze (same layout) we had a spa balcony on deck 11 and did not care for it. There was too much noise and foot traffic from the other non-spa balcony cabins. If we take the Breeze or Magic again we will definitely go back to a Deck 12 spa balcony.

[Tofutti]

We were on the Magic in June and had cabin 8202, the most forward cabin port side. As you can see in my pic, the bridge is your forward view, but looking straight out and back is nothing but beautiful views of water and landscape. My DH liked to wave at the officers and give them thumbs up when we finished docking, he's so silly. They would always wave back. I would have this cabin again because it was so quiet at the end of the hall. Camello, our steward was outstanding!! He was johnny on the spot with all my requests and I gave him high marks on my survey and of course a generous tip!

[abisha]

Thanks for the quick reply. If I did book forward cabin it would be one of those rooms 3 or 4 back from the bridge because of the promenade deck sticking out mid ship. If you are familiar with the magic or have looked at the deck plans you will see the promenade deck stands out pretty far from the other decks and limits you from looking straight down to the water. It looks like the 5-6 most fwd cabins or the 5-6 most aft cabins will not have the promenade deck below them.

 

I am booked on the magic on a forward Deck 6 balcony cabin... it's the seventh one from the the end (forward). My balcony is beyond the protrusion of deck 5. Underneath my balcony on deck 5 will be a public walkway which doesn't stick out, which allows people to be able to walk all the way around to the "front" of the ship so they can see forward. I am also directly over the back stage area of the showroom. So if you decide to book a forward balcony cabin on deck 6, just make sure what you are over. Some of them may be directly over the showroom itself. I made sure to avoid that and go a bit further forward and be over the backstage area.

 

I sailed on the Breeze (similar layout as magic) and chose a Lido deck balcony. It was the terrific being up high...so much so that looking all the way down to deck 5 really had no effect on anything, and we could see down to the water without any issue. Probably because we were so up high. The lido sells out quickly though, which is why I ended up on deck 6 (I booked it a bit late). The convenience of the Lido was great...just walk out of the cabin...and right out to the pool and buffet and bars.

[CruzCrazy]

This is looking straight down from lido deck balcony #10225 on the Breeze (sister ship to the Magic). As you can see, we were far enough forward to be away from most foot traffic on the lanai, but the lanai still obstructed our view down to the water a little. This is the 5th balcony from the bow of the ship on the starboard side. We actually have the same balcony booked on the Magic for this coming February. I wanted 10221, but it was already taken when we booked.

 

Hope this helps:

 

 

[TerReuv]

I'm glad you're asking because I want to go on Magic next - it's much closer to me than FLL or Miami (Or even Tampa). I will look up and familiarize myself with the ship before we book. I bet there's some good ship videos on youtube. I'll check. Enjoy your trip!

 

There are many good videos of the Magic. Make sure they are recent since she was in dry dock a couple on months ago. We're booked for next October and have a balcony on the Lido deck.

 

To the OP, note that not all ships have deck 5 pushed out like the Magic. Possibly just that class of ship.

[Firemens Wife]

There are many good videos of the Magic. Make sure they are recent since she was in dry dock a couple on months ago. We're booked for next October and have a balcony on the Lido deck.

 

To the OP, note that not all ships have deck 5 pushed out like the Magic. Possibly just that class of ship.

 

Where would you find the videos at? Thanks

[originalgeek]

Where would you find the videos at? Thanks

 

Hi Heide, just go to YouTube.com and type carnival magic balcony in their search bar and you'll get a ton of videos.

Edited August 12, 2016 by originalgeek

[jorjen9]

I have a mid ship deck 7 ocean suite booked on the Magic for next summer. Now I am worried about deck 5 protruding out and the noise from the hot tubs. Should I consider switching to another deck?

[bakersdozen12]

On the Dream class ships, I would pick a cove balcony every time. I love the closeness to the water, the privacy, and the shade that the lifeboats provide.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[ohiowilly]

I'm not sure why balconies have lights on them anyway. Not only do they interfere with navigation at the front of the ship, balcony lights are very annoying to your neighbors. Having a balcony cabin on Deck 5 would be like sitting in a fish bowl. Don't sit out there in your underwear. :o If you want to have a good view of the water, as well as privacy on your balcony, give some thought to booking a cove balcony.

 

There aren't even any cabins on Deck 5 - all Public Spaces.

[CJHAN]

We have been on the Magic and the Breeze and I dont recall privacy on the balconies being an issue. Wr where on deck 7 and deck 2 respectively deck 2 being a cove balcony and definitely not an issue but alot of stairs.

[Firemens Wife]

Hi Heide, just go to YouTube.com and type carnival magic balcony in their search bar and you'll get a ton of videos.

 

Thanks!!!!! I'm kinda puter illiterate. Have an awesome day!