ULtra Magic 11/5 - 11/12/16

[lazydayz]

This was my first Ultra Premier cruise and Carnival did it right. Upon arrival, we had a custom name plate on our cabin door and a gift bag in our cabin. Both of us got Ultra thermal cups and an invite to the cocktail party for shortly after sailing.

 

There were over 300 Ultra cruisers plus one guest each. The party was in the Spotlight lounge and every seat was taken. There were four or five Ultra casino hosts, including Carlos (super funny), Zee, Victor and Diana. The Magic casino host was Kumbu, and he took good care of us. Kumbu booked us for the steak house and Cuchino. Both dinners came with a bottle of wine and we were not presented a check but told the casino had taken care of everything, including the tip.

[lazydayz]

Over the course of the cruise, they gave out six cruises. Each night at midnight, they did the free cruise drawing for a Grand Suite, $500 in casino cash, $500 in spa treatments and $500 in shore excursions. Only one time was the person not there. But they picked another name and made a lady's night!

 

There were drawings every day and some were new to me. My favorite was Matilda the Cash Cow. I was not selected for any of the drawings, but both my husband and I were both included in the drawings. There were some regular drawings as well, and anyone with at least 100 points were eligible for those.

[lazydayz]

Over the course of the week, we received a bottle of champagne and a box of cookies.

 

So the big event was each Ultra guest's prize drawing. They divided us into groups of about 50 and held a drawing every day. Mine was the last one, Thursday night at 10:30. The prices were IPad minis, IPad Airs, IPhone 7, Samsung Galaxy cell phone, Bose noise cancelling headphones, Ultra Cash ranging from $300 to $1000, Carnival Tagheuer watches, MacBook Pros, and 65 inch Samsung curved TVs.

[lazydayz]

We were informed of our drawing time on the first day. Each each drawing had one TV, one Tagheuer watch, and two MacBooks. The most abundant gifts were the IPad minis and Ultra Cash. For Ultra Cash, you got to spin the Cash Wheel and were awarded whatever you landed on. We saw at least five people who won $1000.

 

I was one of the last four to draw my prize and was lucky enough to win the giant tv. It will be delivered in four to six weeks. Woo hoo.

[lazydayz]

Both the invited Ultra guest and their guest each received free drinks in the casino all week. There were plenty of servers in the casino. They brought out coffee, juice and pastries in the morning, then snacks in the late evening.

 

Everything was well organized and to my surprise, the slots were paying off. I won two jackpots, which was a first for me in my 24 Carnival cruises. The casino was packed all week, but I was always able to find a machine.

 

Also a first, I had over 20,000 points. I received a bounce back offer for a free ocean view cabin for up to 15 nights. There were many people who had lots more points than I, with one guy having over 100,000.

[lazydayz]

For me, the Ultra cruise was everything it was advertised to be. We were treated well and enjoyed it immensely.

 

The cruise itself was great. We love the Magic and its crew. Our balcony cabin was spacious for two and very quiet.

 

Let me know if you have any questions about the Ultra cruise and I will try to answer. And if you are booked on one of the upcoming Ultras, good luck!

[sailawaykaye]

Hi! I was waiting to see an "Ultra" review. We will be on the November 27 sailing on the Breeze out of Galveston. We did the "Ultra" Cruise last year on the Magic. Glad to hear you had a great time. Last year they had the grand prize being a a cuise for 2 in a suite on the Vista. Was a free cruise one of the prize giveaway?

[lazydayz]

This time, rather than being part of the prize drawings, they raffled a grand suite on the upcoming Premier cruises plus casino cash, spa and excursion dollars on six of the seven nights. Had to be there at midnight for this special drawing. Only Ultra invited guests were eligible.

 

Have a great cruise!

Edited November 13, 2016 by lazydayz

[riclop]

Glad you had a great time.

[lazydayz]

Thanks. I forgot to mention the Ultra slot tournament. It was on the last sea day and any invited guest with 2,000 points could participate at no charge. We had at least 15 rounds of 20 participants. Of those, the top 20 advanced to the finals and were awarded casino cash. I think the winner got $1,000 in free play.

Edited November 13, 2016 by lazydayz

[sailawaykaye]

Thanks for the info. Super excited! Waiting for Black Friday to get a new cell phone. I guess I shouldn't unpackage it in case I win one. Lol! The Tagheuer watch seems cool too. My husband would really like to win the free cruise. With the points you accumulated you should get an invite to next years Ultra. We have a Premier cruise booked in March, to try to make sure we get an invite to next years Ultra. Glad you hit some jackpots. I seem to do fairly well on the slots. Funny, because I don't do well on slots in Vegas. Video Poker is my game in Vegas, but I don't like to play video poker on a cruise. What did you play?

[sailawaykaye]

As a matter of fact, we were in Vegas when the Ultra invites came out last May. I had been checking everyday. That particular night was a lot of fun. I managed to get a Royal Flush holding 2 to the royal. It was funny trying to book the Ultra Cruise at 3:30am in the morning. The Ultras always sell out fast!

[easyboy]

Thanks for the feedback. That must really be an enjoyable (and plenty of luck!) cruise.

[Clarea]

Thanks for the report.

[jr8633]

Thanks for the review.

ready go as well, Dec 3rd ;-)

[Port of Tampa]

Great review thanks. We did the Ultra in 2015 on the Breeze and had a blast hope to do it again some day.

 

Cheers, good luck and happy cruising.

[jackpotter]

I see I am going to be different in my opinion of the ultra premier casino cruise on carnival magic nov 2016. No wins and I put a lot of money into that casino. Never met a host, even after seeking one out to ask why we were not invited to a dinner at one of the specialty restaurants as we always are. At that time he said oh, yeah, you should have been asked. And then when Victor came to us, he said I really think you should do the Italian, the Steak house makes you feel so full. What??? In other words, take the cheaper of the two, as it is only 15 dollars for the Italian restaurant which I always pay for a few times a cruise. wow, and looking at the points of the above posters, we were in same ballpark.

Be careful because they want you in the casino at all hours for drawings and with over 300 people in ultra, very small chance your name is called when calling one or two names. Unfortunately mine never was. But when you are in there of course you gamble. I realize it is a gambling cruise but they do get you into that casino a lot under the pretense of you must be there to win, lol. The big prize was done each night as another poster said, depending on what group you are put in. I was last name called second night and it took over two hours of standing there just to get called. ahhhhhhhhh. waste of time. I am really not a complainer, but come on, it should be better organized. The casino was soooooooooooo crowded it was very difficult to find a machine, but I managed and it cost me a lot. LOL

I have enjoyed regular cruises in the casino and also the premier. I felt lost on this cruise. Never greeted by a host, has to seek out to get the dinner. Won 400 dollars casino cash on BIG drawing. That went in 2 seconds. haha. Normally, I get that much in casino cash when I get on board, or more so not that big of a deal. And to be extra whiney, sorry, the casino was soooooooo smokey, sorry smokers, but not everyone smokes. I have never been on a carnival ship where the smoke was so thick. I did hear a lot of people complaining. I also think maybe because it was the casino cruise aand veterans cruise it added to all the heavy heavy smoke in the casino. As I said, on previous cruises, I have always met the hosts, been spoken to, sent to dinner, etc. etc. I would not do the Ultra again, not worth it. I do much better in smaller setting, not so much smoke, can get a machine, meet the hosts, and be treated like you are important(heck, I could have bought the casino by the end of the week!)

That being said, please don't hate me because of my negative comments. They are sincere and honest. If I had won a huge jackpot maybe I would not feel this way right? LOL. Another funny thing was the same guy won over and over and finally I only heard them say his first name when announcing his big wins. I think so everyone didn't know it was once again, the same guy. I did see he was bidding 10 dollars a shot as the other big winner was bidding 8 and more. I think the cruise ships are getting harder to win big on unless you can afford to bid 10 bucks a shot each time. I do bid high a lot but can't do 10 every time for sure. I should be going back to roulette or stay out of the casino really. It is called gambling I realize that. In the old days, I won more than I lost but no longer. I did speak to many gamblers in casino and most lost their bottoms, just a few lucky high bidders who did well. Sorry to be so negative guys! Just the truth for me.

[lazydayz]

Jack, I agree the casino was smoky and crowded. I expected that given the nature of the cruise. Sorry Lady Luck wasn't kinder to you. I certainly have those kind of streaks, on cruises and on land. I also agree about the drawings, they were meant to get us in the casino. But that is their goal. Totally up to us if we go or not, or how long we play. Did you get a BB offer?

[jackpotter]

Hi LazyD

Yes, I did get bounceback offer. And I did look to see the availability of the offer which is up to 15 days through May, ov cabin. Yet, no 15 days offered if I wanted to take a 15 day cruise and unlike before where you could choose a cruise for the number of days you wanted (up to amount of offer) and you would be able to get that cabin free, not just the days they offer on the calendar they have shown on your special offer. It's weird. There were very very few available dates. I called and was told they offer so many free every week and they fill up so fast that only a few are available. It is not worth it for me if I have to go to Galveston or Miami. Just another thing that has changed. I did get off the ship yesterday and checked for bouceback same day and as I said less than a handfull free. I did notice they had a lot of balconies and suites for higher prices since you can upgrade, but on the same ship that I wanted, no "free ov cabins" available. hmmmm. If I am spending this much to gamble on the ship, I should not have to "upgrade." I agree about up to us if we want to go every time they have a drawing etc. Not saying that. Just that you may be in there all day waiting to hear your name called amongst all the ultra guests. And, actually I did not go to every drawing. haha... I did enjoy some pool time, etc. And of course that is the casino's strategy. But again, I have so much more enjoyed the regular cruises when in the casino. Was just nice getting to meet the hosts, and getting more attention and perks. And if you get a bounceback, not sure you need to stay up for free cruise at midnight last night. LOL. Except maybe they let you choose the ship and date.?? I am probably the only one who had this experience. Sounds like most loved the Ultra. I just didn't find it as fun as others, but yes, that is me and my opinion. Thank you for allowing me to whine. LOL

[lazydayz]

Jack, I booked my BB on the Glory for late April, and upgraded to the Grand Suite. Since this will be my 25th Carnival cruise, I want it to be special.

 

Hope you can find something that works for you. Linda

[jackpotter]

Wow, that sounds great! I will take a look. Where does it leave from? I try to get the cruise out of port Canaveral cause I have 3 dogs and leave them with a petsitter at our house. She costs more than the cruise. LOL I have not been on the Glory. Really like the Sunshine but can only book upgrades, no OV. Did you get an OV offer also? or balcony? We probably all could have bought the suite several times over with our casino deposits. Those slots are very addictive and never have so much fun losing all that mula, but am I the only one who gets a bit of anxiety back in the room when I realize all the money I just spent? haha

[lazydayz]

I got the OV BB so to upgrade to the Grand Suite for a week was $500 pp. Glory leaves out of Miami. We like PC better (2 hour drive vs. five hours) but the Glory is a fine ship and we like the Eastern Caribbean itinerary. As of today, there were suites left on the April 15 (Easter sailing) and April 29. We picked the later one.

[jackpotter]

I got the OV BB so to upgrade to the Grand Suite for a week was $500 pp. Glory leaves out of Miami. We like PC better (2 hour drive vs. five hours) but the Glory is a fine ship and we like the Eastern Caribbean itinerary. As of today, there were suites left on the April 15 (Easter sailing) and April 29. We picked the later one.

 

Never been on Glory. She looks nice. I am just so spoiled going out of Port Canaveral all the time, can always find a ship and date that works. Try not to drive to Miami as well. PC is an hour from me. You are certainly spoiling yourselves with Grand Suite! Good for you. If I keep that much back from slots, I can stay there too! ;) But don't know how much I am even in the cabin. Will probably go with husband, he doesn't gamble. He figures I spend enough for both of us. He likes the comedy shows. Thanks for sharing. Just saw Oasis RC is in PC now. That is an awesome ship! Been on it once.

[illinoisfive]

Jackpotter

what does bid $8 or $10 a shot?

are you betting $8 or $10? and if so, on what?

I am a bit confused.

[jackpotter]

Jackpotter

what does bid $8 or $10 a shot?

are you betting $8 or $10? and if so, on what?

I am a bit confused.

 

sorry, not sure how to reply without a title or quote.

 

I meant people are betting that much on slot machines

(two of the really big winners were betting 10 dollars each time on slots). Hope this makes sense. Probably using the wrong vocabulary. Some of the machines allow higher bets each time, even on penny machines. So if one bets the 10 dollar amount, if you hit, you usually get a large win and as it was they did end up with jackpots betting this amount every time. You run out of money fast but if you hit, that is when you can win big.

Do you play tables? Maybe that is why this doesn't make sense.