Just off Magic & disappointed

[cruizinisthebest]

OP if you didn't enjoy yourself, then you didn't. Why are you apologizing? I myself don't give much regard to reviews that complain about all the food and long lines. I've never been anywhere - cruise ship or otherwise - where so much food was offered and I couldn't find something awesome to eat. And lines, I avoid them because I've always had an issue standing waiting for food. Seems so pathetic to me. lol. So I always go at off times or wait until the line dwindles down. Even if I'm starving. The one exception is the pizza. Waiting for that line to go down is futile as it just never does. I feel sorry for the pizza guys. Seriously, they need more help! The only cutbacks I've noticed enough to care have been with the stage shows. Hasbro is good once and I mean that's it. I never thought much of the stage shows anyway and would be fine if they totally got rid of them.

 

I understand the advice about invoking the guarantee IF everyone was as dissatisfied as you were within 24 hours. My guess is that it was more trouble than it's worth getting a big party to agree that the trip sucks enough for everyone to all get off and fly home.

 

Magic was good to us last year. You didn't like it, sobeit.

[AdGuyMG]

If the complaints are repeated perhaps it is an indication they are fleet-wide and pervasive.

 

55,000 people are on a Carnival cruise an any given week. About 3 million people a year. You call 40 or 50 Cruise Critic complaint posts pervasive?

[Towel Critter]

Don't sweat the flamers, OP. I can tell the difference between pot-stirrers and those with genuine complaints. I believe you are genuine and I'm sorry you had a bad cruise. It seems more passengers and less public space is the way Carnival is going. I guess we'll have to accept it or look elsewhere. Problem is, I think it's the same thing with most other cruise lines. The Magic and her sister ships are okay when not full up, otherwise not so much. I still prefer the Conquest class ships myself.

[IsanTom]

She didn't say when she was on the cruise, so I assuming recently (June-July) when children are on holiday. That is when

ships are at capacity. I don't like cruising with kids either, so I book when they are in school and never during school holidays. I think the OP should take this under consideration next time she wants to cruise on any cruise line. I love Transatlantics because there are very few children and very few lines. A cruise is supposed to be a relaxing and not a frustrating time.

[AdGuyMG]

Don't sweat the flamers, OP. I can tell the difference between pot-stirrers and those with genuine complaints. I believe you are genuine and I'm sorry you had a bad cruise. It seems more passengers and less public space is the way Carnival is going. I guess we'll have to accept it or look elsewhere. Problem is, I think it's the same thing with most other cruise lines. The Magic and her sister ships are okay when not full up, otherwise not so much. I still prefer the Conquest class ships myself.

 

The OP states they were on the Dream in 2010 and enjoyed it. The Dream is the same basic layout and size of the Magic + - 40 passengers.

[AdGuyMG]

We've always liked carnival in past but after not sailing on them in 7 years, things have changed for the worse and too many other choices out there when your spending way over $1000 pp and additional $380 for drink package!

 

Coincidentally, here's a thread posted just yesterday that has a similar title. Different cruise line, though.

Disappointed with...

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2527531

[A&Jfamily]

OP - we like Carnival and have taken the majority of our cruises with them. We were hoping to love Magic because she has many different options like Sunshine, our favorite ship. But the week pre-Christmas we experienced many of the same issues identified....slow MDR service and huge Lido lines in particular. We had 4600 people on board so almost max capacity. The same week the year before on Conquest, though it had less bells and whistles was more enjoyable for the reasons you stated. Magic has felt the most crowded of any ship I have been on. Did we enjoy ourselves? Of course! Am I willing to chalk it up to a less than stellar trip? Sure. But I would take Sunshine any day over Magic.

 

It makes me hesitant to try the mega ships because I think it ultimately boils down to the fact that we notice the huge numbers of people....regardless of how well they are dispersed.

 

Thanks for sharing. I find your comments to be objective and hope that we both get to keep sailing such that we have a chance to try any ship we wish!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[riclop]

Totally agree with you the food and entertainment has gone downhill quickly.

[cruizinisthebest]

She didn't say when she was on the cruise, so I assuming recently (June-July) when children are on holiday. That is when

ships are at capacity. I don't like cruising with kids either, so I book when they are in school and never during school holidays. I think the OP should take this under consideration next time she wants to cruise on any cruise line. I love Transatlantics because there are very few children and very few lines. A cruise is supposed to be a relaxing and not a frustrating time.

The OP didn't say anything about kids specifically or that she had a problem with them more than anyone else. The crowds and lines in general is what she commented on and nothing was directed at kids.

 

She also posted in a follow up that she always cruises in the summer. So the crowds, kids, and all that goes along with sailing in the summer wouldn't of been a surprise to her.

 

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

[Tapi]

It's been a few years since we sailed on the Dream (Magic's sister), but our initial reaction was exactly the same as the OP. Lines, lines, lines, and more lines. The lido buffet was an absolute claustrophobic mess on embarkation day, with way more people than this venue could handle (along with all their luggage). It was pretty evident from that moment that crowding would be an issue on this ship. So we made a point to avoid certain places when large crowds could be expected.

 

We started going to eat at odd hours. If we were going to the pool, we'd be there either very early in the morning (right after breakfast) or late in the afternoon when most people had already retired to get ready for dinner. If we were going ashore, we'd wait until the mad rush of people going ashore passed and would return to the ship early even if it meant sacrificing time ashore. In the most part, this system seemed to work just fine and we didn't deal with any crowds after our initial experience.

 

About the food, I get it. Although I always find something to eat, these days I seldom find something that truly stands out or that I consider exquisite. And this comment is not aimed at Carnival specifically, but at most cruise lines that I've tried recently. Simply stated, cuisine is not what it used to be across the board. The days of looking forward to a true culinary experience are long gone, at least on the mass market cruise line. I now feel that I go to eat because I'm hungry, not because it's going to be a memorable experience.

 

When the one food item that people rave about these days on Carnival are the burgers, you know that the rest of the offerings have gone down hill.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[bingomamma19]

Although many of you are Carnival loyalist on here and that is great for you but this is our experience so please don't inflame as this board is for all opinions. We had large group of family and sail every other couple years together have been on Royal, Carnival and Disney. Our last Carnival cruise though was 2010 on the Dream which we enjoyed. However this time Carnival Magic lacked so much which makes cruising fun!

Embarkation was fine until we got on the boat at about 12:15 & it was a complete zoo never have i seen a lido buffet area with lines that wrapped around the entire inside, huge lines for burgers and burritos, no where to go and down right stifling hot it was so frustrating off to bad start however next time i will make sure we arrive after 1:30 when cabins are open and maybe less people everywhere!! However this foreshadow what was to come, Lines, Lines, and more lines, and people everywhere on this ship!!

The ships public areas are just too small especially the pools and lido buffet etc for the amount of passengers!

Definitely carnival cutbacks, sorry but the food on this ship was below average & not what we have experienced on past cruises. Buffet was awful & dining room dinner choices were few and overall food came out cold and flavorless, the servers are so overworked that when we asked for other things they were never brought and refills were non existant on drinks and drinks took forever, many drinks we ordered but never received.

Entertainment was sparse and consisted mostly of line dancing to same songs, sea days had few activities by the pool only hair chest contest & loud music. The shows were few and not very good and there just weren't a lot of night time activities, the deck party was no food, no midnight buffet or snacks just once again passengers dancing. Only late night food was pizza and the line was so long and slow! Room service twice ran out of food we ordered on menu!

Our cabin was great if it wasn't so hot and never cooled down and basically carnival did nothing to help us offered a fan but never received it! However the cabins are spacious and tons of storage and the closets were big with lots of hangers the bathroom had lots of shelves.

On a good note, the ship was very clean and always being cleaned especially the bathrooms, all the workers we encountered were very friendly and helpful, and working hard! The ports were great, nassau, amber cove (although wished they made a beach area not just a pool) and Grand turk was the nicest! Embarkation was rather painless! The weather was great all week so that was nice, best part the drinks were strong so we drank more then we ate!

We've always liked carnival in past but after not sailing on them in 7 years, things have changed for the worse and too many other choices out there when your spending way over $1000 pp and additional $380 for drink package! If you have any questions i will try to help, every cruise is what you make it of course and we made it fun cause we had large group but the Carnival Magic disappointed all of us:(

 

I agree with checking in after 1:30p---way less crowds, get to your room right away, relax. Its a great way to start vacation.

 

Food choices...not sure how they were too bad...they literally have hundreds of items. I have also learned to watch what times the busy times are and avoid those...never have an issue.. Maybe at the most have waited 5 minutes..even for the omelette line. I also tend to graze through the whole week :)

 

I like to sit on my balcony and just listen to the ocean, but have also never had a hard time finding something to do the funtimes...trivia, music trivia, shows, comedy, bands etc. Or just sit and play cards with my family. and then there is the casino :)

 

I hope you have a better time next one---In October I will be doing RCI for the first time on the Allure (9 cruises on Carnival so far)...I know I am going to have a blast!!

[Towel Critter]

The OP states they were on the Dream in 2010 and enjoyed it. The Dream is the same basic layout and size of the Magic + - 40 passengers.

I've also been on the Dream and enjoyed it. It WAS more crowded than the Conquest class ships though. I just didn't let it ruin my vacation. My next cruise will likely be on the Vista, my wife's idea and I'm okay with it. I do expect it to be more crowed that the Conquest class ships though, my favorite class. But like with the Dream and with the Breeze, which I've also sailed on, I won't let the crowds get to me... I hope. Crowding varies on any ship, as I'm sure you know. But at capacity, Dream class and Vista class are going to have more crowding issues and longer lines than Conquest class ships. Do you disagree with that? If so, based on what?

[skidawg79]

To the OP. I definitely see some of the things you are talking about. I was on the Magic last spring. Yes, I've had better food in the past, yes the waiters are extremely over worked, yes there were some lines...but you know what...i had an incredible cruise. My attitude when I'm on vacation is that I'm not going to let a few things get to me. My time away from work is so precious and far and few between that i try to make the best of it no matter what.

 

You make some valid points, and I'm glad you enjoyed some of the other aspects of the cruise. I would love to hear a review of your next cruise on a different line and compare.

 

Lastly...i agree 100% about the pizza lol That line sucks..because at 2am, if I'm going for pizza...im hungry!!

[Crusingdiva62]

I think people need to understand when you travel in large groups and all want to eat together it is going to take longer to serve food to those large tables. I have never been in the MDR for 3 hours and always get all my order food and drinks but generally it's no more than 4 of us.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[jimbo5544]

If you really hate to see negative reviews, perhaps you should take your own advice and stop reading them and then perhaps not log on to cruise critic.

 

 

 

Really?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Gloworm2]

Thanks OP for the review. I feel that Carnival ships are not designed to function well at full capacity. This is why I enjoy Royal's Oasis class ships. The mega ships are designed with spacious common areas.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[seafoy]

Really?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Yes...Really!! Did you even read the response the person I was responding to gave??? He told the poster that perhaps he should have gotten off the ship and demanded Carnival fly his party home from the next port if things were not perfect or as he remembered them to be. This is the response you should have saved your "Really?" for! Apparently, you missed the irony, so I will spell it out for you....if you are suggesting someone should get off the ship because of it not meeting your expectations and then go on to state you hate reading negative reviews...perhaps, this person could also save him/herself some heartache by not reading that which upsets them so much...like, move along:rolleyes:! Some of us don't mind reading.

[jimbo5544]

Yes...Really!! Did you even read the response the person I was responding to gave??? He told the poster that perhaps he should have gotten off the ship and demanded Carnival fly his party home from the next port if things were not perfect or as he remembered them to be. This is the response you should have saved your "Really?" for! Apparently, you missed the irony, so I will spell it out for you....if you are suggesting someone should get off the ship because of it not meeting your expectations and then go on to state you hate reading negative reviews...perhaps, this person could also save him/herself some heartache by not reading that which upsets them so much...like, move along:rolleyes:! Some of us don't mind reading.

 

 

 

My questions was in regards to telling someone they should not come here (as in login and post). I happen to agree on your view on the poster bunt not telling them what they should or should not do.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Micahs Grandad]

This is cruise critic and all opinions should be welcome here

[skywalkr2]

This is cruise critic and all opinions should be welcome here

 

Agreed... but that also includes those that disagree.

[meatloafsfan]

Have you even bothered to look at the terms and conditions of the Guarantee? They are quite onerous.

 

They do.

 

The guarantee must be executed within the first 24 hours after sailing.

 

The passengers MUST have a passport in order to fly home. Many do, but many also do not.

 

They aren't onerous at all. You have to identify in the first 24 hours after sailing that you are unhappy and the issue can't be fixed (your call here - not like guest services has final call to say "it's fixed").

 

Yes, you have to have a passport but that's not Carnival's fault - it's the US government. They are the ones who require everyone arriving by air to have a passport.

 

And I don't think that this really even applies to the OP - they weren't that unhappy that they wanted to get off the ship immediately. They just didn't have the best time that they were hoping for. Happens to the best of us - and on other cruise lines as well. It is what it is - a less than stellar experience.

[bUU]

I am less impressed by the guarantee than most. It is not that I am concerned that Carnival wouldn't honor it, but rather I'm concerned that it is asking the passenger to sacrifice far too much to be an option that many could stomach invoking. There are too many incurred costs that the guarantee won't address (vacation time from work and original airline tickets, for starters). The impact of the sacrifice the passenger would be making is exacerbated by the time limit, which is set to a point in time that many passengers would still be in the stage of wondering, "Is this really as bad as it feels?" when the offer expires.

 

Regardless, I read the OP with interest, given that our first Carnival Magic cruise in 100 days. Without challenging the OP's relaying of the events or their impact on the OP's experience, I don't find myself reaching for the telephone to cancel our trip. I am to some extent expecting a bit of a "zoo" at embarkation lunch. I remember such "zoos" during prior cruises on other cruise lines. The embarkation lunch is something that I feel has long stressed the system, given that much of the crew is busy actually getting the ship ready for the upcoming week's voyage and therefore the lunch service is trying to serve too many passengers with a reasonably-determined skeleton crew. Again: I'm not taking anything away from the dissatisfaction that the OP expressed; I'm just saying, "Message received; I'm preparing myself (and my spouse) for that experience." And to be fair, we've purchased FTTF in part to get a jump on this situation so that perhaps we'll be aboard the ship a few minutes prior to when the OP boarded, and therefore beat the rush by a little.

 

Similarly, the stifling heat in Central Florida in July. I'm prepared for it (well, for what will be left of it in November).

 

I recall reading how much less Carnival spends on food per passenger, as compared to the other cruise lines we've sailed in the past. Just looking at how much lower my cruise fare is, adjusted for inflation, I'm sure that that disparity continues. Having said that, I'm reading far too many positive reviews of the food that is offered, especially at Tandoor (which is where you'll find us during embarkation lunch) to worry too much. Those reviews are backed up by YouTube videos that give you a much better feel for how much the reviewer is actually feeling about what they're experiencing in the minute. Again: I'm not taking anything away from the dissatisfaction that the OP expressed; I'm just saying, "Message received; I'm preparing myself (and my spouse) for that experience."

 

I'm not sure what to think about the comment that the public areas are too small for the amount of passengers in the context of the statement, "Definitely carnival cutbacks!" which followed that comment. I doubt that they've packed more cabins into the ship since it was built. Beyond that, videos tend to make things look more crowded, and instead many of the 2016 and 2017 videos of the sail-away party on Carnival Magic that I've viewed make it look awkwardly sparse. Again, I'm not sure what to to think about that so unlike the earlier comments, I cannot say that I'm prepared for what the OP is saying here.

 

I'm also cognizant of changes that place more cabins on the back of each stateroom attendant and more tables on the back of each server. I appreciate the comments I've read from the OP and others about that since, again, it helps put our expectations back where they belong. As indicated earlier, in the context of how much lower this fare is than what we've experienced on prior cruises, adjusted for inflation, it fits. However, having said that, it also has prepared me to be my own best advocate. While on prior cruises if such situations as the OP described occurred, I'd have waited until the third or fourth occurrence to make a point of it. Now I know to do so the first time and every time, and to make it clear that in both of these cases the failure will be directly reflected in the gratuity. (FTTF will come in handy there, as well.)

 

The line dancing and loud music comment resonated with my expectations from my research. We've almost always spent sail-away toward the bow rather than at the party itself. We typically spend sea days alternating between reading on our balcony and visits to the spa. As we get closer to our voyage I'm going to float the idea to the Roll Call that we set a time on both sea days for folks to get together for a board game... creating our own activities rather than relying on a cruise line that we know, going into this, isn't aiming their entertainment at us.

 

Clean bathrooms! I haven't heard anyone tout that but I'm especially glad to read that news. My spouse and I always tend to clash between shower time and the need to use the restroom, so it sounds like the public restrooms are a great option.

[bUU]

I don't think they are saying they hated their entire vacation, they just went over their experiences that weren't great and referred to times that were and that they did enjoy a previous cruise with Carnival.

This is one of the reasons why I like cruise vacation vlogs and written vacation reports that go through each day of the trip as if they are a diary, rather than "reviews". With the diary format, it is much easier to see a balanced view of the whole trip (or, I suppose, alternatively to detect when there are major gaps in the vlog - either gaps that would have exposed positive experiences, in overly negative vlogs, or gaps that would have exposed negative experiences, in overly positive vlogs).

 

I routinely read the RCI and NCL boards and have the feeling Carnival is not alone.

It stretches up into the Holland America and Princess level as well. The mass market rewards suppliers that offer lower base fare increases even when those lower fare increases go hand-in-hand with service reductions. For people who want superior quality and more comprehensive inclusive experiences, there is Seabourn and Regent Seven Seas and such.

 

Maybe we don't experience the line issues and crowding issues because we have a balcony. But we have found when there are SLOW lines (I'm talking to you, Mongolian BBQ & omelet station!) it's due to food being prepared fresh, and so we don't mind the wait.

This is a good point. Along with this trend toward unbundling of fares which I mentioned above, there is a trend away from the old automat approach where food is stack up waiting for you.

[frayedend]

They do.

 

The guarantee must be executed within the first 24 hours after sailing.

 

The passengers MUST have a passport in order to fly home. Many do, but many also do not.

 

I'd guess generally speaking that people hope things get better after the first day. Usually long lines on the first day settle down and things improve. I don't know many that would go through the hassle of quiting after only 24 hours.

 

I've seen plenty of reviews with the same complaints. I've been on the Dream a few times and lines were often ridiculous. Mongolion Wok simply was never open long enough to not have a huge line. I can see that being annoying. These days it seems bigger ships are just adding people and actually decreasing public space per person. But for the value I go Carnival anyhow.

[Bernardo62]

if you really hate to see negative reviews, perhaps you should take your own advice and stop reading them and then perhaps not log on to cruise critic.

lmao......