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Magic Review

JaxsMama

By JaxsMama,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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JaxsMama

JaxsMama

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PROS:

We really enjoyed Jeff in the piano bar. He’s sarcastic and a little catty, defiantly my cup of tea. Suzette is the bartender in there and she took great care of us. All the bartenders in the Red Frog Pub where great as well. We had the Cheers package and also tipped a dollar per round in cash. After the first day the bartenders remember and always came right over to wait on us. It was also never a problem for one of us to come in and get a round of drinks for both of us.

Camp Ocean is great! My 5 year old begged to go there and never wanted to leave. The girls are all very nice and they keep them busy with fun activities. I would suggest going in on day 1 to get registered and pick up a schedule. We used the Night Owls service a few evening to go out. You can drop them off in the evening starting at 7pm (6pm if they are going to kids dinner) and then at 10pm they will start charging you. We would alway pick up our son if he went earlier and take him up and get him in his pj’s and then take him back. Made my life easier later when it was bed time. Well worth the $10-15 to have a few hours of adult time.

Debarkation was super quick. We met at 6:45am for the priority walk off with platinum, FTTF etc. We carried all of our bags which can be a hassle if you over pack like me, but makes it a fast exit. We got thru customs and into a cab ($15) for a ride to Hertz rental car. There is a free shuttle but I figured it was worth the cash to not drag all the luggage to the shuttle and then wait and then wait more at the rental counter. We got there by 7:45 and beat the rush. As we were pulling out with our car the shuttle arrived and unloaded with all the cruisers. It was cheaper for us to rent a car for the day and drop off at MCO than to take the Carnival shuttle to MCO. We also had a 5:50 flight so we enjoyed sight seeing in Orlando and a lunch out before heading to the airport.

CONS:

For us the Alchemy Bar wasn’t great in it’s location on deck 5. We liked the regular bar that was in that location on the Breeze a few years ago. One reason is it doesn’t open until 5 or 6 daily. We played several games of trivia there and the bar was never open. Sometimes the Red Frog pub wasn’t open yet either. In that case you had to go to the Lido or Atrium on 3 for a drink. You also can’t get a beer or any frozen drinks there, which caused there to be a long wait in the casino bar. The drinks I had there were good, but it seems like a waste of a huge bar in one of the main areas for such a niche item. About half of the folks I saw walk up to the get a drink had to go else where.

The singers in the main show were not very good. We saw some of one of the shows and the male singer butchered a few Aerosmith songs. We then attempted to do the Flick show but only made it about 10 minutes. This time they were butchering Eye of the Tiger, which should be easier to sing than Aerosmith !?

The TV channels. Man o man if I never watch another minute of CNN it will be too soon. I know you don’t pay to vacation to watch TV but still. One thing that was a plus was all the NFL playoff games were shown. They put them on the big screen at the pool with sound. They also had them on in the Red Frog Pub, the casino bar and on the TV at the bar near the mini golf course.

 

All in all we had a great time on the Magic and would recommend this ship. There were rocky seas towards the end but we were lucky our kid was never phased by it. Now that we know he did so well cruising we will definitely be back on a family vacation. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask. I also saved the Funtimes and Camp Ocean schedule if anyone needs something specific.

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myjillian

myjillian

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Got off of the Magic on the 27th. Had a Spa cabin....also had acid reflux for 7 days...it must have been the water...no maybe the food...no maybe walking thru the smoke filled casino every time to go thru to the dining room...no maybe watching hundreds of people eating like tomorrow will never come.....it was a total waste of time....:eek: I guess you really get what you paid for:loudcry:

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beshears

beshears

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I just started reading your review, as we will be doing the Magic the end of March for the first time.

 

I really feel bad that you had a room steward that did not do their job right. I have cruised on several cruise lines, and have done several Carnival cruises. Up till now (actually 8 of us last year), our room stewards have always followed through for whatever I would ask for, whether it be ice, bath robe, etc. I guess time will tell how our room steward will do this time. You seemed to be pleased with the ones that served you in the MDR, and that is good. We have always been happy for the most part with ours as well. I am not a nit picky person, and I know some people are, and I know that can make a difference as well, not saying that you are, but this is just MY comment.

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