Magic 7 Day Eastern Review

[jam19872016]

Enjoyed your review and pictures. The menu pictures, I did not see any COLD SOUP listing, do you recall Carnival still has them such Strawberry Cream/Roasted Peach Soup in MDR evening meal on the Magic or their ships?.

 

thanks

 

Yes they still have those. I remember my mom order the strawberry bisque the first night. She also ordered one or two other cold soups throughout the week.

[jam19872016]

Day 7: Farewell Fun Day at Sea

 

Today was our final sea day on our way back to reality. I headed to brunch this morning pretty early (for me). They had just opened but yet I was told there was a wait for a table for one. What does that even mean this early? All tables are full and I will be waiting for someone to finish their entire breakfast service before I will be seated?

 

No, I just had to wait until they were ready to seat me based on some sort of pattern someone came up with to improve efficiency. Great for efficiency (if that was the reason) but not great customer service. Not a big deal, but it was very odd to say the least to wait to be seated in an almost completely empty dining room.

 

I'm not 100% opposed to the idea of sharing a table and have done it a time or two, but I was eating solo since my mom is up and eats before me. The idea of dining solo at a shared table seems a bit too awkward for me.

 

I ordered the huevos rancheros with a side cheese grits, turkey bacon and chicken sausage.

 

 

For dessert I ordered the cheesecake.

 

 

Brunch was not bad, but it was again not as good as it usually is. Add to it the fantastic new breakfast menu and I found myself feeling a little underwhelmed by my meal this morning.

[jam19872016]

The final towel thingy along with my free bag of laundry.

 

 

Since today was a sea day, there were plenty of extra events going on in the casino. There was a Premier Slot Tournament at 10. You need 2000 slot points or comparable table to enter. I did not even come remotely close to qualifying.

 

Other events this afternoon was the Fireball Raffle open to everyone from 1230-330 and the Snowball Raffle at 4.

 

At 4:30 there was a Spin-Cation Top 10 Slot Tournament. This is the first time I have seen it and from what I understand if you are one of the top 10 players in points for the week, you are invited to the tournament. I'm not sure what the winner gets. Even on my best week, I won't qualify for this.

 

I bought in to the regular slot tournament which I won the very first time I entered it. Since then I have not qualified for the finals even one time and in fact I usually end up in dead last in my round by an embarrassing margin. I was actually doing pretty good and thought I qualified for the finals but once they tallied up all the scores from my round I just missed the leader board. I joined in again with my free ticket and finished dead last again by an embarrassing margin. It was a lot of fun though especially since I almost thought I had a shot :)

 

A piece of advice with these tournaments though, I know that winning is a long shot but keep in mind that if you win the tournament held on the first sea day you will $500 free play. If you win the last day, you win cold hard cash.

 

I snuck away from the casino long enough to eat lunch. Since I was craving Mongolian Wok that meant I missed a couple rounds of fireball since they are held every 30 minutes. Today being a sea day, I did not even make it through the line in 30 minutes. I wish that was an exaggeration. I ordered the same thing I got last time, but from a different chef and this was not worth that wait. I'm not sure what he did differently, but the szchaun sauce did not pack the punch it usually does, maybe he watered it down? For sure it is probably too spicy for most people, but I love it! Usually.

 

Since I was already missing the next drawing, I took one final opportunity to get the fantastic new cakes they have at dessert. I tried the peanut butter cake today and it was the best one I had all week. They rotated but did have the same cakes more than just once and I wonder if I had just not tried this one yet. If you see it before the last day, get it! It was seriously the best thing I've ever eaten at a cruise ship buffet. Fingers crossed this is rolled out to the Liberty by September.:p

[jam19872016]

After the casino events died down I went back to the room. I wanted to order a movie today to pass the time since I would not be playing today. Truthfully though, this day really flew by and before I knew it it was time for the P&D party in the Aft lounge.

 

 

This was a fun gathering and the food and drinks (especially the drinks) were flowing heavy today. I was trying to pace myself because I am not a heavy drinker, but these guys wanted to make sure we had a full drink in front of us. A lot of people started waiving them off. Me being the team player, I just started ordering the frozen drinks after the first two since there is almost no alcohol in them. My mom, the ultimate party pooper, did not join me. She was not interested and stayed in the room reading her book. Okay, whatever floats your boat I guess.

 

Final dinner menu.

 

 

 

 

For my starter I got the shrimp cocktail.

 

[jam19872016]

For my main I ordered the jerk pork loin and the penne with shrimp and bacon.

 

 

 

The pork loin is still one of my favorites that I look forward to. The penne dish was something I've not yet seen on the menu. It is pretty simple, but I found it very delicious and look forward to ordering it again.

 

Dessert menu.

 

 

I ordered two baked Alaskas.

 

 

While it was still much much better than the old style they used to have, the one on Vista was better. It was topped with fresh berries and the cake was moister. Which was why I was a pig and ordered two :).

[jam19872016]

Some final atrium shots. I am saddened at the thought that even though it is many many years away there may be a day when there are no cruise ships left with grand atriums like this.

 

 

 

 

I did a little final wandering around the ship and then turned in for the evening for the final time.

 

Debarcation:

 

Although this is my second cruise since turning platnuim, and I have usually had priority debark with FttF I have never acutally gotten up early enough to meet in the dining room so I didn't really know what to expect.

 

Debark was pretty easy except for a cranky mother in tow. I was not in a good mood either, I never am the day I am going home because I never got enough sleep. I was not feeling her negative energy and cranky behavior and we got into a bit of a screaming match in the dining room. I am not sure I want to continue to cruise with her and I am surprised that she still expresses an interest in cruising. She is exhausting.

 

I guess in fairness, when M and I cruise we bicker a lot and by the last day when I am extra cranky, the bickering sometimes turns into an argument so nothing new here. But arguing with an unreasonable parent is less fun than arguing with a friend lol.

 

Once we were cleared to get off this ship, we were through customs pretty quick. I have never gotten off quite this early and I must say it was fantastic. It was before there was a chance for any kind of a line to have formed. Quick and painless. We were the first to arrive to our shuttle and as soon as another shuttle arrived, we pulled off and were on our way. Another cruise was officially in the books.

[jam19872016]

Summary:

 

Dining:

 

The Magic has a very wide selections of dining options. It has almost the same amount of options as the Vista and unless I can't think of it, there is nothing missing on the Magic that is not an extra charge on the Horizon and other newer ships. With so many options to choose from I did not get to try many things but I will comment on those that I did try.

 

Carnival has rolled out a fantastic new menu for breakfast on port days. I have never considered myself a breakfast person and can't really think of one other time at sea or on land where I enjoyed the breakfast offerings like I did this cruise. Not being a fan of breakfast, I usually will just hit the buffet or something quick, but now I will make more of an effort to get to the dining room in the mornings to try more items now offered.

 

Brunch used to be a favorite, but I was not a fan either time I went this trip. Service here was okay which is an improvement as for some reason, the service tends to be terrible at brunch.

 

The Blue Iguana used to be my go to for breakfast on port days. I still went twice and got a breakfast burrito. Those are very good, and if you are going to do Lido for breakfast this would be my recommendation. It's way better than anything you will find on the buffet and quicker than the line for an omlette.

 

If there was one thing missing for lunch, it would be lunch service in the MDR. A bright spot for me on NCL was the option for a sit down lunch in the MDR on sea days (including embarcation day) as well as O'Sheehans every day.

 

Luckily, Carnival's causual lunch offerings definetly make up for this both in variety and quality. My favorite was Guy's BBQ offered on sea days and embarcation day. On embarcation day there is not much of a line so that is the best time to go. While it may not be up to authentic bbq standards, I thought everything I got (except the greens) were very good.

 

Another favorite of mine is Tandoor. If you haven't tried it yet, give it a try. You may not like it if Indian food is not your thing. But you just might find you love it. It is never busy here except for the people looking at it with this look in their eye thinking "if I can eat this stuff I can skip the line inside". Usually when I go through the line, the onlookers get brave and join me. The food here is so so good and even though they are not adding it to their ships anymore, I hope they never remove it from the ships that have it.

 

The buffet needs some serious help. This is pretty typical I have found for Carnival. It is not that the food itself is not good, but rather at any given meal, there are only a few items to choose from with 90% of the buffet being salad and meats and cheeses. Not much in the way of real food. I don't expect fine dining, but at least on par with a Golden Corral would be nice.

 

Those new cakes though. OMG! I know I have said it before, but seriously they are so good. I really wonder how Carnival is able to meet such a strict budget and serve such good quality cakes free of charge at the buffet. I have never bought the cakes at the coffee shop, but if I did and they served these cakes to me, I would feel what I paid for them was justified they were so good. And these are free!

 

Dinner in the dining rooms was very good. The first night was not great and it had me worried about the rest of the week. But it turned out to be an exception and although not everything I tried was a winner, overall the food was excellent and so was the service.

 

The steakhouse on the other hand was a let down. I do hold them to a higher standard of excellence than I would the dining room and things that I would let slide in the MDR I would consider a substandard experience at the steakhouse. Bottom line, I feel Carnival has cheapened the menu in order to produce a higher profit without raising the price. That is only my opinion and your experience may be different, but I no longer feel like the cost is justified. The service here was not bad, but it felt indifferent bordering on cold.

 

Overall I found the dining experience on the Magic to be very good. As I said there were a few misses, but most items were good and despite the cutbacks at the steakhouse, the additions at breakfast and lido desserts were a very huge improvement.

[jam19872016]

Public Spaces and Cabin:

 

This was the last ship in the fleet to be designed by the wild and crazy imagination of Joe Farcus. I love his style but I understand that is not considered "modern" or "stylish" these days. This was a little more subdued than some of his more bold choices, but still plenty of colorful dazzling displays to look at.

 

One thing I wish Carnival would have taken notice of on the Dream class and taken into consideration when building the Vista class, was the crowding. This ship seemed to be extra crowded compared to the Conquest class and it makes sense. Not much public space was added while adding an entire deck of cabins compared to the previous class of ships. The Lido was always a mad house especially on sea days. Worse yet, with two afternoon port days, it was like having an extra two days of crowds.

 

It wasn't too unbearable, just noticeable. Pretty well contained to Lido too, the inside decks did not feel any more crowded than normal unless you wanted an elevator. Then you could feel it.

 

I love the addition of the outdoor promenade deck, the best design improvement on the Dream class.

 

My stateroom was 11239 an inside spa cabin. Other than coming with a spa pass, it was your typical inside stateroom. For me the spa perks are not worth the extra cost. If you are interested in the extra amenities, purchasing a spa cabin is a great bargain vs paying outright for the pass. I am glad that I tried it though, now I know a regular inside suits me just fine.

 

Entertainment:

 

I appreciate now more than ever the live music playing around the ship. While I am not one to usually just sit down and listen to music more than a few minutes at a time, I love that as I walk around the ship there is music. There is music in the atrium. There is music in Ocean Plaza. During the day there is music - some pop but also some island music. It just gave off a great vibe that was missing on NCL. Music was hidden off in out of the way places and in the bars. The music on Lido was strictly pop no island music. I found myself smiling just hearing music I really missed it.

 

The production shows are not Carnival's strong suit. I went to two of the four, Flick and Country Road. Flick is pretty good and Country Road was, well, not good. I appreciated that I could stroll in without needing a reservation.

 

Cookie the CD was very funny. He has a great stage presence and is laugh out loud funny. But he really needs to work on the frequency of his announcements, it became a bit overbearing to the point he became annoying. He his a Carnival favorite though, so you might enjoy him and he really is funny.

 

Service:

 

After lackluster service on the Vista, it was great to see so many happy smiling crew members again. It was very refreshing and reminded me how great the crew on Carnival can be.

 

Overall:

 

Overall I really had a great time on the Magic. This was one of my best cruises to date and the Magic is a great ship. Even though it is moving a little further away from me to south Florida I hope I get a chance to sail on her again.

 

Looking Ahead:

 

Next up for me I will be returning to NCL on 7/22 on the Getaway. I have earned a free cruise with them based on my play last time, so I would be a fool to not sail with them again. A cruise is a cruise :) Truthfully though, I am going in with the mindset to have a good time. I am better prepared for the differences between the two lines, and the quirks that come with sailing on a mega ship - like having to make reservations to see a show.

 

I am also sailing with my good friend M who I cruise with a lot. I think that will be a different dynamic than sailing with my mother and I will be more likely to enjoy myself. And worse case scenario, I will have the Ultimate Beverage Plan and will indulge myself until I think I am enjoying myself ;p

 

My next cruise on Carnival will be a quick weekend trip on the Liberty on 9/13. I hope to see you all again for that review and for those who read the NCL boards I will be back with that review in a couple weeks.

 

Bon Voyage!

[disneylover89]

Have a great time on your NCL cruise tomorrow. I look forward on reading your review. I really enjoyed this one!

[pbxtech]

Thanks for the review. We go back on her end of Aug. We were on her last Sept when we missed all ports due to hurricane. We have never been to Gran Turk, So we will try again. My Wife is excited to try the new Cakes

[jam19872016]

Have a great time on your NCL cruise tomorrow. I look forward on reading your review. I really enjoyed this one!

 

Thank you! I am all ready to head out, just waiting on M to pack - at 9am morning of cruise :rolleyes:

 

Thanks for the review. We go back on her end of Aug. We were on her last Sept when we missed all ports due to hurricane. We have never been to Gran Turk, So we will try again. My Wife is excited to try the new Cakes

 

Many people LOVE Grand Turk. It is a pretty cheap beach day and it is absolutely gorgeous. Those cakes were amazing. She is going to love them.

[SkyPiglet]

Thanks for your review, I have never been on Magic, but with your review and a few trips on Dream and Breeze, it just fealt familiar, and makes me look forward to my Dream cruise in a few weeks.

 

Also, I am totally with you on Tandoor, Carnival's most underrated food venue. Tandoor has some of the best food on the ship, and for the wife and me, Tandoor has been a tie-breaker when choosing which ship to book :)

[jam19872016]

Thanks for your review, I have never been on Magic, but with your review and a few trips on Dream and Breeze, it just fealt familiar, and makes me look forward to my Dream cruise in a few weeks.

 

Also, I am totally with you on Tandoor, Carnival's most underrated food venue. Tandoor has some of the best food on the ship, and for the wife and me, Tandoor has been a tie-breaker when choosing which ship to book :)

 

Love me some Tandoor. I hope Carnival keeps them on the Dream class and Splendor. Great food, and never a line.

[pooksma]

Even though our cruise on the Magic is quite far out, I enjoy reading people's thoughts and seeing their pics. Thanks for sharing!

[tchakra0124]

Love me some Tandoor. I hope Carnival keeps them on the Dream class and Splendor. Great food, and never a line.

The tandoor is sole reason I picked the Dream over the Freedom. I'm curious, tho. Is it more south or northen Indian or a mix? And is there any dish in particular we look for? Anything extra tasty? TIA

 

Sent from my SM-G930P using Forums mobile app

[Hooked!]

Thank you for your review. You strike a good balance of describing both the positive and negative aspects of the cruise. It was fun to read along! :)

[Katmarha]

Great review. Thank you for all the good and bad items. I often worry when everything is perfect.

[shipbound2]

I got off the ship today and am already enjoying reliving it through your review! Ours was also a premier cruise as well, and I can't wait to read more about how the rest of your cruise went. You took some great pics (I didn't), and as someone who reads these reviews before going on ships, I think that's awesome- thanks for doing it.

 

My husband thought Cookie made too many announcements, especially on our last sea day. He did make a lot of announcements but I almost wonder if this is a Carnival thing and not him personally. It seems like cruise directors in general make more announcements than they did in 2009-2010 when we started cruising. I didn't interact with him much but his Q&A was kinda fun.

 

I wish Carnival would promote the salad bar on Deck 5, along with the contenental breakfast, or either turn them into something different. I never saw anyone using them and the lines were always crazy on Lido. I didn't even see many people eating the Guy's BBQ when it was open... but that burger line...

 

 

The amount of announcements is up to the cruise Director. In the past years when I stared cruising the CD made many announcements throughout the cruise, this is very annoying ,so I would complain to Carnival. Some CD would seldom make announcements specially during sea days which was great. I do not cruise to hear announcements every 5 minutes.

 

Gary

[applegam]

Wow, great review! Cant wait till next March to sail.

[jam19872016]

Sorry to take so long to respond. I unplug completely while cruising so I've not had internet access for the past week.

 

Even though our cruise on the Magic is quite far out, I enjoy reading people's thoughts and seeing their pics. Thanks for sharing!

 

You're welcome! Thank you for reading my review.

 

The tandoor is sole reason I picked the Dream over the Freedom. I'm curious, tho. Is it more south or northen Indian or a mix? And is there any dish in particular we look for? Anything extra tasty? TIA

 

Sent from my SM-G930P using Forums mobile app

 

I'm afraid I don't know the difference between northern and southern Indian food. It is very very good though. I am sure the crew working back there could be more helpful in answering that question. Everything is very good so nothing really sticks out as a favorite, I usually just get a little bit of all the hot offerings. The cold items I usually skip, they are just okay. Enjoy, Tandor is great.

[jam19872016]

Thank you for your review. You strike a good balance of describing both the positive and negative aspects of the cruise. It was fun to read along! :)

 

Great review. Thank you for all the good and bad items. I often worry when everything is perfect.

 

Thank you. I try to be as objective as possible which means pointing out the bad along with the good but also explaining why you feel that way instead of just saying something is bad. The good truly did far outweigh the couple negatives though.

[jam19872016]

The amount of announcements is up to the cruise Director. In the past years when I stared cruising the CD made many announcements throughout the cruise, this is very annoying ,so I would complain to Carnival. Some CD would seldom make announcements specially during sea days which was great. I do not cruise to hear announcements every 5 minutes.

 

Gary

 

I wish we could do something about the safety drill being blasted into the room. I understand for safety reasons that is not really practical, but it would be nice.

 

Wow, great review! Cant wait till next March to sail.

 

Thank you! You will love the Magic. Great ship.

[jakesnana]

You had stated that you didn't spend too much time in the casino, so not sure if you'll be able to answer this question - do you know if they had the Buffalo slots on the Magic? I discovered them on the Legend a few years ago and really enjoy them :)

[jam19872016]

You had stated that you didn't spend too much time in the casino, so not sure if you'll be able to answer this question - do you know if they had the Buffalo slots on the Magic? I discovered them on the Legend a few years ago and really enjoy them :)

 

I can't remember for sure, but I am like 99% positive that they did have Buffalos.

[disneylover89]

When do you think you are going to do your NCL review? I would love to read it but don't normally go over to the NCL threads.