Magic Review Jan 20-27, 2019

[momofthreeboys3]

Thanks to everyone who posts about their experiences, I love reading them and hope to give a little back.

 

DH and I are in are 50's.  This was our 9th cruise, 2nd on Carnival, we are loyal to Royal for the other 7.  We cruised with 12 other family members ranging in age from teens to 80's.  We didn't pick the ship or itinerary as we were invited along.  We live in Maryland, but vacationed in Florida before the cruise.  

 

Embarkation:  Easy.  We did not have FTTF, had an 11:30-12 arrival with an email a few days before to delay that by an hour due to gangway work.  We arrived at 11:00 (drove from Melbourne, FL), and were on the ship by 11:20.  Remember where you park!!!!  More on that at debarkation.

 

Carnival Hub:  Loved it!  It kept us in touch with the group, well worth the $5.  We did not have internet.

 

Ship:  I loved the layout and decor.  The staff was very friendly.  Our cabin was 7394.  We spend very little time in our cabin, but I did miss the loveseat/coffee table from the Royal ships.   We had low water pressure in the sink, it was fixed right away.  There was no sewage smell in our cabin but we did notice it several times walking through corridors.  We did use our Costco card with the magnetic strip to leave in the slot for the lights--thanks for that tip here!

 

Food:  Just OK.  Ledo oatmeal and eggs cold on two separate occasions.  I enjoyed Blue Iguana and sandwich place.  DH loved Guy's burgers.  The Ledo cakes were to die for!  We had dinner every night in the Main Dining Room, 6:00.  Service was lacking.  The waitstaff worked very hard, probably just understaffed.  

 

Bars:  We had Cheers!  We felt the wait at most bars was extreme.  Our favorite was the Alchemy (ask for Ana, she's the best!), service slow (again understaffed), but worth the wait.  We enjoyed the singers there too.  The piano bar had great service (the singer was ok, kept us entertained).  According to our bill, we broke even or came out just ahead on Cheers! and I wouldn't consider us heavy drinkers.  

 

Entertainment:  We didn't like the Country Roads show, the Rock and Roll show was better.  We did see a PG comedian, he was okay.  

 

Grand Cayman:  We did Rum Distillery and Calico Jack's through Shore Excursioneer.  Great trip with endless rum tastings!

 

Roatan:  Paradise Beach Club Day Pass through Shore Excursioneer.  If you do this--directions say walk outside terminal and meet down hill after passing access gate--that's misleading.  You must first walk up a huge hill, on the down slope you see the tours.  Lovely beach day.   Don't sit in the first row of beach chairs, the locals hound you to death.  Security visible, keeps them at bay if you sit further back.  Snorkeling from the beach was great, but you do have to swim out pretty far.  There are boats that will take you out though.  

 

Belize:  We went cave kayaking with V.I.V.  It was fun, but a long day.  After kayaking we got to the bus at 3:00, last tender 4:15 and it was an hour ride.  We made it, but no time for food.  I had packed snacks and we did grab a few beers from the locals.  

 

Cozumel:  We did Carnival's Three Reef Snorkel (we were invited to do this as a family excursion).  Reefs weren't that great.  We shopped in Cozumel and I got a fish pedicure, which is something you have to experience once in your lifetime.  

 

Debarkation:  We chose luggage tag 9 that was called 8:30 a.m..  Three of our four bags were where they were supposed to be.  It took us about 20 minutes to find the missing one, the 9 tag had fallen off, so it was placed on a different carousel.  I think next time I will double-tag them.  There was no mobile passport line (I was prepared) but we were out in 5 minutes after we found the missing luggage.  If you drive--remember where you park!!!!  We embarked thinking, "we are right across from the ship".  That works great until the ship docks in a different location, you walk out and are so confused.  We had a long walk to our vehicle, which wasn't a problem for us, but for someone with mobility issues, it could have been.  

 

All in all, it was a great trip.  We escaped winter, went to two ports we had never been to, and had quality family time.  We are still loyal to Royal though.

 

I'll try and answer any questions you may have.

 

 

 

  

 

 

[beachbum53]

Did you have an opportunity to eat in the Italian restaurant? We haven't tried Cucina Del Capitano yet, but want to this time on our upcoming cruise on the Magic.

[PhillyFan33579]

3 hours ago, beachbum53 said:

Did you have an opportunity to eat in the Italian restaurant? We haven't tried Cucina Del Capitano yet, but want to this time on our upcoming cruise on the Magic.

 

We have eaten there several times on Magic and have always enjoyed the food and atmosphere. When we were on Magic last Summer with another couple, the good was so good that we made a reservation for the next night when we were leaving.  Definitely worth the $15 charge per person. 

[beachbum53]

3 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

We have eaten there several times on Magic and have always enjoyed the food and atmosphere. When we were on Magic last Summer with another couple, the good was so good that we made a reservation for the next night when we were leaving.  Definitely worth the $15 charge per person. 

 Thanks PhillyFan.

[JaniceB]

Thanks for your review.  

[ChosenOne]

Any comment on the CD?  If you have the "fun times"   from your trip & are willing to post them (or at least the back page with the activities listed)  I would appreciate it!

[momofthreeboys3]

CD was MarQ.   He was full of energy, was everywhere, don't think the guy slept, fun, pleasant to listen to (not too goofy, yet funny).    Kept his announcements to a minimum.  I don't have the "fun times", we actually used our Carnival Hub App and not paper most of the time.  

[2xsin12mths]

Was alchemy bar as bad as they say? Meaning bad location, crowded and hard to get a drink? This makes me sad as we LOVE alchemy on the spirit and vista class ships.

And is the smoking lanai area right outside the door at alchemy 😳

[brookeq]

When was your second formal night?  I want to make steakhouse reservations but not on this night.  

[momofthreeboys3]

On 2/5/2019 at 10:26 PM, 2xsin12mths said:

Was alchemy bar as bad as they say? Meaning bad location, crowded and hard to get a drink? This makes me sad as we LOVE alchemy on the spirit and vista class ships.

And is the smoking lanai area right outside the door at alchemy 😳

Alchemy was our favorite, we spent a lot of time there.  Yes, it was very crowded during trivia times, hard to get a drink.  Service was slow, but the drinks are complex.  If you sit in the area in front of the bar and to the left facing the stage you don't get the casino smoke,  I didn't notice a smoking area outside, but the wind from that door will blow you away if you are sitting at the bar.  

[momofthreeboys3]

On 2/6/2019 at 2:39 PM, brookeq said:

When was your second formal night?  I want to make steakhouse reservations but not on this night.  

Our second was Friday night.

[CLS/KAS]

2 hours ago, momofthreeboys3 said:

Our second was Friday night.

when was the first Formal night?.. tks

[CLS/KAS]

Can anyone tell me when the Formal nights are? 

[brookeq]

4 hours ago, CLS/KAS said:

Can anyone tell me when the Formal nights are? 

The other will be the first sea day most likely.  we are on the western caribbean cruise.  DAy 1 leave miami

day 2 is a sea day and that is our first formal night.  Then g. cayman, roatan, belize, cozumel sea, back to miami

the 2nd formal night is cozumel day.

 

 

[LBumb]

Good review thanks

[CLS/KAS]

On 2/12/2019 at 6:49 PM, brookeq said:

The other will be the first sea day most likely.  we are on the western caribbean cruise.  DAy 1 leave miami

day 2 is a sea day and that is our first formal night.  Then g. cayman, roatan, belize, cozumel sea, back to miami

the 2nd formal night is cozumel day.

 

 

tks.. board tomorrow!!  sooo there  lol

[mvaughn11]

Nice review! Thank you!