This ain't no Disney cruise, part 1: My adventures on the CARNIVAL Magic, November 12-18

[Honolulu Blue]

Alternate title: Uh Oh, It's 

Magic

 

I was recently on the Magic and decided I wanted to write about a few of the things I found there. There will be some photos, because there are points where I don't want to write 1000 words. 

 

For perspective,  this is my 15th Carnival cruise, but first since January 2020. I know a lot has changed since then, but what and how much?

 

Let's get started, shall we?

 

1. I was in a porthole cabin far forward on deck 2. The cabin itself was nice and typical Carnival in most ways. I appreciated the extra room it provided over most OVs and interior rooms on other cruise lines. I'll note that they got rid of the glasses that used ti be in the cabin when I last sailed on Carnival. The only glasses I had were a couple of wine glasses on the desk.

 

2. There weren't many deliveries of paper - just the newsletter (every day but day 2 was placed in the mailbox) and some essential flyers. No paper ads at all. I almost missed them.

 

3. There also wasn't any paper room service menu in the cabin, not even a continental breakfast menu hanger. One could order room service in the app, which I don't remember from past cruises. 

 

 

The whole RS menu seemed cut down from my past memories of it, and I didn't see a way to order the continental breakfast on it. Everything came with a price,  plus a service fee.

 

I ordered room service to the cabin twice. Once was just a Philly cheesesteak. It came in a box.

 

 

I'm not sure whether this is more eco friendly than the usual tray, plate, and cover setup. It was delivered in under 30 minutes and the contents were hot and delicious. 

 

The other time I got room service was with my Platinum tray of strawberries. I added another Philly to this. Both came in around 20 minutes and had the usual set of plates, covers, and a tray. The sandwich was equally good. The chocolate covered strawberries were ok, up to the usual standard.

 

4. The Internet was the fastest I've had at sea. I would say it was the best, but there were some hiccups where it would be slow or nonexistent for a minute or sometimes longer. Here's a typical speed test:

 

I'm on the move. More to come later.

 

 

[Honolulu Blue]

I've got a little time before my flight, so let's try to make a little more progress. 

 

5. There's another feature on the app that I don't remember.  There are details about my casino play. I'll never be confused with a high roller:

I think it's neat that they do.this, but I'm sure you true gamblers out there want (and get) much more info. 

 

6. Speaking of casino,  I visited both, but only played in the main smoking casino. I played on this machine;

 

 

It has video versions of blackjack, craps, baccarat, and roulette.  Roulette has three zeros, and both craps and baccarat pay off even money bets at around 90 cents and are similarly bad with other bets. Blackjack here is sort of fair. 6 to 5 on blackjack, but at least they pay even money on the rest of your wins. I won, played a little, won a little, and ran away.

 

I picked up my free Platinum slot play (I also had the option to get table game chips) and played some pretty slots. I managed to keep some of what Christine & company gave me.

 

7. The nonsmoking casino on 4 was smaller than the main casino, didn't have a cashier, did have a couple of kiosks (they could cash out casino bank amounts - no change), and had these machines:

 

 

i didn't realize that Carnival's relationship with this guy went quite this far.

 

8. I saw a show on this cruise called America Rocks. Like the other Playlist shows I've seen, this one had lots of singing and dancing.  Unlike the other Playlist shows, this one had a live band as backing. 

 

 

I liked the songs and the theme (all American bands and singers), so it's no surprise that I liked this show a lot.

 

 

One thing that I'll note here is that across the whole ship I estimate rather about a third of the passengers were of color. But at this show it was under 5%. 

 

9. I started a thread here about the other show I thought about attending, The World Works Here. I'm too preoccupied to link it here, sorry. But it seemed to be a mash-up between a crew talent show, a celebration of diversity, and a typical Playlist show. It was marginally of interest, but I skipped it. It sounds like it's on many other Carnival ships at this time, so maybe I'll catch it later. 

 

10. I had Guy's burgers three times on thus cruise.  It just wasn't the same - especially the fries. Is the magic gone (no pun intended), or are they preparing them differently these days.  I'll never know for sure.

 

That's enough for now. I'll continue when I can.

Edited November 18, 2023 by Honolulu Blue

[dallasdan]

The room service menu is different then the one on the app.  The only way I could find it was to scan the QR code in the room on the desk mirror.  This menu has the breakfast and other items 

[Honolulu Blue]

14 minutes ago, dallasdan said:

The room service menu is different then the one on the app.  The only way I could find it was to scan the QR code in the room on the desk mirror.  This menu has the breakfast and other items 

Thanks.  I saw a sheet with several QR codes on the desk by the phone, but none of them led to the room service menus. I wish I had taken a snap of it.

[dallasdan]

Pretty frustrated because the room service menu has more items than the food delivery menu on the app. 

[Honolulu Blue]

While I have a free couple of hours, let's continue what I started.

 

11. We had a lot of company on this cruise. In Mahogany Bay, we were joined by the Mardi Gras

 

In Belize we anchored along with the Regal Princess and the Carnival Dream.

 

 

 

And in Cozumel, we got the Mardi Gras (again), the Dream (again), the Celebrity Summit and Voyager of the Seas off in their port, and a ship I couldn't identify docked near downtown. 

 

 

 

 

12. There was lots of comedy onboard. The aft lounge was quite busy with them. But there was one brave comedian with a very early 2:30 show, and there was a late doubleheader in the main theater one night.

 

13. I saw our cruise director Mike a few times in various places, and I heard him all the time through his announcements throughout the cruise.

 

 

 

 

 

I don't think he liked me very much, in part because I busted him for using a slide with the old grat rates. He dusmissed me and went to people who loved him more and would give him less trouble. 

 

I liked Mike's efficiency - he talked fast but I always understood him well enough. The debark presentation and morning shows were both done in record time.

 

He's a young one (25) and from New Jersey. 

 

Still, I consider him the worst CD I've ever had on Carnival.  Not by a lot; he's a B-minus student in a group of A's and B's. But still, I'm not going to sign up for his fan club.

 

14. Breakfast in the buffet was mostly a good experience.  The powdered eggs didn't taste too artificial.  The servers generously gave out the bacon when available (at least twice on this cruise). I could always find a seat, and often the same seat, without too much fuss. The crowds mostly fit the usual pattern - busier on port days, and busier later rather than earlier. 

 

15. Dinner at the trough was a mixed bag. This seemed to be a group that liked dining right at 6, so the lines were rough at that time. The food was mostly good, when I got it, but the service and the other passengers... well, the less said the better.

 

16. I didn't like this version of the info channel. This version skipped the ship's speed and direction. 

 

17. Disembarking was interesting. We got to Miami relatively early and I made it to the P&D space for self disembark about 6:30. We didn't get off the ship until about 7:30, so there was a lot of waiting. Once things started moving they moved relatively quickly.  We were definitely one of the first ones in the terminal.  And the CBP kiosk liked my face this time. 😃

 

All right, that's all for now. I'll try to finish this up tomorrow.  Thanks for reading these random notes.

[Butterbean1000]

1 hour ago, Honolulu Blue said:

 

 

 

15. Dinner at the trough was a mixed bag. This seemed to be a group that liked dining right at 6, so the lines were rough at that time. The food was mostly good, when I got it, but the service and the other passengers... well, the less said the better.

 

 

 

Are you referring to the MDR?

 

[Honolulu Blue]

1 hour ago, Butterbean1000 said:

Are you referring to the MDR?

No. Trough = buffet.

[Earthworm Jim]

9 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

I think it's neat that they do.this, but I'm sure you true gamblers out there want (and get) much more info. 

 

 

I highly doubt that any extra info includes your losses/winnings for the cruise though. Carnival doesn't want to tell you that, and most gamblers don't really want to know either.

[tradewinds traveler]

Did you have time to take any photos of the interior of the ship? Did you eat at the pig & anchor on port days? We sail next year on the Magic. Any information is appreciated.

[Honolulu Blue]

11 minutes ago, tradewinds traveler said:

Did you have time to take any photos of the interior of the ship? Did you eat at the pig & anchor on port days? We sail next year on the Magic. Any information is appreciated.

 Have some photos of the interior, mostly the big public areas. I'll try to include some in my next post. I didn't eat at the Pig & Anchor because the lunch menu didn't appeal to me and they don't serve dinner anymore.

[Honolulu Blue]

I finally got the time to come back to this.

 

18.  On most ships I've been on with Carnival and beyond, I've struggled with hearing announcements in the cabin that weren't broadcast directly there.  But not on this one.  I could hear Mike and Captain Bruno quite well when they made their announcements.  However, there was a price to this - those announcements were PRETTY LOUD when I was out in public areas.

 

19.  We didn't have any announcements about (presumably) missing passengers until we got to Cozumel.  Then we got one from an increasingly stressed crewmember in Cozumel - the last of which was even broadcast to the cabins.  A few minutes after that, the engines started and we were off.  I wonder if they found them.

 

20.  Speaking of things that were LOUD, I had an exceptional amount of noise and shaking in the room from what I assume were the bow thrusters that were used to get us in and out of ports.  I was on deck 2 on this cruise and at times it felt like I was right on top of the thruster or engine.  I've had rooms on deck 1 before on most of my Carnival cruises and I never felt or heard anything like it. 

 

21.  We had 90s trivia in the main theater one day just before a bingo session. This was hosted by one of the Fun Squad staff that wasn't Mike.  

 

 

He liked to move and get into the songs he played samples of.  He also encouraged people to sing along to longer versions of the songs that were revealed as answers.  Some of them had real talent.  One of them did a version of Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" that wasn't too far off the real thing.  I'll respect the privacy of my fellow cruisers and not post the photos of them here.  I got a decent score (for me) of 21 out of 30, but with over100 guests in the main theater, that score had no chance of being good.  And it wasn't; the lucky winner got 27 out of 30.

 

 

22.  Speaking of 90s, I got a Run-Around worthy of a Blues Traveler song when we were in Mahogany Bay.  Mike helpfully announced that there was a HOHO bus on offer as a last minute excursion option.  I didn't have any excursions booked because in part the weather forecast seemed rainy.  But by the time we got there, it seemed the weather would be clear for a few hours, so I was interested.  I was on deck 5 when the announcement was made and Mike said there would be a desk on deck 10 to sell tickets.  I went there, and several potential customers were there... but no employee.  We waited for a few minutes and eventually an employee (not from guest services or the excursion desk) suggested that we go to deck 3 and the main excursions desk.

 

 

We got to the desk and some of us said we were interested in this HOHO.  The poor guy didn't know what was going on and got on the phone and went into his little office for a little clarity.  This took a few more minutes, then we got the verdict - he COULD NOT book that tour at that desk, and if we wanted to purchase it we had two options - go back to deck 10 and buy it from the employee there (if there was an employee there) or get off the ship and buy it on or near the dock area.  Neither of those seemed like appealing options to me, so I said thank you and left excursion-less.

 

24.  Speaking of Blues Traveler, they're scheduled to be on a 90s music themed cruise that I heard about and eventually booked while I was onboard.  It's not on a Carnival ship, so I won't say too much more about it.  It should be a good time.

 

25.  I didn't have any excursions in any of these ports, preferring to just walk around, take in the sights, and shop.  Here are a couple of pictures from Mahogany Bay, Roatan...

 

 

 

A couple from Belize (we tendered in, as always)...

 

 

 

And a couple from Cozumel...

 

 

 

We had good weather for all our stops while we were in port, despite some of the pre-cruise weather forecasts.  There were some spotty showers at times in some locations on Roatan and in Belize.  We also had some rain at times in the evenings while we were traveling.  We didn't have any rain in Cozumel.

 

26.  My next Carnival cruise will be on the Dream in January, so it was nice to see her up close.  She seemed to be in good shape from what I could see.

 

 

I'll be back shortly with some interior shots that @tradewinds traveler requested, then I'll do a summary of how I felt about this cruise overall.

[Honolulu Blue]

Interior shots:

 

From the main casino on 5

 

From the library.  They also had some games and a couple of computer kiosks.  The space was a little snug, but tough to photograph cleanly due to its odds shape.

 

 

The main theater during the Fun Aboard, Fun Ashore presentation

 

 

Play It Again Sam piano bar, one of my favorite hangouts during the day when everyone else was everywhere else

 

 

Not strictly inside, but another place I liked to hang out was outside on Promenade deck (5).  This part is near the piano bar:

 

 

From the nonsmoking casino on deck 4:

 

 

Spotlight lounge, used for comedy, the Platinum party, and other things.

 

 

A look at Northern Lights, one of the main dining rooms, but here used as the staging area for Diamonds and Platinums who chose to self-disembark.  

[Honolulu Blue]

All right, time for a TL,DR about this whole cruise.  

 

I enjoyed myself a lot.  I liked the shows I saw.  I liked the food quality.  I generally liked the service I received from the crew onboard.  I liked the places I went to and was pleased with the amount of surprised they held even though I didn't do much within them.  I liked and respected most of the other passengers.

 

After over 3 1/2 years away from Carnival, I have to say that overall I think they're pretty much the same as they've always been.  This surely was NOT a Disney cruise, but I didn't want that anyway.

 

Thank you for reading and looking at the pretty pictures.

[princess76021]

Thank you for taking the time to give us this review!!!

Hugs from Texas

[tradewinds traveler]

Thank you for your review. Enjoy your cruise on the Dream.

[Moonarino]

19 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

18.  On most ships I've been on with Carnival and beyond, I've struggled with hearing announcements in the cabin that weren't broadcast directly there.  But not on this one. ...

 

20.  Speaking of things that were LOUD, I had an exceptional amount of noise and shaking in the room from what I assume were the bow thrusters that were used to get us in and out of ports.  I was on deck 2 on this cruise ...

 

We had a "deluxe" OV on Dream about 8 years ago, Deck 2 forward portside, and had no issues at all with noise, even when docking. Don't know what might be different between Dream and Magic (same class) but I wonder, were you on the starboard side? Even with that, I have no idea what it would be any different. Maybe they just got cheap (or experimental) with Magic in some weird way.

 

As for "LOUD", FYI, we just finished our 3rd cruise on RC Oasis of the Seas, and not only was the PA system LOUD , it was also thoroughly UNINTELLIGIBLE. Several times I asked several people if they could understand any part of a particular announcement, and every time the answer was pretty much "not a word." Just sayin'. RC vs Carnival and Carnival wins? That's just too funny.

 

Room service: By comparison to your experiences, both Celebrity and Royal failed us immensely on our last two cruises. Skimpy menu and long waits for lousy food served cold was pretty typical. Adding a host of other issues, we have sworn off both of those cruise lines -- not just for our most recent disappointments but because of less-than-stellar experience overall. WiFi was good to great on Silhouette and Oasis but that's about the end of it.

 

Mardi Gras (one of your posts) is our next Carnival outing and we're looking forward to it. Been sailing Carnival since 2008.

 

[Honolulu Blue]

5 minutes ago, Moonarino said:

We had a "deluxe" OV on Dream about 8 years ago, Deck 2 forward portside, and had no issues at all with noise, even when docking. Don't know what might be different between Dream and Magic (same class) but I wonder, were you on the starboard side? Even with that, I have no idea what it would be any different. Maybe they just got cheap (or experimental) with Magic in some weird way.

 

As for "LOUD", FYI, we just finished our 3rd cruise on RC Oasis of the Seas, and not only was the PA system LOUD , it was also thoroughly UNINTELLIGIBLE. Several times I asked several people if they could understand any part of a particular announcement, and every time the answer was pretty much "not a word." Just sayin'. RC vs Carnival and Carnival wins? That's just too funny.

 

Room service: By comparison to your experiences, both Celebrity and Royal failed us immensely on our last two cruises. Skimpy menu and long waits for lousy food served cold was pretty typical. Adding a host of other issues, we have sworn off both of those cruise lines -- not just for our most recent disappointments but because of less-than-stellar experience overall. WiFi was good to great on Silhouette and Oasis but that's about the end of it.

 

Mardi Gras (one of your posts) is our next Carnival outing and we're looking forward to it. Been sailing Carnival since 2008.

 

Thanks for your perspective and thoughts.  I had a porthole on the Magic.  It was port side.  I can't explain why it was so loud and shaky when I've had cabins on other ships in similarly forward positions but even lower and didn't hear or feel anything like what I had here.  No real lessons, except if I go on the Magic again, I'll go closer to midship or switch to starboard.

 

I'm sorry for your PA experiences on the Oasis OTS.  I've been on Mariner and Navigator and the PA was fine, typical cruise experience I'd say - not very loud in the cabins when they're not broadcast directly there, but otherwise clear.

 

I haven't ever done room service on Royal, but I have a few times on Celebrity.  Both the food and the delivery times were all right.  All times were before they added their delivery charge, which I would assume would make delivery times faster.  Maybe not?

 

The room service on Princess went straight down the toilet, IMHO, over the three cruises I've had on them and the 1 1/2 years between them.  It went from 10 minutes for a delivery to 1 1/2 hours for a NON delivery.  Of course, the capacity percentages went from 30% to 70% to 100%, and that I'm sure had a lot to do with it.

 

Have fun on the Mardi Gras!

[maxydu]

Thank you for the review as I haven't seen one as informative since the COVID days. My wife and I

are booked on the Magic Jan. 13, 2024 southern cruise. I've been writing on the Roll Call site for several months now and was surprised to see very few others involved. There seems to be very little excitement. We were beginning to get concerned about "current cruises" as we haven't been on a ship

in 4 years after 16 previous CCL trips. The Magic is getting older now and was glad it appears to be in

good condition.......to the left, to the left, to the right, to the right, - can't wait!

[Honolulu Blue]

55 minutes ago, maxydu said:

Thank you for the review as I haven't seen one as informative since the COVID days. My wife and I

are booked on the Magic Jan. 13, 2024 southern cruise. I've been writing on the Roll Call site for several months now and was surprised to see very few others involved. There seems to be very little excitement. We were beginning to get concerned about "current cruises" as we haven't been on a ship

in 4 years after 16 previous CCL trips. The Magic is getting older now and was glad it appears to be in

good condition.......to the left, to the left, to the right, to the right, - can't wait!

Thank you for your kind words. I'll be boarding the Dream on the same day you'll be boarding the Magic. Enjoy!

[ItsADryHumor]

On 11/19/2023 at 3:55 PM, Honolulu Blue said:

All right, time for a TL,DR about this whole cruise.  

 

I enjoyed myself a lot.  I liked the shows I saw.  I liked the food quality.  I generally liked the service I received from the crew onboard.  I liked the places I went to and was pleased with the amount of surprised they held even though I didn't do much within them.  I liked and respected most of the other passengers.

 

After over 3 1/2 years away from Carnival, I have to say that overall I think they're pretty much the same as they've always been.  This surely was NOT a Disney cruise, but I didn't want that anyway.

 

Thank you for reading and looking at the pretty pictures.

Thanks for your review! We took our kids on a Disney cruise when they were small. The kid-centric parts were lovely; the rest was meh, especially for the price. 
 

We’ve cruised RC, Carnival, and Celebrity. The last two have been our faves. We find Carnival to have the best value (food, entertainment, fun) for our money. 

[TigLilly18]

i was on the Mardi Gras last week and kept seeing your boat!  It was fun to read and compare with our experience

 

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for the pictures and comments.

[havanadaydreaming]

headed to the Magic next month, will be the first Carnival ship i have sailed on multiple times.  

 

i like to hit the buffet on sailaway night as i usually have a few dranks on lido and in the casino.  if i get on a roll in the casino imma be DOU happy, which usually requires a casual dress dinner at buffet.  

 

 

[jimbo5544]

Nice review, enjoyed the style and the pics