Jeafl

I totally agree! We went to Alaska on Holland and it was the most boring ship I have ever been on. There was no entertainment at night except for a piano player. It was eerie walking around at night looking for something to do and finding everything closed up tight, Even during the day on sea days it was a struggle to find anything to do. It was so disappointing.

Our excursion was paid for with a gift card, and then Carnival reversed our itinerary so the excursion had to be canceled because it was on the wrong day. Why they just didn't switch it to the correct day is a mystery. In any case, they refused to let us use that money toward another excursion, or put it back on our account to be used elsewhere. They said their policy is to mail you a new gift card which they said would take 7-10 days. Fast forward to 2 months later...still no gift card. This was back when you had to wait 5-6 hours on hold to talk to someone. It took about 4-5 phone calls, and dozens of hours waiting on hold to receive an EMAIL gift card. I think it was about 3 months after the cruise before it was finally resolved. Why they couldn't give it to us while we were on board is beyond me.

I agree with you about the soot. We were laying by the Aft pool with fresh drinks when all of a sudden black soot started floating down on everyone. To Carnival's credit they replaced everyone's sooty drinks at no charge. It only happened once, but that was enough.

That was our experience on the Panorama as well.

Great review, thanks for sharing! I agree with almost all of your assessments of the food. I've never tried the Tuna Tartare though, maybe next time!

Yep. That sums it up perfectly.

We have the Magic booked out of Miami in November. I found another cruise for the week before that leaves from Ft. Lauderdale. So we would have to disembark in Ft. Lauderdale then high tail it to Miami to board the Magic the same day. Are we setting ourselves up for a lot of stress? I know the 2 ports aren't that far apart. Opinions?

Do you know what address you sent it to? We have a embarkation picture for a 1985 cruise I would like them to add, but the Festivale does not show in the dropdown box when I try to claim the cruise. So far they have not been able to add it.

Not sure about Carnival, but Holland America turned the ship in complete circles so everyone had a great view of the glaciers.

Do you know if you can show a picture of it on your phone, or do you have to show the actual card?

I completely agree. We accidentally took some photos through Dreams one formal night (we just saw a plain black background and the photographer never mentioned he was from Dreams). You had to make an appointment to look at the pictures, and once there we were told you had to buy all of them or nothing. We just wanted one 8 x 10 and they refused to sell it to us. So we walked, and the photographer was very snotty with us. It also annoyed me that we got MANY text messages and voicemails in our room reminding us to show up at our appointment.

When my kids were little they loved to watch the YouTube videos of the ship we were going to be on. There are some great video tours out there. They liked to see where the kids clubs were, and what the pools looked like, etc. There are also great videos about the ports.

I was once told by a crewmember that they prefer you mention them on your comment cards and surveys instead of giving them additional tips. Apparently those that consistently get mentioned by name are the ones promoted and therefore given raises. They also receive additional gifts as rewards for great customer service. This is why I take note of the busboys/girls in the buffet who are stuck cleaning up people's messes with a smile on their faces. The more you acknowledge them, the more Carnival acknowledges them. It makes perfect sense.

Do they no longer cut and serve you slices of cake? It looks like you serve cake squares to yourself now.

Thank you! This makes perfect sense. It definitely explains why most people don't bother.

We are doing the 8-day eastern Caribbean on the Magic in November, and in browsing the excursions most have reviews that are 3+ years old! Some I noticed were 13 years old! I understand that there was a gap during Covid, but cruising's been back a couple of years now. Surely someone has done these recently. I guess we will probably end up booking through independent tour operators as usual.

I'm excited to see your review! We are on the Magic in November for the first time. Your Panorama review was helpful to us last year, and I'm sure this one will be as well.

Great review! Thanks for sharing! We did the Panorama twice as soon as cruising opened back up and the ship was less than half full, which was fantastic. However, we did notice that the food options were sparse and there was definitely a shortage of crew. It's great to see that that things are somewhat back to normal.

Which makes no sense at all. It's food that we pay for. Why should they care if we share it? I could see if it was a buffet, but it's not. So many tings make no sense at all these days.

Last October on the Panorama I asked for the cheesecake to go because I was full. They said because of Covid they are no longer allowed to bring it to you "to go". The waiter then said, "But if we bring it to you and you don't eat it we can then wrap it to go". WTH?

I ordered what was supposed to be the 9-oz. filet, and when it came it was maybe a 2-inch diameter steak. Probably closer to 5-6 oz. I was still full when I left there, but it makes you think twice about spending the extra money.

I am curious as well. We are on the Magic in November out of Miami. We have never sailed on this class of ship before so all tips are welcome.

Thanks! As long as the coffee is good, the name doesn't matter!

Our experience on the Panorama the last couple of times is that the tables by the window were usually tables for 8 people. Most of the 2-person tables were closer to the aisles. It may have changed though.

Panorama had it on the first day of both of our cruises last year. Hands down the best cake all week on the "Cake Bar".