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This is just my opinion. We are 65 , been on 14 Carnival , second time on Magic on this 3/16/2014 cruise. Some things had improved, some things not, like being able to get a seat at comedy club..Platinum priority disembark was not very good, some had to do with oil spill, and IMO, they made few announcements with long intervals in between...There were a couple of guys I saw just giving a CCL rep the blues. My time dining was better this time, compared to inaugural from Galveston..We try to avoid the lido. If you wanted a burger, the line was wrapped around the ship, so I just gave up..There were a ton of kids,most ok, but one teen rang our cabin in the middle of the night three times..Next Sunday's cruise will probably be much better. Of course I understand people with kids feel differently, and the Magic does have a lot for kids to enjoy. Some said the Cuchina Capitano restaurant was good, but we did not have a great experience there as wife's short ribs were dry and my grilled shrimp no better than MDR, and we are not fancy folks or picky eaters.If you have not been on a cruise or maybe just one or two, the Magic will probably please you.We quit doing ship excursions a long time ago. In Roatan we went to Turquoise Bay. I have a post #28 on Roatan board with a bunch of pictures. Just went to tourism village in Belize for food and drink,Thirsty Pirate and Rum Shack are good, no blarring music. If you want that, go to Wet Lizard. In Coz we went to Sancho's.This was our last Carnival cruise. We have had some great ones , but we like Royal better, and as they are in Galveston year round now we will stay with them, having sailed on Rhapsody, Voyager, Mariner, and will be on Navigator in November. I just wanted to state my own honest opinion. Others will disagree. Happy cruising..:)

I agree with VIP disembarking...it was a nightmare this time. Not usually like that; not sure why. Our dining experience sounds different from yours. We had good (not great) food and service. Granted some dishes were better than others! And yes, at peak times the burger, pizza and deli lines were long (just coming back from shore excursions) - that's when we ordered from free room service. Being in my 50s if I didn't have kids I also would be on RCCL, Celebrity or a luxury line; but, Carnival is great for kids, so until it's just me and my DH we will be sticking with Carnival when sailing out of Galveston.

I saw all sizes on it, but not sure if a kid can be too small, or an adult too tall.

Not sure if there is a weight restriction. I saw some large people doing the slides with no problem. As far as height, also saw 5 year olds on them too. I think the requirement is 42" for both; no swim diapers on any waterworks or pool. I'm sure Carnival has guidelines on their website.

Fabulous review!! We are sailing out Sunday and are SOO excited!! Where so they do the Chocolate extravaganza at?? Lido or the MDR??

In the Lido Buffett last sea day - check daily news to find out when and where

Sailed 3/16-23/2014 out of Galveston. We were in a balcony cabin 11260 and had an AMAZING cruise. We were a group of 8.. 2 teenagers, 3 eight year olds and 3 moms. Yes, the ship was packed and there were lots of kids (most well behaved) and yes, there were those rude passengers BUT you will get that on any family cruise line! Overall, the ship was clean, staff friendly and accommodating. Here's my brief review on everything.....enjoy!

Embarking: we arrived at port at 11:30. Lines were not very long. We checked bags, went through security, checked in and were on board by 12:00. Awesome! We checked and our room was ready, so we dropped our bags and headed to Lido for lunch.

Food: Lido Buffett was good. Not culminate, but good. The burrito bar and tandoori were our favorites. The kids loved the 24 hour pizza which came in handy for pre-dinner snacks and post-camp late night food. A few nights we fed kid there before camp drop off and the carving station had pork roast, roast beef (big hit) along with salad bar, and other hot dishes (didn't look appetizing to me but people seemed to like it.). Last sea day was the Chocolate Extravaganza....white chocolate cake was worth every calorie! Dining Rooms: we initially had 6:00 seating and had a horrible waiter who rushed us through the meal. Had our entrees waiting the tray getting cold while we ate our appetizers...made him send it back and get fresh plates. I guess they were trying to get us out fast so they would be ready for the 8:00 seating. So, we asked to change to anytime dining and were accommodated! We ate aT 7:30 every night and only on lobster night did we have to wait for 15 minutes. Our waiter (Pepito) was fantastic! Knew all our names and from that night on requested to sit at his station. Food was good - again, nothing culinary, but good. We did eat at the Steakhouse one night and it was delicious; and the 3 Moms did the Chefs dinner one night. That is a must do experience! 7 course meal specially prepared by the Chef, paired with red and white wines and a tour of the kitchen. Food served was equal to any 5 star restaurant, presentation beautiful and the Chef and Assistant Chefs lovely people!!!!!!! Room service was also great...we got early morning coffee, fruit and Cheerios for kids before heading down for a real breakfast. Also, ordered sandwiches and cookies late night post camp!

Drinks: I tried the daily specials every day.....yummy! Have some cute collectible glasses too! My favorite was the martini flight available at the bar in Ocean Plaza Deck 3.....you pick 4 from a menu and get mini-sized. My favorite was the Pineapple Chipotle! I got the recipe from the bartender :). We brought a few bottles of wine on board and drank them during dinner (never got charged a corkage fee); and used our rum runners for gin and vodka. Got a soda card for tonic, juice and other mixers. Asked the room Stewart to fill the ice bucket 2 xs per day and bring extra glasses, he did with no problem.

Cabin: balcony 11260/11258/11256. Fantastic, convenient location. Very quiet. Plenty of storage space. Good for the 2 of us...3 would be good also....4 would be a little claustrophobic. Small stand-up shower, (hard to shave my legs!) didn't feel much movement being higher up. Would definitely stay in this room again.

Public Spaces: spaces were well maintained. Always saw staff cleaning! Yes, you need to get to shows in the theatre and comedy club early to get seats but that's what happens on large ships. Arcade was a big hit with the kids! We were able to put a daily $ limit on their sail and sign cards so when they spent that they were cut off!

Camp Carnival: our kids did not want to go to camp during the day. Can't blame them. Camp is all indoors - who wants to be indoors while on a cruise? For younger kids it's great. Older kids who can enjoy the mini-golf, ropes course and water park did just that! We relaxed and had them check in with us every 30 minutes to let us know where they were and what they were up to. At night they did go to the camp a few times ( so Moms could have some fun). They came back happy! Dance party's, scavenger hunts, face painting, theme party's, contests, etc. the camp staff doe s an great job with the kids!

Pool and Sports Deck: yes, on sea days you have chair hogs who wake T 8 and save multiple chairs. Carnival does not enforce the 45 minute rule. We never had a problem finding lounge chairs or cushion chairs. You just may not be directly next to the pool...I don't like to be in the middle of the drunken craziness anyhow. We found plenty of spots one deck up and were happy overlooking the crowd! Ropes course was fun! Did it a few times. Kids did it lots more! Waterslides and water park was great and so was mini-golf!

Spa: found them very push this time. I usually enjoy going but felt very pressured this time, so didn't really use the facility. The gym is great and used it most mornings. Deck was also great for running.

Ports: we did Roatan, Belize and Cozumel. We did not use Carnival excursions. I want my $ to go directly to people on the islands. On Roatan we hired Victor Bodden for a private island tour - did monkey jungle, zip line, beach lunch, iguana farm and shopping. I highly recommend him! Belize we hired Butts Up Cave Tubing - great group of people who took us crystal cave tubing and fed us a delicious chicken tamale lunch! Had plenty of time back at dock to shop before having to tender back. Cozumel we took a taxi to Mr. sanchos - all inclusive resort. We paid for the all inclusive package with water park. Kids never left the water park! We had a private palapa, table and lounge chairs. All food and drinks included (tamarind margarita is delish and will kick your butt). Large food Buffett and menu to order from. Easy cab ride to/from port.

Disembarking: we did get stuck out due to the oil spill in the Port of Houston; but, the Captain kept us anchored far enough out so casino, shops were open; activities were plentiful; food and drinks served; and they did an amazing job keeping us informed of developments!!!!!! We got an extra sea day and enjoyed every second. When we did finally clearance to dock, ground crew and customs was a nightmare! This was NOT Carnivals fault.

Overall we couldn't have asked for a more fun cruise. Carnival gets a bad rap....this ship and crew was fantastic! You just gotta roll with the few rude and drunk adults and unsupervised kids....but, as I said before....that happens on all cruise ships!

Go, have fun, and enjoy!

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Just used it on Magic. Were on board in under 10 minutes; room was ready immediately; luggage delivered by 1:30; were able to change from early dining time to anytime for 8 people no waiting list or pagers; priority tenders; dedicated customer service phone line and line at the desk; VIP disembarking. Personally, when traveling with kids it was worth the $!

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Magic is sailing out now

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This is the 2nd time we've zip lined with him....he can tell you about weight restrictions and pump concerns. They are all about safety, so if he says it is ok, you can trust him! Keep in mind, it is a fairly strenuous hike to the first platform and then between platforms....he has 13 zips in total.