Carnival Magic semi review/comparison

[MovingForward]

I went on a Carnival magic cruise 12/11/2011 with my BIL and DS. We went with Carnival because I was told Carnival had better night life than HAL (which is true). However, the service, food, and overall experience of our Carnival trip was not as great as we hoped. It wasn’t bad enough to keep us from sailing the Magic again. At least now we know what to expect. My first cruise was with Holland’s Eurodam 12/2010.

 

 

I know some people hate to read comparisons, but I’m human. Humans compare things. :)

 

It started with Embarkation. Eurodam's embarkation was a breeze. Magic's - exhausting!!! After walking, long lines, more walking, and more long lines, I finally got on the Magic. I was so tired all I could do is go to my cabin and flop on the sofa. I'm only 28 years old. LOL! Grant it, I'm no marathon runner, but Geesh! I heard the same complaint from others so it wasn't just me. Not sure if this has anything to do with it but the Magic’s embarkation was from Galveston, TX. Eurodam’s was from Fort Lauderdale, Fl.

 

Service: Eurodam’s service was awesome! Every crew member I came in contact with treated me like royalty. On the magic, I got the feeling that I was an inconvenience unless I was buying a drink. Some crew members were actually rude. My sister greeted one lady who was a crew member of some sort, and she looked at us with this cold stare and walked away. We saw her speaking (English) with another crew member so I assume she isn’t deaf.

 

Food: Eurodam’s food was delicious. Room service was good, and getting room service from the main dining room menu was amazing. However, I never realized how picky I was with food until I ate on the Carnival Magic. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner all had limited menus. The room service menu on the Magic was very limited. Mostly sandwiches. I could usually find one thing I liked in the main dining room, but I found most items disgusting. Some people seem to like it so maybe my “discriminating” taste was the issue. :rolleyes:

 

 

Entertainment: Here’s where the Carnival Magic triumphed the Eurodam. The Eurodam’s entertainment wasn’t bad, there just wasn’t much to do after 11:30ish. On the Magic, the Piano Bar, night club, and comedy club were all still active late at night.

 

Décor: Both ships are ok. I look forward to seeing some of the more luxurious ships in the future, but for the money, I would say both the Carnival Magic and the Holland Eurodam are on target. Not to my taste though. But I have a Duke’s taste on a valet’s budget. (Can you tell I’ve been watching Downton Abbey?)

 

 

 

Cabin: I had the Ocean View on both ships. Both were fine and basically the same.

 

 

I can't really think of anything else noteworthy but feel free to ask questions.

 

Conclusion: I had a great time on both ships despite the pros and cons. I can’t wait to cruise again! If I’m with family I’ll cruise with Carnival since there is so much to do at later hours. When I’m cruising solo and want to experience great service, I will give HAL a call. Our biggest mistake was going on the Carnival Magic with super high expectations of delicious food and supreme service. Next time we will simply sail with an open mind.

 

 

God Bless all who sail!

[regjr13]

As you can read from my signature line, I have been on HAL and RCL and Carnival and find the you can't compare one line to the other. For starters in your comparison of HAL and CCL, you are talking about 2000 passengers on the Eurodoam in comparison to 4000 passengers on Carnival. With that alone, you are going to find major differences in embarkation and debarkation.

Your experience with the staff is a one off. I have never been greeted rudely or treated any less than on any ship I have ever been on regardless of how upset or overworked the staff was. I find that if you treat people respectfully, you will get the same in return and with that statement, I am not suggesting you didn’t do that. Just simply stating the obvious. And that's coming from a 31 year old avid cruiser.

I think the final part of you review sums it up. If you went on board Carnival with the same expectations you had with Holland, you would have gone with the wrong mind set. Holland America’s staff to guest ratio is very different than a 4000+ passenger ship that touts their ability to sail full.

My experiences on both lines have always favorable and prefer more luxury cruises however, you can never beat the price of a Carnival cruise.

Hopefully your next experience is better.

[MovingForward]

Your experience with the staff is a one off. I have never been greeted rudely or treated any less than on any ship I have ever been on regardless of how upset or overworked the staff was. I find that if you treat people respectfully, you will get the same in return and with that statement, I am not suggesting you didn’t do that. Just simply stating the obvious. And that's coming from a 31 year old avid cruiser.

 

First, thanks for taking the time to read about my experience. I'm very glad you never had to deal with rude service, and I hope you never do in the future. Unfortunately, every one has different experiences. I've read poor reviews about the Eurodam and couldn't help but wonder "if we were on the same ship." I am a very warm and kind person and make it a point to be respectful at all times. "My" experience was I did not receive the same from a lot of the staff that was on the Magic.

[Peddler&Tass]

We too sailed the Magic on 12/11 ... it was our 7 cruise with Carnival (3 others with RCI).

 

We had a most fantastic room staff and head room steward, always smiling and always calling us by name.

 

MDR.. food was as expected and I feel better than on the Conquest (10/10). Wait staff was great (anytime dining) We had 3 different groups and all were very, very good.

 

Entertainment (theater) about average...other forms seemed to be above average...

 

So in closing... I hope this won't keep you from sailing Carnival again ... maybe a more diverse vacation schedule is in order.

[txstarla]

OP, I missed one comparison - price.

[MovingForward]

OP, I missed one comparison - price.

 

Actually, I paid about $1,100 for the Eurodam trip and $1,600 for the Carnival Magic. Both were 7 Day Caribbean, and I had an Ocean View cabin in both. On the Eurodam, I originally booked an inside cabin but was upgraded for no additional charge.

[txstarla]

Same time of year? Did you spend comparable amounts on the ship? I guess I think you are comparing apples to oranges here. Totally different class of ship. I just got off the Magic too and had none of the service issues you mention... Embark was hard, but it was the fogs fault, not Carnival.

[txstarla]

And if I did not like something that was served to me, I just ordered something else. Never a real issue. I also don't expect to like every dish as food taste is pretty subjective.

[regjr13]

Actually, I paid about $1,100 for the Eurodam trip and $1,600 for the Carnival Magic. Both were 7 Day Caribbean, and I had an Ocean View cabin in both. On the Eurodam, I originally booked an inside cabin but was upgraded for no additional charge.

 

WOW! That was good. I wish I could have booked mine at that price. :o

[MovingForward]

Same time of year? Did you spend comparable amounts on the ship? I guess I think you are comparing apples to oranges here. Totally different class of ship. I just got off the Magic too and had none of the service issues you mention... Embark was hard, but it was the fogs fault, not Carnival.

 

No argument here. Since I'm new to cruising, I'm just learning that you get totally different experiences depending on which line you choose. Before this experience, as far as I was concerned a cruise is a cruise.

[afcj1]

I was on the Magic, tho it was on a Med cruise vs Caribbean. Every staff member that we came in contact with was phenomenal and the food was good. That said, as someone else indicated you're comparing apples to oranges.

 

The HAL comparisons that I've read, are usually high on the food marks, lower on entertainment. It's certainly a different demographic and prices are in most cases higher. The biggest thing that caught my eye was that you were comparing your experience from 12/2010 to 12/2011. What a difference a year can make.

 

Anyway, your opinions are yours and nobody can dispute them:)

 

Thanks for sharing.

[lady_cruiser]

We too sailed the Magic on 12/11 ... it was our 7 cruise with Carnival (3 others with RCI).

We had a most fantastic room staff and head room steward, always smiling and always calling us by name.

MDR.. food was as expected and I feel better than on the Conquest (10/10). Wait staff was great (anytime dining) We had 3 different groups and all were very, very good.

Entertainment (theater) about average...other forms seemed to be above average...

So in closing... I hope this won't keep you from sailing Carnival again ... maybe a more diverse vacation schedule is in order.

Thanks for your mini review. We sail on her on March 11th and glad to hear this as I can honestly say that Carnival is not my favorite line but am willing to give them another try.

[islandlittleleague]

Thanks for your mini review. We sail on her on March 11th and glad to hear this as I can honestly say that Carnival is not my favorite line but am willing to give them another try.

 

 

 

 

I went on the Magic on December 4 with 11 other people including my parents which are 73 and 75. We had no complaints with the food and if the waitor saw that our food was hardly touched, he offered something else and made us happy. The entertainment was like always something to do and yes there were times we had to go from one end to the other end cause we didnt want to miss anything. My parents spent most of their time in the casino and loved every minute of it, so once again, I Love the ship, the hardworking employees that remembered all of our names and made us feel special.. The fog (who cares) that is beyond control but you meet alot of nice people that are waiting with you. :)

[MovingForward]

I'm actually very glad to hear that others had a much better experience. My family would like to sail on the Magic December 2012. If I tag along I may have a better experience this time since I know what to expect.

 

I would feel nuts if I had not spoken with two couples that I met at dinner. Their sentiments were the same as mine. I think a lot of it has to do with each ones level of expectations and perception of what one feel is acceptable.