Carnival Magic review, March 18-25, 2012

[luv2trvlnow]

My family (wife, 3 kids, and mother-in-law) are going on the April 29-May 6th Magic Cruise. My wife and I want to make reservations for the Steakhouse on one of the nights but I don't want to accidentally book it for the same night as the formal night. Do you know which night it is or how I can find out? We were thinking of booking for the second night (when at sea) but I wouldn't be surprised if that IS formal night. Thanks... I really enjoyed your review!

 

Cheers!

Elegant nights were (Monday) the first sea day and Thursday (Grand Cayman). So the night of the second sea day (Tuesday) should work for the Steakhouse.

Sharon

[k2excursion]

Yes, the 2nd night (Monday) is the elegant night with the lobster on almost all Carnival cruises. It has been for all 11 of mine. The 2nd elegant night doesn't have nearly as good of a menu though, for my tastes.

 

This is from Grand Cayman. As I mentioned, we just took the bus to 7-Mile Beach. I recommend spending a couple extra bucks for the cab, because it's so much more convenient. The Royal Palms stop seems to be a good location, but they are very very limited on umbrellas. The water and sand are so pretty here, and there's good snorkeling right off the beach, but I do remember it being better 3 years ago.

 

In this pic, the back of the Magic is barely peaking out from the trees on the far left side.

 

 

 

 

Now, we're back on board the ship. As I mentioned before, when we were getting on the tenders to get back on the ship, the tender was already there, loading people, and we got on that one. Practically no wait. Meanwhile, the other ships had waits. And the RCCL Freedom of the Seas has a monstrously long line that was wrapping all around the port area many times. I'm serious! That line was so long, you'd think it would take 8 hours to get just those people back on the ship. I don't know how they made it in time, and there were certainly many more people that would be joining their line. Our ship had more guests than any other, and we had the shortest line. Pretty awesome! Here is the Freedom of the Seas, with the Carnival Conquest behind it. That tender boat needs to hurry, as there are several hundred people in line.

 

 

This is after we pulled away, with the Conquest following right behind us, as we both head for Cozumel.

[maxamuus]

Great review. Love the pictures!

 

Thanks for taking the time to share with us.

[k2excursion]

Great review. Love the pictures!

 

Thanks for taking the time to share with us.

 

Thank you.

 

Here are some pics I took with our underwater camera while snorkeling in Grand Cayman:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[vivavegas]

Thanks for taking time to write your review. Very comprehensive and great photos.:)

[k2excursion]

As I mentioned, we took a cab to Paradise Beach in Cozumel. 2nd time we've come here. Free admission, $2 beach chairs, $12 wristband for the water toys. And if you don't get the wristband, they expect you to spend $10 on food/drinks. Despite many reports on these boards, this beach doesn't seem to get that overly crowded. Maybe too much for some peoples' tastes. This day had about 25,000 cruise guests on the island (about as high as it gets), so the beach was running out of beach chairs, but the water toys never got overrun with people, nor did it feel that crowded on the beach. I loved our day at this beach; I didn't want to leave. It was getting pretty empty by the time we did leave, at around 3:15.

 

 

The water toys have changed since Nov 2010. No more iceburg.

 

Some pics from along the pier

 

 

Next door, down a little ways, is Playa Mia. This is where the Carnival-sponsored beach break is. That excursion is very expensive, especially compared to coming to Paradise Beach. And they have also removed their iceburg.

 

There was alot of seaweed on this day, for some reason

[k2excursion]

From the pool area. The pool is pretty new. It wasn't there in Nov 2010.

 

Here's the pool:

 

 

 

Docked right next to the Conquest. It's cool to see how tiny their waterslide looks, right next to ours. Some people on our ship actually knew people, from back home, on the Conquest, and they were calling to each other.

 

[Spring1onu]

Excellent review! We will be sailing the Magic in December and cannot wait. Thank you for all the pics and detailed review!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[DpTxQt31]

Finally someone posting pics of the Spa Interior. Love it!!!! Enjoyed your review. We will be on her in September and it will be our first Interior room ever. Can't wait.:D

[k2excursion]

There actually is some great snorkeling around the end of the pier at Paradise Beach. Tons of fish gather around there. Here's a video of me chasing a stingray that I found out there. He wound up getting away:

 

 

 

 

 

[nonna5]

I am k2excursion's Mom. I have never saw preferential treatment in the show lounge before, but this time it did happen. This man was milestone. We didn't have to inquire if it was legitimate since he seemed to know most of the crew. They were always hugging. One night he came to his reserved seat from backstage. They talked to him (calling him by name) from the stage.

 

One night they didn't put the reserved seat sign out and they were not happy about it. When they claimed the seats were supposed to be reserved for them, one man gave up his seat for them. Now it wasn't a group, just a man and his wife. The next night the reserved seat sign was there. He apparently has sailed from Galveston many times before. The crew mentioned that he had sailed with them on the transatlantic cruise.

 

Sharon

 

 

I am milestone and have never been offered reserved seating or would I want this to start happening. I think seating should be first come first serve. I do believe that some people like to feel they are superior to others. I know RCCL does this and most of the people who are able to sit there do not. But there are a few that push their way through to get to "their" seats.:rolleyes:

 

It is already bad enough with the chair hogs by the pool could you even imagine if that started happening in the theater also.

 

I was on the first cruise on the Magic out of Galveston and had a great time.

[k2excursion]

Here again is my video of the stingray that I was chasing:

 

I've got pics of this same stingray in these:

 

 

 

Here he is:

 

 

 

This was a different stingray. He didn't move very much:

 

 

[Sweetone30]

This cruise wasn't much about the ports for us, since we've done them before.

 

Jamaica: we stayed on the ship. It was nice to have the ship to ourselves, and be able to do whatever we wanted. I rode the slides a few million times, did the ropes course, and just had a nice relaxing ship day. One couple reported to us that they stopped selling the hop-on-hop-off shuttle tickets at the port, because they had sold too many. That's what can take you to Doctors Cave Beach and other places. So I'm glad we decided not to do that, and just stay on the ship.

 

Grand Cayman: we took the bus out to 7-Mile Beach, at the Royal Palms. The bus is very difficult to find, so I recommend spending the extra couple bucks to take the cab. At the Royal Palms, they were already out of umbrellas, and they had very few set up. That wasn't a good thing. We were able to get chairs under the trees, for some shade. I did some snorkeling out there, and saw some fish. It didn't seem to be as many fish as when we were here 3 years ago. But it was still a very nice day, with beautiful waters & a beautiful beach. We took a cab back, after trying to flag down a bus. All buses that passed were full, so again I recommend taking the cab. We were very lucky to be on the Magic here. The RCCL Freedom of the Seas had a monstrously long line to get back on the tenders. The line was wrapping all around the entire port area. I hate to think of how long they had to wait there. We walked right onto a tender, no problem at all.

 

Cozumel: We took a cab out to Paradise Beach. This is such a great place!!! $2 for a beach chair, free admission. The water toys have changed since a year and a half ago. No more iceburg, one more slide. I climbed on them, and I did the kayak, which was included in the $12 wristband for water toys. If you don't do the wristband, they do expect you to spend $10 or more on food/drink, which my mom did. They had good nachos. The workers there are so friendly. They just do everything the right way here! The new pool is very nice. I did some snorkeling at the end of the pier that is right there, where there are TONS of fish. I even chased a stingray as he was swimming away, and I found another stingray hiding out at the bottom. I had a great time at this beach, so much more fun than any Carnival excursion, and for much much cheaper. There were 6 ships (at least) and over 25000 cruise guests in port today!!! One of the most crowded days that they could possibly have. Paradise Beach was starting to get a bit crowded. Late-comers could not get chairs next to each other, because the ones left were scattered throughout. It never felt overwhelmingly crowded to me though. The water toys never were overwhelmed with people, and kayaks seemed to always be available. It was a great day. At the port, the Conquest had a monstrously long line to get back on the ship. Again, for us on the Magic, we had almost no line, and got right back on. It was a really great view seeing the Conquest and their littly bitty waterslide from our ship, as we were docked right next to each other.

 

Can you please tell me which port she docked at in Cozumel?

[k2excursion]

Can you please tell me which port she docked at in Cozumel?

 

Sorry. I haven't checked my review in awhile. We docked at Puerta Maya, which is the most southern pier, and is one that Carnival created. Not all Carnival ships dock here though. If there are more than 2 Carnival ships, one will likely be at the International pier, which I was at when I sailed the Holiday. It would be nice for Carnival to dock at the downtown pier when it's available, but they haven't in my experience.

[nealstuber]

We also missed out on the band, Blood Power. I had them on Elation, and they are spectacular!!! ...In the theater, there was a dead night once again. ...

 

Thanks for the review, we love it as we're cruising Magic in August. Any idea when (if) blood power will be back? We loved them when they were on the Conquest.

 

Are the dead nights now part of the regular itenerary or did something happen?

[k2excursion]

Thanks for the review, we love it as we're cruising Magic in August. Any idea when (if) blood power will be back? We loved them when they were on the Conquest.

 

Are the dead nights now part of the regular itenerary or did something happen?

 

When the entertainers take time off, it's usually for about 1.5 to 2 months. Unless they get moved to another ship, which can sometimes happen, you should be alright. Their next vacation shouldn't be until around the end of the year. Good luck. I do foresee the doing away of bands like Blood Power on Carnival in the next 4 years or so. And trust me, the bands themselves can see the writing on the wall. So enjoy them while we've got them!

 

The "dead nights" are actually being referred to as dark nights by the Carnival crew, but they don't typically use that term or talk about it with guests. I call it "dead night", because on the Miracle, the ship was completely dead that night. Nothing was happening. On the Magic & Dream, they at least did the deck party that night, so there was something. The dark night, where there is no show in the theater, started sometime between April 2010 and April 2011. They are doing that across the fleet now, on cruises 7 days or longer. It sounds like 5-day cruises and less will still have a show in the theater every night. I hate to say it, but I do understand it. Many people on these boards talk, in their reviews, about how they didn't go to any of the shows in the theater. Apparently, many of Carnival's customers can be perfectly happy without any shows or bands, as long as they have a balcony and 2.0. These people are obviously not the majority of Carnival cruisers, as the theater is usually full, but there is a growing minority of cruisers that don't go to any shows. Cruiselines can save quite a bit of money by cutting one show per long cruise, so it does make sense. Fortunately, the more memorable shows that are staples on certain ships, seem to be staying (for now).

 

Whether or not the entertainment cuts will cause the cruiseline to have to drop prices so much that they are actually coming out worse off, because people have stopped or slowed down their cruising, remains to be seen.

[nealstuber]

When the entertainers take time off, it's usually for about 1.5 to 2 months. Unless they get moved to another ship, which can sometimes happen, you should be alright. Their next vacation shouldn't be until around the end of the year. Good luck. I do foresee the doing away of bands like Blood Power on Carnival in the next 4 years or so. And trust me, the bands themselves can see the writing on the wall. So enjoy them while we've got them!

 

The "dead nights" are actually being referred to as dark nights by the Carnival crew, but they don't typically use that term or talk about it with guests. I call it "dead night", because on the Miracle, the ship was completely dead that night. Nothing was happening. On the Magic & Dream, they at least did the deck party that night, so there was something. The dark night, where there is no show in the theater, started sometime between April 2010 and April 2011. They are doing that across the fleet now, on cruises 7 days or longer. It sounds like 5-day cruises and less will still have a show in the theater every night. I hate to say it, but I do understand it. Many people on these boards talk, in their reviews, about how they didn't go to any of the shows in the theater. Apparently, many of Carnival's customers can be perfectly happy without any shows or bands, as long as they have a balcony and 2.0. These people are obviously not the majority of Carnival cruisers, as the theater is usually full, but there is a growing minority of cruisers that don't go to any shows. Cruiselines can save quite a bit of money by cutting one show per long cruise, so it does make sense. Fortunately, the more memorable shows that are staples on certain ships, seem to be staying (for now).

 

Whether or not the entertainment cuts will cause the cruiseline to have to drop prices so much that they are actually coming out worse off, because people have stopped or slowed down their cruising, remains to be seen.

 

Thanks, our last CCL cruise was just before dead night happend - been more of lurker lately, but I'm surprised I missed discussion on it here. We definitely slowed down our cruising after our last Conquest cruise because it seemed silly to be paying more or less the same for less and less of an experience.

 

We're doing the Magic because we don't have to fly, we had some funpoints to make it a great deal, and its something new. I know I will miss going to a show every night. Makes no sense to me - they always sold a lot of drinks there.

[stepha06]

Love your review, love the pictures. One question, ( that I can think of right now). What time does cloud 9 close?

[k2excursion]

Love your review, love the pictures. One question, ( that I can think of right now). What time does cloud 9 close?

 

Hmmm, I know that it was pretty late. I think that the sauna-like rooms were open until about 10pm. Maybe it was 8pm. I know that I did my tour after our early dining the first night, so that was almost 8:00, so probably later than that. I would think the therapy pool would have the same hours. Maybe my mom knows. I'll check to see if it's on any paperwork I brought home.

[luv2trvlnow]

Love your review, love the pictures. One question, ( that I can think of right now). What time does cloud 9 close?

Hi,

 

I am k2excursion's Mom. I checked my Fun Times and it showed the Spa is open from 8am to 10pm every day except Day 1. On Day 1 it is open from 11:30am to 11pm. Hope this helps.

 

Sharon

[llisap14]

Fabulous room. I was worried as its very close to the water works, but there are absolutely no issues and would book this room again.

 

We spent ALOT of our time in the gym and spa and loved the facilities.

[carnival0421]

Okay. Now onto some good stuff. I like to start off with the bad so we can work our way up.

 

I really feel like you said you were onto the "good stuff" but never got to it.... This whole post was a huge complaint too :(

I am worried about my upcoming cruise now... You didn't have much good to say :(

[battchief1]

Thanks for the review

[david_sobe]

Loved the photos and review!

[cruiseclues]

Nice photos...thanks for the review. :):):)