Back from Carnival Magic July 9th, Never Again!

[cruizinisthebest]

Just curious... Has anyone read any of the other posts the OP has written? Negative comments about the RC Oasis. Unfriendly service, food was not good anywhere (except for a café, I think) and the worst port to sail out of.

 

Maybe the problem is not with ANY cruise line, maybe the problem is within...

 

I did. And I saw where they said Royal's Oasis had the worst food and buffet service of any cruise to that point. Complaints about the port too. Yes when you're the common denominator, look in the mirror for the problem.

[Sweet Dutch Girl]

I have cruised countless lines. Had mostly wonderful, relaxing, invigorating, fun experiences....just like I do on land based vacations. The secret, for me, is to go with the flow...love the good parts, quietly tolerate the few incidents that aren't quite as glowing.

 

I, too, have gotten sick on a cruise. Bummer...but treated the time as a nice quiet place to recover (and have always had the "nice" experience of having the ship's crew make sure I am well fed during my time in the cabin). I have suffered allergies from unknown sources (never travel without my Claritin), been itchy due to climate changes and sun conditions (ah for calamine lotion), and have always been friendly and cheerful to the "help" and they have always responded in kind.

 

No cruise is perfect as is no vacation. Been to dinner on the Magic and haven't had a main course for the evening even sound appealing so I fill up on soups and appetizers and salads. I have sent back overdone steaks and asked for a different dinner...always accommodated.

 

Learned, early on, that as a reader and relaxer that Lido deck doesn't always offer that...but have spent many a happy hour on my out-of-the-way lounger reading the latest best-seller I don't have time for at home.

 

Vacations are never perfect, nor was the dinner I cooked last night. But, they do get me out of the house, offer me new visions outside of my window, and allow me to de-stress. Wish everyone could experience that.

Edited July 18, 2016 by Sweet Dutch Girl

[crusinpsychRN]

I too am sorry also that you are getting such a backlash over your review.

 

I've been on 26 Carnival cruises and have encountered friendly, unfriendly, cold staff. I've asked staff where the fish 'n chips place is on Glory and none of the 5 could tell me. I went to GS with a letter about a comped dinner in the Steakhouse and asked how does that get billed, is it puton then taken off or what. I gave the lady the letter and she told me 4 times there was no comped dinner in the letter. I read it to her word for word and she still said no it isn't. She finally got it and answered my question. I see many of the GS lacking info. Shore excursion people seem to be best prepared.

 

I never did like Lido food for the most part. I do like the salad bar and the deli. On the night the MDR serves lamb shank, Lido serves leg of lamb. On my last trip I went to Lido and the lady carving gave me the smallest piece ever and got mad when I asked for more making a face and shaking her head! They didn't have any horseradish out and never brought any out when I asked for some.

 

If I do try the buffet I take a tiny portion, see if I like it and get more if I do.

 

I've had a terrible steak in the Steakhouse on Pride. Had a nice one on Sunshine.

 

The bomb scare was the hairspray in the suitcase going off!

 

Glad you like Key West. I actually thought you'd complain about that.

 

I didn't like the food on RC at all! Nor on Princess.

Edited July 18, 2016 by crusinpsychRN

[NCTribeFan]

A lot of folks in this forum turn into big babies whenever someone mentions anything negative about carnival. I have enjoyed my time on carnival ships, but realize there are negative aspects and things that can be improved. Some of you people act as if the corportation can do no wrong as if it is divinely inspired.

 

I've said it before but it is worth restating, this is called cruise CRITIC, by name people should feel comfortable saying something negative instead of being scared to get flamed!

 

And, once again, perhaps people need to understand that to be a "critic" does NOT mean one should only make statements criticizing whatever.

 

Just because people don't agree with OP doesn't mean they're being mean or rude. Most people just find these hyperbolic threads to be rather unbelievable. No one accused the OP of lying, though.

 

If people don't want over-the-top responses, then they probably should be a little less inflammatory to start with!

 

Yes, she had what she felt was a bad experience although it was hard to tell the way the original post was written. Some things were good, some weren't. That pretty much describes every cruise I've ever taken.

 

I've cruised 27 times, 25 of them on Carnival. Not because I think Carnival is wonderful and perfect but because it fits my budget and schedule.

 

I've never posted that any cruise was The Best Ever!!!! Or The Worst Ever and Never Again!!!!

 

That's what brings out the skeptics - the hyperbole.

 

Just write a review and be objective. That's all people want. If something didn't meet your expectations, state why. If something exceeded them, say so.

 

PS: For the life of me, I can't understand why people want to eat from the main buffet anyway, especially on ships that have lots of other options. I don't even eat from them on Fantasy-class ships!

[SkyMaster]

The lovely, and talented Mrs. Jones just returned from her 50th Carnival cruise, which happened to be aboard "Magic", with you. She commented that it was the absolute BEST cruise she has ever been on, (We've done lots of other lines as well as the 50+ cruises aboard Carnival, including a number on RCI) so I find it difficult to believe that your cruise, aboard the same ship, at the same time was so bad. Guess it goes to show you that it may be all in what you're looking for?????;)

 

"SKY"

[Redcat]

My worst cruise was on Enchantment but did not and would not stop me from trying anything different 70 percent is up to you the other 30 changes by crew rotation and other cruisers onboard

[winddawn]

I've been on 30 Carnival cruises and have never encountered a crew like you described. This is the Carnival crew the rest of us know and love:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2155601&page=13

 

Sorry you had a bad time spending a week in paradise.

[ryano]

but did not and would not stop me from trying anything different

 

I have never understood judging ALL by one bad experience or person. Of course watching current events unfold, that seems to be the cool thing to do these days. Its sickening. :(

 

Even with as upset as I am with Royal Caribbean right now, I will not say I will "never again" be on one of their ships.

 

My whole problem the OPs post is the dogging of the crew. I cant even imagine things have changed so much in a couple months on that ship so i stopped reading there. Carnival Magic and crew are one of the best

Edited July 18, 2016 by ryano

[bigdaddyvoges]

Darn.... ran out of popcorn.... I will be back from the store in a few...... ;)

[NCTribeFan]

I also often say in my reviews that MY experience is not going to reflect any other person's experience on the same sailing.

 

It's based on expectations as well as the choices that people make throughout the cruise of what they'll do, where they'll go, what times they elect to do these things, the way the interact with the crew/staff/fellow pax.

 

So while I may think a particular cruise was really great, the person in the cabin next to me may think it was awful.

 

Doesn't mean either of us is a Big Fat Liar!

 

And do also remember that even if we were to read 10 in-depth reviews of every single sailing on every single ship, it's still such a miniscule sample size as to be negligible - meaning don't pay any attention to anything you read here. ;)

[hpugirl27]

to be fair... if you had bedbugs, there would have been multiple bites in a cluster or a line but not 'a bite' . I have never heard of bedbugs where they itched someone but did not bite and finally a few days later there was 1 bite

 

this in no way sounds like bedbugs. Sounds more like a mosquito bite

 

This. You were probably bit by a mosquito. Bed bugs have a lot of bites in a line. Never just one.

 

Also, of course you are entitled to your opinion, but I also think maybe you were looking for things to be wrong? You mentioned you loved the steakhouse, guys, blue iguanas, breakfast, and other places...but the rest of the food was awful....well, it sounds like a lot of the food was good too, right? It's not Carnival's fault there was a bomb scare, they were keeping you safe by not letting you in the area. As for the serenity area, you listed that royal also had the same amenities, I'm not sure what was different that you didn't enjoy?

 

Anyway, everyone deserves to enjoy their vacation. If you found a cruise line you enjoy, that's always a good thing! :)

Edited July 18, 2016 by hpugirl27

[loveJake]

Sorry I confused you Jimbo, I guess my wording was not that good. WHat I meant to say was. I enjoyed the breakfast buffet and the made to order omelettes as well as the small eateries such as Guy's Burgers etc. I also said the deli and dessert bar food was good and what I ate of the buffet, the rest was lousy. Please read!

You also didn't read correct info, it says "Best Port" not "Best Part".

And to answer your question, on Royal the buffets are all open at the same time not half open part of the time! And on Royal the serenity deck has its own bar,pools,jacuzzi and an area all its own. On magic its just a couple jacuzzi's and chairs/hammocks. A joke in my opinion.

If you like Carnival, thats ok.... I don't!

 

We just went on a RCI cruise and the buffet area was never open except meal times, was what we did not like, the pizza was the worst I ever had, MDR meals did beat Carnival.

I have never been on any cruise line where the crew was not friendly, of course we do not treat the crews as our servents for the week, have seen a lot of people treat the crews badly, maybe they get tired of it.

[ryano]

the pizza was the worst I ever had, .

 

I concur! :D:p

[crusinpsychRN]

I don't like Carnival's pizza. Next time I'll have to wait for him to make it for me and ask for more sauce. I liked the old recipe better. I want anchovies.

Edited July 18, 2016 by crusinpsychRN

[DebJ14]

We're Diamond on Carnival and on Royal Caribbean. We have always found the Carnival staff to be much friendlier than what we have encountered on Royal Caribbean. As for the food, I can't comment on buffet food on either line because I would rather starve than eat at a buffet, which is exactly what I do on embarkation day.

 

We had a lousy cruise on the Magic out of Galveston a few years ago due to the worst waiter in history, incompetent guest services staff and a few other issues. However, we chalked it up to being a one off and have sailed the Freedom out of Fort Lauderdale once and then out of Galveston once and we sailed the Breeze out of Miami. Those 3 cruises were fine.

 

We also had a lousy cruise on the RCCL Navigator of the Seas. Talk about dirt - for a ship that had just been through drydock the bathrooms in our Royal Family Suite were full of mold, the closets were dusty and our huge aft balcony was unusable due to layers of soot on the cushions. But, we chalked that off to being a one off too.

 

We have 3 future cruises booked - 2 on Carnival and 1 on Royal Caribbean. I am not expecting a horrible cruise on any of them There may be some issues, but we will survive. One bad cruise does not make for a lousy cruise line. Heck, probably our worst cruise ever was on the Golden Princess. The food was so bad I lived on salad for a week. The cabin had A/C problems and our luggage was "misplaced" for several days. We stayed off Princess for about 9 years, but went back to Princess and have had 3 wonderful cruises in a row. In fact, Princess has gone from worst cruise to favorite cruise line.

 

FYI On a cruise out of Tampa embarkation was halted as they suspected someone had a gun in their luggage. It turned out to be a huge belt buckle in the shape of a gun, but in the name of safety, everyone was inconvenienced. We went on to have electrical problems on that cruise. Ever have the power go out in the middle of the ocean just as dinner was due to start? No hot food, no AC, no toilets, no elevators. But, it still was a good cruise on balance because the crew more than made up for our inconvenience with their kindness and great service.

Edited July 18, 2016 by DebJ14

[ryano]

I don't like Carnival's pizza. .

 

On the other hand, I loved Carnival pizza. I remember the pizza on Holiday very well and it wasnt near as good as the pizza they serve now in my opinion. Im a thin and crispy fan though with less sauce please. At least Carnival makes them fresh and uses pretty good quality ingredients from what I could tell. Royals Sorrento pizza is just nasty IMO.

[maldenmusic]

On a 7 day cruise and no one on staff was ever friendly to you? I think at some point you need to look in the mirror and ask why.

 

and the bugs in your bed, that you allowed bite you night after night... really?

 

Exactly. I've never had that experience in my 10 CCL cruises and have 2 more booked.

[tandemcruzr]

On magic its just a couple jacuzzi's and chairs/hammocks. A joke in my opinion.

 

There is also a bar on the Magic's Serenity deck, no joke -- just no pool.

[illinoiscruiser16]

We just got off of the Carnival Magic and agree with a couple of your points. However, I don't understand why everyone is attacking because of her opinion on this sailing especially when they weren't on the ship.

 

We had a group of 13 and had a good time. It didn't start out well at all. We got stuck in the group that had to sit out in the heat due to the "bomb threat" which ended up being a can of hairspray. We can now laugh about it but at the time it wasn't funny. Carnival didn't handle it well and if you weren't there you really can't comment on that. We were told to go and stand in the parking garage where we waited for over an hour. There were people passing out due to the heat. I had my elderly parents with me and luckily had some water with us cause Carnival never brought us water like they said they would. We were then sent over to the other terminal and then given numbers to board. People weren't allowed to use any electronics. I'm not complaining that we couldn't use our electronics. I completely understand why we couldnt. It was very scary not knowing what was really going on. They finally brought water for everyone about 2 hours after it all began. Like I said now we can laugh about it that it was just a can of hairspray and thankfully it wasn't a real bomb.

 

Unfortunately, one of the passengers had a heart attack so we did have to make our way back to Miami to get him medical help. Thankfully he did post an update so we know he is doing well. We are all happy that we were close enough to get him the medical attention he needed. I would have preferred they cut Costa Maya with another day at sea so we could have gone to Roatan. That was the only reason we chose this itinerary was to go to Roatan. Not a fan of Key West as we have been many times in the past. However, not complaining as I would much rather have the man alive and safe than go to Roatan. At least we got a piece of fantastic key lime pie in Key West.

 

The cruise director on this ship was fantastic. He is so approachable and gets everyone into whatever he is doing. His motown and 70-80's nights were so fun. The love and marriage show was very fun with him too. He was the best cruise director we have ever seen in our 8+ cruises. We have cruised Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian.

 

There was a great illusions show and comedy shows. The other shows were not great in my opinion. We went to all the shows.

 

The breakfast buffet was good as was Guy's burgers and the Iguana Cafe. We really didn't eat off of the buffet besides at breakfast time. The kids also enjoyed the pizza being open 24 hours.

 

We ate in the dining room every night so we could spend time together as a family. The food was very mediocre and the service was not good. We had the best waiter on our Carnival cruise a couple years ago. Unfortunately, we can't say the same this time.

 

Our stateroom attendant was fantastic. He made the best towel animals I have ever seen and was always so pleasant to talk to.

 

Overall it was an ok time.

[stevefrisco]

And, once again, perhaps people need to understand that to be a "critic" does NOT mean one should only make statements criticizing whatever.

 

Just because people don't agree with OP doesn't mean they're being mean or rude. Most people just find these hyperbolic threads to be rather unbelievable. No one accused the OP of lying, though.

 

If people don't want over-the-top responses, then they probably should be a little less inflammatory to start with!

 

Yes, she had what she felt was a bad experience although it was hard to tell the way the original post was written. Some things were good, some weren't. That pretty much describes every cruise I've ever taken.

 

I've cruised 27 times, 25 of them on Carnival. Not because I think Carnival is wonderful and perfect but because it fits my budget and schedule.

 

I've never posted that any cruise was The Best Ever!!!! Or The Worst Ever and Never Again!!!!

 

That's what brings out the skeptics - the hyperbole.

 

Just write a review and be objective. That's all people want. If something didn't meet your expectations, state why. If something exceeded them, say so.

 

PS: For the life of me, I can't understand why people want to eat from the main buffet anyway, especially on ships that have lots of other options. I don't even eat from them on Fantasy-class ships!

 

With all due respect, because I think you're one of the most credible and overall enjoyable reviewers in the forum, I think that you are projecting yourself on others. I notice you complain about a lot of things in your reviews, in fact that's why I like them because I think they are the most realistic. But your reviews are very detailed (thank you) and a lot of others post smaller reviews meant as feedback.

 

I think the shorter review format is naturally going to emphasize negative or positive aspects of an experience. Negative experiences are more likely to get reported because when a person spends so much money or loses a bunch of money in the casino so they get a free cruise, that person expects a certain level of experience. When an exceptional experience isn't delivered, a person is more likely to report to others as a warning or out of a sense of getting "even". Because a great experience is implied in paying or being comped your cruise fare, it stands to reason that positive reviews are going to not be representative of the quantity of people who had great experiences.

 

One parting question, why don't people respond with the same fervor and disdain when others post positive reviews with hyperbole or exaggerations? I'm glad they don't because having been flamed on here, I know it's hurtful and annoying. I wish we could all just get along and be nice and maybe just maybe lose the long signatures :D

Edited July 19, 2016 by stevefrisco

[jimbo5544]

There is also a bar on the Magic's Serenity deck, no joke -- just no pool.

 

 

True and I was going to mention that, but it's no way near as good as the bar in the adult area on Royal ships.......

[Micahs Grandad]

We just got off of the Carnival Magic and agree with a couple of your points. However, I don't understand why everyone is attacking because of her opinion on this sailing especially when they weren't on the ship.

 

We had a group of 13 and had a good time. It didn't start out well at all. We got stuck in the group that had to sit out in the heat due to the "bomb threat" which ended up being a can of hairspray. We can now laugh about it but at the time it wasn't funny. Carnival didn't handle it well and if you weren't there you really can't comment on that. We were told to go and stand in the parking garage where we waited for over an hour. There were people passing out due to the heat. I had my elderly parents with me and luckily had some water with us cause Carnival never brought us water like they said they would. We were then sent over to the other terminal and then given numbers to board. People weren't allowed to use any electronics. I'm not complaining that we couldn't use our electronics. I completely understand why we couldnt. It was very scary not knowing what was really going on. They finally brought water for everyone about 2 hours after it all began. Like I said now we can laugh about it that it was just a can of hairspray and thankfully it wasn't a real bomb.

 

Unfortunately, one of the passengers had a heart attack so we did have to make our way back to Miami to get him medical help. Thankfully he did post an update so we know he is doing well. We are all happy that we were close enough to get him the medical attention he needed. I would have preferred they cut Costa Maya with another day at sea so we could have gone to Roatan. That was the only reason we chose this itinerary was to go to Roatan. Not a fan of Key West as we have been many times in the past. However, not complaining as I would much rather have the man alive and safe than go to Roatan. At least we got a piece of fantastic key lime pie in Key West.

 

The cruise director on this ship was fantastic. He is so approachable and gets everyone into whatever he is doing. His motown and 70-80's nights were so fun. The love and marriage show was very fun with him too. He was the best cruise director we have ever seen in our 8+ cruises. We have cruised Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian.

 

There was a great illusions show and comedy shows. The other shows were not great in my opinion. We went to all the shows.

 

The breakfast buffet was good as was Guy's burgers and the Iguana Cafe. We really didn't eat off of the buffet besides at breakfast time. The kids also enjoyed the pizza being open 24 hours.

 

We ate in the dining room every night so we could spend time together as a family. The food was very mediocre and the service was not good. We had the best waiter on our Carnival cruise a couple years ago. Unfortunately, we can't say the same this time.

 

Our stateroom attendant was fantastic. He made the best towel animals I have ever seen and was always so pleasant to talk to.

 

Overall it was an ok time.

 

Thanks for your review. Found it fair and balanced. We have our first on Magic coming up in a few months and looking forward to it.

[ryano]

I still haven't seen the attacks people are talking about? Guess I need to have my eyes checked

 

Disagreements are not attacks

Edited July 19, 2016 by ryano

[NCTribeFan]

stevefrisco - thanks for reading my reviews. I just try to be objective. Hey, I'm a CPA. We're required to use objectivity in our work, so it comes fairly easily. However, I am rather opinionated and am not afraid to vent, either! :p

 

I think most cruisers are expecting to have a great vacation so when something isn't up to their expectations, they're disappointed. That's not surprising. If it seems those expectations were unrealistic, though, then maybe their disappointment should be more their own fault rather than the fault of the cruiseline or the staff/crew. I think they get flamed when their comments lean that way.

 

As for the over-the-top Best Cruise EVER threads, I don't give those any more weight than the bad ones. And since they're posted on the Carnival board, where many Carnival fans read, they're going to be looked at more favorably than the negative ones. Except, of course, by the few people who troll here looking for every negative comment so they can also bash Carnival (geez, just get lives people!).

 

Like I said, my experience could be a polar opposite to the experience of the person next door, mostly based on MY expectations and decisions made during the cruise.

 

And attitude! I go expecting to have a good time. I don't expect perfection. Does that mean I settle for mediocre or worse? Nope. And that's why I point out the issues/problems in my reviews. I've had some not-great cruises. Never has that caused me to even think "never again" for Carnival.

 

I just did #25 and have #26 & #27 booked. I was just going to do the Pride Journeys to get my Milestone OBC and then move on to other lines. Then I got a Premier offer and booked Splendor. Then I realized that would mean I was only 16 nights away from Diamond, so I'll probably do 2 more to reach that plateau. THEN I hope to move on to HAL and/or Celebrity. I'm rather bored with Carnival, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy myself. I just want some different experiences and, hopefully, different ports.

 

I hope people read the reviews, but I sincerely hope people don't make their own vacation decisions based on my comments or the comments from any other person here. Teeny tiny sample sizes cannot be relied on.

[golfb4cruzing]

Hey look, it's a Cheerleader Convention.