Just back from the Magic!

[crusinpsychRN]

Had a good time as usual. Embarkation was easy. Cabin on deck 8 very convenient to elevator, Lido, deck 5 where most of the action was.

 

Three stewards gathered outside my cabin and made a racket every day twice a day. I've been near utility closets before and never had this kind of racket. Kept my cabin clean and stocked with ice in the collapsable cooler. Bed was comfortable. Mini fridge was empty.

 

Ordered the rib eye first night in the Steakhouse. Inedible. I wasn't able to chew and swallow one bite, it was so tough. They didn't charge me for that meal.

 

Got a wonderful cheese plate for the platinum plate instead of strawberries. It was big and delicious!

 

Cucina for dinner was unimpressive. Ordered the spaghetti with Nona's meatballs. Portion was huge. I make better spaghetti and meatballs than that. Changed it for carbonara which was better, not spectacular. Wonderful service. Food was better on Sunshine in that venue.

 

Great service in the MDR, thanks Dusko from Romania.

 

BBQ was okay if you put enough sauce on it. Lines were very long or very short.

 

Room service was really quick. Didn't geet any of the $$ items. Asked for the shrimp salad which wasn't on the menu and was told no. I ordered 2 pots of coffee or 6 cups and got 6 cups to use!!

 

CD Dr. E had 2 nights of sing along in the atrium which was fabulous!

 

We had a lot of rain and rough seas. Rained in every port but Cozumel which was overcast. Did Salsa and Salsa in Cozumel. They dropped us off with only 6 minutes to walk back to the ship which took 15 minutes. Lots of people were late as we left so early. On board was 2:30pm! We had some pier runners and left about 3:25pm.

 

Plenty of areas to smoke if you could find an ashtray. All of one side of deck 11, part of deck 5 and the casino (where it was freezing!).

 

In getting my OBC from the casino I paid $2.25, won $18 and cashed out with all my non refundable credits.

 

Trivia was hard and many argued about the answers. When the winner got 6 out of 20 there is probably a problem with the questions. I did get a SOAS.

 

Comedy was good, in a nice venue large enough to fit everyone.

 

Debarkation was quick and orderly but I couldn't find my suitcase for 30 minutes. I was zone 1 and it was in zone 4.

 

Have another trip on her in April and again in November. Just want to find another way to get there other than driving!

[blackberry1]

Would you happen to have a copy of the dining room menu? We will be on the magic March 2017

[lizzyplague]

Thank you for the report. Can't wait to sail the Magic in April. :)

 

You could stay at one of the 'snooze and cruise' hotels in the Port Canaveral/Orlando area. Some provide free parking at the hotel and offer a shuttle to the pier and back again. That's what we're going to do but we don't have any choice since we're flying in... but it might be an option for you as well.

Edited October 30, 2016 by lizzyplague

[mike_ga]

I was also on this cruise and was unimpressed by the MDR food and especially the MDR service. I was also unimpressed by the dishes served at Cucina. Also felt that the whole ship was understaffed and service was suffering. Had a great cabin steward though. I avoided the steakhouse. I don't think anything can surpass The Pinnacle Grill on HAL.

 

I think I've become spoiled by HAL and will only cruise Carnival for short 4-5 day cruises.

[Micahs Grandad]

Thanks for review will be on the Magic in two weeks.

 

Disappointed about Cucina was looking forward to a great dinner but we will give it a try.

[lazydayz]

On our June cruise on the Magic, we did Cucina twice. Agree that the pasta was uninspired. The steak choice was very good, as were the desserts. We found it worth it to get a break from the massive MDR. We are looking forward to sailing the Magic again. We board is six days!

[BeachLoverstoo]

We leave Friday for our drive to Port Canaveral and have followed every review of the Magic. :D

With your comments on Cucina, i think we will check it out for lunch (no charge) and then decide if it's worth paying $15 for dinner. My DH never likes anyone else's lasagna or chicken parm, so maybe if he sticks to the steak or salmon he will be happier.

Thanks for the review.

[crusinpsychRN]

Would you happen to have a copy of the dining room menu? We will be on the magic March 2017

 

No I don't. It was wrong on the TV for the last 2 nights. Lasagna was good.

[crusinpsychRN]

Thank you for the report. Can't wait to sail the Magic in April. :)

 

You could stay at one of the 'snooze and cruise' hotels in the Port Canaveral/Orlando area. Some provide free parking at the hotel and offer a shuttle to the pier and back again. That's what we're going to do but we don't have any choice since we're flying in... but it might be an option for you as well.

 

I've had to wait 40 minutes for the shuttle so decided to go the $40 discount route.

[crusinpsychRN]

As I mentioned the Cucina lunch food on Sunshine was excellent. 3 people could eat what they serve just one person. I think it's the chef. For a long time I had lousy food on Legend. Kept reading here how good food was on different ships. I thought maybe it's me and tried a dish that I hadn't liked in about 5 cruises. It was delicious! I thought something's up. Sure enough, they had a new chef.

 

The spaghetti and carbonara sauce made the spaghetti stick togeether like a semi hard mass. They need to put garlic on the bread they serve.

Edited October 30, 2016 by crusinpsychRN

[crusinpsychRN]

I was also on this cruise and was unimpressed by the MDR food and especially the MDR service. I was also unimpressed by the dishes served at Cucina. Also felt that the whole ship was understaffed and service was suffering. Had a great cabin steward though. I avoided the steakhouse. I don't think anything can surpass The Pinnacle Grill on HAL.

 

I think I've become spoiled by HAL and will only cruise Carnival for short 4-5 day cruises.

 

How did you like Dr. E? Most enjoyed him but I found him a bit annoying except for the 2 sing a longs he did which were very entertaining. Got the large crowd going.

 

I could not get waited on in HAL's MDR. Each time I had to ask to be waited on. Food wasn't that good either. They did have some very racy pool games though!

[Micahs Grandad]

I've had to wait 40 minutes for the shuttle so decided to go the $40 discount route.

 

Some shuttle services have been very prompt and others more of a pain. Would have booked Radaisson but lately pricing has been very high.

[Severus]

I was on the same cruise, I posted a video for the first day on Cape C. The weather was the worst enemy of this cruise that sailed on Oct 22. Here is the video

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[crusinpsychRN]

I was on the same cruise, I posted a video for the first day on Cape C. The weather was the worst enemy of this cruise that sailed on Oct 22. Here is the video

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Great video! We had lots of rain and rough seas.

[easyboy]

Thanks for the review.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[smarks]

cruisinpsychzRN, thanks for taking the time to post a review. I will be trying her out in Dec.

[smarks]

I was on the same cruise, I posted a video for the first day on Cape C. The weather was the worst enemy of this cruise that sailed on Oct 22. Here is the video

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Nice video. Thanks for sharing.

[mike_ga]

How did you like Dr. E? Most enjoyed him but I found him a bit annoying except for the 2 sing a longs he did which were very entertaining. Got the large crowd going.

 

I was looking forward to Dr. E after reading so much about how great he was. During muster I found his constant voice changes entertaining, but as one of my travel companions, who was on her first cruise noted. You paid more attention to the voices than anything he said in them.

 

I used to work with someone who constantly sang for no reason and annoyed pretty much everyone around him. I found his constant singing at the beginning of the announcements incredibly annoying and ended up tuning him out. That said, his performances in the lobby and at the 80s Rock and Glow Party were great. Though he actually got in my face with a mic during the 80s party and I'm no singer. I continued to lip-sync...:cool:

[mike_ga]

I was on the same cruise, I posted a video for the first day on Cape C. The weather was the worst enemy of this cruise that sailed on Oct 22.

 

I was okay with the rain. Costa Maya isn't developed enough to really enjoy, and to be honest I don't care if I ever dock there or at Roatan again. I did get into the water at Roatan, so when the rain started I wasn't bothered much.

 

I was at the Ruins of Altun Ha when it rained for about 20 minutes in Belize. Still enjoyed it, and as a bonus my cousin who was considering buying land there changed her mind after seeing the city and countryside.

 

Cozumel was nice as always. I'm always amazed at how much I like it there.

 

The last sea day was okay. I got up at dawn and the wind was blowing so hard from the direction of the bow that the Lido deck was covered in water from waterworks alone. I sat there and smoked on the panorama deck while those poor crew members shop vac'd up water from the lido deck until someone cut most of the water off up there. The rough seas and wind didn't bother me but I cruise more than my travel companions on this trip do.

 

I will say that after I got home Saturday afternoon I definitely didn't have my land legs yet. Luckily I was good by Sunday morning.

[marshhawk]

Thanks for the review, after 3 Legend cruises, we decided to go on a larger ship, wanting a cove balcony, and have a few more things to see on the Western Caribbean, and then I think we will head back to the smaller ships. Was your MDR menu the new menu , or the one that Carnival has had for years?

 

cat on lap hard to type

[ryano]

.

 

Disappointed about Cucina was looking forward to a great dinner but we will give it a try.

 

My meal in Cucina on Magic was just fine. I had Nona's meatballs for an appetizer and then the chicken parm.

 

My ribeye in the steakhouse was great too. I put absolutely no stock in cruise food reviews though. Too subjective!

 

LOVE Carnival Magic! I also think Dr E is without a shadow of doubt, the best CD Ive had so far in the six cruises Ive been on. Hope he is still on Magic next October

Edited November 2, 2016 by ryano

[Micahs Grandad]

My meal in Cucina on Magic was just fine. I had Nona's meatballs for an appetizer and then the chicken parm.

 

My ribeye in the steakhouse was great too. I put absolutely no stock in cruise food reviews though. Too subjective!

 

LOVE Carnival Magic! I also think Dr E is without a shadow of doubt, the best CD Ive had so far in the six cruises Ive been on. Hope he is still on Magic next October

 

Have had nona's meatballs as samples as taste bar numerous times and enjoy them but will certainly try other things there.

 

Dr E is on vacation Stephen Shwartz will be CD for us

[abisha]

Have had nona's meatballs as samples as taste bar numerous times and enjoy them but will certainly try other things there.

 

Dr E is on vacation Stephen Shwartz will be CD for us

 

Hubby likes their pasta and meatballs. I really like their chicken parm, their alfredo sauce and their tirimisu! Hopefully it will be just as good on the Magic.

 

Too bad we will not have Dr. E, but I'm sure our CD will be good. Nov. 12th is almost upon us!

[crusinpsychRN]

It must be the chef because it was much better on Sunshine (for lunch).

[Micahs Grandad]

Hubby likes their pasta and meatballs. I really like their chicken parm, their alfredo sauce and their tirimisu! Hopefully it will be just as good on the Magic.

 

Too bad we will not have Dr. E, but I'm sure our CD will be good. Nov. 12th is almost upon us!

 

Will go there for lunch and if we like it will surely do dinner