Full Review of Magic Cruise and Spa Cabins

[crusinpsychRN]

I just got off Magic Saturday and was in the same cabin as you. Very nice cabin. The balcony dividers sounded like a bunch of drummers practicing, they banged all the time when we were moving.

 

I had a different steward who was also excellent. Liked Flick's singing but the choreography had nothing to do with the songs. Didn't care for the other shows, dancers just seemed to be running around and throwing themselves on the ground. The straight back chairs on deck 4 and 5 in the theater were more than uncomfortable.

 

Ordered a small chees plate for my cabin and what I got could have fed a football team!

 

Those warm loungers in the spa were fabulous. I didn't like sitting on the metal bars in the pool. I just stayed at the end. Got a great haircut in the spa too and acupuncture.

 

Food on Lido one night was cold, carving station meat was so tough it was hard to cut let alone chew. With no table cloth in the MDR cutting filet was hard as the plate moved. I put a napkin under the plate which stopped that. Good service in MDR, long waits for YTD on elegant nights. Didn't care for the BBQ, cold beans that didn't have a good taste, cold greens which would have been great if hot and chicken room temp. Required a lot of sauce.

 

Chairs hogs out in full force on last sea day. At 7:30am 2 women put blue towels on EVERY chair on deck 11 smoking side. I threw one of the towels on a chair that already had one and used the chair. After 10 minutes the women took 10 towels and moved farther down. No one showed up for about 2 hours. A staff member picked up all the ashtrays. They wee clean and I asked her why she did that. "No one is using them." They'll want them when they get up here. Take your own as they are hard to find.

 

Found staff complacent about cleaning except for steward. Many had sour looks on their faces and seemed to just amble around not picking up plates etc.

 

Dr. E's shows were fabulous. I went early to get a seat as there are very few in atrium. He'd already started and not a seat in sight. Great show. Saw him do it back in November so I knew how good it would be.

 

Debarkation was easy. Platinum/Diamonds were to meet at 8 am in the MDR. They picked us up at 7:40 am and I was off by 7:45 am and home by 10:30 am.

Edited April 10, 2017 by crusinpsychRN

[estillcrew]

I just got off Magic Saturday and was in the same cabin as you. Very nice cabin. The balcony dividers sounded like a bunch of drummers practicing, they banged all the time when we were moving.

 

I had a different steward who was also excellent. Liked Flick's singing but the choreography had nothing to do with the songs. Didn't care for the other shows, dancers just seemed to be running around and throwing themselves on the ground. The straight back chairs on deck 4 and 5 in the theater were more than uncomfortable.

 

Ordered a small chees plate for my cabin and what I got could have fed a football team!

 

Those warm loungers in the spa were fabulous. I didn't like sitting on the metal bars in the pool. I just stayed at the end. Got a great haircut in the spa too and acupuncture.

 

Food on Lido one night was cold, carving station meat was so tough it was hard to cut let alone chew. With no table cloth in the MDR cutting filet was hard as the plate moved. I put a napkin under the plate which stopped that. Good service in MDR, long waits for YTD on elegant nights. Didn't care for the BBQ, cold beans that didn't have a good taste, cold greens which would have been great if hot and chicken room temp. Required a lot of sauce.

 

Chairs hogs out in full force on last sea day. At 7:30am 2 women put blue towels on EVERY chair on deck 11 smoking side. I threw one of the towels on a chair that already had one and used the chair. After 10 minutes the women took 10 towels and moved farther down. No one showed up for about 2 hours. A staff member picked up all the ashtrays. They wee clean and I asked her why she did that. "No one is using them." They'll want them when they get up here. Take your own as they are hard to find.

 

Found staff complacent about cleaning except for steward. Many had sour looks on their faces and seemed to just amble around not picking up plates etc.

 

Dr. E's shows were fabulous. I went early to get a seat as there are very few in atrium. He'd already started and not a seat in sight. Great show. Saw him do it back in November so I knew how good it would be.

 

Debarkation was easy. Platinum/Diamonds were to meet at 8 am in the MDR. They picked us up at 7:40 am and I was off by 7:45 am and home by 10:30 am.

 

Isn't that funny? We never heard the balcony doors bang. I have had this problem on other cruises, and it is so annoying. I am a very light sleeper and the only thing I heard was the curtains rattling. I am so sorry it was a problem for you.

The dancers were performing contemporary ballet and lyrical jazz so "falling on the floor" is part of it. We just loved that show, but my girls are lyrical and contemporary dancers, so we understood the dancing. Wasn't the singing magnificent? And, Dr. E is just the best! Glad you had a good cruise.

[Lanierain]

Thanks for the review! Going on Magic in July- different itinerary though. What size were the magnetic hooks? I've heard some don't stay if it's not the right size.

[estillcrew]

They were small (the hook was probably an inch) and held up to 13 pounds. It was a pack of 5 white magnetic hooks. They worked great! I even used a couple to hold the curtains tight against the wall to keep that little bit of sun from coming in so early! I'll never leave home without them again.

[GeorgiaMomof4]

I am so sorry that there are no paragraph breaks and that several of my words are not spaced correctly. I typed this in a word document and then pasted it here. So sorry that it is so hard to read. It was fine before it was pasted!

 

 

Same thing happened to me when I did my Magic review. There is a Preview Post button you can use to look at what your post will look like when it's posted. I used that to fix the weird things it was doing to my word document before I posted mine when I figured out what it was doing. Just a hint for next time. Enjoyed your review!

[estillcrew]

Same thing happened to me when I did my Magic review. There is a Preview Post button you can use to look at what your post will look like when it's posted. I used that to fix the weird things it was doing to my word document before I posted mine when I figured out what it was doing. Just a hint for next time. Enjoyed your review!

 

Thanks. I reached out to cruise critic and asked how I could edit the format once the review was posted. They said that I could not edit it once it is posted. They also said that they are aware of the problem that occurs when you copy and paste from a word document and that their technology team is working to alleviate the problem now. Hopefully, it won't be a problem in the very near future. I will certainly preview the next one though! I didn't think it was necessary since I had edited it in the word document. Ha! BIG mistake!

[scrapfan]

Great review.

[estillcrew]

Great review.

 

Thanks!

[dleeohs]

We were on the same sailing. Although we had a great time, the bigger ships just aren't our cup of tea. The sewage smell in our cabin was awful. All day everyday. And the waiting in long lines for everything got old real fast. But it sure didn't ruin the vacation. I'd still go again in a heartbeat. [emoji4]

 

 

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Hi. In regards to the sewage smell in the bathroom, I read somewhere that was probably caused by an unused drain on the bathroom floor (for when the BR floods, or washing the floor with a lot of water??), which maybe under the toilet if you can't see it(?). If you throw a couple of cups of water down it, that should alleviate the problem. I know... It sound odd, but when I mentioned this to my husband, he agreed with the poster and said it makes sense.

[ommax2]

Thank You so much for posting such a great review! I am taking my 17/15 ds/dd on this cruise, so I enjoyed hearing the teens perspective. LOL, my teens are former competition dancers...my daughter switching to high school cheer(NCA High School National Champions...so a smart switch) and my son has retired from competition to take a contract with our professional ballet company(also, for him, a wise choice!). I am sure they will enjoy the show...unless they see things they want to correct...such dance snobs!

I can't wait to go on the cruise....thanks for sharing so much of your experience! :)

 

Mary Anne

[estillcrew]

Thank You so much for posting such a great review! I am taking my 17/15 ds/dd on this cruise, so I enjoyed hearing the teens perspective. LOL, my teens are former competition dancers...my daughter switching to high school cheer(NCA High School National Champions...so a smart switch) and my son has retired from competition to take a contract with our professional ballet company(also, for him, a wise choice!). I am sure they will enjoy the show...unless they see things they want to correct...such dance snobs!

I can't wait to go on the cruise....thanks for sharing so much of your experience! :)

 

Mary Anne

 

I'm sure they will have a blast! I sure hope the same performers are still singing and dancing. It really was incredible - especially if they love contemporary dance.

[rwilk1129]

Were you bothered by smoking on the casino deck? We cruised on Magic in January and it was terrible. We love the casino but were limited to time spent there due to stench. I would love to know that Carnival has done something to reduce the problem. I think every smoker congregated on that deck area and smoked like a chimney. I swore off the Magic but would love to sail her again if it has improved.

[ski_mom]

I'm assuming that your daughter and her friend couldn't use the spa, correct? I'm thinking of upgrading to spa cabins (we are going to be on the Splendor this summer), but our son is not 18 yet. The rest of us would be able to use the spa (my husband, 2 daughters, 19 & 20, my mom and myself), but he wouldn't be able to go. I'd imagine we wouldn't spend too much time there, but just wanted to verify about them being able to use.

[estillcrew]

I'm assuming that your daughter and her friend couldn't use the spa, correct? I'm thinking of upgrading to spa cabins (we are going to be on the Splendor this summer), but our son is not 18 yet. The rest of us would be able to use the spa (my husband, 2 daughters, 19 & 20, my mom and myself), but he wouldn't be able to go. I'd imagine we wouldn't spend too much time there, but just wanted to verify about them being able to use.

 

It says that you are supposed to be 18 to use the spa. They never tried to use the spa facilities because there were so many other things that they wanted to do with people their age. I would assume that when they put their room keys into the slot that opens the doors to the spa amenities that they would have been locked out since they are not 18. But, I am sure that they could have walked right in behind me after I opened the door and used the facilities no problem. If he is close to 18, I don't think anyone would ask him for an ID.

[ski_mom]

It says that you are supposed to be 18 to use the spa. They never tried to use the spa facilities because there were so many other things that they wanted to do with people their age. I would assume that when they put their room keys into the slot that opens the doors to the spa amenities that they would have been locked out since they are not 18. But, I am sure that they could have walked right in behind me after I opened the door and used the facilities no problem. If he is close to 18, I don't think anyone would ask him for an ID.

 

Thanks! That makes sense. I'm not sure that he'd want to go anyway, but I doubt he'd draw much attention if he did go in with us.

 

I'm just not sure which way to go - need to talk with my husband again and just decide one way or the other.

[nhsails]

First 2 in cabin get spa privileges in Cloud 9 cabins. Correct?

[bnorris10]

First 2 in cabin get spa privileges in Cloud 9 cabins. Correct?

That is correct and they must be at least 18

[cruiselover1980]

Thanks for the great review.

[estillcrew]

First 2 in cabin get spa privileges in Cloud 9 cabins. Correct?

 

We had two cabins with two people in each one, so I'm not sure about a third or fourth guest. But, I did read somewhere on here that someone said that Carnival confirmed that the third person did get the privileges. I'm not sure if that is correct or not, because I think you have to pay extra for the third person. Sorry I couldn't help more.

[clmsntgers]

I have a really stupid question. When you went to the Lido in the mornings how did you save chairs for your family? I'm an early riser but I can't see my teenagers getting down there at 7. What do you do when you go to breakfast to save them?

 

Our only cruise was Alaska so this really wasn't an issue for us. :).

 

Thanks for such a great review! I'm getting excited about the ship.

 

 

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[estillcrew]

I have a really stupid question. When you went to the Lido in the mornings how did you save chairs for your family? I'm an early riser but I can't see my teenagers getting down there at 7. What do you do when you go to breakfast to save them?

 

Our only cruise was Alaska so this really wasn't an issue for us. :).

 

Thanks for such a great review! I'm getting excited about the ship.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

They would give me their beach towels the night before (the ones supplied by Carnival). I would take all 4 towels and stretch them out over the chairs and put a bottle of sunscreen or a book on top of each towel in each chair. (If it's windy, you will need something more heavy like magazines or a beach bag so the towels don't blow away. They also make towel clips that clip your towel to your lounger to keep it from flying off). After setting up my chairs, I would leave my 4 chairs, go to Lido buffet, get my breakfast, and return to my lounger and eat. I would also leave to get another cup of coffee at times. No one ever took my chairs. Sometimes my husband would get out there and would stay in the lounger while I got my breakfast. We have done this on all cruises and it has worked just fine.

[sturderick]

My husband gets up before me so he just takes my towel with him and puts it on a chair with chair clips (super cheap on Amazon). He runs to get coffee and when I get out there we take turns getting breakfast and bringing it back to the chair to eat it. Sometimes he will go ahead and grab something to eat while waiting and has never had his chair taken. We quit saving chairs for the kids when they were smaller because they don't sit in them and it's a waste. They would sit on the edge of our chair if they wanted to rest for a minute.

[nhsails]

That is correct and they must be at least 18

Thanks, what I thought but sites have been saying different lately. Called and got same answer that corresponds with web site.

[crusinpsychRN]

Got a great haircut in the spa. I didn't like the metal rails you sit on in the T-pool. The warm loungers were heavenly. I didn't like the long walk to the Lido marketplace. I have a trip in November and changed from a spa balcony to deck 8 balcony, only 2 flights up and I'm in the marketplace.

 

Trivia was a lot of fun. Won 2 ships I gave away as I have too many cluttering up my house.

 

For some reason the tuna salad is very good, better than I make.

 

Got off in Mahogany Bay and bought a bottle of bourbon which I poured into a thermos and took back on board.

 

Looking forward to my November trip when I will be Diamond!

[iriecruising]

Just found this review and loved reading it. We just took an upgrade from a regular balcony to a spa balcony and will be traveling with our 15 and 17 year old daughters so your review fits us perfectly. We are looking forward to our first Spa cabin and really enjoying some time away with our girls! Thanks for your awesome review!