Just off Magic & disappointed

[hard_eight]

Desert Eagle .50AE

[frayedend]

I love it!

[Bernardo62]

I guess you get what you pay for. We will be back on the Magic in March with my brother's family because they are on a budget (so Carnival it is) and I get to go back to Grand Turk! :)

 

Basing a target cruise audience is very degrading!! It shows no respect.....

If Carnival had people looking on here they should find you out and refuse your service!!!

[A&Jfamily]

We cruised the week before you. It was a last minute decision resulting from a RCCL cancellation due to my husband's work schedule. I didn't write a review but I was disappointed in Carnival as well. You hit the nail on the head with many of your comments. I, too, have cruised RCCL and Disney as well as Carnival, last Carnival cruise being on the Magic (ironically) from Galveston in 2012. Some things we didn't expect:

 

-My kids did not like the Kids Club.

 

-Our Cove Balcony stayed dirty with not only sea spray (which is understandable) but debris and there was standing water 100% of the time.

 

-We booked too late for Early Dining so took a chance with Anytime Dining and it was utter chaos. One night I ordered ice tea with dinner and didn't receive it until after the dessert order was taken.

 

-The splash pad and water slide areas were closed for the first 2 days of the cruise, not for wind, but for "scheduled maintenance".

 

-The workers were not helpful at all. I would ask several workers the same question and get different answers in which non proved to be true.

 

 

 

Of course there were great things too:

 

-Dr. E is amazing! My kids are still singing "Good Morning Good Morning!"

 

-I cruise for the ports and like to visit new places. This cruise went to Aruba, Curaco was replaced with Dominican Republic, and Grand Turk. I have never been to these places and Grand Turk is quite possibly my favorite place on Earth right now.

 

-We woke early enough to enjoy the splash pad and water slides (when open), usually alone.

 

-The omelette lines were never long (in comparison to RCCL) AND there was full breakfast buffet on the last day.

 

-Popcorn with the evening movies were a big hit for my littles.

 

-Disembarkation was a breeze!

 

 

 

I guess you get what you pay for. We will be back on the Magic in March with my brother's family because they are on a budget (so Carnival it is) and I get to go back to Grand Turk! :)

 

 

 

I am no Carnival loyalist as I actually prefer Princess more. But Carnival is a great bang for your buck and has the largest presence in the Caribbean with a huge selection of ports of call. Those giant mega ships just can't go places like Grand Turk.

 

And just to put your thoughts in perspective, it would seem you had a better cruise on Carnival than I did ever on my first cruise on RCI. The food was not good and the service lackluster at best. It put me off cruising for 5 years until I decided to give it another shot with Carnival. So no, you don't always get what you pay for....imho

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Kckamel]

We are sailing on the Magic in just under 7 weeks....and I hope it's not as crowded as when you sailed!

 

 

 

When are you sailing?? My DH and I are cruising on the Magic Sept. 16th! 43 days to go!

[Havingfun2010]

Although many of you are Carnival loyalist on here and that is great for you but this is our experience so please don't inflame as this board is for all opinions. We had large group of family and sail every other couple years together have been on Royal, Carnival and Disney. Our last Carnival cruise though was 2010 on the Dream which we enjoyed. However this time Carnival Magic lacked so much which makes cruising fun!

Embarkation was fine until we got on the boat at about 12:15 & it was a complete zoo never have i seen a lido buffet area with lines that wrapped around the entire inside, huge lines for burgers and burritos, no where to go and down right stifling hot it was so frustrating off to bad start however next time i will make sure we arrive after 1:30 when cabins are open and maybe less people everywhere!! However this foreshadow what was to come, Lines, Lines, and more lines, and people everywhere on this ship!!

The ships public areas are just too small especially the pools and lido buffet etc for the amount of passengers!

Definitely carnival cutbacks, sorry but the food on this ship was below average & not what we have experienced on past cruises. Buffet was awful & dining room dinner choices were few and overall food came out cold and flavorless, the servers are so overworked that when we asked for other things they were never brought and refills were non existant on drinks and drinks took forever, many drinks we ordered but never received.

Entertainment was sparse and consisted mostly of line dancing to same songs, sea days had few activities by the pool only hair chest contest & loud music. The shows were few and not very good and there just weren't a lot of night time activities, the deck party was no food, no midnight buffet or snacks just once again passengers dancing. Only late night food was pizza and the line was so long and slow! Room service twice ran out of food we ordered on menu!

Our cabin was great if it wasn't so hot and never cooled down and basically carnival did nothing to help us offered a fan but never received it! However the cabins are spacious and tons of storage and the closets were big with lots of hangers the bathroom had lots of shelves.

On a good note, the ship was very clean and always being cleaned especially the bathrooms, all the workers we encountered were very friendly and helpful, and working hard! The ports were great, nassau, amber cove (although wished they made a beach area not just a pool) and Grand turk was the nicest! Embarkation was rather painless! The weather was great all week so that was nice, best part the drinks were strong so we drank more then we ate!

We've always liked carnival in past but after not sailing on them in 7 years, things have changed for the worse and too many other choices out there when your spending way over $1000 pp and additional $380 for drink package! If you have any questions i will try to help, every cruise is what you make it of course and we made it fun cause we had large group but the Carnival Magic disappointed all of us:(

 

Thanks for posting and ignore the cheerleaders.

[madiaka]

We cruised the week before you. It was a last minute decision resulting from a RCCL cancellation due to my husband's work schedule. I didn't write a review but I was disappointed in Carnival as well. You hit the nail on the head with many of your comments. I, too, have cruised RCCL and Disney as well as Carnival, last Carnival cruise being on the Magic (ironically) from Galveston in 2012. Some things we didn't expect:

 

-My kids did not like the Kids Club.

 

-Our Cove Balcony stayed dirty with not only sea spray (which is understandable) but debris and there was standing water 100% of the time.

 

-We booked too late for Early Dining so took a chance with Anytime Dining and it was utter chaos. One night I ordered ice tea with dinner and didn't receive it until after the dessert order was taken.

 

-The splash pad and water slide areas were closed for the first 2 days of the cruise, not for wind, but for "scheduled maintenance".

 

-The workers were not helpful at all. I would ask several workers the same question and get different answers in which non proved to be true.

 

 

 

Of course there were great things too:

 

-Dr. E is amazing! My kids are still singing "Good Morning Good Morning!"

 

-I cruise for the ports and like to visit new places. This cruise went to Aruba, Curaco was replaced with Dominican Republic, and Grand Turk. I have never been to these places and Grand Turk is quite possibly my favorite place on Earth right now.

 

-We woke early enough to enjoy the splash pad and water slides (when open), usually alone.

 

-The omelette lines were never long (in comparison to RCCL) AND there was full breakfast buffet on the last day.

 

-Popcorn with the evening movies were a big hit for my littles.

 

-Disembarkation was a breeze!

 

 

 

I guess you get what you pay for. We will be back on the Magic in March with my brother's family because they are on a budget (so Carnival it is) and I get to go back to Grand Turk! :)

 

 

 

What didn't your kids like about the kids clubs? I have the Magic booked for New Years Eve and I'm trying to find feedback on this cruise from a kids perspective - when it's at capacity. I've seen fun times but not much else.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[PokerBradOKC]

Having been on 42 cruises (7 On Carnival) I came to the realization years ago that no matter what the cruise line, the gripes and complaints here on Cruise Critic about subjective things like food and crowds and unhappy crew members etc.. never translate to the actual onboard experience.

 

The Vista crowding issue gets legs here on Cruise Critic from people who have never been on the ship and jump to conclusions based on hearsay and speculation. Same thing happened on here with the Destiny > Sunshine refit. Yet most of the 2600 people a week who sail her I'm sure have a great time.

 

Take a look at You Tube and the great videos made of the Vista. These people took the time and effort to shoot video and present their fun vacation. If they were that pissed off and disgruntled and the ship was sooooo bad, they could use the same footage to post a "Carnival Sux" video and here's proof.

 

Keep in mind that Cruise Critic reflects a miniscule 1% maybe 2% of people who cruise. If a complaint topic has negative 150 posters, that's not even enough people to fill up 1 lifeboat. Let alone a ship or a fleet.

Best post I've read in a long time.

[Florings]

We are sailing on the Magic in just under 7 weeks....and I hope it's not as crowded as when you sailed!

 

 

 

When are you sailing?? My DH and I are cruising on the Magic Sept. 16th! 43 days to go!

 

I'm sailing with you!

[bUU]

Take a look at You Tube and the great videos made of the Vista. These people took the time and effort to shoot video and present their fun vacation. If they were that pissed off and disgruntled and the ship was sooooo bad, they could use the same footage to post a "Carnival Sux" video and here's proof.

 

Keep in mind that Cruise Critic reflects a miniscule 1% maybe 2% of people who cruise. If a complaint topic has negative 150 posters, that's not even enough people to fill up 1 lifeboat. Let alone a ship or a fleet.

Well said. For some, there seems to be a very intense motivation towards seeing and writing heavily about the negatives and an almost Cavalier dismissal of any positives. It happened in another cruise lines forum this week but it's relevant to this: something new was introduced, a three-hour long parade of chocolate confections through the public areas of the ship in the evenings after dinner. And get some posters simply could not resist finding the bad.

 

As much as I appreciate the advantages that Knowledge from Cruise Critic has provided me I do recognize that it imposes on all of us a sacrifice. By being exposed to the intensely deep digging for negatives we run the risk of becoming as jaded as those who are fixated on the negatives.

 

 

This message may have been entered using voice recognition. Please excuse any typos.

[A&Jfamily]

What didn't your kids like about the kids clubs? I have the Magic booked for New Years Eve and I'm trying to find feedback on this cruise from a kids perspective - when it's at capacity. I've seen fun times but not much else.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

I know you didn't direct this at me, but we were on in December, the week before Christmas. 4600 on board of the possible approx. 4650. My then 12 yo did not care for Magic's Circle C; he is very athletic and it seemed that so much of their time was spent either doing arts and crafts or else preparing for the Christmas show. He was not interested in any of that. He ended up spending most of his time with his 18 yo brother, who we had just picked up from college. 4 months apart did wonders for their relationship!:cool:

[Pellaz]

Looking at going on Magic next October (2018) and really watching the reviews, both good and bad. Hopefully it won't be as crowded in October as during summertime. Magic seems to have a lot of "free" dining venues so with some luck, we can skip some of the lines.

--But not the line at Mongolian Wok; I haven't had the Wok in almost four years and I'm happy to wait. :)

 

I am no Carnival loyalist as I actually prefer Princess more. But Carnival is a great bang for your buck and has the largest presence in the Caribbean with a huge selection of ports of call. Those giant mega ships just can't go places like Grand Turk.

 

I'm really curious as to the maximum ship size that can be accommodated at Grand Turk. We'll be there on Independence of the Seas -- a large ship even by today's standards -- next February and when the destination was announced I thought "Wow, awesome, but that's a big ship for there."

 

It can't be too often that a big Royal ship goes to Grand Turk, either. (It's a charter.) I cheered lustily last February when the port announcement was made from the pool-deck stage, as GT is one of my favorite places on Earth. I wanna retire there. :D

[CP3o]

Lines for food are valid complaints, really a drag on vacation. I don't think can totally blame summer season and not put some blame on the line itself and capacity controls and staffing.

 

I was on a summer Harmony cruise and rarely had much in the way of lines to get food or drinks. Slides , flowrider, zip line etc and standby lines for shows, sure.

 

I'm concerned about the comments on March too as considering Conquest in March. Previously on freedom on March cruise didn't have many issues w lines for food, but it was years ago.

 

Did have a ridiculous 45 min wait to get off the ship in Dominican Republic that nearly caused us to miss excursion. Beyond frustrating to be docked and in long hot line to "ding" off the ship when had sailed the year before and quickly walked off oasis class with over twice the number of pax.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[AdGuyMG]

Lines for food are valid complaints, really a drag on vacation. I don't think can totally blame summer season and not put some blame on the line itself and capacity controls and staffing.

 

I was on a summer Harmony cruise and rarely had much in the way of lines to get food or drinks.

 

I was on the Harmony late last November and had one of the best overall experiences ever.

 

Yet poohbearmom14 seemed to have had a different experience than we did. Go figure.

 

You'll need to change the format of the dot com

 

https://cruiseline dot com/ship/harmony-of-the-seas/review/435485

Edited August 5, 2017 by AdGuyMG

[bUU]

Lines for food are valid complaints, really a drag on vacation. I don't think can totally blame summer season and not put some blame on the line itself and capacity controls and staffing.

Yet the ships still sail full and with a lot less discounting that we consumers would like - I think there are as many complaints about lack of discounting as there are complaints about long lines at the buffet.

 

I think that it is a good warning for folks: All these cruise lines do the same thing. They have a set crew. They don't have more crew members magically appear on cruises when there are more cabins with three or four in the cabin. During school holiday weeks, the number of cabins with three or four in the cabin is likely to climb: The only choices we have is either to expect a more crowded ship or choose a different week to sail.

 

I'm concerned about the comments on March too as considering Conquest in March. Previously on freedom on March cruise didn't have many issues w lines for food, but it was years ago.

This is another phenomenon. I remember talking about the "light" season at Disney World. I remember walking onto practically every attraction the first week after New Year's, for example. No more. The economy is such that there is seemingly inexhaustible demand for leisure offerings. So when demand skyrockets, prices skyrocket. But we're paying less for our upcoming cruise than we paid for a comparable cruise ten years ago, adjusted for inflation. So if prices aren't skyrocketing, then that means costs are being contained, and that's invariably going to be reflected in service quality. Again, the only choices we have is to expect lower service quality or choose the "next level up" cruise line.

[BossOfTheHouse]

What didn't your kids like about the kids clubs? I have the Magic booked for New Years Eve and I'm trying to find feedback on this cruise from a kids perspective - when it's at capacity. I've seen fun times but not much else.

 

TBH, I am not sure. My 4 year old was excited to go. We left her for about an hour and when we picked her up, the Camp Counselors said she had been asking for us for 30 minutes. She was fine, just not engaged in the activity they were playing (a version of duck-duck-goose) which looked really fun to me! When we asked her why she didn't like it, she said "it just wasn't fun." We asked a few times during the cruise if she would like to go back and give it another shot and she declined. Which is odd, because she is usually the one that will try something "just one more time."

 

My 9 year old only went because it was nap/rest time and he didn't want to rest. He didn't get to partake in the scavenger hunts because we didn't allow him to check himself out. He liked it more than his sister but could take it or leave it. I think he was hoping for more sports activities instead of crafts. He only went 2 or 3 times the entire 8 days.

[FLSteve11]

TBH, I am not sure. My 4 year old was excited to go. We left her for about an hour and when we picked her up, the Camp Counselors said she had been asking for us for 30 minutes. She was fine, just not engaged in the activity they were playing (a version of duck-duck-goose) which looked really fun to me! When we asked her why she didn't like it, she said "it just wasn't fun." We asked a few times during the cruise if she would like to go back and give it another shot and she declined. Which is odd, because she is usually the one that will try something "just one more time."

 

My 9 year old only went because it was nap/rest time and he didn't want to rest. He didn't get to partake in the scavenger hunts because we didn't allow him to check himself out. He liked it more than his sister but could take it or leave it. I think he was hoping for more sports activities instead of crafts. He only went 2 or 3 times the entire 8 days.

 

My DD has been on a bunch of cruises, and she is hit or miss in regards to the kids clubs. Sometimes she loves them, sometimes she wants nothing to do with them. Most of the time I think it's the other kids in there rather then the actual program. If she goes in and meets some kids she really clicks with, then she enjoys it. If she doesn't, then she is not interested. I think that's more particular with girls as well, rather then boys.

[BossOfTheHouse]

My DD has been on a bunch of cruises, and she is hit or miss in regards to the kids clubs. Sometimes she loves them, sometimes she wants nothing to do with them. Most of the time I think it's the other kids in there rather then the actual program. If she goes in and meets some kids she really clicks with, then she enjoys it. If she doesn't, then she is not interested. I think that's more particular with girls as well, rather then boys.

 

Interesting point.

 

This was my 4 year old's 2nd cruise and my 9 year old's 6th. There was a very friendly 11 year old that we met when getting on the cruise. She hung out with my kids a good portion of the cruise and didn't like the kids club either. I also talked to several parents (as we watched our kids play outside of the clubs) and every one said their kids didn't like it either.

[Bernardo62]

What didn't your kids like about the kids clubs? I have the Magic booked for New Years Eve and I'm trying to find feedback on this cruise from a kids perspective - when it's at capacity. I've seen fun times but not much else.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

A New Year cruise for kids?

I've been on 2 NewYears cruise and the experience was not for kids!!

But its your business....

[madiaka]

A New Year cruise for kids?

 

I've been on 2 NewYears cruise and the experience was not for kids!!

 

But its your business....

 

 

 

I've been on several cruises and even though it hasn't been over New Year's Eve with a child, I have enough experience dealing with people and drunk idiots to know what to and what not to expose my child to. There are several things I've seen parents do that my husband and I won't do with our child.

 

I was concerned about how crowded it is for water slides, games, golf, etc. and was asking for a perspective on activities in the kids club. He wouldn't be partying on deck with a bunch of adults. But for those that choose to do that, it's their choice.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[madiaka]

TBH, I am not sure. My 4 year old was excited to go. We left her for about an hour and when we picked her up, the Camp Counselors said she had been asking for us for 30 minutes. She was fine, just not engaged in the activity they were playing (a version of duck-duck-goose) which looked really fun to me! When we asked her why she didn't like it, she said "it just wasn't fun." We asked a few times during the cruise if she would like to go back and give it another shot and she declined. Which is odd, because she is usually the one that will try something "just one more time."

 

 

 

My 9 year old only went because it was nap/rest time and he didn't want to rest. He didn't get to partake in the scavenger hunts because we didn't allow him to check himself out. He liked it more than his sister but could take it or leave it. I think he was hoping for more sports activities instead of crafts. He only went 2 or 3 times the entire 8 days.

 

 

 

Thanks for the feedback. My son went on Disney Magic and Allure of the Seas. He seems to like the clubs - somewhat. But, he likes the outside activities as well so I was just trying to get some more feedback.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Bosrox]

Interesting point.

 

This was my 4 year old's 2nd cruise and my 9 year old's 6th. There was a very friendly 11 year old that we met when getting on the cruise. She hung out with my kids a good portion of the cruise and didn't like the kids club either. I also talked to several parents (as we watched our kids play outside of the clubs) and every one said their kids didn't like it either.

 

For every kid who didn't like the kids club, there's a kid who does like it.

[PattBenatar]

You hate an honest opinion?

I love honest opinions but so does that make mine invalid?

 

Image 30+ people come up to CS and say we wish to use our vacation guarantee because of the following reasons:

1.

2

3

4

5 etc........

Don't you think before the days out everyone of the issues would be completed? With or without the group departing? Of course it would. Because they have to answer to corporate how they lost 30+k in revenue.

 

Instead they come back home disappointed because it was something they could fix.

 

Anyone says its crowded during meals on lido, you are going there on the wrong times. No need to have lunch at 11-12, have it at 10:30 or 2 pm. I know this because I am bound to a wheel chair and cruise alone and I know one thing, while cruising you never should be in a hurry.

 

Early dinner I am always there 10 min prior to doors opening just because it is easier to maneuver around a empty dining room vs a full one.

 

I have never had any issues being "over crowded", even the elevators, who cares if I have to wait because the "entitled cruisers" thinks its ok to walk past me after being there before them, am I going to get my shorts into a bunch? Nope, I have no where I need to be. Its a ship, where ever I am going will still be there in 10 min. I love it when they can not even look at me in my eye when they steal my spot.

 

I really can not see how most complaints can not be fixed by just making the staff aware, if it still is not fixed within a reasonable time frame go up the chain of command.

[ray98]

I have never been on any ship on any of the big 3 that wasn't a mad house during embarkation. It really is unavoidable, thousands of passengers all looking for lunch and the cabins aren't ready. If that bothers you so bad you are best just boarding later.

[sjcruiser]

Agreed

 

If it was so bad why did you not take advantage of the guarantee? I really hate when I see threads like this that everything was so horrible from the start that they did not just get off the ship.