Magic Review

[lottiegreen56]

We said we weren't cruising as much this year on mass-market lines due to a couple Viking Cruises that we've booked this year and going on so many the past couple years. That's not going to well because we just got back from a super last minute cruise on the Magic in addition to being booked for the Valor in August and an RCL trip in August. 

 

Our DS got a fabulous deal on this cruise. He and his partner were Elite. He got a call from the upgrade fairy and somehow in the conversation with the casino people figured out that Hubby and I could jump on this ship for very cheap and BOTH get significant free play. So we booked less than a month out (thankfully we have lots of vacation/self-employed-ish working situation)

 

This was our second or third time cruising out of Ft. Lauderdale. We flew in the morning of and took an Uber (or maybe Lyft) to port. We all agreed to pack light so I'm not sure others would be able to do this with 4 people and luggage but it worked for us and was economical. Our driver was super friendly and had lived in DC, Ohio and Indiana so the ride went by really fast as we had a lot of good small talk topics.

 

We all had priority boarding either through status or the casino so it went very quickly and painlessly. I think I started slamming Blue Iguana Tacos by 11:30 which is a new record for us.

 

We get free drinks in the casino but DS and his partner both had free cheers through the casino. As a surprise, they bought us cheers. I've only done it a couple times but it definitely made us start the party a little earlier than we normally do. Even though we are females, DS's partner and I both like beers more than our better halves so we were able to pace ourselves a little better but by 3:30, everyone was ready for a nap. 

 

 

[lottiegreen56]

DS's partner took one for the team and checked us all in for the muster drill. She said she just swiped but cards and it wasn't a big deal. We all slept until about 8:00 and missed our early dinner. We all love the MDR on CCL and we hardly ever miss but we were all just exhausted. We opted for pizza and hit a couple events then played in the casino until pretty late.

 

We all miraculously won sizable amounts the first night which made the casino experience a ton of fun all week because we all played on house money the entire trip. I don't think we'll have an experience like this for years to come in the casino, believe me when I say it NEVER works out like this lol! To top things off, we all maxed out our Cheers!

 

Day 2-3

 

The weather wasn't spectacular during the trip but we had been expecting as much. Unfortunately that meant that we missed HMC. A lot of people on these boards talk up aspects of cruising and they can be Carnival biased. One thing they aren't exaggerating though is how nice HMC is to experience and how well Carnival puts on the day there. We were all really looking forward to having a relaxing day but missing ports is one of the things that happens. 

 

Due to the missed port the day turned into a seaday and both days we all had a nice breakfast in the MDR. The first day our waiter turned out to be the waiter for dinner so we chatted a bit with him. We all spent the day in the gym or casino due to the weather and lack of activities. I think everyone did pretty well again, the casino comped us all steakhouse selections because we already had cheers and left some goodies in our room. 

 

We love Seadays but nothing really stands out about the day which is probably a good thing. We enjoyed the comedy shows in the evening and had nice dinner.s I still hadn't put a card on my sail and sign account but the lines were insane all day, there was even a line for platinum people.

 

We all maxed out cheers out these two days as well. I know it makes us seem like lushes but we don't really drink at home. I don't know if it is vacation changing the brain chemistry, weak drinks or the fact that we space everything out all day but I can't imagine functioning on 15 drinks anywhere but on a cruise ship. We did it every day on this ship. 

 

 

 

 

[lottiegreen56]

Day 4

 

We were all very eager to get off the ship today and were looking forward for Amber Cove. Amber Cove days tend to also be a very relaxing day without many logistical concerns. Today was no different. We went to the sky bar which we've patronized countless times and never seem to get tired of it. Despite our patronage, I'm not sure that is actually the official name of the place! We keep in contact with a few of the servers and bartenders there via facebook. Those kids are just so much fun and have mastered hospitality. A few of them had actually left for the week to visit friends they'd made in the states but we all had a blast. Will make a point to ask someone the official name when I get home!

 

We participated in a lot of activities on the ship on this day, the entertainment staff was working overtime it seemed on the second leg of the trip. I don't know if there was a lot of complaints about HMC but everyone seemed nicer than normal this cruise after HMC. 

 

I'm also embarrassed to say we skipped dinner again. Again, I don't think we were acting a fool but we started drinking as soon as we were done doing our various workouts for the day. I noticed we all ate a lot less than normal this trip and I'm chalking it up to drinking so much. I am a Blue Iguana Tacos freak and I think I only eat them twice this trip! 

 

Day 5

 

After hearing about the pool getting shut down due to someone losing bowel control, we were all pretty grossed out by going to Margaritaville at Grand Turk. My DS and DH used to really like the place but it's never been my favorite. We all planned to get chairs and umbrellas and take a trip down to Jack's Shack at some point.

 

We all slept in and were very late getting off the ship. We nixed Jack's and just decided to lounge in chairs and dip in the ocean. In all honestly, I've had better days in Grand Turk and it was our own fault that we didn't have a better time. 

 

Once we got back to the ship, we collectively got about as rowdy as we'd been the entire cruise. DS is a ham and started dancing to one of the bands and drew a group of onlookers. Not just because he's my boy but he does have some good moves. He's also a giant so I'm not sure if people were impressed or surprised to see him moving like that!

 

My DS, his partner and DH went on an amazing craps run when I switched to blackjack. I gave a ton back and they won a small fortune. They claim the casino closed early to stop them 🙂

 

 

 

[lottiegreen56]

will post moar later

[UKJJ]

Thanks for the review. Sailed on the magic our last 2 cruises, and have 2 more booked on her. Always book for the itinerary, not the ship, but somehow keep finding our way back to her. 

[lottiegreen56]

Day 6

 

Final Sea Day, we spent most of the day enjoying the casino and the dining establishments. It seemed like they were trying to cram a ton of activities in on the last day and we missed a couple trivia contests that we really wanted to attend. There was a group of dancers on the ship that weren't affiliated with Carnival that put on a performance. They did a fine job though it was unclear to me how they were permitted to do this. 

 

We did really well in the casino again today. DH and I have been gambling for almost 40 years and DS has been gambling since he was 5 years old in family card games or at the horse track. I wouldn't say we are completely degenerates but it is definitely the Green family vice of choice. On the flight home yesterday, we all talked about how we've never had this type of luck before. I don't want to give out hard numbers but I won the least amount among us 4 and I will likely have to fill out a form at the bank to deposit my money 🙂 . DH and DS will definitely have to fill out a form and DS's partner is right on the threshhold. DH and DS both said this puts them in the black for the year which is really great but also a testament to people that gambling is a losing proposition! 

 

Given our play, I do hope they have some good comps coming our way the rest of the year. Even though we're trying to ease out of cruising so much (need to focus on some life projects and wedding planning for another DS), I can't turn down a free or really cheap week at sea! 

 

 

[lottiegreen56]

will post overall impressions/views tonight. This is not a great review will do better next time.

Edited June 23, 2019 by lottiegreen56

[lottiegreen56]

Debarkation/Last Day

 

We woke up at 7:00 and were off the ship after a quick bite for breakfast. Packing light really helped us. The staff were polite and helpful the entire morning and we are sad to be leaving them. 

 

[lottiegreen56]

Thoughts on the Magic

 

This is my second time on the ship and the third for DH, DS and his partner. The Pride will forever remain my favorite ship but this ship really grew on me the second time. I love the layout and the ease of navigation compared to some of the newer Royal ships or Carnival Refurbs. This is the newest Carnival ship that we've been on and I'm curious to see how much they deviated from this class other than size.

 

The casino seems made to handle large crowds of gamblers. I don't think it would have been enjoyable to have so many people on any of ship's casino that I've been in. The other area we use a lot besides the casino is the gym. I wish there were more room for free weights and a free hot tub in the gym like some CCL ships and ships on other lines. The focus of this spa area's design was clearly maxmizing revenue from spa services and fitness classes. There's nothing wrong with that per se, but the experience suffers for people working out as a result.

 

My other critique of this ship is there need to be one more bar, preferably one that allows smoking. I'd be fine if they removed the Guy's BBQ area to accommodate this, others will probably disagree but the casino area gets worse and worse with crowds of smokers not gaming on almost ever sailing.

 

[lottiegreen56]

The Staff

 

The staff was really good on this itinerary. The entertainment people were very nice and outgoing but not in your face/trying to sell things at every opportunity. At times it seems like they hire folks who are performers first and hospitality minded second. The Magic entertainment people were not that way and were very good at reading people and reacting. 

 

Our cabin steward and his assistant were on top of our room and we never did without. We weren't in our room much this trip so we didn't really talk to them too much after the first day but we were happy to give them an extra hundred (on top of gratuities) at the end of the trip due to the attention they gave us. 

 

Our wait staff were all really nice. Our sailing was the first for our head waiter in his position and he did a great job. His assistants were all strong and capable in their own right and they formed a great team. It was a shorter sailing for us and we skipped dinner twice but they also earned some extra pecuniary love from us on the last night.

 

The casino staff was hit or miss this cruise. It seemed to me that a lot of them were very experienced and kept the games moving which we appreciate. They just didn't seem to be very informative about things going on in the casino or while in port, usually the casino staff know everything about everything on the ship so this was odd. It could be that not all of the staff were full time on the Magic and it didn't ruin our trip, just a deviation from past sailings.

 

The bar staff was really good. They were friendly but efficient. If I owned a bar, I'd stock it with bar staff from the Magic. The bar servers were fast and took care of their "regulars" which we loved. 

Edited June 24, 2019 by lottiegreen56

[lottiegreen56]

The Food

 

We love the MDR but the length of dinner needs to be reevaluated. We aren't fans of the steakhouse or Carnival's other specialty dining options and aren't buffet people so we are a captive audience. The line has embraced casual with its lax enforcement of the dress code and lack of table clothes. We don't think these things are bad but the experience should keep evolving to a contemporary passenger if that's the vision.

 

The new brunch, breakfast and lunch menus in the MDR were delicious. The food at dinner was also always good though I wish they had more and better seafood options other than shrimp. 

 

We didn't get a Guy's Burger but I had Blue Iguana it is still the best taco on the sea. We ate more Pizza and Deli than normal and Carnival has stepped up its game in those areas, we've had the new menu several times but they have got some of the kinks out the deli is a really tasty/efficient operation. 

[lottiegreen56]

Cheers/Booze

 

We were impressed with Cheers. It was a lot of fun trying new and fancy drinks that we don't normally drink or they don't have at the casino. There's quite a bit of sticker shock associated with the purchase (it was a gift in our case but it is a lot of money). That said, we drank heavily and didn't have to worry about a thing. We also drank several soft drinks, energy drinks and powerades throughout the day and that was the key to never getting too drunk and never getting a hangover. I did have one complaint related to cheers which I'll save for that section.