Carnival Magic 9/8/13 Eastern Caribbean

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 38

Review summary

This being my 4th sailing on the Carnival Magic, I was very familiar with the ship and it's amenities. I'm a Platinum cruiser with Carnival, this was my 12th sailing. This is so you understand that I am a fan of Carnival Cruise Lines, although I had a few disappointments this sailing. My husband uses a small mobility scooter, although he can walk, he just can't walk a long ways. Our port stops were Key West; Freeport, Grand Bahamas; and Nassau, Bahamas. Key West: We did the ship's Glass Bottom Boat tour, it was fine, they took us out to the barrier reef to see the coral and fish. We didn't have to stand around in the sun for long before we started the 10 minute walk over to the pier to get on the boat. After the tour, we walked around the area, finding ourselves back at the restaurant we ate at on our last visit. Then we found a tiny bakery that sells Tortuga Rum Cakes at prices lower than the ship - so we loaded up. Bought our magnets, and mailed a postcard. Then we were back on the ship early to nap before dinner. Freeport: This was our first visit, and I don't understand why some people would rather stay on the ship. The people were so very friendly, only a few vendors at the Port Lucaya Market were pushy, most were in good spirits and ready to welcome us to their island. The rain clouds gathered, we parked the scooter under a porch, and went to the ice cream shop for a treat and a rest. We sat on their porch and watched the rain pour and pour; watched the tourists run from porch to porch still shopping! After that we made our way across the street to the Lucaya Beach, it was so beautiful. The surf was pretty strong in the short time we were there, but I got my feet in the water and enjoyed the view. Beach was not crowded, we only saw about 4 other visitors. Maybe the rain chased them away! Nassau: Again we got off the ship with a loose plan to shop and go to the beach. Nassau presented more challenges with hubby on the scooter, more steps to raised sidewalks, restaurants on the second floor and no elevators. But we kept shopping, found a wonderful Bacardi Run Cake (had to have some to bring home). More magnets for my colection and for gifts. After asking locals where to eat, we found that most eateries in this area are on the second floor. But we persisted, and found one building with an elevator. Unfortunately, we had to work our way from the back of the building to the front through some very agressive vendors - and we weren't stopping. Now I can't recall the name of the place, but it was pretty good, if a bit expensive. We had BBQ Ribs and BBQ Chicken, I had the plaintains and potatoe salad, don't remember what vegies hubby had. But the food was good, and lots of it. Two plates and drinks was $32. So after that we started asking about going to the beach. We were told, oh we have a beautiful beach just down the street and around the bend in the road. Well, it was a bit farther than that, but it really was within walking distance for most folks. After we got there, I see the sign saying this is Junkaroo Beach. Just as we got there we see a Fat Tuesday's right on the water just to the edge of the beach. So being hot and tired (he was riding, but I had to walk), we oped to stop for a cold drink. Fun place, a couple of groups from the ship were there and jumping off the deck into the clear blue water below! Beautiful views of the sea and our ship! After a rest, I just had to get my "toes in the water and my azz in the sand" as the song goes! So, we went around the short fence, parked the scooter under the shade trees and I'm happy to be on the beach again! Sand is very nice, but there are lots of shells and pieces of coral. Water shoes helped my tender feet. But I did get out into the sea and enjoyed it so much. Beach was not crowded, not noisy just very beautiful and relaxing. Talked to some other folks from the Magic and enjoyed the beach time. Afterward, that walk back to the ship was much longer than going to the beach!! But we stopped to pick up a few more trinkets and back to the ship in plenty of time to nap before dinner. Ship: The ship was very clean as always. Our cabin on Main Deck Aft an oceanview was fantastic, our steward Louis and his crew did a lovely job taking care of the cabin and leaving us great towel animals. We enjoyed the hot tubs on deck 5, it was hot but not too hot - just right. Spent lots of time on deck 11 above the aft pool, some sun, some shade and comfy chairs for reading or falling asleep! I also got into the aft pool a time or two, not crowded most of the time. I found out they have water aerobics in the morning in that pool! Casino: We didn't gamble this time, just walked through - but plenty of people were enjoying it. Our table mates for dinner won on 3 consequitive nights - $200, $300 and $1200!! They had a free cruise!! Shows: We only went to two shows, the Illusion show and another singing and dancing show - have to get the Fun Times out to get the names! But they were both entertaining and worth the time. We also went to the adult comedy shows on two separate nights. We saw 4 different comedians, all very funny. Here is a note to all guests: If you don't want to be part of the comedy show, don't sit in the first two rows!! During the show one guest got into a confrontation with our comic - but fortunately it just provided more laughs for the rest of us. Food: We enjoyed omlets most mornings on Lido Aft. Everything was fresh, and tasty, you could get as much or as little bacon as you wanted. The pastries were great, as was the fruit. Then we decided to go to mid-ship Lido for some pancakes - and that didn't go well. I have no idea why, but the outside 1/2" of the pancakes all around were so hard you couldn't eat them. Hubby cut out the middle and ate that part. I just went with the French Toast which was great - soft and fresh. We went back to omlets the next day! Lunch: we ate at Lido Marketplace, trying different things, I also had burgers twice, loved 'em! The Chocolate Extravaganza was at lunch time one day. Turns out chocolate dipped pineapple is pretty good. We had some other items, and they were good, but usually rich! Dinner: We were in Southern Lights dining room, on deck 4 - the upper level near the aft windows, for early dining. So we got to enjoy the beautiful sunsets with dinner. Usually we are on the mail level, and can't see out the windows so this was a new experience. Our wait staff were efficient, Martin was our lead waiter. I would say I enjoyed 95% of the food I ordered. On the last night I had the crab cake, and that didn't seem to sit well - but I didn't get sick or anything. Hubby didn't like the Prime Rib - he usually doesn't eat food of that nature. The Warm Chocolate Melting Cake had too much melting and not enough cake. The Bitter and Blac was delicious, can I have more, please!!! I also enjoyed the souffle, but my tablemates declared it unacceptable because it didn't stand up beyond the top of the dish - give me a break. We partook of the Swirls ice cream everyday!! Had the pizza a couple of times, it was great. One day for lunch we went to Cucino del Capitano, pick your pasta, pick your sauce and addons. Mine was great - linguini with alfredo sauce, grilled checken and mushrooms. Hubby liked his linguini with marinara sauce. Only issues we had were the Cesear salad was so fishy tasting I could not eat more than one bite. And then our server did not come back to refill our drinks. Maybe I should have just done that myself. Other complaints: At least one elevator in each bank was out of service most of the week. In fact we were on an elevator with other guests, it stopped at various floors, then stopped to let people off at 5, then the doors closed and it didn't go anywhere. Our deck 1 light was off, so we tried pushing it again, and it wouldn't stay lit, we pushed the open door button and we were still on 5. So we tried the deck 1 button again, but since it would go, we got off and waited for another elevator. Rather disconcerting. One sea day we heard a terrible bang, almost like an engine backfire, and I thought "OMG, what happened?!" But we kept sailing and no announcements that I heard, so I guess it was nothing to be concerned about. Things I learned: In order to enjoy a cruise, or any vacation, you need to come with a good attitude. We sailed with some people who were regulars on RCCL, and they came with the attitude of "this is a real downgrade for us, but we're going to try it and complain." Everyday there were complaints about well they do it better on RCCL. Did you know a negative attitude is contageous, but I fought it off and just enjoyed myself. Overall, it was a great cruise vacation, I enjoyed the rest and relaxing times. Got back to work and people said, "you look very relaxed" and I still am week later!!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

Onboard Activities

Entertainment

Children's Programs

Service and Staff

Ship Quality

Cabin / Stateroom

Ports of call

Galveston, Texas

Key West, Florida

Freeport, Grand Bahama Island

Nassau, Bahamas

Other reviews of this sailing