Nothing short of "An Experience"

Let me start off by saying that the Carnival Magic is an amazing ship. Absolutely beautiful inside and out. I honestly don’t even know where to start with this review. So I suppose I will start with where it all begins, getting on the ship. My wife and I arrived about 30 minutes earlier than they start to let people on the boat. The check-in process was no worse than any IAH or Hobby Airport. Actually, it was way quicker (as it should be) and the people working there were ready to answer any questions we had and were very helpful. There was only a minimal wait, and we were on the ship. A lot of people were complaining that it was “taking too long” to get on… but they are just “those kind of people” who, I promise, will find a way to somehow not enjoy a vacation on a cruise. They will be the people that will yell at other people when trying to get off the boat, complain constantly about the food and give the rooms a bad review because they were “small”… uhh…. You’re on a freaking boat, haha, can’t you be excited you have your own room at all while floating around in international waters? Anywho, the whole process of getting on the boat posed no problems I can recall and the instant we stepped foot on the ship we were greeted with smiles, “welcomes” and an overwhelming sense of “awesome!!”.

To put it plainly, it was VERY grand, absolutely beautiful. So, off now to do our favorite thing… EAT! Haha. Food was already open and being prepared when we boarded… as if they knew we were coming! MAGIC (get it…? Magic? Surely I am the first person EVER to make that pun, amirite?!). The food, no matter where you go, is awesome and prepared right in front of you, especially the little side places like Tandoor and Pizza Pirate. Talk about fresh, hot and delicious! Tandoor has this “Buttered Chicken” that I have NO idea what goes in it but I want to fill a bathtub full of it and live in it. It’s that good.

So after eating 3 family fills worth of food, my wife and I were off to explore the boat! Everywhere we went the staff were all smiles. We really felt safe, welcomed and like we were the only people on the cruise. They really have a way of making you feel special!

Sorry if I jump around, but there is just so much to talk about! Next, the activities… there is literally multiple things going on every minute every day. My wife and I had a BLAST getting the itineraries and marking out what we wanted to do while making sure to always devote time for Bingo every day (hey, I’m 27 going on 80). Who would have thought Bingo would be so awesome? I cant believe how many reviews I read of people saying that there is nothing to do. We wish we had 7 MORE days so we COULD do everything. The people that “don’t have anything to do” are the ones that stay in their cabins and complain, please don’t take those reviews seriously. If you get out there and be a little adventurous, compete in some bean-bag competitions or any of the other ship-ton of competitions they have going on (teehee… “ship-ton”…) you will find out that it is almost impossible to fit in everything you want to do any the only stressful part of the cruise is trying to decide WHAT activities to do over other ones, haha.

Let’s go back to the food… amazing. Every meal, amazing. Let me debunk another thing people seem to complain about… the portion sizes in the main dining area. It’s a 3 course meal so you order an appetizer, entree and dessert. If you want a trough of food for all three then you DO have the option to order multiples. When we would go if I saw two appetizers that looked good, I would order both, same goes for the dinners. Not only is that ok, its encouraged. They don’t want you leaving hungry or unsatisfied. I can’t stress enough that it is ALWAYS a treat to go to the main dinner every night since the menu always changes and they always have an exciting “Didja ever” dish (out of the ordinary things you may not ever get the chance to try like shark, etc.). One thing people do complain about a lot that ARE true are the long lines at the buffet. But again... you are on a ship with thousands of people who want to eat, if you get angry because you are at a buffet trying to serve thousands of people and you have to wait a little you might want to take a step back and re-evaluate life a little. You might be the kind of person that gets annoyed that when you order fast-food the server doesn’t run out of the building and force feed the burger down your face-hole. One day they will figure out how to beam food directly into your gut and then you can be happy with food service (if instantaneous is quick enough). Putting it plainly, every meal was an absolutely treat and amazing. We honestly never had to wait more than 3-5 minutes to get food at the buffet. If one line looks long, they have 4 more you can go check on with different items and if you HAVE to have a certain item then go to a different line, get some other food and wait a little bit for the other line to die down in 10 minutes. It’s pretty simple. They also have specialty eating places. My wife and I went to the steak-house and were blown away. They perfectly cooked the steaks with love… incredibly seasoned, great sides. VERY good experience for $35 a person. Worth it. Again, let me touch that there are plenty of complaints that you have to pay for a steak. No, you don’t, unless you want one. It is a NICE dining experience. Quiet, ambiance, romance. You are paying for the experience to share with your better half. If you don’t want that, then don’t get it. But if you want a special, romantic experience with incredible food, splurge a little just to try it out, you will not be disappointed (not the mention the main chef came by, personally met us, talked to us, checked on our food… was absolutely incredible).  I could go on and on about the food…and I just might later, but lets move on..

Our room. It was exactly what you would expect. We had an interior room and that’s what it was. Honestly, it was a little bigger than we thought it would be, haha. We had plenty of room for all of our stuff. Again, the only people complaining about the rooms being “too small” are the people that complain that there” isn’t anything to do” because they are staying in their rooms all day. You are on a cruise. Your room was meant to be a place to sleep, not to hangout for hours on end. Go out and enjoy the activities, the people, the FOOD, the day! Yeah, if you stay in your cabin the entire cruise you will probably thing it isn’t as big as THE ENTIRE OCEAN you could be looking at. Haha. The water in the room got hot quickly and the Staff taking care of our room were quick, attentive, incredibly polite, inquisitive and interesting. Oh, and the FOOD! Hahaha. The room service was AWESOME! No charge, too (though tipping is recommended, it isn’t necessary, but we did because we ordered so freaking much).

My only complaint about the entire experience was the main magic show. Kinda… lacking… but then again, you are on a cruise. The fact that someone is doing magic while I float in a box of metal is awesome. It was definitely “big production” just not my kind of magic. The shows were great, the entertainment was awesome… seriously… I cant say enough. I am going to have to cut this review short because I have TOO much to say. Look… do it. Thinking about cruising on the Magic… do it.