The Carnival Magic is poorly run and horribly managed

Item: Carnival Magic
Rating: 1
Author: ColoradoSix

Carnival Magic Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

ColoradoSix

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 75

Overall rating:

1 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Western Caribbean (Galveston Roundtrip)

Sail date: October 25, 2015

Ship: Carnival Magic

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 8268

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 9 years ago

Review summary

We have cruised with Carnival before and I can say hands down that the Carnival Magic is the most horribly run ship of the cruise line. From the horrible food to the staff that is blatantly rude, the whole trip was a disaster. Guest Services would put you on hold and then hang up on you and when you called back they would hang up on you again mid-sentence. Every single event started late all cruise long. On the top deck I had one of the staff close one of the huge deck umbrellas on my head while he stood not 12 inches from me. The food was served cold, the lettuce on the salad bar should have been thrown out and they were clearly using yesterday's food to make the next day's lunch. When we called to complain after the cruise we were basically told thanks for your comments, too bad your cruise was horrible. After years of being huge Carnival fans we will never cruise Carnival again.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5

Entertainment

1 out of 5

Children's Programs

5 out of 5

Service and Staff

1 out of 5

RUDE, RUSE, RUDE

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Cabin was clean.

Ship tip

When you order room service, don't expect it to actually show up.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Galveston, Texas

5 out of 5

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5

Belize City, Belize

1 out of 5

Mahogany Bay, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras

5 out of 5

14 Comments

rcr682k2 8 years ago

if they closed an umbrella on your head, i assure you it was because they could spot your stuffy pie hole from across the ship.

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rcr682k2 8 years ago

we just got off this ship 3 days ago, and we absolutely loved it! the food was fantastic, the shows were incredible, and the staff waited on us like we were royalty. nothing was late and the crew was on their game.

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jtmaysfamily 8 years ago

The shows started late?? The horror!! Did you have someplace else to go?

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msnwoods 9 years ago

Just so happens I was on the Cruise that Colorado Six talks about with the bad weather mine started on 10/25, however because of the weather we did not leave port until the next day mid-morning! Sooooo many folks were out of sorts and I do understand, but I had a ball! Fantastic time....I even enjoyed the rain, never saw rain in the middle of the ocean before! It was beautiful. Coffee was strong, and hot on the Lido deck, early in the morning, crew was nice, food was good....one or two experiences I would have alterd, however that did not stop my absolute enjoyment on this cruise, I had a Blast, went to shows, mostly people watched and participated when I felt like it. ..will go back on Oct 16th on Breeze to Jamaica, I was so impressed.. I hope u have a better experience....Me I had a great time....cannot wait to go again!

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cantwaittosail 9 years ago

I think the Magic was absolutely wonderful. So much so, we are going again in March!!

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ColoradoSix 9 years ago

Funny that poor service on a cruise ship is somehow seen as some thing that I "didn't put into it". Sorry the fans of the Magic take my experience as a personal offense. We were very surprised, as I mentioned Carnival has always been great in the past. The reason we didn't leave is because we kept thinking "this has to be a one off, this has to get better, I am sure that person is just having a bad day". I was told that the week before our cruise there was extremely bad weather and that the staff on the Magic had been through a lot. Our cruise was also delayed by bad weather which is not in anyone's control, so that may have contributed to the staff being under additional stress. Either way it was a lot of money for a sub-par experience and just as I would do with any other chain that didn't meet my expectations, I will be moving on.

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DWB 9 years ago

I see the other reviewers that were on your cruise all had a good time. Yours was the only bad review. You said you were a Carnival fan for years but have only been on 4-6 cruises? Not too many cruise is perfect but you get what you put into it.

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thurtow 9 years ago

I'm sorry to hear that you wasted your time and money. I had the best time ever on the Carnival Magic. Not only were my waiters & room steward awesome, but they paid close attention to our needs & wants. I hope my family never has an experience like that.

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sherih33799173 9 years ago

We've cruised twice on the magic and never had one problem. We are set to sail a 3rd time on it come March and we can't wait. I'm sorry your experience was so awful. We can't relate to any of that from our last two cruises and even tipped above and beyond our cabin stewardess.

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babygirlbowtie 9 years ago

I thought they had a vacation grantee if you don't like it you can leave within 48 hours for a full refund

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halekatrinad 9 years ago

if it was so bad why did you not take advantage on the 110% guarantee? you could have left the ship after 1 day and received 110% of your fare back. no one forced you to stay the entire cruise. I had a great time on the magic and have already booked my next cruise to Alaska next summer.

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bmac614 9 years ago

Some lines are long but that's to be expected. Minor things would not deter us from cruising

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bmac614 9 years ago

We were on the magic 9/27 and it was awesome. Some of the best food we ever had. But again we are not the type to look for negatives. Instead we see all the positives and realize how many people are on board. Every cruise line has its faults

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bmac614 9 years ago

It's funny how so many people will talk about how such things are horrible and then say will never cruise......a certain cruise line again. And then seem to think they would be entitled to a partial refund. Not saying u said that Coloradosix.

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Other reviews of this sailing

Nice cuisine

Another great Carnival cruise

Our trip on your ship.