Great Destinations, not a great cruise
Carnival Magic Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern
7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)
Sail date: August 06, 2016
Ship: Carnival Magic
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 6465
Traveled as: Large Group
Reviewed: 8 years ago
Review summary
We have been on 8 cruises, 2 of them 14 day international cruises. This was our third Carnival cruise and we chose it because of the itinerary and it worked with our available dates. We were a party of 13 adults ( six of which in their 20's) and I don't for see any of us cruising Carnival again. The destinations did not disappoint, but the Carnival did. We purchased the alcohol package which was not worth the money since both people in the cabin had to purchase it. The bar service was horrible and slow. The only place to get soda was at the bar as well, so it really jammed up the lines to get drinks. On sail days, I never once had wait staff come around to offer me a drink, I had to go up to the bar for each one which was a 15 minute wait easily. If you are going on a cruise for the food ( thankfully we didn't) this is not the cruise line for you. Breakfast is the same every single day. We had two port days where we were docked at 11:30 and 12:00. They did not start serving lunch on Lido deck until noon which means your option was breakfast, again. The only other option open on the ship at 11:30 was pizza. While the pizza is fairly good, it takes 20-30 minutes consistently to get through the line. It's beyond me why there are no lunch options open until after noon. We stood in line for 40 minutes at guest services to have a gift card credited to our account. The not pleasant staff member told us the balance was zero. The next day we went to the kiosk scanned the card, and the 100.00 was on the card. Apparently the staff member didn't know how to scan a gift card. I can't say enough wonderful thinks about Raul our room steward, but he was the only staff member that impressed me. The poor customer service, eternal lines for food and drink along with lack of food choices are enough to make us eliminate Carnival for our next cruise. The fact that we arrived late to every single port was frustrating, but we over looked that fact because of the sheer beauty of the islands. We did approach customer service with some of our concerns and they basically told us "that's how it is" . Between the group we spent over 19K on this vacation and Carnival has yet to give us the time of day. Between being nickeled and dimed and the poor service, I suggest you cruise with someone else.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Onboard Activities
Entertainment
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Ship tip
Don't plan on eating lunch before noon on Port days.
Ports of call
Amber Cove (Puerto Plata), Dominican Republic
23 Comments
MJtraveler 7 years ago
25K probably won't get 13 people on RCL in decent cabins, then you will have fewer ports and pay for most of your food. Disney will be 2 to 3 times as much to sail on as Carnival. Platinum on Carnival (we have sailed several others) and love the value of the cruises, the variety of ports, the food, the service - Crews are great! - and will keep coming back! On the Magic Feb. 18th - first Fun Ship this year!!! BTW - we are in our 70s and love the FUN!!!
ToddTheCruiser 8 years ago
Wow.. I agree with EVERY negative comment towards the original poster. I sailed on Magic in June of this year and cant wait to go back. NOTHING the original poster had written is true. I never waited more that 4 minuets for a drink.. I also like to tip my favorite bartenders a buck a drink for most of the cruise. When I do that they rush to serve me with a big smile. Sorry you had a lousy time..LIAR.
JustinS29795228 8 years ago
mrs25 8 years ago
lieguld 8 years ago
dondada3760 8 years ago
tpost55 8 years ago
TNTGreen 8 years ago