on Sep 17, 2016

5 out of 5

Carnival Magic Eastern Caribbean 9-17-16

Sail Date: September 17, 2016

Reviewed: 8 months ago

Traveled As: Family (older children)

Room Type: Balcony

Cabin: 2248

Another awesome cruise.

Magic was a beautiful ship. Crew was amazing.

We were not a fan of Cruise Director, Dr. E (Everson Beville). His good morning song was grating on the nerves after a couple of times. Entertainment was not up to par with previous cruises, with the exception of family friendly comedy which was the best we've seen on any of our cruises.

We had a cove balcony, 2248 which is the first port side cove. It's our favorite cabin, and we loved the location. We were so close to the water, and it was very quiet.

There were more rude cruisers this time than we have previously encountered. Fewer kids, and they were all pretty much well behaved. There were several adults who suffered from Entitlement Syndrome We did meet a number of very friendly folks and didn't let the others bother us.

Food was good. Guy's Pig and Anchor BBQ was awesome!! The meat is served without sauce--you go to a sauce station to fix it to your liking. Lines were long, but they moved quickly.

St Johns was absolutely breathtaking. Amber Cove was great, as were San Juan, St Thomas, and Grand Turk.

We had a bad experience with the tour operators for St Thomas. Beach time was cut short, snorkeling equipment was an extra fee (not made clear in the description), and rentals were limited to 15 minutes to 45 minutes since the concession was closing for the day. We were dropped at the dock for the return ferry with no instructions as to where to wait. Our ferry (last one of the day) was about 20 minutes late, and we weren't told anything until about 5-10 minutes before it arrived. It left us all wondering if we were going to be left stranded. The ship was late in sailing, but they waited for us since we booked through Carnival. Several were going to ask for refunds. We didn't ask for anything since we weren't interested in snorkeling and we did enjoy the island tour and our time at the beach. I did, however, make a complaint at guest services so they would know the operator did not deliver what was promised.

We had near perfect weather and enjoyed our cruise, as always

Cabin / Stateroom		Awesome--see review for details.
Embarkation and Disembarkation		Embarkation was seamless, but disembarkation was a mess. People mobbed the third floor instead of waiting for their zone to be called. Process needs to be revamped. Maybe have the different zones meet in the dining rooms or show lounge and be escorted out by zone, with no one allowed in the atrium area unless they are part of their zone group?
Ship Quality
Destinations and Excursions		As noted in review, we did have issues with St. John excursion, but otherwise, it was a great itinerary.
Onboard Activities
Entertainment
Service and Staff
Food and Dining