Excellent 7-day Eastern Caribbean Cruise Option

Item: Carnival Magic
Rating: 4.6
Author: 4StarDad

Carnival Magic Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

4StarDad

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 57

Overall rating:

4.6 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: July 14, 2018

Ship: Carnival Magic

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: 1234

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

This was our second Carnival Cruise and the Faster to the Fun add-on is worth it's weight in gold. If you're going to spend extra money on anything, this should be it. Look for deals on travel sites where they include gratuities. If not, you'll pay $90 per person towards the end of the cruise. Don't bother with on-ship WiFi. Disconnect for a few days. You'll have cellular service in St. Thomas and Puerto Rico. The ship's entertainment was just ok - no one was really outstanding but no one was terrible either. Food was excellent to good. Steaks were disappointing in the main dining room. Unless you drink A Lot, don't buy the Cheers program. Adult drinks run from $6 for a beer to $10 for a fruity concoction. Cheers ran $500 and included up to 15 drinks per day. It's hard to drink that much and enjoy your cruise. Don't forget to download your Kindle titles! Some people love cruising, but 7 days was too long for me. I think 5 is about the right length. Now I need a vacation from my vacation.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

On Carnival, Faster to the Fun is a must-have add-on. It took us several weeks of checking daily, but we finally were able to book it. Don't sail without it!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Children's Programs

5 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Ship tip

Don't sign up for on-board WiFi. It was expensive ($25/day) and worthless. You simply cannot connect 5,000 people over a satellite link.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Port Canaveral, Florida

3 out of 5

We didn't do anything in Port Canaveral aside from embark/debark. The terminal was modern and efficient. Shuttles were readily available to/from hotels and airports.

Thumbs Up 0

Amber Cove (Puerto Plata), Dominican Republic

4 out of 5

Carnival Horizon was in port when we arrived and frankly, two ships is too many for Amber Cove. The pool was crowded, the zip line had a 30+ minute wait, the WiFi was spotty, etc. Could have been so much better with just one ship in port. At least there was a dock and you don't need to board a tender.

Thumbs Up 3

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

5 out of 5

St. Thomas has almost completely recovered from hurricanes Irma and Maria. The vegetation was lush and the merchants were out in force. Took a $16 RT cab ride to Magen's Bay beach and it was awesome. Also, since this is in USVI, all US cellular carriers are available with no roaming fees.

Thumbs Up 13

San Juan, Puerto Rico

4 out of 5

Did some shopping in San Juan. Still heavy damage in areas due to hurricanes but shopping district open for business and cellular data speeds were better than in mainland US.

Thumbs Up 7

Grand Turk Island

5 out of 5

Highly recommend the catamaran sail and snorkel beach party. Capt. Mark and his crew were awesome and the water was crystal clear.

Thumbs Up 6

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

Traveler Photos

3 Comments

Darrelljones 6 years ago

Just keep cruising and eventually you'll make Platinum then it's always included. On our last cruise in May, we were on the ship and checked on in less than 15-minutes. But then I also had all of our paperwork in order. They love that.

Thumbs Up 0

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Tiredofsnow 6 years ago

I disagree with the cheers program assessment. People get wrapped up in the 15 drink limit The limit is for alcohol only. Every morning I go get a real cup of coffee (6$) every evening a couple of martinis at the alchemy bar (12-14$). That’s 30 $ out of the 52 $ per day. Throw in 3 fruity drinks or soda and you just broke even. Most I have hit on the limit was 11 not even remotely intoxicated. It takes the worry for me out of how much am I spending and leaves more money for the casino lol

Thumbs Up 1

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SammyAddison 6 years ago

Cool

Thumbs Up 0

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