Absolutely fabulous in every way!

Item: Carnival Magic
Rating: 4.8
Author: jshenaut

Carnival Magic Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

jshenaut

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 54

Overall rating:

4.8 out of 5

Verified Review

6 Night Eastern Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: June 02, 2019

Ship: Carnival Magic

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 2400

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

This was my first cruise ever (and I'm 60!) and I can't say enough about it. Truly was an awesome experience in every way. Absolutely fabulous! The only detraction was the drink package limitations and the slowness in getting drinks at some of the bars. I was the only adult in our cabin and for the $400 some price tag, I would have liked to have been able to use my 14 drink per day limit on others, otherwise the package isn't worth it. Since we disembarked on three days - there were really only two full days and four evenings to use the drink package. There's no (safe) way I would go through 14 drinks in just an evening (especially if drinking also during the day), so that was not an economical package. I'd like to see something more flexible and geared toward the guest rather than Carnival.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Flawless.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Food was phenomenally good - and oh so abundant!

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

I'm not much of a participant, but I loved hearing Simon talk every day and there were so many things to do.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Very creative and well done.

Children's Programs

I didn't have any young children on board.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Cannot say enough about them! Pleasant, efficient and overall just excellent.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Someone was always cleaning somewhere. I think the balcony maintenance might get neglected (rusted areas etc.) but it certainly didn't impact our trip.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

We loved our cabin. Perfect size - loved the balcony position (ie. just under the life boats). We thought that would be a detriment, but we actually ending up loving exactly that location.

Ship tip

Spend the little extra and get the balcony room. Totally worth it.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

5 out of 5

The staff and set up was so efficient.

Thumbs Up 4

Half Moon Cay, Bahamas (Private Island)

5 out of 5

Loved, loved, loved this island! Beautiful beach and pristine water. We did not leave the water all day (except to eat). We loved this.

Thumbs Up 12

Grand Turk Island

5 out of 5

We actually did the rum and snorkeling excursion here so I can't say much about the regular port call. But we loved our rum and snorkeling day! Highly recommend!

Thumbs Up 5

Amber Cove (Puerto Plata), Dominican Republic

4 out of 5

We did an excursion here as well - to an all inclusive resort. The pool was beautiful. The facility was pretty. The lunch was very good. Bartenders were great. I knocked off one star only because the beach wasn't great and no one was warned that they'd need street clothes to eat. (We were told to bring a change of clothes - but that isn't descriptive enough - need to say without proper attire you can't enter the dining area).

Thumbs Up 3