overbooked and miserable

Item: Carnival Magic
Rating: 1.3
Author: Angelaaaa23

Carnival Magic Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

Angelaaaa23

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 56

Overall rating:

1.3 out of 5

Verified Review

6 Night Eastern Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: August 25, 2019

Ship: Carnival Magic

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 6227

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

Carnival fully booked this cruise. People EVERYWHERE. I could barely leave the room the entire time because of the population on that ship. I would wait in lines for minimum 30 minutes just to get something to eat. I was lucky to find places to sit. I didn't do much on board for fear of my safety because a fight broke out every day on board between passengers. One man even had a concussion. The only port I got off for a good time was the first one, Half Moon Cay. I got to swim in the ocean and enjoyed it for a short time. It was clean and waded in the water with my family. Getting back on the ship was awful. The line was so long and took even longer because it was water taxi'd [I think by the 6th or 7th water taxi I finally could get on one]. Couldn't eat at the port because it would take too long to get food and nowhere to sit. The other two ports were just as bad. Over populated, couldn't swim at any, and neither could anyone else. Everyone who was swimming could only stay in their tiny area, no moving around or anything. Same on the ship as well. The pools were so full that you could only sit/ stand and not move around. Honestly the worst experience I've had.

Embarkation

1 out of 5

too many people, even the safety meeting was hard to get to

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5

food choice was limited, too many people to make it anywhere on time and through the lines in a timely fashion, 24/7 PIZZA [REALLY? PIZZA?] was always backed up and it wasn't good.

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5

Couldn't do anything except the water slides once because TOO MANY PEOPLE.

Entertainment

1 out of 5

didn't bother because fights broke out at almost all of them

Children's Programs

1 out of 5

kids were scattered in the hallways all the time, no one supervising

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

weight staff was perfect, room staff didn't really communicate much, did their job and went on

Ship Quality

1 out of 5

the cleanliness the staff presented was as much to their ability as possible. the passengers were TRASHY. The ship is TOO DAMN SMALL for that amount of people

Cabin / Stateroom

1 out of 5

too small

Ship tip

don't. Carnival allowed for a fully booked ship knowing it is too small for THAT many people.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

1 out of 5

easy and fast boarding, that's about all the good I can say

Thumbs Up 1

Half Moon Cay, Bahamas (Private Island)

1 out of 5

a lot of trash lying around from passengers, very small and too many people when getting back on the ship. Swimming in the ocean was clean, thankfully, even though I still got sick from it.

Thumbs Up 2

Grand Turk Island

1 out of 5

Couldn't do excursions because too many people

Thumbs Up 1

Amber Cove (Puerto Plata), Dominican Republic Did not visit port

didn't go because of storm. Bahamas wasn't good either.

Thumbs Up 0

Disembarkation

1 out of 5

ship wasn't letting anyone off because of whatever reason, they had so many people at the exits, no lines whatsoever, I had to PUSH my way in to even attempt to get off the ship

18 Comments

Cruisers4Lyfe 5 months ago

Thanks for sharing

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trisha 5 years ago

For someone who has ZERO cruises , you make quit a statement about how bad Carnival is. They cannot over book cruises, if you don’t like children than don’t cruise while they are out of school. If you can’t stand in line more than 30 minutes, you need to go to a company that only books say 1000 people not cruises that book 5000. Maybe next time try commenting on something you have actually done.

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donteenac 5 years ago

The ship was NOT overbooked. They cannot do that because of lifeboat capacity. It's hard to believe some of your review. Cruising isnt for everyone.

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agoepfert95 5 years ago

I was on the same cruise as you and man you couldn’t be more farther from the truth. Ship was clean and lots to do. And half moon cat was so clean and beautiful. Maybe cruising isn’t for you and you should do an all inclusive resort instead

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Angelaaaa23 5 years ago

Glad everyone is happy with carnival and you all have wonderful times. Carnival is not a comapny I will sail with again, and will certainly pay more money to make sure I don't run into the issue of being on a ship too small for the amount of people they had. Had I thought to do some digging beforehand I wouldn't have gone on the Walmart of the ocean. Not everyone will have fun when there is fighting, loose children that seem to have no home training in which nothing is done about, lines that extend across the room, etc. I will gladly pay more to enjoy the luxuries I look for in a cruise. :)

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klcollins 5 years ago

Doesn't sound like cruising is for you. Sometimes you have to use common sense and not go eat right at noon. I'm sorry but I find it extremely hard to believe you had to wait that long every time. I've been on magic once b4 plus Breeze twice and it was no where near what you are describing. If you go thinking everything is going to be perfect you will be disappointed anywhere!

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cruiseplayer 5 years ago

Been on 68 cruises with carnival . And a few on magic . I have to agree that there were many fights on board and when in ports , police had to come on board . Food was cold at buffet , and two of the elevators were. Broke down most of cruise and at debarkation. And ship was very short hAnded. And very little crowd control at getting off at pier

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cruisingem 5 years ago

I’ve been on the magic twice, including during the holidays and it never felt too crowded. The only real long lines were the buffet during embarkation and even then, I was too excited to be back to care. With so many different activities going on around the ship, it’s hard to have everyone at one place. The only time I’ve ever experienced that was New Year’s Eve on the conquest and everyone was on the lido deck. Sounds like this isn’t your thing which is fine. I wouldn’t want to cruise with someone so set on negativity.

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sheenarn 5 years ago

Sorry you had such a awful time, Check out other cruise lines or River Cruises, less people more expensive though

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Paully52 5 years ago

I've been on some really old ship's, with 1900 passengers and some new ship's with over 4200 passengers! Never had a problem with lines, nor finding a seat! Always joined other couples while eating at the buffets! Never out of all my cruise have I witnessed a fight! I will agree that some ship's cater to foreigners, but hay! I still enjoyed my cruise! Yes it's what you make of it!

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raknsak2 5 years ago

I was on this exact cruise and it was amazing with a great crew, ship, and excursions. I don’t think you should take another cruise. Sounds like it was not your thing. Debarkation was terrible and a fist fight did break out then but only because some people acted stupidly.

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bestbetter 5 years ago

I've been on several carnival cruises, never saw a fight...

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cruisingmary15 5 years ago

I agree with previous comments, I was on the magic the week before you. It was also fully booked. I had a blast, made friends in dining room, and other parts of the ship, I'll give you the part about some passengers being disruptive and letting their children lose without supervision. The food was good and just some of the lines were long so we went at different times, and food was always available. You make your cruise what you want it to be, if your negative about everything you will not enjoy yourselves. We sure did, happy sailing.

Thumbs Up 5

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scootar101 5 years ago

Been on 3 different sold out, different sized Carnival ships. Never felt crowded, or diminished my fun in any way. Counting down 39 days till my next sold out cruise on the Horizon (second time this year!!)

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CruzeFan 5 years ago

Glad you enjoyed it. We love Carnival as well!

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debbmike 5 years ago

Ships can't be "overbooked". You'll never find empty cabins unless unexpected circumstances prevent someone from making it to the ship. There can't overbook. Do you think that they have cruisers just standing around without a cabin because Carnival overbooked? Seriously? You're whole cruise is one big complaint. Sounds like it's not for you.

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haleyburris08 5 years ago

Was just thinking the same thing. Waiting in line is apart of life and a little patience she could have had fun. To bad

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Bluehengal 5 years ago

Cruise ships are in business to sell all cabins just as airlines sell all of the seats on a plane. Sounds like cruising isn't your cup of tea.

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Carnival Magic Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern