Except for getting sick, very nice cruise with few complaints. As stated, prefer smaller ship with less passengers and crew. Enjoy getting to know crew which is more difficult when they have so many to attend to. Overall, staff/crew friendlier on first cruise but still many exceptional people working for Carnival who deserve to be pointed out.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Inspite of large numbers of people, went smoothly, quickly and very efficient.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Our first cruise was on a ship half the size of the Magic and we found the food better in the dining room and buffet area of the smaller ship. Perhaps it had something to do with the number of people who had to be fed. We’ve decided to stick with smaller ships from here on.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Enjoyed shows, Magic Lobby music events with DJ and cruise director, casino and loved Serenity.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Shows very good. Excellent DJ Cue and cruise director Leigh. They worked great together and were a lot of fun. They really knew how to work a crowd. Went to piano bar - found it dull. Went to trivia contests - they were fun and interesting.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
This is the area we feel Carnival excels. It’s your staff that brought us back a second time and will keep us coming back. First, I must comment again on ship size and staff attention compared to smaller ship but there were certainly several who deserve special recognition. I want to start with our wait staff. We were assigned to Southern Lights dining room. There were six of us. Our head waiter Agus and his team of Eloyd and Fon were great! They greeted us every night with smiles, friendly talk and excellent service. They never forgot our names and made us feel well taken care of. Not an easy task in such a busy dining room. Loved their almost nightly dance performances. Fon was the sweetest young woman who greeted us nightly with her bright and beautiful smile and happy face. Loved her! Agus was impressive and very efficient as well as friendly and attentive. Eloyd was kind and very helpful. Seems every time we looked up he was there tending to our needs or just checking on us. A very impressive group and we were happy to be assigned to them. We also ate in the same dining room for breakfast and encountered two exceptional young waiters, Joseph and Subrato. Not only excellent at their job but kind, friendly and pleasant. We marvel at how these people can be so nice when they are all so busy. We also met a young man, Jovan in the buffet area, who went the extra mile for us. While cleaning our table, he offered to get us something to drink or be of service in any way he could. Never had that happen before. We were impressed and felt he deserved special recognition. Our stateroom steward, Piyada was nice and kept our room in perfect condition and always in a timely fashion. She checked with us frequently and we were all pleased.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Similar to first ship just bigger. Took a bit of doing to get bearings. Appeared clean and neat. Could be coincidence that out of the six of us four came home very sick with viral infections. Not blaming ship’s cleanliness, just mentioning it.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
Was concerned about being on such a low deck. Room was a bit smaller than first but comfortable and efficiently laid out. Only real complaint was noise. Clanging and banging sounds were heard on and off through the night - almost very night. Don’t know if it was due to being so low on ship. Will avoid that low of a deck again.
Ship tip
Pick a room higher up on deck. Don’t miss going to Serenity, be sure to enjoy the dining room service and food.
Did rainforest tour. Beautiful scenery, excellent and informative tour driver. Walked around old San Juan. A lovely city filled with history and beautiful buildings.
Had another beach day with lunch. Breathtaking beach and waters. Very enjoyable, delicious lunch, unlimited drinks and island music. A very pleasant day for all.
This was our very first carnival cruise 3 weeks ago the magic was best all the way except dining room slow and cleanest ship I’ve seen and my son catches everything and he didn’t get sick this cruise .. the staff was amazing with my son in a wheelchair they really helped . I’m glad you enjoyed it anyway feel better soon
Before booking cabin check to c what is above and below the floor cabin is on. I prefer to pick my own cabin. Also u can .
go to a website and get reviews of most cabins
Going soon again
Very nice ship. Perfect size with all the other carnival ships. Never had a bad experience. Only a let down on the Divina. Carnival always!!!!
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