It was okay. Better than being at work.

Item: Carnival Magic
Rating: 4.2
Author: cruisensnoozen

Carnival Magic Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

cruisensnoozen

Contributor Level: Second Mate

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Reviews: 4

Helpful Votes: 46

Overall rating:

4.2 out of 5

8 Night Eastern Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: February 29, 2020

Ship: Carnival Magic

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 9206

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 10 months ago

Review summary

Over all, the cruise was still nice, even though it didn't meet our experience on the previous 2 cruises. There were some things that were better, and some that were not, The ship seemed to be at max capacity and the time of year probably had something to do with how choppy the water was and the windy conditions on the 3 sea days. Very disappointing to not be able to enjoy certain areas of the ship because of windy conditions.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

The fastest we've experienced in boarding.. from unloading to boarding, was less than 15 minutes

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Lunch in the Italian restaurant very good. The Steakhouse meal was superb. The MDR food was just so-so on this trip. not as good as we've had on previous cruises. The wait staff was excellent. Guys Burgers was a disappointment. Breakfast Buritos at the Blue Iguana was good, but not warm enough. Breakfast in the MDR was pretty good. Didn't take much advantage of the Lido Buffet, except to get a few good hot dogs and a sandwich or 2. Coffee was acceptable.

Sushi Bar

3 out of 5

Sushi was okay. I've had better.

Restaurants

4 out of 5

Northern Lights MDR was above average, but lacked freshness.

Prime Steakhouse

5 out of 5

Superb. Glad we ate there. Will have to do it again.

Pizzeria

5 out of 5

Always like the pizza

Lobby

5 out of 5

Well appointed and good layout

Lido Marketplace

3 out of 5

What little food I had here was okay.

Cucina Del Capitano

4 out of 5

Lunch was very good.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Pool, when it wasn't too crowded. Every Clam Shell on the serenity deck was continuously occupied by hoarding clams. Really enjoyed the Behind The Fun tour.

The Serenity

2 out of 5

Always seemed to be over occupied.

Serenity

2 out of 5

We always like the serenity area, but it seemed to be over occupied almost constantly.

Guest Services / Excursions Desk

5 out of 5

Great service staff

Cloud 9 Spa

5 out of 5

I had the elemis shave. Loved it. Wish I could have done another.

Bridge

5 out of 5

Great layout and instrumentation. Captain was quite cordial.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

A few shows in the theatre were okay. Hasbro and Marriage shows were good. Many of the venues were just standing room only, and we can't stand for very long.

Seaside Theater

4 out of 5

Saw a couple good movies of interest to us. Usually there isn't anything of interest for us to watch.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Our MDR waiters, Christopher, Omar and Vladimir were excellent. They served us well. Kudos Jeamer, Our room steward, made sure we had everything we needed and kept our room well. Superb job.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

Ship has lots of features not available on the smaller class ships. It's laid out okay. Still wish we didn't have to go through the casino. Nice Lanai deck on 5, to walk.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

It was very nice and comfortable. The location was convenient and quiet.

Ship tip

If you like the bigger ships, you will like this one. But it was much too crowded for us. Be prepared for lots of activity and crowded conditions at the pools and serenity. Always make the ship your destination. Less disappointment if you have to miss a port or 2.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

4 out of 5

It's okay

Thumbs Up 1

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

4 out of 5

Stayed in the port area mostly. No excursion.

Thumbs Up 1

Tortola, British Virgin Islands

4 out of 5

Stayed in the port area mostly. No excursion.

Thumbs Up 1

San Juan, Puerto Rico

4 out of 5

Been here 3 times. Walked around a bit and took pictures.

Thumbs Up 1

Grand Turk Island Did not visit port

Been here before, but no one was allowed to get off ship on this trip due to some health concerns with other passengers. That's is why we make the ship our primary destination.

Thumbs Up 0