Despite the problems we made this a very positive and memorable cruise

Item: Carnival Magic
Rating: 4.6
Author: Popdog

Carnival Magic Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

Popdog

Contributor Level: First Mate

167 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 7

Helpful Votes: 320

Overall rating:

4.6 out of 5

9 Night Eastern Caribbean - Carnival Journeys (New York Roundtrip)

Sail date: August 22, 2022

Ship: Carnival Magic

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 7321

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 2 years ago

Review summary

Overall, a great opportunity for my wife and I to relax and get away from the phones and internet except to track down our luggage. Except for the excessive door slamming and I do mean excessive; the rude and disrespectful passengers in the buffet, line cutting; or the uncontrolled kids running back and forth in front of us while trying to watch a movie on the big screen and the partying in the Deck 5 Hot Tub making it impossible to enjoy our balcony much of the time it was a terrific cruise. After 8 Carnival cruises out of New York that were faultless the 9th make it is highly unlikely we will ever cruise Carnival out of New York again.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

The easiest embarkation we have had in 7 years on Carnival. We have always had the perk of priority boarding as Suite guests, and this was our first as Platinum. For some unknown reason to me anyway Priority Boarding is only provided to Suites and no longer Diamond and Platinum

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Other than a glass of wine with our meal and an occasional martini we are none drinkers but we do enjoy our food. I have read many reviews discussing the small portions. What I believe these people do not realize in the Main Dining Room they are able to order multiple appetizers, entrees or deserts which we take full advantage of. The one thing I did notice was most of the meals came with broccoli which I truly dislike. The portions in the Specialty Restaurants were fine. In the Steakhouse my wife was very pleased with the lobster tail which is saying something us being from Massachusetts and there is no lobster like a good ole Down East Maine Lobster. The buffet was fine and I still do not know what people find so great about Guy's Burger's. I try it each Carnival cruise hoping to get a big fat juicy Hamburger. However, this was the best of the 7 I have done over the years. Maybe I am just accepting the fact I ain't getting the burger I dream about.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

We cruise to relax and do nothing so we get a suite with a bit larger balcony to sit, read, play with our tablets and laptop and just chill. Not this cruise. The party started in the Deck 5 Hot Tub around 9:30 in the morning and went on all day and I do mean party. It was louder than the Hot Tubs at the pool. They would leave around 2 in the afternoon. I called Guest Services, it would quiet down for about 30 minutes then start up again.

Entertainment

4 out of 5

Only went to two of the shows in the Main Theater. Deal or No Deal was fun to watch, the Motown guy was OK but there was much Motown other than the songs he sang. He came out in his MC Hammer pants and strutted around the stage. Not much Motown. The Carnival Cast put on a nice 70's show. We really enjoyed the Comedians in Punchliners. However, one of them stole my Joke "Let's go to bed so our guests can go home".

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

All our wait staff were wonderful. Our Room Steward was terrific. We had a situation with our luggage not getting to the ship and Guest Services was extremely helpful in getting it to us. Kudos to everyone at Guest Services.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Very pleased with the Carnival Magic and the folks keeping clean and running smoothly

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

We had a Grand Suite. It was very spacious and had lots of storage. The balcony had 2 chairs with a small table and a 1 lounge chair. Unfortunately, we were not able to enjoy the balconey as much as we would have liked

Ports of call

New York, New York

5 out of 5

We spent two days prior to and 1 day after the cruise enjoying what the Big Apple has to offer as we always do.

Thumbs Up 2

San Juan, Puerto Rico Did not visit port

Due to local protests Carnival opted to forgo the port of call on this cruise.

Thumbs Up 0

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

5 out of 5

We love St. Maarten. It is so clean and easy to get around. This was the primary reason we choose this cruise.

Thumbs Up 3

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

4 out of 5

We did some minor shopping at the cruise port.

Thumbs Up 3

Grand Turk Island

5 out of 5

Spent the day poolside at Margaritaville. It was great

Thumbs Up 3

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

Carnival has finally figured out the placement of luggage for everyone. It was super easy to find our luggage THIS time.

Traveler Photos

7 Comments

Ramsey1986 2 years ago

I’m glad you were able to enjoy a positive and memorable cruise despite the problems. Attitude can make a big difference in your cruise experience. Thank you for taking the time to share your detailed review. 😎🚢☀️🩴🏝🪸🐠🌺

Thumbs Up 2

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ladyship 2 years ago

Glad you enjoyed your cruise your way!!

Thumbs Up 2

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GabeNSteph 2 years ago

Thanks for the review

Thumbs Up 1

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SRAlbritton 2 years ago

Thank you for taking the time to share your cruise with us. Glad you were able to enjoy the cruise even with the disruptions.

Thumbs Up 2

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Gwbigdog 2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise with us.

Thumbs Up 1

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javawoody 2 years ago

Thanks for sharing

Thumbs Up 1

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AuntPinkie 2 years ago

Appreciate your feedback and positive attitude. Unfortunately, Carnival hasn’t restored the priority embarkation for Platinum/Diamond guests, yet! Supposedly, it’s in the works. Sadly, it seems many people (adults & children) have forgotten how to act in public. Sorry you got a lot of that. Glad you still managed to enjoy cruise.

Thumbs Up 1

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