A few hiccups, but overall a great trip.
Carnival Magic Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 20
5 Night Bahamas (Norfolk Roundtrip)
Sail date: June 04, 2023
Ship: Carnival Magic
Cabin type: Inside
Cabin number: 9412
Traveled as: Family (older children)
Reviewed: 1 year ago
Review summary
Weather was not good, but that couldn't be helped. Trip had a few hiccups - mainly our excursion in Nassau. Overall, lots of fun. Great for a family group that ranged from 15 - 79 years old. We were able to split up and each do things that appealed rather than be stuck in things we weren't interested in.Embarkation
Smooth, especially for so many people. I was also worried about dealing with luggage on the shuttle from parking to ship - but porters took it, so it was not a problem.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Main dining room was amazing. One of our servers was Denmarc - he was the absolute best. Buffets didn't seem quite as good as normal, but there were a lot of people too. I do wish there had been more drink stations open at night.
If I'm remembering correctly, lobster used to be offered in the main dining room on elegant night - it isn't any longer, which was a minor disappointment.
We ate in the steak house one time (a first for us). It was a great experience. Great service and wonderful food.
Onboard Activities
Only got in the hot tub one time - and that was the adult only one. Ran out of time to do more.
Entertainment
Lots of variety. Something for everyone. Comedian Just June was fabulous.
We also attended the adult scavenger hunt. One of the things that we thought was fantastic, was that the host did not allow photos, videos, or anything of that sort during this. It allowed guests to let loose and have fun without the fear of having things posted online that could come back and affect their professional lives. (Social media can be great, but it has a down side, and it was nice not having to deal with or think about it.)
Didn't seem to be quite as much to choose from the last night - but that's also when people need to be packing, so it's understandable.
Children's Programs
My daughter was in the teen one (O2 - 15-17 year olds). I didn't see a lot of 'organized activities', but she absolutely LOVED it. It gave her a chance to meet and run with kids her age, and not be stuck with the adults doing 'boring' things. This was her favorite part of the whole trip.
Service and Staff
They work so crazy hard, they deserve much more recognition than they get. I heard some people complaining that the deck was wet - are you kidding me?!?! It rained, and they were even out there mopping during the rain! To those complainers - stay in your cabin or stay home. Carnival and its staff do not control the weather.
Our servers in the main dining room were Denmarc, Gilberto, and Sharon. They were all 3 great, but we LOVED Denmarc.
Artur in the pixel department was great - very patient and helpful.
A couple of the photographers weren't super - one of our party was cut out of a gangplank picture, but others were great. We took several 'goofy' pictures and they let us have fun and even made a few silly suggestions.
I also liked that our pictures were uploaded to our carnival hub so quickly.
Ship Quality
I don't think they could possibly work any harder at cleaning and maintaining.
Cabin / Stateroom
Bathroom seemed bigger than I remember. Roomier than I feared with having 3 people in an inside cabin.
Ports of call
Was not impressed. Excursion was the worst I've ever done in. Very disorganized. One person on the pier was trying to organize 3-4 different excursions. When he finally got to us (last), we had to walk close to a mile to board the bus. There was no offer of assistance to anyone that may have had trouble walking that far. Our bus was 45 min late leaving - which came off our time. Took 40 min to get to destination and only 15 back(?).
Then our bus left to go back to the ship 15 min early.
So we lost an hour of our allotted time.
I thought we were supposed to have some type of 'tour' on the way - nope. Driver never spoke a word to or from. No information at all.
Food at the destination however, (lunch was provided) was good and service was quick.
We went to guest services on the ship to complain. The gentleman we talked to, did not seem to listen to our complaints at all - kept asking me things we'd already told him. He assured us someone would get back with us within 24 hours - no one ever did!
At this point, I'm very disappointed with the excursion and very, very angry at Carnival over this.
Thumbs Up
0
Hate that it rained while we were here, but other than that (which was beyond anyone's control) - we loved this.
Our guide (Reno) was amazing. He was polite and super informative and very accommodating.
Everyone was wonderful. Facilities were nice.
Very much enjoyed this.
Disembarkation
Fastest, smoothest I've ever seen. Was off the boat and to the car in less than an hour - start to finish.