Carnival Magic
6-NIGHT EASTERN CARIBBEAN
04/17/2022: Port Canaveral, Florida
04/18/2022: Sea Day
04/19/2022: Half Moon Cay, Bahamas
04/20/2022: Grand Turk
04/21/2022: Amber Cove, Dominican Republic
04/22/2022: Sea Day
04/23/2022: Port Canaveral, Florida
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"WHAT'S HAPPENING TO CARNIVAL?!"
Here we are, heading on another cruise! Excitement running through us, packing weeks ahead of time, counting the days, getting excited and onto cruise day! We drove over for our early embarkation time slot. Got to the port and parked and headed in. We did all the pre-check in to make the process easier, which really didn't seem to save any time at all. We check in and go sit and wait, along with most of the other guests. Finally we get on the ship and head right to our cabin since we're Platinum and one of our benefits is being able to head straight to our cabin as soon as we board, mainly to drop off our luggage. Now we've done this several times, as well as after covid on Mardi Gras, never an issue. This time however we get to our cabin, wasn't even started with the cleaning, we saw our room steward, and he said they are still working on the room and to come back later. So we dropped off and headed to eat. Came back once all the doors were opened for general guests at 1:30pm, still not fully ready. He said they are almost done, so about 20 minutes later he was finished and we went in, looked for the Platinum paperwork and didn't see anything. We asked and he said that he had nothing. Went to Guest Services and the person there was clueless, but eventually found what we were missing, after blaming covid.
Embarkation day is always a sh*tshow, now when you have 3000+ people all showing up around the same time and not being able to go to their rooms for hours, of course the ship will be nuts, kind of know that at this point and expect it. So our suggestion is to get on, do your muster and head up to 5 and get BBQ, then to the RedFrog Pub, grab a seat and order drinks, 50% off drinks and pitchers. That was the best route to go on our first day. Did notice the pools were not opened until noon or so, usually they were always opened as soon as boarding started.
Entertainment on the ship as far as the shows, were decent at best. Never left a show and was blown away. We've seen most of these shows before and loved them, but just did not connect on this cruise. The other lacking part was that the cruise did not offer Family Feud, Lip Sync Battle and Hasbro. Kind of a let down. They had Love & Marriage, we left after a few minutes, just not too interesting. Trivia we had a ton of, which was great. Along with many other games and activities.
Dining was one of our biggest let downs. Overall the etiquette was out the window, just the basics were all gone. The service in general was lacking big time. Cucina and the Steakhouse was the worst, dining room eventually was slightly better. Food overall was best in the dining room, Cucina was lacking flavor, Steakhouse just wasn't worth it. Buffet was lacking general options. Felt quality of food went downhill. Just overall not too impressed with dining and service on Magic.
The ports overall were all great and the main reason for our choice on this sailing. Half Moon Cay was our first stop, loved the port. Grand Turk we felt went a bit downhill as far as the beach goes. Amber Cove we had just went to on Mardi Gras, another fun time.
Overall we got this cruise for a steal with the casino promos. Comparing it to Mardi Gras, where we spent about 10 times as much, there was a clear difference between the two. What we can confirm is that the service lacked for a reason on Magic, that was because when Carnival came out with Mardi Gras, they took all the crew members that were around for a while from other ships and put them on Mardi Gras. Then other crew members on the other newer ships, leaving ships like Magic with relatively new and unexperienced crew members, along with short-staff. It truly shows throughout the ship. If this was our first cruise, we wouldn't be running back to a cruise. After these two Carnival ships we are not running back to Carnival anytime soon, starting to think about other lines and destinations at this point. Overall this wasn't our worst cruise, I'd say a 5 out of 10 for us, left a lot of room for improvement.
The DONT'S of Carnival Magic
- Don't forget to look out for the 50% off drinks at the RedFrog Pub.
- Don't forget to head to decks 6 & 7, all the way forward you will find doors leading outside, great views from the front of the ship.
- Don't waste time at the beginning sections of Half Moon Cay, head all the way down the beach to a white gazebo for a quieter experience.
- Don't waste the time at Tea Time, they are now charging for many tea options, food options are also very much lacking.
- Don't waste time going to the steakhouse, felt the dining room had much better quality of steak options.
- Don't forget to pack your patience, the ship does have a lot of new crew members who are doing their best to quickly get up to speed on everything.
- Don't forget to check out the daily guide, that is going to be your best friend when it comes to everything on board.
- Don't forget to get to shows early, seating fills up quick.
- Don't forget that you're on vacation! So sit back and try and enjoy every moment of it. We're here to help give you a heads up on what to expect on the ship.
- Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel! (CLICK LINK)
ALCHEMY BAR (DECK 5)
Alchemy in right in the Ocean Plaza section. This was a good spot to sit while the abundance of trivia games during the day and live music in the nights. We did not get a chance to stop by for a drink, we stuck to the RedFrog Pub, great deals there!
AMBER COVE, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC (PORT OF CALL)
We were here back in October on Mardi Gras, so it was still pretty fresh in our heads. For starters, this is a long pier, but don't worry, as soon as you get off the ship you will see men on bikes who will happily take you to and from the pier to the main entrance, it's free to use, we tipped $5 for both of us. Otherwise the walk is roughly 10 minutes, not terrible. Once we get to the main entrance to the left (after the duty free shop) you have a coffee shop which offers free wifi. Also in that area you can find our tours and some more shops and bars and things like that. To the right is where you want to head if you're just wanting to stay in the port area. There is a large pool area, with a swim-up bar, restaurant, spa, water crafts and a ton of other things. We hung out at the pool for a bit, great variety of music, drinks were available as well for an additional cost, either cash or credit were fine. Bring smaller bills for tipping if using cash. Overall this is slowly becoming one of new favorite ports to visit. Very relaxing and enjoyable.
BLUEIGUANA CANTINA (DECK 10)
On Lido you will find the BlueIguana Cantina. Here you will have burrittos, areaps, tacos and a salsa bar. All opened for breakfast and lunch daily. All FREE!
BLUEIGUANA TEQUILA BAR (DECK 10)
On Lido you will find the BlueIguana Tequila Bar, which has limited hours. I don't recall us ever going to this bar, RedFrog always seems to be a fan favorite for us and a lot of others on the ship.
BOOKS & GAMES (DECK 4)
This is the library on the ship. Here you can find a quiet section to hang out and they offer some games, or you can bring your own. I also want to say you can reserve this room if needed for any reason. If interested, reach out to Carnival.
CAMP OCEAN (DECK 11)
Camp Ocean is for children, ages 2 to 11.
CARNIVAL WATERWORKS (DECK 12)
One thing I did not get a chance to do, which I wish I had was check out the water slides. They are on the better side, when it comes to the older Carnival ships, not just that boring green slide. We did these on Breeze and had a great time. However since we were always so busy with everything else, we didn't even get a chance to swim on the ship.
CHERRY ON TOP (DECK 5)
If you're looking for some candy, shirts or flowers, this is the spot to check out. Located on deck 5 in the main lobby.
CIRCLE C (DECK 4)
Circle C is for young teens between 12 and 14 years old. Great spot for them to come to and hang out.
CLOUD 9 SPA (DECK 12 & 14)
The gym is free to use. Not sure about the Sauna and pool, that seems to vary by ship. I want to say it's extra, but confirm with the spa if interested in that. They also offer many of the other traditional spa treatments here as well.
CLUB 02 (DECK 4)
For the older teen (between 15 & 17), they get to come and hang out in Club 02. It is worth mentioning that Club 02, Circle C & Camp Ocean do have hours and are not available all the time. The ship will have more information since it's based on the sailings.
CUCINA DEL CAPITANO (DECK 11)
We come to our first dining venue and our first dinner of the cruise. Now was came off Mardi Gras and really, really enjoyed this restaurant a lot, which is why we booked. As you might recall on Mardi Gras this was included due to their inaugural season, which was of April 2022 it is still free. HOWEVER on Magic this has an additional $15 per person charge. That includes your meal and tip, you can always tip extra if you felt to do so. Back to dinner. This was our first dinner and it was a opener to how service was going to be the rest of the cruise. So basically service here could have been a lot better and the short-staffing is noticeable in all of the dining venues on the ship. I wouldn't say Cucina was the worst, but it wasn't the best by far. The dining etiquette was thrown out the window and never once came by to check on us and see how dinner was, refills maybe twice. Onto the food, overall everything was cooked fine, it came down to the flavors, really wasn't there. The bread was lacking big time, looked so much better in pictures. Best item we had for dinner was the tomahawk, which I still felt needed a little more love. Now I wouldn't consider it a total lost, for the $15 a person and for the amount of food we got, I say it's worth a visit, defiantly over the steakhouse, which I'll go into more below. Next we came later in the cruise since they were opened for lunch at their pasta lunch. Well this service was even worse. Felt like a cafeteria, you sit down, place your order and they bring you a small cup of water from the buffet downstairs. However I at least felt the pasta was much better than the dinner I had earlier that week. My wife would have said the opposite. Lunch is free and is offered on sea days, worth a visit, does get very busy so keep that in mind if you're not really wanting to wait around for a bit. Also location is pretty terrible, right under the basketball court, and next to the jogging track, so romantic, right?
DINNER MENU
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| Lunch portion of pasta. |
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| Another pasta lunch combination. |
This took me a bit to find. Then I did as we were walking out of our dining room and saw it out of the corner of my eye. Now it's not a bar at all. It's basically a room that is used for the Chef's Table. I did not get a chance to get a picture of it all setup, but this is the location, which is right outside the Northern Lights Dining Room.
GRAND TURK (PORT OF CALL)
This used to be one of favorite ports, but it's really gone downhill in our opinion. Back before covid at least we used to have the beach on both sides, never had the locals pushing to buy loungers and shades down the entire beach and taking over most of the beach. You still have some pockets, but its right by the pier, so really no good spots anymore. So we headed over to Margaritaville which is always our backup. Overall we had such a great time here, much like Amber Cove they have a large pool with a swim-up bar and restaurant. We spent a few hours here hanging out and back to the ship. I think next time if we stop here it will be strictly for Margaritaville. I do have to say if you get here later in the day and there is another ship already in port, or you get off late and you're not wanting to go to the beach, stay on the ship it will be nicer and you have a chance to use the pools and slides and relax since the port will be a ship on a sea day.
GUEST SERVICES (DECK 3)
We had to come here a few times during our sailing. For starters this desk is very understaffed. We are Platinum and we had our own line, but it's basically just two staff members at the desk, one for each line. But people were there for hours waiting at times. The person we spoke to on the first couple days was not the best of help, mainly blamed covid for everything. Another time we came we spoke to Bosko, who was more than helpful and deserves the appreciation, you can tell the frustration the rest of the ship had on him, great person.
GUY'S BURGER JOINT (DECK 10)
On Lido you will find a Carnival fan favorite, Guy's Burger Joint. Here is your spot for burgers and fries, with endless combos. For us we usually get this once or twice and we're good. My wife is more of a fan than I am of this place. On land I'm more of a burger person, just not a love here.
GUY'S PIG & ANCHOR SMOKEHOUSE (DECK 5)
On Mardi Gras this was actually one of our least favorite locations. On Magic it was a little better, lines were insane though, but they have two lines on both sides so keep that in mind. Food wasn't bad at all, for ship BBQ it was fairly decent. You have seating all around the area and inside at Ocean Plaza. This is a free option that is opened during sea days and embarkation day. Also when booking, please try and avoid balcony rooms around this area, you will get the smell, which is fine, but they have music playing all the time and it get's loud. Just a heads up.
HALF MOON CAY, BAHAMAS (PORT OF CALL)
Our first port of call was to Half Moon Cay which is Carnival's private island. This island doesn't have all the bells and whistles that all of the other private islands have now, but it's a beach and that's all that matters right? To get to this port you will take a short 10 minute tender from the ship tot he island, can get rocky at times. Once you're at the island, we suggest if you're looking for a quieter section head down the beach, about 15 minutes of walking and you will see a white gazebo and that area tends to be much less busy than right where you enter the beach area by the entrance. Now the con of this is that you're now past the bar and buffet, so that's a bit of a walk to get food. Pro you're in a quieter section. They have beach chairs all the way down to around this section, they are free to use. The buffet we felt was a cluster, more than usual. The pirate ship used to be open on the top decks and you could get drinks at, but no longer the case, they are opened but that's about it. They have a church here and some shops, nothing crazy. Overall we felt it was a nice beach port, is it as nice as some of the other lines islands? Actually yes, probably some of the best water we've ever swam in. Would love to come back again. Surprised it's taken 34 cruises and 11 years to get here.
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HAT TRICK CASINO & BAR (DECK 5)
Here is a trick that I came up with. Wait for the casino to start getting busy, listen for machines (slots) that you hear bonus after bonus in that group of machines, and then play those. I noticed I hit more during those times. Sadly we lost everything we played with, but we had a good time! Let us know how it works our for you.
LIDO MARKETPLACE (DECK 10)
We were trying to compare a lot to sister ship Breeze. This section was a big let down. Overall the food options are basic and very limited, hard to find anything worth getting, even with the wok, Cucina and deli. Breeze also had a ton more seating down the sides from the front of the buffet to back, Magic does not since it was an older ship in the class. Overall at the buffet you will find the Wok during lunch hours, omelet stations for breakfast and deli, which is opened most of the time and is fairly decent. Just stay away from any sauces, I got sick bad on Liberty from sauce being warm that shouldn't have been. Sandwiches are made in bulk and they move the lines pretty quick. I'd say it's more of a highlight at the Lido as for food options go.
LIDO DECK & POOL (DECK 10)
What happened Carnival?!? Lido used to be a big time spot on the ship. Where was the hairy chest contest? ice carving demo? Or any of the other fun events that were staples? As for movies, we had a handful at various times, but mainly just not much going on here. Parties happened and weren't anything crazy. Back in the day they had so much on the screen and so much more happening, not sure why they are not anymore.
LOWER MAGICAL WAY PROMENADE (DECK 4)
This promenade will connect you from the lobby to the Southern Lights dining room in the back of the ship.
MAGIC LOBBY (DECKS 3 - 5)
The heart of most Carnival ships is the Magic Lobby. This area is the center hub, from deck 3 to deck 5, you will find shopping, games, music, excursions and so much more happening all of the time. We spent some time here doing a few different games throughout the day and listened to music at night.
MONGOLIAN WOK (DECK 10)
If you're looking to get this on the cruise, we recommend coming about 15 minutes before they open, which is usually during lunch. It gets very busy. We did not have a chance to dine here since lines were always long, which we think was from the lack of options on the actual buffet. You will find the Mongolian Wok at the front of the Lido Marketplace as soon as you walk in from the Lido Deck.
NORTHERN LIGHTS DINING ROOM (DECKS 3 & 4)
This was our dining room for anytime dining. Overall food was generally good, felt that Carnival did cut a lot of the menu's from past years. However food was good, couple of the steaks were better than the actual steakhouse. Service was a bit slow for the first few visits, by the end of the cruise it was better. Nothing terrible, it is new staffing in my dining areas along with short-staffing, so you will likely see your waiter during breakfast, lunch, dinner and even in the casino like we did. So just keep that in mind while sailing in this timeframe.
OCEAN PLAZA (DECK 5)
This is the location that you will find a lot of trivia played everyday along with some other games during the day, while at night its a hot spot for live music and dancing. We found ourselves here a lot, similar to Breeze, tons of trivia. Here you will also find the coffee shop, Guy's Pig & Anchor, Alchemy Bar and the RedFrog Pub.
PHOTO GALLERY (DECK 4)
You will find the Pixel's Photo Machines throughout the ship, mainly here on deck 4. You can also view photos taken on the Carnival app as well. The gallery does sell some equipment for photos along with frames, photo albums and other items.
PIZZERIA DEL CAPITANO (DECK 10)
Out of all the cruise lines, Carnival has always done the worst job here, minus Mardi Gras. It's still hand-tossed pizza, which is fine if you have enough time and people. Since you don't, here is what you deal with most of the time, waiting in line for a good 20 to 30 minutes, pizzas being made about 4 or 5 at a time. It was just a cluster like usual. Also flavors are much different than they used to be. Before covid, I used to look forward to their pizza, now I can miss it and not really care. Same went with a lot of food on the ship, where quality has been going down, assuming because of rising costs.
PLAY IT AGAIN PIANO BAR (DECK 5)
One of the last nights of our cruise we ended up hanging out in here since the comedy lounge was jammed packed. We stuck around for a few songs. Piano was badly out of tune, but the show must go on. We had a nice time just sitting and listening to some music.
PLAZA CAFE (DECK 5)
In Ocean Plaza you will find the Plaza Cafe, which is the coffee shop on board. Make sure to grab a punch card, after 6 you get a free drink.
PORT CANAVERAL
Our homeport is Port Canaveral. Fairly simple overall getting in and out of the port area, check in wasn't bad at all. We docked with several ships.
PRIME STEAKHOUSE (DECK 5)
Oh geesh, where do I even start. Overall it was a FAIL! Start to finish. We've been to the steakhouse on Carnival numerous times and always felt as though it was worth it, however this time it was not worth it at all, so much so we went down to guest services to inform them. We got in and were seated, then one of the three waiters came by and everything was going fine. Then we get our first app and 30 minutes later the second, then close to an hour later the main entrees. What was killing us was people who were seated after us were getting their food and leaving before us. The waiters seemed very clueless at times. Never came over to check on us, not a sorry it's taking too long, nothing at all. Never once saw the manager, because we would have said something. We even noticed the couple next to us wanted dessert to go since they had to get to the early show in the theater. Well after 30 minutes they got their desserts, not to-go, but plated. After our meal our waitress came over to see how everything was and my wife told her there were issues, not at any point did she say if she'd like for us to see the manager. Which really was a downfall with the level of service here. So we went to Guest Services and spoke to the manager and basically vented, which turned into them venting as well. Explaining to us that most of the crew who were called back and on these ships have moved to Mardi Gras and newer ships, all the other ships have staff on their first contract and are just trying to learn and catch up. At that point what we thought was confirmed, but at the end of the day we're still paying full price for the cruise, for these extra dining venues, to only get lower than expected service. Doesn't make sense. If you're understaffed, then don't fill the ship to capacity. Plain and simple. We live in Orlando, so this isn't anything new to us, it's still not as bad as the service we had on the ship. Overall we'd say if you're wanting the steakhouse, save money and just get the steak or lobster off the menu in the main dining room for the extra charge, or just stick to the steak in the dining rooms, they were actually so much better and quality was a lot better than the steakhouse. I wouldn't recommend booking a steakhouse for a few more months, giving the staff to learn more and get caught up. For us this trip it wasn't worth it.
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REDFROG PUB (DECK 5)
Welcome to our favorite spot on the ship. Keep an eye out for their drink specials, which sometimes are 50% off. The first day once you board come here and start off the cruise right, drunk!!!! Kidding aside, we had a great time hanging out here, sad they don't serve food anymore, but the drinks are great, plenty of space, indoor and outdoor seating. This place has it all. We spent several days playing cards and making new friends. Great spot!
REDFROG RUM BAR (DECK 10)
Heading upstairs to the Lido Deck we end up at the RedFrog Rum Bar, which we did not get a drink at. Menu is similar to the bar downstairs. This is usually a great spot during the day on those hot summer days, sit back, grab a beer and chill out!
SEAFOOD SHACK (DECK 10)
Across from the pizza is the Seafood Shack, this is an extra charge and offers some lighter options for lunch.
SERENITY DECK (DECK 15)
We headed up one of the earlier mornings to get some pictures and videos. Overall this is just a deck area that is for adults to come, sit back and relax. Usually they have the bar opened, not sure on the salad bar though. Might want to check the daily guide for that.
SHORE EXCURSIONS (DECK 3)
Never once saw this desk open, at this point everything is in the Carnival app anyways. You can always book ahead of time before even getting on the cruise. For us we had pretty decent ports to where booking an excursion wasn't worth it for us personally.
SHOWTIME THEATER (DECKS 3 - 5)
This is the main theater on the Carnival Magic. Where nightly they had shows and other entertainment happening. They didn't have many game shows besides Deal or No Deal, which is a pay game. No Hasbro or Family Fued or Lipsync Battle, which was a bit weird not to do any of those. For the shows, we've seen most of them before, nothing over the top here compared to performances in the past from the same shows, more on the lacking side for us. Another part we didn't care for was the front row and a couple rows in were all blocked off for distancing for the performers, however ended up always getting filled up by the entertainment team, which is fine, but what's the point of having it blocked off?
SOUTHERN LIGHTS DINING ROOM (DECKS 3 & 4)
This is the AFT dining room, we came for breakfast and brunch. Overall service was similar to the Northern Lights Dining Room, along with the food as well. Do have to say brunch offered some of the better food during the cruise. This is also a slightly larger dining room, usually used at night for early and late dining.
BRUNCH (WITH MENU'S)
We went to tea time during one of the sea days. Total waste! Nothing like it used to be, you really see the nickel and dimeing. Charging a dollar and change for better tea options, seriously?!?
SPORTS SQUARE (DECK 12)
All the way up on deck 12 you have the sport square, here you're going to have some outdoor gym equipment along the jogging track, basketball court, ropes course and mini golf, along with some other activities. We wanted to get on the ropes course, but never had a chance to since hours were limited. We did get up here and played ping pong at night.
SPOTLIGHT LOUNGE (DECK 5)
This will be the comedy lounge of the Magic. If you're looking to see some of the shows, get here early. Also a tip, sit in front or the right side of the room, opposite of the loud bar. Hard to hear on the other side. Also in between shows we didn't notice them clearing out the room and re-letting people in, not 100% confirmed on that for all shows. Also did notice every show we went to during the week was packed, even at the end of the cruise when it's supposed to be lighter with crowds. Overall we spent a good amount of time seeing several shows, but yes it did fill up almost every show.
STATEROOM 7305 (DECK 7)
We went with an interior stateroom for this sailing, personally my favorite way to go. Location was great, noise level at a minimum at all times.
SUSHI BAR (DECK 5)
Located on the promenade on deck 5 is a small sushi bar, which is open nightly. For an additional charge.
THE FUN SHOPS (DECK 5)
The stores on the ship were a bit lacking, mainly the logo shop. I kept seeing items geared to the Mardi Gras, some didn't specifically say Mardi Gras, but you could just tell (image below). Also no ship models (except for the $300+ jeweled Mardi Gras) and not shot glasses. Jewelry seemed to be similar to years past.
THE LANAI (DECK 5)
Right outside of Ocean Plaza is the Lanai, which is lined on both sides of the ship on deck 5, which have several hot tubs and places to sit, relax and eat.
THE WAREHOUSE VIDEO ARCADE (DECK 4)
Here is the large arcade on the ship. We hung out here a bit in the slower hours, much more fun spending money here vs the casino!
TIDES POOL & POOL BAR (DECK 10)
All the way in the back of the ship on deck 10 you will find the 2nd pool. This was normally crazy on sea days. Also here you have the buffet inside, just steps away, a bar outside along with pizza and the Seafood Shack just steps away on each side.
VIBE DANCE CLUB (DECK 5)
We come to the art gallery on the ship. What? We're you expecting a nightclub? Well at night it was used as that, day time was always filled with art for the auctions. Never had a chance to go in here at any point during the cruise.
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