Carnival Magic

The 2011-built Carnival Magic cruise ship is one the biggest and Carnival's second DREAM-class liner, together with Breeze, Dream as well as Costa Diadema. Carnival Magic was last refurbished in February 2021.

The vessel (IMO number 9378486) is currently Panama-flagged (MMSI 370491000) and registered in Colon.

History - construction and ownership

Carnival Cruise Lines (CCL) is a US shipping company, trademarked brand and subsidiary of Carnival Corporation (shipowner). CCL was founded in 1972 as an independent company by Ted Arison (1924-1999, co-founder of NCL Norwegian).

CCL has the Corporation's largest fleet as number of vessels and GT-tonnage (ship sizes/volumes and passenger capacities). In 2023, CCL had ~9% (by revenue) and ~19% (passengers) share of the cruise industry's worldwide market. In 2024, the parent company (Carnival Corporation) had ~51% stake in the US$64+ billion industry.

The 3690-passenger ship Carnival Magic was built in 2011 for USD 740 million. Magic features facilities similarly designed on the previous generations of line's ships while presenting some new features. This extraordinary ship marks the end of Carnival's longtime interior architect Joe Farcus, and he goes out in style. While cruisers might still expect neon and mirrored surfaces, his touch is limited, as far as other designers were also hired. This is the reason why there is a lighting refinement to many of the places, including the main dining rooms, the sun deck and especially Serenity adults-only area.

Decks and Cabins

Carnival Magic staterooms (1845 total) include 54 Suites, 877 Balcony, 227 Oceanview and 713 Iside cabins, in all 34 grades. Most staterooms are sized 170-185 ft2 / 16-17 m2. Most cabin balconies are sized 35-45 ft2 / 3-4 m2. Deluxe Oceanviews are with two separate washrooms and advertised as "Family cabins" having max capacity 5 passengers. Cove Balcony (located beneath the lifeboats on Deck 2) have partially enclosed verandas.

CCL Magic ship also has 368 connecting ("Family" cabins), 79 "Cloud 9 Spa", 35 wheelchair-accessible, and "Cove Balcony" cabins (located on Deck 2/by the lifeboats). The largest are the Grand Suites (345 ft2 / 32 m2 plus 85 ft2 / 8 m2 terrace) with max occupancy 4 passengers. Deluxe Oceanviews have max capacity 5 passengers.

The boat has 14 decks, of which 9 are with cabins.

Shipboard dining options - Food and Drinks

The two formal dining rooms on Carnival Magic are the Southern Lights and the smaller Northern Lights. Both restaurants are the focal point of dining onboard the ship. For those who like laughter with their food, is the Punchliner Comedy Brunch, taking place in the Spotlight Lounge only on sea days. The real foodies who are curious about how the galley feeds so many people, have to check out Chef's Table. For US$75 per person, you'll be able to meet the head chef and tour the galley, as well as dine on a multi-course meal at a private table, while watching the chefs at work.

Follows the complete list of Carnival Magic restaurants and food bars.

• Southern Lights Restaurant (1248-seat aft Dining Room, with two fixed dinner seatings and “Anytime Dining”)
• Northern Lights Restaurant (948-seat forward Dining Room, with two fixed dinner seatings, open seating breakfast and lunch; “Seuss At Sea” themed breakfasts for $5 cover charge)
• Sushi and More Bar (sushi bar, complimentary; serves as salad bar during the day)
• Lido Marketplace buffet restaurant (825-seat self-service restaurant with various complimentary takeaway food stations)
• Prime Steakhouse (69-seat, reservation-only specialty restaurant, serving seafood and prime beef)
• Cucina del Capitano (117-seats Italian restaurant; offers complimentary lunch and a la carte dinner/surcharge; serves as pasta bar during the day)
• SeaDogs (complimentary hot dogs, toppings)
• Guy’s Burger Joint (fast-food bar) and Bluelguana Cantina (Mexican eatery). Other new venues on Lido deck are BlueIguana Tequila Bar (Mexican-themed outdoor bar for frozens and beers) and the Pizzeria del Capitano
• Guy’s Burger Joint (fast-food bar) - since 2017
• Bluelguana Cantina (Mexican food bar) - since 2017
• BlueIguana Tequila Bar (Mexican bar for frozens and craft beers) - since 2017
• Pizzeria del Capitano - since 2017.

Shipboard entertainment options - Fun and Sport

Lots of what is found onboard Carnival Magic came from first-in-class Carnival Dream, like the Seaside Theatre, 2-deck Cloud 9 spa and WaterWorks aqua park (Magic has two waterslides - corkscrew and bowl slide, Dream's got one). But Magic is not just a refined version of Dream. The liner has ushered in a handful of new features, such as Cucina del Capitano Italian restaurant which boasts singing waiters and handmade pasta for a $10 fee; Cherry on Top candy store and industry's first water "dump bucket", that complements ship's waterslides.

The following official YouTube video reviews Carnival's Dream-class vessels (Breeze, Dream, Magic) as facilities and onboard amenities.

Follows the complete list of Carnival Magic lounges, clubs and other entertainment venues for kids, teens, and adults.

• Showtime Theatre (1500-seat show lounge for a live show and music productions; features the “Playlist Productions” live musical mixes and “Hasbro Game Shows")
• Magic Atrium (11-deck high midship open floor area, featuring Magic Lobby Bar with piano and dance floor)
• Cherry on Top (candy shop; offers branded gear, special occasions gifts, tuxedo rentals)
• Escape Bar (a 30-seat club with bar)
• FunHub (24-hour Internet computers room; free Intranet offered for information on onboard programs, menus and scheduled events)
• Circle C (complimentary kids' club and lounge area with video games, parties, movies, planned activities)
• Club O2 (teens only lounge with movies, karaoke, video games, themed parties); Warehouse Video Games Arcade
• Hat Trick Casino (500-seat, with slot machines and gaming tables; features gambling tournaments and complimentary classes)
• FunHub 44 (with Internet/Intranet computers)
• The Lanai (60-seat promenade with Lanai Bar-BQ Bar and four cantilevered Whirlpools; Power Walking/Jogging Track)
• Ocean Plaza (270-seat lounge with Plaza Cafe)
• Vibe Disco and Nightclub; Play It Again Bar; Spotlight Lounge (400-seat; hosts the Punchliners Comedy Club)
• RedFrog Pub (120-seat, with indoor and outdoor seating, games, live music, international beers selection and Thirstyfrog/RedFrog beer)
• Guy’s Pig and Anchor Bar-B-Que Smokehouse (added 2017, replacing Lanai Oceanside Barbeque)
• Tides Pool area; Sunset Pool area
• Camp Carnival (complimentary kids play area)
• Cloud 9 Spa (Thermal Suite, Oriental Steam Bath, Aroma Steam Bath, Steam Rooms, Sauna, Lacanium, Thalassotherapy pool)
• Carnival WaterWorks (kids pool play area with Twister water-slide, DrainPipe, and AquaPark)
• Seaside Theatre (with a huge LED screen for movies, sports events, concerts, with a stage for live performances)
• SportSquare complex (featuring outdoor relaxation area with Sports Park Bar; 18-hole mini golf course, Ping-Pong Tables and multisport court)
• Serenity (adults-only relaxation complex with sundeck and Serenity Bar)

In April 2024, the Showtime Theatre was upgraded with new ROBE moving lights (30x model PAINTE, 30x model LEDBeam 350, 12x model miniPointe).

Itineraries

Prior to the COVID crisis, Carnival Magic was homeported in Galveston TX for 7-day roundtrips to the Bahamas, Eastern, and Western Caribbean. Feature port destinations included Key West Florida, Jamaica, Nassau, Belize, Mexico (Progreso, Cozumel, Costa Maya), Roatan, Grand Cayman.

Carnival Magic itinerary program in 2022 was based on homeporting in Port Canaveral-Orlando (Florida). In 2023, the liner was homeported in Miami Florida and also offered voyages from Norfolk Virginia. Summer 2023 season from Norfolk VA was CCL's longest (6 months/May 14th thru October 22nd) since 2002. Carnival Magic's previously scheduled homeporting in NYC (to Bermuda) was canceled in Nov 2022.

Ex-Norfolk itineraries (roundtrip departures from Nauticus Half Moone Cruise Center) visit ports in The Bahamas (6-night to Bimini Island, Nassau, Freeport), Eastern Caribbean (8-night to Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, Amber Cove Dominicana), Bermuda (6-night to King’s Wharf), Canada and New England (8-night to Portland ME, St John NB, Halifax NS, Sydney NS). Voyages to the Caribbean include 4 sea days (2 southbound plus 2 northbound).

The boat's Fun Ship 2.0 upgrade was done in 2015. The Carnival ship Magic is the second of the company's Dream-class vessels (Fincantieri Monfalcone-built), with sisterships Breeze and Dream, and also Costa Diadema. The boat was christened by Lindsey Wilkerson (worker at the NYC-based ALSAC - fundraising organization for St Jude Children's Research Hospital).

Due to scheduled drydock refurbishment projects, in September 2020 CCL canceled all planned for 2020 and 2021-Q1 itineraries for 4 ships.

• Carnival Magic itineraries (15 total) from Miami Florida were canceled from November 7, 2020, through March 13, 2021 (1st departure).
• Carnival Paradise itineraries from Tampa Florida were canceled from November 2, 2020, through March 19, 2021 (1st departure).
• Carnival Valor itineraries from NOLA New Orleans were canceled from November 2, 2020, through April 29, 2021 (1st departure), including two Transatlantic crossings - from NOLA (January 25) and from Barcelona (February 26).
• Carnival Spirit itineraries from Brisbane Australia were canceled from December 6, 2020, through May 16, 2021 (1st departure is on June 12 / repositioning cruise from Singapore to Brisbane).

Carnival Magic drydock 2021

In 2021 (April 24 - May 24) Carnival Magic was drydocked at Chantier Naval de Marseille (CNdM Shipyard in Marseille France), mainly for general maintenance works.

Curiously, Magic became Carnival's first liner to change the old hull design (white, with a red line running the entire length) with the new trademarked livery (red-white-blue) introduced on Mardi Gras.

During drydock 2021, the ship's Casino was expanded (with a greater variety of slots and other games), also were refreshed the WaterWorks aquapark and Lido Deck's swimming pools.

In April 2024, the Showtime Theatre (show lounge) was upgraded with new ROBE moving lights (30x model PAINTE, 30x model LEDBeam 350, 12x model miniPointe). The new lighting system (redesigned by David Horner) was installed while Carnival Magic was operational/carrying pasengers.

Carnival Magic refurbishment 2016 review

The list of deckplan changes after the ship's 2016 drydock refurbishment (February 21 to March 5) includes:

(On Promenade deck 5) was added the Alchemy Bar (cocktail pharmacy with resident mixologists). Also here, the Lanai Oceanside Barbeque was replaced by the new fast-food bar named “Guy’s Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que Smokehouse”. The bar is complimentary and via a partnership with Guy Fieri (running also the “Guy’s Burger Joint” on Lido deck). Guy’s Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que Smokehouse is an open-air restaurant for a variety of BBQ favorites. The menu features pork butt, blue ribbon chicken, sliced smoked beef, Guy Fieri's traditional sides, and gourmet burgers, a variety of BBQ sauces, hot sauce bar. Signature menu items are named Mac Daddy Mac'n Cheese, Old Skool Potato Salad, Scratch-Made Slaw, Collard Greens with Smoked Turkey, Molasses Baked Beans with Bacon and Burnt Ends.

(On Lido deck 10) were added 2 new poolside eateries (both complimentary) – Guy’s Burger Joint (fast-food bar) and Bluelguana Cantina (Mexican eatery). Other new venues on Lido deck are BlueIguana Tequila Bar (Mexican-themed outdoor bar for frozens and beers) and the Pizzeria del Capitano (complimentary).

(On Lido deck 10) were added RedFrog Rum Bar (rum bar for frozens and beers, plus the Carnival’s private label ThirstyFrog Red (draught beer).

Among the various technical enhancements implemented were shoreside power capabilities and new hull coating.

In 2021-Q1 (February-March-April) Carnival Magic was drydocked at Grand Bahama Shipyard in Freeport Bahamas, mainly for general maintenance works.