Magic 6/23 ship in poor conditon (a short report)

LJWR

Earning My Ears
Joined
Jun 6, 2023
I spent most of my time on 7th floor aft waiting for elevators. 1 out of 4 tiny tiny elevators not working for duration. They could only hold one large power scooter and another person. After dinner had to walk 7 floors to see fireworks, it was too crowded to actually see a the show.
Many shows held in atrrium too crowded to see.
No drinking fountains or bottle fillers on entire ship. beverage station on 9th floor 1 out of 3 soda fountains broken. No ice at all in afternoon. For the duration.
I thought I had booked a 4-5 person stateroom but it slept only 3. room always too hot except too cold in the middle of the night. Condensation leaking from the ceiling. Toilet not flushing well. But stateroom workers were the hardest working, kindest people of the crew so I did not complain.
Live shows technical difficulties everytime. Could not get into Encanto or, Little mermaid, due to crowds.
Restaurant dinners always lukeward, hot or cold food always lukewarm. Worst of all was the final night, we were not served until 10pm dessert at 11pm, staff too busy counting tips. But we were still instructed to rate them as excellent, again. By 4th day public restrooms by lthe eating areas were absolutely FILTHY.
The ship is too far gone and out of date to sail in 2023. they could not accomodate the number of people there. Dont book, you will regret it.
 
Sorry you had that experience. I just sailed the Magic in October and had none of those experiences. The public bathrooms were always clean with an attendant in there.

I think saying the ship is too far gone to continue sailing is a huge generalization. Yes, she is getting older but I think she still has many years left in her.

Again, sorry you had so many problems. No one wants that. Also, do you mean 5/23 Magic?

MJ
 
I sailed in March on a sold out sailing and had zero issues. One of the best cruises I’ve had out of 13. Not trying to minimize your experience but saying the Magic shouldn’t be sailing in 2023 and telling people they will regret it if they book is a stretch.
 
We were on the Magic last August. As an older ship she is holding up well.

The elevators have always been small. We were on the Dream, which have larger elevators, but we found one in the bank was out of service at any given point during the cruise.

On the Magic, there were drinking fountains on Deck 9 midship outside the elevators and as well as on Deck 4. It was easy enough to fill water bottles with the drink station.

We love the smaller ships and have never really encountered any of the issues you did. I'm sorry you did not enjoy your cruise. Maybe DCL is not for you.
 


Drinking fountains with filter bottle refill dispensers are on the walking / jogging Deck 4, outside. Were they working? That I don’t know.
 
Excellent experience in April. It was crowded in some places, but it was a sold out spring break cruise. Can't really even think of anything to complain about. Food was really good, service excellent, no issues with rooms, elevators, water bottle fillers, or fountains. Lovely time in the adult pool area, and watching funnel vision late afternoon in the hot tub.

If you booked a 4/5 person room and received a 3 person room, did you take that to guest services? I would have expected that they would fix that immediately.
 
Excellent experience in April. It was crowded in some places, but it was a sold out spring break cruise. Can't really even think of anything to complain about. Food was really good, service excellent, no issues with rooms, elevators, water bottle fillers, or fountains. Lovely time in the adult pool area, and watching funnel vision late afternoon in the hot tub.

If you booked a 4/5 person room and received a 3 person room, did you take that to guest services? I would have expected that they would fix that immediately.
If you try to book more than 3 people in a 3 person room, you wouldn't have been able to get that room.

Maybe the poster expected a larger room because it would sleep 4-5, when all they would have gotten was a pull down bunk bed.
 


Sorry to hear you had a bad time. I did not have any of those issues in September except there were several elevators that didn’t work at various points in the cruise. And atrium events have always been crowded.
 
So you joined today just to complain about a ship that is the oldest in the fleet and has recently been through a refurbishment.....ok then. Sorry the cruise was not up to your expectations. Perhaps stick around the forums to read more about the other ships and itineraries you might enjoy.
 
Unfortunately, cruise ship elevators are not big. Sure the elevators on the newer ships might be a little big bigger (I haven't been on the Magic and was on the Wonder in 2001 so can't specifically comment on those), but cruise ship elevators are never going to be as big as some 'regular' elevators.

Crowds also have nothing to do with a ship's age. Based on the date I'm guessing you likely had a full or nearly full sailing. So yes, there will be crowds. There are crowds on the newer ships, too.

If you had issues with your stateroom, you should have said something. I know you said you didn't want to complain because the stateroom hosts were hard working. However, if you don't say something, they can't fix it. And it is possible to point out issues without overly complaining about something.

I'm sorry you didn't have a good experience, as it's not cheap to take a Disney cruise. And I also think perhaps expectations were set too high in some areas. And I agree that it's a pretty bold statement to say the ship is too old to sail and those booking it will regret it.

(As an aside, we are actively in the process of working with our TA to book the Magic for a September 2024 cruise, as it's the only ship I haven't yet been on!)
 
I sailed on the 5/27 sailing and really the only complaint I could have had would be that the AC was sometimes struggling to keep up in crowded areas, mainly the atrium or the dining rooms (and really it was only one night at Lumiere's that was very hot). Our serving team was excellent even though we had a larger table (7 people) and the top deck food options were mostly as expected. We did have one drink machine out for the duration outside Cabanas, but it didn't cause any major issues. Ice wasn't an issue either.

Otherwise, it was just humid, which is shocking in the Caribbean, I know. We had a great cruise to Grand Cayman and Castaway Cay, despite some complaints prior about the drydock and the issues it caused. Still not 100% perfect but still had a great time. I'm sorry to hear you didn't have a good time on your cruise, but I wouldn't call for not booking the Magic for cruises as we found it to be a great ship with lovely crew.
 
The atrium is really small after being on all the other ships. Was on the Magic in Jan. Remember when they had 2 staircases in that atrium .

I’m pretty sure there is water fountain on deck 4 . Most people know the drink station is on deck 9 , less floors than the bigger ships. It surprised me when we got to the top so fast when used to going up more decks with the Fantasy…lol
 
I don’t want to accuse anyone of anything, but there’s something fishy about this review. Some of the issues are problems that others reported so not saying I don’t believe it, but no dinner until 10PM and no dessert until 11PM just seems impossible (and we have had late dining on all of our 32 DCL cruises, and we’ve had a few slow nights, but nothing like that). And as was pointed out, OP just joined today, has only one post, and 6/23 hasn’t happened yet (and there was no Magic departure on 5/23). I could be wrong but I sense an agenda.
Incidentally, we were on the Magic on deck 7 aft not long ago and it was a great cruise.
 
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Drinking fountains with filter bottle refill dispensers are on the walking / jogging Deck 4, outside. Were they working? That I don’t know.
One worked and one did not (or at least it didn't look like it was working - very corroded and the little gallon counter was not showing a number) while we were on it.
 
We had few issues last September on the WBTA and I can't imagine it has gone downhill that much since then.
 
I spent most of my time on 7th floor aft waiting for elevators.
Insider/disability secret is use the front elevators whenever possible. They usually come right away and nobody’s ever on them.
1 out of 4 tiny tiny elevators not working for duration.
Is that the elevator on the end?? I have to admit, highest traffic elevators on the ship and not to work is a bummer. But if you use the front elevators it’s far less stress. It’s particularly upsetting that they can’t still get that one working it’s been almost a year now if not longer. But not enough of a problem to turn it into a man made reef.
They could only hold one large power scooter and another person. After dinner had to walk 7 floors to see fireworks, it was too crowded to actually see a the show.
We are a party of five adults, with a scooter. I’m sorry you found it difficult some scooters are harder to steer. We looked at it as if we were in two rows. Left row 3 deep and right row is scooter + 1.
Needed to ask your dinner staff where to see the fireworks. Get more of the insider tips to work in your favor. Since scooters need room, they could have advised you how not to follow the herd and accommodate your needs.
Many shows held in atrrium too crowded to see.
With frequent entertainment down there, the only time I’ve ever seen difficulty is during the farewell program and Jack Jack diaper Dash. Those are ones you needed to arrive early. There’s always plenty of room to watch any of the singers and entertainers otherwise. But then again, you are there in peak season.
No drinking fountains or bottle fillers on entire ship. beverage station on 9th floor 1 out of 3 soda fountains broken. No ice at all in afternoon. For the duration.
This way people aren’t passing germs from one to another. I’m guessing you would be as concerned and displeased, as I would be to see somebody refilling their personal bottle with water. The splashing off someone else’s drink just gives me the willies.
Perhaps you thought there was a charge for tapwater? Any of the bars or lounges (d-lounge, fathoms, cove, keys, etc.) would give you a glass of water for free. I would sit in any of the lounges and ask for a glass of water. I also would give a dollar tip for each glass of water.
I thought I had booked a 4-5 person stateroom but it slept only 3.
I’d like to know what room you had on deck 7 that only had 3 beds? I thought only deck 2 had the 3 person beds. I find it refreshing that you found the other beds so undetectable. Your room must have been so well cared for that they weren’t even noticeable!
room always too hot except too cold in the middle of the night.
I was on MSC earlier this year just a month after my five day cruise on the Magic. Even though MSC is over 6 years old(but has only sailed for over 4 now with Covid shutdowns , I found the exact same problem there as well must just be difficult to evenly heat and cool cruise ships.
Condensation leaking from the ceiling. Toilet not flushing well.
I’m thankful I’ve had the chance to try Disney, MSC, and Royal Caribbean so far and find all the ship toilets work the same. Not much different than an RV either. My only complaint is MSC often had no toilet paper in public areas.
But stateroom workers were the hardest working, kindest people of the crew so I did not complain.
Don’t you just love them! Out of all the other companies I have sailed, hands-down, Disney employees are the kindest warmest individuals out there.
Live shows technical difficulties everytime. Could not get into Encanto or, Little mermaid, due to crowds.
Live theater always unexpected. Hopefully they were able to fill the time with a backup plan for you. Unusual to have sold out shows, but during peak season I guess this could happen easier. I know when we went during Thanksgiving week they had several showings of the hot new movies that were out, featured multiple times a day.
Restaurant dinners always lukeward, hot or cold food always lukewarm. Worst of all was the final night, we were not served until 10pm dessert at 11pm, staff too busy counting tips. But we were still instructed to rate them as excellent, again. By 4th day public restrooms by lthe eating areas were absolutely FILTHY.
Well, this is surprising since only 4 months ago, this is not what we experienced on the Magic. I had 2 nearly warm meals on MSC and asked for replacements though.
As to the begging for excellent rating, I think we all can agree, that’s pretty darn annoying.
Out 8 different times sailing the only time I’ve found a bathroom that was not pristine was up near the pool. Kids….
The ship is too far gone and out of date to sail in 2023. they could not accomodate the number of people there. Dont book, you will regret it.
It’s not like the ship got smaller over the years. June, July, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s. You pay a lot of money to go during peak periods. The days when everyone is out of school and can travel as a family. All family entertainment venues will feel overcrowded during school breaks.

I’m going with my family of five adults, three with disabilities cruising again in December even though we just left the Magic a couple months ago.
We will be on a ship newer than the Magic, the Dream. If I could change anything about my reservation, it would be that I could go on the Magic instead of the Dream.
I was on the Fantasy year and a half ago it was my least favorite of all the Disney ships.

PS the Astoria sailed 75 years and was scrapped earlier this year.
 
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In defense of the OP could they have meant June 2023 as the sailing? 6/23? Seems like that could be a mistake, that we are reading too much into.
 
I’d like to know what room you had on deck 7 that only had 3 beds?
The 7As on deck 7 sleep 3.

In defense of the OP could they have meant June 2023 as the sailing? 6/23? Seems like that could be a mistake, that we are reading too much into.
Well, I don’t think the OP is actually serious, but they did specifically mention the Little Mermaid which has only been out for a couple of weeks.
 

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