New Carnival features well received on Magic

By Donna Tunney

Carnival Magic made its way past the ancient structures of Venice last week, bound for the open Adriatic on its inaugural cruise. The Dream-class ship has many of the same features as the others, it also has pointed Carnival Cruise Lines in an important new direction. Gerry Cahill, line’s president + CEO: "We’re going after the 'destination within a ship' idea, and this is a new concept for us."

The largest and most obvious "destination" on the Magic is the SportSquare, an outdoor recreation zone that has several "branded experiences" within including SkyCourse, a 230-foot-long ropes course suspended above the ship’s top deck.  SkyCourt, is a fenced area for basketball, volleyball and football that offers a mix of free play + structured tournaments. SkyFitness is an outdoor weight-training circuit, and Turf on Surf is a miniature golf course. "What we did was try to create more places where passengers can have memorable experiences," said Cahill, who sailed on the inaugural voyage with his family. Some new products are likely to be replicated on other Carnival ships. The notion of onboard destinations isn't limited to fitness activities: The addition of two major restaurants brings the concept indoors.

The Caribbean-themed Red Frog Pub, featuring the line’s new, private-label ThirstyFrog Red beer; live music; and games such as darts, checkers and chess, was a big hit with passengers, who pay for items from its menu. Cucina del Capitano (Italian for the Captain's Kitchen), a family-style Italian restaurant, was also popular. "These are places where we believe guests will want to hang out," Cahill said. WaterWorks is geared toward families to play together. A 300-gallon Power Drencher tips over every few minutes, drenching and delighting the kids (and adults) who wait underneath for the big tub to fill up and spill over. other differences Carnival's repeat customers will notice about this ship. Efforts were made to make the Carnival Magic "lighter, brighter and more open," Cahill said.
Passengers by and large praised the Dream on its maiden voyage, although a few noted that the crew, who haven't worked together before, seemed a little unsure of their tasks, or perhaps a bit slow in completing them. But the guests on this voyage — 65% from the U.S. and the remainder from Europe — were a forgiving bunch. The Carnival Magic will operate a series of Western Mediterranean cruises from Barcelona through mid-October. In November it will reposition to Galveston, Texas, and begin a winter series of Caribbean cruises.

Carnival Ecstasy based at Port Canaveral

Starting in November, the currently embarked, 2,052 passenger Carnival Ecstasy sails from Galveston TX.  From Port Carnival, the Ecstasy sails 78 cruises per year.  From here, the ship will sail three and four night Bahamas cruises. To the Bahamas, the ship will sail to Nassau, Half Moon Cay or Freeport.  Four night cruises depart Monday and Saturdays to go to Nassau, Freeport, and Half Moon Cay or Key West. Other Carnival ships already in Port Canaveral include the Carnival Ecstasy and Carnival Sensation.