Carnival Cruise Lines Carnival Magic

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Dining

Carnival Magic offers a number of options when it comes to food. In addition to two main dining rooms that come at no extra charge to passengers, there are two extra-charge specialty restaurants. For those who prefer a casual eatery, the Magic also offers a huge buffet with tons of food, as well as a pool-side grill, deli, pizza station and Indian cuisine station. The Plaza Bar & Cafe offers a Continental breakfast, sandwiches, cakes and very good European-style coffee. New to Carnival on the Carnival Magic is the RedFrog Pub, with snacks and its own brand of beer.

The main dining rooms are the Southern Lights (aft) and the Northern Lights (forward), and passengers are assigned to either one or the other for the duration of their voyage. Both two-level restaurants are located on decks three and four, offering the same menu. The smaller of the two specialty restaurants is Prime Steakhouse, which offers delicious steak and seafood in a quieter ambiance for an extra charge of $30 per person. Italian eatery La Cucina del Capitan, the larger of the two specialty restaurants, serves handmade pasta and other traditional Italian food for a $12-per-person charge. For lunch, La Cucina has a no-extra-charge Pasta Bar where one chooses which kind of pasta and sauce one wants.

Twice a week, Carnival offers a bit of a culinary adventure with the Chef’s Table. This is an extra-charge dinner composed by the ship’s head chef that includes a tour through the galley. The dinner is billed as a chance for the chef to show off new and exciting cuisines, and on our voyage, the Magic’s chef did exactly that, preparing some unusual dishes. Carnival offers this on several of its ships in different locations. On the Magic, the dinner is held within the galley itself, where photography is not allowed, so we could not take any pictures of the meal to show you.

For more casual nights out, the RedFrog Pub offers some snacks, as well as Carnival’s own craft beer, ThirstyFrog Red. A casual breakfast, lunch and dinner also are served in the Lido Marketplace, where the hungry cruiser will find a large buffet with all kinds of fruits, cold cuts, french toast, and pancakes, as well as an egg station, for breakfast. Lunch offers a salad bar, sausages, chicken, and a Mongolian Wok station. Outside the Lido, by the main pool, is a grill station with burgers and hot dogs. On the opposite side is the 24-hour pizza station.

During sea days, Carnival Magic offers a barbecue on the promenade of deck five. The Oceanside Grill serves sliders, hot dogs, quesadillas, and tacos. Inside, the Plaza Bar offers sandwiches and soups. At lunch time, the Sushi Bar transforms into a Salad Bar, from 5 pm till 9 pm you can get sushi, but there are not many choices, as they prepare the same rolls for everybody.

Note: In June 2012, Carnival increased the surcharge on all its steakhouses, to $35 per person.