Carnival Magic is a Dream-class

Dream class cruise ship

The Dream class is a class of cruise ships, operated by Carnival Cruise Lines, The lead vessel of the class, Carnival Dream, entered service in September 2009....

 cruise ship

Cruise ship

A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...

, and is one of the latest of the Carnival Cruise Lines

Carnival Cruise Lines

Carnival Cruise Lines is a British-American owned cruise line, based in Doral, Florida, a suburb of Miami in the United States. Originally an independent company founded in 1972 by Ted Arison, the company is now one of eleven cruise ship brands owned and operated by Carnival Corporation & plc...

 (NYSE - CCL) ships to enter the fleet. Her sister ship, the Carnival Dream

Carnival Dream

Carnival Dream is a Dream class cruise ship. At 130,000 tons, she is the biggest the line has ever built. Her sister ship, Carnival Magic is the latest in the Carnival Cruise Lines ships, being delivered on April 27, 2011, while her other sister ship Carnival Breeze is expected out in June...

entered service on September 21, 2009, and a second sister Carnival Breeze

Carnival Breeze

Carnival Breeze is a Dream-class cruise ship, currently being delivered and will be one of the latest of the Carnival Cruise Lines ships to enter the fleet; expecting to enter service in June 2012. Her sister ship, Carnival Dream entered service on September 21, 2009 and Carnival Magic on May 1, 2011...

will enter service in June 2012. She is the Carnival

Carnival Cruise Lines

Carnival Cruise Lines is a British-American owned cruise line, based in Doral, Florida, a suburb of Miami in the United States. Originally an independent company founded in 1972 by Ted Arison, the company is now one of eleven cruise ship brands owned and operated by Carnival Corporation & plc...

 flagship. The Carnival Magic is the largest ship ever constructed for Carnival

Carnival Cruise Lines

Carnival Cruise Lines is a British-American owned cruise line, based in Doral, Florida, a suburb of Miami in the United States. Originally an independent company founded in 1972 by Ted Arison, the company is now one of eleven cruise ship brands owned and operated by Carnival Corporation & plc...

, the largest ship ever built in Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, and the second largest ship ever constructed for Carnival Corporation, second only to the Queen Mary 2

RMS Queen Mary 2

RMS Queen Mary 2 is a transatlantic ocean liner. She was the first major ocean liner built since in 1969, the vessel she succeeded as flagship of the Cunard Line....

 of Cunard.

Concept and construction

The keel of Carnival Magic was laid on 12 January 2010. Unlike her predecessor Carnival Dream, which has 1,823 cabins, Magic has 1,845 staterooms. With the addition of 746 crew staterooms, Carnival Magic can carry over 5,400 persons. The ship was floated out from her drydock on 27 August 2010. She completed her sea trials between March 17 - March 20.

Visibly, Carnival Magic differs most obviously from her sister Carnival Dream in that Magic has 18 double-size lifeboats, while Dream has 30 smaller boats. Magic also has a large, highly-visible Ropes course

Ropes course

A ropes course is a challenging outdoor personal development and team building activity which usually consists of high and/or low elements. Low elements take place on the ground or only a few feet above the ground...

 forward of her funnel that is not present on her sister.

Highlights

According to Carnival's press release, the ship and her sisters, the Carnival Dream

Carnival Dream

Carnival Dream is a Dream class cruise ship. At 130,000 tons, she is the biggest the line has ever built. Her sister ship, Carnival Magic is the latest in the Carnival Cruise Lines ships, being delivered on April 27, 2011, while her other sister ship Carnival Breeze is expected out in June...

and the Carnival Breeze

Carnival Breeze

Carnival Breeze is a Dream-class cruise ship, currently being delivered and will be one of the latest of the Carnival Cruise Lines ships to enter the fleet; expecting to enter service in June 2012. Her sister ship, Carnival Dream entered service on September 21, 2009 and Carnival Magic on May 1, 2011...

have the widest variety of activity, dining, and entertainment options of the entire fleet.

Homeport/Itinerary

The Carnival Magic will spend her inaugural season, summer 2011, sailing the Mediterranean. She will sail a combination of 7, 9, and 12-night cruises which will all leave from Barcelona, Spain with the exception of one leaving from Venice Italy.

After her inaugural season, she sails a 16 day transatlantic crossing (to Malaga, Spain; Majorca; Las Palmas; and Grand Turk Island

Grand Turk Island

Grand Turk Island is an island in the Turks and Caicos Islands. It is the largest island in the Turks Islands with . It contains the territory's capital, Cockburn Town and the JAGS McCartney International Airport...

), then will be home ported in Galveston, Texas

Galveston, Texas

Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...

and run 7 day Western Caribbean and occasional Bahamas cruises to Key West, Freeport, and Nassau. .

External links

• CCL Press Release
• Carnival Magic Itineraries