Review of Magnifica Cruise 3/24-4/1

[TBar3]

My friend and I just returned from our 8-day cruise aboard the Magnifica. It was our second European cruise (first was on Costa) and we had a wonderful time. We each had single cabins on the 12th deck and were very happy with the rooms and facilities. We also were happy with the services provided by our Cabin Steward and Restaurant waiter and other service personnel.

 

Perhaps we were spoiled by our Costa cruise which allowed new passengers to embark in every port -- but the process of boarding in Venice was too chaotic for our taste. Since over 90% of the passengers boarded in Venice, there were a lot of people to process and get onto the ship. I suppose MSC handled this as best as they could -- but it was a long, draining process for us. (Particularly after the long walk with all of our baggage from the "People Mover" that was supposed to take us to the cruise port -- but which, in fact, was about a mile away!)

 

Once we got on board, though, we were happy. The facilities were nice and I had no complaints about the food, which is surprising to me after reading all of the negative remarks here. We ate as many meals as possible in the main dining room, which always had acceptable choices. The buffet was a buffet -- the food was adequate and the queues not as problematic as described elsewhere. I will add that my friend and I each purchased the drink package that included unlimited beer, wine, soft drinks and water at lunch and dinner. We felt we got our money's worth with that -- and didn't even need the water coupons that were brought to our room on the first day.

 

The onboard internet was expensive and slow -- but it provided a link to the outside world and I used it a fair amount since the wi-fi on my cell phone didn't work.

 

We went to 3 of the shows and enjoyed the entertainment more than expected. The music and dancing were good in the Broadway-style presentations.

 

Of course my favorite part of the cruise were the tours at the marvelous destinations. We had particularly good tour guides in Izmir (Ephesus) and at Katakolon. The tour in Dubrovnik that visited Konavle was truly enjoyable.

 

And meeting wonderful folks from around the globe was another treat. We met a lovely German couple celebrating their 55th anniversary, as well as several Canadian families that were on many of our English-speaking tours.

 

If you're an American looking for a different experience (and embrace differences rather than wanting things to be the way you're used to at home) you'll enjoy sailing with MSC.

 

Now its time to start looking for our next cruise adventure!

[bobar]

very nice review..glad to hear people enjoyed the magnifica as much as we did!

[Oakbank]

Nice to read about your Cruise. I am now looking foreward to cruising on Magnifica in a few weeks time!

[petuniapig]

..Your review was excellent...We thoroughly enjoyed our cruise also...we too were on the 12th deck...we must have walked by one another at some point..(I kept getting lost..lol)..As you pointed out, we were a little leary about the food from all the comments but everything was good. Saw all the shows and they were excellent..the tours we chose were A-one...Dubrovnik was our favorite...My feet are "yelling" at me from climbing all the stairs to the ruins...LOL..It was a fantastic trip and the ship was very nice...We had NO complaints...(except embarkation was tooooooo slow)