Magnifica Review (April 22-26 2024)

[Dianejo]

New MSC Customers here. Weve sailed on Carnival and NCL. This time our group of 4 ladies booked 2 interior cabins on the 10th floor of the Magnifica for the Apriul 22-26 2024 sailing to Freeport and Nassau Bahamas. Pricing was around $1200 for each cabin (included Easy Plus drink package, WIFI for 1 device and $25 OBC). We probably could have gotten a much better rate, but we thought this was decent at the time of booking (I have since booked a 7 day on the Seaside in a balcony cabin for $1400 for 2 people, with Easy Plus drink package, WIFI and a $100 OBC - so lesson learned on pricing.

[Dianejo]

Review Continued ....

Embarkation: Simple, easy and well organized. We were scheduled for 12pm-1230p and arrived around 1130am - We moved through the line with ease and were on the boat by 12pm
Interior Room: Average size for other ships we have been on. Beds were a little smaller than a twin but comfortable. Our room 10290 was RIGHT NEXT TO THE CREW Storage. They were in and out of theres with carts all night long and started early AM. I would not reccomend this room unless you are a neavy sleeper.

FOOD:  The buffet had a varity of food every day. some items were the same each day, some changed daily. The breakfast was everything from eggs, bacon, pastries, oat meal, yogurt, fresh fruit, bread, bagels, meats, cheeses, etc... Very nice variety. Complimentary beverages were coffee, tea, water and a couple juice choices. I really liked the breakfast buffet of all the meals served there. My one request would be to offer a made to order egg/omlet station with fresh eggs and toppings.

The lunch served was a good variety too, hamburgers, hot dogs, salads, chicken, fish, rice, etc.... The pizza was very good - they offered a couple different options each day. 

The dinner buffet was average - we only ate there once and it was okay, nothing to write home about.

The dining room food was of low quality in comparision to the other cruise lines I have been on. I ordered the strip steak and it was Golden Coral quality and it was served room temp.  The mashed potatoes were runny and tasteless (Def NOT real). The serving sizes were small by American standards. Each night I would order 3-4 starters to make sure I had enough food. The desserts had NO flavor. The salads and soups tasted decent. Overall I was NOT impressed by the dining room food. 

DRINKS: Amazing drinks. We had the Easy Plus Drink Package it included  all beer options available on board, frozen drinks, mixed drinks, specialty coffee, bottles water. A very good value for your money. There is NO limit on how may drinks you can have. Most bartenders will give you 2-3 drinks at a time. HIGHLY RECOMMNEND getting the drink package

STAFF: Everyone I encountered was friendly and helpful. Always smiling and saying hello.

ENTERTAINMENT: We attended the:

Legnds of Rock show. It was kind of cheesy but entertaining. 

Comedian: PG but funny

Love and Marriage Show: Very Funny, would reccomend attending

White Party - Fun dance party held on the Lido deck - everyone was dressed in white. It was a fun theme

SHIP: This ship was clean, on the smaller size and could use more bathrooms (public bathrooms were hard to find and not in the usual places you would have expected like outside the theatre, near bars and restaurants, etc...)

Overall I would give this cruise a 4 out of 5 stars.

You get what you pay for!

[ZandZ]

Hi.  I was on the same cruise as you. I am sorry you got stuck in a sucky cabin! 

 

This was my second time with MSC and while I am planning another cruise on the Meraviglia, I will not be back on Magnifica.  Maybe it is just too small for me, although I really liked all my cruises with Majesty of the Sea which is also a smaller ship.  And yes, finding public bathrooms was a pain!  They are not marked properly and I had to keep asking staff.

 

My son and I had the non-alcoholic package and every venue we went to for drinks was great.  Bar service was one of the best out of any cruise I've been on.

 

I agree with your overall assessment of the MDR - I wasn't crazy about any of the entrees, the appetizers were fine.  I do not like sweets but my son said the cheesecake was good.  As a mafist (pescatarian+poultry, basically no mammals, and yes, there is a name for everything nowdays), I found that my body was craving protein other than eggs and salmon, and there wasn't much there unless i wanted to eat the dry chicken breast.  Again, I did not have this issue on the Mera, there were more choices both in the buffet and the dining room.  Plus the low ceiling in the MDR made me a bit uncomfortable.

 

Our room was tidied up *at least* 3 times a day, and that was very impressive.  That was actually better that the other MSC cruise I was on.

 

The gym was surprisingly large and really nice.  The Spa area (I purchased the Aurea experience) was ok but not enough variety and I really only used it once vs. on Mera where we went at least once a day.  Again, maybe it the smaller ship/lower ceiling, but something was off for me.

 

We did not partake in any entertainment so I cannot comment on that.  

 

I do think it was a good value for how much I paid (and we were upgraded to a balcony from an inside) but I would not do it again.

[epanchenko]

I am a 44m, I just disembarked from my first MSC cruise (Magnifica), which had a Mexico/Honduras/Belize itinerary.  It left from Miami.  It was a comp cruise.  I have been on four other lines previously.  Reading the bad reviews for years previously, I was not expecting much.  I was pleasantly surprised.  The food in the main dining room was very good (I guess my tastes are easier to satisfy?.  I agree they were small portions).  The MDR dinners never lasted more than an hour and a half.  The buffet was ok, they didn't have any made to order stations that I saw, and the choice of food I thought was limited.  As mentioned in this thread, there are not any other options for food besides MDR, buffet, one speciality restaurant on my ship.

 

The staff was very nice.  My oceanview cabin was fine, nothing special.  The elevators were hardly full, and they came pretty quickly.  The entertainment was ok, the main production shows were fine, the comedians I didn't care for.  There weren't dueling pianos that I loved on NCL and HAL.  The entertainment is better on other lines.  The music in the lounges was ok, (the sports bar had a duo that were way too loud for the venue they were in).  The announcements were in English, the more important ones were in Spanish as well.  There were a lot of foreigners on this cruise.

Edited May 6 by epanchenko

[rrraydon]

Thanks for your reviews! I'm on Magnifica for the 2nd time tomorrow. 😊

[ZandZ]

On 5/6/2024 at 12:08 AM, rrraydon said:

Thanks for your reviews! I'm on Magnifica for the 2nd time tomorrow. 😊

haha, that was quick!  enjoy!  

i am crying over not being able to take the time off from work to go on the really cheap one of new england this month.... from the site you recommended on your prior review.