Just got back, Magica transatlantic, 5/5-5/21

[pinoy1]

What a wonderful trip from Ft. Lauderdale, New York City, Paris, London and finally Copenhagen. This was our first atlantic crossing and our first Costa trip. I was very much impressed with the entire trip and would highly recommend the Magica. This was our 18th cruise.

 

Ship

Beautiful, very clean, almost brand new, very glitzy. Just about everything happens on deck 5 which I consider as the main promenade deck. Music and entertainment abounds. One will not be bored at night since music is played simultaneously at the Capri Lounge, Piano Bar, Mini Bar, Grand Bar and Ballroom and the Atrium. Staff is excellent. The mainly Filipino service, bar, restaurant, cabin and buffet crew were outstanding and deserves all our kudos. Congratulations guys and gals. Keep up the good work.

 

Embarkation

Fastest embarkation ever. 10 minutes tops. No line at all at 2pm. I guess filling in all the necessary documentation on line helped. Did the credit card confirmation a week later. Disembarkation in Copenhagen was well organized. The ship dock at 8am. Plenty of time for breakfast, transfer to the airport and flight to Atlanta at 12pm.

 

Food

Excellent food. We didn't have breakfast at all but had an early lunch at the buffet. Lots of praise for the folks who work the galley. My wife was gladly served grapefruit and smoked salmon during lunch eventhough both were breakfast menu. I would think that if you ask in a nice way, you will get what you want. Pasta is good but in most instances salty. Taste is probably more italian.

 

Entertainment and music

Excellent. Music is all over. The cruise director staff worked very hard and have very pleasing personality. They enjoyed their work and made sure that folks of all ages participate in the activities.

 

Guest

Majority of the passengers were senior citizens, 60s to 80s but they really know how to have a good time. Volunteers were easy to find for the games played. Dance floor was always full and abound with latin beat, waltz, tango, cha cha, merengue, etc. I would think that 40 percent of the passengers were Italian.

 

Ports

We visited our daughter in New Jersey and stayed with her for 2 nights. We used to live in New York so that the city is very familiar. Trip from LeHavre to Paris took 2+ hours. Got a chance to highlite the main tourist destinations. We didn't dock in Dover due to high winds but docked in Harwich instead. Took the Costa city tour of London. Lots of traffic. Need more time for shopping and to visit sites. Will be back definitely.

 

Overall

If you like Vegas glitz, you will love the Magica. Red, gold and loud colors are all over. Design is sometimes over done. The crew is excellent. They have ready smile and very pleasant personality. The mainly Filipino staff deserves praise. We will definitely cruise Costa again. Congratulations!!!

[NancyJewel92]

Danny,

 

Thanks for your peppy post! I, too, found the Magica crew to be exceptionally efficient and friendly.

 

In comparison to Carnival ships, I have to say this the Magica is toned down in its glitz. As you thought it was Las Vegas-like, I'm sure if you ever go on a Carnival ship, you will find the decor overwhelming. I found the Triumph to be assulting to my vision!

 

Wish I could have seen the ship when it was docked in NYC as others here did. How was the actual ocean crossing? How many days; calm seas; activities? I'm sure others would be interested in reading more about the trip. I know that I would just love to have so many days at sea!

 

Glad you and your family enjoyed the trip!

 

~ Nancy

[pinoy1]

Danny,

 

Thanks for your peppy post! I, too, found the Magica crew to be exceptionally efficient and friendly.

 

In comparison to Carnival ships, I have to say this the Magica is toned down in its glitz. As you thought it was Las Vegas-like, I'm sure if you ever go on a Carnival ship, you will find the decor overwhelming. I found the Triumph to be assulting to my vision!

 

Wish I could have seen the ship when it was docked in NYC as others here did. How was the actual ocean crossing? How many days; calm seas; activities? I'm sure others would be interested in reading more about the trip. I know that I would just love to have so many days at sea!

 

Glad you and your family enjoyed the trip!

 

~ Nancy

 

We have taken the Sensation, Destiny and the Carnival Glory. The Glory was more like an Americana decor, a little subdued. The Magica appears to be the same layout as the Glory but the disco on the Magica is below the casino and enclosed in glass so that you can view the dancers from the casino.

 

The atlantic crossing was relatively calm with the exception of one evening when my wife was awaken by the drawers in the cabin opening and closing due to the ship's movement. We were suppose to dock in Dover but was diverted to Harwick due to some bad weather in the approach to Dover. Anyway, the tours to London were not cancelled but some other tours were replaced by trips to Cambridge.

 

The actual crossing was great. Lots of activities at sea for 6 days. It was chilly crossing the North Atlantic so that deck activities were limited. Some folks did brave the 55 to 60 degrees in the main pool. We used the adult covered pool at the aft.

 

There were lots of activities on board some of which were: 50 and 60 sox hop, twist and rock and roll, Mr. Pizza competition, coronation of Ms. Magica, Toga Party (white sheets provided), masquerade ball (Costa provided the paper to make costumes), games with lots of prizes. There were 4 formal nights. Some folks in their 80s really know how to party. Lots of good dancers too. By the way, the cruise was a special group trip for the Concert At Sea aficionados wherein the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra performed. One will not get bored on the days at sea. One can relax or join the activities which are held throughout the day.

[pinoy1]

By the way, wash cloths were available. If they are not available when you arrive in your cabin the first time, just ask the steward and he/she will gladly provide the wash cloths everyday. Furthermore, we had a daily fruit bowl of papaya, mango, pear, kiwi, apples and oranges. We didn't request for it so that we assumed they were standard procedure even for inside cabin. We were also given a gift set of Costa mosturizer, lotion, bath gel, etc. in a nice gift box.

 

The spa and gym was one of the best I've seen. The equipment are hi tech and the view forward is nice.

[cruisingtheword]

We also just returned from this wonderful transatlantic cruise. It was wonderful - I must say I was a little worried after reading so many negative comments, particularly about the food and staff attitudes. Fortunately, we had a wonderful experience - all the staff was very friendly and helpful and we thought the food was great, varied and tasty. Obviously, on a 17 day trip, there were certain dishes that I didn't love, but there were always other things to opt for instead. My husband watches his salt and fat intake closely and at dinner they were very accomodating to him with his food restrictions - at lunch we mainly went to the buffet, so he made his own selections.

 

The ship was full but not crowded (there were very few children and teens on such a long trip during school) so I don't think many of the 3&4 beds in rooms were utilized. We never had any delays getting on and off the ship.

 

We had a wonderful cabin steward who always greeted us with a smile, took wonderful care of us and never had to be asked twice for anything. His name was Emmanuel.

 

The shows were good and the varied music in the lounges terrific. It was a little tedious that quizzes had to be asked in 5 languages, but I was so impressed that so many employees appeared comfortable in multiple languages. I was told that they all must speak at least 3 languages fluently to be employeed. We never ran into any language difficulties with the staff. They do keep announcements to a minimum because of the language issue, but everything you want to know is listed in the Today program, making it very easy to know what is going on.

 

My husband and I still can't believe the wonderful trip we got for such an amazing price - we would certainly sail with Costa again - if they were pinching pennies - I certainly wasn't aware of it.

 

Susan and Neil

Atlanta

[pinoy1]

Susan

 

There were quite a few folks from Atlanta who sailed the Magica. We probably bumped into each other without knowing we were both from Georgia. We frequented the casino and the Grand Bar especially during the evening hours.

 

Did you participate in any of the activities like the toga night and the masquerade? I enjoyed watching the 80 and 90 year young seniors who really love to dance and just be happy. I wish we will be like them in the future. The trip was a real bargain and lots of memories. The London tour was too short though. Are you scheduled for any other trips?

 

Myrna

[cruisingtheword]

Susan

 

There were quite a few folks from Atlanta who sailed the Magica. We probably bumped into each other without knowing we were both from Georgia. We frequented the casino and the Grand Bar especially during the evening hours.

 

Did you participate in any of the activities like the toga night and the masquerade? I enjoyed watching the 80 and 90 year young seniors who really love to dance and just be happy. I wish we will be like them in the future. The trip was a real bargain and lots of memories. The London tour was too short though. Are you scheduled for any other trips?

 

Myrna

 

You are probably right about others from Georgia, but I didn't meet them. We always seemed to be with a lot of Canadians - which was great. We had wonderful tablemates at dinner and they were all from Canada (at least originally) with the exception of 1 who was a fellow southerner from New Orleans originally. Several now had homes in Palm Beach.

 

We were more watchers than participatory guests as well, however, we loved watching all the oldies but goodies having a great time. I'm with you, I hope I'm just like them when I get that age.

 

We loved the trip and for the price, you couldn't beat it. I think both my husband and I would have enjoyed a few more ports of call - not complaining - it was exactly what we signed up for - but you never know about yourselves until you try. I love days at sea but I did find myself ready to go ashore after the 7 days at sea crossing the Atlantic. I think if the weather had been better and we could have enjoyed more deck activities, that would have helped. But again, I wouldn't trade the trip for anything. Apparently the southern Atlantic crossing that the Atlantica did in April did have more stops and, of course, a chance of better weather, so maybe we will look at that one in the future (especially if they sell it so cheap again!) However, it was great to have almost 3 full days in New York and we did enjoy France and England. I actually liked stopping in Harwich - we stayed there and just enjoyed the local people in a non-tourist-type town. They were lovely.

 

Unfortunately, we are not scheduled for any other trips right now. My husband really wants us to rent a car and just drive around Great Britian or Eastern Europe next - we were looking at that for a trip this year, but when we found such a great deal on this cruise we jumped on it. We have also never done an Alaskan cruise but it is again difficult to find really good deals on them - they are too popular!

 

I'm sure you enjoyed the time in New York with your new grandbaby - that worked out perfectly for you.

 

Susan

[pinoy1]

Susan

 

We'll be looking for another value priced transatlantic from Europe to Florida. There's got to be another one just waiting for us to book. We have placed a deposit for a Sept. 27 Greek Isles cruise via the Norwegian Jewel which has a unique itinerary since it will visit Alexandria for 2 nights and end up in Istanbul for 2 nights. The Jewel is a brand new ship and was featured on Trump's Apprentice show. We haven't visited the pyramids of Giza yet so that this will be an apportune time. Hopefully it will be safe to visit these two cities. The cruise lines do cancel some ports if they hear of any incidents that will jeopardize the safety of the guests. We are hoping for the best.

 

I called up this morning one of the friends we met during the cruise and greeted them for their 46th anniversary. They are from Missouri. They got a free trip from United since they were bumped off the Chicago to Tulsa flight on the way home. That's nice.

 

Have a safe Memorial weekend.

 

Myrna

[BENBEA]

Just got back from the transatlantic on the Magica, If you want to go to sleep before 1:30AM don't get a cabin on the 6th deck center cabins! We were in cabin #6299 directly over the Salento Grand Bar ..couldn't get to sleep until the music stopped!! This is the most active bar and entertainment area on the ship! I can't believe how well you could hear the music on our level above the bar. This is such a poor design to have cabins above the night life area of the ship. (seems like it should lhave been insulated better for sound) If it wasn't for our cabin location we might have enjoyed our trip much more!

[joetrizeo]

Just got back from the transatlantic on the Magica, If you want to go to sleep before 1:30AM don't get a cabin on the 6th deck center cabins! We were in cabin #6299 directly over the Salento Grand Bar ..couldn't get to sleep until the music stopped!! This is the most active bar and entertainment area on the ship! I can't believe how well you could hear the music on our level above the bar. This is such a poor design to have cabins above the night life area of the ship. (seems like it should lhave been insulated better for sound) If it wasn't for our cabin location we might have enjoyed our trip much more!

 

this is true about the noise, i've read it a lot from other people who had deck 6 mid range cabins. even thoes over the disco too.

[cruisingtheword]

this is true about the noise, i've read it a lot from other people who had deck 6 mid range cabins. even thoes over the disco too.

 

We were very lucky, we were also mid ship on the 6th level (6317) but our cabin was over the shops and was very quiet - but I can believe that anyone over that bar would have a problem - everyone partied in that bar.

 

They did close the heavy doors between the glass elevators and our hallway sometime after 10:00 p.m. which totally filtered out the noise from the atrium bar (which was the closest one to our room).

 

Sorry you had that experience.

 

Susan

[pinoy1]

We were very lucky, we were also mid ship on the 6th level (6317) but our cabin was over the shops and was very quiet - but I can believe that anyone over that bar would have a problem - everyone partied in that bar.

 

They did close the heavy doors between the glass elevators and our hallway sometime after 10:00 p.m. which totally filtered out the noise from the atrium bar (which was the closest one to our room).

 

Sorry you had that experience.

 

Susan

 

We were on the 6th level too at #6357. We can hear the music but we were not bothered that much. Probably because we do not go to bed until 2am since we hang around the casino and disco. By the time we get back to the cabin, all the music is gone. We love that Grand Bar and the comfortable chairs on the side. Remember the guest talent show during toga night? The Elvis impersonator was great. So was the duet at the end. I do not recall having a crew talent show though.