magica or royal caribbean

[zoe girl]

i would like to book a cruise this fall on either rccl (jewel or radiance) or magica. any feedback would be appreciated. i just got off freedom of the seas.

[lawyerrose]

i would like to book a cruise this fall on either rccl (jewel or radiance) or magica. any feedback would be appreciated. i just got off freedom of the seas.

 

We were on the Magica this March on an eastern Caribbean itinerary. Haven't been on RCCL for years. I loved the Magica - it's a beautiful ship. You'll find the cabins much larger than the average on RCCL. But Costa lines is very European - something which you'll either like or not. Personally, I liked the Italian flair and food, but some don't. Toga night was a scream on the Magica. Our table waiters were great, food was good, and cabin steward was just about perfect. You'll probably find plenty to do on either ship, although I think RCCL goes all out to cater to the younger people who want exciting things like wave pools and rock walls, etc. Won't find that on Magica. Bottom line is that I would do another Costa cruise before I'd book with RCCL. Just my personal preference. Good luck!

[daffodil]

it's all a matter of personal taste. one man's meat is another mans poison. try and find as much as you can about each of the ships and where better to do so than cruise critic.

They are very different cruise lines. Do you want the mix of European nationalities that you will get with costa. Where are you thinking of going??

We've done 4 costa, 5th coming up on Concordia in dec. We've done one Rcc and it will be the only one!!!As I said"it's a matter of personal preference".

Loads of info and pics of the ships on the net so find out a smuch as poss.

Good luck.

Daff

[darin]

We have cruised both Costa and RCCL and loved both! Costa definately has a livelier ship (especially at Dinner!!!), is very well priced, and does have the added benefit of more European cruisers (so you meet people from all over the world...and contrary to information you find in cruise books and on some of these boards, smoking IS confined to designated spots; as is the case on all other cruise ships).

 

The only downside to Costa, is that their Kids programs are definately lacking when compared to RCCL. RCCL offered supervised programs for children from 3-17. We have three teens, and felt very secure leaving our kids all night long with their staff, and all the kids had a great time! Costa is much more relaxed though, and supervision for the teens was almost nil. The Teen Disco served as the drop-off spot, and there were hundreds of kids from 11-20 with no visible adult supervision. Needless to say, our girls chose not to go! We were traveling with another family with teens, so the kids had a great time, but if you were traveling alone with teens, this is definately something to consider.

 

We have booked another cruise, again with Costa, but we are traveling with the same family again, so our kids will have a great time!

 

You are sure to have fun on either line though!!!