Just back from the Magica trip 4/29 to 5/4

[shipaddict]

After reading the boards here from Dec to now I did not look forward to my cruise on Magica. In fact I did not want to go at all but it was too late to cancel without losing my money. To my surprise the ship was really beautiful and very clean. It was sold out so it was very crowed on Thursday night, our only day "at sea".

 

We parked at Park and Fly and was really impressed with how organized they are. They had us loaded and to the port in under 30 minutes. Getting on the ship itself took another 15 minutes. Then we went to out room, 9224, which is an inside room with a queen bed. I ordered a mattress topper, extra towels and extra pillows, had Esperanza empty out the mini bar and tipped her very well. ( She has to be one of the nicest, hardest working ladies I have ever met. She worked from 6am to midnight every day . Yet she is kind, always smiling and spot on if you ask for anything. We always came back to a spotlessly clean room. She really deserves an employee award. )

 

Since the luggage was not due to arrive for another hour we went to the buffet which was not to far away from our room on the same floor. The waitstaff were friendly and helpful. The food was OK and the ice tea was plentiful.

 

We explored the ship and was impressed with it's beauty and large size.

 

The first night is casual in the formal dining room so we went to our assigned table and found it was a table for 4. We booked a table for two back in Decemeber. I asked the mater D to correct this mistake explaining my diabetes requires that I eat at a certain time and how dangerous it could be for me if my dinner was late. He wrote something down and never corrected the proble. Our waiter, Anna Marie was slow and not friendly. Her assistant, Arle was kind and funny. Our table mates came from the same background as us and we had a lot in common so we did enjoy their company. We did not have one dinner that stood out as excellent. Nor did we have one dinner that stood out as good. Anna Marie never had the correct amount of silverware on the table, no bread plates at times and would reach across one of us to serve another. She bumped me a couple of times on purpose becasue she was upset that I asked her to take our order. ( We sat down at 530 and would wait till 6 for her to get to us.) Anyway she pretty much ruined our dinner experience for the entire cruise.

 

The next day we went to Key West and got there at 8am. Nothing is open until 9 so we waited for the shops to open and then enjoyed shopping and sight seeing. We had to leave port at 1230pm so we went back to the ship early for lunch in the formal dining room. The service there except for the last day was very good. The food was always served hot and was very tasty. My favorite was the rueben sandwhich-it was made to perfection. The lunch menu there is different then at the buffet most of the time. The menu selection was very good. (We had breakfest there once and it was really good as well.)

 

Our next stop in Cozumel was interesting because it was Labor Day and there was a parade with signs that read-Revolution of employment in Spanish.) The shops are NOT bargain priced at all except for some 4.99 t-shirts. The booze on the ship was cheaper then any store on the island that I could find. The beggers were constantly stopping us to sell us an excursion or taxi ride or time share. This island is not one I would want to return to ever again.

 

We got back on the ship in time for lunch in the formal dining room and enjoyed another great meal and then slept till dinner.

 

The Grand Cayman Island to me is really nice and I felt safe. The liquor prices are very good and better in some cases then the ship. There is a lot to do on this island. If the shop signs do not read duty free then except to pay an exchange rate. An example is, I bought a spice at 3.95 USA dollars and then paid 4.90 for it in CI money. We found great liquor prices duty free at Hot Tropics Liquor store located in the Thompson building. I bought two liters of Jose Cuervo gold for 26.00 and it was delivered to the ship on time and at no charge. I would love to get an all inclusive package in Georgetown and stay a couple of weeks.

 

The ship delivers all liquor to your room the night before you go home.

 

Thursday was our only day at sea and it was so crowed at the pool that we could not walk to the buffet without asking someone to move over. But it was Roman Night and everyone could wear a toga provided by the ship in a form of a sheet for an adult and a towel for a small child.

 

It was really fun dressing like a Roman even though the food in the dining room was as bad as always. I ordered grilled salmon and it arrived cold and tasteless.

 

Oh I forgot to mention that all cuts of beef that I had for dinner was like chewing on a rubber tire.

 

Anyway, the Roman Night Guest Talent Show was really good and fun. You realy need to get to the theater early to have a good seat for the 10:45 PM Show. Many people had to stand or sit on the steps to enjoy the show because they got there 20 minutes before the show. We got there 45 minutes early and had a perfect view of the stage. There were only 5 passengers that performed but they all were very talented.

 

Today we watched the ship come into Port Evergaldes and dock around 6AM. We got off the ship at 8AM and was picked up by Park And Fly by 830AM. Customs was a breeze because there was someone there to walk you through every step. The agent asked us how many bottles of liquor we had and that was it--out we went.

 

Would I go on this ship again...yes and I would recommend it to my friends. I was told today that this is the only 5 night cruise the Magica has and it only happens when they are repositioning for the cruise to Europe. Many passengers remained on board to do the Trans Atlantic cruise. They are on the ship 22 days and go to 16 ports according to what one passenger told me. It cost about $1799.00 US dollars for an inside room per person for the 22 days which is a real bargain if you ask me.

 

They need to improve a few things to make it a perfect cruise ship-serve food at a safe tempature, give the employees more then 3.5 hours of slepp per night so they get some much deserved rest and improve the food at dinner.

 

FOr what we paid for this cruise it really was close to being perfect.

[shipaddict]

I forgot to mention that the cigar and cigarette smoking on this cruise was not bad at all. A few rooms down from me a man smoked the entire time he was in his cabin but Esperanza kept the smell down with some kind of spay. In the buffet area there were a few passengers who smoked in the non smoking area. The smell of smoke was never an issue because the crew would remove the smell quickly.

 

Another thing-if you buy something with your ship card and you want to go, say on Tuesday and pay for it with cash instead of waiting till Friday..forget it. I bought something on Monday and tried to pay cahs but was told to keep buying until Friday morning when I could pay my balance with cash. Friday morning the line began forming at 530AM so I just left the balance for my credit card.

 

Please forgive me for my spelling errors but I cannot find out how to do a spell check on this board. Thanks.

[joetrizeo]

welcome back!

thanks for the review.

sorry you had a shoddy waitress.

what dishes did you like and why?

what dishes did you not like, and why?

i'm glad you enjoyed toga night :)

dont worry about spelling, this is a forum, not highschool grammer class :)

[shipaddict]

Hi Joe. I enjoyed the eggs benedict, rueben sandwhich, key lime pie, some of the pasta dishes were excellent and some were old and cold. The roast beef was tough, cold, and tasteless. My husband loved the smoked salmon, seafood salad, some other seafood dishes during lunch at the buffet and the lamb curry was delightful. We both liked the lamb that was served at the buffet and sliced any way we wanted. The only dish I had at dinner in the Portifino that was served the way it should have been was the Caeser salad. He liked the ice cream in the machine and the nightly desserts served by a nice young lady in the buffet area. The pizza with basil served at 930PM in the buffet was good, fresh and cheesy.

 

I would like to know if you are a travel agent and if so do you have an email address we could contact you at?

[joetrizeo]

I would like to know if you are a travel agent and if so do you have an email address we could contact you at?

 

no and no, sorry. :D:D

[mom and wife]

welcome back!

thanks for the review.

sorry you had a shoddy waitress.

what dishes did you like and why?

what dishes did you not like, and why?

i'm glad you enjoyed toga night :)

dont worry about spelling, this is a forum, not highschool grammer class :)

 

 

WE just got back. It was so wonderful!!! All the dishes were hot and cooked. We did have a great waiter and got food to us fast and was great with the kids.

We liked the calamari, fruit soups,big shrimps,the special ice creams, scallops, alaskan king crab all ready cut open for you hot and butter melted on them and this one dessert was wait two i really want again. It was great . I will look them up later I havethe menus.

I want to say joe you are a wonderful. We would talk about you on the ship saying this is what Joe said. You were ver helpful for my hubby and I.

I will write my reveiw later! I am moving (sea legs)

[joetrizeo]

WE just got back. It was so wonderful!!! All the dishes were hot and cooked. We did have a great waiter and got food to us fast and was great with the kids.

We liked the calamari, fruit soups,big shrimps,the special ice creams, scallops, alaskan king crab all ready cut open for you hot and butter melted on them and this one dessert was wait two i really want again. It was great . I will look them up later I havethe menus.

I want to say joe you are a wonderful. We would talk about you on the ship saying this is what Joe said. You were ver helpful for my hubby and I.

I will write my reveiw later! I am moving (sea legs)

 

welcome back. i'm sure life is busy right now. i look forward to your review. and don't worry about the Mal De Debarkment syndrome, you'll stop feeling the motion later this week!