My March 19th Magica Review.....

Just back from the Costa Magica March 19th sailing... Background... wasn't really looking forward to cruising on Costa. We are Platinum Card Members with Carnival and totally addicted to that line. Booked this cruise only because of the price. Was definitely looking forward to it by the time we were about to leave because had read so many good recent reviews. Maybe because we are spoiled by the fun loving, English speaking Carnival employees we compared the two but here is the way we saw things.....Cruised with a total of 14 people, six of them kids between the ages of 8 - 17, all past cruisers.

 

Will only tell the truth the way we saw it. Remember, this is my story and I'm telling it my way!!! First, and most important, we had a good time..... wonderful, no, but still good. I honestly don't think anyone can have a bad cruise.

 

I was the first one on the ship!!! Got to the Port at about 11:00 and started boarding at 11:40. The only reason I was the first one on the ship was because the other passengers were all lined up by the escalator and I lined up in front of closed doors only after a Costa personal informed me that that was where we had to enter!!! Getting on the ship and being the first passengers on the ship was a new experience to me and a great one. Wow, having a whole entire ship to yourself..... We immediately registered the Visa Card for the Sign n Sail (obviously no line) which took less than 5 minutes to do. We then went directly to our cabins (even through we were told they would not be ready until 1pm and told us to go to the Lido Deck for lunch). Well our room steward Jacqueline from Columbia greeted us with a smile and a hello and our room was ready. We dropped off the carry on bags and then went to the Lido Deck for lunch.....

 

The Magica is amazing when it comes to timing... We left Port Everglades and every single Port exactly on time.... The ship is beautiful and clean but has a really bad smell in certain places all the time. I have to tell you that if my cabin was in the vicinity of the smell, I would have asked to have the cabin changed. It was awful and Jacqueline informed us that it smells like that all the time.... We toured the ship, I took a nap, did the Muster Drill and then had the Meet & Greet.

 

Meet & Greet was great. I always love the Meet & Greets and this one was no different. I highly recommend meeting the people you've been talking to for weeks prior to your cruise. We truly had a great bunch and a nice turnout.... Kay & Harry (LETSGOCRUISIN).... you guys are awesome and such an inspiration to me. It was an absolute pleasure meeting both of you and getting to talk to you throughout the cruise..... Nancy (taszmom) was so nice and friendly and has a nice/crazy husband who actually mowed the lawn prior to leaving for the cruise and the cutest little girl.. Thanks for all your help/answers leading up to the cruise. We're just so sorry that the rest of your family didn't show up to the Meet & Greet. Celine and Dea (lawyerrose) was so nice to meet you and sorry we didn't get to see you more throughout the cruise and the same for JeffCoud2. Laurie (llgator) and JoBeth (Sea&Ski) also have the cutest kids and were soooo much fun to meet and see throughout the week. Mike & Gayla (southern cruiser) are one of the nicest couples I have met on a cruise.... "Hanging out" and talking to you guys at the Kandela show was really nice and seeing you the entire week was fun. Our Meet & Greet was right after the Muster Drill at the bar way up on top, starboard (right side of the ship) just outside the Squok Club on Deck 12.... (Thanks Nancy for the idea). It was a huge success....

 

Ok, now back to the "good" time but not great.... The food was good most of the time... You definitely can't and will not starve on the Magica. Herein lies part of the problems we encountered.... Dining Room Service.... our waiter has zero personality. Not one time the entire week did Manuel even smile. He was downright rude which is something that we are totally not use to especially when cruising with kids. He rushed us, told us he couldn't get us things off the menu (which we did after we went to the 2nd Maitre'd) and just not a fun person to be around every night. Our busboy Benetiz was only on his 3rd week and although he was nice and friendly, didn't really know much. Language was also a barrier... Don't even try asking for iceberg lettuce!!!

 

The shows were really not good.... Nothing to talk about as far as we were concerned. The best show was the Passenger Talent one!! The only thing was that all 7 passengers sang, 5 of them in Italian, one sang the theme song from the Titanic and we're not sure what the 7th passenger sang!! Even Max (the Cruise Director) made a comment "I've never heard that one before"!! Again, here lies another problem... Max talked to the audience and 5 of the Talent Show Passengers in Italian... I think most of the ship staff "forgot" that they had English speaking passengers on-board. Even the Crew Show was a huge disappointment. We were expecting to see the crew, i.e, someone from Housekeeping, someone from the Dining Room, maybe an Officer or two, a Camp Counselor etc BUT....they had the same 6 crew members who just danced to different songs which represented the countries that the staff was mostly from.... They weren't even good, as a matter of fact, one of the girls didn't even know the correct steps and literally laughed and threw her arms up everytime she made a mistake....

 

And yes, the announcements were repeated in several different languages. That part didn't really bother me but what did, and to me, this was very important, is that there is a huge language barrier on the ship. I understand that this is an Italian Cruise line but I never ever encountered so many crew members who truly don't understand English.... That was a big problem along with the fact that we all found most of the Costa Magica crew to be downright rude and nasty. They didn't smile when passing in the hallways, no hellos at all. As a matter of fact, Jacqueline and Benitez were the only ones that were nice/friendly to us the whole week and Benitez also doesn't understand the English language well. (but at least he tried)...

 

Here's another problem.... and this is one that probably doesn't apply to most passengers but is a very important part of our cruise.... We (all 8 of the adults) are casino players and love hanging out there whenever we can. If we can't have a good time here, whether winning or losing, then that's a problem for us. Well, this was the worst, most unfriendliest, rudest casino staff we have ever dealt with on a cruise. They didn't talk with the players, laugh with us, congratulate us etc. Even through we were there every night, the Casino Pit Boss never even offered us a drink. As a matter of fact, one of the players who had been playing with us the entire week, dropping lots of money and tipping the dealers very nicely asked for the used deck of cards for her son. The Pit Boss looked at her and told her she could go to the Casino Cage to purchase them for $1. !!! I was so happy when she responded "OK then the tip I was going to give to the dealer I'll give to the gift shop instead". And, here's a very important thing (again only to a gambler).... I absolutely love the game 3 Card Poker... Well EVERY SINGLE NIGHT there was a waiting list for this game.... Costa has only one (1) 3 Card Poker table and usually had a waiting list of 9 people. I agreed with the other passengers when they started arguing with the Casino Host to open up another table... Was told they couldn't do it because they didn't have the right felt or personal to work it. My husband told him that he needed to find a felt, pick one up in San Juan (our 1st stop) or get out a black magic marker and make one!!! Everyone else was truly upset. Here you have at least another full table of players ready and willing to play this game and they wouldn't do it.... But, they had 6 roulette tables of which only one or two of them were used each night!! Again, another incident where Costa could have done something to please the Casino Players but didn't. The problem here is that the Casino is still geared toward the European market and didn't take any consideration into the fact that they are now sailing with Americans out of Port Everglades. BIG PROBLEM here.... Again, another problem, most of the dealers truly don't understand the English language.

 

Now the Islands.... 1st stop..... San Juan.... very nice.... too short.... We were lucky enough to get there early... was off the ship by 5:00... went directly to the Dooney & Coach stores, did a little more shopping, went to the casino within walking distance to the Port then back on the ship for 1:00am departure. Next day St Thomas.... we shopped in the stores right outside the Port then took a cab over to Sapphire Beach. Sapphire Beach was the furthest one away from the ship ($10 for the cab ride per person). We just hung out at the beach all day. Beautiful beach but expensive to eat there. Hot dog with bag of chips, $8.... Next stop was Santa Domingo where we just took the tender over to Costa's private Catalina Island. Plently of lounge chairs there spread out with a free bar-b-que to enjoy. The biggest problem here were the "natives" who were so totally aggressive that they scared me. (Being from Brooklyn, I don't usually scare easily!!)... They were literally "in your face". The other thing is that there is really nothing to do on Catalina Island except lay back on a lounge chair or swim. It is really a do nothing relaxing day, if you like that, this Island was great. A nice thing that Costa did do 1st thing in the morning was make an announcement that there was jellyfish biting and to be careful. Needless to say, we waited until about noon to leave the ship and head over there. And we never went into the water, just wasn't willing to take the chance. We then took the 1 hour trip over to the other side of the Island where we did purchase tickets to see the Kandela Show. This show is a must for anyone... It was $36 for adults, $32 for kids. The best dance show I have ever seen. My daughters have both been dancing for 14 years and we owned a Dance Studio so I can say this. The dancers did moves that I was in awe of. They moved and turned and twisted and were just fantastic. Costa had enough transportation for all of the passengers and did a great job of getting us there and back. Last Island was Nassau, and again, way too short a stop, from 1 - 6pm. We took the #10 bus over to Cable Beach Wyndham Hotel where you are allowed to use their beach at no charge. We rented jetskis there, went parasailing, swam in the beach water, and played in their Casino. Also 10 of us ate there for exactly $100 so they didn't rip us off. This was also a great part of the trip, just wish it was longer.

 

I will tell you that Costa does always have something going on all the time whether at sea or at Port. Again, the only problem is that lots of it was in Italian. I have a problem with the fact that if Costa knew that they were taking this ship into American territory, i,e, Port Everglades and getting more American passengers than they normally do, they should have made some sort of provisions to change some of the things they do. Language among the crew is a huge problem that also needs to be addressed. Even ordering a Bircardi Coco and Diet Coke, some of the Drink Waiters didn't understand what we were talking about...

 

I will tell you that lots of passengers did not know about the theme night on board the ship and being a cruise critic member is great. I loved being prepared for Tropical Night, loved wearing the red, white and green on Italian Night and the best was Toga Night. That was one fun night. I would say about 40% of the passengers wore/made a Toga with about 1% of us having brought our own from home. It was truly fun going to dinner in a Toga, gambling in a Toga, dancing in a Toga etc.... So, Costa does things that are fun and different....

 

So, in conclusion, yes, we did have a good time. Costa is a nice cruise line where you really should be able to find something to do and not be bored. You should be able to enjoy and like the food. I will tell you that the Europeans and Italians definitely love this ship.

 

Would I personally recommend this cruise line to my English speaking American friends/family....NO..... I will never ever get on a ship again that I have to put my name on a wait list to play in the casino. Also, maybe I missed it in the past threads, but you also couldn't get food (except for room service and that menu was a joke with such a little choice) after 1:30 in the morning. We left the casino no earlier than 2:00 am and always wanted to get a snack but the Lido Deck was closed....literally dead.....nothing.... We also need to be on a ship where the Crew is friendlier, always has a smile on their faces,and does understand the English language.....

 

Little tidbits.... the Casino was always very smokey with little air in there. The ship was either hot or ok, never cold. We were able to pack in our suitcases 4 six-packs of bottled soda and 1 12-pack of water with no problem at all. Purchased liquor in San Juan and was able to carry it right onto the ship, again no problem. Don't know what happened, but on our cruise, the games weren't free in the Game Room until sailing on the first day.

 

Obviously I left out a lot of little things, but if you have any questions, please ask and I will do my best to answer them for you...

 

Sorry if you don't agree with me, but this is my story and I'm sticking with it!!!

 

 

Elaine :)

 

 

03/19/2006 Costa Magica Eastern

09/02/2005 Carnival Fascination Bahamas

03/18/2005 NCL Spirit Southern

3/20/2004 Carnival Triumph Western

3/16/2003 Carnival Spirit Exotic W. Caribbean

08/02 NCL Sun

12/21/2001 Carnival Spirit Southern Caribbean

10/15/2000 Carnival Destiny Southern Caribbean

1/31/2000 Ecstasy Western Caribbean

10/17/1999 Carnival Destiny Western Caribbean

10/98 RCL Grandeur of the Seas

10/18/1997 Carnival Fascination Southern Caribbean

10/6/1996 Carnival Sensation Western Caribbean

10/7/1995 Carnival Imagination Western Caribbean

10/94 Dolphin IV

11/6/1993 Carnival Celebration

11/1/1986 Carnival Carnivale

 

 

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Hi Elaine,

Thanks for the review. My family is headed out on the Magica in a couple of weeks and we (I) thrive on the Monday moring reviews.

The Casino thing is no big deal to me as I don't like to lose my money. I don't mind SPENDING it, just don't like losing it.

 

You mentioned the theme nights. Aside from the Toga night, I was unaware of theme nights. Can you tell me a little bit more about them, what and when they are, what do the guests need to do to be involved?

 

Thanks again. You are right though, there are good and bad things about everything. Everyone's tastes, tollerences and opinions are different. But how can anyone EVER have a bad cruise?

Hi, Elaine. I'm trying to figure out our attire for the week -- Can you tell me exactly which night is which theme (we go on the eastern Caribbean route that leaves next Sunday). Also, do you know anyone that went on the bioluminescent bay tour in San Juan. I'm trying to find out what time it leaves (in other words, will we have time to go to dinner that night?) Thanks. Cheryl

I agree with a lot of what Elaine said, but disagree with some of it, too. Mainly the shows. Mom, Celine & I thought they were GREAT!! Especially the last show with the toga party. Thought I'd die laughing!! The only problem we had with the shows was that it was difficult to get good seats without going there an hour ahead of time!! On the Carnival Legend, Celine & I had no trouble getting great seats at any of the shows.

 

Loved our cabin. It was identical to the one on Carnival Legend, but the decor a little different. Loved sleeping with the door open (used bungee cord). Our cabin steward, Marjory, was wonderfully efficient if not real chatty. I agree that the room service menu was inadequate. However, LOVED the breakfast room service. Ordered numerous cappicinos each morning along with rolls, juice, etc.

 

We all loved the food, with a possible exception with the desserts. For the most part, desserts were kind of uninspired. Loved the Italian meats and cheeses and OLIVES!! Loved that they had extra virgen olive oil at each table in the Bellagio buffet. What a nice touch. Also loved their breads!! Very European with hard crusts and luscious insides.

 

I'm so sorry you had lousy dining room waiters, Elaine. Our main waiter, Sumitro, was professional, efficient and friendly if a bit reserved. We had absolutely no trouble communicating with him. Our assistant waiter, Francisco, was FANTASTIC!! Friendly, funny, efficient, cute. . . Our whole table adored him.

 

We didn't get to ship for embarcation until 13:20 and there were the long lines I was trying to avoid. But, still, one of the easiest embarcations I've ever experienced. Much better than the Legend's. Disembarcation was so quick and easy we had to wait for our ride home because we never expected it to go so fast and smoothly!!

 

I agree that many people didn't seem to know about the various themes. You'd really have to read the "Today" flier they give each night to even notice it. They should have the night's dress/theme displayed prominently.

 

I had no problems with the casino at all, though I did notice that the guys who worked the casino were not what I'd call overly friendly. I also didn't think it was particularly smoky. It WAS, though, HOT by the slots!! All the public rooms tended to be warm or ok, never real cool. The Legend's dining room was so cold it was almost intolerable, so other than the casino's extra warm temperatures, didn't mind it in the other rooms. The main dancing bar was always cool enough to dance without getting too over-heated.

 

Didn't like the layout of decks 3 and 4, where you couldn't get from one end of the ship to the other without either going up to deck 5 or going outside and back in, and even that was tricky. Put a lot of strain on deck 5 with people having to use that deck to get to locations on lower decks.

 

The main pool was WAAAY too noisy and crowded for us. Wished they had dance classes other than on deck there. We used the aft pool and jacuzzi, which was quiet and nice.

 

Would have wanted more time in San Juan and Nassau. The specialty restaurant, Vicenza, was only so-so. Although Celine had some of the best tiramazu (sp) we'd ever tasted anywhere. Wouldn't bother with it again, though. Nothing like the spectacular specialty restaurant on the Legend.

 

Scuba dived at Coki Beach in St. Thomas. They pick you up for free, it's very reasonably priced, and the diving is good and easy, as you just walk into the ocean. No dive boats to mess with. They told us about a wonderful restaurant in Charlotte Amalie called Cuzzin's that served great Caribbean food at a good price.

 

Took a tour in San Juan, Latin Tradition Show. Long bus ride, but the show was worth it. Some of the best guitar playing I've ever heard (classical Spanish/Flamanco) Dancers were good, too. Wished we had some daytime hours in San Juan, though.

 

Elaine's right that there's not a whole lot to do on Catalina Island. They did have music and games, and good bbq. They did warn us about jellyfish, but we never saw any and the water was gorgeous! We didn't find the locals trying to sell stuff any more obnoxious than on other Caribbean Islands we've been on. Thought they were kinda typical. Didn't get off ship in mainland DR. Heard I missed a good show (Kandela).

 

Wished I'd had more time with my Cruise Critic friends. Ran into Jeff quite a few times and saw some of y'all at one of the shows, but that was it.

 

Didn't find a problem with the language. I kind of liked hearing the different languages and thought how cool it was many times the same person spoke 4 out of 5 of them. They usually had to switch announcers when it came to the German, though. LOL.

 

The shops had some of the best prices I've seen on cruise ships. Was favorably impressed with that. Selection was skimpy, though.

 

Loved the murals and atrium, which is in the front of this ship, unlike most others. Magica is a beautiful ship. And, YES, I'd definitely recommend her to others and I'd go back on her in a NY minute!! All of you counting down til your own sailing dates, HAVE FUN!!! :)

Hi, Elaine. I'm trying to figure out our attire for the week -- Can you tell me exactly which night is which theme (we go on the eastern Caribbean route that leaves next Sunday). Also, do you know anyone that went on the bioluminescent bay tour in San Juan. I'm trying to find out what time it leaves (in other words, will we have time to go to dinner that night?) Thanks. Cheryl

 

Monday is formal; so is Friday. Thursday was Caribbean. I think it was Wednesday that was Italien night. Make sure you stay in dining room to see the waiters perform. They were a scream!! Saturday is toga night. Can't remember Tuesday.

 

I spoke to a couple who went on the bay tour and they loved it. Don't have any other info about it, though.

..

 

 

Monday was the 1st Formal Night and most of the passengers dressed up

 

Wednesday was Italian Flag Colour Night.... Wear Red, White & Green- you can tell that most passengers weren't aware of it but still most wore red, white or green from whatever their wardrobe was....

 

Thursday was Tropical Night.... Most Passengers Wore Flowers/Tropical outfit

 

Friday was 2nd Formal Night and some of the passengers dressed up

 

Saturday was Toga Night...at least 40% of the passengers had on Togas with about 1% of them definitely coming from home (I actually purchased mine on eBay!!!).... this was fun....do it.... If you plan on using the Ships Sheets which they leave on the bed for you, bring safety pins with you!!! :)

Obviously I left out a lot of little things, but if you have any questions, please ask and I will do my best to answer them for you...

Sorry if you don't agree with me, but this is my story and I'm sticking with it!!!

.

 

Boy, what a mean little girl you are! Maybe you should just cruise Carnival next time with lots of people that you know!!!

 

That is my suggestion!

Elaine515,

 

You said that there were alot of kids in your group? Did they use

the kids club? Was there a language barrier there? Thanks

 

Lisa 4/9 Magica

Boy, what a mean little girl you are! Maybe you should just cruise Carnival next time with lots of people that you know!!!

 

 

 

That is my suggestion!

 

I am NOT a mean little girl... I didn't say we had a terrible time (which we didn't)... We actually had a good time and I know that everyone else will to but....

 

 

Ric Ric Ric.... I missed you guys sooooooooo much.... Dan, Darla, Tim and Susie did get that hug that you passed along to me.... And yes, we did have a good time but next times its Carnival all the way!!!

 

Ciao!!! :)

 

 

...

Elaine515,

 

You said that there were alot of kids in your group? Did they use

the kids club? Was there a language barrier there? Thanks

 

Lisa 4/9 Magica

 

 

Lisa,

 

Unfortunately we personally did not use the Squok Club but a couple of others who did said their kids absolutely loved it. I did speak with a couple of the Camp Counselors (we went to the Camp Meeting 8PM the first night) and they did speak English from what we could tell....

 

 

.

Was on the Magica March 5 2006 sailing. Had a wonderful time. My wife did not have to cook we did not make up our own bed in the morning and we took sun all day next to the pool listening to music.Remember that the Costa ships are designed by Carnival and are usually the sister ships to most of the Carnival line. Most of the crew is not directly employed by Costa but mostly subcontracted by the 3 leading cruise ship job placers. If you talk to the crew, they will tell you that they have 8 or 10 month contracts and most of them have worked on all the other leading cruiselines. Many say Costa is an Italian cruise line ....in fact it is an American owned sibling that was allowed to keep some of the Italian aspects that some of us enjoy. For most of the Americans that compalin about the language barrier, would they be happier paying 2x as much for a cruise in order to have it staffed by Americans who would bulk at the low wages being paid. RCCL, Princess, NCL,HAL and all the others staff with crew that are from Countries other than the USA. This is done so that the cruise experience can compete with land based vacations. If the language you are being addressed in is important to most people stick to vacations within ones own country. After all one would not expect Englis to be the first language in a country like France or maybe a country like Turkey or a country like Greece THIS IS ONLY MY HUMBLE OPINION.

I must have been on a different Magica.....from my view point every thing she said I disagree with. Thought it was amazing and from all the many many cruises Ive been on this is certainly way steps ahead of Carnival in every way. Its always good to have comments from each view point however and Im delighted we have that freedom.

I think Elaine is appropriate in emphasizing that Costa delivers a European cruise. Europeans are more likely than Americans to be multi-lingual. Casinos are a different phenomenon in Europe as well.

 

So if you're the kind of person who loves to be around other cultures, and you're really impressed that every level of staff on this huge ship speaks and understands 4 or 5 languages, even if they occasionally struggle with a phrase or two in English, then you will not be put off by that aspect of Costa.

And if that's not your cup of tea on your vacation, if you find any struggle with languages frustrating, and you don't really care how many languages the bartender speaks, time is short and you really just want your drink, you probably will want to choose another line (sounds like Carnival is the one). Fair enough, I think. It's a simple matter of choice, and doesn't have to be a judgement. (but I am in the former group, and wish I could speak all those languages!)

 

Just a note about theme nights--my impression is that they are something nice Costa does for passengers, but they do not necessarily advertise them. Italian night in particular did not require specific attire, it was just something the staff did for the passengers (and was great fun). Hope that takes some pressure off.

I must have been on a different Magica.....from my view point every thing she said I disagree with. Thought it was amazing and from all the many many cruises Ive been on this is certainly way steps ahead of Carnival in every way. Its always good to have comments from each view point however and Im delighted we have that freedom.

 

I thought Magica's food was MUCH better than Carnival Legend. Liked the entertainment better also. Some things about the Legend's layout I preferred, but all-in-all thought Costa every bit as good as Carnival and in some ways superior. I only wish I was back on the Magica instead of sitting here at work! :mad:

Thanks, Lawyerrose for the wardrobe input. I'm in good shape for all but the Italian night. As I recall on our last Costa cruise, not too many dressed in the Italian colors, so I'm not going to sweat that one. I've got everything else ready to go, however.

 

For Elaine or anyone that can answer this -- I think we'll probably go to the Kandela show. I just know I don't want to miss dinner that evening in the dining room (we're scheduled for the early seating). Do you think that will be a problem?

 

I have to say, it's really funny how different and varied peoples views can be. The things Elaine didn't like (the language barrier, the shows) were all things we really enjoyed about our last Costa cruise compared to other cruises we have been on. We love international travel, and to us, being surrounded by so many people from so many cultures makes the experience even more enriching.

 

Anyway -- Thanks for all the advice. I'm putting the finishing touches on my planning. One more day of work, folks, then a couple of days off to rest and finish packing (I've been packing for weeks:o) and we'll be winging our way to FLL for a couple of days on the beach, before we board the Magica on Sunday.:D

 

For Elaine or anyone that can answer this -- I think we'll probably go to the Kandela show. I just know I don't want to miss dinner that evening in the dining room (we're scheduled for the early seating). Do you think that will be a problem?

 

First seating guests can enjoy their dinner in the dining room prior to the Kandela show. The shuttle buses are available from 7:00 to 8 or 8:15 to take you to the Amphitheater. The show will not start before 9:00PM. Although there are no reserved seats, everyone is encouraged to walk all the way down front to find the best and closest seats possible. It's a 10 minute walk from the ship to where you board the shuttles and you will walk over cobblestone streets from the bus parking area to the amphitheater, comfortable shoes are suggested.

The Magica is beautiful and clean but has a really bad smell in certain places all the time. I have to tell you that if my cabin was in the vicinity of the smell, I would have asked to have the cabin changed. It was awful and Jacqueline informed us that it smells like that all the time....

Elaine, Thanks for posting your review. Not to nitpick but our reviews are just opinions, no relation to fact or truth. You told your story fine and I can see where you're coming from on many points. I'll probably write back to this thread about several other points in your story, but right now I just want to inquire what this smell is that you wrote about. I was all over the Magica on 3/5 to 3/12 and I do not recall encountering any smelly areas nor have any other people posted any reference to foul smell on the ship. Please clarify or provide some example of what you are talking about.

Elaine, Thanks for posting your review. Not to nitpick but our reviews are just opinions, no relation to fact or truth. You told your story fine and I can see where you're coming from on many points. I'll probably write back to this thread about several other points in your story, but right now I just want to inquire what this smell is that you wrote about. I was all over the Magica on 3/5 to 3/12 and I do not recall encountering any smelly areas nor have any other people posted any reference to foul smell on the ship. Please clarify or provide some example of what you are talking about.

 

 

It was definitely a FACT that the smell was on at least deck 2 towards the rear of ship. We had to pass that way every day to get to & from our cabin. It was kind of like a bad sewer smell is the best way to explain it. Either that or someone had really bad gas that week!!!

 

 

:)

There was a bad sewer smell towards decks 2 and 3, especially when we were at DR. Don't recall smelling it prior to that. They had a broken sewer line which was fixed in Nassau.

I have to say, it's really funny how different and varied peoples views can be. The things Elaine didn't like (the language barrier, the shows) were all things we really enjoyed about our last Costa cruise compared to other cruises we have been on. We love international travel, and to us, being surrounded by so many people from so many cultures makes the experience even more enriching.

 

.:D

 

Perfect way to put it. We, too, loved the international flavor of the ship and enjoyed hearing the different languages. Sometimes it was difficult to communicate, but nothing that couldn't be overcome with a little persistence and patience. :) I figure I'm the disadvantaged one, only speaking one language!

It was definitely a FACT that the smell was on at least deck 2 towards the rear of ship. We had to pass that way every day to get to & from our cabin. It was kind of like a bad sewer smell is the best way to explain it. Either that or someone had really bad gas that week!!!

 

 

:)

Hi Elaine, Thanks for explaining what the smell was. I hope it was just a temporary,broken sewer pipe/vent, and not "always like that" as your room steward said. I thought it was a gas when the yahoo from TN called you a "mean little girl." I respect everybody's opinions here on CC, even when our opinions differ. Really sorry to hear that your waiter was a zero, ours was great. I agree that the staff "talent" show wasn't the best use of an hour. Also, the locals on Catalina Island were aggressive in their "service" of getting people free chairs at the beach. They were hustling for tips but a firm "No thanks" worked for me. The vendors/hawkers were restricted to the back side of the boardwalk and were no problem for us. No, I would not tell you to stick to Carnival's ships, but I think that there were enough postings on CC prior to our cruises to let us know what to expect with Costa. I was lucky because, like you I chose Costa because of price, however, it was my first cruise and I had no basis of comparison like you did with your prior experience with Carnival.

I was on the magica. Our room was 1407, thats DECK 1, in the BACK of the boat.

We noticed the same smell in the hallway only, NOT in the room at all. It was prevelant in the aft end of the boat on decks 1, 2 & 3.

I asked a worker. It always smells like that he said and gets worse as the cruise progresses, this is because the 'pooper' as he put it, is back there.

ya it stunk, ya it sucked, but it wasnt anything worse than what my brother was passing IN our room! haha

no seriously, it was annoying but nothing to ruine an entire cruise.

 

-Joe

Elaine - add me to your buddy list if you would like to discuss anything over IM.

I'm sorry for your sub-par wait staff, we had a wonderful waiter that was probably the best service i've ever had (and i used to be a waiter so i know) i belive you got a bad apple.

 

Yes the language barrier is apparent. That is why i preach that if someone is uncomfortable with language barriers, either with the crew OR with other passengers, do not sail costa, english feels like a minority language on the ship. some are ok, some arnt, each to their own.

 

Your biggest gripe seams to be with the casino, and good reason, it seams to be your favorite place. i do agree the staff in the casino was 'cold' but this is nothing new having been to casino's in Vegas and Canada, most dealers seam cold and un-emotional.

 

I must say that i found the crew really friendly, i said HI to everone i passed in the hallway and they said HI or HELLO back to me. the passengers who did not speak english did not respond, it took me 2 days to realize that they wern't being rude, they simply didn't understand me :)

I felt that the crew's english was VERY good given their nationality. I did notice that the people with 'higher status' jobs like room steward and waiter spoke the best english while the 'lower status' jobs like garbage or towel man spoke very little english, all with good reason ofcourse.

 

Thank you very much for posting your review, i'm not knocking it at all, i just wanted to point out a few instances which i thought were anomalies and not representative of the norm.

 

imho - Jim

---Lawyerrose---

 

"Didn't like the layout of decks 3 and 4, where you couldn't get from one end of the ship to the other without either going up to deck 5 or going outside and back in, and even that was tricky. Put a lot of strain on deck 5 with people having to use that deck to get to locations on lower decks. "

 

I'm so sorry guys! you just missed my thread about nagivating the magica! it would have helped out enourmously!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=317101

Hey guys,

 

Finally able to make it back to the boards. Was busy catching up with work. Sorry didn't get to see more of you on the cruise, it went so fast and with all my family onboard, we all kept pretty busy.

 

Here's my take on a few things....

 

I had a Cat S - Suite # 7272 - First let me say that the space was not all that much different than a balcony, but all the extras we got was really nice. We did have a larger balcony, lots of closet space, a dressing room, a jacuzzi tub and double sinks which we did enjoy. We had champagne almost everyday delivered to our room by our very own butler (Crispin) and either canapes, cookies, dry snacks and we received the menu for that day's meals. The beds are hard as a rock. We sleep on a waterbed, so it was a tough night's sleep for us, (not that we had time to sleep much!).

 

A few of my family members were down on Deck 1 (1403, 1407 & 1395) and there was a definite smell in the hallway. It was the only place that I encountered that smell anywhere on the ship. I really think it's worth getting at least an oceanview as these rooms are small. They kept the upper beds down. My BIL was able to get the tool from the room steward so he could put them up and down to give them more space...they kept banging their heads. There is a definite vibration in the back of the ship, including my families rooms on deck 1 aft and the Smeralda Dining room where we had dinner each night.

 

I didn't have any negative interaction with any of the staff, I thought they were all great and had no problems with language.

 

Food : good. Pastas were EXCELLENT. Apps, soups, salads were good. Entrees were inconsistent in quality. Lobster mushy, though we could order 2 or 3 with no problem. My DH had snapper and it was rubbery - usually the result of cooking when still frozen. Desserts were ok. Coffee very good. Loved the pizza, buffet was fine for me. I don't eat much at breakfast or lunch anyway.

 

Dining Room : staff was ok, nothing special, they delivered our food timely & accurately, not much interaction, but we had our own company. When we asked for lime for aour bottled water, we were told they would try since they had to get it at the bar, but from that night after we got it no problem. We ended up at the 8:45pm seating even though I requested 8:00pm (which on some evenings was pushed up to 8:30pm), but still very late. We usually finished with dinner around 10:30 and had to p/u the kids @ Squok Club around 11pm.

 

Me and DH went to Club Vincenza one night (free if you book a suite) and the service is exceptional. The food was quite good - they had lamb chops, veal chops, steak, fish, etc.

 

Entertainment : We missed most of the shows, but did go out dancing after we got the kids to bed. We always found a place to dance with music we enjoyed. We completely avoided the disco. It was obvious that this was for the teens. We went 1 night to check it out and was APPALLED at how some of the girls were dancing. If their mothers saw how they were dancing....:eek:

 

Toga night was fun and we all did it. I was surprised there weren't more dressed but the Talent show was a hoot. The heckler in back of me was screaming "feed the lions, feed the lions" regardless if the talent was good or not. It was so funny!

 

Ports : San Juan - walked along the Promenade and up to El Morro Fort. We enjoyed seeing the historic sites and we just made it before it got dark. We felt completely safe walking around.

 

St. Thomas - we went to St. John. We took a taxi to Red Hook Ferry, a taxi to Cinnamon Bay and it was SOOOOOO worth the trouble and the expense. We stayed there for a few hours and a gorgeous beach, part campground. had a snack bar and showers and you could rent chairs and watersports equipment. Very "rustic and natural" and not crowded at all.

 

Catalina Island - fun day @ beach. Didn't get bitten by jelly fish. The local merchants were agressive only if you stepped into their territory. They were not allowed past a certain point on the walkway or on the beach at all. I just kindly said no thanks and didn't have a problem. It's sort of a shame because they would have more sales if they were less aggressive. It completely turned everyone off and they walked away instead of making purchases. The other thing they did is "mark their territory" by giving you a necklace...that meant you were their perspective customer and told the others to back off. They all had the same stuff. This is what made it so competitive. You could walk in the next booth and buy the same stuff.

 

As far as private island comparison, I would rate this similar to NCL's Great Stirrup Cay, but not nearly as wonderful as HAL's Half Moon Cay.

 

Casa De Campo - The Kandela show and seeing the village Alton de Chavon was really worth the trip. Very organized tour. PLenty of buses, wever had to wait for a bus. There is absolutely nothing when the ship docks at this port. DO NOT GET OFF AND EXPLORE ON YOUR OWN. We heard that someone got dropped off somewhere inthe middle of nowhere. Nothing but jungle roads.

 

Squok Club - VERY FRIENDLY STAFF!!!! It was so easy to check-in/out the kids, even if they were in the buffet or somewhere else on the ship. We had kids from 3-12 and they all enjoyed it. They went mostly in the morning hours and then evening hours. In the afternoons they preferred swimming and the waterslide. Not sure about the teen activities as my niece preferred to hang out with us and she did the babysitting @ night.

 

Before dinner me and DH would go to the Piano/Wine bar. They served focaccia bread and cheese....it was nice with our wine.

 

The wine package worked out well. They give you coupons. We could order wine and have it delivered to our room or we get a bottle (and bottled water too) from any bar on the ship.

 

Overall this was a good cruise. I can't say there was anything bad about the ship or the experience. I think what made it great was having family onboard. I think they need to work on improving the quality of the food. If they fix that, I'd cruise Costa again. I loved the ship. Yes we ran into the problem with getting around the Portofino Dining room in the middle of the ship on Deck 3 & 4, but once we got the hang of it and realized we had to go up to deck 5 to get forward/aft, it was no problem.

 

I'm sure I forgot something. If I remember, I'll post.