Thoughts on my MSC Magnifica 14 – 23 January Eastern Mediterranean Cruise

[jjdc]

First, I want to thank all the posters on this board who provided me useful information while I was preparing for this cruise. My MSC cruise experience far exceeded my expectations. I guess I owe thanks to those posters who basically said it would be my worst cruise experience ever since they made me lower my expectations to almost nothing.... I will also post my review to the cruise review part of the webpage. It's pretty long, but I hope there is some information that will be of use to others planning to cruise on MSC and specifically on MSC Magnifica. I'm happy to try to answer any questions. Please keep in mind that this reflects my opinion of my cruise experience; your opinions or experiences may vary.

 

Pre-Cruise Stay in Venice

 

I spent one night at the Hotel Antiche Figure. I chose the hotel based on its proximity to Piazzale Roma (I had taken the ATVO express bus from Marco Polo Airport to Piazzale Roma) and its positive reviews on Trip Advisor. I was pleased with the service there and my room and the value for what I spent. I recommend it with no hesitation if you are looking for a combination of convenience to the port, value, clean room, and helpful staff.

 

Embarkation

 

I left my hotel around 1 pm, walked to Piazzale Roma, and took the 1 Euro People Mover to the port. There was a shuttle bus waiting at the people mover stop at the port to take us to the terminal for check-in. I had no wait in the line to get my cruiseticket booklet after showing my e-ticket, and the staff put tags on my luggage for check in. I quickly dropped off my luggage and headed into the terminal. I was congratulating myself for having chosen to arrive a bit later and avoiding lines until I entered the terminal and got upstairs. While it didn't take me long to get checked in and get my MSC card, I had quite a wait before my number was called to board. There were plenty of places to sit though and after looking at the displays for the spa, drink packages, and excursions, I made myself comfortable and read until my number was called. The benefit of the wait was that my luggage was waiting for me when I got onboard so I was quickly able to get unpacked before we set sail.

 

Onboard

 

Cabin

 

I had a balcony cabin on deck 9. It was not significantly different than other cabins I've had on other cruise lines. My cabin steward did a very good job of keeping my cabin clean. While I did have some problems communicating with him since English apparently isn't one of his strongest languages, this caused no problems, and it was clear to me that he was doing his best to make sure I was happy with things related to my cabin.

 

Ship

 

I thought the ship was beautiful and kept very clean. I didn't have significant problems with smoke since there were many lounges that were completely non-smoking although there were areas that I avoided completely (like the casino) because they were too smoky for me. I didn't have any one favorite lounge although I did enjoy a pre-dinner drink in the atrium area on deck 6 where I could hear and see the musicians on deck 5. I did find though that area got too congested in between 1st and 2nd seating on some nights to be very enjoyable.

 

Activities

 

I thought the evening shows that I attended were good, and was especially impressed by some of the acrobatic type acts. There were repeats of some of the individual acts (not whole shows) by the end of the week which surprised me though.

 

I didn't participate in any onboard activities. I typically don't but if that is something that you like about cruising, it did seem that MSC offers a bit less along those lines than U.S.-based cruiselines, but then this was a relatively port intensive itinerary. They did have bingo, but since I find bingo annoying in one language there is no way I could sit through them calling the numbers in all 5 languages – O sixty seven, O Sessantasette, O Soixante-sept.... There were dancing lessons, aerobics and stretching, arts and crafts, and quiz games most days.

 

Food

 

I ate nearly all my meals onboard in the dining rooms. I thought the food was fine, no better and no worse than what I've had on recent cruises on Royal Caribbean or Princess. I was happier with some of my choices than with others, but I can say that about every cruise I've been on.

 

For breakfast, I alternated between room service coffee and pastries, a bar for a quick caffelatte and pastry before an early shore excursion, and the dining room for coffee, a pastry, fruit and the smoked salmon. I was very happy with each of those options, but I'm not one who likes a big cooked breakfast.

 

I went to the tea in the buffet area once on a day when I had missed both breakfast and lunch. I wasn't very impressed with the selection of sandwiches, but the cookies were excellent!

 

For lunch and dinners onboard, I ate solely in the dining room. I tended to like the appetizers (especially the ones with calamari or seppie (cuttlefish) and pastas and risottos more than the main courses. Desserts were a bit hit or miss, but it was the first time I've enjoyed Baked Alaska in years given the quality of the ice cream they used. My dining room steward at dinner was very good; his assistant wasn't as good but you could see that our main server was trying to help him improve. I knew not to expect them to refill my water and wine glasses so I wasn't bothered by having to do that myself. I expect I drank less wine since I didn't have someone topping up my glass all the time. One of the Assistant Maitre d's stopped by our table most evenings to ensure that all was well; this was a nice extra touch that I haven't consistently received on any cruise line. I also give MSC Magnifica very high marks in dealing with special diets. One woman at my dinner table needed a gluten-free diet and another needed a sulfite-free diet. There was a special waiter trained in dealing with special diets, especially the gluten free, who ensured that they each had a fantastic and safe dining experience. He mentioned that three MSC ships, the Magnifica and two others (one of which I believe he said was the Splendida) had a special certification for handling gluten-free. So if that is important to you, I would recommend seeking information from MSC on which ships have this certification. This special waiter however wasn't handling the menu for someone at my table with a nut allergy and I wasn't as impressed with how that was addressed.

 

Ports and Shore Excursions

Bari

 

This is an easy port to do on your own if you're interested in seeing the old city. For those not interested in walking, there were some local companies selling guided tours by mini-trains. Sorry, I didn't check out the prices. It was maybe a 20 minute walk from where we were docked to the castle (Castello Svevo). After visiting the castle, I chose to get lost wandering in the old city before stopping at a restaurant (Cianna Cianne) for lunch for some wonderful orecchiette with seafood. After lunch, I visited both the Basilica di San Nicola and the Cattedral di San Sabino before making my way back to the ship.

 

Rhodes

 

Another easy port to do on your own if your interest is in seeing Rhodes City itself. Again, I walked from the port into town and on my own visited some of the more well-known attractions (Street of the Knights and the Palace of the Grand Masters) and enjoyed wandering through the shops.

 

Haifa

 

I chose to do MSC tours for our 2-days in Haifa. On the first day, I visited Galilee and Nazareth. This tour was conducted in English and German. On my second day, I visited Jerusalem. This tour was conducted in English and Spanish. Tour guides on both days were excellent. People I met onboard seemed even more pleased with their guides. We also had someone from MSC on our bus each day. I've not seen that before on other cruiselines, and I think it is a good way for MSC to remain aware of the quality of the tours being provided to their guests.

 

I enjoyed the Galilee and Nazareth tour and especially liked some of the views of the Sea of Galilee. I believe the information in the tour write-up is misleading as it indicates a potential for an “intimate group ceremony” to renew your baptismal promises, but I saw no ceremony. It seemed you rented/bought/were given(?) a “tunic” really a long t-shirt and went into the water on your own. The setting however was very beautiful. There was also a large shop where we were encouraged to shop. We then drove to Nazareth where we had sufficient time to see the Church of the Annunciation, but had no free time because people returned late to the bus from our previous stop.

 

I also very much enjoyed the day in Jerusalem. It was very rushed, but our guide made the best use of time possible. We pretty much followed the tour as described on the MSC website. We were given a small amount of free time at the Western Wall and near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, but other than that we were kept together. We had lunch after we had left the old city at a hotel where a buffet area was set up especially for the MSC tour buses. My only complaint about the tour was the last stop for “shopping” where we had to listen to a presentation on diamonds before being given an opportunity to shop in a shop where I believe things were over priced and very commercialized. Had I known, I would have made better use of the little free time near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to shop in smaller shops.

 

A significant negative of the tours being in 2 languages is that some people were not as considerate as I believe they should have been when the guide was speaking a language other than the one they preferred to listen to. Another significant negative of the large size of the tour group was that when a small number of people (4) chose to show up 30 minutes late for our meeting time on our first stop on the Nazareth/Galilee tour, the other 40 of us were inconvenienced and lost the opportunity for any free time in Nazareth. Since there was only one place these people could have been, I do believe that the guide or the MSC staff member on the tour could have done more to get these people back on the bus before we wasted 30 minutes, but then it was my mistake to not have raised that with them at the time.

 

Athens

 

Because of our relatively short stop here, I ended up taking the MSC Acropolis and City Tour. Our guide was very good. She got us to the Parliament in time to see the Changing of the Guard. I was very happy with the slow pace we took up the steps to the Acropolis, with multiple stops at which our guide would provide more information about what we would see once we arrived at the top. We also were given what I felt was adequate time for visiting the site and shopping at the meeting point if you wished.

 

Disembarkation

We arrived to heavy fog in Venice which had caused the port authority to close the port temporarily. We were informed that we would likely be able to dock around 10:00; 1 hour later than scheduled. Fortunately, the port re-opened and we docked right around 10:00. I was able to disembark at about 11:45. I very easily found my luggage. There were no signs that I could see for the shuttle to the people mover, and I had to ask people where to find it. There was quite a long line of people waiting, but I waited no more than 15 minutes before I was on a shuttle bus.

[Podie]

Thanks for your review! We are leaving on a Western Med cruise aboard MSC Orchestra out of Livorno in April so I'm hungry for all the information I can find on MSC. Thanks!:)

[Chris62eng]

Thanks for posting your experience. I am on MSC Musica in May doing the Eastern Mediterrean so some of your info was helpful. This is not only my first time on MSC but first cruise ever.

[belle123321]

thankyou so very much for your thorough review, a snippet of which laura/globetrotter helpfully posted on roll call for magnifica cruise from venice 17 feb.

 

you have put my mind at ease in light of the mixed reviews.

 

may i ask you: did you have to be in and start breakfast within a 15 min time frame or else miss out? i recall reading a review about this that even though breakfast may be served for a couple of hours you must be in before they close the doors? my husband requires a hearty breakfast and i dont want to get this wrong! considering we have picked the first dining options, im wondering how early we must be there by.

 

belle

[Capricruiser]

Breakfast is anytime within operating hours and open seating in all MSC MDR's. For example on the Fantasia they open at 07.30 and close at 09.30. You can walk in anytime you want within those hours. The self-service buffet restaurant is open longer, 07.00 to 10.30.

[jjdc]

Breakfast is anytime within operating hours and open seating in all MSC MDR's. For example on the Fantasia they open at 07.30 and close at 09.30. You can walk in anytime you want within those hours. The self-service buffet restaurant is open longer, 07.00 to 10.30.

 

Ditto to what Capricruiser posted. I showed up for breakfast and lunch each a couple of times near the end of the open hours for the dining room and all was fine. I was promptly shown to a table and felt no need to order any less or fewer courses than I desired just because I showed up near the end of the open seating times. I only wished at breakfast I could have gotten the waiters to stop offering me more servings of bread or pastries! I'm not very good passing up that temptation.

 

At dinner time in the main dining rooms, they ask that you arrive for dinner within 15 minutes of your start time. Maybe that is where the other person got the idea of needing to be there within 15 minutes of the start time.

 

I honestly thoroughly enjoyed my cruise. The diversity of the passengers, the different menus and foods, the live music in the evening throughout the ship all contributed to my enjoyment. I did have some minor frustrations, but I can't remember a cruise where I didn't have some minor frustrations. I try not to dwell on those.

 

While off-topic to your question, my biggest hint that I forgot to post in my review was that I would recommend that if you're doing an MSC excursion in Haifa that you arrive early to the meeting point. It was really disorganized the morning of our full day tours in Haifa. If they had just separated the meeting points into more lounges or had signs to let you know what tours in what languages checked in with what MSC employee, it would have been less chaotic. I did pass on that point verbally and in my cruise comment card, I would be surprised if they made changes before your cruise.

[belle123321]

jjdc and capricruiser, thank you! you're responses have made me one happy woman. my husband and i leave in a weeks time so getting very excited (heading to dubai and venice for carnevale pre cruise) sincere thanks for the info and i will keep the haifa tip in mind

[AmoMondo]

jjdc and capricruiser, thank you! you're responses have made me one happy woman. my husband and i leave in a weeks time so getting very excited (heading to dubai and venice for carnevale pre cruise) sincere thanks for the info and i will keep the haifa tip in mind

 

Oh wow, Venice and Dubai as well that is going to be some trip! Have a blast!

[belle123321]

yes amomondo, so looking forward to it :)

 

ps just wanted to post that youve created a super name ( amomondo) very clever. and your sign off shows precisely that youve got the kms/mileage up to prove it right.

[woottok]

thank you for a very good balanced view of your cruise. I have just booked on the new Davina ship. Could you tell me if the crew speak mostly Italian please?

[AmoMondo]

Only officers, reception & tour office staff and entertainment team will be Italian. The rest are from the 4 corners of the globe. They'll have to be fluent in Italaian as that is what most passengers will be in the Med. That said they all speak English to a greater or lesser degree. As long as you don't use slang, local colloquialisms or talk too fast, you'll be understood. At dinner you'll be seated with other English speakers and your waiter (probably Balinese or Indonesian) will speak English. It can be a hit or miss with some of the cabin stewards but they doma great job and try very hard to please.

[forbesfan]

A question for you folks who have done the Magnifica cruise. In Haifa and the tours from there what did you do for currency, did you change into their currency or where you able to use Euros Sterling or Dollars. Thank you in anticipation of your response and also for the great review.

[Bigbum & Shortarse]

We were in Israel two weeks ago on MSC Magnifica and we had no problems with payments, you could pay in US dollars, Euros or Shekels and receive change in same. This was in souvenir and gift shops but supermarkets may be different. We booked the MSC excursions for Nazareth/Canaan and Jerusalem/Bethlehem and found them excellent, full report of our cruise to follow. Have a great cruise.

[forbesfan]

Thank you B&S for your info and for your good wishes

[jjdc]

A question for you folks who have done the Magnifica cruise. In Haifa and the tours from there what did you do for currency, did you change into their currency or where you able to use Euros Sterling or Dollars. Thank you in anticipation of your response and also for the great review.

 

I pretty much echo what B&S already said. I didn't have an opportunity to change currency and in the end am glad that I didn't. The shops I visited had no problem taking U.S. dollars, and I heard many references to Euros. What I didn't seem to hear though were references to British pounds. I would have been comfortable using a credit card in the couple of shops that I bought things in as well, but I had sufficient cash for my relatively small purchases so I just used it. If you're booked with MSC tours, I honestly wouldn't worry about getting Israeli currency.

 

Have a great time on your cruise!

 

B&S, were you on the 14 January cruise? I'm looking forward to seeing your review. I'm sure there are things that although we sailed on the same ship and same or nearly the same itinerary on which we might have differing views. It will be helpful for those on cruises in the near future to learn about your experience.

[Bigbum & Shortarse]

Thanks jjdc for the interest, yes we were on Magnifica 14th to 23rd January cruise, I will log my report tomorrow (8th) and start a new thread.