Our First Ever Cruise - Magica 4th July

[twojays]

Hi everyone,:)

I have just found this website - and looking at all of the information, it is really helpful, especially reading about all of you experienced cruisers.

We have never been on a cruise before - :confused: but are really looking forward to going on the Costa Magica on 4th July from Savona. We will be flying from Manchester to Milan on the same day.

 

I would be very grateful for any information. There are so many questions I would like to ask someone.

 

e.g.

We were asked what time we wanted to dine - and so we said the early sitting. Does anyone know if this means we have to be at the early sitting for breakfast also?

 

This may sound like a silly question - but when we have unpacked on board - do our cases stay in the cabin?

 

Will there be a safe in our cabin?

 

Might I be sea-sick?

 

Is coffee or tea included with/after breakfast, lunch and dinner?

 

Are there ironing facilities?

 

We hope to be going on some excursions, but if you decide to go ashore alone, can you return to the ship at any time, or would it have to be the same time that the excursion returns?:rolleyes:

 

Does anyone know if there is any ballroom dancing on board?

 

I registered on the Costa website - but when I entered our booking reference, it said it wasnt recognised - now I cant even log in. I have sent an email to Costa, but so far no answers. Any suggestions?

 

Sorry if these seem trivial questions - but its all new to us.

 

If any of you have any answers, or suggestions, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in anticipation!:cool:

[Jo42]

Just returned from the Magica - hope this answers your Q's

 

We were asked what time we wanted to dine - and so we said the early sitting. Does anyone know if this means we have to be at the early sitting for breakfast also?

 

Breakfast can be served in your room or at any time between the breakfast hours in your assigned resturaunt

This may sound like a silly question - but when we have unpacked on board - do our cases stay in the cabin?

 

Cases fit neatly under the beds

 

Will there be a safe in our cabin?

 

There is a safe in the cabin, free, locked and unlocked using any card with magnetic strip eg your costa card, credit card even your tesco club card! Just so long as you open it with the same card you locked it with!

Might I be sea-sick?

 

You might - then again you might not! Sorry, never experienced sickness, even in bad weather. The Magica is very stable. Midship cabins are the best for 'lack of motion'

Is coffee or tea included with/after breakfast, lunch and dinner?

 

Included with breakfast and dinner. Available up on pool deck all day but it plastic cups

Are there ironing facilities?

No irons allowed in cabins - got to pay laundry charges

 

We hope to be going on some excursions, but if you decide to go ashore alone, can you return to the ship at any time, or would it have to be the same time that the excursion returns?:rolleyes:

 

Able to return at any time

Does anyone know if there is any ballroom dancing on board?

There was ballroom dancing some eves

 

I registered on the Costa website - but when I entered our booking reference, it said it wasnt recognised - now I cant even log in. I have sent an email to Costa, but so far no answers. Any suggestions?

 

Simpy try again - sometimes its a bit tempramental!

[twojays]

Thank you so much Jo45, for taking the time to reply (I was worried I would get 0)

 

It's so nice to hear from you, especially having actually been on the Costa Magica.

 

Did you do the same cruise we are going on? (Savona,Barcelona,Palma,Tunis, La Valletta,Palermo & Rome)?

 

Your answers are very useful - and I will try the Costa site again.

 

I keep checking the Webcam on the Magica - its nice to see where we will be in a few weeks time.

 

What was your impression of the Magica?

[twojays]

Sorry - Jo42 (noticed that I mis-typed your name)

 

Just been learning how to set my Countdown clock.

Hope it works.

 

I have been reading posts about buying kids soda packages,(even if you are not a kid) in advance, would you say there is an advantage to this?:rolleyes:

[Jo42]

:) Hi, we really loved the Magica and yes, we did the same itinerary. My favourite port was Rome where we chose to do the excursion called 'Rome on your own'. I was with my aunt and mum who are both not so able now and so we did not ge off at every port (we missed Tunisia and Palma - but I'm going back - this time on Fortuna - with hubby and teenage daughter in July so not too upset about that!). There was always enough English speaking guests to make up a 'tour party' and the english speaking host Ricky was fun - although he didn't always tell you the right info!! English speaking means Americans, Canadians, Maltese and us Brits together with 'other' English speaking europeans - a good mix I thought.

 

The ship is truly lovely - quite glitzy/vegas in style! I've been on the Atlantica before and they are much the same. The staff were very attentive without being intrusive. Dinner service was quite slow but I enjoy not being rushed and we talked for ages with our tablemates - we were always last out. Have you asked for a large or private table? We had 1st sitting in the Smerelda Rest, deck 4, table of 9, our table mates were from various parts of the uk and were great company.

 

We had a balcony cabin on deck 7 which was plenty big enough for 3 ladies and all their accompanying baggage! If you have a balcony cabin dont forget to take a bungee rope to hold open the balcony door - this was the best tip ever on this board.

 

We enjoyed the food, particularly the pastas, risottos and pizza! We also visited the speciality resturaunt 'Vicenzo' which was very nice - costs and extra 20 euros pp.

 

We bought the wine package which I feel was good value as it included bottled mineral water which we used at the dinner table and at lunch sometimes and I have ordered the soft drinks one as well for our daughter on the Fortuna. I think you can have sodas, non alcohol cocktails and milkshakes on this package.

 

I would be delighted to answer any of your questions - its great to relive my trip:) . I collected each day's newsletter which I could send on to you if you wanted. However, as your programme will probably be identical perhaps it would spoil the novelty of everything - anyway let me know.

 

You'll have a great time I'm sure.

[jeb9860]

I noticed you are flying from Manchester, If you are worried about being seasick. Go into Boots and buy their own brand Travel sickness tablets (white box blue writing with symbols of a plane, boat and car in blue). They work and are so mild they have no side effects. I am originally from England but live in the states now and I get my mother -in-law to send them over for the kids and me ( we only used them one day). They are the best I've found. Also if you are English take your own teabags, the tea on the ships are so weak, we stock up everytime we travel back to London. I also took a travel iron with me and although it says no irons I used mine and my butler and steward who saw it never said a word, but with 2 little boys I had to rinse clothes out. But mostly enjoy your trip. We only do the caribbean as we cruise over Christmas and we love Costa.

[TDOTCRUISR]

twojays: No question is ever too silly! If it can help alleviate some of the stress of a 1st time cruise, you should ask away. I wish I was on this msg board the first time I cruised. I found myself running around alot & trying to do everything that is listed on each day's newsletter-for fear of 'missing' something. I ended up spending every night, planning & scheduling-got no sleep for the entire wk & was exhausted (still had a great time though). As you can see, many of us have cruised before, but we are all on the msg boards asking questions still. Just ask away because someone else probably has the same question, but simply doesn't want to be the one to ask. Honestly speaking, the worst part of any cruise is usually the getting on/off the ship. Rest assured, it all went pretty smoothly on Costa.

[Jo42]

During afternoon tea there was a wide selection of different teas available. I'm a coffee drinker, but the earl grey tea, with lemon was really nice. If you are a tea drinker, drop by the afternoon tea session up on the pool deck.

[twojays]

Jo42, TDOTCRUISER, jeb9860:

 

Thank you so much for your replies - they are really helpful and I will take all your advice about the Travel Sickness tablets, the Bungee rope for the balcony door, and the Afternoon Tea tip.

 

I now dont feel silly about asking questions - and will be asking a few more very soon.

 

Thanks again

[Jo42]

Twojays, have you booked a Costa transfer? I was worried that they would not be there for us or that we would have to wait for several flights to come in before departing, I was reassured on these boards and all went smoothly on arrival. Our journey down to Savonna was just about 2 hours. The first part of the drive is quite boring but the scenery gets better the nearer you get.

 

When you get to the port it is just like an airport terminal, plenty of space a bar a cafe etc. You will be given a boarding number on the coach. We were number 17, when we arrived I think they were boarding number 9 and we waited about an hour - just time for a drink and a wander round. There were a couple of desks selling the drinks packages and information about the spa and childrens activities.

 

For some reason, on our return transfer, he took us a real 'cooks' tour and we were more than three hours!! Don't know why - he wasn't lost as they did tell us at the dock that we would be 3 hours with one toilet stop.

 

Thats all for now!

[twojays]

Hi again.:)

 

We fly to Milan, and then transfers have been arranged - but I dont know whether we will be on a coach or what, and we havent been told yet how long it should take.

I was wondering if it gets cold on board in the evening - if you are out on the decks? Is it breeezy as you are travelling? So would I need a jacket/cardigan?

 

Are the cabins air-conditioned? So are they warm or cold inside? We have booked a balcony cabin, so I was looking forward to sitting out on that some of the time.:confused:

 

How does it work with the cabin stewards? I read on one of the postings that they came in as soon as you left for breakfast. Is that the only time they are around?

 

Am I right in thinking that there are 3 set meal times? Or apart from dinner, can you eat roughly when you want?

We have booked a table for two - is that only for dinner?

 

We quite like the idea of exploring on our own at some of the ports - so we were wondering which ones would be the best to do this?

 

I presume we will need some Euros, although it is a cashless system on board.

 

I am having terrible trouble logging into the Costa Website. I registered without a problem the other day, and changed my password as suggested. But yesterday, and today I have not been able to log in at all. I emailed Costa Webteam - and they just say if I am still having a problem, then I should ring them to pre-book anything, but is 1-800....... a USA number?

I even tried to register again - but now there doesnt seem to be a way of putting England/UK in as my country - the only options are Canada, Mexico or USA. So I have given up on that for the moment.

 

Any comments appreciated.

[Jo42]

I was wondering if it gets cold on board in the evening - if you are out on the decks? Is it breeezy as you are travelling? So would I need a jacket/cardigan?

As you are going in July I reckon the breeze will be welcome. In May it did get a bit breezy out there particularly at night. The balconies are quite sheltered and its lovely to sit out there.

 

Are the cabins air-conditioned? So are they warm or cold inside?

Cabin has air con with a control. We had ours down cool as poss and the door open. Air con can be quite noisy when it comes on during the night but you get used to it.

 

How does it work with the cabin stewards? I read on one of the postings that they came in as soon as you left for breakfast. Is that the only time they are around?

She seemed to come in every time we left the cabin! Fresh towels every time you used one and beds turned down every night. Watch out for your PJ's!!!!!

Am I right in thinking that there are 3 set meal times? Or apart from dinner, can you eat roughly when you want?

We have booked a table for two - is that only for dinner?

Your table seating is for dinner in the main dining room only for dinner. If you lunch in the main dining room you can sit where you like so long as it is in your assigned dining room - the waiter tends to seat you with other english speaking guests. Alternatively you can eat at any of the pool deck buffets/grills etc. The only time there was very little available was between 2.30pm and 4.00pm while they set up for the next meal!

We quite like the idea of exploring on our own at some of the ports - so we were wondering which ones would be the best to do this?

We set off on our own in Malta and Barcelona - very easy. I believe the dock at Palma is similarly close to the town centre. Have you seen the site on board with all the Magica pictures? It has great detail about all the ports too. I walked ashore at Palermo also, but went in the wrong area and it wasn't too nice, next time I'll be better prepared knowing exactly where to go in advance. These sites are great for preparation!

I presume we will need some Euros, although it is a cashless system on board.

Some Euros fror excursions will be needed. Malta is maltese Lira still. Dollars or Euros are good for Tunis - they dont like their own currency.

 

Costa Website

Are you on the co.uk site? Is it the initial log in or when you enter your booking number that it fails? I did have a problem in the early days and it seems it is a common problem, but I've tried just now and got in ok. I hope you can get it sorted as its quite exciting to see your cruise on the screen before you with your cabin flashing up on the screen!. The 1-800 number is for Americans. Have you tried the Customer Service number in the brochure?

Good Luck

talk soon

[lesleyfb]

I had the same trouble with the website but after contacting Costa on 020 7940 4499 after a few days I was able to log on and book some of our shore excursions. We also booked onboard using the forms you pick up at the excursion desk and there was never any problem booking an excursion (without having to queue up) and the tickets always appeared promptly in the cabin.

 

Here is a review of our cruise - we had a good cruise. A cruise is what you make it and we ALWAYS enjoy ourselves and you will too. I have given a lot of detail hoping you get a good idea of what to look forward to.

 

MARCH 24TH 2005 MEDITERRANEAN CRUISE ON THE COSTA MAGICA

 

Wed 23rd - Stayed overnight at the Holiday Inn near Heathrow which cost £119 (no breakfast) but with 11 nights car parking.

 

Thu 24th - We were up at 4am to catch the hopper bus at 5am from the hotel to the airport as we were catching the 7.10am flight from Heathrow to Milan on Alitalia. We got to the airport about 5.15am but couldn't join the massive queue because a sign told you not to join before 5.30am. We did this but every so often Alitalia would call people forward who were going on earlier flights. This happened about 3 times. One British couple behind us were very angry and tried going to one of the counters to see if they could be taken 1st. (They were very posh and probably didn't think they should be queuing with the rest of us). After he was sent back from one desk, a few minutes later she went to another check-in desk and lo and behold she signalled him to join her. That was them taken care of. The rest of us were still queuing at 6.45am. We had to run to the gate so there was no time for duty free or breakfast. Because we have different surnames and were separated the last time on Alitalia I took the trouble to ring them beforehand and explain the situation and "booked" seats side-by-side. What happened when we got to the desk - separated. What is the point? What is the point? On the plane the breakfast was disgusting and the pilot was up and down like a yo-yo. His descent was appalling. The worst thing though was when we were waiting to take off and we noticed that a whole bunch of luggage was being covered up and being taken back to the terminal. Sure enough half the people on the flight only received part of their luggage. They had to fill in reports and that delayed the bus departure time. The worst of it was knowing that Alitalia had done it deliberately because there was so much freight on the flight that they just didn't bother loading all the luggage! Unbelievable. Luckily Costa arranged for the luggage to be delivered to Naples (our next stop) but Alitalia couldn't have cared less. We reckon we were lucky as because we were very late getting our luggage checked in that meant our bags were on the top of the heap and would have been loaded 1st. (Don't know if that's the case or not).

 

Overview

Costa Magica is an Italian ship and I was interested to see how the Italian cruise experience differed from the American experience. Well it was definitely "Cruising as only Italians know how"!!! Everybody was complaining about the food & service. I don't know if this was because the Magica is a fairly new ship and therefore has teething problems but the organisation was 0. All the announcements were in 5 different languages and the shows were limited (obviously because comedians etc were out because of the language situation). A few of the shows were good but very amateurish. The open seating at breakfast & lunch in the dining rooms was a shambles. They didn't "fill up" the tables as on our cruise ships - you could sit where you wanted but when you placed your order with the waiter it didn't go any further until he'd filled a whole sheet of orders from nearby guests. It meant waiting anything up to 20/30 mins for your 1st course. There was a lot of Italians on the cruise (obviously) and a lot of family groups which resulted in a lot of noise - even in the corridors late at night.

 

It was a 2 hr bus trip to Savona and we got there at about 1.30pm where we were given a number and told to wait till our number was called. They were only on No. 6 and we were 23!!! We went for a walk around Savona but only for about half an hour as we were carrying our hand luggage. Eventually we boarded the ship at about 4pm. We went exploring the ship and it was VERY bright. It reminded me of a fairground with all the lightbulbs flashing. It might give some people a headache. There were 3 pools, one with a cover over and 6 hot tubs in all. In the hot tubs it said “no children under 12” but obviously that didn’t apply to the Italian kids cos there were even babies in nappies in the tub. I pointed this out to a deck attendant but he just shrugged his shoulders.

 

At about 5pm it was the lifeboat drill then dinner. We were dining in the Portofino restaurant and had a table of 8. Four of our tablemates were English and the other 2 were Egyptian. I had smoked salmon, chicken & veg soup, baked hen, vanilla ice cream. The husband had fruit cocktail, soup, prime rib, cheesecake. Needless to say we were exhausted so we had an early night.

 

Fri 25th - Had breakfast in the Portofino restaurant where we met a couple from the bus so we sat with them. There was a buffet available (cold cuts etc) plus you could order hot stuff from the waiter. It was very hit & miss though and the woman who was at our table got her omelette before her porridge! We handed our passports in at Guest Services so they could stamp them with a visa for Egypt then we queued to validate our credit card. We were on our balcony as we sailed into Naples but although the balcony was huge (at the very end of the ship) it had a covering of water on it plus some soot blotches.

 

Dinner was fruit cocktail, bean & veg soup, T-bone steak, rum & raisin & vanilla ice cream followed by cheese & biscuits. We were going to order the wine package which was very reasonable £55 for 6 bottles of wine and 5 bottles of water but you had to have one of each kind of wine on the list which was a mixture of white, red & one bottle of fizz. You weren’t able to pick the same wine every night so we just chose our wine from the wine list and drank the iced water (which is free whereas the bottled water you have to pay for). After stuffing ourselves we went for a walk on deck then a stroll thru the shops.

 

Sat 26th - At Sea. Breakfast in Portofino restaurant then off to the Italian class. We left early though as it was a bit boring as she had to translate everything into 5 languages. Met up with the English speaking host, Ricky, who was next to useless. I complained about the soot on the balcony but he wasn’t interested. We signed up at the Costa desk to become Costa Club members which entitles you to some benefits the next time you cruise but unless the price is really something special I doubt if we’ll sail with Costa again. Still, never say never. We checked out all the decks and had a good old nosey around the ship. We had lunch in the Costa Smerelda restaurant (you are supposed to stick to your named restaurant but what the heck, we felt like a change). Ricky had told us there were 900 Germans, 900 Italians, 300 Spanish, 300 French and 300 English speakers on the cruise. Interesting. After our exploring we had a nap then got ready for the Gala Cocktail party followed by dinner. I had duck as a starter, soup, beef and chocolate soufflé. The show was good. It was songs from movies i.e. pretty woman, ghost etc and the singers & dancers were excellent.

 

Sun 27th - At Sea. We had continental breakfast in our cabin which was OK but the best for breakfast was Celebrity. We had a long lie in our cabin and as it was nice and sunny we had a walk around and stumbled across a section in the buffet which served different kinds of foods every day i.e. Italian, German & Mexican. I had the German lunch and hubby got his stuff from the ordinary buffet. We had a glass of wine on our balcony then a nap before getting ready for dinner. I had soup, Caesar salad, lamb cutlets.

 

Mon 28th - Up at 5.15am for our trip to the pyramids. 99 Euros each. Had breakfast in Bellagio buffet. We were on the coach at 7.30am for our 3 hr trip.

 

Tue 29th - Cyprus. Continental breakfast in room then had a nap. Up for lunch which I had in the Mexican part of the buffet, very tasty. Hubby had the ordinary buffet. After lunch we set off on our tour to Paphos at 50 Euros each. We were back in time for dinner at 6.45pm instead of the usual 6.15pm. I had prawn/shrimp cocktail, swordfish, soup, filet steak, pudding then cheese & biscuits.

One of the guys on our table had had a go at them up at the buffet because of the disappointing selection of foods. He had a meeting with the head honcho who assured him that the ship had been built for the American market but I don’t think so. There is no way the Americans would put up with that buffet. It was mostly cold cuts and not the usual macaroni cheese, chicken, French fries etc. We had a go at some slots in the casino and put in 5 Euros and won 30E. We had a lovely walk on deck followed by a coffee in our room. I read my book whereas hubby watched “Gone in 60 seconds” in Italian! The telly was rubbish. There was loads of Germany & Italian channels but only one in English and that was the news - then when the Pope died all the channels were showing the same thing. So take a good book (or 2).

 

Wed 30th - We docked early. We had breakfast in the Bellagio buffet then wandered off the ship for a walk around Rhodes. Back in time for lunch in the Portofino restaurant where I was absolutely astounded when hubby ordered the baby octopus!! We made the mistake of having a bottle of wine with lunch and that was it - we slept the rest of the afternoon. The time for our dinner was 6.15pm each evening and most of us arrived around about that time - except for one couple on our table, they were always late. At first the waiter kept us waiting till they joined us but this night he took our orders and it was just as well - they turned up at 7.05pm!!! Really if you arrive over half an hour late you are supposed to see the Maitre’d not just stroll in when you feel like it. What was worse though was they did it deliberately as they said “6.15 is too early”. Fine - then go to the buffet and not spoil our dining experience.

I had soup, lamb and some kind of chocolate pudding. We didn’t have a bottle of wine as we were still suffering from the after-effects of the wine at lunchtime. Hubby managed to find some football on the telly, Italy -v- Iceland.

 

Thu 31st - Turkey. Breakfast in Bellagio buffet then we caught the shuttle bus to Marmaris for 5 Euros each return.

 

Back in time for lunch in Portofino restaurant. Then contacted by Guest Services and we changed cabins from 6467 to 9217 which was a 2 grade upgrade. By the time we’d organised everything it was too late for us to have a nap so we went down to dinner. I had shrimp in cheese sauce, veg soup, sirloin steak, choco concoction.

 

Fri 1st Apr - Athens. Continental breakfast in room. Tour of Athens. For dinner I had the breaded swordfish, chicken broth with egg strands, beef strips in red wine & Neapolitan cake with cream & ice cream followed by coffee. We had a quick fling in the casino but didn’t win anything.

 

Sat 2nd Apr - Greece. Breakfast in bed. We took the Olympia & shopping trip for 44 Euros each.

 

Back in time for lunch in the dining room. I had Parma ham with cheese & pear, plaice with chips & coleslaw (special order just for me). Hubby had the fried squid, broccoli soup, grilled chicken. We went to the buffet for our pudding and ate it on our balcony with a cup of coffee followed by a leisurely nap. For dinner I had cheese soufflé, grilled lamb chops served with a thyme sauce, lobster and baked Alaska. ( I had the 3 main courses as they were everything I liked). Well, you only live once. Hubby had the melon cup with port wine, cream of mushroom soup, baked lobster serviced with pilaff rice + baked Alaska. The waiter came round your table and got the women up to dance which I didn’t like very much - I was too busy concentrating on my delicious food! The show was called “Magic Moments”.

 

Sun 3rd Apr - Breakfast in the Bellagio buffet then we had a quick 20 mins in the hot tub but Hubby wasn’t impressed as it wasn’t hot enough for him so he went to the disembarkation talk - I don’t know why - if you’ve been to one - you’ve been to them all! After a nap it was lunch in the Portofino restaurant. We went to the “behind the scenes of the Costa Magica” with Ricky the English speaking host but all it was was a slide show (boring) - I was hoping to physically go behind the scenes but no such luck. We left after about 10 mins. Hubby managed to catch a bit of the grand prix then we went to high tea in the Bellagio buffet but it was a disappointment. There was only one kind of sandwich (tuna) and they were curling up at the corners.

 

Suitcases had to be out by 1am but hubby started a bit of packing before the farewell dinner. It was sad to say cheerio to our waiter & his assistant and all our tablemates.

 

Costa had us out of our cabin by 8am and on the bus and on our way by 8.45am. We arrived at the airport by approx 11am and when we joined the queue for check-in were told to come back at 12 midday. Obviously dragging your luggage around the airport is out so most of us just grouped together & chatted. I recognised someone from our bus going to check-in and they told us the flight was overbooked and we should get our seats even if we couldn't check in our luggage. So we joined the queue again. This time some of us were allocated seats (again I had rung and booked the seats beforehand - to no avail) but our luggage was weighed and came to 48 kilos. The chap told us to take some out and put it in our hand luggage. Some people were allocated their seats, some were not. Some had their luggage taken and some didn't. Absolutely no consistency whatsoever. After putting the extra weight from our luggage and putting it in our hand luggage we were able to check-in. At one of the other check-in desks another couple put their luggage on the belt and it came to 61.5 kilos. Were they asked to take anything out - no. Did they have to pay extra baggage - no. I was mad as hell. At least we were in the 40's. They seen to target people who more or less stick to the rules and the ones who go completely beyond reason get away with it. As expected our flight was delayed and departed over an hour late. Again the pilot was up & down like a yo-yo and we had to circle Heathrow probably because we missed our slot. The meal was disgusting (but that was expected).

 

I've never had a bad cruise and they've all had their good & not so good points but with a good attitude everything works out fine. A bad day at sea is better than a good day at work!!! Have fun.

[twojays]

Thanks Jo42 for the answers to my questions - they are really helpful.

 

As for the website - yes, silly me had been trying to get back into the .com site, instead of the .co.uk site - thanks for suggesting that - all working well now - and I'm looking into pre-booking drinks package and maybe excursions.

Although I think we may do at least Barcelona and Palma on our own.

 

Thanks lesleyfb for the account of your cruise - all sounds very interesting - food doesnt sound too bad - seems to be enough variation.

We definitely will enjoy ourselves - we too always make the very best of our holidays - and we are certainly looking forward to this one.

Your experience at the airports sounded the worst - hope that doesnt happen to us. Our flights are with BA.

 

Any more details on the transfer from Airport to Savona? Does it go round doing lots of pickups?:confused:

 

My husband and I do Ballroom dancing, and we were wondering if there is any/much on the Magica, either classes or just music playing to dance to. Anyone know?:confused:

 

Thanks a lot.:)

[Jo42]

Two Jays I'll look at the daily newsletters and let you know about the dancing later this eve.

 

We flew BA and all went smoothly. I hope it is the same for you.

 

I think Magica must now be 'up and running' a bit better as we never heard anyone complain about the food. Afternoon tea, if you go as it opens around 4.00pm, had a good selection of sandwiches, tiny rolls and cakes - leave it till late on and there's nothing left.

 

Bye for now

[Jo42]

Twojays, On Wednesday night there was official 'Ballroom Dancing' in the Grand Bar Salento at 10.30pm - this was a formal night also. However, we watched couples ballroom dance in the Atria Italia Magica on other nights also, and I'm sure it was the same in the Grand Bar Salento on other nights so you will definately not be short of the opportunity to dance. I wish we could dance like some of them.:)

 

PS there were no further pickups after we left the airport.

[twojays]

Jo42, thanks for the info about the ballroom dancing - I'll pack my shoes!

;)

I know that the tipping is added to your bill - but do we need to tip anyone personally as well?

:confused:

I was also wondering about electrical appliances - do we need the usual adapter for my husbands shaver? And did I read somewhere that there is a hairdrier in the cabin?:o

 

How formal is formal? Does my husband need his dinner suit - we presumed he would, but reading notes on here, I'm not so sure now? And what about the ladies - shall I get really dressed up in the evening?:rolleyes:

 

Are there glasses in the bathroom?

 

Thanks in anticipation for any replies!!:)

[Jo42]

If you feel you had particularly excellant service you can ask for a tip envelope and further tip people in this way. You can also pre tip your steward if you think this might get you even better service. You can modify the tip added to your on board account, either upwards or downwards if you want too.

 

There is a hairdryer in the dressing table drawer, small, attached to the drawer and the type you have to keep your thumb on to keep it going. Fine for me as my hair is so fine but if yours takes a long time to dry, better take your own.

 

There is a two pin shaver socket in the bathroom and glasses in both the bathroom and bedroom - wrapped in tissue paper and changed every time you use one! There is one socket in the bedroom area for other electrical items.

 

The ladies always seemed to be dressed nice in the eves. On formal night it was a real mix - not as formal as my last costa cruise though. He will look great in his dinner suit and equally good in a lounge suite. There are two formal nights. The shop on board stocked some nice glitzy outfits but you run the risk of someone else wearing the same! I saw someone in the most gorgeous dress on the first formal night and wondered where she got it then I saw it in the shop - I was tempted to buy it for the second formal but decided if I'd seen her then so had plenty of others who would maybe have the same thought. They had plenty of costume jewelry and eve bags etc too, if you forget anything or just want some more!

[twojays]

Many thanks again Jo42 for your comprehensive answers to my questions.

I feel much more relaxed about the cruise now - and more prepared about what to expect, and what we need to take with us etc.

Magica is in Rome today - just checking the Webcam. We had a weekend there in 2003, but I am really looking forward to another visit.

Where are you cruising to next?

[Jo42]

Twojays, I'm glad you've found plenty of info on this site. Have you looked around the other boards for packing lists, first time cruiser questions etc?

 

My up coming cruise on the Fortuna is very similar to yours except Naples instead of Rome and Marseilles instead of Malta. Although the itinerary and ship are both similar to what I did already it will be completely different being with my hubby and our 14 year old daughter this time (this will be her first cruise and her first holiday leaving behind her 16 year old brother!!) as the previous trip was with my Mum and Aunt. I am so looking forward to it!

 

I'm sure you will love your cruise and with your ballroom dancing I'm sure you'll have lots of nice outfits to wear - I was thinking about you when I watched strictly dance fever last night, the waltz costumes were great!

 

Take time to research all the ports, particularly the ones where you'd like to go ashore yourself (this web site is usefull for this). At Barcelona, the ship offer a shuttle bus to the bottom of Las Ramblas for 5 Euros pp. We took a taxi which cost 15 Euros there (half way up las ramblas) and 5 Euros back.

[twojays]

:) Thanks for the tip Jo42 about checking the other boards on this site. I had only had a quick look at the first time cruising one a few days ago, but I will go off and have a good look to see if I can find any info about the ports we will be visiting etc.

 

Just another quick question - our flight gets into Milan at 10.45, and I dont know yet what time we are being picked up, but if we arrive at Savona early, will we be able to get on board, or is that where we have to join the crowds and wait our turn?

:confused:

Thanks

[Jo42]

We arrived at 1045 too! On arrival we were met as we came through the doors from baggage reclaim, by a costa rep, it must have been about 1115/1130 by this time. We were asked to walk the end of the hall and wait by the seats with others from some other flights. There was time to visit the restrooms then we got on board the coach and set off for Savona. I'm sure it was around 2pm by the time we reached Savona, we had a coffee and a sandwich and then boarded the Magica, we were certainly on board before 4pm. I never felt that we were hanging around too long, but we certainly were not rushed! Our luggage was already in the cabin, which was a relief and we had time to rest, open the champagne previously ordered on line and then go to the Lifeboat drill!

[twojays]

Here is another very Basic question.

Usually when we go on holiday, the only towels we need to take are Beach towels. Will we need these on the Magica -either for putting on the chairs on our balcony, sunbathing on deck, around the pools etc?:cool:

(thanks Jo42 - info about transfer very useful)

(I have been looking at other boards, and have got LOADS of information about excursions etc.)

[Jo42]

Costa will provide you with large green beach towels. You can use these on the balcony chairs, take them off to the beach etc. if you pack them and take them home there is a charge! You wont need them up on deck as towels are in plentiful supply!

 

I'm glad you are finding these boards as usefull as I do, however, I spend far too much time on them!

[twojays]

Thanks for the info about the towels - that will certainly save some space packing if we dont need to take any.

I am also spending far too much time on these boards - I'm getting nothing else done!

It's fun though!