Live from somewhere in the Baltic -- Magnifica May 10

[Skipper Tim]

barante

Cool Cruiser

Join Date: Nov 2002

Location: Baltimore, Md., U.S.A.

Posts: 2,568

 

Barante seemed to fall out of love with MSC after transferring from the Poesia in U.S. trans-Atlantic mode to the Magnifica in Northern European mode. All the usuals, I am sad to acknowledge.

 

a) No (free) water, ice-water etc. with meals.

b) Sugar-free cola offered instead of sugared cola

c) No 'Ginger Ale'. Bless.

e) "As to the Magnifica’s fellow passengers, I am glad to get rid of them. A certain nationality -- the sons and daughters of Mussolini -- are particularly obnoxious."

 

After reading that last remark , I am comforted that the roll call of my next cruise has a quorate of one.

 

Tim.

[sidari]

Tim ... C`est La vie .... :cool:

[barante]

Tonight was our final gala on the Magnifica. Exceptionally few tuxedos. Suits predominated among men, but many wore sport coats. A smattering of ethnic attires, including one Arab kaftan with an elaborate head dress. Women competed with posh frocks of various types.

 

Many of the passengers will disembark tomorrow in Amsterdam. We and many others will continue for one more overnight to Hamburg.

 

This is flexibility that MSC offers, and apparently successfully. Although our initial 17-day cruise on the Poesia was first sold as a Fort Lauderdale to Hamburg itinerary, in the end passengers could opt for a New York departure as well and disembarkation in Lisbon, Dover or Hamburg. Some even continued past Hamburg onto the first stop of the next itinerary, Copenhagen, because many of the passengers on that Norway cruise would only board there.

 

This is only one of the many cultural differences that we have encountered on our two consecutive cruises on MSC, first on the Poesia and now on the Magnifica.

 

Even tonight’s gala underscored those differences. At a time when most U.S.-format lines have abandoned real candles on Baked Alaska nights, MSC still continues open flames. Almost torches on the cakes, which tonight were orange-flavored

 

Overall, I have nothing bad to say about the Magnifica food. In contrast to our monthlong Costa Victoria cruising in November, we certainly have not lost any weight. The selection of cold cuts may be limited but the quality is really good. The overall variety of food is also good. I particularly like the Ethnic Corner in the buffet at lunch time (although I have missed any Indian offerings that they may have had). To those who like junk food, the Magnifica buffet even offers burgers in cardboard boxes, just like McD.

 

But what on earth are rocket and lollo? They keep up being repeated on the menu. Because the menu is in several languages, I at least have a vague understanding that rocket is rucola. But lollo? The only lollo I know was an Italian actress.

 

Some of those cultural differences are pleasant, others are not.

 

Let me remind the reader of my background. I was born in Finland. Despite having lived in the U.S. on and off since 1967, I have opted to remain Finnish citizen. But since I have also lived two and a half years in Africa and five in the Soviet Union, I regard myself as a citizen of the world.

 

Some facets of American behavior I like; others I don’t. One nice thing is the seeming general agreement among American cruisers about certain behavior norms.

 

On the Magnifica cruise, unlike the Poesia repositioning from the U.S. market, there is no agreement that food or drink lines should be honored. Instead, anarchy reigns. People butt in from all sides in lines, push and shove. Meeting friends, they make already congested aisles in the buffet even more impassable by stopping to socialize. With trays in their hands, they block traffic. I hate that.

 

Most passengers we have encountered seem to have the time of their lives. They particularly like the entertainment. Nightly shows mostly consist of lipsynching singers and some relatively pedestrian dancers in shows that have no real plot line. We had a Dracula show, but no blood. Instead, there were some pretty incredible acrobatic numbers, as in all other shows, regardless of the theme. The audiences love these, particularly since rhythmic clapping is encourage. I’m happy for happy cruisers. As to my judgments, you are familiar with those.

 

These cultural differences may be observed all over the ship.

 

At the magrodome-protected pool I witnessed a flabbergasting spectacle. A father arrived with several children, who proceeded to disrobe right there. As a result, a boy of about 10 first took off his underpants, then shirt, and then paraded there stark naked for a minute before putting his trunks on. His father was nowhere to be seen. Unbelievable.

 

I similarly hate the Magnifica passengers’ practice of taking their chidren, including toddlers, to hot tubs.

 

We usually don’t drink. For that reason we have no idea about the Magnifica’s wines. Since MSC does not even allow passengers to bring softdrinks on board, passengers will have no choice but drink whatever wines are served at whatever price.

 

There is a scene in the movie classic Casablanca, where Ingrid Bergman and her resistance-leader husband repeatedly order champagne cocktails. Well, yesterday in the cigar bar (my wife is a cigarette smoker), we saw that they offered chamapgne cocktails. So we ordered concotions made of champaign, Grand Marniere and cognac. Powerful stuff. Whiskey sours my wife has ordered have been less successful. And today at the pool, she had an outstanding pina colada, the first good one.

 

I have previously complained about the unavailability of regular Coke, because that’s my wife’s preferred brand. This clearly is a reflection of the Magnifica’s erratic supply system -- we haven’t seen bananas for a week. Otherwise there are fruits galore. Also soft drinks. The Sprite is made according to a European formula which is totally different from the sugary outrage sold in the U.S. It is real good. (Fanta, a dying brand in Europe, was revived by a new, less-sugary format as well).

 

Today started absolutely beautiful -- sunny and warm. Then a chilly mist moved in. Tomorrow, tulips.

[Skipper Tim]

For a self-proclaimed "citizen of the world" I am surprised Barante doesn't know about Latino queuing etiquette. It is documented somewhere here on this forum but obviously he has not read that.

[barante]

Skipper Tim -- You are so caustic and negative I hope we'll never meet.

 

To other CCers:

 

An amenity provided for a fee on MSC ships needs to be mentioned. A wide variety of daily newspapers from around the world will be provided to your cabin for $3.50 (for U.S. market) or 2.50 euro a copy.

 

A tablemate of ours on the trans-Atlantic itinerary ordered The Toronto Star. It was impressive, more than 30 pages every day. Each day, it was nicely bound, almost like a book. I heard complaints about the price. But I think the cost was a reasonable, considering that a copy of the New York Times at any Manhattan newstand costs $2.50.

 

Ordinarily, I would have bought the New York Times delivery, considering the meager television offerings on MSC ships. While many channels are available in European languages, only BBC is in English. After a while it gets very repetitious.

 

The reason why I chose not to get a newspaper was that I had more than enough reading material, mostly stored in my Kindle.

 

Aside from several scholarly articles, I read:

 

“Pops,” an excellent biography of Louis Armstrong by Terry Teachout.

 

“Cop in the Hood,” about policing in Baltimore by Peter Moskos.

 

“The Warmth of Other Suns,” a thought-provoking chronicle of the Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson.

 

“Devil in the Grove,” a contextually important Pulitzer winner about Thurgood Marshall’s involvement prosecuting Florida lynchings by Gilbert King.

 

“Mastery, Tyranny, and Desire,” an interpretation of the amazing diary of a Jamaican slave owner by Trevor Burnard.

 

 

Stieg Larsson’s Lisbeth Selander trilogy requires a special mention. Since I had seen a movie version of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” it was the last of those three volumes that I read. Instead, I started with “The Girl Who Kicked the Hornest’s Nest” and then “The Girl Who Played with Fire.”

 

I am glad I did them in this order because the first half of the Dragon Tattoo contains so much basic background that it is slow going. I thought the whole package was gripping and excellent. Many a night I hardly got any sleep at all.

 

The English translations of these books are outrageously bad. As a result I ordered Hornest’s Nest from Amazon/USA in Swedish, even though I do not read so fluetly these days. Not only will it be delivered directly to my home but the price also was better.

[Skipper Tim]

Skipper Tim -- You are so caustic and negative I hope we'll never meet.

 

Barante, thanks for the acknowledgement but you misunderstand.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1764897

[sthelder]

Thanks barante for your live posts and observations.

 

The mention of Costa is interesting, being US-owned apparently did it no favour. I have previously responded to your Asian cruise thread on how poor its Asian cruises were. But from the more recent comments of local cruisers, they did make some slight improvements, still not enough to justify the ludicrous prices though.

 

I also wondered what does "rocket" means when I cruised with MSC Splendida, until I saw the leaves :D

[barante]

Amsterdam is rainy and nasty. But we took an adequate canal tour. Not much time. All aboard at 2:15 p.m.

 

It would be a great service if someone with more experience than I could provide a comparison of MSC service levels and price points depending on destination.

 

I have no idea whether the Poesia trans-Atlantic reflected what the line offers in the Caribbean. But we had free water and ice tea automatically at dinner and coffee or tea with desert.

 

On the Magnifica Baltic cruise free water coupons were provided only to North American cruises; other had to pay by the bottle. No ice tea could be had. And for coffee or tea, one would have to buy from a bar; waiters could not provided any of those even for a fee.

 

I also found it interesting that the Poesia laundry deal was up to 30 items (over several days) for $25. That deal on the Magnifica is up to 20 items for 35 euros.

 

There may be other differences. Can anyone illuminate us?

[Skipper Tim]

I also found it interesting that the Poesia laundry deal was up to 30 items (over several days) for $25. That deal on the Magnifica is up to 20 items for 35 euros.

 

There may be other differences. Can anyone illuminate us?

 

MSC ships operate either in USD mode or EUR mode. Many things stay numerically the same price, e.g. internet. They simply exchange the € and $. On other things, e.g. laundry, it is a different deal altogether. I remarked on my live blog from the Fantasia that 30 items for $25 is a stupendous bargain.

[happytravellers2]

Barante,

Thanks for your posts. I have enjoyed reading your trip reports - apart from the "sons & daughters......" comment.

One thing I did find strange for a travelled person was your comments about different names for things - I would have expected you to embrace the variety we get when travelling. At trepidation of falling into the trap of pigeonholing, I do find people living in the USA particularly bad at living in their own world and disinterested in curiosity about how the rest of the world lives and operates.

Your comments about rocket and lollo were a prime example - why not just ask?

By the way rocket is not rugela - rocket is the english name for a salad leaf known in various countries as rocket, roquette, rucola, rugula, colewor - or in America arugala. I assume the lollo you were confused by is the lettuce variety - lollo rosso & bianco are popular Italian lettuce varieties.

I want to be surprised and find new things when I travel - the dumbing down & globalising the same food & drink is one of the travesties of modern life.

But again, I have really enjoyed your posts, thank you

[Capricruiser]

Barante, as an American living in Italy for most of my life, I appreciate your views and understand completely how you feel on many issues. While I agree or disagree with you on certain issues is not important for you're free to express your views. I like cruising with MSC just as I like the other Italian line, Costa (as you can see from my cruise list below).

By the way, "rocket" as found on MSC menus, does indeed translate as rucola, a somewhat bitter leaf which adorns many Italian salads and pizzas. Lollo? Sorry, don't know, but a question to one of the Italian maitre's in the MDR might give you an answer.

[barante]

With Hamburg approaching this morning, we went to the buffet for breakfast at 7:30 a.m. Not many patrons yet. But both spigots of a coffee machine were empty.

 

Later we almost kissed MSC when we realized that the line operated free shuttles both to the airport (our destination) and Hauptbahnhof. Grazie.

 

happytravelers2 -- You are so smart to recommend that I should have asked for the meaning of lollo and rocket. But, hypothetically, since this is MSC, what would you recommend if I (or anyone else) asked and the waiter did not know. In fact, the waiter made no effort to find out and i did not feel like demanding to see the maitre 'd.

 

We are in the outskirts of Hamburg with airline complications. Just had a late lunch after trying to sort things out. Guess what, rocket on the menu.

 

I asked. The waiter said they had. Short or long-range?

 

I made up that last remark. But rocket they did have.

[Keith1010]

Enjoying your posts.

 

Keith

[happytravellers2]

With Hamburg approaching this morning, we went to the buffet for breakfast at 7:30 a.m. Not many patrons yet. But both spigots of a coffee machine were empty.

 

Later we almost kissed MSC when we realized that the line operated free shuttles both to the airport (our destination) and Hauptbahnhof. Grazie.

 

happytravelers2 -- You are so smart to recommend that I should have asked for the meaning of lollo and rocket. But, hypothetically, since this is MSC, what would you recommend if I (or anyone else) asked and the waiter did not know. In fact, the waiter made no effort to find out and i did not feel like demanding to see the maitre 'd.

 

We are in the outskirts of Hamburg with airline complications. Just had a late lunch after trying to sort things out. Guess what, rocket on the menu.

 

I asked. The waiter said they had. Short or long-range?

 

I made up that last remark. But rocket they did have.

 

Good chirp barante - you should have asked, maybe you would have learned what rocket is called in Indonesian or Polish and we could have added it to the list :)

[barante]

Hey, I am proud to have written in a way that utterly confused you:

 

" . . . In fact, the waiter made no effort to find out and i did not feel like demanding to see the maitre 'd."

 

He was from Bali and had no idea. That was one of my first observations about the Magnifica. Supply issues clearly due to poor management (since we didn't have those on the Poesia) and poor staff training.

 

Anyway, howzit? I lived in Joburg for two and a half years from 1980 to 1983. Don't remember ever having seen any rocket or lollo.

 

I find it interesting that MSC is one of the few lines offering African itineraries, including Madagascar, I believe.

 

A year and a half I met a South African shipping executive on the Niuew Amsterdam and urged him to get South African ships at least on the Lourence Marques route. He wasn't convinced it would be possible. Nonsense. Everyone loves LM prawns.

[sthelder]

Agent Korvatunturi, glad you managed to find out there are contraband long range missiles on board at the very last moment! Leave the dirty work to Navy Seal! (may be that's how US thought there were WMDs in Iraq)

 

Did you manage to the plane dispatched to bring you home?

[barante]

We intended to stay in Hamburg tonight anyway. A nice hotel -- with a remarkably hostile staff -- in Ohlsdorf, home of the second largest cemetery in the world and Hamburg's only Jewish cemetery. We are surrounded by the street-level exhibits of half a dozen monument makers.

 

It's very interesting to see a place this German this close to Hamburg. Except for vendors, no aliens here. English is not widely spoken, even though a political candidate advertises: Talk zur Egon.

 

I went for a walk and ended up buying a bottle of Fanta, which tastes totally different and wonderful here.

 

I bought the Fanta at a store at the nearby Ohlsdorf railway station. The proprietor ran after me to return some 40 euros that I dropped by accident.

 

Afterward, I did some googling about the origin of Fanta. Turns out it was an ersatz drink that the non-**** management began making after U.S. supplies of the Coca Cola essence were halted.

 

I also came up with a German commercial for Sprite (also different, also very good -- tastes like the generic lemon soft-drinks of my Finnish childhood). That ad may be found on youtube and will shock you. It aired, until the Coca-Cola Company pulled it.

 

As to the flight that Air Baltic has now twice rescheduled, it will happen tomorrow night. It may cost more than my cruise. AB charges all kinds of baggage fees that double or triple if you don't book on Internet. I spent quite a bit of time trying to do that, until I got a message that identity could not be confirmed.

 

Yes, Virginia, I am Korvatunturi.

[happytravellers2]

Hey, I am proud to have written in a way that utterly confused you:

 

" . . . In fact, the waiter made no effort to find out and i did not feel like demanding to see the maitre 'd."

 

He was from Bali and had no idea. That was one of my first observations about the Magnifica. Supply issues clearly due to poor management (since we didn't have those on the Poesia) and poor staff training.

 

Anyway, howzit? I lived in Joburg for two and a half years from 1980 to 1983. Don't remember ever having seen any rocket or lollo.

 

I find it interesting that MSC is one of the few lines offering African itineraries, including Madagascar, I believe.

 

A year and a half I met a South African shipping executive on the Niuew Amsterdam and urged him to get South African ships at least on the Lourence Marques route. He wasn't convinced it would be possible. Nonsense. Everyone loves LM prawns.

 

Hi barante,

I think MSC is the only cruise line that bases a ship in South Africa for any period.

MSC Sinfonia spends Nov to Mar operating from RSA - repositioning between Genoa and Cape Town which looks an interesting trip.

It cruises up the coast to Nambia from Cape Town, and from Durban cruises to Madagascar, Reunion & Mauritius; and to Mozambique.

MSC has a reasonably sized operation in RSA due to the commercial shipping routes.

Rocket is the name used here for the salad leaf in question - and it grows in proliferation in my garden.

We are cruising on MSC Divina on 1st June and so have been eagerly reading all the MSC trip reports - I am looking forward to experiencing the food and am sure I will be happy:D

[barante]

I haven't been back to the Republic since 1983, although a few years later my paper flew me from the Moscow bureau to the famine-stricken Ethiopia, simply because I was able to get a visa, which U.S. passport holders couldn't at the time. Turned out that an official who handled visas in Addis Ababa got so excited by my telephone call, he issued a visa. The reason: He had gone to the Lumumba university in Moscow. Back home everyone laughed about that and the useless language he had learned. When he got my call, he could speak Russian and show off in front of the whole office!

 

The spookiest thing was to fly from Addis to Nairobi. From air, you could actually tell where Ethiopia ended and Kenya began.

 

Back to routings. Some years back I looked into some of the MSC offerings, plus a world tour HAL from Capetown to the U.S. Rightly or wrongly, I decided they were not worth it, for me, at least.

 

The MSC repositioning was real cheap. Two problems. One is that getting to RSA is not cheap. The more crucial factor was that the particular sailing only had a short stop in Walvis Bay and totally unusable stops, because of the shortness, in Togo (IIRC) and Dakar. That was it.

 

I rejected the far more expensive HAL option because it seemed unrealistic. It had two really interesting possibilities, St. Helena and the Ascension Islands. But both were liable to be canceled, because the weather is so tricky and tendering often impossible. Also, its only Brazil stop was Fortaleza, a totally soulless city, if compared to Recife.

 

I still think that the Southern Africa market is full of potential. In my coversation with the Safmarine executive, I not only touted the drawing power of Maputo (where I have never been) but also wondered whether Luanda might be a possibility. In my thinking such sailings would begin in Durban, then go to Maputo (former Lourenco Marques), then Port Elizabeth, Capetown etc.)

 

It's too bad that security concerns make it impossible to include Mombasa and/or Zanzibar, and possibly also Dar es Salaam.

 

Be well.

[barante]

The CC censor robot needs reprogramming.

 

If you wonder what the blocked word was, it was a common and scholarly accepted word for a German governing party whose official initials were NSDAP.

 

I bet the robot does not know what that means.

[sthelder]

The MSC repositioning was real cheap. Two problems. One is that getting to RSA is not cheap. The more crucial factor was that the particular sailing only had a short stop in Walvis Bay and totally unusable stops, because of the shortness, in Togo (IIRC) and Dakar. That was it.

 

I rejected the far more expensive HAL option because it seemed unrealistic. It had two really interesting possibilities, St. Helena and the Ascension Islands. But both were liable to be canceled, because the weather is so tricky and tendering often impossible. Also, its only Brazil stop was Fortaleza, a totally soulless city, if compared to Recife.

 

I still think that the Southern Africa market is full of potential. In my coversation with the Safmarine executive, I not only touted the drawing power of Maputo (where I have never been) but also wondered whether Luanda might be a possibility. In my thinking such sailings would begin in Durban, then go to Maputo (former Lourenco Marques), then Port Elizabeth, Capetown etc.)

 

It's too bad that security concerns make it impossible to include Mombasa and/or Zanzibar, and possibly also Dar es Salaam.

 

Be well.

 

Think Linbald/National Geographic also organise West Africa cruise, but they need to be booked fairly in advance and the costs are usually not cheap.

[happytravellers2]

barante,

Yes, the distance to the Fairest Cape makes airfares expensive - which is tough for us travelling.

We are flying Turkish Airlines next week - which surprisingly gave a better price than Emirates - but the return airfare is two thirds of our balcony cabin price on MSC Divina.

Mozambique is one of the future travel spots to watch. Now peaceful, with a lot of reconstruction, strategic ports and transport routes from land locked countries with huge mineral resources, and now with oil off the northern coast.

I have not been there, but know quite a few people who have - and a lot of people from the Jhb Pta area holiday there. I understand the beaches to be beautiful and largely undisturbed.

We have close friends who have family living in Walvis Bay - they have taken the MSC 4 day cruise from Cape Town to Walvis and back a number of times, and loved it every time.

[barante]

In the early 1980s I traveled widely and often in Namibia, independently and on junkets sponsored by the military. Walvis Bay is fine, but nothing compared to Swakopmund, a city so German that even blacks spoke that language at the time. (South-West Africa was a German colony once).

 

There was this amazing statue in Swakopmund. It depicted a German soldier with fallen blacks at his feet. It was fenced in and there were two iron crosses on the gates. "Mit Gott fur Kaiser und Reich," said the legend on the statue.

 

In Windhoek, the capital, there was a Goering Strasse. I seem to remember it honored a relative of Hermann.

 

The main draw of Namibia is its nature. I fell in love with the desert that changes its character according to shifting time. Even in the 1970s, Germans were building castles in the desert. Unreal.