MSC Magnifica picture heavy fun review -- 12 days British Isles incl. DIY port trips

[windjamming]

:)Let's get started with the daily section, so maybe we manage to get to an actual port visit sometime this week:rolleyes:. The structure will be like this:

 

1. dailies

2. cocktails

3. events (either ship or port)

4. dinner food and menu pictures

5. Show

 

any objections?

 

Stef

 

May I add:

 

3(a). Unusual adventures in certain Irish ports that have been alluded to for weeks now and can finally be revealed.

 

Just to be sure we cover all bases, of course.

 

:D

Edited September 30, 2014 by windjamming

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

This is the menu for the La Conchiglia pool bar. Sheer delight! With the Allegrissimo you can order everything for free except the ones with the star behind them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First thing we did after boarding was to drop our carry-on luggage off in our cabin...but right after that it was cocktail and ice cream time. The weather was sunny and so we decided the La Conchiglia bar would be our very first cocktail stop. Tarik just grabbed some gelato from the la Barchetta bar instead and came to join us. Pictures to follow right away:).

 

 

stay tuned!

 

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

This is the Coco Loco. Very sweet and light taste to it -- definitely something one would love to enjoy in really hot weather. Tanja just made one mistake -- she ate the deco pinapple....

 

yuck!

 

...don't do that! I guess they use the fruits not suitable to eat for decoration...they pretty much always were either too raw or too ripe...they really are just for decorative purposes only:D. Just enjoy their pretty look, but better leave them on their spot at the side of the glass.

 

 

 

this was my first cocktail. A Pina Colada. I'm normally a huge fan...but on this cruise it didn't blow me away. It had a LOT of rum and wasn't as creamy as I like them. Still -- I'm not saying it was bad either, just that I would discover drinks I loved much more.

 

 

 

and this was Tarik's first gelato.

 

Needless to say, we all were in heaven and now really felt that our vacation was about to start!

 

 

stay tuned!

 

Stef!

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

May I add:

 

3(a). Unusual adventures in certain Irish ports that have been alluded to for weeks now and can finally be revealed.

 

Just to be sure we cover all bases, of course.

 

:D

 

Lol -- I know I'm torturing you...but really...it's worth the wait.....and wait you must...since all the Scottish ports and Belfast will be covered first. But I sure hope that these port stories will prove to be interesting for you as well. We really did a lot of cool stuff and I'm giddy to tell you in all detail. It would be a shame to ignore all the great ports before Dublin...

 

:D:D:Dbut I'm also excited to hear your reactions after I reveal our shocking highlight of the cruise after all.

 

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Hi Stef,

 

loving the daily specials. Reading through I am saying to myself-oh that sounds good,ah I'll have one of those , ooh I'll definitly go to that bar! my husband wants to know who I am talking to.lol.

 

Cheers.

Di

 

Hi Di,

 

:Dlol -- sounds like I'm succeeding in getting everybody excited about taking a cruise! Loving it! Get your husband excited too and off you go:D!

 

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

this post is for all the beer lovers out there.

 

 

 

Here's the beer menu from the Tiger bar....but keep in mind that everything with a red star behind it is not included in the Allegrissimo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a Necastle Ale for Tanja, a water for myself (sometimes one just needs a break from all the alcoholic beverages). Both were fabulous! These cute little water bottles could be ordered at each bar and the bottle taken along. We always took bottles for our port trips...that came in pretty handy. It tasted good as well -- both, the sparkling and the natural water version.

 

 

 

 

the regular Heineken on tap. Mhh -- not our favorite brand...let's get back to the cocktails, shall we?

 

 

stay tuned!

 

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

 

 

 

more alcohol?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

:Dno! Just Tarik's favorite drink all cruise long...I really don't know HOW many of these he slurped....a TON at least. It's called "Dirty Banana" and you can find it in the non alcoholic cocktail section of (almost) every bar. He let us try a sip as well ... it was delicious!

 

 

stay tuned!

 

Stef

[Elmartellama]

Dirty banana are quite good! Tarik made a good call! How about a strawberry Daiquiri for adults? Our favourite one by far! :D

 

Also I found the Piña Colada virgin to be much better than the one with alcohol. Soooo good! I don't like alcohol too much though.

[7leagueboots]

Thanks for the review.

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

How about a strawberry Daiquiri for adults? Our favourite one by far! :D

 

Oh that one was fantastic, you're right!...but it only ended up 3rd place in our personal cocktail ranking. Aahh, what the heck, it's my review, so I can tell you right now if I want to, right?

 

 

:pHere's our top three cocktails of MSC:p:

 

3rd place: Strawberry daiquiri. --> sheer yummy fruit explosion

 

2nd place: Moscow Mule --> lemony and not too sweet

 

1st place: BBC --> HEAVENLY. Creamy, caramel with a hint of banana.

 

lol -- and of course there will be pictures of each one in the review:).

 

 

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Thanks for the review.

 

You're very welcome! Welcome to the party:)!

 

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

One mandatory event on embarkation day of course is the emergency drill. We were to meet in the l'Ametista lounge. Oh cool we thought, we'll be able to sit, chill while listening to the staff how to put on the vest...mhhh we were supposed to bring our vests along, odd, but oh well-- why not. We only experienced these drills on RCI before, but I must say that I'd rather go back to their way of handling it. Here it was pure chaos. Pretty much all passengers put on their vests and tried to fit into the lounge with these bulky vests on. We were supposed to stand in lines (why?), all the seats were long taken...when do these people start to go to the drill???? Hours before? I don't get it.

 

 

 

 

Plus then the staff members started their little how to put on the vest show -- which wasn't necessary anymore, since 99 % of the passengers had them on already anyway. Since it was so stuffed, we couldn't see them. Tarik got nervous and wanted to try his vest on as well now.

 

 

 

Tadaahhh.

 

 

It really ain't that difficult, even if you can't see the instructors. We decided not to succumb to the peer pressure and didn't put ours on. After an eternity of a thousand languages -- it sure felt more than the common 5 on board, we were released back into our vacation...I REALLY preferred RCI's way of handling it. Rant over.

 

 

 

 

 

After that disturbing cattle herd experience we needed some fresh air. Cool, we were just in time for the beginning sunset.

 

 

 

 

 

 

of course I wanted to take a sunset picture of my loved ones as well...

 

 

 

:rolleyes:sigh -- gotta love them, but they were a teeny bit hyperactive at that point.I guess it was hopeless to have them stand still for today.

 

 

But the sunset just started to unravel...pretty pictures coming up!

 

 

stay tuned!

 

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

One of the neat experiences of this cruise was the amount of time spent on rivers. I've never been on an actual river cruise, but now definitely got tempted to try it.

 

 

I loved the colors.

 

 

and the orange glow even intesified as the sun slowly sunk further and further.

 

 

this really isn't photoshop...amazing color, isn't it?

 

I liked the way the glow reflected from this other cruise ship, which sailed out of Hamburg that day as well. I wish I knew which one it was.

 

Sigh, lazily enjoying sunsets on a cruise....life is good!

 

 

That evening there was no show. We thought that was weird...but oh well. They had these three ladies playing in the Centrum though.

 

They were really good! Well known classics. Nothing modern, but soooo relaxing and enjoyable...I really don't remember why we didn't stay to listen for longer...but I guess we were just pooped and stuffed after just having eaten all 6 courses for dinner! Which brings me to the last part of this day. The dinner at l'Edera restaurant.

 

 

stay tuned!

 

Stef

[Pluto_fan]

Wow! Beautiful sunset pictures! Thank you for sharing.

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Wow! Beautiful sunset pictures! Thank you for sharing.

 

 

Hi Pluto_fan,

 

 

:pthanks! My pleasure:p!

 

 

Stef

[crvng4mr]

Stef......you talk about my pictures being beautiful, yours are spectacular!

[sofsolnanny]

One of the neat experiences of this cruise was the amount of time spent on rivers. I've never been on an actual river cruise, but now definitely got tempted to try it.

 

 

I loved the colors.

 

 

and the orange glow even intesified as the sun slowly sunk further and further.

 

 

this really isn't photoshop...amazing color, isn't it?

 

I liked the way the glow reflected from this other cruise ship, which sailed out of Hamburg that day as well. I wish I knew which one it was.

 

Sigh, lazily enjoying sunsets on a cruise....life is good!

 

 

That evening there was no show. We thought that was weird...but oh well. They had these three ladies playing in the Centrum though.

 

They were really good! Well known classics. Nothing modern, but soooo relaxing and enjoyable...I really don't remember why we didn't stay to listen for longer...but I guess we were just pooped and stuffed after just having eaten all 6 courses for dinner! Which brings me to the last part of this day. The dinner at l'Edera restaurant.

 

 

stay tuned!

 

Stef

 

 

 

Stunning pics!

 

Di

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Stef......you talk about my pictures being beautiful, yours are spectacular!

 

:) coming from you that's the biggest compliment! Thank you! I still think you're the picture goddess and I would have loved to see the photos you would have shot on our journey...there were sooo many wonderful motives. I gave my best and had a great time trying, but I know that you would have topped these results by bar. Lol -- but that means more motivation for me to improve my skills as well ... so thank you for that:)!

 

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

The MDR food

 

At the end of each day I'll show you the menu of our dinners in the l'Edera restaurant. Sigh, my picture taking skills are still in the making, so please excuse some pictures to be blurry, weird colored or cut off in the middle sometimes...in these cases I'll just show you two crooked shots of one page so you can fiddle the information together somehow:rolleyes:. After the menus there will be pictures of the foods we tried and our "ranking" as to how good or bad we experienced the dish.

 

All clear? Let's get to our very first MDR dinner.

 

 

But before I start with the menus I have to talk about our table mates. Ingo (the dad), Yvonne (the mom) and Sarah (the daughter) shared a table for 6 with us. It was a round table in the middle of the restaurant, separated from the main thoroughfare by a little waist high wall. Behind us was another table , bigger than ours...I think it sat 12 people. The tables were placed very close to one another. So it often happened that Paul (our wonderful waiter) bumbed into my seat while trying to squeeze through to the other table...I did try to shuffle as close to the table as possible, but still the space wasn't big enough to pass "unbumped". Paul was very apologetic about it and I made sure to make him feel it's okay with me and not to worry...after a while we both just ignored the continuous little bumps. It was no big bother, but I believe if you had a less nice waiter and or a less tolerant passenger this could have caused aggravations.

 

But let's get back to our fabulous table mates. They were a family from Thuringia. Cool -- that's where my mom was born. The very first German cruise passengers we personally met and would spent a LOT of time with each evening....would we get along? O Yes! I had hoped for nice table mates before we embarked, since that was something we never experienced before....but these three were so wonderful that they completely exceeded my wishes. We got along fantastically. We laughed and talked every evening during the 2 hour dinners and I think that this experience made my dinners extraordinary...the food and the wine were not the major factor, it was the good company that made our meals unforgettable. Thank you Ingo, Yvonne and Sarah (I know you're reading this)! Don't worry everybody -- of course I have a picture of the 6 of us and Paul in the End...but now without further ado....the menus of day one:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

stay tuned!

 

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Mozzarella e pomodoro alla caprese

Ranking: 0 to 10 -- zero being inedible and ten sheer perfection

Tanja 8 points

Tarik 6 points

Sauteed mussels Marinara

Stef 10 points (aehm – I loved it so much that Paul brought me THREE whole servings….and I ate it all:eek:)

Neapolitan-style soup

Tarik 9 points

Cream of tomato soup

Tanja 6 points

Stef 6 points

Next up: pasta, risotto and main course.

Stay tuned!

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Tanja 8 points

Tarik 6 points

Risotto ai gamberetti

Stef 8 points

Oven-baked veal leg Goccia d’Oro

Tanja 7 points (she would have given a 10 for the spicy mushrooms and a 5 for the meat, which was a little on the dry side)

Turkey escalope au gratin

Stef 4 points (0 points for the meat, which was still completely raw inside and 8 for the wonderful gratin)

Seared filet of cod

Tarik 6 points

Next up: desert!

Stay tuned!

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Sachertorte

Tablemates (lol – see? They’re letting us take pictures of their food as well now…woohoo you’ll get to enjoy an even wider variety of food pics.)

Melon sorbet

Tarik 9 points

Stef 8 points

Apple crumble

Tablemates

Selection of cheeses

Tanja 4 points

So there…we were thoroughly stuffed and happy after our first dinner in the MDR. Since there was no show that day we have now actually conquered the first day of the cruise!

The next day was a sea day…should be covered pretty fast…I really wanna get going with the port explorations now.

Well, tomorrow is a national holiday here in Germany (day of reunification) and I don’t know if there will be time for postings…I’ll try though. If not…see you all on saturday.

Stay tuned!

[denisey]

Wow! Now I am hungry! The dishes all sounded wonderful, I'm glad some of them tasted good too!

 

Have a great Holiday. I think it is a important day for all the Western world!

 

Denise

[Elmartellama]

I think we had the same food on our first night of eastern-med cruise. Didn't know it was fleet wide.

 

I agree with your grades! That night was the worst for us, the Spaghetti were very good according to my partner, yet the risotto was not to my liking, and his sacher torte was semi-frozen O_o yet the apple crumble was quite good for me, the turkey was tasteless also, not bad but certainly uninspiring. Luckily it got a lot better the other nights!

 

From that moment on I never ordered rissotto and always go for the pasta instead, which was always excellent in my opinion.

[sofsolnanny]

Food pics....great :D.

 

The food pics are interesting to me as my dad had throat cancer 3 years ago and still has some problems with swallowing. I see a few soft options on the menu that should be fine for him,maybe we can ask for extra sauce/gravy for some of the food.

 

Is MSC like other cruise lines where if you dont like the dish you have ordered ,you can choose something else, maybe have a starter for main course.

 

Bit disappointed with the cheese plate Stef------where is the Dolcelatte!!!!

 

Di