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

[earn]

Stef,

 

Really enjoying your review, and it is keeping my recent Magnifica short cruise alive and kicking! I was not too keen on the decor of some parts of this ship. I loved every inch of Preziosa. She was the most beautiful ship we have ever sailed on. My husband and boys felt the same. We also liked Poesia, but Magnifica was just too much for me in places. I hated the pink centrum!

 

As for food, I have Coeliac and need to eat gluten free. Cruises are the most wonderful holidays for me as I never need to worry about having nothing I can eat. MSC are very good at accommodating for this, and that makes me feel sure that they will try very hard to make sure your dad has what he needs Di. They don't recommend I eat at the buffet, so in 3 days we ate 1 breakfast and 1 lunch there. We both felt there was plenty of choice, but the food was generally Luke warm at best. One day the sausages were stone cold. This has never been our experience on MSC ships before. MDR was very good.

 

Can't wait for your port reviews, especially of Scotland!

 

Thank you for all the time you have and will spend, making this entertaining, informative and exciting.

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Day 2 --- seaday

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

stay tuned!

 

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

cocktails of day 2 (post one of two --- lol -- it was a seaday--- so lllooootts of opportunities to endulge:D)

 

 

 

 

this is the BBC! Our very favorite drink! It was soooo yummy. What I didn't like about the drinks on the pool decks were the plastic, multiple cracked glasses. But it was no reason to rant either.

 

 

 

 

Sex on the Beach. Light and fruity. Our favorite drink at the Bar del Sole...since their selection was very limited.

 

 

 

 

Strawberry daiquiri. Wonderful drink! Pure fruit explosion in your mouth. Very sweet!

 

 

 

 

 

Long Island Ice Tea. Too much alcohol....one of these and you're done for. But I guess that's normal for this drink. We only tried it once, since we rather enjoyed a couple of other not so harsh drinks instead of just this one until we got a little tipsy.

 

 

stay tuned!

 

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

cocktails continued

 

 

 

Mojito. I never tried a Mojito before in my life...I was very excited to try it, since so many people seem to love it so much. Mhhh, I'm no expert...but this was one of the nastiest drinks I ever had. I just don't know if it's just me, not liking Mojitos in general or this particular one...So one of you Mojito fans will have to cruise on MSC and find out if its me or the drink...thank you!

 

 

 

 

Bailey's Alexander. Wonderfully creamy. A fantastic choice if you don't want to drink a big quantity of liquid, but still enjoy a cocktail. Great stuff.

 

see?

looks like liquid sunshine:).

 

 

:DHick:D!

 

 

stay tuned!

 

Stef

[oreosmile]

Mojito. I never tried a Mojito before in my life...I was very excited to try it, since so many people seem to love it so much. Mhhh, I'm no expert...but this was one of the nastiest drinks I ever had. I just don't know if it's just me, not liking Mojitos in general or this particular one...So one of you Mojito fans will have to cruise on MSC and find out if its me or the drink...thank you!

 

 

 

I have tried a Mojito once (not on MSC) and had the same reaction. I love mint. I love lime. But the two together tasted like when you drink orange juice right after brushing your teeth, which for me is an extremely unpleasant taste. Not sure why people love them, I will never order another one.

[oreosmile]

Selection of cheeses

[]

 

As disappointed as I would be with that cheese selection, if they left off the blob of preserves, my daughter would be in heaven. Something for me to remember for our upcoming cruise. Thanks for posting so many details and photos!

[sofsolnanny]

Stef,

 

Really enjoying your review, and it is keeping my recent Magnifica short cruise alive and kicking! I was not too keen on the decor of some parts of this ship. I loved every inch of Preziosa. She was the most beautiful ship we have ever sailed on. My husband and boys felt the same. We also liked Poesia, but Magnifica was just too much for me in places. I hated the pink centrum!

 

As for food, I have Coeliac and need to eat gluten free. Cruises are the most wonderful holidays for me as I never need to worry about having nothing I can eat. MSC are very good at accommodating for this, and that makes me feel sure that they will try very hard to make sure your dad has what he needs Di. They don't recommend I eat at the buffet, so in 3 days we ate 1 breakfast and 1 lunch there. We both felt there was plenty of choice, but the food was generally Luke warm at best. One day the sausages were stone cold. This has never been our experience on MSC ships before. MDR was very good.

 

Can't wait for your port reviews, especially of Scotland!

 

Thank you for all the time you have and will spend, making this entertaining, informative and exciting.

 

Thanks for the reply earn. When you boarded did you go straight to the Maitre D to discuss your problem with the food, or did you wait until dinner.

Regards.

Di

[sofsolnanny]

I have tried a Mojito once (not on MSC) and had the same reaction. I love mint. I love lime. But the two together tasted like when you drink orange juice right after brushing your teeth, which for me is an extremely unpleasant taste. Not sure why people love them, I will never order another one.

 

 

I love Mojito -best I've tasted are royal caribbean's.......so far. Let you know what I think of MSC's :).

 

I see on the list they make Rasberry Daiquiri-cant wait to try!

 

Thanks again Stef.

Di

[earn]

Thanks for the reply earn. When you boarded did you go straight to the Maitre D to discuss your problem with the food, or did you wait until dinner.

Regards.

Di

 

Di,

 

I had already told MSC I was Coeliac, but that doesn't really matter. I went straight to the MDR and told them. In fact although new guests were not allowed lunch on the first day in the MDR, they told me to eat there if I wished. Best lunch of the cruise, whilst others faught at the buffet. We were not alone. Guests who were mid cruise could use the MDR that day.

[papcx]

In fact although new guests were not allowed lunch on the first day in the MDR

 

 

That's what they tried to tell myself, DW and DMIL on Opera in June. At the door to the MDR we were told there was a special welcome buffet for new guests. I said we'll eat here if that's okay and was let in. It was a good lunch too!

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Day 2 events

Since this was a sea day and we pretty much spent it trying out a gazillion cocktails and enjoying the pool and jacuzzis, there’s not much more to tell.

Well, early in the morning we went to the “early bird” immigration check for the UK. Every passenger, who wanted to go ashore in the UK would have to do this first.

Basically, they had a couple of (tough, scary looking) immigration officers onboard who would look at your passport to send you on to a MSC employee, who would check your cruise card…then you were set to disembark in the UK.

They had different time slots for the different decks….plus the early bird deal at 7:30 in the morning for everybody. We chose to get it done right away. They started right on time, and we were done after less than a minute. Lol – still the immigration officers scared me, so I was intimidated to take a picture of them. All I managed was this blurry one of the MSC guy checking your cruise card afterwards.

All of this took place in the Quattro Venti restaurant.

We were glad we went there in the morning, because there were quite the long lines for the regular schedulings.

Other than that we just hung out…

...saw a rainbow:

See it? Wait – here’s a close up:

Pictures of the sea is just something everybody takes I guess, either with or without your travelling partners in it. What I thought was odd about the Magnifica was the futuristic lighting out on deck 7 once the daylight diminished. They have this black/purple light that was oh so popular in any discotheque of my youth. Sigh, here it only makes people look ghostly…and it’s far away from a romantic atmosphere in my opinion. See for yourselves:

Scary, isn’t it?

One more:

That does look a bit ghostly, doesn't it? But somehow that was fitting, since this cruise would be loaded with ghostly and mythical legends and creatures.

Well, that’s all about the events of the day. Let’s move on to the food.

Stay tuned!

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Thanks for the nice posts everybody!

 

Welcome back earn!

 

Lol -- oreosmile-- I'm glad it's not only me!

 

sofsolnanny -- yes, please do! We need the judgement of a Mojito professional here!

 

I'll load up the breakfast and lunch menus real fast and then I'll hopefully see you all again tomorrow!

 

The weather is beautiful outside and we're going to a barbecue at my parent's house.

 

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

breakfast menu at L'Edera restaurant:

 

 

 

 

 

lunch menu at l'Edera restaurant:

 

 

 

 

 

stay tuned!

 

Stef

[sofsolnanny]

Di,

 

I had already told MSC I was Coeliac, but that doesn't really matter. I went straight to the MDR and told them. In fact although new guests were not allowed lunch on the first day in the MDR, they told me to eat there if I wished. Best lunch of the cruise, whilst others faught at the buffet. We were not alone. Guests who were mid cruise could use the MDR that day.

 

 

Thanks for the advice earn,hopefully they will let us into MDR too.

 

Cheers.

Di

[sofsolnanny]

Lol,lol. Very weird.

 

Di

 

strange lighting

Edited October 5, 2014 by sofsolnanny
reply with quote did not work

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

I didn't take pictures during breakfast. Sorry. The food was okay...you get smoked salmon if you wish (not so in the buffet). I thought the greeting to go sit wherever we want was a little odd...but oh well. We chose one of the tables with cutlery on it and settled down. Soon afterwards a French couple joined us (physically), but they pretty much didn't communicate. First I thought, oh well, let them have a coffee they'll thaw after that, but nope...they didn't want to talk to us or among each other...It was weird...like sitting at a table with those dolls they have in shopping centers. So our first breakfast here was oddly silent.

 

I'll be right back with the lunch food pictures.

 

stay tuned!

 

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

lunch at l'Edera restaurant

(post one of two)

 

steamed salmon fillet

Initially the fish and cauliflower was bigger...I forgot to take the picture before I started to eat...sorry about that.

Tarik 6 points

Stef 5 points (I didn't like the sour tasting dressing)

 

 

 

Mountain cheese croquettes

lol -- Tanja was even faster with eating than I was...this is all that was left to take a picture of:D.

Tanja 6 points (tasted like a tv-dinner)

 

 

caprese salad

Tanja 3 points (dressing way too much vinegar, the pieces to large and there was no oil/vinegar on the tables)

 

 

 

stay tuned!

 

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Pan-seared fillet of red mullet

Tanja 3 points (fish stripes much too dry and salty)

 

 

 

Medley of stuffed vegetables

Stef 5 points (the spinach paste was way too salty, the veggies were wonderful though)

 

 

 

Chocolate chip cheesecake

Tanja 8 points

Tarik 9 points

 

 

 

Fresh fruit plate

Stef 6 points (pineapple not ripe yet)

 

 

 

 

Although we didn't like all the courses, we were well fed and happy campers.

 

 

 

stay tuned!

 

Stef

[Holiday Planner]

Enjoying your review as we will be going on our first MSC cruise (Splendida) 1 month from now. I've read elsewhere that you can have all 7 courses for dinner -how many did you find the right amount? By the way, I love taking photos and drive my family mad, but the number of photos you take is crazy 😉👍

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Enjoying your review as we will be going on our first MSC cruise (Splendida) 1 month from now. I've read elsewhere that you can have all 7 courses for dinner -how many did you find the right amount? By the way, I love taking photos and drive my family mad, but the number of photos you take is crazy 😉👍

 

Hi Holiday Planner,

 

Lol -- we only managed all 6 courses on the very first night. Depending on how hungry we were we usually had between 3 and 5 courses....which was still a lot:D.

 

:o too many pictures? I usually don't take food pics, but since there were so many controversial reports about the food on MSC I thought maybe -- just this once these pictures would be of use...but from now on all I have is dinner pictures anyway...feel free to just scroll through em...I don't mind.

 

 

lol -- if you think I took a lot of pictures already --- wait till I come to the port section ( tomorrow or the day after) :cool::D THAT's where I started taking LOTS of pictures:D:rolleyes:!

 

Stef

[Holiday Planner]

Don't get me wrong ... I LOVE all your pictures, and am finding the food pictures really helpful (I too had worried about food standards from other reviews). I also found it helpful to read menus, drinks prices etc ... I just know my family would disown me if I started taking photos of each page of bar menus lol

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Don't get me wrong ... I LOVE all your pictures, and am finding the food pictures really helpful (I too had worried about food standards from other reviews).

 

:olol -- whew, for a second I was worried I went over the top with all the pics.

 

:DGlad you like em:D

 

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

First formal dinner

 

Menus

 

oops, I just notice I took the German menu pictures. I guess I had too many cocktails that day...but some stuff is self explanatory...and the pictures will help you to decipher some more...sorry about that!

 

I like the silvery shine to the letters for the formal nights. Pretty.

 

stay tuned!

 

Stef

[Holiday Planner]

I'm not describing you and your many photos ;) Was it always obvious when there were nuts in a dish. My husband has a peanut allergy, and on our P&O cruise there was a 'N' symbol by a dish containing nuts. On the menus you show, I only see the 'V' for vegetarian. Were nuts always listed in the description of a dish (even if just used as a decoration)?

 

I realise you may not be able to answer this if you're not watching out for nuts like we do, but maybe someone else reading this will know.

 

Many thanks

Angela

[sofsolnanny]

Great pictures as usual Stef--really helpful.

 

Off in the morning to Southampton where we will stay overnight and board the Magnifica on wednesday.........YAY :):):).

 

Will catch up with your blog when I return.

 

Cheers.

Di

 

To anyone on the 8th oct sailing --have a good one :):).