Review: MSC Magnifica 2 nights. A comedy of errors.

[samshltn]

...people have commented that my thread was not the real experience and that your negative one was...

 

I think you need to go and argue with those people then. (I don't know who you mean, though) Everyone in this thread agrees, we're all entitled to our opinions, and it's this rich tapestry that makes life so interesting:

 

...it was very interesting to hear so many different opinions of the same cruise.

It just goes to show how subjective cruising is.

If everyone liked the same things, the world would be a boring place.

 

None of us is saying your experience is 'wrong'... Maybe somewhere there's a comment or thread that is saying that. I suggest that you reply to that one.

 

Anyway, Little Britain, thank you for sharing your experiences. And thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences as well - this whole thread has been another interesting insight into cruising with MSC and it's lovely passengers.

[Arrowdaz]

Hang about a minute people have commented that my thread was not the real experience and that your negative one was - you can't have it both ways that people with a negative opinion are allowed theirs but if our positive experience and opinion doesn't align with yours that we're somehow wrong?

 

I can appreciate there are others who didn't have as good an experience as we did - doesn't mean any of us are in the wrong. I enjoyed speaking to a few of the people - there were others who I didn't continue speaking to as their negativity was like being in a mood hoover!

 

 

I haven’t read your thread, nor have I claimed your experience not to be real. Like I said people will always have different opinions on everything, that’s life. I’d hardly say that the negativity was like being in a mood hoover. The problem here is that you are loyal to your brand (MSC) and you are struggling to accept that some people simply don’t like what they have experienced.

 

I am not loyal to any particular cruise brand but I have sailed with RCI more than any other. However I understand that some people may find RCI awful, and that’s fine.

 

I have sailed with NCL a few times too, I really like what they offer and that style of cruise, I noticed earlier that you had a bad experience on NCL and won’t return, and that’s fine. It’s great you tried it, formulated an opinion and voted with your feet. The people on here who had a bad experience on MSC are simply doing the same thing.

 

Happy Cruising... 🚢👌🙂

[sidari]

MSC are not for everyone thank goodness, it is usually those who cannot adapt and want more of the same as they get from their preferred cruise lines who make the most noise, a two night cruise is hardly a good gauge of how things will be for the rest of the year sailing out of Southampton, seeing as the ship had just arrived in Hamburg after a transatlantic sailing.

We have been lucky enough to sail NCL and the food was good enough and neither of us went hungry, on a B2B out of Venice we got upgraded for the second week thanks to the Hotel Director Dennis Prguda. Not sure we would sail with them again since they introduced their All Inclusive drink package whether you want it or not.

 

MSC has been a good fit for us having sailed 6 times with them on 6 different ships with a 7th close to hand, they have also been varying lengths from 7 to 20 days and in different parts of the world.

Our next two will be with Royal and Princess again, which will give us the chance to see how they have fared since we last cruised with them.

[1fifthavenue]

MSC are not for everyone thank goodness, it is usually those who cannot adapt and want more of the same as they get from their preferred cruise lines who make the most noise, a two night cruise is hardly a good gauge of how things will be for the rest of the year sailing out of Southampton, seeing as the ship had just arrived in Hamburg after a transatlantic sailing.

We have been lucky enough to sail NCL and the food was good enough and neither of us went hungry, on a B2B out of Venice we got upgraded for the second week thanks to the Hotel Director Dennis Prguda. Not sure we would sail with them again since they introduced their All Inclusive drink package whether you want it or not.

 

MSC has been a good fit for us having sailed 6 times with them on 6 different ships with a 7th close to hand, they have also been varying lengths from 7 to 20 days and in different parts of the world.

Our next two will be with Royal and Princess again, which will give us the chance to see how they have fared since we last cruised with them.

 

Well said Dave :cool:

[samshltn]

MSC are not for everyone thank goodness, it is usually those who cannot adapt and want more of the same as they get from their preferred cruise lines who make the most noise, a two night cruise is hardly a good gauge of how things will be for the rest of the year sailing out of Southampton, seeing as the ship had just arrived in Hamburg after a transatlantic sailing.

We have been lucky enough to sail NCL and the food was good enough and neither of us went hungry, on a B2B out of Venice we got upgraded for the second week thanks to the Hotel Director Dennis Prguda. Not sure we would sail with them again since they introduced their All Inclusive drink package whether you want it or not.

 

MSC has been a good fit for us having sailed 6 times with them on 6 different ships with a 7th close to hand, they have also been varying lengths from 7 to 20 days and in different parts of the world.

Our next two will be with Royal and Princess again, which will give us the chance to see how they have fared since we last cruised with them.

 

 

Very valid points, there. I've certainly grown accustomed to a certain way of doing things on NCL, and I'm really not the 'adapting' type - I want everything to go as planned. And again you're right: My experience on the two nighter will probably be different to other people's experiences on different cruises later in the year. I look forward to reading those reviews later in 2018, and I hope they reflect a better time than I had. To everyone: happy cruising, and I hope that if you do try a line different to your usual one, that you have a pleasant surprise!

[amajaa]

Can I just ask what ever are the chocolate ships you are all talking about?

[sidari]

A model of the ship in chocolate which is part of the Black card perks.

[Madman_K]

I think you need to go and argue with those people then. (I don't know who you mean, though) Everyone in this thread agrees, we're all entitled to our opinions, and it's this rich tapestry that makes life so interesting

 

 

He probably mend me.

 

That is because in his review all was positive, and there were only “a few little hiccups”

But if half the ship or more had a bad experience, it is not just a few small problems.

So I pointed out this thread. Which I find a more realistic about how it went on.

 

But to make my list complete, next to the embarkation and disembarkation “hiccups”

Our status were also not upgraded, but I did not care about that.

The drinks on the bill where sometimes higher priced then on the menu (and I don’t mean the tips)

A order was double charged, which we noticed later and had to correct at the guest services.

The temperature in the dining room on the first night was freezing (and they could not change that)

And I which we got a drink in18 minutes.

 

But if you think I come on to negative, there were of course also positive points.

It is a beautiful ship, the shows where great, good food, reasonable drinking prices (especially compared to the USA-companies)

 

I think a 2 night cruise should be able to give you a even more positive picture about a cruise, since everybody wants to get the most out of it in a short time.

Where on longer cruises it is a bit more soothing.

 

We also like to look around between different companies. (10 so far)

It is fun to see the difference between them, and they all got Pros and Cons, and even have a problem now and then.

But you may expect from al of them that they can anticipate, and try everything to make the best of it, if a problem occurs. This is where MSC failed completely.

 

 

[Nunagoras]

Been there, done that! Once in the Baltic sea I was unfortunate to have one of those beginning / end of season 2 or 3 nights cruises, curiously out of Kiel (not so distant from Hamburg...) as part of my 7 day Baltic cruise, and to be humble and honest... I now tend to avoid those cruises!... A mix of a crew turnaround and an abusive drunken passenger crowd for that leg provided me with my 2 worst days of cruising ever... I am not against that cruise style... But not for me either!...

 

Regarding the OP's experience there is a thing that matches my recent experience on this same ship. Chaotic boarding and debarkation procedures. MSC NEEDS to rethink those events. With current technology there is no reason to create those so long lines just for the sake of creating lines. I know this is not an MSC exclusive problem... It is global in the industry... But companies, including MSC need to have a look on that!... Actually their procedure seems to be more time and resources consuming than even their old one!... In Brazil they even had a guest services person operating the machines to register your credit card inside the ship!... In summary: Even the airline industry is nowadays doing this more efficiently than the cruise industry. I hope this to change in the years to come. Otherwise nobody will wish to go on the World class of ships for example!...

 

 

The Black card has become a joke due to status match which has resulted in those who earned theirs and having their benefits Cut, MSC have become like Insurance companies who offer their loyal customers a worse deal than those who switch to them from another company. The Ryanair of the seas.

 

Oh, really! Come on!... :) How marvellous would it be if Ryanair offered to both their employees and their passengers even 1% of what MSC offers!... :) Well... At least you made my day!... :) Thanks a lot and have a nice day!... :)

Edited April 5, 2018 by Nunagoras

[sidari]

You clearly missed the point!

[little britain]

A final update: MSC have now offered everyone on board this 2 night cruise a full refund (including the prepaid tips) and also a 10% future cruise discount.

 

The cruise was a disaster from start to finish. I am very impressed that MSC have held their hands up and acknowledged this.

 

We will be back.

 

 

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[NYHartChapp]

Where do I start.....?

 

• The cruise documentation detailed the wrong port in Hamburg. I actually had to point it out to MSC UK that the address was wrong and they sent out second documents a few days later which still had the wrong address in and then with a little addendum giving the right address
  
• Boarding was chaos. The building was not large enough to cope with the number of people trying to board.
  
• No separate doorway for Black/Priority members. Once inside, the regular queue had barriers so the queue snaked around in an orderly fashion. The Black/Priority line had no order and it was every man for your self, elbows at the ready.
  
• There were no announcements of what was causing the delay and no expectation set of how long we would have to wait. Otherwise we would have taken ourselves off to lunch at the FischMarkt opposite
  
• There was no visibility of any MSC officers. There was no one offering water or seats for the elderly.
  
• Boarding started around 1.45
  
• On board you were ambushed immediately by staff trying to sell you the drinks package; until they saw you were on for just 2 days when they then said you couldn't have it. Thankfully we got him to sell it to us otherwise I would be furious if I had been asked every few minutes whether I wanted a package, that I couldn't have
  
• Our room steward never smiled, or introduced himself, or left a card
  
• The room was not ready, we did not have our kettle, our bathrobes or even face cloths.
  
• We did have 2 invites to the specialty restaurant. I did not receive my invite to the Spa. We did receive 4 chocolate ships (that were actually of the Musica...)
  
• We went for dinner at the Oriental Specialty restaurant. Blacks members dine from a set menu. They had no salad and no noodles. Dinner was sushi and a bowl of fried rice. No senior staff around explaining why there was no food. Hardly worthy of a buffet let a long a specialty restaurant. There were noodles for lunch in the buffet the next day. Go figure.
  
• Before going to dinner I had left a note on the bed asking the steward to please bring kettle, bathrobes and face clothes. When we returned to the room, we had had no turn down service and the note was still in place. By this time I was not a happy bunny. I went to GR and told them. Now this is the best part....at 3.00am in the morning, yes, 3.00am in the morning we were awoken by the delivery of the missing items.......
  
• The following day, our steward gave us 2 more bathrobes. He then returned in the afternoon to deliver one solitary face cloth.
  
• There were no cartons of milk on board so you couldn't use the kettle anyway
  
• There had been a change over of staff. Never before have I seen dirty plates and cups left on tables for hours (the ones by the pool were there for well over 4 hours)
  
• Disembarking was chaos. Only one announcement advising about issues with the gangway. Nothing more. No visibility of officers explaining what the issue was, no further announcements telling people to stay away. No officers seeing you off the ship apologising for the issues. It appeared that some people had not done the mandatory immigration face to face the day before; and some people had not registered their credit card which caused further delay.
  

On the plus side, the ship itself was spotless, did not show her age. The music was good, the disco was great, the drinks were flowing (when you could get served).

 

 

I feel very disappointed. For their first trip in the UK, I'm afraid this was a PR disaster. I suspect many were trying MSC for the first (and probably the last) time. I spoke with some who had already cancelled forthcoming trips. I know they can do better than this. This was DH's first cruise with MSC. I have managed to convince him to give them one more go....

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln. how'd you like the show?

[gkbiiii]

So if I'm ever on the two night cruise, I am better off booking YC, rather than a Aurea Duplex Suite?

[Skier52]

Can I just ask what ever are the chocolate ships you are all talking about?

Here is Opera as a chocolate ship

 

 

 

 

 

Pete

[Rhea98]

A final update: MSC have now offered everyone on board this 2 night cruise a full refund (including the prepaid tips) and also a 10% future cruise discount.

 

The cruise was a disaster from start to finish. I am very impressed that MSC have held their hands up and acknowledged this.

 

We will be back.

 

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Very impressed with this!. We take our first MSC cruise-- 22 nights on Meravigla out of Steinwerder (Hamburg) in one week. We are going mostly for the itineraries, but I like organization, especially when over 5000 passengers are aboard. I think Meraviglia has many issues worked out as long as the staff doesn't change after re positioning.

 

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln. how'd you like the show?

Thanks for the chuckle.

[1fifthavenue]

shock horror our chocolate ships on Fantasia were of Divina #crisis

[BermudaBound2014]

Full cash refund is a class act. Most cruise lines only offer full refunds toward future cruises.

 

 

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[samshltn]

Full cash refund is a class act....

 

Only if they actually do it. They said that the refund would be processed in 20 days, 22 days ago.

[perakcruiser]

Now let me first say that we (me & my wife) got this 2 night cruise at an insanely cheap rate...

 

That is the only relevant sentence in this thread. MSC throws out this 1, 2 or 3 nighters for a price that is so low that it could be called an almost free gift. Great stuff if you want to go from Barcelona to Genova or from Hamburg to SouthSouthampton. Grab it if it fits you but don´t call it a regular cruise.

 

All who booked a one week cruise with this boat don´t worry, this is a completely different thing.

 

By the way, you are in Japan right now and need to go to Shanghai? Four days next week, 99 Euros :D

[helen haywood]

"I understand that some Black Card members feel as though they have 'earned' their card, through many years of MSC cruises. During that toil, you may have come quite accustomed to this sort of service. Indeed some of you are even defending it."

Those who have earned their Black card status used to receive better service, only since the status match do many of the crew now see it as oh just another Black card!

I would like to see the figures for just how many of the status match people have actually booked again after a first cruise as status match.

 

I can only speak for myself, but since you asked, after status match to Black I have sailed YC four times. Love it!

[TheCaveman]

Hi All

 

I was on this cruise as well.

 

I agree with everything the OP said, but...

 

it was not our 1st MSC Cruise, and it won't be our last. We only took this cruise, to book another cruise onboard.

 

that was a disaster in itself, as the guy had no idea what he was doing, but it all worked out in the end.

 

Bar service was very slow, they ran out of tonic, so not Gin and t for you, and coke ( diet or zero)

 

we just ordered 4 drinks every time, Jameson and coke.

 

I had a great cruise, apart from the 48 hours it took to board ;-) and yes I am also a black card holder.

 

We received a full refund from MSC, including the tips ( service charge) we paid.

 

the money was recieved from MSC last week...

 

So happy days...

[samshltn]

... We received a full refund from MSC...

 

Have you actually received the money? Or just the promise that you'll get it? I've had the promise of a refund but not the actual money yet. They said '20 days' 22 days ago.

 

MSC generally not having their game together really does seem to be an ongoing theme...

 

 

 

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