Live blogging from Magnifica

[addictedinflorida]

I’ll start this out by saying that the internet on board is awful, so any updates or replies may be intermittent depending on when I have access and when we’re not busy in port. 

 

Ive been a semi-active cruiser since 1986 when my first cruise was on board ships such as the Dolphin Breeze and Premier Big Red Boat. So I’ve seen a lot of different cruises and lines with my most recent loyalty being to NCL.  This is our very first MSC cruise.  We boarded on Sunday in Marseille. 

 

My overall all first impressions are good. The ship is beautiful, well laid out, easy to navigate and most crew that we have encountered so far have been nice. 

 

Positives:

- Despite reading online prior to our trip the buffets are plentiful with plenty of choices. Most everything is good with the exception of one item here or there. 

- The food in the main dining room is also very good. We have not had any issues there yet and everything is served hot. The waiters are busy yes,  us always nearby if we needed anything or to remove our plates right away when we were finished. 

- We have a Bella balcony on deck 9 and the room is great. Plenty of closet and storage space and everything is clean and neat. 

 

Negatives and unfortunately we are fining more of these than anything. 

- MSC or at least this ship, itinerary or time of year tends to cater to a much older crowd. Myself and my SO are late 40s-mid 50s but we are finding a very large % of guests are 60/70+. Due to this, the shows in the evening are opera, ballet, Spanish dancing, etc. We have yet to see anything fun like you’d find on RCCL, NCL or Carnival. No comedy shows, no welcome aboard show, no general talent shows, etc.   They supposedly do have a disco that starts at 11:30 at night but not only is that a bit late when you have to get up early in the morning but due to the ages of guests I’m guessing it would be pretty empty.  Even their supposed dance music in a lounge in the evening is far from any any dance music I have heard. More like big band type music, I guess appropriate for the age group.  Just don’t expect any sort of party atmosphere on this ship of Mediterranean itinerary 

- Our first sea day is today and the masterchef competition is fun but still not many activities for days like this sub as you’d find on other lines. Instead there are activities such as arts and crafts, dance lessons, board games, cooking demos, etc. 

- This ship appears to be much more rocky than others I have experienced in a long time!  It’s not a problem for me as I somewhat enjoy the movement but others sensitive to it may find it uncomfortable. 

- Our first night in the dining room was a cluster!  They had moved our choice of time from first to 2nd without any notice. And while we know this is only a request getting it switched was a nightmare of having to stand in line for 30minutes to see thr maitre’d who then wanted to argue with us when we just made mention of them being unorganized.  Although we were initially told there was no empty tables, one miraculously appeared the more we pressed the issue. The Quattro Venti dining room was half empty when we arrived!

- We have the water package for the dining room so when we sit down for the evening the waiter will ask for our card to verify before bringing water. However we are then not allowed to leave after we finish eating until he again confirms the package, asks for our card a second time and we have to sign a $0.00 bill each night. 

- Expect  madhouse at the buffet. This is pretty much the only time that I have noticed the amount of people on board. Especially due to so many other countries and languages people tend to just but in line, move in your way, don’t say excuse me, rush the food, etc. it has been quite chaotic in the mornings. 

- Muster drill is much longer and more difficult than I have experienced. Lige jackets are required, you have to listen to a discussion in the theater, have them show you how to put it on to which you have to do also and then they have to walk a theater full of people through the ship to your muster location.  Very unorganized!  Despite going to the drill and having our cards scanned the first night we got back to our cabin with a note that we did not attend. It was rectified by guest services but just make sure they confirm that your card was indeed scanned before you enter the theater!

- Too many ala carte items on the ship. MSC does tend to be cheaper yes, but that’s because they’ll charge you for everything elf on board. Playing pool (6 euros!!!), bowling, movies on the tv, etc all extra. 

- Lastly, there are no port talks the day prior to any arrivals so you are pretty much on our own. Make sure to do your thorough research before boarding because with tha exception of visiting the excursion desk and asking any particular questions you won’t get any sort of overview on board of where to go, what to do, what to avoid, where to shop, etc. 

 

The only other thing we’ve noticed on this ship is there are very few English speakers. We have not yet been an,e to communicate with anyone in the 3 days we’ve been on board. Hoping that changes but without being seated with anyone at dinner for instance It makes it more difficult. 

 

I think that’s it for now. If anyone has any questions I can answer feel free to post. As I mentioned above due to the bad internet service, I most likely will not be providing live blogging of each day but I’ll check in and reply to any questions or posts when I can. 

[redspain]

Thanks for the insight on Magnifica, we will be aboard in Dec 2019 just after dry dock. We would love to know what refurbishments she has in store.  If you are able to inquire with some of the ship's company and provide any further information it would be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks and enjoy your cruise!

[dalsti]

Thanks for the information.  We will be on the Magnifica in May 2019.

Have you been to the Casino?  Curious how busy it is and table minimums.  Any fun bars or live music.  We are upper 40s so hoping to find some entertainment in the evenings.

 

Thanks!

[BubMunkeyBles]

Thanks for the review. We get on in Marseille next week. Should be interesting as I'm 33 and bringing my 8 and 9 year old with me. 🙂 It's super port intensive though which should help and the few sea days we will probably just play in the pool some, read, they can go to the kids clubs and do some school work. I'm admit I'm going into it with low expectations.