Magnifica, not so magnifica, good booze cruise

[neptuno]

Four days to Key West, good but not great.  Ocean Cay bars closed at 2pm, *****?  Had to leave for Key West early to clear surprise customs inspection.  Main dining room food first two nights was inedible, felt bad sending back fish and steak, way too overcooked, dry and tough.  Finally our excellent waiter advised us which meals to order.  Otherwise, great dance music trio on deck 6 aft of Tiger Bar.  Tiger Bar only had lip sync latin duo.  Solo piano and solo sax in three deck atrium, enjoyabe from decks five thru seven. Disco was jammin as usual.  Drink package price have increased, but good, Easy Plus had everything we needed.

[Esv104]

Any good entree recommendations you want to share??

[neptuno]

Short ribs, mussels.  Skip the long lines at Ocean Cay, much better food aboard.

[Georgia_Peaches]

Too bad MSc didn’t stop in key West first instead on the way back. We were once on an itinerary that hit key West last before returning to Mia and like you, we had to do a customs check on board in the early morning. Never again. If we have a key West itin it will be the first stop or we find a different itinerary. I know it’s not much help to you but it might be helpful info for others. Thanks for the report!

[cruisin'a]

@neptuno Just disembarked Magnifica on January 8. Agree, Magnifica is not so magnifica. 

[Esv104]

Ugh.  Going on Friday for a short trip with older parents on their first cruise.  Was it that bad?   Do they really have no half and half for coffee?   Charge $5 for extra entree?  Are bar tenders really that terrible?   Is food that bad overall?   Thanks for insight (and tips). 

[cruisin'a]

@Esv104 No worries! Go with an open mind. You and your family will enjoy spending time the together.  
 

Embarkation and disembarkation was a breeze for us.  They do want you out of the room by 7:30a on disembarkation day. 😁 One restaurant and the buffet were open for breakfast on disembarkation day. The Tiger Bar was open for waiting to get off the ship at last call for everyone off.

 

The ship is older and small, but beautifully maintained.  The layout and locations of some of the venues are weird and disjointed.  Some are way too small to hold the activities they plan for the venue.  People were leaving because there was not enough seating or could not hear because of all the noise or people walking through.  This happened in the Tiger Bar and Amethyst Bar.  Great bars, not so great for bingo or well attended activities.  Advice: For any activities you want to do, get to the venue early and a have a drink before the activity. Most activities were held in one of the bars.

 

Rooms:  We had adjoining rooms 10128 and 10130.  Vijay the cabin steward was excellent.  No complaints.  The rooms were a little smaller than usual which was no problem. Just not a lot of extra space. A positive note…plenty of clothes hangers were provided! First time that has ever happened on a cruise!! 
 

Dining:  No restaurants were open on embarkation day, only the buffet. The selection was good, but it does not ever change.  For us, this became tiresome after lunch on the second day. They have the potential to do so much better, even if it is just rotating a few things every other day.  The main dining room did not live up to expectations.  Food is subjective I know, but I am here to tell you the NY strip they serve is not like any NY strip I have ever had and not in a good way.  Caution: Do NOT order the NY strip. Stick with the seafood or chicken options, they seemed better, imho.  The appetizers were hit and miss. Those dinner menus need a major overhaul and I am not a picky eater.  No complaints regarding the staff serving dinner. Always attentive, enough if just stopping by to apologize for the slow service.  First night, service was super fast.  Second night, service was super slow. 

 

Bars:  Did not ever have a problem getting a drink in any bar. No wait over a few minutes. The buffet and sports bar were the longest waits for us during super busy times. 

 

Officers and Senior Staff:  Practically nonexistent.  I did not see or meet a one of them the entire time.  I cannot tell you the names of any of them. There was no voyagers club party or diamond party.  It was almost like they did not want to mingle with the passengers and they did not.  
 

Customer Service: Lacking on all fronts, imho. The initial answer to every question or issue was no.  😁 It took some discussion and usually going to 2-3 different locations before any resolution occurred because guest services could not take care of it.  It was like they had no power to do anything or did not want to.  I was consistently told we could take care of that tomorrow.  You know, there are only so many tomorrows on a 3 day cruise. 

Shows:  Most excellent!!  Go to every show. The performers were some of the best I have ever seen on a cruise. Even the comedian…he was hilarious!!

 

We had a wonderful few days making memories with our kids, but Magnifica is probably not a ship we will choose again.

 

If you have specific questions about anything, ask and I will try to answer.

[Esv104]

50 minutes ago, cruisin'a said:

@Esv104 No worries! Go with an open mind. You and your family will enjoy spending time the together.  
 

Embarkation and disembarkation was a breeze for us.  They do want you out of the room by 7:30a on disembarkation day. 😁 One restaurant and the buffet were open for breakfast on disembarkation day. The Tiger Bar was open for waiting to get off the ship at last call for everyone off.

 

The ship is older and small, but beautifully maintained.  The layout and locations of some of the venues are weird and disjointed.  Some are way too small to hold the activities they plan for the venue.  People were leaving because there was not enough seating or could not hear because of all the noise or people walking through.  This happened in the Tiger Bar and Amethyst Bar.  Great bars, not so great for bingo or well attended activities.  Advice: For any activities you want to do, get to the venue early and a have a drink before the activity. Most activities were held in one of the bars.

 

Rooms:  We had adjoining rooms 10128 and 10130.  Vijay the cabin steward was excellent.  No complaints.  The rooms were a little smaller than usual which was no problem. Just not a lot of extra space. A positive note…plenty of clothes hangers were provided! First time that has ever happened on a cruise!! 
 

Dining:  No restaurants were open on embarkation day, only the buffet. The selection was good, but it does not ever change.  For us, this became tiresome after lunch on the second day. They have the potential to do so much better, even if it is just rotating a few things every other day.  The main dining room did not live up to expectations.  Food is subjective I know, but I am here to tell you the NY strip they serve is not like any NY strip I have ever had and not in a good way.  Caution: Do NOT order the NY strip. Stick with the seafood or chicken options, they seemed better, imho.  The appetizers were hit and miss. Those dinner menus need a major overhaul and I am not a picky eater.  No complaints regarding the staff serving dinner. Always attentive, enough if just stopping by to apologize for the slow service.  First night, service was super fast.  Second night, service was super slow. 

 

Bars:  Did not ever have a problem getting a drink in any bar. No wait over a few minutes. The buffet and sports bar were the longest waits for us during super busy times. 

 

Officers and Senior Staff:  Practically nonexistent.  I did not see or meet a one of them the entire time.  I cannot tell you the names of any of them. There was no voyagers club party or diamond party.  It was almost like they did not want to mingle with the passengers and they did not.  
 

Customer Service: Lacking on all fronts, imho. The initial answer to every question or issue was no.  😁 It took some discussion and usually going to 2-3 different locations before any resolution occurred because guest services could not take care of it.  It was like they had no power to do anything or did not want to.  I was consistently told we could take care of that tomorrow.  You know, there are only so many tomorrows on a 3 day cruise. 

Shows:  Most excellent!!  Go to every show. The performers were some of the best I have ever seen on a cruise. Even the comedian…he was hilarious!!

 

We had a wonderful few days making memories with our kids, but Magnifica is probably not a ship we will choose again.

 

If you have specific questions about anything, ask and I will try to answer.

Wow thanks so much for that detailed review.  We will definitely have an open mind.  We’re not picky also- seafood and chicken it is!!   Hopefully weather will be nice and it should be fine.  How bad could a strip steak really be after 4 or 5 vodka sodas beforehand?? Right??  Thanks again!   

[cruisin'a]

@Esv104Right!! Drink up and enjoy!!🍻 Also, no creamer was ever served with coffee, including room service and main dining. We did not experience any extra charges in main dining, although some have.

[VintageCheap]

Has anyone seen a daily planner you could post?