Magica 12/17-12/23 a lengthy review

stowawaykc · December 29, 2006

A little late, but hopefully there will be some helpful info for future Magica cruisers.

We just returned from the 12/16 Magica cruise. There were 11 in our party, ages ranged from 9 yrs old

to 71 yrs old. Our cabins included an inside quad on the 2nd deck, (2 adults, 2 teen agers, cabin 2209), an

oceanview w/veranda on deck 8, (one adult, 1 teen, 1 nine year old, cabin 8350), another oceanview

w/veranda on deck 8,(2 adults, cabin 8353), and 1 mini-suite on deck 6, (2 adults, mini suite 6461)

After asking opinions from everyone in our party, I will attempt to give a review based on the responses

of each.

Before I get started, I have to mention, it has been about 16 hours and a 2-1/2 hour flight since we left

the ship, But I still feel the ship moving. Are my wife and I the only ones who experience this ?

I don't recall ever reading about this on these threads.

We had great weather and relatively calm seas everyday, so It is not like a make you sick kind of feeling,

just a gentle rocking feeling. Its actually kinda cool.

Embarkation- By all accounts, Embarkation was well run, and very organized. All of us were in our cabins

pretty much within an hour. We traveled in 2 separate groups, and the group that arrived first, (around

11:00 am) had to wait the longest, slightly over an hour. Our group arrived around 12:30, and we

practically walked right on, the only hold up in the line was the photographer, who stopped every group in

the line to take pictures that were too overpriced to buy anyway. From the time we walked into the

terminal, to the time we reached our cabin was less than 30 minutes.

And yes, we did register our credit card at the same time we presented our tickets and travel documents

at the registration desk in the terminal. This is different from the way it was done in the past.

We went up to deck 9 for a few minutes, just to check it out, then headed for our cabins.

I was in the inside quad on deck 2, along with my Wife and 2 teenage daughters (13 & 15 yrs old). As you

can imagine, with limited space and 4 people, you have to really plan out who is doing what, pretty much all

of the time. I fully expected that we would have to pre-determine shower times, getting ready for dinner

times, getting ready for bed times, etc...

What I didn't expect was having to determine who was standing where in the cabin at all times. This cabin

was incredibly small. There are 2 beds that fold out of the ceiling, one on either side, and above the

double bed. with these 2 beds opened, approx. 75% of the cabin space was gone. The only space left is at

the foot of the beds, a strip of carpet about 4' wide X 6' long (with a small table on one side, and a chair

on the other side), and the entrance way to the cabin, another 4' wide X 5' long strip of carpet in front

of the door.(think of a "T" shaped area) The Bathroom door, the outside cabin door, and the 3 wardrobe

doors all opened into the small space of this entrance way, so when any of these doors were opened, you

would lose even more space.

The bathroom was nice, plenty of space, excellent shower, lots of space to keep everyones essentials.

(even for my wife and 2 teen daughters).

The cabin had 3 large wardrobe cabinets, one had shelves, the other 2 had a rod for hanging clothes and 1

shelf each. There was also a small dresser that had 3 medium sized drawers, and one drawer that held the

hair dryer. Plenty of space under the bed for empty luggage. I noticed that behind the television, there

was another electrical outlet available. There was not enough room to plug in anything that had a large

plug, like a cell phone charger, but a standard plug would have fit. I didn't need to use this outlet, but I

figured I should mention it in case anyone else was interested.

For the price we paid for this cruise, there is no way that the size of the cabin was going to ruin the trip.

I knew that the cabin would be small, and we dealt with it. The good aspects of the ship, by far,

out-weighed the size of the cabin.

The towels and wash cloths were high quality, and were replaced everyday, as they were used. The shower

has a dispenser of liquid soap that is actually pretty nice. Me being a bald headed man, I used this soap

exclusively all week. The girls all had their favorite shampoo/conditioners, but also used the liquid soap

all week. we never opened the bar soap we brought with us. There was a small hotel sized bar of soap for

the sink, and we did use this this for hand washing.

Our cabin Steward was Dolores. She did an excellent job all week for us. I only spoke to her 4 times

during the whole week, and when I did talk to her, she was pleasant enough, but not overly friendly. I did

not take this personally, I feel like she had somewhat of a communication/language issue. On the 1st day, I

asked her for a mattress topper and asked her to remove the contents of the mini bar/fridge. She gave

me a funny look, like she had never been asked this before, and that evening we got the extra mattress,

but she never did empty the fridge.

She serviced our cabin twice each day, once between 10:00am and Noon, and then again while we were at

Dinner. As I said, she did an excellent job, and we tipped her extra for her help. We also left her a 12

pack of left-over soda that we brought back on the ship in Key West. We bought the soda at CVS right on

Duvall Street, near the shuttle stop. We brought (4) 12 packs on board without any problem. (each kid

had a 12 pack in their bookbag).

At this point I should probably also mention that we were also able to bring 4 fifths of hard liquor from

home in our checked bags (shared among the 7 adults in our party). All 4 bottles made it to our cabins,

and we actually brought home 2 of them un-opened. Each day we did buy at least 2 of the special drinks

of the day, and some days we bought a lot more than 2. Tell them you want extra-large, 50 cents more for

a much bigger drink.

We usually drank the smuggled booze in the late hours of the night, when the majority of the bars had

closed. You could get a drink in the Casino or the Disco until around 3:00 am, but most of the other bars

were usually closed earlier. The only tip I have here is to bring along a small to medium sized soft sided

cooler for ice in your cabin. The cabin steward will fill it for you every morning and evening. There is an

ice bucket in the cabin, but it is very small, and the ice was often melted by the time we needed it. It is

difficult to find ice late at night. (more on this later)

The 2 veranda cabins were identical to each other, they were both located mid-ship, one on the port side,

the other on the starboard side. By all accounts, they were roomy enough, had plenty of storage space, and

lots of room to move around. (must have been nice!) and both groups that stayed in them had excellent

service and had nothing but good things to say about their stewards, Elmer and Marjorie.

The groups that stayed in these cabins both booked, and paid for, inside cabins, and were upgraded to the

balconies because of an unfortunate experience we had concerning our previously booked cruise in March

2006. (We had a medical emergency 3 days before we were to sail, and even though we had purchased

insurance, we still got screwed out of the money. But this is a different discussion for a different thread)

From my perspective of being able to spend time in both the inside and veranda cabins, I would highly

recommend booking the veranda if you have more than 2 in your party. It is worth the extra money.

The suite that My BIL & SIL stayed in was awesome! It was an aft corner cabin, very roomy, and the

balcony was at least 3x the size of the veranda balconies. You could easily party with 6 adults on this

balcony. It wrapped around the side of the ship, so you could look behind and beside the ship from this

location.

The cabin did not have a whirlpool bath as advertised. There was fresh fruit everyday, and a nice welcome

package of a bottle of champagne and canopes. My BIL & SIL gave high marks to the cabin steward

(Charlie) and his assistant. They tipped them extra at the end. Yes, they did get robes, on the 2nd day,

after asking.

I can give more first hand info on our cabin, and can ask about the others , so if you have questions, ask

away!

About the ship. As I have read many times on these threads, The ship was absolutely beautiful. Always

clean, always someone around to ask questions and help out. The crew (from the cabin stewards to the

officers roaming around) always had a smile, and greeted you as you approached. Yes there were a few

that would have a sort of unhappy look about them at first, but if you spoke to them, they would smile and

try to help.

2 of our cabins had maintainance problems (our shower drained slow, flooded the bathroom. Damn, that

was the nicest part of our cabin!, and one of the doors on a veranda cabin wouldn't open because of a

loose screw getting jammed in the lock mechanism) Both problems were resolved quickly and then we got a

follow up call to make sure things were fixed.

There were a few little things I noticed that I wish they would have fixed. There are approx. 5 ice

machines on deck 9, at all times at least 2 of them were not working (often 3 were down). The resolution

was to bring a small cooler full of ice, and a scoop and place them in front of the broken down machines.

The other thing was a lack of trash recepticals on the same deck. I am not comfortable just leaving

garbage on the tables, and could never find anywhere to throw it away. I would usually end up handing it

to the crew bussing the tables. I understand that no one wants "amusement park" type garbage cans on

the deck, but something small, out of the way would have been nice.

I also had an issue with the lack of paper towels in the restroom on deck 9, the dispenser was always

empty. There is a hand dryer, but in order to get out of the restroom, you had to pull open 2 separate

doors. I witnessed many Pax not washing their hands after using the facility, and they also had to pull

open both doors to get out. There was no way I was going to touch those handles with my bare hands. I am

by no means a germaphobic, but I spent 2 weeks telling my kids to not touch anything unneccesary and to

wash their hands often. I would think that with the recent outbreaks of viruses that better care would be

taken to help keep things clean.

I am not trying to scare anyone into thinking that the ship was filthy, on the contrary, I never saw a dish,

cup, glass or any silverware that did not look clean when you picked it up. The tables were always bussed

and cleaned right away, and there was always crew cleaning and re-stocking everything on the buffets.

The buffets had odd hours that took awhile to figure out. Sometimes (usually late afternoon) 2 would be

closed, and the one all the way in the back of the ship would be open, other times just the Grill buffets

would be open. The food and selections were always good. I can't say for sure that they served exactly

the same things as the dining room, but I know that many of the selections were the same.

We ate in the dining room 4 of the 6 nights, the other 2 nights we ate at the buffets. I thought the quality

of the food was excellent at both. We ate all breakfast and lunches at the buffet also.

I personally liked the buffets better because, for example, when we had prime rib, I could pick the

pieces of meat that I wanted. I liked being able to see the selection, then decide if I wanted it.

I will say that we had fun in the dining room on the nights the wait staff danced, and when the Head Chef

and his staff, along with all of the waiters and cleaning staff paraded through the dining room to loud

music. Then each table waiter danced with all of the ladies at their table. It was pretty entertaining.

All of the dinners in the dining room were 5 courses, appetizer, soup, salad, pasta and Main entree,

followed by dessert. There was usually 3 or 4 choices of each catagory. My youngest son (9) would always

order whatever he wanted (usually hamburger or hot dog & fries) even though they were not on the menu.

The menu stated that cheescake, Ceaser salad and selected ice creams were always available.

The dinners always took at least an hour and a half, sometimes closer to 2 hours. This was ok most of the

time, but some nights I just didn't want to spend 2 hours eating dinner.

While the ship was at first a little difficult to navigate, it didn't take long to figure out how to get where

you needed to go. I really enjoyed the view from the front decks. You could make your way to the top of

the "pilot wings" and get a really cool view down the side of the ship. It was also neat to see the webcam,

I stood right next to it, after watching this view on my computer for what seems like forever, it was nice

to actually get the live view. I also followed Joetrizeo's tips to get right to the front of the ship, and do

my "I'm the king of the world" pose on the bow. Thanks Jim!

Room service was always on time every morning, there was a nice selection of no charge items. The only

problem I had here was that the coffee was less hot each day as the week went on. Since there really was

not much space in our cabin to eat, the coffee was the most important thing to us. We eventually stopped

ordering because of this. I did not hear this complaint from the other cabins, so this might have had

something to do with our location all the way in the front of the ship. The restaurants and buffets are all

on the aft of the ship, so I assume that the galley is also located back there. It was not unusual for

members of our party (mid-ship) to order room service at 4:00 or 5:00 am. The food came quick, and was

always good.

Again, I am trying to cover the basics, if you have specific questions, I will be glad to try and answer

them for you.

The entertainment on the ship was just that, very entertaining. We did not see many of the shows, but the

ones we saw were good. Often the shows would be broadcast on the television the next day. I saw a few

that had me thinking "Damn. I should have gone to that" There was some sort of circus that my teenage

daughters raved about, I caught a few minutes of it, and it looked pretty cool, also the newlywed, not so

newlywed game was pretty funny. The carribean night activities on deck 9 were tons of fun. As a matter

of fact, all of the events on deck 9 were fun, the crew did a great job getting everyone involved. Just

about every evening you would see the crew dressed up in some kind of goofy outfits from one of the

shows, fiftys theme, 80's theme, carribean night, etc... I witnessed one of the crew members actually sit

down on the deck in front of my MIL for at least 1/2 hour talking to her about her life on the ship and

her family. I know that meant a lot to my MIL, I saw this kind of personal attention all week long, and it

made the vacation better for all. I saw a lot of people having fun all week on the ship. I give the crew all

of the credit for this, they really went out of their way to make sure people got involved and had fun.

The ports of call were intersting, but I thought that our stay was too short in most of them. We only had

1/2 days in Key West and Roatan, not much longer in Cozumel. Belize was the longest stay. Since our

party was so large, we did not plan any excursions, so we just wung it on our own.

Key West-We walked up Duval Street, enjoyed the sights, especially liked the Pirate and Mozart "fake

Statues" The Pirate was very rude and insulting, but funny. As my BIL & SIL walked by, he suddenly

moved,(surprizing them) and said "Hey, I thought we had a date last night!" My SIL responded "Sorry, I

lost your number" and then he replied "Sorry Honey,I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to him, this is

Key West" The mozart guy was amazing. He looked like a statue, but if you slipped a buck into his tip

jar, he would whistle Mozart tunes and pose for pictures, Very cool! We also stopped at Margaritaville

and the Hogs Breath Saloon so that I could call my co-workers and tell them to check out the live web

cams, as soon as I was sure they were watching, I gave them all a little one fingered salute. I am sure they

loved it! We also stocked up on our 12 packs of soda and got some great shots of the ship at the Navy

pier.

We really love Key West, but the Conch train ride back to the ship seemed to take forever, and the line

to get back on, even 1 hour before we were due back on board, was crazy!

Cozumel- We walked all along the road near the harbor, bought some souveniers, (Mr. Clean, come into my

store) the kids got some hair braids, I picked up my set of drumsticks from the Hard Rock for my

collection, and then we stopped at Carlos and Charlies for some fun. (I won't go into details here, but if

you have never been to this fine establishment, you are missing out on a riot!)

Belize- 2 mile tender in from anchor, but the boats were fast, seas were calm, and the trip took about 15

minutes. Not bad at all. The water in the harbor was a murky brown color, but the shoreline was

beautiful, lush tropical scenery. We walked through the small shopping village and again bought a few

souveniers, took a few pictures, then headed back to the ship. At one point, I stepped out of the back of

the little shopping mall, into a small parking lot to grab a smoke. At the back of the lot, there was a gate

in the large fence, and there were locals there trying to "lure" passengers out of the village with offers

of a ride to a beach , with a great bar! I DON"T THINK SO! we had been warned that the crime was high

in the area, and we were not going to chance it.

Roatan-Beautiful, but very impoverished island. (at least near the pier) As I was leaving the ship, the

crew member who was the shopping and tour consultant was standing near the gangway, and I stopped and

asked him if it was safe to try and find a taxi to Tabiyana (sp) Beach. He answered Yes, They are easy to

find, just negotiate the price before you get in. So upon exiting the ship, we found a fairly decent looking

van, and asked the driver about a ride to the beach and back. How much ? I asked. $20.00 he answered. I

said WOW! 20.00 for all of us? (there were 11 of us present) Yes, $20.00 for everybody.

I said " Great, your the man! and we all piled in. Frank took us directly to the beach, about 20 minutes

away, and I was surprised when he said he would wait for us at the beach, then take us back. (at this

point, the warning flags and whistles should have been going off)

We agreed that we would want to head back to the ship at 11:30, and Frank said "no problem".

While we were on the beach, Frank, and some local woman approached us and asked if we would mind

heading back at 11:00 instead, as he had another group to transport. We reluctantly agreed, since the

fare was so reasonable, even though we were really enjoying this awesome beach.

The whole time in the van, Frank might have said 10 words, probably less.

When we exited the van, I gave Frank $40.00 and told him "Thank You for a safe ride" (we had seen some

pretty crazy driving antics on our way, from other drivers, not Frank)

Much to my amazement, Frank asked who was paying the rest of the fare? I said "what rest of the fare,

we tipped you an extra $20.00?"

Thats right, You guessed it, Frank said $20.00 for everybody meant, everybody pays $20.00 each.

$220.00 for a taxi ride 20 minutes away, NOT HAPPENING!

After getting the port authority and taxi dispatcher involved, we settled on $120.00 for the whole group.

Frank claimed the sign in port clearly stated "beach tours- $20.00" I said we didn't ask for, or get, a

Beach tour, just a taxi ride, and you cut our time short to boot.

Although I believe this was a fair price, and I would have agreed to it if he would have quoted this price

in the beginning, I still feel like he tried to rip me off. At the end, we shook hands, and wished each other

a Merry Christmas, and I hurried back onto the ship. I really wanted to get back off the ship to buy a

shot glass for my collection, Not sure when I might get another chance to get back to Roaton. but decided

against it. I decided to enjoy a stiff drink instead (ok, maybe more than 1)

Friday was a sea day, and the deck activities were really fun. All day, something going on on deck 9,

dancing, live Calypso band, games, etc... If you were bored, it was your own fault!

Several of us did the Togas, most of us did not. There were some very "creative" togas, both made from

the supplied bedsheets, and many "made at home" outfits. Everyone really seemed to be enjoying

themselves.

I have read some negative comments about the casino, But I have to disagree. I actually won money on

Blackjack, Roulette, and mostly the slots. My wife, MIL and Myself won several hundred dollars on the

penny slots near the center of the casino (I believe they were called Black Magic) You have to bet the

max amount (.90 each spin) but when you win, you win big and often. I started with $10.00 and had it up

to $130.00 with 10 minutes. (yes, I cashed out at that point, brought some of that $ home with me)

Disemarking was a breeze, we were given purple, yellow, green and white luggage tags among our group of

4 cabins. We waited about an hour on deck 9, had a bite to eat from the buffet, then we just left the ship

as we pleased, no one checked our colors and there was no wait at immigration.

All in all, it was GREAT week, especially considering the price. I know that we have given our kids

memories that they will have forever. We gave them the option of taking the cruise (their 1st), or having a

traditional Christmas, and they unanimously selected the cruise. Since we arrived back home (on Christmas

eve) I have not heard even 1 regret about their decision. They all loved the kids club activities and

especially the crew in the kids clubs. They all made friends, and exchanged contact info. My 13 yr old son

is on the phone right now, talking to a girl he met on board.

The group of kids on the ship were well behaved and really didn't cause any problems all week. The only

complaint I heard was that they were in the disco too late each night. (this complaint was from the twenty

somethings in our group) This left no where for the adults to hang out after hours.

As you can see, I had to really dig to find little things to knit-pick about. I would love to sail this ship

again, but with a different itinerary, with the ports of call being a little longer.

Again, if you have any questions, I will do my best to answer.

Kurt

stowawaykc · December 29, 2006

Sorry for the poor spacing, I typed this on microsoft note pad, then copied and pasted here. I tried to edit, but apparently there is a 20 minute time limit to edit, if you don't finish within the 20 minutes, it gets posted as is.

I hope you will take the time to read it anyway.

Kurt

charpe · December 29, 2006

Enjoyed your review:). We cruised on the Magica over Thanksgiving, and had a wonderful time also.

Florida1947 · December 29, 2006

Sorry for the poor spacing, I typed this on microsoft note pad, then copied and pasted here. I tried to edit, but apparently there is a 20 minute time limit to edit, if you don't finish within the 20 minutes, it gets posted as is.

I hope you will take the time to read it anyway.

Kurt

Hi Kurt,

Thanks for the long and very interesting review. There was lots of great detail and it was fun to share your experience. I had the same spacing problem when I first posted my review which I wrote in MSWord but I clicked on the "review post" button and realized when I pasted in my review the spacing got all screwed up and had to go back and redo it several times. Anyway I read the entire review and thank you again for posting it.

Debi_D · December 29, 2006

Thanks for the great review, totally enjoyed it. I do have one question for your SIL & BIL in the mini suite. You stated that there is no whirlpool but I have heard a lot of talk about those cabins not having a sitting area. Can you tell me if they do and did they have a Butler?

Thanks again, would love to see pictures if you have them online anywhere....

Deb

joetrizeo · December 29, 2006

I also enjoyed the "King Of the World" position from the very bow of the ship on deck 4.( only got chased out of there once )

I also followed Joetrizeo's tips to get right to the front of the ship, and do

my "I'm the king of the world" pose on the bow. Thanks Jim!

excellent! glad they worked. they also work on the sister ships like the carnival victory that i was on. however i think theres a small error in my directions. i'll have to revamp them once i go on another of these ships. you could also get there from going out onto the forward tier deck of deck 6 and walking down the steps (which you no doubt saw). I tried to get to the front on Victory but my GF stopped me because she was scared and 'we're supposed to follow the rules and it says crew only!' haha

Before I get started, I have to mention, it has been about 16 hours and a 2-1/2 hour flight since we left

the ship, But I still feel the ship moving. Are my wife and I the only ones who experience this ?

I don't recall ever reading about this on these threads.

It's called MDD mal de-debark syndrome. i get it too, bad. i feel the ship moving for a full week after i get off. it makes me SO dizzy. but it subsides.

http://www.etete.com/mdd/

About the cabin spacing. Ya, these cabins are really small but average for cruise line standards. and even bigger than Royal Caribbean ships i hear! I bet it was even more crowded having 3 women in the room with all their 'stuff'. When my dad, 2 brothers and i were planning our cruise on magica we first suggested going in one of these quads to save money. it was approx 100$ savings per person. It was me who convinced the group to book 2 cabins instead of 1 for this very same reason, no space! well worth the extra 100$

How did your teens like the teen activities?

It was an aft corner cabin, very roomy, and the

balcony was at least 3x the size of the veranda balconies. You could easily party with 6 adults on this

balcony. It wrapped around the side of the ship, so you could look behind and beside the ship from this

location.

aft corner balconies are like gold! one day i'll stay in one. but they go early. did they reserve this specific cabin or did they just get lucky?

I also had an issue with the lack of paper towels in the restroom on deck 9, the dispenser was always

empty. There is a hand dryer, but in order to get out of the restroom, you had to pull open 2 separate

doors. I witnessed many Pax not washing their hands after using the facility, and they also had to pull

open both doors to get out. There was no way I was going to touch those handles with my bare hands. I am

by no means a germaphobic, but I spent 2 weeks telling my kids to not touch anything unneccesary and to

wash their hands often. I would think that with the recent outbreaks of viruses that better care would be

taken to help keep things clean.

i agree, and don't blame you either! not touching thoes handles is a MUST on a cruise ship. people dont wash their hands and then you have to touch 2 door handles, thats how you get sick! i'd rather be called a germophobe than get noro! now i just trek it back to my cabin to use the bathroom. Carnival Victory had sani-ez on the doors. little tissue boxes with paper you used to grab the handle as you walked out. with trash cans for the paper.

(Mr. Clean, come into my

store)

HAHA! i would not have gotten that had you not commented about the shower gel.

The only

complaint I heard was that they were in the disco too late each night. (this complaint was from the twenty

somethings in our group) This left no where for the adults to hang out after hours.

rubbish i say! i'm a 20 something and i had a great time hanging out with the 'teens' in the disco. they're so much more fun and like to dance more than the 'adults'. I hung out with some mature 17 18 19 and 20 year olds from canada. the 19 and up were mad because back home it's perfectly legal to drink but they come on this cruise and no drinky, sorry.

stowawaykc · December 29, 2006

Deb, The mini-suite had plenty of room for sitting, there was a small table and a couple of chairs, and a desk and dressing table. I don't recall seeing a sofa or any kind of formal sitting area. My SIL asked for and received a couple of lounge chairs for the balcony, even with the 2 loungers and the 2 chairs that were already out there, there was still plenty of room on the huge balcony for hanging out. I will ask to be sure.

No,they did not have a Butler, I believe that is a perk for the suites, not the mini-suites. As much as they raved about the great service from their room steward, I don't think they missed having a Butler.

I did take a bunch of pics,(sorry, didn't get any of the mini-suite though) I will post them when I figure out the best way to do it.????

Kurt

stowawaykc · December 30, 2006

"however i think theres a small error in my directions. i'll have to revamp them once i go on another of these ships. you could also get there from going out onto the forward tier deck of deck 6 and walking down the steps (which you no doubt saw)."

I did see stairs,between decks 9/10 and 4/5, but I believe the only way to get to the very front of the ship was to take deck 4 (muster station deck) all the way to the front, then go down the stairs to the wooden deck, continue forward, past another stairwell to the door marked crew only.

As I mentioned, I was only chased out of there once. The only time I got chased out was when I took my Son out with me. We were just standing there in the front, and a crew member came out the other door and said "crew only!" I apologized, and we left.

There was another time I was out there, very late (2:00 am), and it was so pitch black dark that I didn't realize I was standing 8 feet away from a crew member that was taking a flag down from the short mast at the very front. I only noticed him as he walked past me and said, "it sure is dark out here" I said "yes it is" and he continued on into the ship.

Another time, as I was walking through the partitions that lead out to the open deck (4), I passed another crew member who simply said excuse me as we passed each other, I said pardon me, and kept going, like I belonged there.

"It's called MDD mal de-debark syndrome. i get it too, bad. i feel the ship moving for a full week after i get off. it makes me SO dizzy. but it subsides."

Great info, I checked out the website, its actually a pretty scarry thing at its worst level. I can imagine how this malady could ruin someones life if it never went away. It only lasted about a day for me, a couple of days for my wife.

"When my dad, 2 brothers and i were planning our cruise on magica we first suggested going in one of these quads to save money. it was approx 100$ savings per person."

Yea, it was the price that brought us to that cabin. What really irks me is that the other members of our group also booked, and payed for inside cabins, but were upgraded to verandas because of our mis-fortune in March of this year. We didn't get an upgrade because there were 4 of us, and there were no veranda quads available.

As I said before, The size of the cabin was not going to ruin the trip for us.

We worked around it. I only mentioned in for those future cruisers who might require some space in their cabin.

"How did your teens like the teen activities?"

We had a hard time keeping them out of the scheduled activities, they had scavenger hunts, olympics, decorated t-shirts, made paper flowers, basketball tournaments and a ton of other stuff. They were all given little gifts throughout the week. Floating keychains, waterproof containers to wear around the neck, olympic medals etc...The best thing was when they would see one of the crew on deck outside of the activities. They would run up and hug them and joke and laugh. It was like they had their own personal crew on the ship. Parents- MAKE your kids go, and at least check it out. I bet they will thank you for it later.

"aft corner balconies are like gold! one day i'll stay in one. but they go early. did they reserve this specific cabin or did they just get lucky?"

A little of both, they wanted a mini suite, and my wife booked this one for them. We later were told that the Costa agent that booked this cabin for us made a mistake and charged much less than the going rate. I don't recall the exact savings, but I believe it was a couple of hundred bucks a person error.

It is also now my dream to book one of these aft corner cabins.

"HAHA! i would not have gotten that had you not commented about the shower gel."

I was hoping that would be self explainatory. :)

"now i just trek it back to my cabin to use the bathroom"

I wish that would have been an option, but our cabin was all the way down on deck 2, all the way to the front of the ship. it would have been easier to just pee in the pool! :eek: (please, no flames, I'm just kidding!!)

Actually, I thought there was a shortage of restrooms on deck 9, I would always end up using the same one, near the middle buffet.

"rubbish i say! i'm a 20 something and i had a great time hanging out with the 'teens' in the disco. they're so much more fun and like to dance more than the 'adults'. I hung out with some mature 17 18 19 and 20 year olds from canada. the 19 and up were mad because back home it's perfectly legal to drink but they come on this cruise and no drinky, sorry."

I kinda enjoyed watching the youngins (18,19 & 20 yr olds) dancing my self from my viewpoint in the casino above the disco. I am a twenty-something X 2. ;) .

It actually was not the older teens that brought the complaints, it was the 14,15,& 16 yr olds grinding on each other that made the older folks uncomfortable.

I also noticed that on most nights, some of the crew would be in there cuttin loose on the dance floor. It seemed like they really cherished their free time.

Kurt

shawnonrev · December 30, 2006

If no ones has told you yet. When I went on my first cruise 3 years ago . I had the same problem. They called it "land legs". You slowly get use to the ship movement and is gone in a day or two. Did they have free medicine to talk well on the ship?

I have questions for you since you were in an inside room that I would really like answered.

One when the ceiling beds are down for the kids how much head room do I have. :eek: I am very worried about this. The first cruise was only my husband and I.

You said there was free( food )room service you could get. Like coffee and juice and small food for breakfast lunch and dinner also.

I would like to eat some thing small while getting my kids ready and not get sick but I would feel stupied to pay for food when it is free on a different level and what I paid for it already.

I am glad you said the food was great.

I am a germ -a-phobe so I will be carring around napkins to help me on deck 9. I did not know there were activities on deck nine (i guess after the shows?) they sound great is it something kids could go to we have a 5 and 7 year old?

Can not wait until we go!:) :D :cool: April

joetrizeo · December 30, 2006

"It actually was not the older teens that brought the complaints, it was the 14,15,& 16 yr olds grinding on each other that made the older folks uncomfortable.

HaHa! These kids today, I tell ya. With their "Rock N' Roll" and their fast cars...:D:D:D

"I did take a bunch of pics,(sorry, didn't get any of the mini-suite though) I will post them when I figure out the best way to do it"

I would suggest community.webshots.com It's my favorite and has the best interface in my opinion as compared to photobucket, flickr, imageshack, google photos, yahoo photos... etc...

stowawaykc · December 30, 2006

At the customer service counter on deck 3,, they will give you free dramamine if you ask for it. My 15 yr old daughter used a patch that was prescribed from our family Dr. It worked very well. It is a small patch that you stick behind your ear. It lasts for 3 days. I saw many people on board wearing these little patches.

We had coffee, breakfast breads, juice, cappucino, and hot chocolate (in a packet, along with a pitcher of warm milk) delivered most mornings.All were no charge. There will be a yellow menu in your cabin that has one page of free items, and one page of charged items.

I later found out there was also another menu for times other than breakfast, but I never saw it, we ate all of our lunches at the buffet.

I have heard from one in our group that there are also free items (some sandwiches) and some charged items on this menu too.

I am sorry to say that when the ceiling beds are in the down position, there is no room to stand under them, unless you are like 4'6" tall. They drop down on either side of the double bed, and there is not even enough room under them to sit on the double bed, except in the center.(about a 3' wide area). When you are laying down on the lower bed, there is probably 3' of room between you and the bottom of the other beds, with the 3' open area in the center. I thought this was plenty of room. I guess as an option, you could split the double bed into 2 twins, and have an isleway between the beds, this would open up some more floor space. We wanted the double bed, so we left it as a double. Don't forget to ask for a mattress topper for the double bed. The regular mattress is very thin. You probably don't need one for the drop down beds. My daughters who each weigh between 105 & 115 lbs did not complain at all about the regular mattresses.

Check the Today newsletter that will be delivered to your cabin each night. It shows all of the activities for the next day. including shows, points of interest for the next port call, activities on deck 9. Everyday there was something going on 9. Dance lessons, horse races, excersize sessions, crazy games, etc..

I am not sure if 5 & 7 yr olds will appreciate most of it, but I urge you to check out the kids club activities, all of the kids we saw really looked like they were enjoying it. The crew was excellent!

I know you will enjoy yourselves.

Kurt

fllady · December 30, 2006

Great reveiw and it has made me feel much more comfortable for our Bermuda cruise in April. We do have a balcony cabin on deck 7 near the middle elevators, which Jim had told me was a good location because my husband is disabled and likes to be nearer the elevators. Thank you again for a very positive and informed review.

shawnonrev · December 30, 2006

I am very claustrophobic. I just told my husband he will probley end up under the kids and me on the other side. I would rather know what I am getting into I am more relaxed and prepared that way. :eek:

I am so excited to learn the questions I have been wanting to know. Thank you. More relaxed and prepared. ;)

Thank you,

Ginny (Shawns's wife)

Debi_D · December 31, 2006

Thanks for the update on the Mini Suite, really looking forward to it.

Regarding pictures, have you tried Webshots.com I love the site, easy to work!

shipaddict · January 1, 2007

Can you tell me if there is a formal night on a 5 night cruise or just a toga party

quote=stowawaykc]A little late, but hopefully there will be some helpful info for future Magica cruisers.