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New Member, Never been on a cruise, considering sailing on the Costa Magica on Aug 11


sukan
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Hello All,

 

Joined this forum after stumbling upon it while researching on Cruises, Costa, etc.

 

We're planning to sail on the Costa Magica on August 11, from Stockholm, Sweden.

 

The plan was to get to Stockholm a day before, to just relax and explore around where we'd be staying (still haven't decided which hotel yet), go on the cruise, and then perhaps spend a day or two more in Stockholm, and possibly seeing a little bit of Norway / Denmark.

 

Would really appreciate some tips and "must know" info from the wise, old cruisers! ;)What advice do you have for the cruise itself, the excursions, and that part of the world, in general?

 

Thanks for the taking the time to read this. Any little tidbits of info will be appreciated!

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Hi Sukan,

Firstly Costa is multi cultured with up to five language's spoken although there is no need listen unless It is your language. You will always be seated with like minded guests in your allocated dining room, & have a host who speaks your language. Premium cabins come with various choice including ding time and are best if you like eating early (6.30) or late (9.15)

 

Boarding is done by numbers quite simple you ill get a numbered ticket when arriving at terminal you go on board when that numbers is called.

Your may arrange your own transfers or use Costa's to 7 from airport/station, in your case you can book an overnight stay with Costa at a nearby hotel and get picked up there or return to airport (at fixed times only) for their transport to terminal.

 

The Magica is a lovely ship we have enjoyed all five of our cruises on her, but please don't forget that Costa is multi-lingual, therefore some things you will really enjoy while others you may not quite. Do not be put of by the many negative reviews usually from people who booked with an Italian line then dislike it because there were lots of them on board.

Although the food is not as good as the early 2000's it is improving, and you can always ask for something different if you don't like your first choice. (the buffet does have lots of choices each day) for breakfast and lunch.

If you are doing a Norway cruise, then every port is awesome you will be spoilt for choice, but once you have booked your cruise you will be able to go to Costa site brouse 'my costa' and read all about every tour they do in each port.

 

Hope this helps, just ask if you have any direct questions, we all will do our best to give you truthful answers.

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Hi Sukan,

Firstly Costa is multi cultured with up to five language's spoken although there is no need listen unless It is your language. You will always be seated with like minded guests in your allocated dining room, & have a host who speaks your language. Premium cabins come with various choice including ding time and are best if you like eating early (6.30) or late (9.15)

 

Boarding is done by numbers quite simple you ill get a numbered ticket when arriving at terminal you go on board when that numbers is called.

Your may arrange your own transfers or use Costa's to 7 from airport/station, in your case you can book an overnight stay with Costa at a nearby hotel and get picked up there or return to airport (at fixed times only) for their transport to terminal.

 

The Magica is a lovely ship we have enjoyed all five of our cruises on her, but please don't forget that Costa is multi-lingual, therefore some things you will really enjoy while others you may not quite. Do not be put of by the many negative reviews usually from people who booked with an Italian line then dislike it because there were lots of them on board.

Although the food is not as good as the early 2000's it is improving, and you can always ask for something different if you don't like your first choice. (the buffet does have lots of choices each day) for breakfast and lunch.

If you are doing a Norway cruise, then every port is awesome you will be spoilt for choice, but once you have booked your cruise you will be able to go to Costa site brouse 'my costa' and read all about every tour they do in each port.

 

Hope this helps, just ask if you have any direct questions, we all will do our best to give you truthful answers.

 

 

Hi tenpin!

 

Thanks for the frank and insightful post.

 

Unfortunately, we are not the doing the cruise that covers Norway, I believe there is another Ship that is doing that route. The one we're looking is Stockholm, Talinn, St. Petersburg, and Helsinki and back to Stockholm.

 

We were considering booking a Balcony Premium Oceanview Cabin. It seems like the choice of decks are 6,7 and 8. Do you have any recommendations on which out of those three is the best?

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Hi Sukan,

Great cruise all those P of C are wonderful either doing your own thing ( not St Peters) or using Costa. while ships tours are not cheap you do normally see the best bits with the added insurance of never missing the ship if late back.

 

Deck seven would be our choice, cabins above & below, not deck eight as you could end up below buffet which is noisy early morning with chairs being moved, mid-ships is best, see deck plans on here or Costa site.

 

Any questions just ask.

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Hi Sukan,

Great cruise all those P of C are wonderful either doing your own thing ( not St Peters) or using Costa. while ships tours are not cheap you do normally see the best bits with the added insurance of never missing the ship if late back.

 

Deck seven would be our choice, cabins above & below, not deck eight as you could end up below buffet which is noisy early morning with chairs being moved, mid-ships is best, see deck plans on here or Costa site.

 

Any questions just ask.

 

Sorry for the delayed response, tenpin, I thought I would receive an e-mail if there were any replies.

 

I'm glad to know all those P of C are worth checking out. I checked out the deck plan, and it seems like Deck seven is, indeed, a great choice, considering almost all the Suites are on that deck.

 

Would you be able to tell me about cellular and wifi usage on board, while at sea? From what I understand it's a satellite link so it's ridiculously expensive. Are the wifi plans offered by Costa also expensive, and are there any Business Centers or places where you can use a Desktop computer to access the Internet?

 

Thanks again!

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The WiFi is always extremely slow. We bought the cheapest Costa package twice but now just pay and use our own data roaming when in port - much faster.

There is a business centre on the ship.

 

Caryl

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The WiFi is always extremely slow. We bought the cheapest Costa package twice but now just pay and use our own data roaming when in port - much faster.

There is a business centre on the ship.

 

Caryl

 

Thanks for the heads up, Caryl! Wasn't really banking on their being good wifi but sometimes it's just nice to have around. :D

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Do you know if it has a laundrymat selfservice on board, Costa Magica? Thanks for your answer.

 

Hey, to my knowledge, there isn't.

I believe the best option is a 25 piece laundry bag for Euro 19.99.

 

There is one, and only one, Laundromat in Stockholm city, about 15 minutes from the port, if I'm not mistaken.

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  • 5 weeks later...
sukan,

 

now that your cruise is over, can you post some feedback?

 

- how was food?

- was their buffet at dinner time as an alternate to MDR?

- how unruly were the pax in buffeett line?

-

 

Hey Hal, be glad to!

 

So, since this was our first cruise, it was a mixed bag, but truly memorable experience.

 

To answer your questions first:

 

The food, in general, was between below average to average. The only thing that we couldn't complain about, with regards to the food was the quantity. It was truly in abundance, be it at the buffet, or at the MDR. The main criticism about the food was it felt too mass produced, even at the MDR, because of which it was either overcooked, or seriously lacking in flavor.

 

I would often wonder how the Italian guests felt about their own cuisine, because if I took issue to the way the Risotto was prepared (almost watery), or how overcooked the Ravioli was, I'd imagine they would be horrified. However, on the surface it didn't appear that way. The Spanish family that was assigned to our table were not happy at all, however, and they stopped coming to the MDR after the second night.

 

We even requested for a special meal, on two occasions, knowing that a good number of cooks were from India, (we too are Indian), we ordered some standard India food, Dal, Chicken Curry, etc. We thought let's see how they would prepare an a la carte meal, but this too was disappointing on both occasions. It was very oily, and served cold and had to be reheated in the microwave.

 

The dinner at the buffet was equally lacking in quality, but made up for in quantity, and you could tell by the number of half eaten plates you would find on almost every table. In terms of variety there was pretty much everything, a grill section, a burger bar, and the main section had a bit of everything, pork chops, beef fillet, chicken, fish, prawns, along with salads, cheeses, breads etc.

 

Buffet line etiquette wasn't too bad but it was as I had read in the reviews, folks jumping ahead to grab what they needed, people entering from the other side to pass through, etc.

 

My feedback in general:

 

Embarkation and disembarkation were a breeze for us as we handled our own luggage. The emergency drill was smooth. The decks were never too crowded, and there was a free hot tub whenever we would show up. The bars were clean, the servers were all very professional. Leaving the ship was always easy at the POC's, returning depended on when you would show up. If you took an excursion, or returned towards the end it would take about 10-15 minutes from the time of queuing, else there would be no lines. Passport control at St. Petersburg was also a breeze. Our cabin was always properly cleaned, the steward was very friendly. There were a couple of maintenance issues, a blocked toilet and low water pressure but they attended to it promptly. Heidi, the English speaking hostess was very helpful.

 

Overall it was a great entry level cruise, and I would be keen to compare the experience with a more expensive cruise line or one of Costas newer ships.

 

 

I'll be happy to answer any more questions.

 

The weather was good, in general, it rained only once and it was cool and sunny the rest of the time.

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