Just returned from Magnifica 10-17 Apr, Questioned answered if I can....

[tc80tc80]

Still a little groggy, 38.5 hours from Bari, Italy to London but, we have just returned from Magnifica 10-17 April 2010. I will answer whatever questions people may have re: the Magnifica if I can...

[onthebalcony]

We are from the States and on the Magnifica for the Dec. 8 cruise which is also our first MSC cruise. Would like your opinion as there are many negative comments here about MSC regarding food, impolite cruisers, etc. Once you have recooped from your travels, you should write a review.

Any information on ports of call are also helpful.

Thanks for any information!

[eliopia]

Still a little groggy, 38.5 hours from Bari, Italy to London but, we have just returned from Magnifica 10-17 April 2010. I will answer whatever questions people may have re: the Magnifica if I can...

hi,glad to hear you made it to your cruise and back home.

we will be doing the same cruise on june 30,but out of istanbul,i wanted to know if you were in ports at the same time as listed in the itinerary,for exp in katakolon did the ship dock at 8:00am,and if u can tell us what did you do there(how did u get to olympia?)thank you.

[tc80tc80]

hi,glad to hear you made it to your cruise and back home.

we will be doing the same cruise on june 30,but out of istanbul,i wanted to know if you were in ports at the same time as listed in the itinerary,for exp in katakolon did the ship dock at 8:00am,and if u can tell us what did you do there(how did u get to olympia?)thank you.

 

We did arrive on schedule and were probably the only family that initially didn't rush off to the excursion buses.

 

There was no difficulty getting off of the ship. Mere minutes. We were not planning to go to Olympia but rather the little beach on the west side of the peninsula. I had read that the waters on the east side were polluted and tha is correct. We wandered up the east side beach and there were bags of garbage all along the beach periodically. The west side is good because the currents clear the water.

 

In the time it took us to casually wander the first kilometer, we noticed the little tram was still waiting to take people to Olympia so you should have no trouble getting to it if you went there directly.

[Ann Halliday]

Hello TC80TC80 - glad you enjoyed your cruise. We will be on Magnifica June 26 leaving from Venice. Did you get a drinks package? We were going to get the wine package (7 bottles, a beer, a softdrink and water) but since we both have to get it I was hoping we could take what's left in the bottle(s) with us back to our cabin. Can you take a drink to the shows? Also, is it possible to buy a package on the ship? We are planning on taking MSC excursions for Istanbul and Epheses. Should we pre-book these or can we do it once on the ship? Hope you can answer these questions. We're not picky eaters so if the food isn't that great it doesn't worry us - we won't go hungry. Thanks

[oceanbabe]

Dear TC80: I am glad you are back and hope you had a great time. You didnt really say what you thought about the food, language problems, pushy people, etc. We will be on the Magnifica on May 22. So far, havent found anyone on here doing same. We have been very nervous about comments here. Can you give more details about what u liked and disliked about this cruise ship, how r things run, whether you would again cruise with MSC. Thank you so much, Elaine

[tc80tc80]

Hello TC80TC80 - glad you enjoyed your cruise. We will be on Magnifica June 26 leaving from Venice. Did you get a drinks package? We were going to get the wine package (7 bottles, a beer, a softdrink and water) but since we both have to get it I was hoping we could take what's left in the bottle(s) with us back to our cabin. Can you take a drink to the shows? Also, is it possible to buy a package on the ship? We are planning on taking MSC excursions for Istanbul and Ephesus. Should we pre-book these or can we do it once on the ship? Hope you can answer these questions. We're not picky eaters so if the food isn't that great it doesn't worry us - we won't go hungry. Thanks

 

We did not get any drinks package and yes you can take whats left of the bottle back to the cabin with you. Likewise you can arrive with your bottle. We brought refillable water bottles to dinner each night. You can buy the drinks package on board. They have a cocktail of the day onboard and after the service charge it is 6.56 Euro.

 

As for the theatre, there are no tables by the seats to place drinks on and I only occasionally saw someone with a cocktail glass in their hand as they came into the theatre. BTW, main floor seating is good, but you need to get there 15 - 20 minutes early to get the best seats. In the Balcony you really want to sit in the first row, where you have a glass guard barrier. Most of the rows behind the first row have a brass guard rail and it seems to obstruct a number of peoples views as I saw lots of people shifting to look over or under the rail.

 

Excursions..... We did our own and I figure we saved a ton of money. We often found our self's in the same locations as the ships tours and when I stood there as if I was part of the group, I often could not hear what was being said. At any one time there are at least a dozen other tour groups around you at the major sites.

 

Truthfully, if you spent the money on Lonely Planet Guides for the cities being visited, you would get the same information and you see more wandering yourself in the larger cities especially Istanbul.

 

Ephesus is the only place where a pre-booked tour would be handy since the moment you step off the ship in Izmir, you are assailed by taxi drivers touting for business. The only other place to go in Izmir is the Bazar in the heart of the old city, which is 2.5 miles from the dock. A taxi is 10 Euro to the bazar and 10 Euro back. Some people said that the Bazar in Izmir is nicer than the Grand Bazar in Istanbul. BTW, when you haggle a seller down to their absolute bottom price and they say it is not possible to get it cheaper anywhere...... it is cheaper about a block or two away from the bazar.

 

As for the food, I am sure you will not go hungry. I could not see any justification for some of the complaints I have read here about the food on MSC and I spent six days on the Queen Mary 2 where a five course meal is considered a starter.

[woodofpine]

I echo tc80tc80's comments generally. Although I thought it inconsistent, I agree MSC's food doesn't deserve the Drama Queen "I've been poisoned!! (collapse)" melodrama it gets from posting basher's either. There's room for improvement compared to other large lines but it's not exactly 'night and day'.

 

I think Magnifica's present itinerary is terrific. Food variables aside, the line was at least adequate in every other category (very good or better in some).

 

As far as Katakolon and Olympia goes, a car rental agency we used is right at the pier. Otherwise, there is very inexpensive train line however one's schedule is tightly confined as to the train and the ship. We were unable to get confirmation of the train schedule online (and Greece is pretty unsettled presently) so we opted for the car rental which at about 60EU total per vehicle was a huge savings over most alternatives. Istanbul was very exciting and rewarding to do independently.

[oceanbabe]

Tc80: Almost forgot to ask: can women wear capris and men dockers for regular nightly dinners? I know there are 2 other formal nights where we will dress up. On RCCL, etc, certain rules even for regular dinner nights. Can u help with this? Also, were there many English speaking people and did they sit u with them? thanks again, elaine

[tc80tc80]

Tc80: Almost forgot to ask: can women wear capris and men dockers for regular nightly dinners? I know there are 2 other formal nights where we will dress up. On RCCL, etc, certain rules even for regular dinner nights. Can u help with this? Also, were there many English speaking people and did they sit u with them? thanks again, elaine

 

Having had our first cruise experience on the Queen Mary 2, that sort of set our standard. I wore a dark suit and tie on the formal nights and button up shirt and tie for the informal.

 

On the Magnifica, there were two formal nights and informal for the rest. I was really surprised to see such a range of dress on the first formal night. From the American women at the table beside us wearing t-shirt and jeans and a huge skull and cross bones tattoo covering her right arm to basically beach wear for most. By the second formal night, people began to take the hint and the level improved a tiny bit but still very few suits and formal dresses. On the other side of the restaurant (I'll call it the foreign side) much more effort was made.

 

Now don't get me wrong, I am Canadian. We found that everyone within eye site on our side of the restaurant were English speakers and all of the Europeans were on the other side. I suspect this was done on purpose according to the language skills of the servers.

[oceanbabe]

thank you tc80 for your answers, glad u had a nice cruise, looking forward more to our May 22nd cruise. elaine

[blath]

Still a little groggy, 38.5 hours from Bari, Italy to London but, we have just returned from Magnifica 10-17 April 2010. I will answer whatever questions people may have re: the Magnifica if I can...

Hello and thank you for taking questions. I am trying to decide on the best drinks package for us and I would love if someone could explain how the packages are monitered. If I am on the unlimited package what is there to stop me getting drinks for friends? Thank you for all your posts, your info is invaluable.

[chrtran]

With the EURO going down, it's best to wait until you're on the cruise to purchase the package. I think the US price was determined when the EURO was higher.

 

We plan to get the water + wine package. I think at each port, you can purchase water for the excursion.

 

Has anyone brought back sodas or wine to ship?

[tc80tc80]

With the EURO going down, it's best to wait until you're on the cruise to purchase the package. I think the US price was determined when the EURO was higher.

 

We plan to get the water + wine package. I think at each port, you can purchase water for the excursion.

 

Has anyone brought back sodas or wine to ship?

 

We managed to "smuggle" smaller sized bottles of booze without any problems at every port. I especially liked the Ouzo from Greece.

 

Now here is the trick if you are worried. Wait for a group of about a dozen people about to get back on the ship. Put yourself in front of that group so when you hit the security station at the end of the gangway, there is a large bunch of people in a small space. There is only one person scanning cards and monitoring the xray machine. I got separated from the family and waited for them on the other side of the metal detecting arch for a couple of minutes. I never saw the security fellow give more than a passing glance to the xray machine the whole time. In Venice we even brought on a full sized bottle of wine in blatant view and nary a bat of an eyebrow.

[tc80tc80]

Dear TC80: I am glad you are back and hope you had a great time. You didnt really say what you thought about the food, language problems, pushy people, etc. We will be on the Magnifica on May 22. So far, havent found anyone on here doing same. We have been very nervous about comments here. Can you give more details about what u liked and disliked about this cruise ship, how r things run, whether you would again cruise with MSC. Thank you so much, Elaine

 

I too became nervous after reading reviews here. But truthfully I didn't mention problems with the food, language or pushy people because I didn't encounter any. We have lived in London for the last two years so are very "Europeanized".

 

I did notice people pushing to get on the elevators but I believe that is more because the damm doors close so fast. If I was at the front of the crowd, I would just reach and block the door sensor with my arm and let people get on. Nobody would shove from that point because I held the door. When the elevator was already full and stopped on a floor nobody was getting off at, the only people that tried to squeeze on were tweans and kids.

 

Sure the food isn't at the standard of the Queen Mary 2, but what ship is....?

 

I do wish they would learn how to fry an egg in the breakfast buffet though.. Mind you having breakfast at the restaurant gets you eggs any way you want them and while lunch and dinner at the restaurant were time draggers, breakfast was fast.

[chrtran]

Thanks for your advise on smuggling stuff to the ship :-) I'll try to do that with a few sodas since that's my weakness ...

 

Any advice on what to eat in Turkey? Is the food the same as Greek? Kabobs and Gyros?

[tc80tc80]

Thanks for your advise on smuggling stuff to the ship :-) I'll try to do that with a few sodas since that's my weakness ...

 

Any advice on what to eat in Turkey? Is the food the same as Greek? Kabobs and Gyros?

 

Truthfully, we didn't stop moving long enough to eat. The kids survived on ice cream in Venice and pretzel like buns in Turkey. Be ready for price sticker shock in Venice.

[chrtran]

Venice has always been expensive. We never could afford to eat at fancy restaurants there. I guess we'll have to return to that Pizza place recommended by Rick Steves then. There were also lots of togos pastries in the back streets too that were really tasty for lunch.

 

What kind of dishes are highly recommended on the cruise?

[Enot]

Hello,

 

Thank you for the information, tc80tc80!

Can you give us any tips on internet or cell service on Magnifica?

 

Thank you!

[summer66]

Our iPhones worked most of the time on our cruise April 24 - May 1.

[summer66]

We just returned from Magnifica's April 24 - May 1st cruise. Every night we commented that we couldn't understand about complaints about food. We liked it very much and felt than it was way better than Carnival, as good as Cunard, and only fell short of our two Celebrity cruises. The only drawback, and I mean only, is that the tables are too close together, making it hard for the wait staff, which was a same as they were outstanding.

[tc80tc80]

Hello,

 

Thank you for the information, tc80tc80!

Can you give us any tips on internet or cell service on Magnifica?

 

Thank you!

 

Check out this thread...

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1194318

[chrtran]

Hi Summer66,

Can you give a summary of what's the menu is like?

Thanks!

 

 

We just returned from Magnifica's April 24 - May 1st cruise. Every night we commented that we couldn't understand about complaints about food. We liked it very much and felt than it was way better than Carnival, as good as Cunard, and only fell short of our two Celebrity cruises. The only drawback, and I mean only, is that the tables are too close together, making it hard for the wait staff, which was a same as they were outstanding.

[Ann Halliday]

We'll be on Magnifica June 26th. We are thinking of doing the shore excursion for Istanbul. If we book it on the ship are we subject to a service charge?

I know you can fax the request in advance and no service charge is mentioned. I appreciate any information you can give me.

[Capricruiser]

There's no service charge for excursions. The prices listed on the MSC website are the same you'll find at the excursion counter aboard the ship. When you enter your cabin you'll find on the bed (along with other info) the tour magazine for your cruise with descriptions of all the excursions and their individual costs. There will also be a form to check off with the excursions you want, which you give to one of the people at the excursion counter or leave in the bin there. Your tickets will be delivered to your cabin and the charge will go on your on board account. It's pretty simple.