MSC Magnifica picture heavy fun review -- 12 days British Isles incl. DIY port trips

[Irish Cath]

yeaaaahhhh you've made it to the ship ( not quite on board yet). I really think you need to spend the entire weekend writing this - we simply have to know more immediately :D Jokes, no pressure. I'm just loving it so far.

 

Hamburg looks like a great port to board too.

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

The MSC Magnifica

When you first step foot on the ship you’re normally right next to the centrum.

It’s not called “centrum”, it really doesn’t have a name at all, but I just decided to call it that from now on. It’s the only area of the ship (apart from the theatre) that stretches upwards over more than one story. The lowest – deck 5 holds the guest reception on either side of the centrum. There are bars to the sides, so you could sit here and drink something if you wished. Most of the time we saw people sitting here when one of their party wanted to talk to guest reception , or sipping on a cappuccino whilst studying the daily’s. Before the ports this was often used as a gathering place to get off the ship as well.

There’s a piano in the middle of it and pretty stairs winding up two more stories.

Gambee describes the MSC Divina as dazzling. It has Swarowsky crystals in the steps and so forth. I’d like to borrow the word dazzling for the Magnifica as well, just with a very pleasant northern European understatement, if you know what I mean. The steps were marble, not crystal, yet the handrail shimmered golden. There were lots of places on the entire ship, which reflected, which created some bizarre views – but it was often dampened with subtle deco. So yes, it was glitzy, but not so glitzy that it would knock you down. I really enjoyed it.

Some fun glitzy reflection pictures coming up.

Stay tuned!

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Here you go:

All the elevators basically consisted of mirrors…walls and ceiling. This was a wee bit too much glitz for Tanja’s taste. Tarik and I thought it was pretty cool though. The elevators were the fastest ones I ever experienced. You went up from deck 5 to deck 15 in a matter of seconds…loved it! You also didn’t have long waits. Okay, at peak dinner times or just before port stops it could get crowded, but even then it rarely happened, that you had to let an elevator pass, because of overcrowdedness.

What brings me to the elevator-culture. I love to watch this being different on all ships so far. On the first cruise in southern Spain it was virtually impossible to get on or off without getting into the celebrated habit of shoving. That was hard to adjust to. The next cruise with a majority of American and Brit passengers this was completely the other way around. Everybody would have rather died on the spot before he or she would have pushed or touched you by accident. Now this cruise was a wild mix of the two approaches, which made it fascinating, since you never knew what to expect inside of -- or in front of an elevator. I had a bunch of fun. I might have even chuckled once in a while….some people must have thought that I’m a halfwit.

But I’m sidetracking….let’s get back to the glitzy pictures:

This is the l’Ametista lounge…I’ll tell you more about it once I get to all the bars.

This is on one of the galleries of the centrum.

To the right was the internet corner, to the left the desk to book bike excursions. They had pretty cool bikes for those.

Coming down the staircase from the casino into the Tigerbar. One thing I liked about this ship was that the stairs were actually treaded on. This one as well as the windy ones of the centrum were always in use.

Even in the restaurants (this is l’Edera on deck 5) there were mirrors on the ceilings, which gave some funny glimpses of people eating upside down. The mirrors made the ceilings appear higher than they were. One thing I didn’t like about the ship was that it really had incredibly low ceilings basically everywhere. Although you could enhance the optic situation with mirrors, this didn’t help with the acoustic at all. The result: It was insanely loud during dinner times. But I’ll get to the dinners later on.

Stay tuned!

Stef

[earn]

Great to see some of the ship photos. I am enjoying all of your review so far, and have nothing particular I need to see, but thank you for thinking of that.

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

yeaaaahhhh you've made it to the ship ( not quite on board yet). I really think you need to spend the entire weekend writing this - we simply have to know more immediately :D Jokes, no pressure. I'm just loving it so far.

 

Hamburg looks like a great port to board too.

 

Hi Cath,

 

:p having fun with preparing ship stuff to write about....but won't have a lot of time this weekend:rolleyes::D. But I'll try to at least get two more posts out there. Loving your review as well! Thanks!

 

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Great to see some of the ship photos. I am enjoying all of your review so far, and have nothing particular I need to see, but thank you for thinking of that.

 

Hi earn,

 

:)thanks! You're very welcome!

 

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Lol – having talked so much about reflections I just have to insert this VERY IMPORTANT post about the public restrooms onboard here. Don’t get me wrong…I’m quite liberal and openminded when it comes to nudity. But there are some moments in life, like using the restroom, where I’d prefer to be alone and unseen. Many of the public restrooms (especially the ones in front of the theatre) had such a shiny floor, that you felt like walking on a mirror. Since the doors and separations of the booths are pretty high of the floor, you get anatomically correct views of the action in at least the stalls neighboring yours. From the outside you also have an unobstructed view of all the stalls in front of you (except the disabled one…since it is so spacious, you’re quite safe in here).

Look:

This shot is taken in front of the middle booth pointing the camera to the floor. Although the door is closed you can see the inside of the booth clearly. Of course this works vice versa. When you’re actually in a booth you can look out and see everybody at the sinks.

Everybody in those booths behind me could see me standing there --- but no fear, I took these photos intentionally and waited till the entire facility was empty in order not to humiliate anybody.

So maybe this whole reflection thing doesn’t bother you --- then excuse my little warning. For me this was however a reason not to use these anymore.

Since we’re talking public restrooms, there was a very luxurious one right next to the La Conchiglia pool bar. I think this is the most beautiful public restroom ever! No reflection problems and a panoramic view (and I mean

landscape

folks not other restroom-users , sheeesh) to die for:

The regular booths were a wee bit on the slender side though

if you have a weight problem, these surely would prove to be a bit tight. But the disabled version was very spacious again.

So there…enough of toilets!

Stay tuned!

Stef

[AmoMondo]

Now you've got me thinking Stef. Toilets on MDc are usually very clean and shiny but I've never paid attention to the reflections. I'm sitting here mulling over whether this is a Magnifica specific thing or the same on all their ships........

 

I agree the panoramic views from the ladies at the pool bar is wonderful.

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

 

I agree the panoramic views from the ladies at the pool bar is wonderful.

 

:)...the gentlemen's version was just as nice on the other side of the pool bar (We had Tarik go check it out:D).

[Valiamo]

Wow, loving your review and your descriptions of the trip, ship and your adventures. You have an excellent way of catching the viewer and holding their attention. Thanks for taking the time, to tell us your tale

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Having ranted about the restrooms next to the theatre, why not cover that next?

The theatre mysteriously wasn’t used every night…Especially not on the first night onboard

???

…We thought that was a bit peculiar. If you dedicate so much room on a cruise ship to such a venue, I’d think they’d use it to the max. But what do I know? The theatre was often just empty.

This is our little Caruso (alias Tarik) on the stage.

They did have a welcome aboard show, but it was not until the 2nd evening (the third for those having embarked one day earlier of our cruise). I won’t tell you about the shows here, since I’ll cover them later on the days they actually happened. In general the theatre was once again sparkly, but the dampened green colour smoothed it down a nuance.

I liked the blue colours that appeared when the lights were dimmed:

Just playing around with the camera.

Many people in previous reviews complained, that the seats were way to tiny and extremely narrow…We didn’t have a problem with that at all, but here’s a pic with actual people in the seats, so you can judge for yourself:

Stay tuned!

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Wow, loving your review and your descriptions of the trip, ship and your adventures. You have an excellent way of catching the viewer and holding their attention. Thanks for taking the time, to tell us your tale

 

Hi Valiamo,

 

:pwell, thank you!:p

 

welcome to the review!

 

Stef

[alexkrn46]

I am enjoying your pictures and review thank you!

[lorrdean]

Its a very shiny ship, I think I would need to wear my sunglasses inside lol xx

[windjamming]

Stef, you started the review!! Yay!!! Just got home from my New England/Canada cruise. Looking forward to reading about your adventures in Ireland and Scotland! (Beats laundry.)

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

I am enjoying your pictures and review thank you!

 

Hi alexkrn46,

 

:p My pleasure! Glad you're enjoying it.

 

Welcome!

 

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Its a very shiny ship, I think I would need to wear my sunglasses inside lol xx

 

lol -- we didn't need them outside but since we brought some along I guess that might have been a good use for them:D.

 

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Stef, you started the review!! Yay!!! Just got home from my New England/Canada cruise. Looking forward to reading about your adventures in Ireland and Scotland! (Beats laundry.)

 

whoohoo windjamming!

 

Welcome, welcome, welcome! Missed ya on here already.

 

Now we only have to coax Melissa and Sherry over here and we're pretty complete (oh god -- now I'm afraid that I might have forgotten anybody else with a detailed review out there). Let's see: You 're here, Ayasha, Irishcat and Katgoesonholiday...doing pretty good I guess:).

 

:)anyway ....just glad you're here!

 

:oSorry, but no time for another post today...but tomorrow! Promise!

 

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

A big plus on our MSC journey was our “all in” drink package. It’s called Allegrissimo --- and it sure paid off for us.

You can book it before the cruise and you save 15% on the price. I’ve read that these 15% actually are the dedicated tip-amount:eek:….but I refuse to believe that the crew is the one paying for this discount. Maybe I’m naïve, but I just don’t believe it. Whenever we ordered drinks (which was a lot:D) the waiters made sure to have their names on the bill….normally there would be a 15% charge added to each bill as tips…not so on the Allegrissimo bills – here you would have listed the price of the drinks – neatly underlined with a big fat zero (which is the amount actually charged to your board account:p). All the waiters knew about our Allegrissimo package and still made sure to have their names on those receipts…why would they care if they wouldn’t benefit somehow? If anybody knows more about this – please help me out here.

The Allegrissimo package can only be ordered for all days and for all cabin inhabitants. So Tanja, me and Tarik had to purchase it – for kids the price is less though. Tanja and I paid 23 Euros per day each and Tarik 12. That does add up to 638 Euros for 12 days (they counted embarkation and disembarkation as one full day). It does seem like a lot, but it sooo much paid off for us. A wide variety of coffees, cocktails, juices, sodas, water, beer and wine – even all the sparkling wine and limoncello you desired, was included. For Tarik’s delight all the gelato on board was included as well. I’ll tell you in detail about the drinks we tried, when I come to the daily activities. I also have some bar menus for you then.

For those passengers who didn’t want to spend so much on the Allegrissimo, there was the option of buying drink vouchers. They had a whole bunch of different ones…beer vouchers, cocktail vouchers, coffee vouchers, water vouchers. You could still buy them onboard, but you would have the 15% tax/tip:confused: added to it. I thought it was quite bizarre, how people came up to the bars with their little coupons in hand…reminded me of cutting out food coupons out of the local newspaper from the time I spent in the US. Nothing I anticipated to resurrect. I really was in heaven with the simplicity of the Allegrissimo.

Oh and for those passengers wanting to endulge in even more luxury they did have an Allegrissimo supreme…which included rare whiskys and even more elaborate cocktails than the regular Allegrissimo. You’d also have a wide selection of wines and bottled beers to choose from. I don’t remember the price – but it sure was a lot more than the regular one.

:rolleyes:But let’s do get started with the bars, shall we?

Stay tuned!

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

I’ll get started with this bar:

Any guesses? Yup – it’s called the “Tiger Bar”.

I’m starting with this one, not because it’s our favorite, but it is simply the biggest one. Strategically placed in the middle of the ship on deck 6 this baby is HUGE!

It’s a thoroughfare to the theatre as well as to the sparkly stairs to the casino.

The menu of each bar was slightly different … the tiger bar was the one with the most diversity…Here was also the only place to get a bunch of different beers on tap (included in the Allegrissimo). Most of the other bars had only Heineken on tap. Well, the location was good, the size excellent, their stage and dance floor spacey….all good if it weren’t for this stripey 80’s revival look everywhere.

I don’t know – somehow I have this picture of a model (female, very thin with curly blond hair – 80’s make up) in mind wearing a tiger striped bathing suit whilst posing on a motorcycle….it just doesn’t do it for me. Tanja even said that this is how she would picture the inside of a brothel (not like she has ever been to one!).

If you love it – no problem – you’ll find no other bar on board with as much variety when it comes to entertainment and drinks, but we didn’t like the design at all. I mean seriously --- fake golden ivory tusk seats?

Nope. Let’s move on to the next bar.

Stay tuned!

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Moving on to the next biggest bar and to a very cherished one.

The l’Ametista lounge occupies a large chunk of deck 7. It is also sparkly – like almost everything on this ship, but it has some wonderful aspects, that made it one of our favorite places to be.

We thought the black and purple wasn’t quite as cheesy as the tiger design.

 

Okay – all the chromed columns and bar stools where a bit much as well, but I guess everybody has a right to their own distinctive taste. What was the most wonderful thing about this bar was the very back.

 

 

It has panoramic windows to look at the ocean – and additionally to this spectacular view, these seats are arranged in booths with purple, fluffy, separative walls going all the way up to the ceiling, where you felt like you basically had a private bar all to yourselves. Still you were able to see the stage from here (and the bar with the waitresses – so you could wave like a maniac if you were being ignored – but that rarely happened), but you could sort of watch discreetly from a backstage point of view…with (hardly) any harassment from the entertainment team to participate -- in whatever stuff was going on, if you sat here. I also had the feeling, that the fluffy walls drowned some of the otherwise annoying noise level. Loved it, loved it, loved it!!!!!!! This was our very favorite bad weather spot to hang out.

 

Especially when the sea got really rocky, the views got better and better from here. Too bad other people thought so as well…half way into the cruise it got more and more difficult to snatch a free booth here. So I’ll leave here with the view we adored for oh so many hours, sipping on many magnificent cocktais, chatting about all the stuff we had experienced on the cruise so far and would still see on our days to come. Sigh -- I miss that bar!

Oh, and by the way--- it does have restrooms. The gent's is on the starboard side and the ladies on portside...they're just outside the bar...even before you get to the elevators...they're just well hidden behind a decorative corner. We didn't find them until one day prior to disembarkation:rolleyes:. but you know better now and shouldn't have a problem allocating them...I don't recall if it has a reflective floor though --- I'm afraid it might be the case.

Stay tuned!

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

lol -- had a hard time with the soccer game last night

 

Germany -- Scotland...

 

didn't watch it, since I didn't want either one to loose.

 

We won 2:1...sorry Scotland! I still think you rock! ...and none of us could ever throw a caber...:D:D:D.

 

Stef

[denisey]

We had at least another hour (or so we thought) until we would be able to board the ship. So we decided to stroll around a bit. For all you Germans out there: Isn’t this the funnest commercial?

 

Thanks for the great review so far, Stef!

 

I am reading about about HOW to learn a new language. The author recomends watching Tv shows and Movies in the language you want to learn. However he said to avoid German Comedies because of the word plays that make the jokes hard to understand for a new student.

 

It was pretty funny once you explained it!

 

Denise

[Elmartellama]

Wow, that Tiger look is something a bit too much! :D We're sailing the MSC Orchestra next year and I think it also has a Leopard themed bar. What's with MSC and the animals? The Fantasia class is nothing like that though, even if I keep reading the Magnifica class is more classy.

 

By the way, you can also buy soda and water vouchers prior to embarking withouth the 15% extra. For regular cocktails and non alcohol cocktail vouchers you just can't. That distinction is a bit weird really.

 

We did the vouchers and they work fine at bars (you have to sign all the receipts even if Allegrissimo anyway). The main difference is that you have to check out every time you finish dinner and sign, that is not the case with the Allegrissimo.We did not like waiting fot our waiter at that time, since he sometimes disappeared for a while. You also have the risk of losing the vouchers or forget them at the room.

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Thanks for the great review so far, Stef!

 

I am reading about about HOW to learn a new language. The author recomends watching Tv shows and Movies in the language you want to learn. However he said to avoid German Comedies because of the word plays that make the jokes hard to understand for a new student.

 

It was pretty funny once you explained it!

 

Denise

 

:pthanks!

 

:Dglad I'm not the only one who liked it!

 

I really didn't know that's supposed to be a typical German thing....how interesting! Playing with words is so much fun --- I can't believe the English speaking world should be less experienced with it.

 

Stef