Anyone Going on Costa Magica 4/28?????

[Blackrobe]

Soukara - I see you mention scooter rental. It is recommended by lots of people not to rent scooters in Bermuda. Having been there once before I certainly can understand the admonishment. The roads are narrow with plenty of blind spots. The drivers are fast, and less than observant of scooters. All too many tourists have had their visit ruined with broken bones, shapes and bruises. The public transportation system in Bermuda is excellent. The water taxis that we took on our last visit were very clean and modern. There are no trains in Bermuda.

[Gallery107]

I called Costa Customer Service yesterday. They clearly stated we will berth in Hamilton not Dockyard. I will call again today to share the information posted by others on this board. Thank you.

 

My old school chum is picking me up at the dock. Don't what her driving to wrong end of the island!

 

Thanks for everyone's feedback.

 

Catherine

[Gallery107]

Well, I called Costa Customer Service again today and shared the WE information with the agent. According to his records, we will dock in Hamilton. Perhaps the docks have expanded??? Who knows. Certainly confusing.

 

Suppose best for me to email my Bermuda buddy and she if she can make a few calls on her end. Copied link provided by Nan(?) and sent to Bermuda friend for docking verification.

 

Thanks again. See y'all on board soon.

Catherine

 

Any of you speak Italian, Spanish, ot French?

[schack2]

Finally received our documents this morning...first and last time we will deal with the TA we used...our usual agent said AAA wasn't handling the cruise since it couldn't beat the competition and suggested we try this one.

 

I think we are docking at the West End, Kings Wharf Dockyard, since we signed up on line for a tour and it states that the tour picks us up shipside, tours the South Shore, drops us off in Hamilton for shopping etc. then we can either get the ferry, bus or taxi back to the ship on our own. This leads me to believe we will be docking there.

 

Has anyone made a determination about meeting?

 

Barb & Roger

[50cruiser]

CARLSON full swede from michigan .1 week to go getting anxious . I was concerned about the food but now I think COSTA has improved because of numerous complaints. THE responding critics seem to say food is better. THIS is my 8th cruise but first on COSTA

[schack2]

I just got off the phone with Costa Customer Service and the agent checked and said definitely Hamilton. Perhaps someone who is on the 4/21 cruise might post something while at sea.

 

Agent also said 1 formal night and the toga night.

 

Counting the days.

 

Barb & Roger

[Gallery107]

My Bermuda friend is going to make a few calls on her end re: confirmation of docking location. Will share her news with all y'all (an Oklahoma expression!). Here's to glorious weather for our upcoming cruise!

 

Look forward to meeting message board mates once on board Magica.

 

Thanks for news re 1 Formal night and Toga night. Putting the finishing touches on my husband's toga! We decided the sheet sounded a tad too iffy for us over 50 folks.

 

Catherine & Skip

originally from VA & MD

Cate lived in NYC for 22 years

Skip in Austin, TX for 16 years

Currently residents of OKlahoma

????

A long "Kismet" story~!

[NanSi3]

Schack2 and Gallery107...and of course everyone else:

 

We also spoke to Costa Customer Service today and informed them that the Bermuda gov't docking schedule showed the Magica docking at the West End. The representative said she would take this information to a "higher" authority. Later in the day, Costa called us back to confirm that our information was correct. THE MAGICA IS DEFINITELY DOCKING AT THE WEST END.

 

On Monday, let's check the webcam on the ship to see where it is!;)

 

Here's a link for the weather report: http://www.weather.bm/

 

Do we have a meeting date set up yet? :)

 

Nanci and Si

[schack2]

Schack2 and Gallery107...and of course everyone else:

 

We also spoke to Costa Customer Service today and informed them that the Bermuda gov't docking schedule showed the Magica docking at the West End. The representative said she would take this information to a "higher" authority. Later in the day, Costa called us back to confirm that our information was correct. THE MAGICA IS DEFINITELY DOCKING AT THE WEST END.

 

On Monday, let's check the webcam on the ship to see where it is!;)

 

Here's a link for the weather report: http://www.weather.bm/

 

Do we have a meeting date set up yet? :)

 

Nanci and Si

 

Thanks for the information. I guess the reps don't know what's happening with the docking. The one I spoke to put me on hold to check and came back with the Hamilton answer. But it does look like we will be at the West End.

 

Suggestion for meeting unless someone has another: How about 1st day at Sea (Sat.) between 11:30 - 12:30 at the Atrium Bar? This would be just before lunch.

 

Barb & Roger

[shipshapegal]

Atrium Bar 11:30 - 12:30 on Saturday it is!! Togas are ready and so are we................... Did everyone print out a Cruise Critic member door sign?

[JoeandSheryl]

Sounds good:)

Atrium Bar 11:30 - 12:30 It is

Reply back If your gong to meet.

 

Toga's are ready !!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I'm kinda bumed out about the King's Wharfs docking though.

We have to replan our day. :mad:

 

Joe and Sheryl:)

[NanSi3]

Sounds good to us too...Atrium Bar 11:30 - 12:30 on Saturday.

 

What is a Cruise Critic member door sign (what is its purpose) and where do you find it to print? :confused:

 

Nanci and Si

[shipshapegal]

This is the link to the door sign.

 

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/doorsign.pdf

[NanSi3]

:) Thanks for the door sign info :)

 

N & S

[schack2]

Well, it looks like so far we have 8 of us planning on meeting Sat. 11:30 to 12:30 at the Atrium Bar. Hopefully, more will join.

 

Counting the days.

 

Barb & Roger

[Gallery107]

Nanci and Si - thanks for going the distance to confirm the Bermuda docking info. Thanks to Barb and Roger for organizing the Meet & Mingle. Sat 11:30 - 12:30 at the Atrium Bar. Skip and I plan to attend.

Thanks to "shipshapegal" for the Door Sign Link!

 

Skip and I fly to Fort Lauderdale on Weds. No email or message board as of 4/26.

 

Best to all! Toga, Toga!

Catherine

[Gallery107]

Dear Cruise Critic Members,

 

My husband and I will be arriving in Fort Lauderdale on Weds. Delta Flight arrives at 4:37pm. Staying at Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort till we board Magica on 4/28.

 

Anyone in the area interested in meeting in Fort Lauderdale before boarding? We will not be renting a car on the front end of this trip, but would enjoy meeting Magica cruisers in the FLB area prior to boarding. Here's to a smooth embarkation for all.

 

Please feel free to contact us at 1.800. 597.7713 as of the evening of 4/26.

Reservation under the name SURACI, Frank (Francis) Mention Cruise Critic and Costa Magica if you leave a message. Thank you.

 

We are considering a side trip to Key West, after the cruise, to visit my friend David Kent's Art Gallery. Visit www.kentgalleryart.com

 

Skip and I are scheduled to fly back to Tulsa, OK airport on Monday May 8 at 5:30 pm.

 

Re: Bermuda - Although from all solid Cruise Critic reports, we're docking at West End... I'm still waiting for Docking confirmation from Bermuda contact, Mary Faulkenberry. She and her husband flew to Indiana this past weekend. Elder daughter in production of "A Chorus Line" at the University. Side bar - that was MY introduction to Broadway...I am an OLD dancer, singer, actress! Will sing a few Italian Art Songs or Broadway tunes if the spirit moves me!

 

Bon Voyage!

CATHERINE

1.918.408.5180 (cell)

[schack2]

Catherine & Skip

 

Have a safe trip to Ft. Lauderdale. Looking forward to meeting everyone on Sat. at the Atrium Bar.

 

Our coach picks us up at 7 a.m. and it's about a 5 hour drive with a stop along the way.

 

Barb & Roger

 

So far there are 10 of us that said yes to meeting on Sat.

[NanSi3]

Hi all...

 

We are driving from Vero Beach on Fri am to the Park'n Fly at Ft.L. airport.

Should take just over 2 hrs. Then taking the shuttle to the port.

 

See you all Sat.

 

Ciao

Nanci and Si

[NanSi3]

Catherine,

 

You were in Chorus Line on Broadway? Perhaps in the 70's? If so, we probably saw you! We lived in Manhattan back then. Hope "the spirit moves you!"

 

Buon Viaggio!

Nanci

[JoeandSheryl]

Hi Everybody

 

Hope everyone has a Great Trip !!!!!!!!:)

 

We get into Fort Lauderdale at around 6:30 On Thursday. Staying at the Sleep Inn. They have a free Shuttle from airport and to cruise port.

 

Joe and Sheryl:)

[joetrizeo]

have a great trip, we'll be awaiting stories and reviews when you return!!!

[shipshapegal]

Where was everyone??? We had a meet and greet with only Barb and Roger and Charlie and I. Hope everyone had a great cruise. Yes, I know the seas were ROUGH!!! But I still enjoyed myself. This was definately not my favorite cruise though and I am not entirely blaming Costa. There were so many people complaining about everything all the time. It got so that we tried to keep to ourselves. I try to be upbeat and go the extra mile. Costa could not help the winds and seas but were they using the stabilizers??? Didn't feel like it to me but I am not an expert on the subject. I just know we rocked and rolled for three of our seven days.

 

We are booked on Costa again in November and will give them one more chance, hopefully it will be better. I never did figure out the layout of the ship even with Jim's help, very confusing. Also I hated that they did not have a way to use your laptop on board, you could only use theirs and could not even put in a disc, you had to type there at $.50 a miinute.

 

I enjoyed most of the food, the shows, the shops were very reasonable onboard, the cruise director Max was great, the staff was mostly fine, but they did not outdo themselves like our other cruises. Maybe they are tired, this was the last cruise before Transatlantic. But they were very nice, just not over the top nice.

 

Thanks for the mattress topper hint, that was a great tip. Oh and you only got a small bar of soap onboard, and in the shower there was some sort of gel in a dispenser, never did know if it was shampoo or body wash. I am used to getting all the amenities so I had to buy stuff like that, if I had known I would have taken more. There was a note that said if you wanted lotion to ask, so I did and was told they didn't have any.

 

For what I paid ($499 pp OV) I have NO RIGHT to complain about anything!!!!! I got more than I paid for. Charlie wanted to play poker, they only had Caribbean stud and he wanted hold 'em.

 

All in all, it was very nice. Just not wonderful.

[Blackrobe]

The good, bad and the ugly from my point of view. This was our first cruise on Costa. I have 12 on Princess, 3 on Royal Caribbean, and 1 on Holland America. Let me start with the ugly. The weather - there is nothing the cruise line can do about the weather. The fact is that this ship does not ride well in rough water. This is not unique to Costa Magica. The new megaliners have gotten flatter/broader hulls and have become taller and taller. They simply do not cut through rough water as well as the older heavily V-shaped hulls. Combine that with the natural tension between the action of the water and the force of the wind and you wind up with some uncomfortable events on the interior. Another ugly was the inconsiderate, overtly rude senior citizens. They were of multi-nationalities. Just because a person has arrived at a certain age does not give that person the liberty to be rude or inconsiderate. I have encountered these people throughout my life but I have not had the experience of having so many clustered together in a closed environment before. Again this has nothing to do with Costa but rather is a function of other circumstances.

 

The good - the ship is beautiful! It is very clean and neat. I found the staff to be exceedingly friendly and helpful. We had one of the best room stewards we have ever had. The Urbino theater was positively awesome. It sat 1300 passengers on two levels accessible from 3 decks. I suppose if you had a seat behind a pole or behind the sound board you would have a bad seat but those are the only bad seats in the house. The Portifino dining room was on two levels and easily accessible from both ends of the dining room. I did not eat in the Smeralda dining room but I understand that access was very difficult into that dining room. The buffet areas are distributed around the mid to aft area of Deck 9. This reduces the congestion and seems to work quite well. The cabin was of average size, nicely appointed and as clean as the rest of the ship. The bathroom had ample room with six shelves for toiletries. The shower seemed slightly larger than showers on other ships.

 

The bad - I really want to write that the food stunk but that would be unfair. Sailing on an Italian cruise line, I expected a culinary delight of Italian specialties. My expectations went unfulfilled. The pasta dishes were poor. I did not finish any of them. The menu each evening was uninspired and mundane. Succumbing to literary descriptions, I found what I received was but a faint image of the description. I realize that each individual's taste is different but I found the food to be blah. Normally, I am excited about dinner on a cruise. During the course of an average cruise there will a good meal or two, the rest of the meals would be very good, and usually there are one or two Wow meals. The best that could be said for the meals on Costa would be that they were average. At the end of the 7 day cruise I could care less whether I went to dinner. The best dinner of the cruise was when we went to Atlantis resort and overpaid for a very good meal. By the way, the lobster is Caribbean lobster which is by nature a softer (some would say mushy) meat. You get one half of a tail which is really quite enough.

 

We never went to breakfast or lunch in the dining room. Breakfast in the buffet was totally predictable. The only difference from day to day was the omelet that was served on the buffet line. The lunch on the buffet did change from day to day as the hot presentations were different. The sandwiches, the lunch meat and the cheese were unfailing in sameness throughout the cruise.

 

Max, the "Italian Stud Muffin", ranked as one of the worst cruise directors I have encountered. Other than on-stage, we saw him once on the cruise. He seemed to take no interest in or concern about the individual passengers. The information he provided on the islands was superficial and, in more than one instance, incorrect. Speaking of information, the passengers rely implicitly on the information given by the cruise line. The passengers have often never been on a cruise or on this cruise line previously. They probably have never been to the port before. Therefore, they rightfully rely upon the information provided by the cruise line. It does not speak well for the line when they provided the wrong port for docking which is how this cruise started. It then continued with incorrect information throughout the entire week. The bad information ran the gamut of major errors (such as the wrong port) to more minor errors (such as incorrect times or locations).

 

The Costa performers gave it their all and they showed quite a bit of talent. Unfortunately, their efforts were minimized by the quality of the production. The producer of the shows probably had prior experience producing a high show play and the lack of professional directorial experience was an embarassment to Costa. More than one person asked if the production entitled "Magic Moments" was meant for a Disney cruise. The answer was that Disney would have done it much better. The show "Cinematique" featured the songs and artistry of the movie industry. I am sure we all remember the great songs and dancing of "Top Gun" or "Matrix" or "Harry Potter" to name but a few.

 

In fairness to Costa, it is used to operating in Europe and using the Euro. I have never been on a cruise were everything had a service charge of 3% to 15% on everything. We are all used to the service charge on drinks. We have all gotten use to the daily gratuity added to the final bill for dining and house staff. I find it offensive to pay a service charge for purchases of photos (by golly don't they charge enough for the pictures without a service charge) or bingo cards! Sure the response is don't purchase those things but until you have paid the service charge you don't know that it is going to be charged.

 

In conclusion, this is the second cruise I was happy to have come to an end. Will I cruise with Costa again? I learned not to say never but quoting my wife, "if they offered us a free cruise I would have to think long and hard before taking it."