Review of Costa Magica 1/28 Western Carribean

[mdmudda59]

Our group of 13 just returned from the 7 day Western Carribean on the Magica. We had gorgeous weather and we enjoyed each port we visited. Here are a few highlights of the cruise:

Embarkation: It started at 1:30. We arrived at 3:00 and were in our rooms by 3:05. Ship left at 7:00.

Room: Balcony #8271, slept 4. Asked for the mattress topper for the king bed and slept very comfortably. Kids said their mattresses were hard. The room was a comfortable size and plenty of storage.

Ship: Clean and roomy. Many choices for seating for buffet and shows. Water slide was great. Pools were cool and refreshing. Hot tubs not hot enough.

Friendliness of staff: Cabin steward, Julius, very helpful and accomadating. Dining waitress, hurried and distant, others were not this way. Some of the wait staff seemed irritated when asked questions, others were extremely helpful.

Shows & Entertainment: There was an abundance of talent and entertainment and variety. Comedian, singers, acrobatists, dancers and variety of costumes. Cruise activity staff fun and lively.

Food: What can I say, it was mediocre at best. But then again it was cruise ship food. Plenty of variety and if you were hungry, there was always something for you.

Disembarkation: We signed up to leave early, keeping our luggage and carrying it off ourselves. We left when we were ready and just followed the line of people getting off. It literally took 10 -15 minutes.

Ports of Call:

Cozumel: Plenty to see and do. Shopping right at the pier.

We chose to go to:

Palmar Estate Beach Resort, a private owners property opened for public use. See: http://www.cozumelinsider.com/Palmar?From=Activities

We loved the privacy of the resort and hospitality of Enrique and other staff. They make homemade salsa and guacamole which was delicious. We snorkeled right off the beach. Very fun!

Grand Cayman: We booked through ShoreTrips.com the 2 hour Stingray City and Snorkeling adventure. We loved it! We had a professional videographer who came along and video taped our adventure so we will have the memories for years!

Ocho Rios: We again booked through ShoreTrips, the Horseback adventure. I cannot say enough about this trip. The experience of the staff and the gentleness of the horses was outstanding. The ride through the ocean was incredible and very safe. It was also video taped for us and we'll never forget it. We had 5 in our party and two guides, so we were given very special attention. Allando and Michael were fun and helped us learn some island lingo. They taught us about the history of the island and it's beautiful flora. Shopping in Ocho Rios was great for booze and rum cakes. The best place was right outside the port gates, on the right.

Grand Turks: We spent an absolutely beautiful day at Bohio Dive Resort: http://www.bohioresort.com/articles/about-bohio/about-bohio/ We rented a Kayak and snorkeled and ate the most delicious island food around. The Bohio Special Drink was to die for.

Perfect white sand beaches with tables and palm trees to enjoy. The staff was so friendly and helpful. Karen the dive director is incredibly knowledgeble and accomadating.

It was a great way again to beat the crowds who opted for staying at the port's beach, which by the way was rocky and not barefoot friendly. There was plenty of shopping right at the port and a huge pool and loud music for all the party animals to enjoy without going anywhere.

Summary: All in all it was a very fun cruise for us and we enjoyed the many beautiful sites to see. We go away to see the islands and their culture and we accomplished that with this cruise.

There were some inconvienences which definately did not ruin our trip, and kept in their perspective, as minor annoyances and not deterrents. We are not smokers and therefore did not spend any time where they were, which quite frankly was in most of the lounges and on outside decks. There was at times odors of sewage in certain areas and we're not sure of the reason. One strange thing we noticed as we disembarked was that the line up of staff waiting as we left, stood silently not even thanking us for cruising on Costa or asking if we enjoyed the cruise. Not a big deal just a side point we found odd.

Hope you will enjoy the review and feel free to email me with questions or if you'd like to see pictures.

[mafig]

Thank you for your informative review.:)

[teacher_of_teens]

Thanks for the great review. Just wondered . . . when was the lifeboat drill held? Was it on embarkation day? Approximately what time?

Thanks!!

[mdmudda59]

They did not do the drill until the day after embarkation and it was at 3:30 pm.

[rikki racer]

Where did you seem to smell the sewage at? We were on this ship last year on deck 2 and that is where we had the problem with the smell. I was told that this has been addressed?

[mdmudda59]

We noticed it when we came out of dinner on the third floor, Ismeralda Dining Room, rear of ship and on the last day at sea, we noticed it by the pool at the base of the slide.