Costa Magica - Aft Cabin #6463

[nadalina]

Just wondering if anyone has any experience with the aft cabins in this particular location. It is on the Caravaggio Deck next to the corner mini-suite on the starboard side. From the deck plan, it appears that cabin 6463 has a larger balcony than other balcony cabins, except, of course, for those in similar positions. Thanks.

[Trackmama]

We are booking this same ship for the September 19th departure out of Barcelona....we are also reserved on 6403, the same deck....has anyone ever taken one of Costa's cruises? How are the rooms? Are there mini bars in the rooms? We have done lost of cruising but this will be the first on this line...please advise...thanks!

[pujro]

We had a similar aft cabin, 7429. I think there was a mini bar, but it's over two years ago so not 100%!(I just checked my photo's but couldn't tell there either!). I posted some pictures on this thread some time ago http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=284764 but the quality isn't great. I can email some better resolution pics if you're interested.

Cheers

[Trackmama]

Great...thanks for the info...checked out your pics....awesome...looks like most other shippies..... :o)

How do you like "crusing" on Costa? This will be our 1st Costa cruise, we almost did the MSC Line but the week we needed was booked. How do the two compare? I heard that the Europeans are very pushy and not friendly at all, so I'm going in with that thought....how was the food? Costa claims to serve "authentic" Italian cuisine....how did the food compare with other cruise lines? We are very partial to Royal Caribbean, didn't care for Carnival and really didn't care for Princess....Thanks for the info!!! Appreciate any heads up you can give me....

[Trackmama]

Which cruise are you going on? The one in 2009??? We were in Birmingham this past weekend...nice weather! We live about 3 1/2 hours away outside of Memphis....maybe we'll be on the same cruise????

[nadalina]

We are going on the Magica in August of this year and we sail out of Savona, Italy. I used to live in Southaven in the late 70's and early 80's and worked in the Midtown office for the Sessel family of Sessel's Supermarkets. Small world, huh? This will be our first cruise with Costa as well. My best friend and travel partner is from Croatia and he is a crew member on the Crystal Symphony but we first met 12 years ago when he worked for Celebrity. I know it sounds strange that he would actually want to take a cruise for vacation with him working on a cruise ship 8-9 months out of the year, but we both love being at sea and it is something we do often. We LOVE the aft balcony cabins no matter which ship or line, so we're really looking forward to trying the Magica. I have heard that the pasta dishes on Costa are especially good. I have also heard and read that Americans will be in the minority of the guests onboard, maybe only 20%, but as for the Europeans guests being rude and pushy, I think they're mostly misunderstood because they simply do not "que" or stand in line and wait their turn like we are used to doing here in the U.S. It just isn't a concept that is used much in Europe. My Croatian friend made me more aware of that. So, as far as I'm concerned, as the old American saying goes, when in Rome, do as the Romans. I won't feel compelled to que up if they don't. I don't return to the U.S. until August 18, but I will try to write a brief review thread on this Board as soon as I can so you will have time to read it before you leave. If there is anything in particular that you are interested in knowing before I leave on July 30, just let me know and I'll try to find out for you while I'm there.

 

Take care,

Peggy

[Cricket999]

I have been on Costa twice, once on the Victoria in the Med and on Magica in the Caribbean. Both cruises were very enjoyable and affordable. The cuisine, of course, leant to Italian, with lots of pasta; and though I’m not Italian I always found something I liked to eat. Be prepared for announcements to be in at least three languages before they get to English, especially in the Med. Also, most passengers in the Med. are Italians and other Europeans. The important thing is to go with a good mindset and don’t let minor things get to you.

[JeffCoud]

Been thinking of booking that same cabin on the Fortuna in January! Hope to find out more as well...especially about that seemingly bigger balcony!

 

Would be like my 5th time on Costa, which I like.

 

Jeff

[nadalina]

Been thinking of booking that same cabin on the Fortuna in January! Hope to find out more as well...especially about that seemingly bigger balcony!

 

Would be like my 5th time on Costa, which I like.

 

Jeff

 

Well, Jeff, I leave for my cruise on the Magica in ten days and will return to the U.S. on Aug. 18. I'll write again then to let you know how it was.

[qtquds]

Is anyone taking this cruise from savona?

 

Just wanted to know if anyone might be with me?

[nadalina]

Been thinking of booking that same cabin on the Fortuna in January! Hope to find out more as well...especially about that seemingly bigger balcony!

 

Would be like my 5th time on Costa, which I like.

 

Jeff

 

Hi, Jeff. Just returned from the Magica. Unfortunately, that aft balcony cabin is not larger than the others as it appears on the deck plan. It is exactly the same size as the other aft balcony cabins. The balcony is deep enough to accommodate lounge chairs but only regular chairs were provided, plus a small square table. There are three things I'd like to note about the cabin we had on deck 6, #6463. 1.) There was absolutely no overhang and the entire deck was open to be viewed from above, and, also, no shade from the intense sun and heat. 2.) The acrylic or plexiglass panel at the end of the balcony was tinted extremely dark and it was also extremely dirty so the lovely view of the ship's wake could only truly be enjoyed standing up. 3.) The location of our aft cabin on deck 6 was directly above the Capri Lounge and from about 11 p.m. until 1:30 to 2:00 a.m. on four of the seven nights, the noise was so bad from below that it was absolutely impossible to sleep. I'm really not exaggerating. It was so bad that one night I got up, got dressed and went downstairs to see what on earth they could possibly be doing that could be that loud. The place was packed and they were having a karaoke competition among several drunk men singing (actually just yelling) as loud as they possibly could over the microphones, and, at the same time, performing a semi-striptease with the crowd as well as the cruise staff encouraging them on. Needless to say, I learned a huge lesson about checking to see what is directly below and above the cabin I choose in the future.

 

Otherwise, the cabin, itself, was fine except that the mattresses were awful, so we weren't sleeping well anyway. The air conditioning was very good but you needed to keep the drapes closed all day because it was extremely hot and humid during our cruise and since there was no overhang and no shade on our balcony, the cabin heated up quickly during the morning hours. There are no amenities in the bathroom other than the large installed container of either shampoo or body wash in the shower. You are given only one towel and one hand towel per person at a time..... no washcloths. Of course the cabin steward does replace them but sometimes the timing doesn't work out very well. No bathrobes, no slippers. There is a small fridge and there is a hair dryer that is installed in one of the vanity drawers. There is one outlet for 110 voltage and one for 220 at the vanity table.

 

That's about all I can think of at this moment, Jeff, but please don't hesitate to ask questions if you have any and I'll try to answer.

 

Peggy

[Trackmama]

Hello all my fellow cruisers.....I have to say that this was definitely the worse cruise we have ever been on....well....let's back up....the ports of call were fantastic...they made our vacation a true success...I loved everyplace we stopped....but that is about the best thing I can say about this cruise. This was our 1st and definitely last time to cruise with Costa...we found the employees to be very very rude, the people on the ship were pusher than I imagined....I could not stand all the smoke everywhere, they took our passports and had to wait a very long time to get them back, they also took all our food and beverage we purchased at every port (something they just started doing) and at the end of the trip had to get them all back after everything was already packed up...the disembarkment was very very unorganized...the lines at the "customer service" were very long....you had to wait forever to verify your charge card (this is something that is usually done on embarkment)...the food was very very disappointing....I am Italian and was really looking forward to a nice selection of food, the best things on the boat were the pizza and the pasta dishes, however after a while we were tired of eating this all the time...I was disappointed in the selection of salads and dressings....very very very limited...our waiter (of which we had 3 different ones) was less than friendly....I did find the staff very efficient, just not at all friendly....I knew that all the announcements would be in several languages, but as an American there were many times that what was being said was never translated in English...the shows were very disappointing....our room, cabin 6403, was very nice, however unfortunately the dirty dish cart was right outside of our room and all you would hear was glasses clanging, and lots of doors banging (don't ever remember hearing that on past cruises). You will not find any of the cute towel animals at night nor any candies on your pillow...the wine selection was pretty good.....we did find one bar tender who was extremely friendly and we would always return to that particular bar, mid ship.....we also found the ship very confusing. The ship, however, was very very beautiful, the art work was gorgeous....