MSC MAGNIFICA March 2011 cruise to Greece, Croatia, Turkey
Mar 11th, 2011, 10:56 PM
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MSC MAGNIFICA March 2011 cruise to Greece, Croatia, Turkey
We were to have gone to Alexandria ( Cairo) but because of the unrest Athens an
Ismir were substituted.
There are some pros and cons with this shipping line and some of the cons certainly need to be looked at in terms of what you want from a cruise because they are certainly not minor.
Firstly, this cruise line allows children to go free which means that there are a lot of children on the cruise and particularly at dinner. I personally thought that there should either have been a special area for families or even another venue as the noise of the children sometimes made the evening somewhat unenjoyable for people who just wanted to sit, eat and chat without the crying, screaming and yelling of little ones who are bored to death.
The evening meal is served in the main restaurants and there is no buffet to go to should you not find the people at your table to your liking. Personally I found those at our table to be the nicest bunch of people I could have wished for but there have been other cruises that I just did not want to join the main table in the restaurant.
My particular whinge though is with having to purchase water with the meals. Water is not free and neither is coffee and it is not even available for lunch. There are no fruit juices available either.
One night we had had a sleep in the afternoon and arrived for dinner a bit late and were not allowed in so had to wait for the late sitting.
The Cyber Lounge aboard is a good one and I would suggest that if you want to use the internet while on board you use that instead of trying to use your own computer. The cable for the computer in your cabin is next to the TV and the electrical plug is about 15 ft away. Getting off the Internet is difficult sometimes and this can cost a lot of money. There were good internet cafe's in Rhodes, Athens, Izmir and in Olympia ( or the village where you get off the ship) but nothing was open in Dubrovnic.
We had a balcony suite cabin which was really lovely and had heaps of cupboard space. The TV was mostly Italian channels and 3 channels of news in English but nothing else. You could buy movies but it would have been nice to have had just one channel with something other than news.
The evening meals in the main restaurant were a bit of a hit and miss affair in quality. Sometimes they were good but other times they were rather ho hum. I did not find the waiters particularly interested in their job either.
The ship was decorated very well but I must add that if you are a tad unhappy with your circumference then I would take a pair of dark glasses so that you cannot see yourself in surround picture in the 100s of reflections in the lifts however if you have a wonderful figure you can admire yourself a million times over.
The evening shows were very disappointing. I personally only went to 2 but the other people in our group went to all of them and said that they were very disappointed.
In general the staff on this ship were very good, very helpful and pleasant. The food could be improved upon and definately this annoying impost of charging for water and not having coffee and tea available at meals is dreadful ( the exception was breakfast).
Would I go on another MSC? That is a hard question to answer really but probably not unless it was to my most favourite places and at a very much reduced cost compared to other shipping lines.
Ismir were substituted.
There are some pros and cons with this shipping line and some of the cons certainly need to be looked at in terms of what you want from a cruise because they are certainly not minor.
Firstly, this cruise line allows children to go free which means that there are a lot of children on the cruise and particularly at dinner. I personally thought that there should either have been a special area for families or even another venue as the noise of the children sometimes made the evening somewhat unenjoyable for people who just wanted to sit, eat and chat without the crying, screaming and yelling of little ones who are bored to death.
The evening meal is served in the main restaurants and there is no buffet to go to should you not find the people at your table to your liking. Personally I found those at our table to be the nicest bunch of people I could have wished for but there have been other cruises that I just did not want to join the main table in the restaurant.
My particular whinge though is with having to purchase water with the meals. Water is not free and neither is coffee and it is not even available for lunch. There are no fruit juices available either.
One night we had had a sleep in the afternoon and arrived for dinner a bit late and were not allowed in so had to wait for the late sitting.
The Cyber Lounge aboard is a good one and I would suggest that if you want to use the internet while on board you use that instead of trying to use your own computer. The cable for the computer in your cabin is next to the TV and the electrical plug is about 15 ft away. Getting off the Internet is difficult sometimes and this can cost a lot of money. There were good internet cafe's in Rhodes, Athens, Izmir and in Olympia ( or the village where you get off the ship) but nothing was open in Dubrovnic.
We had a balcony suite cabin which was really lovely and had heaps of cupboard space. The TV was mostly Italian channels and 3 channels of news in English but nothing else. You could buy movies but it would have been nice to have had just one channel with something other than news.
The evening meals in the main restaurant were a bit of a hit and miss affair in quality. Sometimes they were good but other times they were rather ho hum. I did not find the waiters particularly interested in their job either.
The ship was decorated very well but I must add that if you are a tad unhappy with your circumference then I would take a pair of dark glasses so that you cannot see yourself in surround picture in the 100s of reflections in the lifts however if you have a wonderful figure you can admire yourself a million times over.
The evening shows were very disappointing. I personally only went to 2 but the other people in our group went to all of them and said that they were very disappointed.
In general the staff on this ship were very good, very helpful and pleasant. The food could be improved upon and definately this annoying impost of charging for water and not having coffee and tea available at meals is dreadful ( the exception was breakfast).
Would I go on another MSC? That is a hard question to answer really but probably not unless it was to my most favourite places and at a very much reduced cost compared to other shipping lines.
Mar 12th, 2011, 01:17 AM
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Your observations are spot on!
I was on the Splendida doing a Mediterrean cruise. Also
would like to add that there was no information for the
ports. One had to take the excursions. Fortunately, I had
done alot of R&D beforehand but was forced to take 1 excursion
due to time constraints. Since so few English-speaking cruisers were aboard, the tour guide spoke German and then
English. So only 1/2 of the time was allotted to English.
Since roughly 60% of cruisers were Italian, the staff catered
to them & the activities were spoken in Italian.
The children ran rampant in the halls with parents oblivious
to this. The food was ersatz Italian.
I doubt I would cruise w/MSC again altho they do change
their rules when cruising in the Caribean offering free
water, coffee, etc. & also upping the tip structure for the
American audience.
I was on the Splendida doing a Mediterrean cruise. Also
would like to add that there was no information for the
ports. One had to take the excursions. Fortunately, I had
done alot of R&D beforehand but was forced to take 1 excursion
due to time constraints. Since so few English-speaking cruisers were aboard, the tour guide spoke German and then
English. So only 1/2 of the time was allotted to English.
Since roughly 60% of cruisers were Italian, the staff catered
to them & the activities were spoken in Italian.
The children ran rampant in the halls with parents oblivious
to this. The food was ersatz Italian.
I doubt I would cruise w/MSC again altho they do change
their rules when cruising in the Caribean offering free
water, coffee, etc. & also upping the tip structure for the
American audience.
Mar 12th, 2011, 05:40 PM
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Any sort of H20 is NOT AVAILABLE at meals free. You can arrive with a bottle of water which you got out of the tap if you want but nothing is available at lunch that is free and that includes iced water, coffee, tea or any other drink that you would normally have with a meal.
May 13th, 2011, 02:26 AM
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scatcat- only breakfast.
Along with the usual beverage packages, they also sell
bottled water packages. I brought my own to lunch
& dinner. On 3rd or 4th nite, waiter saw this & brought me
a free bottle of water thereafter. Good strategy-
earned himself a tip!
Along with the usual beverage packages, they also sell
bottled water packages. I brought my own to lunch
& dinner. On 3rd or 4th nite, waiter saw this & brought me
a free bottle of water thereafter. Good strategy-
earned himself a tip!
May 13th, 2011, 04:55 AM
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When I cruise in europe or travel overland
always pack my own water buy B4 cruise at
supermarkets amazingly cheap like 10 litres
for a euro if you shop carefully also booze.
Great report MSC and Costa cheapos very many
kids running around cruisecritic.com for more
upscale options if this bothers...
Thanks again for posting.
always pack my own water buy B4 cruise at
supermarkets amazingly cheap like 10 litres
for a euro if you shop carefully also booze.
Great report MSC and Costa cheapos very many
kids running around cruisecritic.com for more
upscale options if this bothers...
Thanks again for posting.
May 13th, 2011, 08:58 AM
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I hear what you're saying, but a lot of the problems (aside from children running rampant) is a result of culture clashes.
Europeans don't general expect to receive free tap water or beverages with meals and are used to buying a bottle of mineral water in a restaurant. That's why MSC follows this practice. It's true almost across the board with the European lines when they are sailing in Europe.
I realize you can often get a carafe of tap water for free in a Paris bistro or even sometimes in an Italian budget restaurant, but I think you've experienced is a quirk of European service that doesn't appeal to thrifty Americans.
Europeans also don't generally walk around with a bottle of water, sipping from it every few minutes. They drink water with meals, and if they need more, they stop in a cafe or store and buy some.
The coffee/tea situation is also European. MSC ships have lounges that serve coffee, and passengers generally go there after dinner since it is not served with dessert but only after. It's not something Americans are used to.
I think this is a problem a lot of Americans have with some of the European-focused ships in both the MSC and Costa lines, and they are issues we cover in our European Cruise guides. So if these kinds of little differences bother you, it is certainly worth doing some further research before you book a non-U.S.-based cruise line.
Europeans don't general expect to receive free tap water or beverages with meals and are used to buying a bottle of mineral water in a restaurant. That's why MSC follows this practice. It's true almost across the board with the European lines when they are sailing in Europe.
I realize you can often get a carafe of tap water for free in a Paris bistro or even sometimes in an Italian budget restaurant, but I think you've experienced is a quirk of European service that doesn't appeal to thrifty Americans.
Europeans also don't generally walk around with a bottle of water, sipping from it every few minutes. They drink water with meals, and if they need more, they stop in a cafe or store and buy some.
The coffee/tea situation is also European. MSC ships have lounges that serve coffee, and passengers generally go there after dinner since it is not served with dessert but only after. It's not something Americans are used to.
I think this is a problem a lot of Americans have with some of the European-focused ships in both the MSC and Costa lines, and they are issues we cover in our European Cruise guides. So if these kinds of little differences bother you, it is certainly worth doing some further research before you book a non-U.S.-based cruise line.
May 13th, 2011, 12:57 PM
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From what I have read in the brochure, passengers are not allowed to bring bottled water on the ship. Does anyone know if this is true? I don't mind paying for the drinks. My TA told me that tea, coffee, and water was free of charge. I assume travel agents are not informed of this custom. But I intend to let her know.
May 13th, 2011, 07:44 PM
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I think it depends on the ship and the itinerary, but it's unusual not to be able to bring bottled water on board. But I can't tell you definitively one way or the other. I know that iced tea is just not served on these ships. But MSC has different policies when sailing in the Caribbean than in Europe.
