MSC Cruises Reviews
Thursday 9th Feb 2012
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MAGNIFICA - A GUINEA-PIG |
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Reviewed By: Chris, Romsey on 28th Feb 2010
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| Cruise Line: MSC Cruises |
Times cruised before: 6-10 |
| Cruise Ship: MSC Magnifica |
Sailed:
February,
2010 |
| Destination:
British Isles
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Age: 56-65 |
| Cabin: Balcony |
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This ship certainly has glitz & style. In the public areas, much use of glass, marble, mirrors, brass & other polished metals, mood lighting, many fabrics & finishes in vibrant colours, will help to make her a lively ship but less brash than many of her American counterparts.
The three lowest decks (5, 6 & 7) and three highest (13, 14, 15) are given over to facilities, with cabins on the five decks in-between
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On the lower decks, a big choice of public bars & facilities. The two main bars, Topazio Bar and Tiger Bar, are adjacent & very similar in style - each features live bands, but the sound separation is good. More restful is the 3-level atrium, with sweeping staircase & seating at each level, which overlooks a piano island set in a water-feature - here the music is quieter in volume & style, classical, acoustic guitar, easy-listening, etc A fairly standard casino, with tables in the centre & slots along the sides. A large lounge overlooking the stern, a good-size sports bar, equally well-sized funky black & silver disco, cigar lounge, cyber café, card room, a couple of small quiet bars. Also a private high-rollers poker room and a small conference/presentation room. The location of the shops is rather disjointed, many set incongruously along the sides of the main bars. We found the décor of our well-planned MDR a little less restful than we would have preferred. There are a couple of premium restaurants – the prices are rather higher than I’m used to & seemed more in line with restaurants ashore. The theatre is very very good, comfortable seating, no blind spots, well-equipped stage. The one show which we watched packed in a lot in just 30 minute – a true “variety show” of high quality, and the highlight of our weekend. No cinema as such, but a very small “4-dimensional experience” at a hefty €10 for a 15 min film. Film is changed daily – they needn’t trouble the operator on my account!!
On the upper decks, an excellent range of pools & Jacuzzis, and one large area with pools, bar & seating has a sliding roof. This leads from the large twin buffets – here is where, more than elsewhere, we felt that style had taken precedence over comfort & utility, the glass-topped tables for instance...
A number of areas for activities & sun-bathing, but a wet February weekend in Southampton wasn’t ideal for judging whether sun-bed space would be at a premium.
Unsurprisingly, both spa and sports centre are well-equipped.
Indoor and outdoor kids facilities, including toddles pool & playground, and a (mainly 25p a time) video arcade.
A jogging track around the opening roof gives the early-morning fitness freaks a pleasant environment & separates them from us lesser mortals.
Like the overwhelming majority of cabins, ours was a standard twin/double with balcony. A respectable size and nicely fitted, though limited storage might make a 14-day cruise just a little fraught. The balcony is spacious enough for two easy chairs & table, but not suited for sun-bathing. Our balcony, and we think the others, was one of a pair which can be combined with the adjoining balcony for those booking adjoining cabins, but there was no door between cabins. No tea/coffee facilities. Perfectly adequate bathroom (shower, no tub). Wide range of films – all on pay per view.
We checked out a family room/mini-suite – the sofa (converts to a double) area is curtained-off & leads to the angled balcony.
We also checked out one of the disability-adapted inside cabins. Very spacious, with twin beds plus an upper berth, bathroom is a large wet-room. Able-bodied pax can book, but will be bumped if required by a disabled.
A picture is worth 1000 words, and fellow-invitee Grant has posted a selection on http://www.cruises.co.uk/429-msc_cruises/4072-msc_magnifica_live-3.html and doubtless there’ll be others on the forums if you navigate from
http://www.cruises.co.uk/429-msc_cruises and skip past all the drivel ?
We were invited guests (many thanks, cruise dot) for this brand-new ship’s showcase pre-view weekend (Fri pm to Sun am) in Southampton, prior to her entering service. This new-ship shake-down, its all-inclusive nature and the passenger mix mean that we didn’t have a typical “cruise experience”.For instance, most passengers were in the travel trade, and included many younger shop staff from a certain high street travel agency, some of whom treated the weekend as a jolly rather than a learning opportunity – old Tom would have turned in his grave ;-)
But even after making allowances for our guinea-pig status, I do have some misgivings.
On our second day, the service in the MDR, buffet & bars had improved dramatically from an understandably shaky Day 1. However, whilst there’s no reason to believe that food preparation & service won’t be up to scratch within a few short weeks, the jury is still out regarding the quality/choice of the food.
Though the choices in the MDR were perfectly adequate, some food like the pate & cheese was bland – and that’s clearly down to the buying rather than the staff. And the lunchtime buffet choice was very poor – burgers, sausages, squid, risotto, sweet&sour pork or boiled ham. With chips or sauté, and no green veg.
At a Q&A session with MSC’s UK managing director, I asked what passenger mix was anticipated on MSC’s ex-UK sailings (Dover, switching to Southampton next summer) & whether the food choice was typical. He replied that it was more typical of their Med sailings, that for UK sailings they anticipated 60% to 70% UK pax, and they were planning to offer more pub fayre such as S & K pudding, and afternoon teas.
I fear that MSC have a lot to learn about UK tastes, and have not done some pretty basic homework. A huge queue for the first breakfast was caused by them being totally unprepared for us all wanting bacon & egg. Eggs were being cooked six at a time – I’ll re-phrase that, eggs were being UNDER-cooked six at a time. Streaky bacon did not impress.
Much of the food was cold – this is a frequent complaint about Italian ships, and indeed eateries in Italy, so I doubt that this had anything to do with the ship being shaken-down.
Tea/coffee served with breakfast, (and afternoon tea on ex-UK sailings) but charged at all other times.
I would be a little unhappy with MSC’s food on other sailings, and the jury is still out re ex-UK sailings.
Smoking. A very different attitude to UK/US cruise lines.
Smoking inside permitted in one main bar, casino, cigar lounge, one covered pool section, discouraged but tolerated in cabins (their preference is cabin bathrooms) but not balconies.
Possibly too liberal for anti-smokers.
So we STILL don’t have a cruise line capable of finding the simple happy medium which would satisfy the vast vast majority in both camps.
There were very few tannoy announcements (5 languages), so we weren’t truly exposed to that bugbear.
The company’s MD stressed that a major difference between MSC and its rivals is that MSC has an owner rather than a managing board. Whilst that clearly has its advantages, I rather think that it’s also responsible for a degree of un-planned chopping & changing.
For instance, one bar was given a name change after the deck-plans were printed but before she left the shipyard.
Likewise the 15% service charge printed on all this ship’s bar menus is now 18% on Magnifica and all MSC ships.
Which neatly brings us to pricing.
MSC offers some of the most competitively-priced cruises on the market.
Both their ticket prices & on-board charges need to be taken into account to decide whether they offer value for money.
Drinks Prices:
(add 18% service to all prices)
Cocktails – mainly €6.70, non-alcoholic €3.90
Wine - glass €3.20 upwards, bottle €16 upwards
Shorts, 4cl - €4.90 upwards
Beer 33cl (that’s a bit widgy) - draught €2.70, bott €3.90 – 4.50, N’castle brown €5.20, Guinness €5.50
Fruit juice - €2.40
Coke etc 33cl - €2.70
Coffees €1.10 & upwards, teas €1.80
Bottled water 20cl €0.50, 50cl €1.20, 1ltr €1.80(a promise from the MD that free jugged water is available on request at dinner)
GRATUITIES – IMPORTANT CHANGES
Their UK MD told us that all MSC’s 15% service charge on drinks (& presumably anything else subject to the 15%) has been increased to 18%.
And that the daily cabin/dining service charges, which could be removed/changed (same as US ships) are now MANDATORY (same as Costa). Rather took us aback – sorry, none of us was bright enough to ask what effect that would have on existing bookings. Or brave enough to suggest the likely consequences – but it has added to my fear that MSC are not in touch with the British psyche.
For a number of reasons I’ve never been drawn to MSC’s cruises, preferring our home-grown varieties. Whilst Magnifica is a superb ship & will be loved by MSC’s aficionados, I don’t think that their UK-based cruises will tempt me either – certainly not in the line’s coming season.
It’s unrealistic to give this experience a star-rating, I’ll attempt to skip the stars. If the programming won’t allow it I’ll give three to all sections.
Sukie – I think Azura would appeal more & Julie agrees. I hear she has a similar up-coming showcase in Southampton. ;-) ………………..
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| Quality of Food | n/a |
| | Entertainment | n/a |
| | Shore Excursions | n/a |
| | Staff | n/a |
| | Children's Facilities | n/a |
| | Onboard Activities | n/a |
| | Cabins | n/a |
| | Overall Rating | n/a |
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Previous Cruise Reviews
I liked the difference between your report and Shelledpea's report. Different content but both so interesting. I still think they may have to bend a little towards a British attitude if they want to attract loads of repeat bookings....but not too much, ....Neil