our week in eastern med

MSC Magnifica Cruise Review to Europe - Eastern Mediterranean

Cruiser26608783

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 84

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Eastern Mediterranean (Venice Roundtrip)

Sail date: October 29, 2016

Ship: MSC Magnifica

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 10120

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

we were blessed wiht good weather apart form the last day - grey and raining in venice.

the embarkation process was a complete shambles - 6 queues before we could get on board - much too much security. Appalling, and terrible first impressions.

i felt the ship was too big with too many people for my liking, often had queues for breakfast // lunch etc.

however food was good, but breakfast room had either bacon OR sausage, not both. scrambled egg was wondeful. always lots of fresh fruit to chose from.

comfortable cabin with small side balcony, and great service, though hardly saw the 'cabin boy'. the theatre shows were mainly average. two swimming pools. useful gym. the main restaurant we were in was noisy and service was slow - we had to complain at the time, though not the waiters fault - he had too much to do. the resorts visited were super (Olympia the least exciting and Dubrovnik the best, in my view). Resort dis-Embarkation not so chaotic. did not agree with MSC policy that any alcolhol brought in resorts could not be drunk onboard - obviously going to affeect their sales, but creates a monopoly. it wasn't possible to drink 14 bottles of water in 7 days despite my best efforts, so not a good deal. asian fusian restaurant was great - quiet and super food, but had to pay extra for this.Luggage delivery was fine. enjoyed the cruise apart from too many others onboard, but don't think I'll travel with MSC again.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

so many people in the level 5 restaurant that it was so noisy was difficult to hear the other 4 people on our table = bad

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

didn't use these much

Entertainment

3 out of 5

theatre shows notthing to write home about

Children's Programs

3 out of 5

not applicable

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

most staff I dealt with were helpful and great

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

only too big for my liking

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

comfortable with enough space for two. pleased to have a balcony although I thought it would have been bigger, was at least adequate. good shower and msc prvided body / hair conditioner. Loos always worked. not too noisy.

Ship tip

try another cruise line, embarkation would put anyone off

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Venice, Italy

5 out of 5

walk (quite far 15 mintues but flat) to get waterBUS direct into st marks (20 minutes) return euros15, NOT waterTAXI = euros100. buy ticket around the corner from cruise terminal

Thumbs Up 1

Bari, Italy

5 out of 5

get the shuttle bus into Bari, find the old centre and ander around. we saw 8 baptisms in one church on the sunday morning. coffe shop with wifi

Thumbs Up 2

Katakolon (Olympia), Greece

3 out of 5

guide did what she could and I enjoyed (finally) walking into the stadium - field, believed I could hear the crowds, but just a big field. still we posed on the marble starting line, as we'd hoped. otherwise lots of greek stone remains

Thumbs Up 0

Mykonos, Greece

5 out of 5

we were taken to the 3 towns on the island. had free ouzo at one - yum. saw cafe where Shirley Valentine worked (in the film), plus natural Mounds of Aphrodite! and the main town itself. pretty even though just out of season, lear waters and we found the windmills.

Thumbs Up 2

Piraeus (Athens), Greece

5 out of 5

we got the hop-on - off bus (yellow), take care to change from Pireaus circuit to Athens circuit at Acropolis stop. staff helpful as to which bus to get on next, altho busy stop. good amphitheatre selfies. lovely light lunch near hadrian gate and temple of zeus at fresko yoghurt shop. allow enough time if rush hour for return trip - busy city

Thumbs Up 0

Dubrovnik, Croatia

5 out of 5

my favourite stop, bus to Old city. many churches, stalls and market. good cold drinks bar with seaview and (smelly) toilet.

Thumbs Up 0