MSC Magnifica, MSC Cruises

The ship is lovely with high quality furnishings and spotlessly clean. We got the cruise ( Venice-Bari-Rhodes-Haifa-Athens-Venice ) for quite a good price through Iglu. However we did not like the liberal smoking policy which meant some bars and the casino were no go areas for us - also we could smell it in the corridors because you could smoke in the cabins. YUK. Meal times in the buffet were nearly always chaotic and we struggled to find any free tables at times. Food was okay but seemed bland to us and also mostly not very hot. In the buffet the coffee and tea were served in plastic blue mugs ... not nice . The coffee was so bitter it was undrinkable and so we resorted to having to buy it at the bars. Wine , beer , spirits , cocktails and soft drinks were expensive . Some of the entertainment was fantastic especially the acrobatic displays.

I and my husband went on Magnifica for 7 nights and every day I was surprised by how professional those people are! The staff are very helpful and they did their jobs more than perfectly! Food was served almost all the time! The menus of the seated lunches and dinners were exquisite and diverse! The coffee breaks were great. The ship is super clean and new. Our stay was very comfortable and pleasant. We had some trouble with our airport transfers and though it is none of their business, the staff, especially a gentleman from the housekeeping management was sweet enough to take care of our luggage on his own to help us pass the time till our flight which was late after our disembarkation! He even went with us to catch a taxi to the airport. This was far beyond his job description and it was very helpful. We were very pleased with MSC.