I had an excellent experience on the Magnifica, traveling in July to Key West and Ocean Cay from…read moreMiami. I have cruised MSC twice before on Divina and this experience far surpassed those experiences.
The ship is smaller and older, but is very well maintained. The public spaces are cute and the nightclub is very large with a beautiful ocean view. It offers a basketball court, mini bowling, and an arcade. Unfortunately, there is no movie under the stars, but they offer an excellent kids club and even some limited baby care! They will feed your kids dinner, and do a lovely job keeping them engaged and entertained. Kudos to the Kids Club staff!
The pool area has two pools and a few jacuzzis. They were decent sized. I've seen smaller pools on cruises, and while these were not large pools, I wouldn't call them small, either.
The cabins are nice enough. I actually find the bathroom to be slightly more spacious than other cruise lines I've traveled with.
The staff were superb all around. Very helpful, polite, and kind. Our room attendant Giri was really kind and wonderful. He made a cute little animal to greet my girls and me one day, which was a sweet touch. This is not standard for MSC, unlike Carnival who does this routinely, so that was a kind touch from Giri :)
Personally, I enjoyed the food. We did not do the included restaurant as it was just faster and easier to do the buffet, plus more variety, so I can't speak to that. We really did enjoy the buffet, though. A nice variety of different foods, with some healthy options, as well. My daughter and I really liked the Ethnic Corner section. Each night there was a different specialty. Ramen bowls one night; another night was chicken and steak fajitas. Both nights it was really yummy and something different from the usual meats and potatoes :) Flavor of food was good. Buffet was kept clean, stocked, and organized. Great job, MSC.
Ocean Cay was enjoyable. It is a work in progress. MSC purchased the island a few years ago and has been slowly making improvements. They have two coves, and three beaches to choose from. Unfortunately, the main beach - Lighthouse Beach - was closed for renovations during our visit, so we made use of Seekers Cove, another cove nearby (can't remember the name), and Sunset Beach.
Seeker Cove is new, from my understanding, and it's a shallow cove- perfect for families with small children who aren't strong swimmers yet. The parents can relax on the beach and let the kids play without too much worry while keeping a watchful eye from the comfort of their chair. My complaint would be that the water had some patches of sea grass and that was unpleasant. I'd like to see them remove this, if possible, and then it would be perfect.
The next cove area was much larger, and went much deeper. There was a large float in the center that you could swim to and jump off of. Fun!
Lastly, there was Sunset Beach. This beach needs some TLC. It is very rugged and untouched still. VERY rocky, both on the beach area and in the first several feet of water. Just a couple of chairs scattered randomly about- one here.... one way over there. Weird. I sought this beach out as I am not a major fan of coves, and wanted a real, open ocean beach. Since Lighthouse Beach was closed I sought out Sunset Beach. The water was beautiful and this beach has a lot of potential, so hopefully MSC will turn its attention here soon.
Buffet on the island was delicious, in my opinion. They had a very nice variety of food. Jerk chicken (delish!), pork ribs, Mahi Mahi, along with red beans and rice, macaroni & cheese, pasta salad, and a bunch of other cold salads. They also had hamburgers, hot dogs, and fries. Lemonade and water to drink complimentary. Lots of dessert choices, too. My family and I were all very pleased with taste and quality.
Lots of bars around the island, and if you aren't near the buffet they also have food trucks around the island offering burgers, hot dogs, fries, pasta salad, and brownies. That is a very nice touch to make things easy and convenient for those who might not be situated near the buffet.
Embarkation and debarkation went smoothly, and MSC has improved their muster station requirements to allow you to watch a video in your cabin at your leisure (by 4:30 pm), dial in a code, then proceed to the muster station to have your card scanned- again, at your leisure but by 4:30 pm. This is new and more in line with other cruise lines and a great improvement.
Overall, it was a lovely experience, great for a short weekend cruise, and I would cruise again.