Hi Jean!

Yes, a bit noisy, or rather, boisterous I would say! Very high energy,
which some folks might really like....it's a non-stop party in the main
pool area....I'm a little quieter than that and do like more shade than
sun!

Surprisingly, even though I am a smoker, the smoking issue was
interesting. There are no smoking tables at all in any bar or lounge --
only the bar area itself is smoking permitted. There was one lounge
(Spoletto lounge) which was entirely non-smoking. There were some
smoking tables up by the pool area though, and the casino seemed to be
largely smoking permitted though. The side with the tables was smokey,
but the side with more of the slots seemed less so.

Yes...dancing waiters ala Carnival....not my thing! It generally came
after the main course and before dessert....so I fled to go to the
bathroom and have a cigarette etc., which generally I do before dessert
anyhow.

The staff consisting of officers, cruise staff, shops and photographers,
etc. were predominately Italian. The cabin stewards and waiters etc.,
were predominately Asian, seemed like mostly Phillipino. So I had less
of an "italian" feeling than MSC in that regard, although my cabin
steward Michael was one of the best I've ever had.

Would I sail Magica again -- yes, although -- I think maybe one of the
somewhat smaller Costa ships like Classica or Victoria might be a better
size for me, but who knows. Costa often seems to come in at a fairly
low price point so I found it to be a very good value actually, given
that there are some negatives, but not enough to spoil my fun.

Jeff


Jean O'Boyle wrote:


Hey Jeff..
Welcome back!
So the food was good, and the atmosphere was a bit noisy at times..probably
because of the spring break crowd.
What about the smoke, did you find that a problem? You often hear that as a
complaint on Costa, so I am wondering.
Dancing waiters?? Ala Carnival style? Was the crew primarily Italian or was
it international?
Sounds as if you had a great time..would you take the Magica again?
So where to next?

--Jean---hoping like Diana to see some toga pictures of Jeff! ;-)