MSC Magnifica Week 2

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Day 8: 11/4/23 Malaga, Spain

 

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We started out having breakfast in the dining room which was excellent.  We will probably do this more often. At 9:30, I went to the arts and crafts session where we made dream catchers. It was more fun than the previous activities. We arrived in Malaga at noon and decided to have lunch before we got off the ship. When we got back to our cabin, there was another bottle of champagne and a basket of fruit waiting for us but no note telling us who it was from. We got on the shuttle to town around 12:30. Since we arrived a day early, there were 2 ships docked in the usual spaces so we had to take a shuttle into town which took 25 minutes. The shuttle let us off in the City Center and we walked to the Central Market. It was very crowded but such a wonderful place full of different meats, fish, and vegetables. There were places to eat inside and outside as well as locals buying food. After that, we walked around the historic town and enjoyed looking at the architecture and shops. We saw the cathedral that only had one tower because the second one never got finished. Next, we walked to the Roman amphitheater which was near the Alcazaba (the fortress). We walked around the fortress, and I took plenty of pictures. Around 3:30, we headed back to the shuttle and went back to the ship. We relaxed in the Le Gocce bar until it was dinner time. While we were there, we heard a man telling the bar staff that he got pickpocketed and lost his phone, passport and 25 euros. We are enjoying the dinner in the dining room every night and the service is excellent. After dinner, we had our cappuccinos before heading back to our cabin for the evening.

 

Day 9: 11/5/23 Malaga, Spain

 

We had breakfast in the dining room again and then decided to walk into town. We left around 8:30 and got back around 1:30. We decided to pay for the tickets to get into Alcazaba and the Castillo de Gibralfaro. We walked around Alcazaba (the fortress) which involved a lot of stairs. Then we had to go back down to street level in order to climb up the mountain to the castle. It was extremely steep and involved lots of stairs and switchbacks. On the way back to the ship, we walked to the beach and was surprised to see people in bathing suits (because we were a little chilly and wearing long pants!). We had lunch and then had a couple of drinks in the bar. After that, we took a nap in the cabin before dinner. We had dinner at the buffet and then went to the show which involved Celtic dancing (The Emerald Isle Show). The show was very good and we enjoyed it! After the show, we had our evening cappuccino and then went to bed.

 

Day 10: 11/6/23 At Sea

 

We went to the dining room at 7:30 but by 8am, no one had come to take our order, so we left and went up to the buffet to eat breakfast. After breakfast, we went to our favorite bar for cappuccinos. At 11am, there was a talk about the next 2 ports we would be visiting: Tenerife and Funchal. By then it was lunch time. After lunch, we relaxed in our cabin, reading and eating the treats that had been sent to our cabin. At 6:30, we had dinner in the dining room. My ossobuco was very good! Then we stopped at the bar for a drink. We met one of our Facebook group friends, Mark, who recognized me from my knitting. Then more of the Facebook group, who was waiting for their dinner to start, stopped by. It was fun meeting them! We had a nice restful day.

 

Day 11: 11/7/23 Tenerife, Canary Islands

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We got off the ship around 10am and it felt like a long walk into town. First, we went to the Farmer’s market and I was able to buy a bracelet there for 3 euros made of Canary Island volcano rock. Then we walked around the town. It was mostly a shopping area. We found the post office but there were long lines so we left. It was a pretty city but felt like a resort town. Around 1 pm, we returned to the ship for lunch. After lunch we took a nap before dinner. As usual we had dinner and a cappuccino before bedtime.

 

Day 12: 11/8/23 Funchal, Portugal

 

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We got off the ship at 8am and it was a long walk out of the port and into town. The first place we went was to the Farmer’s Market and it was nice there. We tried some macadamian nuts (very salty) and some ananas bananas fruit (looked like corn kernels that tasted like pineapple). We saw eels in the fish market. We found 3 magnets for 1.50 euros each at one of the vendors who was so friendly. After we left the market, we found 2 yarn shops, so I had to buy yarn, of course. Then we found the post office and saw their collectible stamps. This lady helped us for 30 minutes choosing the stamp sets Don wanted but when we went to pay for it all (160 euros), but she refused to take a US credit card and only wanted cash. She saw me holding the credit card the whole time she was helping us! Her colleague asked her in Spanish why she wouldn’t take our credit card and all she would say was US so I think she didn’t like us once she found out that we were from the US. We ended up leaving without buying any stamps. Then we walked around town some more before stopping at McDonalds. Don likes to get a happy meal in every foreign country we go to. Then we climbed a lot of stairs and walked up to a park which had beautiful overlooks and flowers. We returned to the ship around 2pm and some drinks to rest and relax. As we were getting ready for dinner, our toilet overflowed again! I called 3 times to let them know that we had a waterfall and water was accumulating. Finally, we left and got some dinner but returned in 30 minutes to see that someone was finally working on the problem. So, we went to the bar for a cappuccino and Bloody Mary before going back to our cabin. We talked with Mary Ann from Boston while we were there. Before going to bed, I had to turn our clocks back 1 hour.

 

Day 13: 11/9/23 At Sea

 

We had a lovely day at sea today. After breakfast, I sat on the balcony and read while Don walked around the deck. It was warm enough for me to wear shorts during the day. Before lunch, another bottle of Prosecco and a basket of fruit was delivered to our cabin.  After lumch we went to a presentation put on by one of our Facebook group friends about NASA which was really interesting. After that, we returned to the room to enjoy a bottle of Prosecco. We relaxed until dinner and we ate at the buffet because I wanted to go to the 7:15 show featuring the acrobatic talents of Yuri and Nato. They were amazing and I’m so glad we went to see their performance. After the show, we finished the evening with a cup of cappuccino.

 

Day 14: 11/10/23 At Sea

 

It was a beautiful day at sea! I went to the arts & crafts session where we made bracelets from embroidery thread. It was chaotic because a lot of people showed up and I’m not sure the girl who is the “instructor” knew how to make them. She showed the video which wasn’t very clear. Then we went to meet our friend, Guglielmo Gargiulo, who is the Hotel Director on the ship. We saw his wonderful office and visited about 40 minutes. Then after lunch, I sat by the pool while Don went on his exercise walk. Then we relaxed in the cabin until dinner. After dinner, we had our cappuccino before returning to our cabin.

 

Things I’ve Learned:

• I need to bring more paperback books for the sea days.
• I need to bring notecards so I can write thank you notes.
• It’s good to download maps on your phone in case you need it in town.
• Protect yourself from pickpockets.
• Ask vendors if they take US credit cards before buying anything.
• Find a bar that you like and get to know the bar staff.

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Week 1

Original photo by Pat Hensley

MSC Magnifica Week 1

Click here for pictures of our days on the ship.

The ship can hold 2550 passengers and 1027 crew. Our captain was Ciro Pinto until Wednesday and then we got a new Captain, Vincenzo Miele, our friend, Guglielmo Gargiulo, the hotel director got on the ship on Wednesday. We were scheduled for dinner at 9:15 pm at Table 475 but that was too late for us so we were able to get it changed to table 481 at 7pm.   Our cabin was 11049 and our cabin steward was Veronica.

 

Day 1: 10/28/23 Valencia/Embarkation

 

I didn’t sleep well during the night and almost overslept. I’m glad I set two alarms! We went back to El Gallo de Oro for breakfast at 7 and said goodbye to the waitress. We checked out of our wonderful room at 8:30 and walked to the #4 bus stop. Before long, the bus arrived, and we had no trouble getting to the bus stop in front of the port. We walked right to the port entrance and was told that we would have to relax in the bar area until they opened the MSC line. We got in line around 10:30 and they took our luggage from there and loaded it onto a truck. We took an escalator upstairs where we checked in and got our key cards. Our key cards were wrong, and we were told that we would have to go to guest services to get them corrected. Before long, the security line opened, and we went through security before going back down the escalator and getting on a bus. The bus took us to the ship which was a long way from the port entrance.

 

Once we got on the ship, we went to our cabin to drop off our backpacks and our cabin was ready. Next, we took the elevator to the top deck and explored our way down each deck until we got to deck 13. We stopped for lunch and then stopped back at our cabin. We met our cabin steward who cleaned out our refrigerator so we could put stuff in it.

 

Then we explored decks 7, 6, and 5 before returning to our cabin. We went to a presentation about helpful hints for the cruise and found out it was given by Wilfried who we had met last December on the MSC Seascape. Next, I unpacked our suitcases, and we did the mandatory drill.

At 7pm, the buffet opened for dinner. After dinner, we had a cappuccino and latte before going to bed. There is only 2 English speaking channels on the TV. We had to turn our clocks back one hour before going to bed.

 

Day 2:10/29/23 Tarragona, Spain

 

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We docked around 7am and after breakfast, we got off the ship. We paid for the shuttle round trip from the ship to the City Center (9 euros each). We got off the bus at 9 am and walked around town. Tarragona is Spain’s second most important Roman site. We walked around the perimeter of the old town between two lines of city walls. The inner walls are Roman back to the 3rd century BC and the outer ones were British 1709 during the War of the Spanish Succession. We saw the Amfiteatre Roma which was near the beach and was where gladiators fought. Around noon, we caught the shuttle back to the ship. On our way back to the ship, we saw Wilifried Lichtert (international host) and he stopped to invite us to meet him for a drink tonight.

After lunch, we decided to go rest in our cabin and took a short nap. Our dinner reservation had been changed to early seating (7pm) which made me very happy. Eating at 9:15 was too late for me and I didn’t think I would have a chance to eat in the dining room. We decided to go have a drink before dinner and check out the dinner menu. Nothing seemed to excite us so we ended up at the Sahara Buffet for dinner. After dinner, we went to the show featuring the musician/singer Peter Grant. I really enjoyed his show and thought his voice was wonderful. After the show, we met Wilfried in the Tiger Bar and enjoyed catching up with him. We found out that Gene Young, a cruise director from a previous cruise, had committed suicide earlier in the year. What a sad story for such a young talented man. It was a nice full day!

 

Day 3: 10/30/23 Toulon, France

 

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We were notified the night before that the shuttle roundtrip from the ship to town was going to be 20 euros, so we decided to stay on the ship for the day. I had done some research and didn’t really want to see anything special in town. Besides, we needed a rest day from our active week so far. After breakfast, we relaxed in our cabin until we arrived in Toulon. We watched people get off the ship, but we could tell that it had started to rain. After lunch, we spent the afternoon in the cabin relaxing. Before dinner, we had cocktails and then went to the Diamond Party. After dinner, we went to the show featuring Brazilian singer, Camila Andrade.

 

Day 4: 10/31/23 Genoa, Italy

 

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We arrived in Genoa at 7am but we didn’t get off the ship until 8. We stopped for a snack at McDonalds around 9:30 am and we had 2 cappuccinos and Don had a chocolate muffin. The cappuccinos were only 1.50 euros, but a soda was 3 euros! The architecture of the buildings was amazing to see. We walked into a church with amazing artwork in it. On the street corners, there were works of art just on the corner of the buildings. We walked far away from the ship and when we got a view of the water, we couldn’t even see our ship from where we stood. We found the Victory Arch which was dedicated to those who died in WWI. We also came across the boyhood home of Christopher Columbus (from ages 4 to 14). Around 2 pm, we stopped at McDonalds for a late lunch. It was comforting to eat some familiar food. I was able to order using the kiosk and have the menu in English (another comforting thing when surrounded for days with everything in foreign languages).  We got back to the ship around 3 pm and had a drink before going back to the cabin to rest. At 7 pm, we went to the dining room for the first time and it was a nice experience. We are at a table for 4 and I don’t know if anyone else is assigned to our table or if it is just us but no one else joined us. The dining steward was Aiko and the food was pretty good. We both had the carrot ginger soup and then I had veal while Don had halibut (it gave him bad heartburn, so I think there is some spice they use on fish that bothers him). For dessert, we had black forest cherry gateau which is one of my favorites. The service was good also. After dinner we had some cappuccino before going to bed. The ship was rocking pretty rough and they were putting barf bags in public areas for people to take if they needed it. Of course, we didn’t have any trouble and was rocked to sleep.

 

Day 5: 11/1/23 Civitavecchia, Italy

 

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We got on the free shuttle to town at 8:30 am and were glad we rode it to the port entry because our ship was a long way from there. We walked around town, but most things were closed because it was a holiday (All Saint’s Day). It was a very depressed area compared to the cities we had been to the previous days but it was nice to walk around. We made it back to the ship by lunchtime. After lunch, we went back to relax. Around 3 pm, the toilet started overflowing and pouring out in our bathroom. I called twice but no one ever showed up to fix it and eventually, it stopped after about 40 minutes. We went to the bar for drinks before dinner. For dinner, we went to the dining room and had prime rib. We have a new dining steward named Reina. After dinner, we had cappuccinos before going back to our cabin. We saw our cabin steward and she didn’t know anything about our toilet but came in to wipe up our floor. At 9:30 we got a call asking if our toilet was fixed but I told them it was still wet behind the toilet. They were going to send someone, and I told them that we were going to bed so they said they would send someone tomorrow. We also got a note that high winds were predicted (exceeding 35 knots) and we might not get to dock in Palma de Mallorca, Spain on Friday.

 

Day 6: 11/2/23 At Sea

 

After breakfast, we had a cappuccino before going to the Arts and Crafts session. We made embroidery cards which reminded me of a kindergarten activity with sewing cards. We had to draw a design on card stock and then punch holes around the outline. Then we used embroidery thread to sew up the design. After that, we went to the lecture about Palma de Mallorca. I’m glad we went because we received a letter from the captain the night before that we might have to skip this island due to high winds. After lunch, we relaxed in our cabin and watched the high waves hit all the way to our balcony on the 11th deck! Sometime in the afternoon, it was announced that our itinerary changed, and we would not be stopping in Palma de Mallorca and that the next day would be a sea day and instead we would be staying in Malaga, Spain for 2 days (arriving at noon on Saturday and leaving at 5 pm on Sunday). Before dinner, we went back to the bar and had our pre-dinner drinks. Russell, from our Facebook group, joined us for a drink. There were free drinks from the captain being passed around. We had dinner in the dining room since it was Gala night, but it was pretty empty. I heard that many people were seasick and there were a lot of people in the medical center. Some were on IVs and one man had fallen and broken his elbow. After dinner, we had a drink before returning to our cabin. Don was in severe back pain.

 

Day 7: 11/3/23 At Sea

 

We were supposed to be in Palma de Mallorca today but instead, it was a sea day. After breakfast, we relaxed until the Arts and Crafts session which was only for adults 18 years and older.  The instructor showed a video but never gave instructions. The video didn’t match the materials that we were using. I’m not sure I will go to many more of these sessions. The projects were very childish and disappointing. After that, we went to the lecture about Malaga. Next, we had lunch and then went back to our cabin to relax. Waiting for us in the cabin was a bottle of champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries which we enjoyed. At 6 pm, we had a welcome back cocktail party to meet the cabin. We saw our friend; Guglielmo and I gave him a gnome for his daughter. Dinner was nice in the dining room and then we had a cappuccino before returning to our cabin. There was information that we would need to shuttle to the city center (11 euros per person). There was information that we would need to shuttle to the city center (11 euros per person) because it is 25 minutes away. Since we are here a day early, there are already 2 ships parked at the docks we would normally park at.

 

 

Things I’ve Learned:

• The Le Gocce Bar (on the left side facing the dining room) has the best servers! Warren was the first one we met there and he always made sure we got what we wanted. The other servers picked up on that and we always get good service there.
• The bar at the Sahara Buffet near the salad bar is wonderful. They always get me what I want quickly. I tried to use the bar in the back where we sit but they always tell me they don't have what I want.
• I wish they would add the price of the shuttles into the cruise and just tell people that we have a free shuttle into town like we did in Civitavecchia. It costs 9 euros each to get to Tarragona, 20 euros to get to Toulon, and 11 euros to go to Malaga. These little costs are very annoying.
• Arts and Crafts – for adults, the crafts were very childish. All we used was construction paper and glue and the instructor wasn’t very helpful. Arts and Crafts on other ships include a kit that is more age appropriate.

Valencia, Spain

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Day 1: 10/26/23

Today we got up and had breakfast at a little place (El Gallo de Oro) outside the Central Market. We had coffee, orange juice, fried eggs, potatoes, and bacon for 10 euros each. It was delicious (I noticed there was no tipping involved). After breakfast, we walked to the Quart Towers (free with Valencia Tourist Card) and found a yarn shop along the way! The tower was a steep climb but beautiful views.

We walked by the Botanical Gardens but stopped at the San Sebastian church first. A mass was going on and it was open, so we wandered in. Next, we went back to the Botanical Gardens and decided to stop. Tickets were discounted with VLC (4.20 euros for two of us) and it was very pretty.

Next, we walked to the park and continued to the mall. We found a supermarket there and bought some snacks. We brought them back to our hotel room and then we went to the post office to mail some postcards. This was a stamp collector’s paradise! Don found lots of collectible stamp treasures. After that, we went to Hard Rock and bought a magnet. Then we went into another museum (free with the VTC) which used to be the stock exchange in the 1930s and then later it was the Spanish Parliament.

We went back to El Gallo de Oro for lunch, and we had a starter, entrée, dessert, and a drink for 16 euros each. Don had codfish croquettes, grilled squid, crepe with chocolate, and whipped cream with iced tea. I had Bolognese Lasagna, Chicken Paella, crepe with chocolate, and whipped cream, with a beer.

Then we decided to try to find the cruise port terminal. We found a C1 bus, but the bus driver wouldn’t take our Valencia card which we thought was good for the metro and buses. We found a tourist office to check and were told the bus driver should have let us on. They told us to take the #4 bus to the port, so we found the stop and rode it on its route. We saw the port but went back to where we got on the bus and got off there. Then we took the C1 bus (I didn’t ask, I just tapped our card and it worked). We rode it to a stop near the Quart Towers and walked around town.

We ended up at the Valencia Cathedral and it was open for mass, so we were able to wander in and see the beautiful architecture. Since it was a Thursday evening mass (8 pm) was considered a Pilgrim Mass and was presided over by Cardinal Cañizares.

Before returning to our hotel, Don had a small gelato at the same place he got it last night.

We put in a full day and walked over 10 miles.

Day 2: 10/27/23

We ate at El Gallo de Oro for breakfast and then headed to the Serrano Towers. It didn’t open until 10 so we walked across the bridge over the park and headed towards the mall. When we got to the mall, we stopped at the supermarket again for snacks.

Then we went to the Turia metro and rode it to a transfer station so we could see how close to the port we could get. We decided that this was not the best way to get to the port. We eventually got off at the Alameda station and walked in the park towards the Arts and Science Centers.

From there, we took a #13 bus to a stop closest to the Central Market and walked back to our room to drop things off. By then it was time to eat an early dinner. After that, we decided to walk the route we planned to take in the morning to get on the #4 bus to the port. We rode it along its route and found out which stop we needed to get off the bus tomorrow. At one end, we had to get off one #4 bus and get on another bus.

We returned to the old section of town and walked around. We stopped for another gelato before returning to our room to pack. We put in another full day and walked almost 10 miles.

Original photos by Pat Hensley

Flying to Valencia, Spain

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We flew out of Ft Lauderdale on 10/24/23 and our neighbor Bob drove us to the airport. We arrived at 9:40 but was too early to check in. Since our flight didn’t leave until 2:09, we couldn’t check in until 10:09. We flew to Philadelphia, and it was pretty uneventful, and we arrived on time around 4:52 pm. l. Then we flew out of Philadelphia to Madrid at 7:03 pm and expected to arrive at 8:10 am. The flight attendant moved us to a 2-seat row across from the bathroom which we were happy about. Then Don told me when we landed that his seat was very uncomfortable. We had a long layover in Madrid because we arrived at 7:30 am and our flight didn’t leave until 11:55 am. We arrived in Valencia at 7:30 am.

I was shocked at how unwelcoming and unfriendly the airports were in Spain. When we landed in Madrid, we had to take a bus to the terminal. Then we went through customs and had no idea what to do next. There were no signs or TV screens telling us how to find the gate for our connecting flight. We got on a train shuttle to the next terminal where we found a TV screen. Of course, it said that we couldn’t find out our gate number until 10:25 so we just hung out for a couple of hours. The flight to Valencia took about 40 minutes and when we got there, no one knew how to find their luggage. I asked one of the workers and he said he didn’t know and walked away. We ended up walking down 2 longer hallways (which we thought were exits) and found more luggage carousels. That is where we found a screen telling us which one would have our bags.

Next, we found the kiosk to get our Valencia Tourist Card (we bought a 72-hour. card for each of us online before we left home). It said I just needed to put in the information on my email and we would get the cards. We got our cards and decided to use them on Thursday instead of today, so we bought two single-fare cards for $5.60 each to get us to the City Central. But we had all these papers and couldn’t figure out which was the card. When we went to the office for help, the man tried to charge us more money. Finally, the lady came out to help us and told us that we didn’t get our cards out of the machine, and we just had receipts (one for us and others that people had left behind). She helped us get through and since we only had 1 card, she helped us get through the toll booth. I asked if we needed the card at the end, but she said no. She lied and we needed two cards to get out so we used one at the handicapped gate and we both slipped through.

So, we rode the metro to the Xativa station and got out. I didn’t realize we had to go up the really steep flight of stairs with our almost 50 lb. suitcases. 2 people helped me pick up mine and get to the top of the stairs. One man helped Don with his. I never saw an elevator! Then we had to try to find the hotel from my downloaded Valencia Map on Google. We were tired and hot, but eventually found the Valola Boutique Rooms (.6 km away from the metro station). There was no elevator, and I must have looked awful because the young hostess, picked up my heavy bag and carried up the huge marble stairs.

We are staying in Room 8 and it is a HUGE room. There is a bed area as well as a couch in the sitting area. Once we got settled, we went out exploring until 7:30 pm. We ended up eating at Burger King for dinner because we were too exhausted to appreciate a local dish. Don had a large gelato (3 scoops!) on the way back.

Things I’ve Learned:

• Bring your own snacks for the plane ride.
• Look for elevators in the metro stations.
• Be Flexible when traveling.

Original photo by Pat Hensley