MSC Magnifica Review
Rating by category
Additional details
The itinerary for this cruise was the deciding factor for us, sailing from Southampton, England, to the Scottish Highlands, Edinburgh, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Paris, Amsterdam, and Hamburg. The overall cruise was decent. There were a number of things that could have been improved upon, and other things which were completely acceptable, though nothing outstanding.
Food in the restaurant (dining room) was sometimes good, sometimes fair, and, on occasion, quite good. Never anything to write home about.
The service on board was usually great. Most of the staff members were very pleasant and helpful. There were a couple of staff members in the baby area who sat in the corner and never really engaged with me or my infant son, however, there was also one staff member who was great and really friendly. We were generally satisfied with the level of service on board.
Cabin Review
Port Reviews
Le Havre
Made it to Paris. It was tight, as the train ride is over 2 hours, but we managed to see Paris for five hours before heading back to the Gare St. Lazare and caught the train back to Le Havre, with 10 minutes before the 'all aboard' time. We left it all up in the air, not booking anything ahead of time since we weren't sure if we could make it. If you do choose to go to Paris on your own from Le Havre, be confident that you have all of the timing clear.
Newcastle (England)
We checked out Wallsend to see Hadrian's wall and South Shields where there is also the remains of a Roman fort. We had time to take the subway to Newcastle-upon-Tyne, as well. It was fine, but really nothing very exciting.
Amsterdam
We wandered around Amsterdam by ourselves. The ship docked close to the main city, so we walked right off the ship and bought day tickets for the tram, and then caught a tram to the museum district. We had booked online tickets in advance for the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum - both wonderful museums. We enjoyed meandering along the canals and took a sunset river cruise with Blue Boat cruises. This was such a lovely way to end the day.
Hamburg
We explored Hamburg independently. We took the metro to the city, which has a nice Town Hall (Rathaus), and we went to the ruins of St. Nickolai, which was a very good visit. We took the metro out of town to Blanknese and wandered through the pretty little neighbourhood there, along the Elba. We did the tourist thing back in Hamburg and ate hamburgers at the most beautiful, charming burger restaurant (Hans Im Gluck). Also worth checking out one of the many impressive little bakeries (backerei) for a sweet treat.