We traveled on the Costa Magica the week of March 18th as part of a mid size group, there were 7 of us in my immediate family in 2 cabins (2 kids - 1 yr old and 4 yrs old). Our Western Caribbean itinerary included San Juan, St Thomas, La Romana (Dominican Republic) and Grand Turk.

Embarkation - it took us about 1 ½ hrs to board the ship. Overall, it went as smoothly as boarding 3,000 passengers could be. We went directly to our cabin and found our room keys and the tickets for the excursion we had purchased a few days prior online on Costa's website. The muster drill occurred around 4 and with a 1 yr old is not easy. Holding a 1 yr old while wearing the both of you are wearing life vests is not easy. The staff did offer me a pass to go back to my room if my child became too much to handle. I just took off both our vests and was able to get thru the entire drill.

Ship - The ship was beautiful, this is an Italian Cruise line and you can get a sense of their culture from the dEcor. There ship is covered with artwork, statues and A LOT of gold. Most of the documents and menus were in English and Italian, and some in 2-3 additional languages. Announcements were also made in several languages. Read more