We've just returned from an 11 day trip on MSC Magnifica and thoroughly enjoyed our experience on board. We booked the trip over 8 months ago and were quite worried and apprehensive, or rather extremely worried after reading 8 months of mostly negative reviews and comments. We simply did not know what to expect but were prepared for the worst. However, we found most of the negative comments simply not true or isolated cases. MSC does a few things differently than other cruise lines, but, if you aware of this in advance, then it will come as no surprise once you are on board.
Embarkation: Our boarding time was 10:30AM. We were in our cabin in about 2 hours (There are MONITORS telling you when to board in addition to the announcements. Many of the negative comments about embarkation chaos were that people could not hear the announcements. It's really simple, look at the monitors. In the boarding area, there are several tables set up to order things: Excursion Table, Drink Table, Spa Table, Soda Table. Overall, getting 3000 people into a ship within a few hours is going to be crowded so expect this.
The Ship: As the comments suggests, immaculate and spotless. We were escorted to our cabin with white glove service. Cabin was clean, on the smaller side.