Hello All - I am relatively new to Cruise Critic as I joined to research prior to our first cruise on the Costa Magica New Year's cruise. I wanted to share our experience, as it seems to be different from some:

Embarkation was awful, very long line and we are not patient people, so that was not a good way to start the trip. We had only carry-on luggage, so chose to self-disembark at the end of the cruise. That was much better.

The food was outstanding in the restaurants. The buffets were good too, but if you did not get there right away when they opened, it wasn't as fresh (duh), so we ate in the restaurant as much as possible. For us, (2 adults, two kids, ages 7 and 9), the restaurant was the most fantastic part of the ship itself. The food was fantastic and plentiful and you could pick whatever you wanted. Our kids tried many many foods for the first time, lobster, tenderloin, mahi mahi, the list goes on.. and it was all beautifully prepared. The service was fantastic (everyone -- waters, maitre d', room stewards, everyone) and I really believe everyone there wanted to do everything in their power to make it a great experience -- like they really cared about our enjoyment. My son celebrated a birthday while on board and they brought out a beautiful cake for him with candles. Read more