Cruise The World With Us 2026

Monday, January 5, 2026 – cruise day 1

The featured image today is MSC Magnifica docked in the Genoa harbor as viewed from our hotel.

This post is out of order because I forgot to create one for the day we embarked.

Day 1 of the cruise was a busy and exciting experience. We began with another fine breakfast at the hotel – this time without neighboring diners with whom to converse. We went to breakfast earlier than Sunday because our transfer driver was to arrive at 10:00 am to take us to the port. Following breakfast, we made last minute checks to be sure nothing was left in the hotel room and went to the lobby with our 9 pieces of luggage.

Shortly before 10:00 the driver arrived, loaded the van and we headed for the dock. It was a short drive – 10 minutes at the most. At the dock MSC personnel unloaded our luggage for us and directed us to the check-in station. Our scheduled check-in was 11:00 so we took seats and waited for our group (number 3) to be called.

At around 11:00 we were called and lined up for our passports and boarding passes to be verified. That process was much quicker than our check-in in Marseille last year. From check-in we took the escalator up a floor to the gangway-level. We opted not to have the ship’s photographer take our photo and instead walked the gangway (which is much like a jetway at an airport) to deck 5 of MSC Magnifica.

Almost immediately after boarding we were hugged by last year’s cruise director – Sonja. She and Kelsey really got along well on the last cruise, and we were happy to see that she will be the cruise director for the 2026 World Cruise. We decided to stop at Kelsey’s cabin (11038) first. As we made our way forward and up, we encountered other staff who recognized us from the prior cruise (I didn’t know that we were that noticeable). When you arrive at your cabin there is a door hanger with your cruise card(s). Kelsey opened hers and verified that her card would allow entry to her cabin. We went inside, left her rolling carry-on bag, checked out the room and left to go to our cabin (12020). In the hallway we met Kelsey’s cabin steward – Prestia (sp?).

Jan and I had booked a balcony cabin that was slightly smaller than the one we had for the 2025 cruise. When we arrived at our cabin, opened the envelope with our cruise cards and tried them in the door we were shocked at what we saw inside. MSC had modified the Magnifica to include a level of service they call “Yacht Club”. Our cabin is one of those that had been modified. What we saw was a double cabin (compared to what we had last cruise). There is a sliding door that separates the master bedroom from what I would call a living room/bathroom. The bathroom doesn’t have a small shower with plastic curtain – it is glass panels on 2 sides and ceramic tile on the other 2 sides and 3 times the size of our previous shower. It also has 2 shower heads – one that I believe is called a rain showerhead and the other is a hand-held spray. It also includes a full-sized bathtub! In the living room is a desk, refrigerator, lots of closet storage, couch large enough for 3 and a 50″ flat-screen TV. The living room opens to the balcony which is double-wide with 4 chairs and 2 footrests.

The bedroom also has a 50′ flat-screen TV. Bed is king with 2 end tables. Closet has a full-length lighted mirror (Jan really likes it), 4 large pull-out drawers, shelving above the drawers and a 6-foot-long rack for hangers. When the sliding door is closed between the bedroom and the living room there is no light leakage to disturb anyone sleeping. You’ll find several photos of our cabin in today’s photos. Needless to say, we were amazed and overwhelmed we had received this upgrade. However, we have discovered that we are actually performing “work” to justify having these accommodations by advising the staff of any shortcomings with the room. I’ll mention those in later posts.

We were in our rooms by 1:00 pm and unpacked some of what we had with us. We went for a look around and a quick stop at the buffet on deck 13. While there I snapped a photo of Genoa hoping to get our hotel in the photo, but it was hidden by another MSC cruise ship (Splendida). When we returned to our cabins some of our checked luggage was waiting for us in the hallway. And on the desk was a champagne bucket filled with ice and a bottle of prosecco and a tray of canapés. Kelsey ate all but the caviar items. We set the bubbly aside for later.

Our table for dinner is 579 which is on the starboard (right) side of the L’Edera dining room. Last cruise we were on the port side. The table is set for 8 so we were expecting 5 other passengers. Shortly after 6:00 a couple arrived and introduced themselves – Gerrit and Hilda from Belguim. I believe we will have a fun voyage with them – they are down-to-earth people with a sense of humor and many stories to share. I don’t plan to take photos of our meals unless they are something extraordinary.

After an enjoyable dinner we left to see if the remainder of our luggage had been placed outside our cabins. Fortunately, all our bags were ready for us. We spent some time unpacking and left for the show in the theater around 9:00 pm. The show was Cristian Regnicoli – The Beatles (In My Life). He played guitar and piano and sang well-known songs from the Beatles. His was a good “Welcome Aboard” show.

You’ll find photos from today’s activities here.