Mediterranean Break, 8th November 2010

I went on a cruise from Barcelona with friends in January 2012. I was a bit worried by poor reviews on other sites, but we had a wonderful time. Excellent value for money. Spotless ship with staff cleaning handrails etc at all hours. The buffet was more limited than on some other ships but there was always something for me. The afternoon tea was also limited but who needs it after the ample portions at other meal times. A lot of the ports were only half days so we spent quite a lot of time on the ship and there were numerous comfortable lounges to sit in. Smoking is allowed in a lot of areas but the only place we would not sit was the Aft lounge, due to the smoky atmosphere. Numerous courses were served in the dining room and we enjoyed almost everything. Water is not served in the dining room unless you buy bottles. We found that the house wine served in a carafe was adequate for us and a very reasonable price, so did not run up large bills. The shows were excellent. All in all a really good ship for the money if you can get a promotional offer, and singles at some times with no supplement.

We travelled the first time with MSC Splendida this April, we throughly enjoyed the whole experience! Before the cruise we've looked up other cruise reviews and critics, which included quite a few bad comments about the MSC cruise line, but to our surprise MSC Splendida was the best value for money. This was definitely family oriented crusie ship, children and parents are their priorities; travelled during Easter break there were a lot of children activities and games for the kids. Even on the last evening show, there were performance by the children, which was great!! The food and beverages were excellent, with 7 course meals every evening and delicious Italian desserts, with my personal favourite large scoops of Italian ice-cream, what more do you want! We bought drink packages beforehand which was a good recommendation as it helped to save a lot with our budget. The only down side was I would prefered the evening show to be a bit longer, rather than 40 minutes and some cases only 30 minutes long! However MSC Splendida was a beautiful, clean and modern ship with lots to offer for all age groups!!