MSC Cruises

23 Nov 2019

Thank you to Iglu for arranging our booking as this was our first cruise we feel that going with MSC was a good choice for us. The Cabin was spacious and was clean. The ship was only 2 years old. The sofa in the cabin did look worn, but this did not put us off. There were lots of activities and entertainment throughout the day. There were quite a few restaurants to choose from, thought that the speciality restaurants were over priced. Chose not to eat in any of them. It appears that this ship was all about making money and did not offer much back considering what you spend on the cruise. I am disappointed in the lack of creativity and food available for Vegans and vegetarian. As I'm Vegan MSC do need to make more provisions to cater more options. The focus is all on the meats and you can get this in abundance. They told me that they ran out of vegetarian burgers, they ran out of bananas, they ran out of the cereal which is similar to harvest crunch. This is clearly not managed well. Overall we enjoyed this cruise and the iternary was on point. I was pleased to be told we were going to Jamaica instead of the cay man islands. They did return back to us $50. For the inconvenience so was pleased with that. As this was my first cruise I will be looking out to travel on other ships to compare my favourite. I have enjoyed the experience and will be looking forward to the next one.

22 Sep 2019

Lovely ship, spotlessly clean as cleaning seemed to go on all day which was good. Staff exceptionally nice albeit some were overworked especially at the bar areas which also dealt with soft drinks and ice cream. Food mostly excellent but self service restaurant sometimes was a hit and miss. Customer Help Desk could really be more helpful and you have to press them if you have an important issue. Irritating when you ask a young member of staff onboard a question and you get back an enormous smile instead of an answer since not all can speak English.The theatre was a beautiful and attractive one just as you would expect, and the acts were fabulous. Looked forward every evening to this. All in all a lovely cruise but not sure if it was value for money.

04 Jul 2017

Initially we chose this cruise to fit in with holiday availability of family members - and certainly had some trepidation given some of the reviews. We need not have worried. Simply put this was a great cruise - if you are looking for a Mediterranean style cruise in the Med. If you are looking for a British cruise experience in the Med, then you will no doubt be critical, but this is not P&O nor Cunard....it is MSC, and it suited us perfectly. We wanted Mediterranean food on board - and that is what we got - pasta, risotto, pizza and plenty of other choice. We had a Suite Cabin, on Deck 15, top accommodation level, with Aurea experience, providing reserved sun deck area over two decks outside and above the cabin. The Aurea experience meant we ate in the Ibiscus restaurant on anytime dining, where the staff were excellent - Maria and Pante ensuring we were warmly welcomed and looked after. The evening meals might appear to some as being somewhat small in quantity, but it was good and tasty, though not always as hot as we might normally expect (but I always reflect that in Masterchef the food is always served and tasted cold:)) Breakfast was fun.... a bit of a bun fight in terms of finding somewhere to sit in the buffet, but the food was good, varied plentiful. The main sundeck was a family oriented affair, with plenty of loungers, small pools, and Jacuzzis, with entertainment almost non-stop - with music always on... very Mediterranean, it was bustling and noisy - may not be to everyone's taste - but we had the refuge of the Aurea reserved areas so did not avail ourselves of this, seemingly madhouse. Service was always attentive, and polite, more so than I perhaps expected. Good drinks, with our package giving us free non-premium drinks, which were quite plentiful, and varied. Prices for premium was ok. If you are expecting P&O style entertainment then you will be disappointed - but what we say was good - an abridged song & dance version based on Grease. Good fun. All announcements are made in a multitude of languages - and the obligatory safety drill was well done, as was the disembarkation briefing. There were no Captain's updates that we heard, but there were almost daily crew exercises that could be quite noisy in terms of tannoy volume. TV - didn't use it other than checking the bill - but understand it has limited choice if you are expecting British entertainment - but hey we were on holiday and not wanting to watch TV. Food was available in the buffet 20 hours a day - and good it was too - particularly a late night Pizza slice... great pizza with good choice. Evening meals don't start until 7pm in the formal restaurants - reflecting the Mediterranean style of not eating until later than we are used to in the UK. For cabin review see below. Itinerary was great - we board at Rome, and enjoyed all our ports of call - where we had plenty of time. Tender was done well at Cannes. We enjoyed a complimentary Balinese massage as part of the Aurea experience, which was fine, and we also enjoyed the Sauna/Steam Rooms - though the inside Jacuzzi was a bit cool for indoors.... 37C. Note that smoking is permitted in more places than you might normally expect on P&O cruise - part of the Casino, a Cigar Room, and also part of the sun deck - one half of one side. There were plenty of bars, some quite gaudy, which we enjoyed rather than dull greys. If anything I would say that the restaurant choice was somewhat limited compared to other cruise experiences, particularly given the number of passengers - there was one speciality Asian restaurant - which we did not try. Other than that you are in your main restaurant, and the buffet. Formal nights - there were two - were remarkably informal - I think I saw one dinner suit. Certainly most people dressed smarter, but not DJs and tuxes... that suited us.. (excuse the pun...) There was very little hard selling - sure they took your photo, but no hassle. Overall the ship was a very happy ship - with a much broader mix of people - plenty of childen, younger couples, and actually fewer older people than say compared to a P&O cruise. In summary - we would definitely cruise with MSC again - we saw their new ship Megaviglia moored next to us at Genoa - wow it looked fantastic. A happy cruise line, unpretentious, and easy to like, particularly if you are want to relax and not worry about formality. We would look to the Aurea experience as a minimum, just so we could have some quiet/privacy outside of the cabin on the sun decks. We were a family of four - including our two adult children who had an identical cabin three doors away.

07 Oct 2018

Food, cabin, and staff were excellent. The whole cruise was well organised and MSC are experts in their field. However we didn't appreciate that English speaking passengers would be iin the minority. I believe 81 out of 2500 passengers and of course the entertainment was quite rightly geared very much to the Italian market. This had a big impact on our holiday and I would ensure we book an English speaking cruise going forward.

21 Sep 2019

Well....what can I say? This has had to be the most amazing holiday that we have had so far (and we have had hundreds) there is absolutely nothing to fault on this ship, we are now actively looking for our next cruise next year.....we are officially hooked. Thank you.x

27 Oct 2019

I've travelled on MSC ships twice in the last 4 weeks there is always a party atmosphere to these cruises. The one thing that puts me off choosing their ships in the future is the smoking policy. In this day and age to allow smoking in the casino when the smoke drifts into other areas of the ship and the lifts is not very customer focus. Management gave the impression of whatever!!!!!

28 Oct 2019

This was my first cruise and my wife’s second, and was for our honeymoon. We had a Bella outside cabin on the 5th deck. The room was larger than expected and was well set out. The TV had no English language channels, and films cost $8 each. The view was nice from the room. We were told everything was included with our booking, so it was an unwelcome surprise to get a $12.50 per day service charge each. We had the easy drinks package, but were unable to upgrade as we had prepaid when purchasing the cruise. The programme of day activities was not particularly full or appealing, especially on at sea days, and so more time was spent in the cabin than anticipated. The descriptions were misleading in some cases. “Romeo and Juliet” was more of a competition game show style event. Entertaining, but not what was expected. The ports of call were interesting (Nagasaki, Busan) and reading other reviews we were fortunate to have a free shuttle to town in Busan. Excursions seemed well over priced. Prior planning enabled us to do similar at a fraction of the cost. An at sea tour of the off limits areas of the ship sounded interesting, but not at $50 per person. The food was ok, but not a fine dining standard. The waiters were nice. The performances were really good, but didn’t make up the lack of other entertainment throughout the day. Everything was presented in English, Japanese and Chinese. It felt like the cruise was geared towards the Japanese guests. There were some language barriers. The ship was visibly, frequently cleaned. I forgot to pack toothpaste. That cost me $12.50 from the onboard shop which seemed expensive. MSC haven’t done enough to convince me to return. Too little to do at sea, and too costly unexpectedly which soured the experience for me.

31 Oct 2019

My wife and I were given cabin 8271 on deck 8. The cabin was directly above the Safari Lounge the MSC Preziosa;s night club. The base or bass resonated around the cabin and caused the floor to vibrate. This started at 19:00 hours and continued into early morning. After two days of complaints nothing had been done even though many members of the guest staff had promised action. Eventually after issuing a verbal warning that we intended to disembark at the next port they gave us cabin 10213 on deck 10 to sleep in. I have stuck bigger postage stamps on envelopes than this room. We ended up with 2 cruise cards 1 for each room and this meant that one of us was locked out without a key of own to gain access. We were not told of the problems with cabin 8271 nor could it be determined from their brochure deck plan. It was a shambles and left us with a spoilt holiday and not an iota of compensation in any form.

17 Mar 2019

Lovely smaller ship, great crew, nice food, good entertainment, nice cabin

17 Dec 2019

was on the bellissima lovely ship but make sure you are able to see deck plan before you book I wasn,t and the agent pick my room it must have been the worst room on ship under buffet restaurant never slept for the whole week When I complaint on ship was subsidise with 100euros since then I have been intouch with agent and msc complaints no joy Be aware !!!!

08 Jul 2019

The ship was far too busy and not enough beds when we were the day at sea. Shower curtains in the toilet are old fashioned and the carpet edges had never been hoovered. I could feel the bobbly mattress protector through the sheets. The ships bars and restaurants were very nice and decadent and we always received great service. I reported things being stolen off my subbed and the receptionist just said fill out a lost property form and made out it was my fault for leaving the stuff on the bed, even though The majority of passengers left their stuff on the sun beds. The service at times was slow at the bars but again it was just far too busy. I have been on better class of ships before.

06 Aug 2019

I have travelled on this ship before, however the customer service is not has good as it used to be. Also the choice of food in the restaurant is not very good and when there is a formal night, no choice at all, not good if you have allergies, or vegetarian etc. The room was clean and comfy, and the countries we visited, lovely, however I am not too sure if I will be using MSC again.

05 Sep 2019

The ship is lovely and clean and the staff are very pleasant and always happy to help you with anything. The shows in the night time were amazing, and the dining room meals were lovely.

21 Sep 2019

First time with MSC and a good experience. Food choice was good but limited in contrast to other ships. Bar waiter service was poor, average wait when drinks ordered via waiter was 15-20 mins and table clearance was poor compared to other cruise ships. Entertainment was very good. Cabins very good. Overall a good experience though.

23 Sep 2019

We have just returned from a week cruise on MSC Divina, in a yacht club suite. So here are a few bits and pieces you may need to give a clear insight into what to expect. Boarding will consist of you going to a cordoned off part of the terminal, where you will be given drinks, choose a morning paper for the coming week, and await your butler to accompany you onto the ship. Our butler had gone missing, so we had another to stand in. You are taken straight to the yacht club area, and given a brief chat, before the spa sales team arrive with a price list and receipt book, the latter she began to fill in as my wife scanned the prices. You are then shown to your cabin / suite, which is almost identical to a balcony cabin on Celebrity, but with slightly plusher décor. Again it should be your butler, but ours was still missing. Your baggage will be waiting for you at this point. You get a mini bar in the cabin, that is allegedly topped up with your requested drinks. This is not so. You get topped up with the same as is in it, and any request for anything different, is met with "ring room service if you want a drink" Didn't bother me, as I don't drink, but was not what we had been told to expect. We then met our butler (Audrey, male) who asked what time we were eating, as it his job to escort us there on the first night to show us the best route, as the restaurant is at the aft of the ship. We agreed to meet in Concierge at 18:55. He didn't arrive, so we made our own way. wasn't far, about 300 metres. The restaurant is pleasant, but the table cloths are to long, and if you don't sweep them up when sitting down, you will pull the crockery off the table with your leg. The wine choice is basic, and you get what they have at the time. Not a problem for me, but the wife was a bit miffed. There were not many choices on the menu each night, but I always found something, however the portions were very small, and accompaniment's were a little scarce. The steak option was just that. a plate of steak, absolutely nothing else. not a veggie or chip to be seen. Concierge reviews suggest that they will go out of their way to help you. No they wont. Requests to see the head butler were met with " he'll be 30 minutes" 3 times on the trot. A request regarding information of a place of interest and any helpful info was met with "get a taxi" If you plan on them helping you to arrange your own excursion, forget it. The top sail lounge is nice, very quiet all of the time, night and day, but the service is excellent. The pool and bar are good. Service is good, as is the food. Two points of note up here. There is very little shade and no umbrellas. If you like heat great, if you like a bit of shade you may have a bit of a shock. Secondly, the pool attendants seem to be allergic to glasses and plates. It is not uncommon for them to ignore an empty glass even if they have to step over it. Not a major issue, as most members of the YC have enough manners to not leave glasses on the floor, but just be aware it can happen, so watch were your walking. You can enter the pool area from the outside decks through a gate. Be aware that some people will hang around and wait for you to open the gate with your card and follow you in to get free drinks. The crew know this, but whilst they are prepared to moan at you for letting them in, they wont put someone there to stop it happening. Your drinks package is sold as "complementary throughout the ship" No, not true. One of the cocktail bars drinks start at 12.50 Euro and apparently, your package only covers up to 10. I pointed out that this was not what the web site said, and produced the web page. The ships bar manager said that although that is what they tell you, the crew are told differently, thus you have to pay. You only have a classic package for your cruise. Finally the butler. Other than hide, I'm not sure what mine did. I was due to meet him twice, once he no-showed, once he was late. He didn't do anything at all of any use. To be honest, I think it is a gimmick. They did have 2 guarding the seats in the theatre, but general crew are perfectly capable of doing that. So overall. The ship is very nice. Well laid out with plenty of bars. Entertainment is average. The theatre shows are ok, but an Italian classical singer singing AC/DC was a bit hard to take. The other entertainers and bands were very average, with no interaction at all. Possible due to the amount of different languages on board. Service is slow outside of the YC, but very good inside. Food is ok. I wasn't overly impressed, but my wife liked it, so make of that what you will. Is the cost of the YC worth it? If you want peace and quiet, and a guaranteed sun bed away from the masses, yes. If your happy to mix it with everyone else. then no, save your money and go on another cruise with your change.

20 Sep 2019

The cruise was excellent it was all the hassle before we even started. Got a phone the Tuesday before we went on the Friday to say that u had messed up our return flights so had to stay overnight in Venice. Not got a problem with that . We finally got our tickets late Wednesday afternoon. After looking threw them u had only sent me a transfer voucher to the airport not to the hotel. So once again I rangup to get this sorted. Arrived in port in Venice,at the end of the holiday only to have the taxi leave us at the port.Had to pay out 40 euros to get to our hotel as the taxi firm said they had been waiting one hour for us.