MSC Orchestra

We had a 7 day cruise on the MSC Orchestra from Valencia on 29th November 2025. We are experienced cruisers having had 20 cruises in all, but this was by far the WORST cruise that we have ever been on. The embarkation process was shambolic with my daughter being refused boarding because they said her Spanish green residencia certificate was not acceptable, even though she had a new British passport. She was treated abominably in an uncaring and off handed manner by the MSC security staff who obviously couldn't care less. Our balcony cabin was the smallest that we have ever had and it had not been cleaned properly, the bathroom mirror was dirty and the bedside cabinets had ring marks on them. The carpet needed steam cleaning as it showed evidence of unknown 'accidents' in several places. There was white paint splashed over the balcony furniture. There were no towels in the bathroom so we had to use the pool towels on the first morning. There were no tissues or sanitary disposal bags supplied. We were unable to dine on our own so had to join a table for 8. The food in the main dining room was poor. Very little choice, very small portions and generally poor quality. The table service was poor and the staff were indifferent. The buffet was no better, hygiene in the buffet was poor with few people using the sanitizer stations and everyone using the tongs to serve themselves food. Ordinarily a buffet was identical on both sides but not on the Orchestra. A complete circuit was needed to see all that was on offer. Pizzas and pasta were fine as were fruit and salad. Other than that it was poor quality and bland. I believe that a piece of Salmon that I ate gave me severe gastric problems later that night and the following day. Shore excursions were very expensive but if you wanted to go ashore we had to purchase shuttle bus tickets which cost up to 14€ each! They seemed to berth the ship on the very edge of the ports (probably cheaper) and it could be a 20 minute bus ride to the port gates where we were dropped off. We were not given any advice as to where the town was, which direction to take, what were the highlights of each town. If you didn't pay they were not interested. Entertainment was poor and dreary and every night the various shops on board would drag out large tables filled with their plastic handbags and accessories to sell to the passengers. Where they positioned these tables in the Savanna bar, obscured the view of the stage area for those passengers sat near the bar. They were there for hours. Whilst some staff were pleasant and helpful, many were indifferent or surly. Maybe because the tipping was mandatory and paid before boarding. A very bad experience for us and we will never use MSC again !!

We had a great cruise and we were very impressed with the organisation of the transfers done by iglu. Would highly recommend booking with them.

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.

We travelled from 12 June for a Med cruise for 1 week. Having read the reviews previously written, we were dubious about our choice. However, we had a great time. We had a balcony room on deck 11 and found this to be ideally located. The cabin was extremely comfortable and had everything we needed. Our cleanerDenzil was very thorough and was always asking if there was anything we needed. The food was very good and there was an extensive choice. The entertainment was of West End standard. We went every evening and really enjoyed the shows. The staff are very attentive and the daily excursions were extremely well organised. If we have one criticism it would be related to the disembarkation. We had to vacate the ship by 11.00am and our coach was not due to pick us up for the airport until 3.00pm. If we had not got the earlier transfer, we would have been left at the port with nothing to do for 4 hours. Overall though a great cruise that we would thoroughly recommend. We always give an honest review of our holidays and can only provide our opinion. Whilst some of the previous reviews may be negative. We feel, based on our experience, these are unjustified. We are already looking for our next cruise and would certainly consider MSC again. Gary and Clare - Lincolnshire UK