Italy & Greece from Venice, 2 May 2021 (7 nights)

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.

10 May 2017

Cruised out of Venice 15th April 2017 to Bari, Katakolon, Mykanos, Athens, Sarande, Dubrovnik and back to Venice. So we are 1st time cruisers, nobody warned us how tedious embarkation was, 90 mins before we got on the ship. Once on the ship we were herded towards tables selling their wares - we already had a drinks package, but still they tried to get you to sign up for more. Then sent to the buffet which was horrendously crowded - lots of food choices. Then to the cabin, which was lovely, very clean, as was the whole ship. Given 2nd sitting for dinner which was 9pm , too late for me, food was pretty poor too - very disappointed all week. Disappointed with drinks package - I have drunk some pretty cheap red wine in my time but ended up drinking the white all week. 1 choice of red -WHAT! Bari was ok but to be fair to Bari - it was Easter sunday. Katakolon was good -managed to get the train up to Olympia - they change their departure times according to the cruise ships - found the most wonderful cafe in Olympia - La belle Helene - fantastic Mousakka and best greek salad I have ever had. Food highlight of my holiday! Mykanos very pretty but docked there for ages. Athens - we docked at 7am and had to be back on board by 2pm - so much to see and do in Athens but nowhere near enough time. Sarande got cancelled due to bad weather. Dubrovnik was stunning but again not enough time to enjoy it properly. Didn't find this cruise very relaxing at all - had to watch the clock all the time. Final straw was being kicked out of the cabin at 8am on disembarkation day and they wanted to take us to the airport at 9am - flight not til 3.30. Cancelled the transfer and made our way into Venice and made our own way to the airport, easy on the bus. Could do a lot better MSC.

21 Nov 2014

Just back from a 9 day cruise to the Med. The Poesia was a lovely ship but was let down by quite a few things. The buffet food was always only luke warm even if it had only just been put out. There was no choice of hot snacks at night except pizza. The restaurant changed it's breakfast times two days before the end of the cruise, causing us both to miss breakfast. The hair dresser charged almost double on a gala night, without doing anything different, or telling you in advance. Was not told that the whole of the casino would be a smoking room, this caused me a lot of problems, being a non smoker. Not sure I would cruise with MSC again. 

14 May 2011

My cruise to the Carribean and Mediterranean with MSC Cruises was my first experience of a cruise and as a solo traveller I was quite apprehensive. The whole cruise was coordinated very well from arriving at the airport to getting on the ship. My cabin was excellent. The food and entertainment was of exceptionally high standard and service. The excursions were of good value and this holiday was really a holiday of a lifetime. It was my 4Oth birthday as well, which the ship made very memorable. All in all for my first experience of a cruise I have already recommended to others and cant wait to go again.

25 Mar 2011

My friend and I have just returned from a very enjoyable cruise in the MSC Poesia. The ship is beautiful, very clean and very quiet. Could not fault the cabin and cleaning staff. The food was very good and a great improvement on our last trip with MSC. The pool area was lovely if a little noisy at times. Evening entertainment was generally good but entertainment in some of the public areas could have been better. The inclusion of Opera singers was a great hit with everyone and added a lot to the enjoyment. Organisation was extremely good with no hiccups on embarkation or dis-embarcation. On the downside though, some of the additional charges on board were unacceptable. A 12 dollar a day added for service was cancelled by many of the cruisers we spoke to, who wanted to tip personnel themselves although we were told it was against company policy to do this. Also the 15% surcharge on already expensive drinks in the bars was excessive. The biggest problem we had though was in receiving no information atall about ports we were visiting. There were no maps and no information regarding transfer costs from the port. On two occasions we used a shuttle bus provided by MSC but found it took us literally from one side of the port to the other and we still had a fair distance to go to reach the places of interest. The journey time was 5 minutes and we were charged 11 dollars, the flyer had said it was a twenty minute journey. These little things caused a lot of comment amongst everyone on board and spoilt the mood somewhat. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the holiday but I felt that it did not have such a friendly feel as some others I have been on. They do offer good value for money and obviously have to make it up in other ways. It has not put me off travelling with them again.