Western Med Cruise on A New Ship

Item: MSC Bellissima
Rating: 4.3
Author: fgallope

MSC Bellissima Cruise Review to Europe - Western Mediterranean

fgallope

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 99

Overall rating:

4.3 out of 5

2 Night Mediterranean (Barcelona To Genoa)

Sail date: May 24, 2019

Ship: MSC Bellissima

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 10008

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 4 years ago

Review summary

Overall it was a fun ship and I would cruise on the Bellissma again. I would try the Yacht club next time to have a more private and refined experience.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Embarkation in Barcelona was a breeze. No issues.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

The buffet was standard fare for MSC. Palatable and good selection but nothing to write home about. The main dining restaurant had an interesting selection of culinary type entrees but were Weight Watcher sized portions - probably no more than 350 calories.. Same selection of breads every night became boring so by the 7th dinner I skipped them completely. Standard Cabin service breakfast was continental style. Also got boring by the 3rd day. I actually did not gain any weight on this cruise - draw your own conclusions.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

The best thing going on the ship is the Thermal Spa - outstanding! I did not participate on other activities such as pools, water slides and rope course but others in my party did and said they had fun.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

I only went to the two Cirque shows (pre-booked) and can only comment on those - in a word - disappointing! I've seen many a Cirque show in Vegas and other venues - these were not of Cirque quality by any measure - performers were like apprentices analogous to farm teams in baseball.

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

Staff was pleasant and we had no issues.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

Layout of the ship is fine. The central galleria with the LED light ceiling was great. Was a bit disappointed in the top outside decks - no real areas to enjoy views of the water and ports. I was on the MSC Lirica last year (a third of the size by tonnage) and I really enjoyed that layout.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

The layout was good and had plenty of closet space. We had the angled balcony and it was huge!! The whirlpool bath was great as well. BEWARE HOWEVER - The balcony is forward facing is for all practical purposes unusable when the ship is cruising - much too windy. In fact, it was so windy while steaming that the whirlpool tub lost a lot water by the 4th day because of the wind. It shut down due to low water level. I figured out how to refill it but it did not warm up again for 24 hours.