MSC Bellissima is a fabulous ship with great customer service and lots to do. We visited wonderful ports and had excellent excursions in each port. Seeing the Middle East on this ship was an incredible experience. The one and only downside was the dining room food, which left much to be desired.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
We were able to board whenever we wanted to do on embarkation day and there was zero line. We got our cabin key cards and walked right on the ship.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
The food was the only negative part of the cruise. The buffet was quite good actually, but the food in the dining room was HORRIBLE. The meal selection was very odd and not to our tastes in any way. Even the desserts were awful. We ended up eating half of our dinners in the buffet, which we really do not like to do.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
The pools were lovely and not terribly crowded on sea days with plenty of chairs for everyone. We loved the water slides!
Entertainment
We do not like to attend entertainment on any ship, so we did not on this ship either.
Children's Programs
My son prefers to stay with the family.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Our cabin steward and dining room wait staff were all very attentive and friendly.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The MSC Bellissima is the most beautiful ship we have been on (and we've been on many, many ships). It is gorgeous, well laid out, and has plenty of fast elevators.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
The cabin size, comfort, and cleanliness were all top notch. The problem we had is that there were zero drawers, two shelves, and only 10 hangers. For a 14 night cruise with two people, that is simply not enough storage space. There was a large "dead space" next to the closet, so we ended up piling our clothes on the floor. Not ideal!
Ship tip
Eat a meal at the Butcher's Cut - it is delicious!
We loved Dubai and will go back someday. It is full of architectural wonders, kind people, and tons to do. We loved people watching at the Dubai Mall, going to the top of Burj Khalifa, visiting the marina, and pretty much everything about the city. We also did the dinner in the dunes excursion. The roller-coaster ride over the dunes was thrilling (and a bit scary) and the meal in the desert was delicious.
We did a city tour including the Grand Mosque, which is beautiful. We saw the Sheik's palace. Note that women need to cover their head, and wear both long pants and long sleeves. In the afternoon we went to Ferrari World (spend the money for their "fast pass" - it's totally worth the cost), where we rode the fastest roller coaster in the world and the roller coaster with the highest loop in the world.
Meh. We did a safari excursion, which was really just a 60 minute drive through a park with a wide variety of antelope and birds. Granted we have been on a real safari in Africa, so the bar was quite high for us. But, the ride was not long and there wasn't a whole lot to see. The beach seemed nice, but we didn't stay after the excursion - we went back to the ship.
We did a city tour and it was lovely. Muscat is a beautiful city that looks nothing like the others we visited. We visited the Sultan's palace, grand mosque, opera house, and the souk.
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