Overall the cruise was a lovely experience and exactly what we wanted and expected. We met lovely people on our dinner table and that made it fun. We would cruise with MSC again but would prefer to arrange our own flights.......we were not impressed at all how this was handled by BA. We have been on other cruiselines and this one compared well with the others we have done. Take the drinks package its certainly worth it. The photographers are a bit of a pain at times, especially at dinner time. MSC needs also to think about how it does the 'lifeboat drill' for joining passengers as we were held up for dinner till 10pm on two nights and were not warned about this until it was too late.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Embarkation was very straight forward. No waiting about straight through the airport and staff all along the way to guide you. Luggage labelled and sent on its way straight onto a bus and off to the port. Very efficient.
At the port it was straight on to the ship and register at the customer services. Our luggage arrived very quickly and we were able to get something to eat immediately after our long journey.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
If we were disappointed with anything it was the food. There was plenty available at all times of day but in the main dining room the evening meal was a little small in portion size and not very exciting. Plenty of choice for each course. Waiters we had were lovely and so helpful. Service was a little slow at times but the food was always hot when it arrived. In two weeks the menu different every day.
The buffet food was plentiful and of course you could have as much or as many different foods as you wanted. Always available pizza, pasta, salad, fruit etc. Very much same every day though.
El Sombrero Tex Mex
5 out of 5
We only had one meal here but it was lovely. The food was generous portion size and well cooked. Service a little slow. The singers were excellent and it wasn't that expensive.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
The only activities we used were the pools.....excellent....
F1 Simulator.......great fun.....
Table Tennis.....
Water slide...great fun!
Aqua Park
4 out of 5
This area got very busy at times but the pool had lovely features. 'Water Falls'
and fountains. Plenty of seating the only day we had a problem was when it rained heavily for about 20mins. The staff did not seem to be able to clear the water and the whole area was awash for a while. Under the covered area it gets very warm at times. The slide was great fun.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
We only went to one show, not really our thing.
All bars had music of one sort or another, enjoyable but nothing amazing. Lacking a little in dancing areas. There was something in the Aqua park always and the staff seemed to enjoy their job but again not really our thing.
Children's Programs
Didnt have any children with us
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Could not fault any of the staff. All very helpful and efficient. Now and again lacking a smile and sometimes lacking in politeness and courtesy but we could not decide it this was a language difficulty. We felt that some travellers did not treat the staff with respect also. We found that anything we asked for was found!!
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
No problems here. All areas seemed to be clean at all times. (except the day it rained). Always a staff member cleaning, tidying or painting.
Like all ships it took a while to work out the way around. Some areas better than others. Dining room a little tired in decor and could do with a makeover.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Impressed with size and layout of cabin. Plenty of storage space and good lighting. The bathroom was big enough with a good hot shower and again plenty of storage. Bed was extremely comfortable. Cleanliness was very good room was serviced regularly . Balcony was a generous size with a table and two chairs, very comfortable to sit on.
Ship tip
Try the formal dining room breakfast and lunch, much better than the buffet. Good menu choice mixed with buffet and waiter service means you can eat together and you get to meet other passengers and exchange ideas and tips.
Port was ok but ship a long way from anything so you need an excursion or a cab. We walked to the duty free and on to the fish market but that was all.....didn't seem to be much in the port itself.
We did a tour excursion. It was very interesting. Possible to get off and walk or to find a cab at the port.
Plenty to see. We had a very pleasant guide. We went to many viewing points, she told us about the island and its history and plants and everything. We visited the Botanic gardens, a beach area very entertaining here with music and local dancers. A good place to sample local food as well.
Loved Grenada. We went to the waterfalls, fun to see the guys jumping. Visited a distillery and tasted the rum.
Had an excellent tour that we booked privately (AJMEDDY). Again you could just pick up a tour in the port when you get ashore, worth getting a tour and seeing some of the lovely scenery on this island.
We visited here twice. First time we went to a beach on a water taxi and spent some time there. It was nice but there wasn't much there. Just a beach and a small restaurant. The second time we had a walk around the town. This was interesting and there were plenty of shops and things to see.
Again we visited twice.
First visit we walked into town and back on to ship very quickly. It seemed dirty and again there were shops selling the same products.
Second visit was better, we booked an excursion to a beach and had a fun time there. We also go to see some of the island. Market at the beach was about the best we saw with some good fabrics and other goods.
The beach and sea were lovely.
St Vincent is worth a visit. We had an excursion to the waterfalls which was a long way but it did mean we saw a lot of the island. We picked this excursion up on the dock. It was a reasonable price and the driver spoke good English and knew his stuff. We really enjoyed this trip it gave us an excellent taste of the island.
Antigua was very interesting. We visited Shirley Heights and Nelsons Dockyard. The excursion we had was included in our package some others we met had just got a tour on the dockside and they saw all we saw.
The quay here is full of jewellers and other shops just a short walk from the ship. This island seemed very clean and well used to visitors. Again the driver was very informative....
This was one of our favourite ports. We visited here three times. We did the town on the quayside which is lovely and very lively. We ate in the food court and did some shopping (best of the islands for this). We also took a tour to the beach and spent a few hours there. We had some food at the beach which was very reasonable in price and was extremely tasty. This was a very clean island and we saw quite a lot of it on the way to the beach.
Not as good as the embarkation. We had a long queue to do the immigration in the morning and then we found it was a long wait for the bus to the airport. While waiting the lounge we were in had no food or drink available. There were a lot of people in a small bar.
Once off the ship we had a bus to the airport which had very little room for hand luggage.
At the airport it was straightforward. Our luggage was all lined up ready to collect. The only problem was with the airline.....not directly an MSC problem but we had British Airways flights and this would put me off another MSC cruise the way it was all handled on the flights. Others we spoke to had similar issues.
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