A TERRIBLE CRUISE
MSC Lirica Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western
Contributor Level:
Deck Hand
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 4
Helpful Votes: 53
Sail date: January 01, 2008
Ship: MSC Lirica
Cabin type: Oceanview
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 14 years ago
Review summary
We arrived at the pier in Port Everglades around 1130 A.M. on the day of sailing (1/19/08). We gave our bags to a porter and then we couldn't find anybody to tell us where to get a wheelchair or where to check in. After 10-15 minutes, we located a woman who got us a wheelchair and we were taken inside the terminal building. We then had to wait about 25 minutes before we could check in. Check-in was quick and we were taken aboard and to our cabin. We were also told that we could keep our cruise card as a souvenir. The library, which had about 3 dozen paperback books was only open about 4 hours a day.The times that it was closed, it was padlocked. There were no board games or playing cards in the library. Playing cards had to be checked out from the reception desk and had to be returned or you would be charged for them. There are no religious services aboard this ship. The bank on this ship was only open a few hours a day, so it was difficult to get small bills before going ashore.Also the bank charges 3% commission on cashing travelers checques and also on credit card advances. We ate dinner in the restaurant on deck 5. The waiter and assistant waiter were very slow to provide service. We had to wait long for drink refills and between courses. Maybe our waiter had too many tables. He had 5. The food in the dining room was ok for the most part. The ribeye steak on night was over 50% fat and the lobster was terrible. In our last port, we took a tour called"Sights of Samana". This was a waste of time and money. We met in the lounge on deck 5 on the ship. Then the ships's tour guide took the people down the steps to the tender. I was pushing a wheelchair with my wife in it and NOBODY told us where to go. We found the elevator and went down to deck 4 to get on the tender. No allowance was made for seating for people with walking difficulties on the tender.When we got to the bus, I asked the ship's tour guide if my wife could sit in a front seat and he replied yes. However, all the front seats were taken. On the tour, the whale museum was ok but that was all. The local tour guide had to say everything in English and German which should not be for the amount of money that the tour costs. We made a short stop for shopping and then we went to the town of Las Terrenas where the bus parked on the beach. Neither the bus driver nor the tour guide knew the name of the beach. We NEVER saw La Churcha which is the description of the tour. When we arrived back at the pier, I noticed some vendors were there. When we got off the bus, the ship's tour guide told us we could not sop that we had to go right back to the ship. When we arrived back at Port Everglades on 1/29/08. we had to turn in our cruise cards. We have taken 37 cruises and we NEVER had to turn in our cruise cards. We have 36 cruise cards from our previous cruises and none from this cruise. I guess this wasn't a cruise after all. The only brigh spot was Anto from the breakfast and lunch buffet. Whenever, my wife would arrive there, he would find us a table and get us our drinks. My name is Gerald W. Ault Sr. and my email address is FLYINGSAILOR5473@YAHOO.COM. If anybody has a question about this cruise, I will be glad to reply. I sent an email to MSC Cruises with 18 items to improve on and I also sent them a letter. I never received any response from them. That tells me that MSC Cruises doesn't care about customer satisfaction..Pros: SERVICE IN THE BUFFET
Cons: ALMOST EVERYTHING
1 Comment
Gwbigdog 2 years ago