The ship is stunning and the itinerary was great. MSC is a cruise line that is missing key ingredients in the activities department with it catering in the main for those wanting to dance. It also lacked ability in creating an atmosphere of fun. It was value for money (cruise itself) and we added the premium plus drinks package which we also got our value from. We loved our excursions (booked separately and not with MSC) and are cruising with MSC again in March around carribean on the Preziosa (was already booked before we did this cruise) so hoping that the sun will make a difference and give MSC another chance to wow us. But so far that's not been the case, although we did have a great time overall.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
Waited around an hour or so to get on ship.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Dining room food was very poor indeed and at times the meat dishes were inedible, so much so we ate there just 5 times over 14 nights and x3 were awful. But speciality restaurants were great, especially ocean cay. Buffet was good and pizza fabulous.
Onboard Activities
1 out of 5
Literally unless you want to do a dance class or play kids games there was Nothing to do. Quizzes were OK but few and far between and hard to get a spot to be able to join in. Did the F1 car, OK but expensive for time you get. Used indoor pool and hot tubs and loved this area, but would have benefitted from music to give it an atmosphere.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Great shows from the house entertainment team, singers were fabulous. Pino and violin in wine bars was annoying for our taste and as a result never really used those bars. Pub singer was good, Cirque Du Soleil viaggo was a great show, and we were very lucky not to have had ours cancelled as know majority of shows were.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
It was hit and miss to begin with we were a bit worried first couple of days as staff seemed to be at times rude and dismissive. But definitely improved. Our room steward was amazing.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Smelt at times of sewage which thankfully stayed in shower and corridor outside our room
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Very happy indeed with the cabin and its location on ship (5087)
Ship tip
Leave getting off ship until last minute to avoid queues.
Day before when we arrived in NYC it was horrific and 6 hours waiting around, 2 of them in a queue in immigration as they just were not prepared for 5000 people at all. Poorly communicated by MSC as spent whole day waiting to hear our number to give us go ahead to disembark only to the wait in 2 hour line to be dealt with. No toilets or refreshments. And those with mobility issues not catered for well enough just was not good enough. Quite straight forward on last day, but there were other times we had long waits to get off and back on the ship.
Thanks for that review. I feel the same we did msc seaside last year was so boring entertainment. Beautiful ship but boring. Compare Royal Caribbean Harmony of the seas. It was non stop music bands never a dull moment.
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