Relaxing cruise despite the issues

Directions on how to drop off bags and park were not well marked. We were given an embarkation time and were in line and then all of a sudden all the agents start disappearing and the check in comes to a halt. 40 minutes later the check in process resumes with no explanation. During online check in they recommend uploading your picture which we did but then they retook it again taking additional time. Their wifi also was unreliable and the agent had to take the tablet close to the wifi extender to complete the check in. While I know that MSC does not have any control over it one would think that the number of passengers that come through the terminal on a weekly basis they would be able to upgrade their systems.

Main dining room - first night was a nightmare, over 2 hours to get through service. Wait staff was not personable at all, didn't introduce themselves, ask our names or allergies. On other cruise lines such as Carnival and Royal Caribbean the staff will introduce themselves, then ask your name and take note of that and any allergies and address you by name each time you are seated. Our waiter did not understand that I was allergic to shellfish so on gala night he wanted to put the lobster on my plate and let me give it to my husband. It took several attempts to get him to understand that the lobster could not go on my plate. The food was good, especially the prime rib. There were times where the menu detailed certain things such as the type of potato or pasta and you got something totally different. They seemed to run out of wine glasses and several times my husband got his red wine in a champagne flute, they did refill it to make up for the volume difference. Buffet - breakfast - a total disaster - coffee with no cups, cups with no coffee. Cereal with no bowls or milk, passengers were putting their cereal on plates instead of doing laps around to all the stations to locate a bowl or milk. They did run out of milk cartons on like day 4. To get a cohesive meal you had to take several laps around the stations. Food was typically cold, they didn't replace food as you would see on other lines where they would take the new food and swap it out with what was on the line. The french toast sat on a counter until the last one was taken and then then the next pan was placed which was cold by then. The worst thing I saw happened on debarkation day - I had a vantage point of the buffet and a passenger asked for a spoon for the gravy so they gave her a large soup spoon, not a ladle, so after several people getting the gravy with said spoon I heard another passenger tell the staff that the spoon had fallen into the gravy and they needed another spoon. The staff fished out the spoon, gave the passenger another spoon but DID NOT remove the gravy which was then contaminated with all the hands that had used the spoon. Totally gross! Buffet - lunch - not many options for something quick other than burgers and hotdogs and fries. The pizza was not edible in my opinion while I did see people eating it, it was not tasty in the least. I am not some pizza connoisseur, Domino's or Pizza Hut is fine with me. The crust was good and that's about it. Having a sandwich bar/deli such as other lines would have been great. Dining Room - lunch - we did go to the dining room for lunch several times and it was pretty good, several options, their Cuban sandwich and fish and chips were really good. Buffet - dinner - there were many options and the food was good, it did get crowded right at 6 when it opened but you could get through the line pretty quickly. We did not visit any of the specialty restaurants. Due to my shellfish allergy I stay away from seafood restaurants and the Japanese grill for fear of cross contamination. The New York strip steak that is on the daily menu for the dining room was really good so no need to spend extra money to get steak in the steakhouse.

The gym is really nice and had lots of equipment and options to do have variety in your workout. They have a bowling alley, flight simulator and Formula 1 simulator that do have fees but we did not use any of them.

We attended 3 shows and found them to be quite good. The hypnotist was incredible and had a great time.

No children

As mentioned about the wait staff was very aloof and not personable. The room steward said hello to us every day but didn't introduce himself as we have experienced on other cruise lines.

The ship was very clean and the design was great. It's a large ship so lots of walking.

It was a great cabin with the exception of not much room to store your clothes. We did have to get creative to unpack everything from our suitcases. The bathroom is by far the nicest on any ship we have been on, the shower is large. The bed was too hard for me but my husband liked it. The balcony was relaxing.

We took the option of taking our luggage off with us and were off the ship before 8 and customs was a breeze.