This was the first and last time I will ever cruise with MSC. The entertainment was spotty at best, the food was fine (I have pretty low standards) and the dinner service was abhorrent. This was easily the worst cruise my wife and I have ever been on. I am easy to please, and the fact that I'm so negative on this experience was mostly due to service issues and managerial decisions. I believe that you can attend the same cruise and have a great time. We are a family of teachers, so we'lI go on a cruise every couple of years. Throughout the past 20+ years I've always been amazed at the service that we received on every other ship I've experienced. Overall, this was a big disappointment, and the first time I was ready to go home at the end of the time on the ship.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
Generally smooth. We arrived slightly ahead of our window and it didn't seem to matter.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
The food in the main dining room was good, but everyone in our party agreed that it was the worst of any cruise line we've been on (RC, Carnival, Costa, Disney). The food in the top deck buffet was in line with other cruise lines. The pizza in the buffet line was excellent! The soft serve ice cream was only open for a few hours a day and the line was usually 10-15 minutes, so that was also a disappointment.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Excellent water slides and activity area for the kids. The Fitness center was generally empty. There was an indoor sports area, and a Simulation and VR area that cost extra per ride, but was generally reasonably priced. The outdoor pool has a smoking and a non-smoking side on the lido deck, so it's tough to be out there and not smell smoke. The indoor pool was cool, but we didn't end up spending much time there.
Entertainment
2 out of 5
We attended the "Cool" and "Rock" shows during the second performance each night. The costuming during the "Cool" show was bizarre, awkward, and unflattering. There were 3 singers, and while the two women were great, the male made some questionable harmony choices. The dancers were wildly inconsistent in style, memorization, and execution, the specialist female salsa dancer was engaging when she was featured, but phoned in the rest of the ensemble numbers. The "Rock" show was better, but the dancing and male musicians were still The live band was amazing during the shows, with the Keyboardist performing particularly well! Other musicians around the ship (Steel Pannist, Pianist) seemed to be playing but not really performing.
Children's Programs
Our two pre-teens decided to either hang with us, or do their own thing rather than join the kids club.
Service and Staff
1 out of 5
Bar staff varied, nothing crazy to report. Our main waiter at dinner was terrible. Not personable, friendly, or helpful. Rarely asked if we enjoyed our food and seemed generally annoyed. This was the first time that I attempted to change the tip amount (I was going to give 50% of his tip to the other service staff) but I was doing it via Credit Card and the help desk stated that it was impossible to do so. Bring cash for tipping.
Our drink waiter would arrive once at the beginning of the meal and not return, but she was pleasant.
Our cabin steward was nice but seemed to be overbooked. Our room wasn't ready on the day we checked in until after 5pm, and she didn't usually tidy or turn down the room during our two hour dinner block. MSC is sticklers about beach towels, if you are missing any at the end of the trip you are charged $30 each. We did not receive any in our room and our steward stated that there weren't any to give us on our beach day, but we weren't allowed to take our room towels down to the beach. I asked her what we should do and she left and found 3 towels for us.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
The ship's design is nice, but for its size in relation to other ships, it felt small. Our family does not gamble or go to "ship shops" so much of those areas were not interesting to us. The common areas and bars were clean and generally well maintained.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
Tight for 4 people, but that is to be expected. The bunk beds were up the entire time which I thought was a little odd. We kept it clean so once it was ready we were ok. If you expect the room steward to freshen up the room daily or make towel animals, you will be disappointed.
Ship tip
The room hallways are narrow and often tucked around little switchbacks which makes initial navigation less-than intuitive.
The bar we were at on the first day ran out of sugar. The lighthouse show at night was cool. It is also nice to be able to stay out on the island once the sun is down. Usually you leave ports and don't experience night on the island.
I disagree, food better than Royal and Norwegian. Service was just what is needed, Royal wins. Entertainment Norwegian. Thanks for the review, but this cruise is in the top for me.
The shorter three and four day cruises on MSC have become booze cruises due to the cheap prices and drink packages. This overwhelms the bar staff. A seven day or longer itinerary is a much better experience. Cruising during spring break is rarely a good experience on any cruise line.
Thank you for all the details in your review. It seems very fair. I experienced much of the same on that ship. I was hoping that was because it was soon after Covid but it sounds like it's the same only with more people.
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