This is only my fourth cruise, my first with MSC, but I have to say that the service and entertainment were the best. I felt the buffet food comparatively was above average, as was the dining room. The pizza and mozzarella cheese were very good; pasta dishes in dining room were great, I definitely enjoyed my share! There were a lot of activities to get involved with if you want. I wish the themed parties didn’t start at 10:45 at night because I was too tired from my daytime activities to enjoy them! I would definitely cruise with MSC again.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
It was a very full boat with a lot of people since it was school vacation week, but the line kept moving forward.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
I enjoyed everything I ordered in the Waves main dining room, as did my companions. The servers and children’s menu were great for the little ones. We only ate at Holas and the food and service were good. We did not eat at any other specialty restaurant. We always found food we liked at the buffet and there were a lot of offerings.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Pools and hot tubs were crowded, but we could find a lounge chair to sit any time of day. Fitness center was adequately equipped and was never overly busy when we went by. We didn’t do the ropes course, but it looked like fun.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Musicians on the ship were outstanding. We went to three of the free shows, Disco, Magic, and Journey and enjoyed each of them.
Children's Programs
3 out of 5
My four year old granddaughter went once and did not want to return, so she didn’t go again. Perhaps it was just the day or maybe it would be different for other age groups.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
I wish I could give this more stars. Everyone was friendly and so eager to offer help. Our room steward Rodrigo was wonderful. The dining room staff in Waves really went above and beyond with my grandchildren. Even the greeters to the buffet and dining rooms were delightful!
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Very clean ship. I always saw people cleaning when we were out of the cabin which must have been challenging with such a full ship!
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
The cabin was very clean, but it was a tad small. I chose this side of the ship so we could watch the light house show at Ocean Cay from our balcony, but I hadn’t accounted for the bump out in front of ship that limited out view. A few cabins back would have worked fine. Because we had the sofa put into bunk beds, we really missed having a place to sit in the room…luckily we were out and about except at night.
Ship tip
Make your reservations for shows (even free shows that require it) and restaurants on your first day.
I was thrilled that we saw a launch while we were there, but not so thrilled that you literally cannot walk to anywhere from the boat. It was a wait to get one of the taxis to get to Cocoa Beach which was nice once we got there.
We loved it there. Beautiful, clean, and very relaxing. Getting food on the island involved a bit of a wait, but the weather was so nice, it didn’t bother me.
Elevators were challenging to get, but once we were able to find one that wasn’t full to get to the correct deck, the line kept moving forward. We waited longer for an elevator than in the line to disembark. Frankly, it was much better than I had expected with such a full ship!
Thank you for sharing your experience. You hear so many conflicting stories about MSC. I don’t think it’s as bad as people say it is. If you go on the cruise with that mindset then you’ll have a lot of different perspectives about what you’re going through.
You had a great time. That’s what counts. We have not found that to be the case. We book YC to avoid the hassle. In October we did a back to back. Fortunately the 1st leg was a balcony on deck 11. It was the PITTS!
The Agents you book through could use some customer service training. They make their $$ on their MSC shipping fleet.
Starting with the Room Steward to the over crowded dining room. The 2nd leg was Yacht Club (YC). WOW!
We are on a 7 day 3/10 out of NY on YC.
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