Different than we are used to.

MSC Musica Cruise Review to Europe - Eastern Mediterranean

Cruises: 2-3 cruises
Reviews: 0
Helpful Votes: 48

Overall rating:

2 out of 5
Verified Review
MSC Musica

7 Night Greek Islands In The Sun (Venice Roundtrip)

Sail date: August 09, 2009

Ship: MSC Musica

Cabin type: Balcony

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 15 years ago

Review summary

Overall the ship was immaculately clean! You constantly saw people coming around and cleaning every inch of the ship. However, there were some downfalls as well. Generally, we felt as though we were being nickeled and dimed throughout the cruise. We would have rather paid a couple hundred euro more and had access to free bottled wate, coffee, tea, and room service at our leisure. Also, we wished there was more time spent at the ports of call. At one of the ports we spoke to a taxi driver that was talking quite negatively about MSC cruise lines and claims that they purposely spend less time at the ports than other cruise lines because they want their passengers on board spending money for as much of the time as possible. In relation to other American cruise lines that we have been on the entertainment and overall friendliness of the staff was poor. During dinner there was no entertainment provided by the waiters, which is a common theme of American cruises. There were no "themed" dinner nights to make dinner fun and interesting and DIFFERENT. Our waiter was very friendly at dinner however, it didn't seem that any of the others were. Also, if you miss your formal dinner each night there are no other FREE FOOD options other than the buffet. There is pizza and sushi available but you must pay extra for these services. The food overall on the boat WASN'T great or gourmet at all. The shows each night were mediocre....most of them were like bad Vegas shows. Overall, we were not particularly happy with our experience on MSC cruises. However, we enjoyed the port cities very much!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5
Early dining time was a good time. Late dinner seating would have been way too late.

Entertainment

1 out of 5
There were a few decent shows...but overall not good.

Service and Staff

1 out of 5
Our waiter was friendly but I think we got lucky. Staff in dining rooms were mostly down to business and didn't go out of their way to assist you.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5
Boat was immaculate!

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5
Room was average.

Ports of call

Mykonos, Greece

3 out of 5
We did not spend long enough in this port. We hardly had enough time to go have dinner in the city. The queue to get a bus back to the boat was ridiculous and very UN-organized. People were cutting in the queue which made our wait even longer. Avoid the restaurants along the water because they are overpriced and don't seem to care about their customers because they know they will never see you again.

Piraeus (Athens), Greece

3 out of 5
Although the city is quite dirty it was amazing to see the Acropolis. The Archaeological museum was included in our excursion but by the time we got there we were quite burnt out and didn't even feel like looking around. If you can just do a tour of the Acropolis and then have free time in the city....that would be an ideal choice.
Don't Miss: Tour of the Acropolis was great.

Santorini, Greece

3 out of 5
Not too much to see in town but don't miss the wonderful Greek food. The shops are cute and well worth a visit. I wouldn't recommend riding up the DONKEY TRAIL or walking down it. It smells of donkey poop and isn't a fun walk. I recommend taking the cable car up and down, although on the way down there was a massive queue (which is why we walked down).
Don't Miss: The tour of the volcano was excellent.

Corfu, Greece

3 out of 5
Cute little town. We hiked up to the top of the fort for an excellent view of the entire city. Don't miss your chance to get some authentic greek food.

Bari, Italy

3 out of 5
Not much to see in Bari at ALL.
Don't Miss: We went and saw the caves which was very cool and well worth it.

Katakolon (Olympia), Greece

5 out of 5
Seeing Olympia was fantastic. It was so cool to see the place where the Olympics began and where the torch is lit every year. We didn't even have time to go in to Katakolon but it appeared that it was just some shops similar to the ones in Olympia, so we didn't feel like we miss anything.
Don't Miss: The tour to Olympia was fantastic.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

5 out of 5
Gorgeous City. A tour is not needed here as it is small enough to get around in the 6 hours or so that you are there. I recommend doing the city walls and having a drink in one of the cafes that are between the city walls and the water.
Don't Miss: Climb the city walls.

Pros: Our waiter at dinner was fantastic- but sadly he was one of FEW fantastic waiters; the excursions at the ports were well-organized and handy.

Cons: The unfriendly dining staff (besides our waiter), feeling like being nickeled and dimed on the boat; not enough time in ports; no food options if you miss dinner; poor entertainment on the boat; food was mediocre overall.

Recommends MSC Musica? No.

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