MSC Opera - Reviews

This was my 10th cruise and it was disappointing to realize that MSC has a long way to go. The best part of it was the itinerary. Services at excursion desk were the worst. No one there knows what they are talking about. Tried to book the excursion with them in Turkey but they didn't have it in English just French and German. There would rather give you wrong information then say they don't know the answer. The ship is very plain. Bathroom was very small and the shower is tiny. Food is almost the same every day. No sandwiches just pizza 24 hours and it's the only place to get tea or coffe after 10 pm. Shows are just Ok. Dancers could be a lot better. Service in the restaurant was the best but the food could have a better variety. One thing that was nice no one was pushing to buy drinks at the pool and there were plenty of chairs for everyone. Overall it's the European line and it shows in their standards. People are not as friendly and they don't seem like they care. 

MSC has a long way to go to meet the standards of what experienced cruisers have come to expect from  Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Princess. Food on the Opera was poor quality and frequently poorly prepared. This included bones in the fish dishes on 5 of 8 orders. Coffee and tea was not even available during or after meals in the main dinning rooms, only at the buffet. Selection was also limited. The pizza kitchen was the only consistently good. The tendering process was very inefficient as it took 2 hours and 40 minutes finally get to shore and with a stop of only 4 hours, we were left with only 1 and one-half hours on shore. The library was a joke with approx. 20 books in each of 5 different languages, and it was only open for four hours per day. The entertainment was actually pretty good for this size ship. Overall, I would definitely not recommend this ship. MSC as a cruise line is still not ready for prime time.

We tried MSC cruise line for the first time on a 10 day W.Europe cruise. Previously we had cruised with Royal C, Celebrity and Princess. Anyone who has cruised on these ships will be highly disappointed with MSC. Food at the buffett on floor #11 was the same thing each day. Mostly unwarm items. Very limited menus. Iced tea and ice cream not free. Juices only available in mornings. Hand sanitizers used sparingly and many times empty during meals. Our evening meal had bones in the fish on 5 of 8 times served fish. As many as 5 bones in one serving. I still think how easy it would have been to have swallowed them. After about two times I came t expect bones even though I wanted to try the fish menus. Risotti was greasy and the meats were grisily. The servers were so busy that they spent very little time talking with us. Never offered to help pepper/salt. No coffee served. On excursions when we had to tender at St. Peter port we stood in line for 2:40 minutes to exit the ship only allowing 1.25 minutes to explore the city. Not organized at all. Waited almost 50 minutes in line to go back to the ship. Pool chairs were the most uncomfortable chairs ever in that there was no head rest on them. Library time was limited as well as the books in it!

Every evening at the theather we had to listen to the cruise director talk in 4 different lanuages. That got annoying and took up quite a bit of time doing so. Entertainment was fine. Overall very disappointed in the complete lack of organization and downright bare bones service. I could go on but will spare you the time. Don't go MSC!

1) Unable to purchse transfers from South Hampton to cruise, also told until 11 am I could get Transfers at Heathrow airport and pay onboard this was not true. 2) Purchased transfers from ship to Heathrow but was it was canceled by MSC. Because told not enough room. 3) Attempted to purchse and print personnel transfers from ships pirnter but it was not working as a result we we not able to verfiy purchase, also the different time change between England and ship time allowed on 40 minutes to leave ship, get a taxi, and reach couch terminal with out a ticket. The ship should have offered to call free or provide free Computer use. T4) The better starting point for use would have been Amsterdam but this option was never offered, I flight would have less expensive and the transfers to Ship cheaper. cc.Maxine_Con Yahoo.com

The food was the worst, and it was not even close, food I have had on the 13 cruises that I have been on that were a minimum of 7 days.

My wife, two youg daughters and I - we totally loved the MSC Opera. This was our first cruise ever. We are definitely going on another MSC cruise. We found every aspect of the cruise to be very good to superb: the food, service, entertaininment, stateroom cleanliness and comfort, cleanliness and smooth embarking/debarking and sailing of the ship.

Ship is starting to show signs of wear. We had mold in shower and lot of rust on balcony doors. Overdue for preventative maintenance? Buffet restaurant on Deck 11 is always overcrowded, noisy, and busing service is poor. Seems to be lack of supervision of the waiters. Food is kind of bland and pretty much unchanged entire cruise. The lack of attention is obvious . Sugar Free or Diabetic desserts almost non existent. . Charge for bottled water.

We were impressed by the exceptional cleanliness, the layout of the ship, the homeyness's of the cabin (fresh fruits daily) and the extraordinary service of the crew . The food itself is rather dedicated for the European tongue! The breakfast buffet was "uninspired" (eggs / toast were sometimes only lukewarm) - therefore we went to the restaurant and the breakfast served there was much better. The Lunch-buffets were better - good variety of the hot dishes, but the salad part of the buffet offered always the same. The dinner served in the restaurant was a seven course meal. The pasta course was always the best! Quality of fish and meat has room for improvement - it seemed not to be fresh and was often prepared the same way. We liked the magnificent shows in the evening. Exceptional artists!!! Every age group had there "room for entertainement" (the disco for the younger people, the loungers for people our age where we could enjoy dancing too . I missed coffee, ice tea or pizza sometimes during the day. We were also impressed that they still offer midnight buffets - very seldom today on other cruise ships. These buffets were exceptional!!!!!! We had 3 formal events, 6 informal evenings and only 2 causual nights all of which we enjoyed (fortunaley we had brought enough clothes for all the events)

We were impressed by the cleanliness, the roominess of the cabin, the exceptional service of the crew and the layout of the ship. The breakfast served in the restaurant was very good, the buffet could have been better (eggs / toast were sometimes only lukewarm). The Lunch-buffet was better - good variety of the hot dishes, but the salad part was always the same. The dinner served in the restaurant was a seven course meal. The pasta was always the best (quality of fish and meat has room for improvement - should buy them in the States). We also liked the magnificent shows in the evening, but had to adjust to the fact that they were sometimes before dinner. Exceptional artists!!! Besides the disco for the younger people we could enjoy dancing too (hits for the 70s, 80s and 90s). The casino was very small compared to American cruise lines. Sometimes during the day there was no coffee, ice tea or pizza available. We were also impressed that they still offer midnight buffets - very seldom today on other cruise ships. These buffets were exceptional!!!!!!

the cruise was directed toward foreigners even though 70 % were american. all the entertainment had english as a second language. every announcement was made in five languages. (gets old) the workout room was too small, the ships library was very inefficient and limited. The ship pool was way undersized, especially the two four man jacuzzi,s But a lack of a stabilizer was the sorest point on the ship

This was my 7th cruise and it has to be my favorite. Amazing Ports. A spotless ship. Exciting Entertainment. Friendly, sincere service and very interesting food made this trip almost perfect.

Beautiful, clean ship.Friendly sincere service. Grown up & funny entertainment & entertainers. No one hunts you down to sell you something, e.g. drinks. The pace is very relaxed. Amazing Ports, especially the Dominican Republic & Barbados.

ship was very clean,the rest was okey (fashion etc) very plain no frillis

This ship is nice but was of a lesser class than some of the newer ones in the Royal Caribbean line.

We went on this cruise because of the destinations(Panama Canal). The ship was very clean and we enjoyed the cruise. The shows at night were very, very good. Our only negative was the Quality of food at the evening(Diner) meal.

Secondhand smoke that is. It is an honest to god miracle the MSC Opera has not burst into flames due to the unbelievable amount of smokers on board with zero regard for non-smoking areas. I do not necessarily take issue with those smoking in designated areas, that’s what they are there for. What is irritating to me however is people with little to no respect for rules and for those around them. Unfortunately the cruisers on our ship consisted mainly of the latter. My husband and I splurged for a balcony room, only to find out that all of our neighbors did the same so they could chain smoke the entire week. Needless to say, our balcony experience was less than glamorous or even enjoyable because of the constant smoke. We complained multiple times, and each time a team member assured us that the issue would be taken care of. Somewhere there was a disconnect because it continued the entire trip. And because we were just that lucky, there was a door between us and our neighbors. So not only did we have smoke coming in through our balcony, we also had it seeping through into our cabin through the shared door even when our balcony door was shut. By the time we disembarked, us and our belongings smelt like we had rolled around in a poorly ventilated casino. Speaking of ventilation (or lack there of), the indoor smoking bar /lounge has essentially none. Unfortunately for all non-smoking passengers, the entire mid to forward 5th deck REEKS of smoke. It is hard to even enjoy a show in the ships theatre because the smell is truly that strong. It is also difficult to enjoy lounging on the sun beds without feeling like you are sitting in the middle of what can only be described as a smoke-fueled fog machine. So if you are pregnant, have children, asthma, or just don’t care to spend a week in an ashtray, I urge you to spend the extra money on a cruise line with a more strictly enforced smoking policy. Otherwise you can expect to leave the ship with singed nostrils and a smoker’s cough.

There must be a better choice of boat rather than MSC Opera

A smaller MSC ship but still shiny and clean in all the right places. Embarkation and disembarkation both very easy at Marseille. Cabin was a Fantastica balcony on the 9th floor. Bed was really nice with the 3rd bed a fold down bunk which was across the bottom of the bed - not roo much of an issue. The balcony was fine with 2 chairs and a table. The bathroom was as normal and the shower had a door rather than a curtain. Both the toilet position and the smallness of the shower took a little working out to use but not a problem when you get it. Our steward was very efficient and always smiley. We had no real need for him but he was always about. Food in the evening MDR was very nice and varied but the service was a little slow at times. No real complaints there. The buffet was a little small which meant peak times were the usual cattle market and tables a premium. Added to the continental dislike of queuing then we tried not use the buffet and kept to the MDR or room service. Buffet food wasn't great although we didn't go hungry so that may tell a different story. The MSC pizza station was as gorgeous as usual - no better pizza at sea! We had all inc drinks which means the cocktail menu was sampled from top to bottom - great value. Entertainment was better than expected for MSC with proper themes and not just a visual mish mash for a change. There is an outdated smoking policy aboard in that the pub allows smoking inside and the big drawback is that as it's a smaller ship then the smell permeates the whole of that part of the ship and up into the theatre. There were also plenty of people smoking in their cabin judging by the smell as you walked past. Excursions were handled well and we have some good memories of new places. All in all we would sail on her again with the right itinerary as long as we had the balcony on floor 9.

This cruise offered a nice selection of ports but was unorganized at every turn. The food was awful and many of the staff were just plain rude. The entertainment in the main theater was less than professional quality compared to other ships we've been on. The balcony cabin was very nice. We will not cruise MSC again.

The room attendant was very good but apart from him the Service was very poor , we struggled to try and get drinks from bars and the ice cream was so slow to get served we gave up . port excursions are very expensive ,