MSC Opera Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Before MSC Opera I was on MSC Fantasia which is a bigger (and better) ship. Overall impresion of this cruise is great! Itineraries are great, time spent on shore excellent and everyone are so nice and kind. If this had been my first cruise I would have probably been thrilled, but since this is my third cruise I couldn't help myself but to compare it with previous ones. We were the first passengers since the ship was renovated last year, and one could say that this was a test cruise. There were a lot of oversights: mugs and cups in buffet restaurant were often dirty - every second cup was clean so it became tiresome to check every cup. Juices in the self serving restaurant were available only in the morning not in the evening and hot chocolate wasn't available at all although it was included in the price. Later we found out that staff don't bring out bags of hot chocolate or they rarely do and sometimes they make a hot chocolate in the thermos which is not warm and which has very little cocoa (color was dirty white, not brown!).

Food for breakfast was the same every day; muesli was already prepared on the milk-it looked disgusting to me and I would prefer to prepare it by myself in yogurt. I drink a lot of tea (which was available all day) but I could find honey only in the morning and lemon was even harder to find. The food was often greasy (even fish!) and dinner in the restaurant was taking too long, every single day (from 9pm till 11pm!). Although maître d'hôtel came to us one evening asking us how is everything, are we satisfied and promised us faster service, nothing has actually changed.

The midnight buffet was very poor: mostly vegetarian sandwiches and desserts from previous days.

Air Conditioner made being inside the ship very uncomfortable because it was very cold in bars and lobbies. Inside temperature was around 20 C, which is low considering outside temperature is much higher. I regret not bringing more long sleeve blouses, jackets etc.

I had situation by the pool when pool attendant told me I can't eat fruits by the pool (which is OK, because it was said on the warning board that it is forbidden). But I was disappointed he didn't say anything to other people eating around or even worse: children diving and jumping in the pool that is not in children area (it is clearly stated that it is forbidden to dive and jump in the pool and to run around the pool) ! When I asked him about that his answer was that they are children. I don't care if they are children or not, but because of that children I couldn't swim, or sit by the pool because they splashed water a lot and got me and my expensive camera wet even on the sunbed. Not to mention that children were diving and jumping in the whirlpools! So I didn't use those either. Deck No.11 has 2 pools deep 1.8m and one big part of the deck for children (that is new). But 30% children were in children area, and the rest of them around other 2 pools. It was very noisy on 11th deck. The best part to rest is the back of the ship.

Most people have spoken english perfectly, but it happened that woman on reception (from Kyrgyzstan) didn't speak it very well (or almost at all) and we couldn't understand each other which was very frustrating. Except that situation (and situation on the deck by the pool) all stuff was very polite, friendly, helpful... I'm not complaining on staff, I am disappointed with the ship and a lot of oversights which now I can't remember all.

I don't regret going on this cruise, I just think that MSC can offer a much better experience then this.

Have been on 7 cruises this one ranks as the worst i have ever had went with 4 grandchildren as it was advertised as a family cruise age 2,5,14,16.year old 16 year old could not book out board games got to be 18 years, no pool attendant for the 2 and 5 year olds, Food was cold

and same every day, did not manage to get off at St. Peter Port ( shambles ) would recommend this company to forget cruises the one star i put in is supposed  to be a minus

We have taken several cruises.  This experience was by far the least favorite.  To name a few of the experiences that were not good:  1.  Stateroom/shower extremely small, 2.  Only liquid soap in shower, had to get about 20 squirts for a dime quantity, 3.  No coffee or tea after dinner in fine dining, 4.  Entertainment was average at best,  4.  Crew sometimes didn't speak or understand English, 5.  No ice in room EVER, 6.  There is a cost for room service, 7.  Didn't have a safe in room (as other's did),  8.  All food (fine dining and buffet) was average at best,  9.  NEVER any room to sit in Buffet,  10.  Did not get next days activity sheet (including times for excursions) until approximately 9 PM.  11.  Toilet only flushed some times.  12.  The internet was horrible.  Spent 50 Euros, for 2 hours and could only use about 30 minutes (at most).

Fabulous food, ship is spotless, cabin was beautiful. Sailed with husband and two children, age 5 and 7. Staff work extremely hard. Drinks package was best at sea.

We had an awesome new year with our sons On the ship. The entertainment and entertainer were great. The food as always was very tasty and plentiful. Can't wait for the next cruise.

The whole time you are on this ship you can't wait to get to land. A British man I talked to compared it to being in the army and he hit the nail on the head. If you go on this ship drink HEAVY to cope with no service and no entertainmentBTW you will pay through the nose for it! Food The food was for the most part is inedible. One morning the eggs were cooked is a dirty pan that fish (with bones in it) was cooked in the night before and I threw up. You can only eat when they tell you it is time and if you are late by 15 minutesYOU DO NOT EAT! Room Service you need to pay for and the menu consists of bad pizza, boiled hamburgers, and soup. The "juice" is Tang unless you pay for it. All of the food is the cheapest crap they could buy. Every meal you need to fight for a glass of water and most times you loose. There is no service and if so none of the people understand English. Avoid the buffet unless you like hospital food! Customer Service There are only three answers at MSC if you can find a slave from a third world country that speaks English. NO, I dont kNOw, or that is closed! I bought a cigar in the shop and the guy told me to go cut it with scissors or poke a hole in it and he had a cutter right behind him. I bought a 200 euro amber bracelet and had to fight to get a box. Checkout they made you stay on the ship in the lounge for 5 hours with your carry on bags. Entertainment The entertainment was the worst! Unless you like country western music in sang in Dutch or comedy in Italian, or dancing the Achey Breaky Heart and the Macarena...I am not kidding! I have seen better stuff at the High school level. They have one good singer in one of their 70's style lounges other than that it was awful. I forgot if you want some real entertainment go to the smoking bar and watch the bartender yell at the staff and customersthat is funny! Casino They only have Roulette, 21, and poker for table games. The machines are from the 1980s from Vegas and some you need to put the Tokens in each pull and they do not pay. Laundry Misplaces your clothes and then calls you a liar when you ask for it all back. TV There is only one channel in English (BBC) and two movies that loop the whole time but if it has subtitles you can read them because the TV is two small and the volume does not go high enough to hear most of the time. Also it goes out all the time! BBC went out while in South Hampton. Beds - Cots They are not beds!!! They have COTS that are less comfortable then the ones I have for camping! Safety They do not go over the safety plan for the life boats! You watch it on TV and in England the port authority would not let us leave because there were not enough people that spoke English to properly execute the safety plan.

Fantastisch schip! Klein maar fijn. Vriendelijke bemanning waar niets te veel gevraagd is. Een Trans-Atlantische reis van Brazilië naar Amsterdam om nooit meer te vergeten.

We liked the people and the service they tried to give us. Their English was limited, as well as most of the guests, but with a smile we were able to communicate well.

The problems I experienced were not important for the management at all. Horrible customer service!! Never again with MSC.

This was a long planned 7 person family cruise. Despite early planning, cruise line gave incorrect visa information resulting in 1 member (non-US citizen) having to miss 2 days of the cruise to get visas and lots of stress on the family. Even on the boat, information desk and excursion desk would only give out partial information and wouldn't volunteer anything if it wasn't asked directly. Having been on 5 previous "American oriented" cruises was unprepared for what I can only assume is the "European oriented" cruise. Everything cost extra from the soda (2.50 Euro a can and no "drink card" option) to the ice cream bar. The free juice dispensers were empty the entire cruise. If you asked for water during main meals, your were served and charged for bottled water. Only later did we discover they had free water available all the time but never mentioned when asked. Overall we were glad we went and rolled with the punches but knowing then what we know now, would we have done the same cruise? Probably not.

The ship looked nice, but looks are deceiving.

The Shows were sub-par and the activites were dull and boring! The cruise didn't even try to reach all demographics that were on the cruise. The only redeeming factor was the dinner staff. The Matre D' was incredibly good at his job and the waite staff was excellent. The ports that the took us to were ones that I did not feel safe at. It was commonly referred to by other passengers as the "Third Wolrd Tour." Curacao was the only island that felt safe to be at.

We liked layout of the ship, were impressed by the exceptional cleanliness, the roominess of the cabin and the extraordinary service of the crew . The preparation of the food dedicated for the European tongue! Breakfast served in the restaurant was much better than the buffets (buffet has room for improvement - eggs / toast were often cold). The Lunch-buffets offered a good variety of the hot dishes, but the salad part of the buffet was always the same. The dinner served in the restaurant was a seven course meal. The pasta course was always the best! We liked the excellent shows in the evening. Exceptional artists, but we had to get adjusted to the fact that they were scheduled before dinner!!! Sometimes during the day you couldn't get coffee, ice tea or pizza. Amazingly they still offer midnight buffets - very seldom today on other cruise ships. These buffets were exceptional!!!!!!

this was our first cruise. We selected this cruise because it was a big band themed cruise. We throughly enjoyed the international flavor with half the passengers coming from Europe. We felt the food was above average, and deffinately Italian. All evening meals were fashioned to exhibit a specific Italian Province. Service in the dining room was friendly, and competent, and the staff promptly adjusted to our desire for full water glasses, once we asked that they keep them full. The ship is committed to cleanliness, as well as a healthful enviornment.

The ship met all my expectations.Myself and my wife have cruised many times on various cruise lines and this has a distinct italian flavor. The cabin was a bit small but comfortable. The ship is easy to navigate and you always know whats going on in all the lounges.

THE SHIP IS A GREAT VALUE FOR THE MONEY---ITS HARD TO BEAT

ship was very clean--rooms were somewhat small but comfortable

The food was a BIG dissapointment! If you were hungry at an off hour you simply went hungry. You either ate when the resturants were open or starved. I must say that the waiters tried very had to please the guests even though most everyone I talked with complained about the food. I was surprised that this ship had stabilizers as the trip was pretty rocky. I have previously cruised one other time with Carnaval and expected this cruise to be much the same. Needless to say it was nothing like the great experience I had with Carnival. I will not be cruising with this cruise line again.

I have cruised over 50 times and many cruise lines. The first and last time with MSC after this experience. The food was terrible. The wait staff was arrogant and if you didn't speak Italian they didn't care about you. They ran out of alot of food 3 days before the ship returned to port. The food was bearly warm by the time it was placed in front of you.The beds were old and you could feel the springs in the mattress. They charged a fee for ice cream. When first boarding the ship they didn't make you feel welcomed. They never played any Caribbean music yet we were in the Caribbean. The bathroom was so small I could bearly fit in the shower and I'm only 140 lbs, 5'8'' The only good things were the shows and the ship was very clean. I would never recommend this ship to anyone. Don't even take it if it is offered to you for free.

The cruise was lovely as far as the beautiful Ocean and Island's. The ship was small but nice in some area's. The hallway's to the room;s were too small. The bathroom's were rediculously small. The balconie's were to small to enjoy. It was not the cleanest ship that I have been on.