We didn't pay nearly the amount that some people I spoke to paid so maybe this is why the cabin location was so poor. Having said that, I feel that I'm entitled to a good nights sleep. I heard many British people complaining about what a terrible time they had had and they wouldn't cruise MSC again and I'm amongst them!
Embarkation
3 out of 5
This was a relatively stress free service experience with cases taken straight to the cabin from the airport by MSC so no waiting to collect your case and drag it on boatd yourself
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
1 out of 5
All food in the buffet was luke warm at best. A completely unimaginative vwgetarian option which mostly consisted of cooked vegetable either boiled or stir fried. I lived on cheese salad for the majority of the 2 weeks i was on board. On one occasion i just happened to reach the counter as some battered fried cauliflower was put out so thought it would be nice and hot but no, it was practically cold. I informed the staff who just stared blankly at me and disappeared! Burgers, (no vegetarian though!) pizza, cold french fries seemed to be the main lunch time staple. The salad was generally fresh and their was always fruit but hardly ever bananas.
Dinner sitting was at 9pm and service was slow with tiny portions and again very little imagination when it came to vegetarian dishes. Sometimes didnt get out from dining room until gone 11pm!
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
Free entertainment was very amateurish, and very poorly attended. Most of the other entertainment, bowling, movies etc came with a price tag.
Entertainment
1 out of 5
Absolutely dreadful. Screetchy female singers who held their mics so close it hurt the ears. Same show content on some nights jyst different costumes. Each show was 30 minutes but to be honest i wouldnt bother wasting your time
Children's Programs
Didn't have kids
Service and Staff
1 out of 5
Reception staff without exception didn't seem to care. Every time anyone approached them they were not greeted with a smile or a "how can i help you?" Everyone i approached just waited for me to speak to them first with my query. On the first night i asked about the gratuity charge, 10 euros per person each a day. A very sour faced woman told me it was for all the staff on board and at no time told me it was optional. I only found out it was optional after hearing someone else saying they had had it removed. I then went and had it removed from my bill but the receptionist was not pleased. I don't know if this contributed the miserable receptionists every time i approached them as they would look at my cabin number before answering my query and i suppose could see i had had the gratuity removed. Room steward was ok but never replaced shower caps in the whole 14 days we were on the cruise. You were constantly hassled to buy a drink package everytime you went to the buffet, it took about 8 days before they realised i wasnt going to and stopped asking!
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
Ship was clean but hard to navigate, and every area seemed to be crowded
Cabin / Stateroom
1 out of 5
This cabin is right next to the crew metal chequer plate staircase and they off loaded suitcases 4 times in the 14 days I was aboard. This is done between midnight and 2.30am and you have the noise of crew members using the staircase throughout the cruise. The noise was horrendous when they were off loading
and when I rang reception they just didnt care just telling me what i already knew as i had to investigated the noise myself. I asked to move cabins and was told the ship was completely booked, this despite 4 disembarkations (granted there were ithers getting on but I'm afraid i just didnt believe them due to them not even bothering to check when I asked them on one of my 3 face to face requests at reception. This cabin also has a cleaning cupboard at the end of it which was constantly in use with a door banging from as early as 7 in the morning so no lie ins!
Ship tip
You can have the gratuity removed but make sure that you do it within the first 48 hours of being in board and also that you want it removed for the whole cruise not just the day you tell them you wan removing. I tipped those who gave me excellent service but to be honest it wasn't very often!
I shall just review one of the ports as to be honest once you've visited one you've seen them all. Yes some beautiful beaches and stunning scenery but most of the merchandise is the same at each port, it just carries the name of the port you are visiting. You have to run the gauntlet of people trying to persuade you to take a tour of the island with them. They had fixed itineries so its difficult to get anyone to set up an individual itinerary of places you personally want to visit. You have to do it with about 6/8 other people or its really expensive and each tour takes you to a view point on the island that shows a view of the ship in port.How many pics of the ship from on high does one need! We did a nice tour in St Lucia of the drivers fruit farm which was a nice break from the norm. We were treated to fresh fruits pucked steaight from the trees and an informative chat with friendly famiky members. My only comment was that the driver was a bit personal and came out with statements like "once you've had black you'll never go back!" Referring to women who had slept with black men, i just found it distasteful. He also wanted us to write in his guestbook and asked for email, address, occupation which needless to say no one on the bus gave.
Very smooth and efficient. Put cases out side your door at midnight and the next time you see them is at Gatwick so no hasskes carting luggage and checking it in.
*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency,
and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners
(travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our
users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or
prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site
for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on
external web sites.
Contact us
Submitting...
Need help from a personal vacation planner?
Loading...
Find the perfect cruise with weekly tips and cruise deals for as little as $30/night!
Sign up for weekly cruise deals
Join other subscribers and get the best
cruise deals of the week in your inbox every Thursday.
