Very disappointing! MSC have become the "cheap" European cruise line, and the quality of their cruises has declined!
Embarkation
5 out of 5
No problems whatsoever. Fast and efficient! Nevertheless, a shuttle bus from the Train Station to the Ship would have been nice...
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
1 out of 5
The buffet food was low quality garbage, and lots of it. It was a very big & long buffet, but the same low-quality food was everywhere. Dispointing!
The dining room was also a huge disappointment. We never had to return so many dishes to the kitchen or ask for something else in any restaurant or cruise. Cheap ingredients and bad cooking resulted in bad food. Disappointing is not the word!
We did not dare to try any of their specialty restaurants - why pay $100 per person if their food already sucks? This would have been another expensive disappointment, right?
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
The activities were few, and the staff that ran the activities were poor and uncaring. The only ray of sunshine was Michalima Koza, who was always happy, smiling and enthused to be with the guests.
The nightly 22:00 Karaoke was the best activity on the ship, but it was always cut too short. The DJ in charge was extremely rude when anyone asked him anything or requested anything. He either did not like his job or just hated all the guests.
The Trivia games were OK, although quite difficult at times. The "prizes" given to the winners were pathetic. Small ship squishy stress squeezers? Seriously? All other cruise ships we've been on give away caps, shirts, towels, lanyards and wine/champagne bottles. How cheap can you get?!?
Also - we expected lectures and presentations about the cities we were about to visit, what to do there, where to go, and there was none of that. Actually, there were no presentations or lectures available, except for two that were so boring that we left mid-way.
Entertainment
1 out of 5
Same performers doing low quality show every evening. Nothing special. No outside entertainers. No special guests. Seems like they were going through routines, just to click it on their to-do list.
Children's Programs
We have no kids!
Service and Staff
1 out of 5
Our dining room duo were great. They knew that the food sucked, and did whatever they could to bring us alternative dishes and please us. It was definitely not their fault that the food was garbage.
Customer service was dismal. The people at the counter were usually short, impatient and sometimes rude. Information given was often wrong or misleading.
When we needed to change Dollars and British Pounds to Euros, the ship did not provide this service, although it's common practice on other cruise lines and any respectable European hotel. Finding Change locations in the relatively small and not very touristic cities we visited was a nightmare. And NO, we DON'T want to use our cards everywhere. This new BS of a cashless society maybe fits the younger generation, but not the lifestyles of the older, cruise-going, population!
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
Huge ship. Long walks everywhere and all the time.
Water was leaking from the ceiling in many places inside the ship.
The smoking area on deck 14 was constantly dirty, ashtrays full and total lack of care.
Our cabin, on the other hand, was meticulously cleaned and well kept.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
As good as could be expected. The balcony was TINY. The cabin was cleaned and taken care of by a very meticulous man. Well done to him!
Ship tip
Avoid this ship and avoid MSC. They may be cheap, but the experience you get for the money spent is NOT worth the money!!!
Nice city, but only 2 places to exchange dollars or pounds to euros, and these are jewelry stores without any exchange sign. Sheesh! And the ship doesn't provide this service or has any information about this issue.
In Hamburg there a „Reisebank“ and „Travelex“ for Money Exchange. “Reisebank” means literally Travelbank and is located at the main train station downtown.
I don't know why MSC can't get their act together on their food quality. It was horrible the last time we sailed them. We're very reluctant to book them again because our last experience with them was so subpar.
Unfortunately, trivia game "prizes" have gone cheap across multiple cruise lines lately. Zipper-pulls, beer cozies, and other garbage.
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