Worst travel experience of my life. I will never take MSC again.
Embarkation
1 out of 5
The traffic getting into port was horrendous. It took an hour and a half for the shuttle transporting us from the parking lot which was 2 miles away to get us to the ship. Once we finally got to the ship it took another two hours of standing in line to embark. There was no direction and everyone was just looking around wondering where to go next. We were just told to go to our stateroom and nobody explained that the key cards would be on the door.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
1 out of 5
The food in the dining room and buffet was bland and tasteless. I had to put salt on everything which is something I never do. To top everything off, I got food poisoning from the main dining room on Christmas. One of the only redeeming qualities about this cruise was Butcher’s Cut specialty restaurant. We had a very good meal there.
Onboard Activities
1 out of 5
I found this cruise to be super boring. I’m not a party person but there was a lot of nothing going on and everywhere we went it was nothing but kids. Places that were supposed to be adults only still had kids. We went to the sports bar and there were little kids sitting AT THE BAR!
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
The staff were very nice for the most part. However, when I went to the dining room to inform them I had gotten food poisoning the night before, the man asked me if I thought it was “from the food”. Seriously? I never left the ship that day, where else would I have gotten it? I got a phone call THREE DAYS LATER from customer service asking if I was feeling better.
Ship Quality
1 out of 5
The layout of the ship is ridiculous. You have to peek around corners to find anything. It’s not open at all and it’s very confusing to find anything. Also, the “smart elevators” are the worst ever. We had to wait forever for one to show up and then half the time the door would open and there would be no room to get on. I have an injured hip so taking the stairs was not an option.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
Typical balcony cabin. The shower was exceedingly small. We are normal sized humans but anyone who is bigger would not fit. Also, two decks below us was a smoking area so every time we went out in our balcony we had to smell cigarette smoke. Also, there were kids running up and down the hallways until all hours of the night. There was literally not one moment of peace for us the entire 7 days.
This was the ONLY part of our cruise that went smoothly. We chose to do the express walk off which means we got there early and took our own luggage. Once they opened up the gangway we got right off and were able to end the nightmare.
Just a question...... if something was off (temp, age or preparation) with your meal in MDR (or the buffet) wouldn't that have lead to several people getting food poisoning? They batch cook everything. I know every time I have gotten sick from a restaurant the others with me also got food poisoning. The last time I had food poisoning it lasted about 4 days of not moving or leaving the restroom with Zofran. There is no way I could have stood to go to customer service.
I'm just asking was it an exaggeration or assumption? Did others also get sick from the meal?
I'm guessing cruising isn't for you since you complained about eveything, including issues that aren't related to the cruise line and even complaining about the weather. I guess you must be a doctor and self diagnosed your symptoms, and not just thinking maybe the food didn't agree with you. If you took a few minutes doing research, you would know that MSC is an Italian line with most food catering to people living in the Mediterranean area. As others noted, if you don't want kids around, don't do a Christmas cruise, cause kids are everywhere. Personally, I think you should stick to land based resorts so other cruisers won't have their cruises ruined by the whiney person who can't find any good in the cruise.
I'm going to second all the commenters and agree you need to do some more research next time. Ships are always going to be full of kids when you cruise during school break time. MSC is well known as being an inexpensive cruise line without a lot of the amenities and/or luxuries of other cruise lines. And their food is pretty consistently rated as fair to poor (except for the pizza). Next time I would recommend you try a different line and a different itinerary.
Ok. As a travel professional I see a few issues.
You booked a cheap cruise on MSC without researching.
The other issues are obvious.....
You booked a cheap cruise on MSC and were expecting Princess.
That's all.
Food poisoning? Really? Not just sick? Or have digestive issues due to the change in food?? Traffic at the port can hardly be blamed on any cruise line. Kids on a Christmas cruise? Shocking? Makes me doubt your review as a whole.
Since this was your first cruise, I might suggest you do more research before you try another one, if you do. You do not like kids, then look for cruises when most of the kids are in school and look for lines that are more adult oriented like Holland. Food, sorry, some people like it, some do not. But usually it is relatively bland since the consumer can add flavor if desired, but not remove it if not desirable. Port Canaveral is notorious for being crowded, especially if you get there a bit later. We learned to hit it at around 10-10:30 and usually have no or little issues (except at the dock where the offloading folks are waiting for transport)..
If you had an injured hip and food poisoning it's just amazing you were able to self disembark and move your luggage through the whole ship and terminal by yourself. Maybe time for other vacations if you don't like the food, ports, staff or ship??
*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.
