This was a Christmas sailing on a brand new ship. Do they have work to do to iron out things...Yes but every vacation is as good as you want to make it. Ours was amazing.
Also my son did get an ear infection we took him to the hospital on board and they were fantastic.
We will definitely cruise MSC again!!
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Terminal F was brand new and very spacious. Check in was very smooth, no issues. 2 out of 3 suitcases arrived at our room very early the third was delayed a bit but no issues at all.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Main dining room we had a 6pm sitting and it was excellent. Our servers were great and the food was excellent.
The buffet - had some issues on day one and two but they started ironing things out. Issues were mostly a result of shortage of staff. They couldn't keep up with the volume of people.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Zip line was great did it on the first day. However due to high winds they did have to close it at times. The kids water jungle was a bit chaotic but the kids loved it so I guess that was a win. I did also enjoy the water slides. Lots to do and so many areas we didn't have time to do it all
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Excellent - best shows I have seen at sea. This was my 8th cruise
Children's Programs
5 out of 5
My daughter was in the kids club 3-6 and she loved it. There are a lot of kids on these ships but that is to be expected since kids cruise free. The staff were amazing!!! The activities were amazing!!! On Christmas day they organized an event in the main theatre for every child to get a gift from Santa. I can't say enough about how great they are. The hours are great, they feed the kids, and there is no extra cost for kids to be there.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Dining room servers were amazing. They always accommodated my children first. Got them food first with milk. They also have full size high chairs which was great for my 1yr old.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Brand new ship. Inaugural sailing so the ship was impeccable.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Great cabin. Storage was limited. View was excellent
Ship tip
It's a European ship with European influence which is what makes it unique. Enjoy the uniqueness of the ship, the crew, and the other passengers and you will have a vacation of a lifetime
At home our kids eat at 5:30-6pm as well. In fact her bed time is 7pm. On the ship I'm sorry to say that schedule was never followed. If I remember correctly they took the kids to eat at 7pm. I used to just make sure she ate a snack or two prior to going. The dinner was every night however it varied on port days and they charged a small fee I think it was $6 on those days. All the other days it was included. They took each age group down together. Yes they closed the club when the kids were eating but you can still sign them in and out from wherever they are. I think if you grab them a snack they will be fine. My daughter had so much fun with the other kids that we didn't mind the schedule change. We picked her up at 8pm each night for bed and she was exhausted, so straight to bed.
Hope you don't mind, but my questions are geared toward the kids club. Do you happen to know what time they took they kids to dinner? And was it every night? Did the kids have to go to dinner with everyone? Was kids club closed during the times they took them for dinner? I'm trying to figure out if we need to take our daughter to the buffet before dropping her off, while we go to the specialty restaurants or if they take the kids early enough that she can eat with them. We typically eat around 5:30-6:00pm
thanks
They do have hair dryers in the state room so no need to pack one. Enjoy your cruise! I can't wait to go again. I figure they will iron out their glitches with each cruise. Your on vacation, just enjoy it.
Thank you for your review! We leave on the 17th and I was getting worried after reading the other reviews, but as another commenter said, your review gives me hope! 😄 I do have a question - are there hair dryers in the state rooms? I would love one less thing to pack! 😄 thanks in advance
They make you sign a standard liability waiver for tge slides and zip line. Then you get a wrist band for them. I didn't see age restrictions however they did have height restrictions. On the Zip line they also do have a weight limit and I recall it being between 250-300 but I honestly can't say exactly.
Not sure where u read about a bad smell. We didnt smell anything. Maybe it was the new carpet smell people had an issue with.
We didn't did both the sushi restaurant and the tapanyaki both were great. The tapanyaki had a huge amount of food and very entertaining. They did have a weird rule about selection of alcohol available even if you had a premium drink package there were restrictions. That was the only restaurant we experienced that at so it wasn't that big a deal. The servers were very nice about it and went to another bar to get my husband a Manhattan.
SOFTSERVE is a yes!!! My daughter loved it.
Enjoy your Cruise
Lina
Thank you for your positive review. I have a few questions.
Is there a weight or age limit on the water slides or Zipline?
Did you have a bad smell on your floor?
Did you try the Japanese restaurant?
Is there free soft serve? (That’s my 10 yr old asking)
Thanks in advance
great info travelwithus! much appreciated! I was heartbroken to read the negative reviews about this ship, your review gave me hope! I'm sure they will get it all worked out in time...hopefully by Feb 17th!! Definitely by next Christmas :)
Hi @NThomasA0K yes they did have special nights on board.
White Party - even if you don't go to the actual party (location is in the daily newsletter) the ship looked absolutely beautiful with everyone dressed in white. Its also a great night to get family pictures (even if you just do them yourselves)
Italy night where everything is decorated red, green and white. Lots of people dressed to the colors.
I have heard that they do a 70's flower glory party but I didn't catch that one if it happened on my sailing.
As for the Shows yes you do have to pre book shows. It is very easy just download the MSC app on your phone before you board. You don't need a wifi package to use the app. You can book the shows only on the day of the actual show so no early reservations. Even if you forget to book they do allow people in 5 minutes before the show starts to fill the remaining seats of people who don't show.
Have a great trip. I have already re-booked for next Christmas :)
Hi there, wondering if there were any special parties on board? I read there may be a white party and flower glory party?
Also, did you have to pre book shows?
TIA :)
Drink package was great, they have everything. A few things did come up 1) Champaign at the Champaign bar is not included but if you order bubbly at any other bar it is included. 2) at the tapanyaki restaurant the drinks included are very limited. Not sure why they did that and the servers were very apologetic so I can see that getting changed but forewarning. 3) yes they allowed multiple drinks. I felt like that rule might change as they iron things out but they definitely allowed us to buy 2 or 3 at a time. 4) coffee they have beautiful espresso machines everywhere, almost every bar had one and they will make you any kind of coffee you want, you just have to ask. They also had to-go cups which I thought was awesome. Have a great cruise
Nice to see some sense in a review, understanding it is a new ship and some work needs doing. Also agree 100% a vacation is what you make of it, i will fully enjoy it thats for sure.
How did you find the drinks package, was everything readily available? Could you buy more than 1 drink at a time? Do you happen to know which premium coffee they serve onboard? Looking forward to sailing , 1st time MSC
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