Don't Bother

 I have been on a number of cruises and never felt the need to write a review until now.  If you are considering a cruise onboard the MSC Sinfonia here is what I would say:

Pros:  the ports were beautiful (Salerno, Genoa, Ibiza, Olbia, etc.) and the ship was clean.  The food was average, I've had worse on other cruise lines.  The EXTERNAL entertainers were very good and fun to watch, particularly the Spanish dancers.

Cons:  the embarkment process, like most of the processes on board the ship, were disorganized and slow.  Different passengers embarked at different ports so it felt like a hop on/hop off bus more than a custom cruise.  Staff were indifferent and generally unfriendly.  They took no interest in the passengers.  In fact, there was little attention to customer service anywhere on board.  If there was a cruise director, I didn't see or hear from him or her...or the captain for that matter.  The manager of the dining room was rude and unaccommodating.  Excursions were poorly orchestrated, short, and generally not worth the value.  Our second excursion left one hour late and it was absorbed by the passengers, even though sufficient time was left before boarding the ship.  When I complained, I was told it wasn't their problem (my opinion:  maybe they don't run the excursions but they damn well represent them).  Internal entertainers (the "regulars") were untalented and the choreography was pathetic.  You had to pay for water.  Photographs were average and posed.   Even the swimming pool experience was awful - the water was cold and changed nightly with the ocean water.  Children were allowed to run rampant (and loudly) around the ship without any supervision.

MSC would be well served to see how the real cruise lines do it so they can improve.  My biggest gripe was they didn't seem to care.  There was no attention to the customer experience whatsoever.  My advice:  pick another line.  There are many good ones out there:  Royal Carribean and Norwegian being two of them.