Bad start because ofLanguage barrier and lack map to ship

MSC Splendida Cruise Review to Europe - Northern Europe

Cruises: 2-3 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 33

Overall rating:

2 out of 5
MSC Splendida

7 Night Northern Europe (Hamburg Roundtrip)

Sail date: September 18, 2016

Ship: MSC Splendida

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 8257

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

Kodos to Teria who was an excellent  help in booking the cruise and went the extra mile for us. She was a blessing!!  On board--Days one and two were exceptionally difficult as we didn't have a map of the ship and no one knew much English. We didn't have any help in finding our room and walked all the way on the wrong side because of the numerical system. Having a walker/wheelchair made it extra difficult to have to backtrack. Then when trying to find dining area, we only got half of the directions we needed, so up and down elevator....Finally someone handed us a map and things got better. Money spent for WIFI was wasted. Paid for a week and only got one message to family.  Seating for dinner with other English speaking couples was great and so were some of the stops. Especially enjoyed Southhampton and Amsterdam. Was shocked at how rude & greedy people were at buffet and on elevator. Tipping was excessive for the lack of staff help offered. State room was nice and kept clean. 

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
Better on 2nd night. My entree was forgotten 1st meal.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5
enjoyed swimming

Entertainment

3 out of 5
Too late to take advantage after meal.

Children's Programs

Think it was probably good.

Service and Staff

1 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Liked our cabin and balcony view.

Ship tip

Travel with someone who's been there before and/or fluent in other languages.

Ports of call

Hamburg, Germany

3 out of 5
Was this review helpful? 33

4 Comments

andrea1970    8 years ago

I'm going on splendida in 38 days... You mentioned wifi.. I'm thinking of purchasing the week package - just for social media an message apps.. Just to keep in touch with the family/ teens while on board? It's £14 pp per week! Is it worth it? Can you get a good enough signal for say what's app or fab messenger? Also any one have any views on the kids/ teens clubs??

doddser    8 years ago

Have to agree the people at the buffet. They would now you down. Believe it or not I once sat beside two ladies who actually took food off my plate as they didn't see it in the buffet!!! I'm European too. Wifi a joke ! Ship very very nice but it ended there. If you want a means to get from place to place MSC great but that's where it stops.

biker5    8 years ago

As soon as we board the ship the first thing we do is get a map.

kdlovescruising    8 years ago

Thanks for the review.  I can understand how a communication barrier could make things not as enjoyable.