We had a very relaxing time on the cruise and enjoyed nearly every minute. The MSC Splendida was a nice cruise ship for its type. This is not a luxury cruise ship, but is clean and well kept. We feel that the ratings of MSC are lower than they should be, at least based on our experience. The majority of the passengers were of course European. North American, Australian and New Zealand travelers may find the European passengers "cold" or less open to talk. There was an obvious socio-cultural difference we noticed and sensed that some of the passengers were a bit taken a back by this.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Because we purchased the Yacht Club experience, we did not have to wait in line to drop our luggage. We were greeted with soft drinks, snacks, and prosecco and then were escorted to the Yacht Club area on the MSC Splendida where we were shown our room and were given a brief tour and briefing about amenities and what the Yacht Club included.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
We only went to the main buffet once and there was a nice variety and good tasting food. Again, because we had the Yacht Club our evening dinners were in the restaurant for Yacht Club passengers and breakfasts and most lunch meals we enjoyed by the pool area. Good service and excellent food. We quickly learned that arriving at our scheduled dinner time resulted in slow service - both from the kitchen and the waiters. Therefore, we began arriving around 9pm (rather than 8:15pm) and had much better service and attention. I only had dish that was very bland and that was the seafood risotto.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
We went to the fitness center, sauna and the pool in the Yacht Club (the main pool was nice but super busy and full). We did not attend any of the shows or other activities and this was mainly due to the fact that the show times were right before our dinner time (8:15) or at 9pm and therefore we did not attend.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Overall, excellent service and staff. At every meal we saw ship staff who were wearing the white captain-like uniforms. They were selectively friendly with some guests and all of the ship personnel bent over backwards for them when they were around. This was especially disappointing at dinner in the Yacht Club when on two occasions they arrived to eat and were attended to like kings and queens while we, as well as other passengers waited more than 30 minutes for a refill on water and another 20 minutes to receive dessert menus. The restaurant for Yacht Club is run by Italian men and perhaps their sense of service is different compared to service in the Mexico, the U.S. or Canada. They felt they were giving fantastic service and we can say that we have had much better service (waiting tables, etc) and customer service in Mexico and Malaysia than anywhere we have ever traveled. MSC could benefit from additional training for personnel on all levels in this regard.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The ship was clean and well-maintained.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
We had a Deluxe Suite with a balcony on the 16th floor, portside. The size was comfortable for two people and was kept very clean throughout our stay. Nice towels and there was a hair dryer as well. Could have used more hangars since it was a 8 day - 7 night cruise.
Ship tip
The Yacht Club experience is definitely worth the money, especially if traveling without children.
We did not do an excursion. Palermo had some things to see but was not the cleanest or the nicest. Definite evidence of a strong presence of the mafia.
Several of the ports were located 20-30 minutes from the center of the city. While MSC organized shuttle buses, often there were free or much cheaper options within 50 to 300m of the ship. In this case, we found the shuttle bus more comfortable option as we had a guaranteed transportation method at night.
We did not disembark in Valencia as we arrived at 8a.m. and had to be back on the ship at 3:30pm. We had already been to Valencia before as well. This followed Palma de Mallorca where we arrived at 1pm and had to be on the ship by 11:00pm. Therefore, was a short turn around time and again, because the city was located over 30 minutes from the port, we decided to have a day on the ship instead of rushing around.
We would have appreciated more information about transportation once we disembarked the ship. Apparently some people had arranged transportation to the airport in Rome. We took a free bus to a bus stop where we paid 2 euros each to travel to the train station in Civitavecchia.
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