Use MSC because it has good itineraries and good staffing and good ships and good prices. I like the international customer base.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
We arrived at our assigned time and boarding at the Stazione Maritima in Trieste was easy. Only stood in line about 15 minutes.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
We only used the buffet and complimentary main dining room and each night we found something very good to eat. MSC does good when it comes to offering vegetarian selections which we prefer. Their desserts are only ok...I think they want you to go by gelato. Waiters were perfect. Waiters responsive and friendly. Food was good. The breakfast buffet was chaotic. Need to have all beverage stations open...the rear one had nothing. Need some free lemonade and ice tea.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
We did not use any activities onboard so I can only say ok since nothing enticed us to participate. Usually we will do some trivia on ships but wondered how that might work in 5 languages...do love that MSC reports in so many languages!
Entertainment
5 out of 5
We went to 2 shows and the troupe aboard was excellent. The signing and dancing was fun to watch. At the loyalty club party there was a couple doing salsa that was terrific!
Children's Programs
no children
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Our room steward Mad-y-a was so attentive and cheery. One of the best ever. The waiters chatted with us just enough and got our orders out quickly and perfectly. Customer service was nice as was the internet helper.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
I like the ship layout because we can pick a regular cabin with the large balcony in order to hang our clothes out to dry. All areas are attractive and clean and welcoming.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Regular inside. Large balcony. It is obstructed because you can not see back. Nice size shower and good bed.
Ship tip
There is a bar area on deck 6 called something like Piazzetta that has a small deli counter with finger sandwiches and desserts which are complimentary. Love going there for happy hour.
Such a big city and decided to tackle it on our own and got ripped off by a guy posing as public transportation person at the billetmatic machine by Tram 1. Looks like he is getting you a 10 ride ticket and it only ends up with about 3 rides (he must keep the change somehow). Otherwise we did well going from Tram 1 into the historic part of the city and finding the metro that goes under the Bosporous over to the Asian side. We also on day 2 (an altered itinerary that skipped Epheus due to the Feast of Abraham) a Bosphorous MSC shore excursion that was so so. They did not even sail past the Hagia Sophia.
So much fun. Took the city bus in and a quick walk to the city beach Fairiko ? with the Asian art museum close by. We visited both and sat at the seaside cafe for baklava.
Our only purpose here was to find an ATM and perhaps just stroll around right near the port. The walk off the pier is quite long and there were no ATMs. We came upon a bank that was defunct. Asked everyone including at the tourism office.
We embarked here and then stayed 2 days afterwards. Love the city. Took city bus number 24 up to the old castle and cathedral and also city bus number 6 out to the Miramare castle. The walk through the park area off highway 144 where the bus drops you is a bit of a climb but even us oldsters could do it. And the castle is so worth seeing.
Athens is one of my favorite cities. Take the public port to city bus number X80 that drops you at the Acropolis. We had done the ancient ruins before so we walked a bit to see Hadrian's arch and onto one of the best private art collections I have ever seen at Goulandris (?) foundation.
Never have we not done a self walk off but...Coming into berth 57 in Trieste was a shock and our promised departure time ended up an hour later. There were no announcements keeping us informed. When at stazione maritima no one directed us to our luggage and people started getting on our bus before we could get off! There needed to be an MSC coordinator on the bus to direct activities.
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