MSC Splendida Cruise Reviews - Reviews

You know when you plan things, but somehow nothing turns out right?  From the off I mis-read because I saw 2 dates for for Amsterdam I thought, oh good 2 days there (lots I wanted to see) - of course that was my mistake not MSC's.  It was nearly lunchtime before got off the ship and we sailed first thing the following morning.  Everything seemed to be against us, arriving in Hamburg late because no berth (we had to sail past and turnaround) - they also docked furthest away as they could (usually so close you can walk it the city), there was no shuttles available until the afternoon and so just couldn't be bothered in the end, shuttle very expensive to get into Bruges and only Le Havre proved to be a cheap shuttle and a more interesting place than I thought it would be.  Everything seemed geared to ship's organised excursions and thwarted if you wanted to do your own thing.  Well that is what it felt like.  Onboard there was poor organisation of the very poor selection of things to do e.g. Shuffleboard on at one time, darts half an hour later etc.  So there was no time to get from one to the other.  Food and cabin OK.  Am sorry you asked me about this trip because I regard it as my worse cruise.

The ports were amazing and that is what I will focus on remembering when I think about this trip. Unfortunately, I have lost interest in wanting to travel with MSC in the future. We experienced poor service throughout the ship, even when we tried to seek help about a major housekeeping issue in our room. It's no wonder the service is bad when MSC directly encourages you Not to tip individual employees, there is no incentive to work hard. I was a bit surprised that you were not allowed to have water at dinner without paying for a bottle, and they were unable to serve coffee after dinner! I thought it was supposed to be a European cruise. On that note, they did not have a Craps table in the casino because it "isn't European". What a huge mistake! Not only is that the biggest game to create excitement in the casino, it can make the ship the most money. Fools. Sadly the food was also very subpar with the least amount of selections that I've seen on a cruise. Also, no lobster night : ( There were almost no activities offered and the few they had were the exact same every day. The entertainment was alright with a few good shows, but I was very bummed that they had no comedy shows due to the language barrier. We consistently heard other cruisers sharing similar feedback. Particularly because of the continual lack of poor service (except from a few hard workers that MSC can't bring down) I now call MSC the Minimum Service Cruiseline.

I must start by saying this is the nicest cruise ship we have been on, Except for the orange carpeting in the room, it was beautiful and in excellent condition and with higher quality finishing's than other ships.

Check in was easy, except it was strange that they wouldn't take your credit card information during check in. Instead each cruiser had to go to a kiosk on board to register a credit card for charges.

Stateroom--We had a mini-suite and the extra room was worth it, as we ended up spending a lot of time in the room. The carpet wasn't attractive. The couch couldn't be sat on. It was a sleeper sofa, and when you sat on it, the cushions slid out onto the floor. The balcony was nice, but there was a beam going down the middle, obstructing the view. The closet was spacious, but the doors were narrow and I bruised my arm getting in and out. They only provided shampoo, so you need to bring your own conditioner.

Dining --Let me start by saying I can't eat gluten, however my traveling companion had no dietary restrictions. I notified MSC of my dietary restriction as soon as I booked my cruise and called three weeks before to confirm it was in my record. They confirmed it was and indicated the buffet items would be marked indicating those that were gluten-free and in the dining room there would be a separate menu. Seemed easy enough. I went to the buffet when we got on board and nothing was marked. I went to customer service and she said they should all be marked. I asked what the marking was because I saw nothing. She called someone and was told that they wouldn't mark anything and that I should only eat in the restaurant (which wasn't open). Seems like a change in policy. While I realize there is the potential for cross-contamination, I can use my judgment to determine the risk of eating at the buffet, if they items that aren't prepared with gluten are marked. This is what I have done on all other cruises with no issue. Other cruise lines will actually bring you fresh items if you ask, so you don't have to worry about cross-contamination. Not on MSC. In the dining room, they do have a separate gluten-free menu. However, they have a separate person who takes your order. They don't coordinate with the server for your table, so you aren't served at the same time. More than once, after waiting 20 minutes between courses I just left without eating the main dish, as it never came.   There were a lot of food choices for regular and gluten-free diners. Similar to European restaurants, they don't serve water with meals. So you either need to buy what you want, or buy a beverage package (more on that later).

In the dining room, they make no attempt to seat you by people who speak the same language as you, so there is a lot of awkward silence at the table. I usually enjoy getting to know others on the cruise and the dining room is the best location for this, however not on this cruise.

Room service--warning--they charge per plate, even if they say it is free. The menu is very poorly written. It only mentions charges for the desserts (indented under the dessert indicating it applies to the item directly above it). However, this is for everything on the menu. The portions are tiny, so not a meal substitute.

Housekeeping--above and beyond. Magically had the room done when we returned, regardless of time of day we left. They don't waste towels and time one creating towel animals, which I really appreciated.

Beverage-you pretty much need a beverage service as they don't provide anything in the restaurant to drink. Water, coffee and tea is available in the buffet. The mini-suite package included an unlimited drink package. When I went to get my drink, the server told me I only had a "water package" so I would have to pay for anything other than water. Again at the service desk they said our cards had one of the packages listed, but I actually had a higher level of service. If I hadn't known to ask, we would have spent a lot of money on drinks.

Entertainment-because of the diverse languages, the evening entertainment is very limited to non-vocal music, dancing and acrobatics. The first time it was entertaining, but each night was basically a repeat of the prior act with just a new "theme." New theme meant the costumes changed, but not much else. The program stated no recording, but this was not reinforced in the introduction, or enforced during the program. There were so many people with their screens on video taping the performance, it was very distracting. The other issue was there were so many people who showed up late. They seemed to think it was okay to distract everyone else and obstruct the view so that they could be seated. Rude is same in all languages!

The daily entertainment was very limited. You were basically responsible for entertaining yourself. With so many sea days this was challenging. The TV only had one English station that came in, and you couldn't plug another device into the TV, so it was a waste of space.

Spa--Well laid out and service was great. As on other cruises, the masseuse will try to sell you products, but that is to be expected. Steam room and sauna were nice. Steam room is not very hot and there is a lot of standing water on the floor and seat, so be prepared.

Elevators-they need to work on the programing for the elevators. We would stand and watch elevator after elevator go by (in the direction we had requested) and not stop at our floor. People began just pushing the up and down arrows when requesting an elevator and would get on the first one to stop, regardless of direction. This meant they took up space going down and then back up, further reducing the availability of elevators. It was really frustration. Due to a physical disability, I could not take the stairs, so was forced to wait. The back elevators access is limited, as they have the restaurant in the middle of the ship. Poor planning.

Tenders--they don't advertise which stops require a tender (as other cruise ships do). They let you know the day before, then require you to go to a location to get a ticket to get off the ship. The tickets can be for hours later, as they are only running a couple of tenders. Be forewarned. Even if you have a private tour booked, they won't let you on the tender before your ticket.

Excursions-very limited and overpriced. The communicate upfront that if there aren't enough people speaking your language that you will be put on an English speaking tour. However, what they did was group the non-German speaking guests with the English speaking guests and sent a translator from the ship to translate everything the guide said. This severely limited what the guide could say, so the tours were not effective. The one tour we had that was only English was the best tour with the guide able to give us so much history and background, because he didn't have to stop for the translation.

Disembarkation-fairly smooth except for passport distribution. They took the passports when we boarded. On disembarkation day, the distribution of passports was delayed and started after we were supposed to have been off the ship. There was supposed to be a shuttle to the train station. We looked for signs or employees to ask about this, but couldn't find it, so ended up taking a taxi.

If you are an English-speaking guest, use your judgment when booking with MSC. It will not be a cruise where you get to know other cruisers and will spend a lot of time alone with those with which you are traveling.

The reason for this cruise was Svalbard/Spitsbergen, North Cape, Trumso and 5 nights in the Artic so different from Miami.   The Fyords and Bergen where the dessert.  The lagniappe was Hamburg.  Met all our expectations

The Splendida was really too big, too many people, but the ship was so clean and their staff so helpful, that you can over look the crowds.

Our chamber maid was the nicest person and so helpful that we left her an additional  tip. 

The less expensive rooms down low were more  stable in a rough sea  and both days, the people in the top suites felt worst. A little justice.

WE just got back from our 1 week cruise thru the Westerm Mediterranean. Needless to say we had a wonderful time. I have sailed many ships and this was our 3rd MSC Cruise.  The yacht club was such a unique experience that when we came home I tried to find a MSC Yacht Club to the Baltic seas. We where treated special from the time we arrived at port to the time that we dis-embarked at the end of the trip. Pir dining experience was superb. I would do it ll over again, Great value for what you recieved. If that same class of service was on another ship the cost would be 3xs as much.

The Ship is beautiful, modern and clean. The cabin steward was great and the check in went wonderful. The real problem is the dining services both the dining room and casual self serve dining area. The dining room had very bad service getting anyone to wait on you, I never got the food I ordered, or they simply skipped a course and kept saying I forgot, The servers were rude and unprofessional. The dining room had little or no bar service and forget getting a clean table during peak hours, unless you want to clean the table yourself to get a place to eat.

It's a bit confusing to find your way around, but the ship is beautful.

I have been on a number of cruises and this one was a disappointment. This ship itself was very beautiful and new but the layout was terrible. None of the non-stateroom decks went all the way through so you had to go up and down all the time to find things. The service was marginal and there were extra service charges for everything from ice cream and desserts to room service. The children's program was "included" in the cost but very disorganized; we never did find a person around who could help actually register our kids even though there were a lot of kids on the ship. Usually the food is one of the best parts about a cruise, but the food on this ship was adequate at best. The buffet was awful and the formal dining room was only "ok". The formal nights were a disappointment as they didn't enforce the dress code; there were actually people in the dining room on the formal nights wearing jeans and shorts. Probably the biggest concern I had was safety. In light of recent issues with cruise ships sinking I was shocked that on a 7 day cruise we didn't have a lifeboat drill until the LAST night on the ship.

Overall I was really impressed with the ship. It was beautiful and extremely well maintained and spotless.

This is a fantastic and beautiful ship. The crew (with a few exceptions) is friendly and helpful. We enjoyed the non-smoking areas (esp. the smoke-free balconies!), the jazz music, and the ports of call. For the price, the Splendida can't be beat!

It is an amazing ship with excellent and ample facilities to ensure entertainment. Extremely clean and well maintained by a very friendly, competent and hard working staff. The cruise offered a good variety of locations and environments and plenty of activities. Great experience, worth recommending and repeating.

physically the ship is ok, because of its size it is iherently difficult to move around in. Lift lines back up for hour or so at a time, service by cabin, excursion, and bufett personnel was not very good. the additional charges for everything added up very quickly. filed lots of comments with the line

The ship is beautiful, the services are great, and the personnel are very friendly. It is definitely a high class, sophisticated ship, we had a lot of fun.

Let me first preface this paragraph by saying that I was born, raised, and live in the United States. I love it and I think it's the greatest country on Earth. Now, then. If you are an American who has somehow become accustomed to never waiting in a line, never paying for a drink, and not having to follow simple, clear instructions -- or, indeed, if you are put off by listening to announcements in foreign languages or experiencing people whose cultures are unfamiliar to you -- then please, by all means, do NOT take this cruise. In fact, please consider not traveling internationally at all. There are plenty of places you can go in our own country where people are accustomed to dealing with your me-first attitude. Overseas, we do not need our reputation further sullied by your need to be spoiled. I was appalled by the number of Americans I saw elbowing others and nearly diving over tables to get a better spot in line; or who yelled "ENGLISH!" to a wonderful, bi-lingual tour guide who was addressing the Italians in a bus consisting of half English speaking people and half Italian; or who constantly held up everyone because they were making a scene and demanding to see a manager; or who took as a personal affront being subjected to scenes of poverty or pushy street vendors. I mean it: next time, please stay home. However, if you approach it with the appropriate attitude, you will LOVE this cruise. The ports of call were fantastic, the service was top-notch, our cabin was excellent, the ship was clean, well-maintained, and offered lots to do. The times when many passengers are engaged in one task, such as passport collection, embarkation and debarkation do need some work. Management should work on better organizing these measures so that we don't see the best come out in all of the passengers. This was our first cruise and our honeymoon. I would do it all over again.

Overall the ship was great!! It's a beautiful ship and I can't say enough about it. This was our first cruise for my wife myself and our 11 year old. All the ports were excellent! Wish we had more time in each port. The food, entertainment,staff ,ports,condition of ship were excellent! I highly recommend this cruise.

We were on the MSC Splendida this past week. We loved the ship and the state rooms were wonderful. Food was average but we still managed to eat a lot of it. I tried to eat healthy and ordered the fish 3 times....but it let me down every time! Fishy fish! The pasta dishes were great as expected. Steak dinner was very good and the prawns...wow! Salads were just average. This is a Italian Cruise line so expect things to be very European. No coffee after breakfast. You will have to order it in one of the many lounges or pool side. They do have tea time several of the days from 3:45- 4:45. We would reccommend that you set up your own tours at the stops. Either do the double decker buses or get a taxi. The beach excurisions in Sicily and Tunisa were bad. LOVED Malta! We took the bus tour that was right there at the dock. It took 3 hours to go all around the island. Well worth it! Most of the shows were very good, talented entertainment. Singers were fair. Have Fun!

Worst guided tour for Petra tour, dumped us in Petra and disappeared, we didn’t get to see him again until we were back inthe bus. One swimming pool was closed for “woman only” no men allowed. All alcohol were removed from the cabins and no alcohol available, while another group (the ones that boarded in Jeddah) were able to drink, get drunk and we’re escorted to their cabin by security! Kids running down the halls at 11:00 p.m.

Terrible. I regret taking this cruise. What was supposed to be a vacation turned into a nightmare. I was not aware that this company treated customers according to nationalities. I’m a USA citizen and I have cruised with various companies all over the world. I have never experienced anything like this. I was under the impression that the MSC Splendida was an Italian company ship under a Panamanian flag and as such would comply with International Maritime Laws. I sailed on the MSC Splendida from Genoa, Italy to Sokhna, Egypt - November 14-26, 2022. I was unable to select this itinerary. There was no problem with the excursions in Italy or Greece but the ones in Jordan and Saudi Arabia were a complete disaster. An honest rating would be -***.

We started great, I was so excited for the trip. First excursion for Barcelona was overall okay because we breathed air only for 30 mins, but tour guide was amazing. It was pretty disappointing because most of our excursion were just panoramic. We barley left the bus. In Malaga I didn't have time to buy any souvenirs for memoirs. When we came back from trip it all went downhill from there. We started to see how terrible organization was during pandemic. On bus to Malaga there was a couple that was corona positive so they put us in isolation without any explanation. We waited for 48 hours to get tested but still nothing. Entire ship tested, but we in isolation are black sheep so no test for us. Because of disinformation and lack of tests I couldn't go to Rome for the first time in my life. They even gave us tickets for the excursion and broke my heart to pieces. They said it was administration mistake but it hurted me more than the fact that they put us in isolation without any explanation. Delivery food was bleak, served in plastic containers and some food was worse than hospital food. Every time I asked for the doctor to come to test us, they replied in terrible English it's a no go. What to say? Only one thing, DO NOT GO DURING PANDEMIC! They are disorganized and nobody tells you anything as well as not testing you properly. They told us several times that doctor will come in hour or so but he never showed. They ruined my first cruise experience and I will never go on any cruise for the rest of my life. Especially not with MSC cruise, not even if they pay me 1 mil€. My heart was broken to smithereens and I cried like a baby for days. But I learned my lesson. Traveling with cruise during pandemic is terrible idea, waste of time and money. Truly horrific experience, they ruined all the good times I had on other excursions. How very nice of them to not know anything, to tell us lies and to not do job they were hired to do.