We had a good time on our first msc cruise but for us the aurea experience was needed. We still prefer NCL; not for the food/drinks but for the vibe on the ship. A lot of extremely loud italian people, a lot of smoking in every area, too many rules...but we did had a very nice time.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
We had a 10am arrival time. We were on the ship at 10.15am. We had priority embarkation but as msc have an embarkation in every port there were no long lines. You also need to respect your arrival time.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
We had my choice dining in bubbles restaurant (aurea package). For us we found that the food and drinks have a good quality (less sugar in the drinks and better cheese/bread than on NCL).
We only went to the buffet 1 time for lunch (extremely crowded and not a lot of choice) and 3 times for breakfast (nice area outside on deck 19 at the bar). We did go the the mexican and the teppanyaki and it was fun and good.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
We enjoyed the hottubs and bar area on top 20 for the aurea guests. Also the thermal spa is nice but too busy on a seaday. We did the slides and had a lot of fun. Main pool was heated but had very much salt in it.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
We did not go to the shows. You had to make a reservation as quick as possible. We prefer a nice dinner/casino/bar. The live music in the masters of the seas was good and also the band in the speakeasy was a lot of fun.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Friendly staff. They work so hard; 10 to 12 hours a day, every day, 8 months without 1 day off.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Ship is very nice but a lot of the common areas are never used.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
We stayed in an infinity window cabin on deck 12. You can open the window. Cabin is large and very nice. We did hear a lot of noise from people in the nearby cabins but I think that the italian people are just extremely loud.
Ship tip
The ship is large and very bussy. We prefered to stay in the aurea area (area with hottubs/bar only for aurea guests/my choice dining in a different part of the restaurant). So more private, not crowded, same staff every day so more personal service.
As there is a disembarkation in every port this was so well organized and quiet (no anouncements). We had to leave our cabin by 8- 8.30am but we stayed onboard untill 11am (latest possible is 1 or 1.30pm). You can still use everything onboard and even order drinks with our beverage package. There is a speciale area for your hand lugage so you do not need to carry everything to the buffet/bar/pool.
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