Which MSC cruise is the BEST in entertainment, shows, activities, ports & value?

Dear MSC experts, which of these MSC mediterranean cruises is the BEST in terms of

1) Ship entertainment, shows & activities

2) Ports

3) Value

MSC Poesa, 6N, $894, Bari--Olympia--Mykonos--Athens--Sarande--Dubrovnik--Venice

MSC Orchestra, 12N, $1912, Genoa--Marseille--Barcelona--Casablanca--Tenerife--Funchal--Malaga--Civita(Rome)--Genoa

MSC Preziosa, 9N, $1447, Genoa--Malaga--Casablanca--Lisbon--Barcelona--Marseille--Genoa

MSC Sinfonia, 5N, $659, Venice--Split--Kotor--Civita(Rome)--Genoa

We're doing Preziosa's itinerary on Magnifica next month. We chose it because it's going to a non-EU country - so onboard duty-free availability was a factor. Another was because it's 9 nights. We find that 7 night cruises are just not long enough to get fully immersed in the cruise. Also, we were on Magnifica (Orchestra's sister ship) last year and absolutely loved it! The entertainment in Tiger Bar (Savannah Bar on Orchestra) every night was fantastic! One of the best venues onboard any MSC ship that we've been on.

We haven't been on Poesia (same class ship -Musica - as Magnifica and Orchestra). We're going on Orchestra in December and looking forward to comparing that with Magnifica. That's an 11 night cruise.

Preziosa is a bigger ship - Fantasia class. It's a beautiful ship and has a wonderful theatre for shows as well as more entertainment venues. She has the Yacht Club enclave onboard - now, that's a fantastic "Experience".

Sinfonia is the smallest ship - Lirica class - with far less scope for entertainment. However, we spent 35 nights in total aboard her last year and loved every moment. We were in Aurea cabins so had MyChoice dining. They had a special area in the restaurant at breakfast and lunch for Aurea guests which we really enjoyed. The crew made our time onboard very special.

We've been to all the ports you mention bar 3 of them - Lisbon, Sarande and Kotor. The 2 stand-out for me are Venice and Dubrovnik.

Value is in the eye of the beholder.

Another thing to factor in here will be flights. You may have to do a night in a hotel the night before for some ports because the flights may not get you in on time for the departure or they may only fly into that airport every other day. I found Venice embarkation was usually the cheapest but the flights were very expensive or not available the days I required. They all sound fab though so no matter which you choose you will have a great time.

. ""I found Venice embarkation was usually the cheapest""

So, are cruises sailing out off Venice the cheapest, because of lower port fees?

Thanks so much, dear Beamafar!How would you compare the entertainment shows and activities on the above 4 ships?

Juicy, we will be doing land tours before and after the Cruise.

So travel by Eurail to Venice

Thanks so much, dear Beamafar!How would you compare the entertainment shows and activities on the above 4 ships?

DH thinks I'm dear, too - as in expensive! :D

I love the big ships for the variety of entertainment and wider range of activities so I guess either Preziosa or Orchestra. Also because they're both longer cruises so you'd have more time to enjoy the ship. Port intensive cruises can be very tiring so any cruise with a couple of sea days is best. Gives you time to recharge the auld batteries! ;)

I've no idea it's just something I noticed when researching my own cruises.

. ""I found Venice embarkation was usually the cheapest""

So, are cruises sailing out off Venice the cheapest, because of lower port fees?