Our Disappointing MSC Preziosa Experience

[moomoocow]

Mrs MooMoo, you credit the OP far toooo mooouch. I think it is an absolute fake. Study it.

 

We were on the Preziosa for a 7 night Med in October last year during that hellish time known as "half-term". The ship was heaving. Packed to the rafters with screaming brats and devil-may-care parents.

 

Yet at no point did we ever feel that the ship was too full or that the amenities were groaning under the weight of too many pax. The sun shone brightly on our sea day and most everyone was out on deck having fun and being unruly and European. Yet we could always find a sun lounger, towels were always available, BBC's were on hand when required and Mr Moo could always get a gratis mug of tea from the buffet (as you know some things are of paramount importance!)

 

I don't share the OP's opinion on most things they've posted. On some issues (the remarks about water) I think they're completely wrong. But I'm not here to rubbish how the OP perceived and reported their MSC experience. I want to advise readers that it wasn't my experience. Giving a balanced view helps. I don't think trying to discredit people adds value to the boards, irrespective of our feelings about what we are reading :)

Edited April 17, 2014 by moomoocow

[AmoMondo]

We're sailing out of Venice at 17:00 on MSC Fantasia, I think the latest to enter the ship is 15:00h. Which time would you recommend to check-in? We arrive at Venice train station a little before 12:00h and I thought about going directly to the ship (since the last time we sailed with RCI and we had no problem whatsoever having the same time schedule)

 

Also, I saw at the Venice Port map that there's a drop luggage point (or something like that). Do you leave the luggage in that location prior to going to the terminal? In that case, if you arrive earlier I guess you can go elsewhere instead of waiting in the terminal building.

 

Latest time would be 16.00. Personally I'd go around 13.00 to 13.30. Venice is a big but very chaotic port. There's aossibility you may get

On earlier or at least be able to drop your bags off, but there is a pretty much equal chance of getting a considerable wait.

 

Have lunch and then head there

[Katgoesonholiday]

Please check how many of bar attenders sing and dance in shows :p

 

Also, please check the wait time in line to use a hot tub! Do they hand out tickets for this or do people just form an orderly line?

 

Will do! :p

 

On a more serious note, I will definitely have a leisurely morning in Venice and NOT turn up to the ship early. I'm terrible about waiting in queues.

[AmoMondo]

Will do! :p

 

On a more serious note, I will definitely have a leisurely morning in Venice and NOT turn up to the ship early. I'm terrible about waiting in queues.

 

I'm not good at waiting either. Then again most Mediterraneans don't do queueing anyway! I doubt there will be a big enough percentage of passengers from countries who do queue (stand in line) to form much of one anyway!

 

Have fun - with your sense of humour, there is a very good chance you will.

 

BTW I'm convinced it's an ashtray and not a soap dish but I won't be losing sleep over it if I'm wrong. I shall leave it to you to reach your own conclusion.

[Katgoesonholiday]

IBTW I'm convinced it's an ashtray and not a soap dish but I won't be losing sleep over it if I'm wrong. I shall leave it to you to reach your own conclusion.

 

Ashtrays and bottle openers in the bathroom? Streuth! I'm not sure about this Medditeranean way of life? Sounds a little too exciting for me.

 

I think we need photos and a poll.

[Katgoesonholiday]

Have fun - with your sense of humour, there is a very good chance you will.

 

I'm looking forward to it! I'm an incurable optimist with a Pollyanna complex and firmly of the opinion that a bad day on a Mediterranean cruise in Yacht Club has got to be better than a good day cooking and cleaning and running six kids to and from school!

 

One thing that does concern me though, part of the reason I'm looking forward to this holiday is the break from whining and whinging. I do hope that having escaped it from our kids we aren't going to get it from our fellow passengers! :p

Edited April 17, 2014 by Katgoesonholiday

[alexkrn46]

I'm looking forward to it! I'm an incurable optimist with a Pollyanna complex and firmly of the opinion that a bad day on a Mediterranean cruise in Yacht Club has got to be better than a good day cooking and cleaning and running six kids to and from school!

 

One thing that does concern me though, part of the reason I'm looking forward to this holiday is the break from whining and whinging. I do hope that having escaped it from our kids we aren't going to get it from our fellow passengers! :p

 

I will be on the 527 cruise and will give my impressions of the ship.

[AmoMondo]

I'm looking forward to it! I'm an incurable optimist with a Pollyanna complex and firmly of the opinion that a bad day on a Mediterranean cruise in Yacht Club has got to be better than a good day cooking and cleaning and running six kids to and from school!

 

One thing that does concern me though, part of the reason I'm looking forward to this holiday is the break from whining and whinging. I do hope that having escaped it from our kids we aren't going to get it from our fellow passengers! :p

 

There are never that many English speakers onboard, so if there is whinging and whining chances are you won't know about it as it may well be in a different language!

 

I've found misery likes to attract misery and those that like a whinge about the most trivial of things tend to find others who are happy to agree with them how terrible everything is. Me, I avoid them at all costs and it usually fairly easy, you hear them before you see them.

 

Bottle openers in bathrooms are unusual for us too. No idea why they put it there unless it was because they were worried about spill ages on the carpet if they put it in the main part of the cabin.

[Skipper Tim]

There are never that many English speakers onboard, so if there is whinging and whining chances are you won't know about it as it may well be in a different language!

 

I've found misery likes to attract misery and those that like a whinge about the most trivial of things tend to find others who are happy to agree with them how terrible everything is. Me, I avoid them at all costs and it usually fairly easy, you hear them before you see them.

 

Yes, returning from the Fantasia cruise I heard English voices in Venice airport talking about "the ship". Sure enough, they had been on the same cruise and I let them know that two of us (I miss 'All Aboard?'s presence here) had been writing a daily live review, in case they happened to be interested. "Non-stop complaints then?". They were a group of around six, English, who had all had the worst cruise of their lives all ready to agree with each other while I had just had not just the best cruise of my life but had just had one of the best experiences of my life. Despite the shared cruise, I had nothing whatsoever in common with them.

 

There is a trend of ignorance which manifests itself as being clever and critical but I find embarrassingly crass - embarrassing when they are my compatriots but crass regardless. These people really should not be allowed out to spoil other people's lives. Some people are simply not fit for purpose and I hope evolution will see them off.

 

As you say though, they do tend to stick together and they probably reproduce too. I bet that is an extremely unsatisfactory experience but who is there to complain to?

Edited April 18, 2014 by Skipper Tim

[Katgoesonholiday]

As you say though, they do tend to stick together and they probably reproduce too. I bet that is an extremely unsatisfactory experience but who is there to complain to?

 

*snorts tea all over the screen*

[Katgoesonholiday]

"Non-stop complaints then?". They were a group of around six, English, who had all had the worst cruise of their lives all ready to agree with each other.

 

It seems daft in the extreme to me! Why spend so much money and time and then sabotage it with being whiney and dissatisfied? You might as well stay at home! It's just so sad and wasteful. :(

[engapol]

I was put off pretty badly by reviews after my travel agent booked me and 2 teens on two consecutive MSC cruises (Divina and Splendida, 2012. East and West Mediterranean). I'm new here as you can see but I had to say something after I saw the outrageous accusations leveled at MSC.

 

Briefly (Divina):

 

Check-in at Venice was chaotic but surprisingly very fast, nowhere near as slow and painful as most airport check-ins. (And they had thousands, not hundreds of passengers to deal with)

 

Staff couldn't be more friendly, (The service was on par with most of the 5-star hotels I've stayed at) .

There was none of the European professional coolness that people complained about, I was always greeted with a smile and I almost felt guilty seeing the amount of work the mostly South-east Asian crew put in towards maintaining the ship. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that our cabin had been cleaned sometimes 3 times a day.

 

Shows at night were stunning, they would've been more fitting on Broadway than on a cruise ship.

 

Dining: Food at the sit-down restaurant was mediocre (service was impeccable though) but that didn't matter since the Buffet was fantastic, choice was always huge especially at Lunch where the choices were nearly doubled.

 

Language: Was not an issue, all announcements and speeches at shows were given in 5 or so languages, but what's to complain about? I found that English was the Lingua Franca on board for most of the crew and everything (brochures, leaflets etc.) was available in English. Passengers were mostly non-English speakers though, so that's something one has to prepare for, but that's hardly MSC's fault.

 

The only thing I could possibly fault is their slightly penny-pinching attitude and their constant attempts to get you to buy stuff, but it was in no way invasive and in the grand scheme of things, is barely worth mentioning.

 

If I could give the ship 6 stars out of 5, I would.

Edited April 21, 2014 by engapol

[Katgoesonholiday]

Thanks engapol! Reassuring words from a fellow kiwi!

[bluejays29]

We just this this same cruise last week with the only difference being we embarked in Bari not Venice. We arrived at the cruise terminal around 11 and we were on the ship with a drink in hand before 12:30. This ship was by far one of the most beautiful ships we have ever been on. The staff was amazing. Food was available 20 hours a day. The buffet food was well above any American cruise line that we have taken. The shows were good not great but nothing really to complain about. Our only complaint would be the short port times. I would book with MSC again in a heart beat.