Honest Review of MSC

[martin43]

Evening all,

 

I just got back from a week on the MSC Preziosa. I though a recent review of the ship and cruise might help others when deciding if MSC was for them.

 

I should start by saying I'm no expert. My only other cruise experience was on the Canberra as a kid in the mid 80's and a week on the Oasis of the Seas last year.

 

We chose to organise our own flights to Venice and the journey from airport to port was easy. We arrived at 1215 and joined a long queue to check in. We waited for around an hour and fifteen minutes to drop our bag and the a further 25 minutes to complete the check in formalities. This seemed quite long to us, especially given the heat.

 

Starting off with the room. We took an ocean view state room as we our son was a little too young for a balcony. It was well sized and had loads of wardrobe space, more than on the Oasis. The room was well kept and we'll decorated. My only grumble would be the TV. The only English channel was sky news however there appeared to be endless French, Italian, German, Spanish etc.

 

The ship itself was amazing. From the bars to the pools, it was everything I expected it to be. My son loved the kids water park and I enjoyed the water slide on more than one ocassion! We all liked the garden bar pool in particular, lovely when sailing away with a cocktail in hand.

 

Next on to the food. We didn't eat in the main dining room so can't really comment on this. However we did use the buffet every day. Whilst the food, variety and quality was excellent it was often luke warm borderline cold. We also ate in the extra charge sports bar. It cost around €5 each but was well worth it.

 

Drinks when bought seemed expensive, €17 for two cocktails and a soft drink. We decided to take the Alegrissimo package on the first night and found it to be excellent value, we even kept our receipts to check.

 

Staff on the whole were very good, with the exception of some bar staff who seemed rude and impatient.

 

Entertainment was excellent. From the entertainment team to the main theatre shows, we couldn't complain. Most seem to be dance, singing etc to bridge the language gap of many nationalities.

 

On the subject of languages. Announcements will be done in four or five languages and always start with English. They can get tiresome but I learned to switch off when they changed over.

 

We had a ml fantastic time and couldn't recommend MSC highly enough. In fact we liked it so much we have just booked an 11 night cruise on the Splendida in Sept 14.

 

If you have any questions please ask and I'll do my best to answer.

[alexkrn46]

I was on this cruise this summer, and I agree with your review.While I loved the Oasis I felted disconnected to the sea. the sports bar is a hidden gem also.

[CTBob]

Thanks for your review. Looking forward to my first MSC cruise on the Divina in December. I'll be sure to check out the Garden Bar and the Sports Bar. Bob

[Beamafar]

I would agree with everything in your review .........and Allegrissimo is definitely the way to go.

 

Great to hear you enjoyed your cruise. I hope you have as good a time on your next one - Splendida is a beautiful ship - even nicer than the Preziosa in my opinion. The colour scheme sets off the Swarovski crystal staircase in a more effective way and it also seems to create a softer environment than the harder greys on Preziosa.

[earn]

Delighted to read that you had a great cruise. We spent 17 nights on Preziosa this Easter and loved the ship. The pool at the Garden bar was our favourite too.

[Dunderess]

Hi martin43,

Your review helped me, even if I do not face a choice of shipping companies or ships, this time. I've already booked a trip with MSC and we leave in late October.

 

Will try the waterslide, if the weather conditions allow. :-)

[zanneone]

We've just got back from our 1st cruise with MSC Opera....and yes everything was great except the warm / cold Buffet food? Oh and the one Sky News channel?!! :confused: