MSC Armonia

[1fifthavenue]

I've booked for my 30th in July aboard Armonia, departing from Marseille.

 

Tempted to upgrade to a balcony from the ocean view we have booked already, does anyone know whether the balcony cabins are pretty much all in the new part installed as part of the Renaissance programme where the ships were cut and shut?

[Norwegian Cruiser 73]

Some of the balcony cabins are completely new and some are former ocean view cabins converted to balcony cabins. They are all approx. 13-14 sqm plus balcony. The former oceanview cabins are totally renewed with new furnitures, floor carpeting, curtains etc so. We sailed in one last year and had a lovely cruise. MSC Armonia is a great ship.

 

Here is a video from our cabin:

 

[1fifthavenue]

Thank you, that's really helpful :)

 

We sailed on Lirica, which is the sister ship however that was before the renaissance programme and the renovations

[Norwegian Cruiser 73]

Bear in mind that the cabins are quite small so if you upgrade to a balcony cabin make sure that you get a cabin with only two beds and not extra beds ( bunks ) on the cabin wall. The oceanwiew cabins and the balcony cabins are similar in size. A nice perk when sailing in a balcony cabin is that your main dining room will be La Pergola with My Choice dining time.

Edited March 8, 2016 by Norwegian Cruiser 73

[AmoMondo]

Check out the additional cost of a suite. They are pretty much double the size of an ocean view, have masses of storage and a much bigger bathroom with a bathtub I liked mine on the Armonia but that was pre stretch.

[1fifthavenue]

I've paid for the upgrade to balcony and my travel agent has noted on the booking that it's my 30th birthday, so fingers crossed we may be upgraded.

 

The balcony was on a guarantee basis whereas the ocean view we were given the choice of cabin number; when we've had a guarantee cabin before we've been lucky to get upgraded, so we will wait and see

 

Agree re the size; you can tell Armonia is older - the suites emulate the balcony cabins of the newer ships in the fleet such as Fantasia and Splendida... I wonder how long it will be before all of the Lirica class are retired with the pending deliveries of Seaside and Vista...

[AmoMondo]

I've paid for the upgrade to balcony and my travel agent has noted on the booking that it's my 30th birthday, so fingers crossed we may be upgraded.

 

The balcony was on a guarantee basis whereas the ocean view we were given the choice of cabin number; when we've had a guarantee cabin before we've been lucky to get upgraded, so we will wait and see

 

Agree re the size; you can tell Armonia is older - the suites emulate the balcony cabins of the newer ships in the fleet such as Fantasia and Splendida... I wonder how long it will be before all of the Lirica class are retired with the pending deliveries of Seaside and Vista...

 

I for one hope they don't retire the Lirica class for many years given the money they've just spent on them. They tend to have the more unusual and interesting itineraries and can get it to the smaller ports, especially in the Med. I often find the larger ships do the same old ports over and over again, maybe in a slightly different order.

 

I think (hope) there is still a place for both huge and small to suit different preferences.

[1fifthavenue]

Absolutely agree with you, and the Renaissance project is a sign that they are still committed to these ships as clearly it wouldn't make business sense to do all that work and then retire the ship.

 

I'd never thought about the size perspective in terms of accessibility for ports; perhaps that's why we've got Ibiza and Olbia included on our itinerary; they're not often on the list