MSC Orchestra Review - Morocco, Canaries & Mediterranean - 24/02 - 08/03

[CruisingFox27]

Hope you have a great trip. We are quite liking the smaller feel of Orchestra , although I'm finding it difficult to get orientated with decks 'missing'...

[Beamafar]

I felt the same way about our first time on Magnifica; I was so used to the Fantasia class sized ship. However, I loved it!

 

Getting a bit frustrated now as we haven't received our tickets yet! :( I know MSC was waiting for Aer Lingus to issue the flight tickets, but that should have happened last Friday.

 

Anyway ... have a ball! :)

Edited August 20, 2018 by Beamafar

[NcooperCruise]

Truthfully I didn't think I would get as much of this review done today, but I think I've covered most of the key points so time for a summary and any questions.

 

Disembarkation was easy and we were allowed to keep the room until 10AM due to the Black Card perk. We walked off about 10:30 after having breakfast and hopped in a taxi to our hotel in Barcelona. Just as smooth as embarkation was.

 

I forgot to mention earlier, we were in our cabin for 12:30 on embarkation day and our luggage arrived about 14:30 - very impressed with the speed of all of this and far better than hanging about all day.

 

We were also lucky in our hotel in Barcelona and we were able to take our room from our arrival at 10.45AM which makes things much easier than having to wander about the city for hours before settling in the room.

 

Summary:

 

Having sailed MSC before, we had a good idea of what we would get and set our expectations accordingly. We know we will get a glitzy, clean and modern ship. We know we'll get reasonably good service and get it for a reasonable price. We did receive all of this. We know we will not get the best food and sadly we were proven correct, in line with others' assessment of the food.

 

 

However I am quite balanced about it and I am not assessing it as extreme in any regard (good or bad), just OK, not great, but not awful. Whilst I think I enjoyed it slightly more and for slightly longer than others have, and it wouldn't put me off cruising MSC again, it always comes back to the food. Before this cruise, I noted on Bea's review that this was a 'make or break' cruise for MSC for me - I gave them every opportunity to impress, by sailing in the best category cabin available on this ship, and getting the top experience offered for this type of ship (Aurea).

 

 

I'm pleased to say that I have not disregarded MSC as a result of this trip, and I'd be glad to sail MSC again - compromising the food quality for the price of the trip and the itinerary.

 

 

 

Our thinking has turned more towards the Yacht Club - we think all of the fundamentals for MSC are broadly right, and they just need to up the quality factor (in food, and some other areas, such as lounge entertainment). I'm hoping the YC will deliver some if not all of that and consequently we've decided next time we sail with MSC it will be in the YC. We are eyeing Splendida out of Dubai this winter.

 

 

 

That's not to say we won't sail MSC in a category below YC again if the price and itinerary are right, but we wouldn't go below Aurea purely due to the MyChoice dining perk and it would have to be a very good price. MyChoice IS make or break for us as we are so used to the Freestyle dining concept on NCL.

 

 

 

Our next cruise is back with NCL in July, to the Baltics, but I will be ramping up my interest in the YC in the meantime and researching the Middle East route for a YC experience which we're sure we would enjoy.

 

 

 

We liked this cruise overall, and would do it over again, all told. I hope this has been helpful to those considering Orchestra and if there are any specific questions I will do my very best to answer them. :)

Thanks for this amazing review. I've been looking into MSc because they have Casablanca on the itinerary. We've been loyal to Celebrity for quite a few years now. Have you been on Celebrity, and if so aside from the food, what else could we deem inferior?

[nimiq]

That was a great informative review ...my only question is when leaving out of Europe is it true that all tips and charges are In Euro $$ ?

Thanks

 

 

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[CruisingFox27]

That was a great informative review ...my only question is when leaving out of Europe is it true that all tips and charges are In Euro $$ ?

Thanks

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Yes, all of the prices and costs are in Euros.

[Captain-John]

On 9/4/2018 at 11:10 PM, CruisingFox27 said:

 

Yes, all of the prices and costs are in Euros.

So sorry CF - missed your update back in August - been so busy.

 

I hope you had a great cruise. I take it by fixed, you mean MSC got round to fixing it? Can't remember why I didn't report it to guest services myself.....

[CruisingFox27]

Terrific cruise thank you. I couldn't say for certain who fixed it but we checked the divider on arrival and there was no issue.