Currently having a great time on Bellissima..,

[Stockjock]

I mentioned before that I had some prior issues with MSC customer service, and if you want to get a list of those, you can find my post entitled comedy of errors. But now that we are actually on the ship, we are having a terrific time.

 

Bellissima is gorgeous and state of the art. I’ve seen the reviews giving the ship an average rating of 2 1/2 stars with comments like “never again”, and I could not disagree more.

 

We are really having a wonderful time and I expect to write a very favorable review when I get back.

 

No, things are not perfect, they never are, but I feel like Bellissima is a beautiful ship and the operation is very well-run, and the good vastly outweighs all else.  I would not hesitate for a moment to recommend Bellissima.

 

If you have any questions, just ask.

 

[Captain-John]

Hope you continue to have a great time! We're recently off her sister, wish we were where you are now.......... 😄

[Até]

So it looks like MSC came through with the balcony upgrade.  Did you get the Aurea perks as well?  Easy drink package, spa access, Lighthouse MDR with My Choice dining?

[HLR]

Hi!

I read through your "Comedy of Errors" thread a wee bit back and it is great to read a follow up and that you are happy now! It helps reading these reviews that actually explain why someone is happy or unhappy with something. It gives you an idea of what "pitfalls" you may encounter and then you are prepared and they are not such a surprise and don't annoy you as much.

 

1) What a photogenic couple you are!

2) Great Pictures!

3) Who is the guy supposed to be who is dressed as a "STAR" you had your picture with?

4) People are writing the weirdest reviews of sister ship Meraviglia. Two mentioned it is so crowded there is nowhere for a quiet moment. [And in both reviews they actually said that they left the ship, one 3 days before the end of the cruise and one after the second night, because they were soooo unhappy. What?]

 

Looking forward to hearing more about your cruise!

 

Howard

[puri1]

Hi there we are also going to be on the bellissima soon, So would you mind telling all of us about your experience on drink package ? Msc has stopped there gelatos with the drink package so are they offering any gelatos vouchers or deals on board ? How do you rate the free theater shows on bellissima ? Last but not least tell us about the food and are there bars where you can also eat snacks for free ? Hope to hear from you soon thanks for sharing. 

[sarahvdb]

Hi there! Glad to read you’re having a good time as I have also read their reviews and started wondering if I had made a big mistake (cruise in September). 

 

I have also read that water is not free in the dining rooms with meals. Is that true? I find that hard to believe and when I called customer service I was told “pretty sure it’s free”. So, not convincing. 

 

Thanks!

sarah

[Stockjock]

On 5/29/2019 at 10:40 PM, Até said:

So it looks like MSC came through with the balcony upgrade.  Did you get the Aurea perks as well?  Easy drink package, spa access, Lighthouse MDR with My Choice dining?

No we did not get any of those perks. We purchased a drink package on our own, Which was the now discontinued 431 drink package.  They did not want to give me a bathrobe because I had fantastica experience, but they finally gave me one anyway to use. But that is about the extent of the perks on the upgrade.

[Stockjock]

On 5/29/2019 at 11:32 PM, HLR said:

Hi!

I read through your "Comedy of Errors" thread a wee bit back and it is great to read a follow up and that you are happy now! It helps reading these reviews that actually explain why someone is happy or unhappy with something. It gives you an idea of what "pitfalls" you may encounter and then you are prepared and they are not such a surprise and don't annoy you as much.

 

1) What a photogenic couple you are!

2) Great Pictures!

3) Who is the guy supposed to be who is dressed as a "STAR" you had your picture with?

4) People are writing the weirdest reviews of sister ship Meraviglia. Two mentioned it is so crowded there is nowhere for a quiet moment. [And in both reviews they actually said that they left the ship, one 3 days before the end of the cruise and one after the second night, because they were soooo unhappy. What?]

 

Looking forward to hearing more about your cruise!

 

Howard

Thank you. The star person is sort of their mascot, kind of like the smokestack guy on carnival.  There are not a ton of places for a quiet moment, but I guess you could go to your room. I would not characterize it as necessarily loud and less you go to a specific area that’s very congregated. I don’t think that we felt it was overly noisy.

 

On 5/30/2019 at 3:09 AM, puri1 said:

Hi there we are also going to be on the bellissima soon, So would you mind telling all of us about your experience on drink package ? Msc has stopped there gelatos with the drink package so are they offering any gelatos vouchers or deals on board ? How do you rate the free theater shows on bellissima ? Last but not least tell us about the food and are there bars where you can also eat snacks for free ? Hope to hear from you soon thanks for sharing. 

As I mentioned, we have the discontinued 431 drink package.  I think that the new one is not nearly as good. This discontinue drink package was a unusual  because it only covered very basic wines, which were so-so, but most other cocktails other than the top shelf premium stuff.  Our package did not cover gelato by a specific company down on the Promenade, but it did cover it at the swimming pool, which is MSC  product.

 

I don’t think the new lower and drink package covers that, and I am not sure about the higher and drink package. We were covered for coffee, water, and things like espresso and cappuccino as well, but I cannot say that the new package covers that. I think the coffee was covered by the fact that I booked directly through MSC USA as a perk.

 

By the way we are just pulling into port and I am doing talk to text, so apologies if the spelling is off. Asked of the food, I would say that it was hit and miss, but never terrible. Average is a good way to put it typically and probably most the time above average is a good description.  I thought the buffet was generally pretty good and offered good selections. I will say the same thing today that I wrote about Divina 3 1/2 years ago. The notion that they’re only hotdogs hamburgers and pizza is not correct. If you go during an offer. Where there is no lunch, breakfast, or dinner service then yes it will be limited. But if you visit during those hours, there is plenty of food and good choices. Most of it is tasty. Again, in the main dining room hit and miss.  Last night was our last night on the ship and they did the second gala night, which was kind of strange considering most passengers were packing their bags and about to get off the ship. But the food was pretty good last night. I had a medium rare tenderloin of beef that was cooked very nicely, my girlfriend had orange duck which was very good, and we also had some king prawns that were OK.

 

In terms of the bars, the only snacks that I saw were peanuts but certainly there are plenty of places to eat.

 

 

[Stockjock]

10 hours ago, sarahvdb said:

Hi there! Glad to read you’re having a good time as I have also read their reviews and started wondering if I had made a big mistake (cruise in September). 

 

I have also read that water is not free in the dining rooms with meals. Is that true? I find that hard to believe and when I called customer service I was told “pretty sure it’s free”. So, not convincing. 

 

Thanks!

sarah

It is true that water and coffee would normally not be included in the dining room. Since we booked directly with MSC on a non-Caribbean cruise, that wasn’t included perk. For those who book with the travel agent, perhaps there is some onboard credit that can help to offset the cost.  

[puri1]

@Stockjock thanks really appreciate your detail answers to all questions and yes your right the new drink packages are actually downgrade compare to the old packages. looking forward to our cruise which is next year in January. Thanks.