Home today from Lirica

[shipshapegal]

I read lots of things on these boards regarding the Lirica and would like to let you know what I found to be true. We took the 11 day cruise that left 2/4/05 and returned today. Here goes:

 

Staff: Mostly Indonesian

Food: Excellent. Lots of choices and they will make you something else if you don't like anything. They try very hard.

Iced Tea glasses: They remedied this problem, full sized glasses.

Art Auctions: Yes, but unobtrusive, just don't go if you don't want.

Wine: Bottles, not table wine now.

Children: Very few

Shows: Hokey and you had to go early to get a seat. We usually didn't go.

Gold by the inch: no

Casino: Very small and no poker at all.

Pools: 11th floor and very nice, salt water, lots of deck chairs

Ice cream: Yes but not free on 11th floor, but you can get it free in the dining rooms. Every day had a flavor of the day and a sorbet of the day, plus other choices. Sometimes gelato, mmmmm.

Room service: Very limited menu but totally free now. We loved the morning coffee and rolls each day

Room: We had a suite and thought it was worth every $ spent. The balcony was cleaned daily of salt spray also. Towels are large and soft, and plenty of them. Shampoo and liquid soap, small round bar soap, and shower caps, but no lotions provided. Ice and water delivered several times each day if you tell them at the start of the trip. Mini bar stocked daily, we brought sodas aboard and put them in there. TV only has a few channels in many languages, and no olympic coverage or networks at all. Tub is large and deep for soaking and shower is good. I heard complaints about the shower in the other rooms, that it is small and no tub.

Embarkation: Easy and fast, no problems.

Dining room attire: Three formal nights on the 11 day trip. My hubby only wore a coat and tie and was dressed fine. Few wore tuxs. And a very few wore jeans, very tacky, but they were allowed in. Other nights casual but not shorts at night. Breakfast and lunch shorts were worn in the dining rooms.

Tips: $12.00 per day per person put on your tab but we gave cash on day two to room and dining room staff so we lowered ours to $200 on the last evening. You can do whatever you want here.

Internet: We took our laptop and had internet service in our room, $34.00 per hour, but we only logged on long enough to send and worked offline mostly so it was fine. Otherwise you can use theirs and they also rent laptops for $30.00 a day.

Excursions: I did not use them but we got our own transportation and saved a lot of $. We would just hire a cab and tell them to take us for two (or however many) hours and get a price up front. Usually about $20.00 each. We would see just what we wanted and shop also.

Shops on board: Called Rodeo Drive and that is the price range. I wished they had a shop with reasonably priced things but did not.

 

Would I go again????? You bet! I had a ball. If this posts sounds negative I am sorry. I just wanted to be totally honest about the trip. I think MSC is trying very hard to please and I was pleased. The ship is lovely from stem to stern.

[shipshapegal]

Sorry the date was 2/4/06, not 2/4/05!

[bigmike7]

Yo-

 

Appreciate your good, honest observations-

 

I have said before - and will say again - the early reports last year mirrored the early reports this year - and by the time we went on our March 31, 2005 Southern Caribbean cruise (my review somewhere in this forum) - we said pretty much what you said - and we are on the 'Lirica' again this March 20, 2006 Western Caribbean-

 

We again are looking forward to the food and crew-

 

Thanks again - glad you had a good cruise-

 

Mike

[Steve007NY]

SSG-

 

Thank you SO MUCH for the posting....you made the day of these 2 NYC guys scheduled to depart on 2/26 on the Lyrica!!! Glad we opted for a suite... glad we speak indonesian...glad we don't have to pack our own large-size iced tea glasses :-) really sounds perfect.

 

Just a few questions, if I may.

 

Did you generally arrive in ports around the stated time?

 

After conflicting reports, can we bring liquor purchased from the onboard duty free back to the rooms?

 

Were there dining options between meals? How were the late-night buffets? (we often prefer being 'grazers' some days) Do they still close the dining room doors 15 min after stated start time?

 

Thanks again

Steve (and John)

[shipshapegal]

Steve abd John:

 

We arrived in port on time each time and also left on time.

 

Did not ever eat at the midnight buffet, the dinners were so good we couldn't possibly eat any more, so sorry, don't know. The buffet was on the 11th floor and that is where the smokers hung out so we avoided it.

 

They do not like you to be late for dinner as it takes almost the whole time until the next seating to get you fed and out. (From the 5:45 seating, don't know about the late one). Many courses and lots of fun. There was pizza and burgers available from 12:00 noon until 8:30 PM each day but never tried them either. I really liked the LaBussola dining roon, 5th floor aft. The L'Ippocampo (6th floor aft) was somehow less intimate and louder. Try for LaBussola if possible at dinner. Breakfast and lunch you can go to any of them. Also, I would suggest the Conitinental breakfast on the balcony, just so lovely. The coffee is strong so I ordered hot milk also and used half of each. So romantic! Also they will clean your balcony more often if you ask, we gave the housekeeper $20 on the first day and she outdid herself. Otherwise if it is not cleaned it will get the salt slime overnight. Also I did not mention she puts fresh fruit in your cabin each day. And there are large robes in the top of the closet so you don't have to take them.

 

About the liquor, sorry again, we are "on the wagon" so to speak, have not had a drink in 18 years. I am sure you could bring liquor on board with you and use the mini bar. We took sodas aboard, otherwise they are $2.15 each.

 

I also took an extension cord, the computer kind that has lots of plugs. There are two 110v plugs on the desk and one in the bathroom, so with the computer, the phone charger, etc. it came in handy. The hairdryer on board is 220v and is nice, I took one and did not use mine.

 

The safe is nice also, it is behind the mirror over the desk.

 

They do not take your passports as I have seen reported. They just scan them at embarkation.

 

If you are scheduled to leave at 7:00 PM you can board at noon, our TA told us 5:00 so we really wasted the better part of the day. We got right into the room at 5:00 though and bags were there after dinner. We had to go to the dining room the first night in travel clothes, but everyone did too so it was okay. If I had known that though I would have dressed a little nicer and a little less comfortable. You will be amazed at how much storage you will have. You even have a walk in closet and bank of drawers, lots of cabinets, storage in bathroom, and also in cradenza at mini bar. Of course we took too many clothes, wore about 2/3 of what we brought. The laundry is reasonable and fast if you need it. I washed out a few things at night and there is a clothes line in the bathtub to hang things to dry. I would definately recommend to travel lighter than you think.

 

There is a nice disco on 12 aft. Lots of places to club. Have a great cruise. I wish I was going again! Bonnie

[venicecruiser]

Glad to see such a positive review. Sounds like you enjoyed Lirica as much as I did over Christmas..........

 

Claudia

[voyagerfl]

WoW...Thanks....Great Review !

So Much Good Info...........:)

 

Now.......Tell us about the Ports ???

 

Do you know the time of the Second seating dinner ? I've seen different times mentioned.

[shipshapegal]

Second seating is 8:00 PM.

 

Ports: I can't tell you about the excursions because I didn't take any. We mostly went of the cruise to relax and enjoy. We did do a little sightseeing on our own and found:

 

My favorite was San Blas. The Kuna Indians have small islands and they live very primitavely, the men can speak Kuna and Spanish but the women only Kuna. They make beautiful colorful garments and this seems to be their income, that and circling the cruiseships and yelling "mon-yea mon-yea mon-yea" (money). They want you to throw coins and they dive for them. They will do this until the ship leaves port. To get to San Blas you have to board a small boat, there is no dock for the ship. They live in huts with straw roofs. There is a SMALL museum $2.00 entry and shows the primitave way they live. I thought this was very interesting.

 

Ocho Rios: Ocho Rios is Ocho Rios

 

Cartegena: The locals will get right in your face to try to sell you stuff, they are VERY persistant. I am a soft touch and my husband ran interference for me but I still ended up with a bunch of stuff. Don't buy your panama hat here though, wait until you get to Panama. The hats are $10 both places but are nicer in Panama. If you don't take a tour and just get off the ship you can get a trolly that will take you all over for $10 if you negotiate, they want $20 at first but will go for $10. They will stay with you and walk with you, same deal, less $$

 

Roatan: Very shady neighborhood off the ship, you can walk to shops and there is a cameo factory about 1/4 mile from the dock but it is expensive. The cabs will try to change the price after they have you in the cab. There are police all over the streets. Same stuff in all the shops, don't think you can go down the street and get something different, it is all the same.

 

Puerto Limon: Costa Rica is beautiful I hear but you would not know it from this port. The bad side of town. Very poor. We hired a cab and went on a tour ourselves and there is razor wire on fences on most of the homes, electric lines are tied to fences, etc.

 

Panama: There is a large flea market type shopping plaza at the dock and some bargains are to be had. There is also entertainment in the large indoor area with seats all around. This is the best place to buy the panama hats. Also the Kuna Indians dance and sell their handmade wares.

 

Have a great trip. I certainly did. If any of this seems negative I don't mean for it to. I just didn't go for the ports and mostly enjoyed the ship.

[mkazmer]

Sounds wonderful - thanks for the great review - we just got our documents today for the March 9th sailing - different itinerary - but will surely enjoy the ship - again thanks...

[traveling lady]

Shipshapegirl

Glad to see a positive review. Looking forward to 2-26 on Lirica. A couple of questions...1) did you feel 'unsafe' in Columbia? I was there in '99 and in all my travels that was the only place I felt uncomfortable. 2) I haven't received any documents yet (paperless cruising) and am wondering about embarkation and tagging of luggage. I do have a assigned cabin but sometimes you are ungraded so hesitate to put cabin number on luggage.

Traveling Lady

[shipshapegal]

No I did not feel unsafe, but maybe I was just to dumb to notice! I also had paperless documents, no problem, they put the tags on for me at the terminal. Embarkation was a breeze, they scanned the passports and welcomed us aboard!

[voyagerfl]

With the negative reviews i see........I keep coming back to this one to keep me focused.......:)

[venicecruiser]

I posted my comments on the Lirica Christmas cruise on this board after I got home from the cruise. It was a very positive review! I'm planning to go back onboard Lirica for the 4/22 sailing. I wouldn't be doing that if I hadn't really enjoyed the experience at Christmas.

 

Claudia

[voyagerfl]

I posted my comments on the Lirica Christmas cruise on this board after I got home from the cruise. It was a very positive review! I'm planning to go back onboard Lirica for the 4/22 sailing. I wouldn't be doing that if I hadn't really enjoyed the experience at Christmas.

 

Claudia

 

YES.......your's is another I keep going back to........Sorry did not mean to ignore you.....

 

You'll be getting on when we are getting off....

We are in Sarasota.......

I hear the parking is $15 a day now at the Fort Lauderdale port.......I think we are going to rent a car one way for the day......for like $28 each way (including tax and fees) or there is always the Cruise Connection bus.......

[tulipnl]

YES.......your's is another I keep going back to........Sorry did not mean to ignore you.....

 

You'll be getting on when we are getting off....

We are in Sarasota.......

I hear the parking is $15 a day now at the Fort Lauderdale port.......I think we are going to rent a car one way for the day......for like $28 each way (including tax and fees) or there is always the Cruise Connection bus.......

 

The parking is $12 per day. The garages are convenient to the piers but we did notice even though it's covered parking that the car was very dirty when we returned. Must be from the ships' smoke stacks. MSC Opera was berthed at Pier 21 (adjacent to the Midport garage) which allowed us to depart within minutes of disembarking. I would think if you had to pick up your rental at that point it would be some delay before you could start your journey home! We were on our way home to JAX at exactly 9:15 a.m. We docked just before 7:00 a.m.

[venicecruiser]

Voyagerfl - I wasn't worried about being ignored...:) Just wanted you to know that not all the reviews on Lirica/MSC had been negative... Enjoy your cruise!

 

Claudia

[shipshapegal]

Well I posted a reply here and it disappeared, so if it shows up and is here twice, sorry. Anyway I wanted to say something I forgot before. We drove to the terminal and got right in and were able to leave the car right outside the terminal. We were so smug and thought we were so smart. Well, we returned to a different pier! Felt like idiots! We had to take a shuttle and schlep the luggage. Also we are going on another cruise Wednesday 3/1 on the Legend. It is an 8 day S. Carrib. We were not able to get a balcony as we booked so late, just two days ago, but got an OV nonetheless and are excited about the trip. We got a great military discount. I will definately cruise MSC again though, loved it. Bonnie

[venicecruiser]

Meant to ask - who is the CD on Lirica now? thanks.........

 

Claudia