MSC Lirica - Feb 4 to 15 -

[njreo]

I have been cruising since 1971. My first voyage was on the QE 2 transatlantic .. What a wonderful trip! I have been cruising ever since. In recent years as many as 4 times a year on all of the lines. This is my first adventure on MSC Cruises. It will be my last.

 

Let me talk about the good things first. The boarding was the easiest I have ever experienced. They really made me feel welcome. The stateroom was small but certainly sufficient, especially for the price paid for such a long voyage. The entertainment was quite good. Overall the service was good. Now on to my voyage.

 

 

When I arrived in my room I noticed an oder.. which I quickly discovered was a smell of mold. As I called the reception desk to report it my allergy took over and I had to leave the room.

 

I was told that the ship was full so they didn't have another room for me. I therefore offered to leave the ship because, as I explained, I had an allergy to mold and I couldn't stay in that room. My throat would close. I really don't think she understood me or was just thinking I was being difficult. In any case, I was told that if I waited until after the ship sailed she was more than likely going to be able to change my room.

 

The ship sailed.. I went to reception and was told again that the ship was full and that there was no possibility for me to change rooms. I asked her to call the pilot boat to have me removed from the vessel. She looked at me incredulously, I think, still not believing that I could not possibly stay in that room .. (unless they wanted to take me out dead).

 

I asked her to call the Hotel Manager or whatever that person was called on this ship. A gentleman showed up. I told him my story and again was told that there really was nothing they could do. I again asked him to make arrangement for me to leave the ship .. with which he started making some phone calls. Evenutally he was able to arrange for someone who was traveling as a guest of the line to change rooms with me. That issue was settled. But the aggravation in getting to this point was enormous.

 

The food on the ship was not as good as diners in the area where I live. I wonder how gnocchi could possibly be confused with shells on an Italian vessel? Soups were either very good or very bad. The first 2 nites I suspect they were running low on soup so they just added lots of water. It was tasteless. The beef was, for the most part, inedible.

 

I really didn't have any problem with the dining hours but I could certainly understand people who did have a problem. Instead of a buffet on the upper deck being open most hours.. it pretty much mirrored the breakfast and lunch hours in the dining room.. At nite you either ate in the Dining Room or called room service.

 

The bars were an abomination. They honestly don't know how to make drinks .. when you say dry martini they think it means dry vermouth. They make it with equal parts gin and vermouth with one olive (with a pit in it). The drinks are very small in compariston to any other ship I've been on or any restaurant I've ever eaten in and very expensive! $7.25 is just too much to pay for a small drink on a ship! Especially when they couldn't make them properly. A friend was ordering Manhattans... we discovered that they were being made with Scotch Whiskey .. It seems they don't know the difference between any whiskey .. Scotch, Rye, Canadian .. it's all the same to them. Of course Scotch, Sweet Vermouth is a Rob Roy .. not a Manhattan. One night in the Lord Nelson Pub I asked for a Very Dry Tangueray Martini (it's on the menu) up with olives. The waitress said she had no idea what I was ordering and called the bartender to the table. I was given a Martini made with 1/2 Gin, 1/2 Vermouth .. it was awful! $7.25 later I didn't drink it.

 

Someone else mentioned that for snacks at the pool.. soft serve ice cream is available ... $1.00 for kiddie size, $2.00 for single scoop, $4.00 for double ... OUTRAGEOUS! and it really wasn't even good .. it was icy!

 

If you can't eat or drink on an 11 nite cruise you start to wonder why you are there.

 

Most of the service was ok .. some very good .. in the dining room they really did try to be helpful as I kept sending things back. They weren't cooking the food so I didn't take it out on them.

 

The staff at the reception staff was cold and very unfriendly. They hated to be bothered and you felt that when you asked them any type of question.

 

Oh well, I could go on and on .. but I think you might get the drift. Even at the low price of the room it just isn't worth it .. I won't go on that cruise line again for free!

 

Fairwell MSC Cruises .. please don't come back! :mad:

[voyagerfl]

They charge for soft serve Ice Cream ???

[njreo]

Yes .. they charge ! Can you believe it?

[cmjaffe]

Most cruise lines charge for ice cream served uptop poolside.

Know Celebrity and Princess DO...

[wrp96]

Royal Caribbean doesn't charge for softserve.

[njreo]

Most cruise lines charge for ice cream served uptop poolside.

Know Celebrity and Princess DO...

They don't charge for soft serve .. they charge for "Ben n Jerry's" or something similar ..

[cmjaffe]

The last few times on RCCL the softserve was at the buffet area... whether they had ice cream cones available was dubious (was a holiday sailing) and the cones were only available during meal times and tea... wasn't a 24/7 type of arrangements.

Other times if might have been offered "if" the machine was working... (was dispensing "shakes" instead of firm soft serve)

[venicecruiser]

Who's the CD on Lirica now?

 

Claudia

[cruisenc]

Most cruise lines charge for ice cream served uptop poolside.

Know Celebrity and Princess DO...

so does Carnival Royal Caribbean and they also charge for birthday and anniversary cakes- $10.99 for a 6 inch cake that comes from Sara lee

[BUTTONS THE CABINBOY]

Boy You Cruisers Debate About The Dumbest Things !

Do They Charge For Ice Cream Or Can I Get 2 Scoops For The Price

Of One?

Come On Get Real.

If Your Smart And Have A Sweet-tooth,go To The Dining Room At Lunch Or Dinner And Order All The Ice Cream You Want,free

Of Charge.:d

[voyagerfl]

Boy You Cruisers Debate About The Dumbest Things !

Do They Charge For Ice Cream Or Can I Get 2 Scoops For The Price

Of One?

Come On Get Real.

If Your Smart And Have A Sweet-tooth,go To The Dining Room At Lunch Or Dinner And Order All The Ice Cream You Want,free

Of Charge.:d

 

Buttons - Buttons - Buttons

Take a Chill pill......You having a bad day ?

Why waste your energy in such a negative way.....?

Who put you in charge of judging others ? :confused:

[njreo]

Well said BUTTONS .....................and I do not think that it is you who needs to be taking the chill out pill :-)

 

Seems to me you have exactly the correct attitude and negative it is not.

 

Charge, not charge ... that is really not what the original post was about .. It was about the entire experience of traveling on this ship. It was awful!

 

The fact that they charged for soft serve ice cream just added to the insults on this ship. There were many more negative things that happened.. there would have been no posting if this was all. :rolleyes:

[Magwa]

A Manhattan can also be made with brandy, perhaps specifying the spirit would have helped. It's Scotch Whisky not Whiskey. I have had far more expensive drinks on some US lines. Gnocchi can come in many shapes, shells is one of them, so I am not sure what you are referring to there.

[venicecruiser]

Well, I have been on many other cruiselines and MSC is my favorite among the mass-market lines.....

 

Claudia

[traveling lady]

Well, I have been on many other cruiselines and MSC is my favorite among the mass-market lines.....

 

Claudia

 

I agree with Venicecruiser - I have been on Lirica two times and consider both trips at or near the top of my 17 cruises. Service, food, cleanliness, price and ports are great. BUT, you can't always please everyone, and

I'm sure I'll travel again with MSC.

Traveling Lady (PS: and I'm not a rep for MSC).

[bigmike7]

I agree with Venicecruiser - I have been on Lirica two times and consider both trips at or near the top of my 17 cruises. Service, food, cleanliness, price and ports are great. BUT, you can't always please everyone, and

I'm sure I'll travel again with MSC.

Traveling Lady (PS: and I'm not a rep for MSC).

 

Yo-

 

We too are off on our second MSC 'Lirica' cruise in less than one year on 03/20/2006 and very much looking forward to the MSC experience - again (and NO - I am not with MSC nor a T/A)-eh!

 

Mike

[njreo]

A Manhattan can also be made with brandy, perhaps specifying the spirit would have helped. It's Scotch Whisky not Whiskey. I have had far more expensive drinks on some US lines. Gnocchi can come in many shapes, shells is one of them, so I am not sure what you are referring to there.

 

Gnocchi is not made with the same dough as pasta ... this was pasta!

It was Barilla pasta as a matter of fact ... I checked! Believe me, I know gnocchi when I eat it .. they did have the real thing on another day.

 

Manhattans are made with Rye Whiskey .. not scotch, not brandy and there should be no need to specify which type of whiskey to use if the bartender was trained properly.

 

I have NEVER seen more expensive drinks on any ship including Cunard, NCL, Royal Caribbean, Costa, Princess, Celebrity, Holland America .. to name a few! On every one of those cruise lines the drinks are cheaper. And... they are at least a decent size on the other lines.

 

To those who insist on going on this ship .. in the Caribbean .. I wish you well.. but don't say I didn't warn you!

[giabra]

Larry,

Just some information about Italy and Europe:

1) There is a type of pasta (almost unknown outside Italy) called gnocchi or gnocchetti sardi which is actually in the shape of a shell.

Maybe the staff should have warned non-Italians about that.

2) Also be informed that in Europe Manhattan is made with Scotch whisky and not Rye Whiskey.

3) When you ask for a dry martini in Europe you most probably will have martini dry vermouth. You will have what you mean with dry martini if you asked for a martini cocktail very dry (i.e. wash the glass with vermouth and fill it in with gin... the way I like it).

4) This is not in your post, but found very often in MSC forum the comment that waiters never asked if you wanted something.

Let me explain that in most part of Europe a waiter chasing you to push for a drink is considered to be a rude behaviour.

A polite waiter should always be prompt to come to you whenever you ask him, or may look at you to verify if you wished to be served, but never push you.

I understand this is something very unusual for an American, but it’s the proper way in Europe and actually I’m a bit annoyed when a waiter comes to me every five minutes asking if I wanted something.

I could go ahead, but what I wish to point out with this message is that MSC is not for anybody who wants everything to be like it is in US, so I agree with you that that kind of people should stay with other cruise lines.

[thomasale]

Now that begins to make some sense...

[njreo]

I could go ahead, but what I wish to point out with this message is that MSC is not for anybody who wants everything to be like it is in US, so I agree with you that that kind of people should stay with other cruise lines.

 

I felt that things were being done much as they are done in many European cities .. They were sailing from a U.S. port - targeting a U.S. audience - into the Caribbean where so many other lines sail doing things the way we expect them to be. Therefore they should learn from this and make some changes. The overall experience was quite horrible and I was NOT alone in those feelings on this voyage. Cabinboy said he had comments from an anonymous Canadian couple. One morning towards the end of the cruise I ended up having breakfast with a very nice Canadian couple. They had much worse things to say about this voyage than I did. It's funny, the letter cabinboy seems to have quoted from went almost line by line saying the opposite of what I had to say in my critique. Coincidence? I think not..

 

By the way .. the gnocchi in the shape of a shell was definitely NOT gnocchi .. I asked and was told it was Barilla pasta which they also made on the deck of the ship in the afternoons. I have travelled in Europe .. I have traveled Italy. I eat in very fine Italian restaurants all over the world and I've had gnocchi in them. This was NOT gnocchi .. but enough of that ..

 

I will repeat again. In my 40+ sailings this is by far the worst overall experience I have ever had.

[giabra]

I felt that things were being done much as they are done in many European cities .. They were sailing from a U.S. port - targeting a U.S. audience - into the Caribbean where so many other lines sail doing things the way we expect them to be.

[giabra]

Larry,

Please don’t heat-up for such small things…

If MSC prefers to market a different experience to American cruisers, and not the way average American expects to be, is their choice.

Shouldn’t they find such a market they wouldn’t continue: this is the base of free market.

Your choice not to sail with them anymore as you found the experience awful is perfectly understandable, but why you should deny others a different experience they could like?

Having been to Europe and Italy you should know that Barilla is a brand of pasta and they make lot of different type of pasta: among them you will find “gnocchi sardi” which actually are not gnocchi: I don’t blame you for not knowing that, but on the contrary I blame MSC staff since they did not write on the menu it was pasta.

[njreo]

I think you attack Buttons the CabinBoy unfairly. It was me that quoted a Canadian.

 

I definitely apologize to CabinBoy ...

 

Now Dan, why have you been in hiding?

 

As I said .. I am not telling other people what to do, but rather telling them what to expect. If someone had been so kind as to let me know (one travel agent I know did try to tell me the food was terrible, but I really didn't want to hear it, I guess)

 

I stand by everything I said. I have traveled on over 40 cruises. I've traveled in Italy and much of Europe. I can honestly say I have never had as bad a travel experience as I had on this ship.

 

This is an open forumn and I respect everyone's right to disagree with me.

 

MSC Cruises is definitely NOT for me .. and I am not a spoiled American. My first voyages were transatlantic in the early 70's on Cunard, French Line and Italian Lines .. I traveled cheaply and didn't have the best accomodations or eat in the best restaurants aboard the vessels but they were all wonderful experiences. None of them were American in nature. I appreciate the differences in other cultures. MSC needs to take a hard look at themselves and start all over.

[njreo]

Certainly MSC food is very much different to a Florida diner but if that is your guide line then I realise you cannot judge.quote]

 

What I was saying was that the food was not even as good as you could get at a diner in Florida. I was not saying that I would ever judge fine dining against a diner. In the case of MSC their food was NOT EVEN as good as you could get at a diner.

 

I've eaten at some of the finest restaurants in the world and I wouldn't expect the food on any cruiseline to even come close to the finest restaurants .. but it should certainlly be better than a Florida Diner.

[BUTTONS THE CABINBOY]

I definitely apologize to CabinBoy ...

 

Now Dan, why have you been in hiding?

 

As I said .. I am not telling other people what to do, but rather telling them what to expect. If someone had been so kind as to let me know (one travel agent I know did try to tell me the food was terrible, but I really didn't want to hear it, I guess)

 

I stand by everything I said. I have traveled on over 40 cruises. I've traveled in Italy and much of Europe. I can honestly say I have never had as bad a travel experience as I had on this ship.

 

This is an open forumn and I respect everyone's right to disagree with me.

 

MSC Cruises is definitely NOT for me .. and I am not a spoiled American. My first voyages were transatlantic in the early 70's on Cunard, French Line and Italian Lines .. I traveled cheaply and didn't have the best accomodations or eat in the best restaurants aboard the vessels but they were all wonderful experiences. None of them were American in nature. I appreciate the differences in other cultures. MSC needs to take a hard look at themselves and start all over.

 

LARRY NO APOLOGY IS NECCESARY.

WE ALL HAVE DIFERENT CONCEPTS ,AND IDEAS OF CRUISING.

I PREFER TO LAY IN THE SUN AND DRINK A COLD ONE TAKING PART OR

WATCHING ACTIVITIES ON THE POOL DECK.YOU MAY WANT TO DO THE

OPPISITE,AND ENJOY A MARTINI AND READ A BOOK.

TO ME NOT ALL CRUISES SHOULD BE THE SAME,IF THEY ARE THAT CAN LEAD

TO BOREDOM AND JUST HAVING A REAL LOUSY TIME.

THE THING I LIKED ABOUT MSC CRUISES (OPERA)

IT WAS DIFFERENT. MENU,ACTIVITIES,AND ENTERTAINMENT,ALL WERE

UNUSUAL.

THAT'S NOT TO SAY IF I TOOK ANOTHER MSC CRUISE,I MAY HAVE A

LOUSY TIME NO ONE CAN PROJECT THE FUTURE.

IVE BEEN ON SEVERAL CARNIVAL CRUISES,SOME GOOD ,SOME YOU JUST

WANT TO FORGET.BUT IT DIDN'T CHANGE MY APPROACH TO MY HOLLIDAY

I GUESS WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY ,YOU CAN TRY NOT TO HAVE A GOODTIME AND KEEP IT BOTTLED UP INSIDE 'WHICH WILL TOTALLY RUIN YOUR CRUISE,OR YOU CAN MAKE THE BEST OF THINGS AND AJUST TO SAVE THE OUTCOME.

BUTTONS