Looking at the MSC Armonía in August

[sboston06]

I’ve searched these forums and can’t find a ton of info but we found a fantastic sailing out of Venice in August for our family of 3. We typically sail NCL but the timeline we require is not working with what they have available so it seems like this ship and sailing will be perfect. I love that they have a Lego club for the kiddos and the smaller ship seems to offer a lot. Thinking of booking a suite with the Aurea package which I’m trying to understand. 
 

Our family includes an 8 year old girl and it seems like lots of families take this cruise? It has stops in Dubrovnik, Kotor, Corfu, Zakynthos and Bari. We’ve been to Europe many times but hoping this will be an easy way to see several great destinations!

[cellfree]

We were on the Armonia two or three times and daughter and husband with two children once when it sailed out of Miami. We enjoyed the ship and would cruise on her again. But she is an older type cruise ship so people have various opinions when sailing on her. We had Interior Cabins so have no insights into Aurea experience on the Armonia. 

[notley-cruise]

FYI, MSC Armonia is due to go into dry dock in Malta sometime between July and September, so those listed Adriatic sailings may not happen or you'll be on a ship pre and post retrofit.

 

Adriatic and Aegean in August will be HOT and CROWDED.

 

The spa area on the old Lirica class ships is small, basic and disappointing compared to the larger, newer MSC ships.

 

Aurea suites are nicely positioned forward on deck 12 and decent size, just don't overpay based on the spa.  Less than £160 / USD200 per person per night would be fair price.

[perakcruiser]

We booked this cruise (because of Zakynthos) in May. Third time on Armonia, great ship, especially for kids. Certainly this is a pure family cruise, don´t think about taking it as a couple with no kids😄 You book it to bring maximum happiness to your 8 year old. 

 

I think it is a great route with excellent ports. Check if it is better to start from Bari or Venice, for us Bari was cheaper, but that is different from cruise to cruise. And before you think too much about Aurea suites, check if they are available on your date. Often sold out. 

[perakcruiser]

4 minutes ago, notley-cruise said:

FYI, MSC Armonia is due to go into dry dock in Malta sometime between July and September, so those listed Adriatic sailings may not happen or you'll be on a ship pre and post retrofit.

Absolutely impossible that MSC sends the ship to dry dock in the most important months of the year. No boat with go out of service before mid September. 

 

6 minutes ago, notley-cruise said:

Aurea suites are nicely positioned forward on deck 12 and decent size, just don't overpay based on the spa.  Less than £160 / USD200 per person per night would be fair price.

You have to be very lucky to get this price in August, even Inside can be around 200 EUR. 

[FionaMG]

Armonia's dry dock is currently planned for November, after she finishes her European season and before heading to South America for the winter.

[bluecontrolman]

I just got back from cruising on the Armonia - also sailing out of Venice. I had done a 3 night 'taster' cruise on the ship back in 2017, so decided to do a 4 night one in a balcony cabin this time combined with some time in Venice. But these are literally the only two cruises i've done so I don't have anything to compare it with. I'll give a mini review though:

 

Arrived at the ferry terminal at about 1pm and got to our rooms about 3.45pm. Room and balcony were small but perfectly fine for us. However, the bars and restaurants were closed for the emergency drill stuff (which we also obviously did), so it was well past 5pm before we sat down with our first drink and bite to eat. 

 

Overall, getting drinks was a bit hit and miss. Over 15 minute wait in some occasions. And i'd say that the ship really wasn't that full. Though the options with the premium drinks package was extremely good. I thought that the food was decent for the price - but we had a latter dinning sitting and so were usually not that hungry by that time and had been eating in the buffet place earlier. I think you can order multiple dishes, though i never tried.

 

The Aura section is very well located and pretty much the only area you can sunbath and see where the ship is actually going. I did have the option of upgrading to it but I had already paid £625 each for 4 nights and needed to reign in the spending. It's an older ship which doesn't work with the app and doesn't let you book entertainment or anything like that. Don't expect anything particularly exciting to do on board.

 

As a newbie cruiser I still can't quite work out if it's for me or whether I'd rather just spend that money on a really nice all-inclusive resort with less faffing about. Like, a good chunk of my trip was spent on embarking and disembarking. 

 

[sboston06]

Thanks all! We have mostly sailed on NCL’s smaller ships which also don’t have big-deal entertainment or fancy perks. I think our bar is set pretty low to be honest! We are definitely booking this cruise for the ports more than the ship but also want to be comfortable. 
 

The primary reason we chose the Aurea suite (which is definitely still available) is the pullout sofa bed for our daughter. She prefers that over the ceiling bed. I have no idea how much the upgrade just for that package is but we need the suite so it’s just kind of a nice side effect. 
 

@bluecontrolman thank you for the mini review. Did the Venice dock leave you in the Marghera area or bring you over to the island? I find that part a bit confusing. We’ll be spending extra time in Venice pre- and post-cruise so trying to find the best hotel location to navigate from the airport and cruise terminal with heavy luggage!
 

@FionaMG thanks for clarifying the dry dock! That is reassuring. 
 

2 hours ago, FionaMG said:

Armonia's dry dock is currently planned for November, after she finishes her European season and before heading to South America for the winter.

 

@perakcruiser I’m super interested to hear how your trip is in May! Please come back to share!! Unfortunately sailing out of Bari won’t work due to flight timing as we’re coming in from the US on Sunday afternoon and it’s in Bari on Sunday. Venice is ideal since we want extra time there and it’s there on the Monday. 
 

4 hours ago, perakcruiser said:

We booked this cruise (because of Zakynthos) in May. Third time on Armonia, great ship, especially for kids. Certainly this is a pure family cruise, don´t think about taking it as a couple with no kids😄 You book it to bring maximum happiness to your 8 year old. 

 

I think it is a great route with excellent ports. Check if it is better to start from Bari or Venice, for us Bari was cheaper, but that is different from cruise to cruise. And before you think too much about Aurea suites, check if they are available on your date. Often sold out. 

 

[perakcruiser]

16 minutes ago, sboston06 said:

The primary reason we chose the Aurea suite (which is definitely still available) is the pullout sofa bed for our daughter. She prefers that over the ceiling bed.

My kids prefer the ceiling beds 😄 And for our cruise the family cabins left are oceanview, all inside, balcony and suites are gone already.

 

18 minutes ago, sboston06 said:

I’m super interested to hear how your trip is in May! Please come back to share!!

Will do!  

[notley-cruise]

@sboston06

 

We embarked and disembarked MSC Sinfonia, a sister ship of MSC Armonia, this month in Venice Marghera.

Embarkation was from old cruise terminal via Water bus, luggage travelling seperately. Disembarkation was to coaches at Marghera, collecting luggage on the dock. MSC offered either free transfer back to old cruise terminal or chargeable to parking, trains, planes, and elsewhere.

Hauling luggage round Venice is a pain, we used left luggage lockers near Piazza Roma bus terminal. 

We got scammed on a Venice island apartment pre cruise, so strongly recommended booking a reputable hotel despite the insane prices. 

Edited April 21 by notley-cruise

[bluecontrolman]

@sboston06

The embarkation/disembarkation processes were pretty straight-forward in the end - but my anxiety combined with a lack of information from MSC made it more stressful. 

 

We had to go to the MSC embark terminal at Venice Cruise Port. We dropped off our luggage there, went through the check in process and were then taken by boat to the ship in Marghera. We got to the terminal by taking the water taxi to P.le Roma ferry terminal and then catching the People Mover - basically a very short light-railway to the port. P.le Roma is very well served and you can get their easily by water taxi from pretty much anywhere in Venice. You should see lots of other MSC passengers once you get to the People Mover, something that I was very relieved to see as up to that point I really wasn't sure that I was even in the right area.

 

Disembarking from the ship they took us directly back to the Cruise Port by boat again. They dropped us off at the terminal mentioned above, we picked up our bags and then made the reverse journey back to the P.le Roma area via the People Mover. You are then right next to the bus station where you can get back to the airport if needed, very easy. I believe that you can catch a water taxi from the cruise port to the airport as well but I was told by an employee that there weren't any available when we arrived. 

Basically, I don't think it matters too much about hotel location as the water taxis provide such a comprehensive and regular service. It's better to stay in somewhere near a taxi terminal then it is to be (say) "15 min" walk from P.le Roma as that walk is pretty bad if you have a heavy suitcase and are constantly going up and down bridges.