Thoughts on Opera vs bigger newer ships?

[nikoo.s]

Exactly as the title suggests really- just after some opinions!

 

We love MSC and have had fab experiences on Virtuosa, World Europa, Euribia and Seashore so far. I know these are all newer and bigger ships with more bells and whistles, but we are considering squeezing in a canaries cruise on Opera this coming November. We are both in our 30s and usually get the Aurea package with premium drinks. My question is, will we still enjoy an older smaller ship, or will we hate it and be bored ? I don't need waterparks etc but I do like to use pools , tubs, spa etc and play quizzes , sunbathe, and eat nice food! A quieter cruise with less people and less "noise" is totally fine by me as well, happy to try out and enjoy both unless you really think we shouldn't! Thanks 🙂

[perakcruiser]

27 minutes ago, nikoo.s said:

My question is, will we still enjoy an older smaller ship, or will we hate it and be bored ?

You will love it. Don´t know if you did a Canaries cruise before, but this is the best to do between November and March. So happy that MSC is bringing them back finally. The Poesia is a ship I would go on with no doubt, true for all ships of the Musica class. The spa is not up to standard of the newer classes, but a nice place to relax. That is the main difference to the MSC ships you know. And it is a cruise with much less kids and families and the ship will not be full, which is a good thing. I think the prices are great at the moment. people were not prepared for this surprise move from MSC 😄 

[nikoo.s]

14 minutes ago, perakcruiser said:

You will love it. Don´t know if you did a Canaries cruise before, but this is the best to do between November and March. So happy that MSC is bringing them back finally. The Poesia is a ship I would go on with no doubt, true for all ships of the Musica class. The spa is not up to standard of the newer classes, but a nice place to relax. That is the main difference to the MSC ships you know. And it is a cruise with much less kids and families and the ship will not be full, which is a good thing. I think the prices are great at the moment. people were not prepared for this surprise move from MSC 😄 

Thank you so much! The temptation to book this is quickly growing!! 

[carlmm]

A follow up question for@perakcruiser and everybody else with experience on the Opera or that kind of ship, please:

How do they compare in respect to nightlife?

On other MSC ships I enjoyed the live music all around, at least until midnight, and some music and a lively atmosphere at least in one or two places long after that.

[alserrod]

2 hours ago, nikoo.s said:

Exactly as the title suggests really- just after some opinions!

 

We love MSC and have had fab experiences on Virtuosa, World Europa, Euribia and Seashore so far. I know these are all newer and bigger ships with more bells and whistles, but we are considering squeezing in a canaries cruise on Opera this coming November. We are both in our 30s and usually get the Aurea package with premium drinks. My question is, will we still enjoy an older smaller ship, or will we hate it and be bored ? I don't need waterparks etc but I do like to use pools , tubs, spa etc and play quizzes , sunbathe, and eat nice food! A quieter cruise with less people and less "noise" is totally fine by me as well, happy to try out and enjoy both unless you really think we shouldn't! Thanks 🙂

 

 

Hi

 

About MSC Opera, it seems they wanted to send to Canaries one of the smallest ship they have. Despite ports are quite big, everybody to embark will need several flight hours there.

 

November is not time for pool, nor in Canaries. My brother lives there and he says .... yeah, it is nice it is always sunny, but a sweater is needed in winter. Obviously quite heater than in Europe, some pictures on Christmas over the beach are beautiful (when everybody in Europe is under a cold storm) but nothing else.... just sun without a bath.

 

On the other hand, I know most of all those islands and I can assure you, there will be enough heritage and nature options for excursions (apart of those sea activities that can be offered too)

 

[perakcruiser]

2 hours ago, carlmm said:

A follow up question for@perakcruiser and everybody else with experience on the Opera or that kind of ship, please:

How do they compare in respect to nightlife?

On other MSC ships I enjoyed the live music all around, at least until midnight, and some music and a lively atmosphere at least in one or two places long after that.

That is exactly the same on all MSC ships, one or two places for after midnight partying. I cannot guarantee this for the Japan and China cruises (as the late night life on board there is mainly casino), but for all cruises in Europe it the Caribbean.

[notley-cruise]

4 hours ago, nikoo.s said:

Exactly as the title suggests really- just after some opinions!

 

We love MSC and have had fab experiences on Virtuosa, World Europa, Euribia and Seashore so far. I know these are all newer and bigger ships with more bells and whistles, but we are considering squeezing in a canaries cruise on Opera this coming November. We are both in our 30s and usually get the Aurea package with premium drinks. My question is, will we still enjoy an older smaller ship, or will we hate it and be bored ? I don't need waterparks etc but I do like to use pools , tubs, spa etc and play quizzes , sunbathe, and eat nice food! A quieter cruise with less people and less "noise" is totally fine by me as well, happy to try out and enjoy both unless you really think we shouldn't! Thanks 🙂

 

@nikoo.s

The Lirica and Musica class ships only have a couple of pool deck hot tubs and very basic spa.  So I wouldn't pay for Aurea experience just based on the thermal areas on these older ships. 

 

The theatre shows are smaller scale, simpler, shorter and lower tier than the larger ships.  The buffet and main dining menus will have somewhat less choice also. 

 

Upside is there's no speciality dining, coffee and chocolate shops, so the Premium Extra package does cover all drinks by the glass, fancy coffees and hot chocolates.

 

There are also no big attractions to amuse you, so if you aren't into dance classes and bingo, bring a few big books. 

 

Edited April 22 by notley-cruise

[nikoo.s]

14 hours ago, alserrod said:

November is not time for pool, nor in Canaries. My brother lives there and he says .... yeah, it is nice it is always sunny, but a sweater is needed in winter.

 

As someone who used the outdoor pools on the cold northern Europe cruises in November (yes...I'm that crazy person 🤣) I'm sure I'll be fine! Plus it will be far nicer weather that time of year than what I'll be getting in the UK if I didn't go!! 

[nikoo.s]

12 hours ago, notley-cruise said:

 

@nikoo.s

The Lirica and Musica class ships only have a couple of pool deck hot tubs and very basic spa.  So I wouldn't pay for Aurea experience just based on the thermal areas on these older ships. 

 

The theatre shows are smaller scale, simpler, shorter and lower tier than the larger ships.  The buffet and main dining menus will have somewhat less choice also. 

 

Upside is there's no speciality dining, coffee and chocolate shops, so the Premium Extra package does cover all drinks by the glass, fancy coffees and hot chocolates.

 

There are also no big attractions to amuse you, so if you aren't into dance classes and bingo, bring a few big books. 

 

Thanks for the reply 🙂When I looked, the price difference for aurea wasn't too bad, and we do like having anytime dining. Even if the spa isn't as well equipped as the newer ships I'm sure we would still use the sauna and steam room.

 

That's good about the drinks package. The less we have to think about what we're ordering the better! Food choices as long as we won't go hungry (and I'm sure we wont) then no issues there. Do they still have the amazing MSC pizza? 

 

Not sure I'll be getting involved in Dance classes haha, but is there trivia, deck games? Etc? Not essential but all adds to the fun! 

 

 

[notley-cruise]

5 minutes ago, nikoo.s said:

Thanks for the reply 🙂When I looked, the price difference for aurea wasn't too bad, and we do like having anytime dining. Even if the spa isn't as well equipped as the newer ships I'm sure we would still use the sauna and steam room.

 

That's good about the drinks package. The less we have to think about what we're ordering the better! Food choices as long as we won't go hungry (and I'm sure we wont) then no issues there. Do they still have the amazing MSC pizza? 

 

Not sure I'll be getting involved in Dance classes haha, but is there trivia, deck games? Etc? Not essential but all adds to the fun! 

 

 

 

We were on MSC Sinfonia this month, Spa didn't have wood sauna, only stone sauna and steam rooms, I'm assuming other Lirica / Musica ships are the same.  Yes, we got a good price on suite compared to balcony and the position of the Aurea suites forward, above gym/spa and below top deck is great.

 

Pool deck has pizza ovens, on our sailing they were only do marghitera and four cheeses, on larger MSC ships they've offered pepperoni and other options. 

We made good use of the ability to order multiple starters, mains and desserts at no extra charge. MSC dining room fare is light on carbs, sugar and salt. 

 

On MSC Sinfonia there were decks games, table tennis, mini golf, and enterainment team organised competitions.  But being a very multi-lingual crowd they didn't do trivia.  (Announcements were in six languages on our East Med sailing)

[perakcruiser]

1 hour ago, nikoo.s said:

Do they still have the amazing MSC pizza?

MSCs signature pizza is available on all ships and all routes since they started business and will be available until they stop business (which will probably not happen in the next decades). 

[nikoo.s]

1 hour ago, notley-cruise said:

 

We were on MSC Sinfonia this month, Spa didn't have wood sauna, only stone sauna and steam rooms, I'm assuming other Lirica / Musica ships are the same.  Yes, we got a good price on suite compared to balcony and the position of the Aurea suites forward, above gym/spa and below top deck is great.

 

Pool deck has pizza ovens, on our sailing they were only do marghitera and four cheeses, on larger MSC ships they've offered pepperoni and other options. 

We made good use of the ability to order multiple starters, mains and desserts at no extra charge. MSC dining room fare is light on carbs, sugar and salt. 

 

On MSC Sinfonia there were decks games, table tennis, mini golf, and enterainment team organised competitions.  But being a very multi-lingual crowd they didn't do trivia.  (Announcements were in six languages on our East Med sailing)

All sounds perfectly fine to me! Thanks for the info 🙂

[nikoo.s]

Just now, perakcruiser said:

MSCs signature pizza is available on all ships and all routes since they started business and will be available until they stop business (which will probably not happen in the next decades). 

Woohoo! 🍕 thank you! 

[adam7392]

Did Virtuosa 2 yrs ago from Dubai, loved it and booked similar cruise from Dubai the following year which was on the Opera.  There is a big difference between the 2 ships, undoubtably Virtuosa is glitzier and roomier plus bigger buffet.  Probably it was the buffet we noticed the most difference, on the Opera it is small and seemed crowded (however the Virtuosa sailing was half full so that will have made a big impact on the experience).  The Opera had theatre shows and smaller bar venues with musicians so that shouldn't be an issue.  Also MDR experience was good.  Given the port intensive itinary you won't be on the ship much.  All in all I'd travel on Opera again.  As a side note we have booked P and O for the canaries this winter on the Azura, similar itinary, just looking at MSC prices they are more expensive than what we paid for P and O so have at look at them.