OPERA- Opinions on dining!!!

[joybaby]

Traveling on the MSC OPERA on 3/10. Looking for feed back on food. We are well traveled and quite flexible, just curious. Have done many cruises and traveled Western Europe. I know we won't starve, just a ? :)

 

Joyce

[OldCop201]

O.K. We just finished an 11 day nightmare on the Opera. Food!!! I suggest you pack a bunch yourself. The food was the WORST thing of a very bad cruise. Buffet NEVER changed. In fact it appeared some of the very same items were still on the line a week later. Dining room!! You will be lucky to get out of there in time for the 9:00 show if you have early seating. It would have been fine if it was worth waiting for. Pasta was great. Outside of that....well, I would suggest don't ever try any type of beef. And the fish was touch and go. The lobster....the worst I have ever "tasted". "Chilled" soup was generally room temperature. I could go on but it is BAD.

[bobar]

Sorry you thought the food was so bad..The pasta was great though.go figure an italian cruisleine and great pasta..That and the bread and desserts are all i plan to eat on my 3/10 cruise so i bet it waill be excellent.Have sailed msc 3 yrs ago and loved it and that was on an old tired ship. can't wait to see the opera.even the bad reviews agree she is a beautiful ship..i just hope i'm not on board with 2000 whiny,in bad health seniors with no manners.. Don't want to have to add Walk the plank to the pool games.:cool:

[joybaby]

Sorry you thought the food was so bad..The pasta was great though.go figure an italian cruisleine and great pasta..That and the bread and desserts are all i plan to eat on my 3/10 cruise so i bet it waill be excellent.Have sailed msc 3 yrs ago and loved it and that was on an old tired ship. can't wait to see the opera.even the bad reviews agree she is a beautiful ship..i just hope i'm not on board with 2000 whiny,in bad health seniors with no manners.. Don't want to have to add Walk the plank to the pool games.:cool:

 

Well, there will be 8 of us and we all love to have a good time. No whining from us. We love to sing and laugh and plan to have a terrific time. Anyone that makes my bed and prepares my meals, I'm happy. I also hope we don't see the "Ugly american." See you on board.

 

Joyce;)

[luv2cruise304]

Hi

 

Just wanted to let you know don't plan on very good dining on the Opera. The food is either cold or dry. You would be much better sailing either on Royal Carribean or Celebrity where they know how to feed people. You won't find a good buffet, the staff doesn't speak english and the same goes for their dining room. Good luck, Luv2cruise304:mad:

[bobar]

Thats funny to speak so unhighly of MSC's food. Have been on 28 cruises and quite frankly the best food i ever had was on premiere and they are now out of business. Like I said in an earlier post, I have been on Msc about 3 years ago before the new ships and loved it..My last cruise,last fall on royal carribean was my most dissapointing ever,although they are very good at the american requirement of ass kissing..I love the european lines that i have been on, Costa and MSC, neither chase you around kissing your ass, or hound you to buy things, both have great pasta, great entertainment and beautiful crews,price single rates better than mainstream us cruiselines and being italian it reminds me of sunday at mi familias. Also food on my last Celebrity cruise wasn't that great either,and I have yet to be on a cruise except the bon voyage buffet ,where the buffets were excellent and they all look the same after a few days..I guess I'm lucki in that i don't cruise for food. I cruise to have a great time..CAn't wait till March the 10th and I hope all the people on here going on that date are ready to have a great time:cool:

[joephine13]

looking forward to this cruise and having fun. need to get away from Ny's cold weather and get some sun

[joybaby]

looking forward to this cruise and having fun. need to get away from Ny's cold weather and get some sun

 

Looking forward to meeting you cool cruiser. There will be eight of us.

 

Joyce :)

[magiB]

Who cares about the food?? Like, why go on a trip and obsess over food...there has to be something there to eat, for heavens sake--eat Gelato all day! I am going on the Opera 4/1/07-- I am more worried about it being Spring Break, the ship is full and hopefully not with little kids!

 

anyone else out there going at that time?

Previous Opera passengers??? Can you book spa treatments before boarding?

[dollingannie]

:o My husband and I cruised on Opera Jan 14-25 2007 and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The entertainment on this Big Band cruise was exceptional, but young tenor, Adrian Mocanu was the star of this cruise--he should be singing with the MET! There was a wide variety of entertainment--something for everybody. We attended most performances and can't remember anything more enjoyable on a cruise ship. The Entertainment crew was very lively and likable. We just had a ball with them. All other crew members we met were friendly and personable. The ship has an understated elegance and is as neat as a pin, as was our oceanview cabin. The mattress was not the best and we usually had a hard time getting comfortable before nodding off to sleep. The only other complaints we had was that there was never any coffee available before 6:30 AM (there are an unbelievable number of people awake at 5:00 AM!), and sometimes the food was not what we expected. The pasta and fish dishes were always good, sometimes exceptional, but the steak was always tough, the Key lime pie, clam chowder and meat loaf were big disappointments. Desserts were either very good (Baked Alaska) or very bad (bland). If you don't like something they will cheerfully bring you something else very quickly. Our overall experience was very good and we would cruise again with MSC. :)

Our past cruises: Princess (2), Royal Caribbean (3), MSC (1), NCL (1).

We will be cruising on Costa Mediterranea on Feb. 25 2007...hope it is as good as MSC Opera!

[joybaby]

Thanks for the review. sounds like you are flexible, which I always promise to be. i plan to have a great time on the OPERA 3/10.:)

[mizzy76218]

We are booked for the April 1, 2007 cruise. We have three children ages 13, 10 and 8. We have been on over 20 cruises and the kids have been on 7. We have preferred Celebrity, Princess and Royal Carribean but have been on others. The food has varied on all of them and in recent years I would never describe the food as great, though some salads, soups and desserts have fit that catagory. I do live for food and it is inportant to me.

 

I have some ???? about Opera, since this will be my first experience with that line and my first experience from an non mainstream line since "Regent Sea" over twenty years ago. On a side point food was great on "Regent Sea".

 

How does the food compare to the "mainstream lines" I mentioned?

 

How does service around ship compare?

 

Concerning dress code, it appears more casual then the other lines ie formal nights, men wear dark suits or sport jackets, no mention of tux or gowns, How does the dress code compare?

 

Concerning my children, what the dress code for them ie formal nights and casual nights? On other ships the dress code for MY kids was nice short outfits on casual nights and nicer outfits for formal night. I know some may say the kids should dress semi casually, but on all these cruises I have had no problems as stated. Any difference with Opera??

 

Should I bring a tux and my wife formal attire?

 

Just as background we are traveling with two other families, all experienced travelers and cruisers. They also have four kids amongst them in simular age brackets. My children are two boys and the youngest a girl. Your thoughts, opinions and observations are appreciated.

[globetrotter1]

went on Opera over xmas and New Year , on the whole the food was very good, excellent pasta and pizza, had no problems with meat or fish except on some occasions not enough of it !waiters very helpful and would offer extras or alternatives if not enough or didn't like, had a fab time , hope you do too, don't believe all the negative . I've done 30 + cruises and there's always something not quite right,( and this was no near the worst I've been on !):) but its up to you to make the most of it and I'm sure you will

[Sailure]

Sorry you thought the food was so bad..The pasta was great though.go figure an italian cruisleine and great pasta..That and the bread and desserts are all i plan to eat on my 3/10 cruise so i bet it waill be excellent.Have sailed msc 3 yrs ago and loved it and that was on an old tired ship. can't wait to see the opera.even the bad reviews agree she is a beautiful ship..i just hope i'm not on board with 2000 whiny,in bad health seniors with no manners.. Don't want to have to add Walk the plank to the pool games.:cool:

 

Hi Bobar,

I'm with you on the whiney people with bad manners...young un's AND seniors. We're going on April 1st and I can't wait. Food isn't that big a deal for me...I eat to live, not live to eat. My understanding is that the food is Northern Italian so it will have French and Slavian influence...that's fine by me.

 

I was told by a friend of mine the other day who was on the Opera and said the food was so-so, definitely edible and she's Italian via Sicily, so the cuisine is a little different. She also said the MSC ships are the cleanest she has EVER encountered...and that does matter to me.

 

I really wanted to sail HAL this spring, but the ship, the itinerary and the catagory that I wanted, which was full suite cost over $9,000 for a 10 day cruise and as much as I like HAL, I figured we'd try the suite svc on MSC for about 4,000 less. Of course MSC doesn't have the extra concierge service, but we'll see how it compares in other areas.

 

I am thrilled that we will be going to Granada. I was there before and I loved the place and am happy to be going back. I also like Barbados and St. Lucia...so we'll see how it goes.

 

Nothing will make me unhappy on this cruise...unless it turns out to be like a cruise I once took on The Greek Olympic Line that did a stint in the Carrib. THAT was truly a cruise from hell, IMO. The ship was beautiful, but the captain, his hotdogging and the crew left a lot to be desired and it was the worse cruise I have ever been on...I don't think MSC could EVER get down to their depths. Of course...Italians are fun loving, and how can anyone have a bad time when cruising with an Italian line...even though not all the crew are Italian?

 

I've sailed Costa a few times..and love them too. The only thing that bothered me on Costa was the rude Americans who couldn't keep their yaps shut when we were at muster and they were making announcements in other languages. Americans can be the rudest bunch on earth when it comes to having manners and being courteous to people from other countries.

 

If they can't stand being patient and being courteous to other passengers who don't speak English...they shouldn't ever book a cruise that is mostly geared for Europeans. JMO.

 

Hopefully, our fellow pax will be a lot better on this cruise.:)

[Sailure]

Thats funny to speak so unhighly of MSC's food. Have been on 28 cruises and quite frankly the best food i ever had was on premiere and they are now out of business. Like I said in an earlier post, I have been on Msc about 3 years ago before the new ships and loved it..My last cruise,last fall on royal carribean was my most dissapointing ever,although they are very good at the american requirement of ass kissing..I love the european lines that i have been on, Costa and MSC, neither chase you around kissing your ass, or hound you to buy things, both have great pasta, great entertainment and beautiful crews,price single rates better than mainstream us cruiselines and being italian it reminds me of sunday at mi familias. Also food on my last Celebrity cruise wasn't that great either,and I have yet to be on a cruise except the bon voyage buffet ,where the buffets were excellent and they all look the same after a few days..I guess I'm lucki in that i don't cruise for food. I cruise to have a great time..CAn't wait till March the 10th and I hope all the people on here going on that date are ready to have a great time:cool:

 

Hey Bobar...why don't you book another one on the Opera for April 1st? I'd enjoy sailing with you and sharing the dining table!:)

[Sailure]

Who cares about the food?? Like, why go on a trip and obsess over food...there has to be something there to eat, for heavens sake--eat Gelato all day! I am going on the Opera 4/1/07-- I am more worried about it being Spring Break, the ship is full and hopefully not with little kids!

 

anyone else out there going at that time?

Previous Opera passengers??? Can you book spa treatments before boarding?

 

Hi MagiB!

We'll be on this cruise with you! Maybe we can meet up.:)

[tjcox9]

We just returned from an eleven day cruise on the Opera and enjoyed the differences between it and our usual cruise lines. This was a big band cruise with the Tommy Dorsey orchestra and several additional entertainers in addition to the usual shows.

 

I totally agree with dollingannie regarding Adrian Mocanu! What a fantastic voice. The violinist, Marian Cristea is also exceptional. The entertainment is such a change of pace from the standard production numbers on other cruise lines. We didn't miss a show and seldom go to the production numbers on other lines.

 

As for the food, we ate in the buffet for lunch only on embarkation day. The rest of our meals were taken in the dining room. We found the menus to be interesting and generally to our liking. The appetizers and pastas were overall very good at lunch and dinner, but we did find the entrees somewhat lacking several times. Often, when the entree arrived I was already full from the appetizer and pasta. Unless you want shrimp cocktail and steak every night, you certainly won't go hungry.

 

We went into this cruise having read many critical reports on this board, and must say that MSC exceeded our expectations in most all aspects. We hope you enjoy your cruise as much as we did. It was a refreshing change of pace.:)

[bobar]

thanks for all the input everone..only 17 days until we sail and i can't wait.i have been on a pasta fast so that i will eat pasta for the entire 11 day cruise.i can't wait to see the animation team again..when i was on the melody 3 years ago they were so funny they had us crying on the floor laughing.can't wait to hit granada again(one of my favorite islands) and looking forward to another day daydreaming on orient beach in st. martin...there's a slot machine with my name on it at the westin casino in old san juan and I get to see Barbados for the first time.And this time since it's my 3rd cruise on an italian line i am going to learn the announcements in the other languages and add some more culture to experience.I guess y'all can tell i can't wait to go ..what a great birthday trip..

[joybaby]

What date is your birthday? The quartet is going to sing to you!!!:) :)

 

joybaby

[bobar]

My birthday is the day we sail..march the 10th..That would be real cool if they did...thnx....Robb:cool:

[joybaby]

My birthday is the day we sail..march the 10th..That would be real cool if they did...thnx....Robb:cool:

 

Okay, call me - our cabin is 8130.

 

joyce

[joephine13]

sing for me on the 13th..thar's my birthday!

[joybaby]

sing for me on the 13th..thar's my birthday!

 

Call us 8130

[LHair]

Old Cop was right just got off 11 day cruise on the Opera yesterday and while I love Pasta and rice, 11 straight days is to much, he was dead on on his points concerning the food, yes they do have alternatives, Pizza and Hamburgers, but even these are not up to any standard I have seen on any cruise line, the burgers and hotdogs are left to sit in warm water until you are ready to eat, the pizzas are better and would go with the cheese ones, sasuage is what was left over from breakfast. The seafood was no existant and the two nights they did have it it was dry. We have cruised 7 times on several ships so this was not first, and I might be the Ugly American you spoke of, but as bad as the food was it was 10 times better then the service you will recive, no we did not starve the food is edible but to recommend it would be a joke, and yes we did have a good time but only becasue I was with good company, I took an unoffical survey of 40 couples on this cruise and only 3 people said they would ever do it again, yes majority were Amercian / Canadians, but these were people that had cruised as many as 111 times in one couples case, and I did not have to find them they found me to take the survey. I have scaned the internet reading up on this cruise line and find it strange anyone would recomend it to anyone else, seriously! The last couple we met on the ship were two chefs from canada and they just hammered the food as the worst they had ever had, again the COP is right

[joybaby]

WOW!!:eek: