MSC Musica 18th May 2008

[valderee]

What a lovley ship this is, we had a good time. Food was good but did tend to be a little on the cold side in the buffet. The shows only lasted half hour, not great but OK. Cabins lovley. Entertainment in the bars quite good. We were easily able to take on alchohol. and any drinks we wanted too. Food was available immediately before a tour and available after the tour. The dining room for breakfast was very good. Was very efficient with embarkation and disembarking. No problem with getting off the ship at ports. All in all a good cruise.

[JUST TRIPPIN']

we will be travellling on the musica in september. it would be great to hear more about your vacation since you seem to give unbiased reports. this will be our first cruise ever. my wife is being way too relaxed. i on the other hand want to hear lots before i go. one particular question she does have, is how cold/warm was it at night on the upper deck? thank you in advance.

[Booked]

I, too, would love to hear more about your cruise...we're flying out this Friday to start our cruise on the Musica June 15, so any info would be great.

But thanks for the scoop, re bringing alcohol on board, we will want to pick up wine in Venice and Bari, and sounds like no problem.

After embarking in Venice did you have time to leave the ship and spend a few more hours sightseeing?

Thanks again.

CA

[valderee]

You can board from 10.30am, perhaps arrive 9.30am for baggage, probably have a bite to eat and go back into Venice must be back at ship by 5.30pm I think. It can be a little chilly on the top deck so best to take a light jacket. They have games and dance instructions in the purple lounge the entertainment guy there is a great laugh. They instruct you how to latino dance etc. They have a band also. The blue lounge is a smoking lounge with great entertainers (they have a no smoking part also). Then in the foyer type area they have painist and guitarist, also 3 girls 2 on violins for the softer music, there is one other lounge that starts at 10.30pm with a band we didnt use that one. There is Italian lessons. Breakfast is really good in the restaurant - hot and you dont have to look for a seat Al la carte (free) you can still have what you want. In the buffet there are big urns with, fresh water, juice, tea & coffee to help yourself to. You can also get one and take out on the top deck, but only at meal times. You can take buffet meals outside on the top deck also. You can buy cappicino nearly anytime.We did not use any of the paying restaurants. We had a balcony cabin the ony way to go.

Pool was too cold to use in May. They have pool deck games to participate in. A disco at night, level 14. Very quiet though.

Bari, they drop you off at the gates and you can get a tour train which will take you around for 18eu but not much in Bari you can do it on your own. We did the Olympia & shopping but didnt get much time for shopping this tour was OK. Santorini is lovely, DONT take the donkey, take the chair lift up and either walk down the steps or chair lift down, the donkey is scary there are so many of them crashing into each other and scraping legs on the wall. I took the donkey down, never again. They do great yoros here cheap. Ask the price of coffee before sitting down. Dont need to do a tour here. Piraeus, we did Athens & Akropolis deffinately worth it, we got dropped of in town and made our way back to the ship. You have plenty of time. Corfu we didnt do a tour here, but took a small train outside McDonalds this was good.10eu I think. But on reflection I would do a tour here as only mainly shops. Dubrovnik absolutley lovely, there is a castle you must go inside, its full of little shops in the street and at the back boats and cafes near the water. No need to do a tour here either.

They charge 7eu for the shuttle sometimes at the desk on the ship, but they never ask to see your ticket on the bus (dont buy one) you can always pay on the bus if asked.

Hope you have a lovely time and hope this information helps as there is not much comments on MSC Musica.

[JUST TRIPPIN']

thank you for elaborating. it sounds like it's going to be a great vacation. i can't tell you how much i appreciate your review. as you mentioned, there is hardly any feedback on this cruise. i noticed you mentioned asking how much the coffee is...i take it they squeeze a little extra money out of the tourists? thanks for taking your time to answer us. i can't wait to go on our second cruise so i will know what to expect by then!!!

[Booked]

Valdree: Thanks so much for the extra info. The timing is perfect, since we're flying out tomorrow!!!!! I'll print off your comments and slip them in my bag to re-read once we're on board the Musica.

 

I'm sure we're going to have a wonderful time, really appreciate your comments and advice.

 

And Just Trippin' - I'll come back to the board, once we're back and provide any additional details of our Musica experience. (Anything you want me to specifically check out?)

 

Thanks again!!!!

 

CA

[JUST TRIPPIN']

Booked, if you are still around to see this, i hope you have a great time on your cruise. yah, i'm jealous... With us being new to cruises and for that matter, new to flying off to europe, i guess we would just like to know how hard it will be to fit in and find everything on such a big ship. we have so many questions about how, where and why that it's not even funny. this trip will definitely be like our first trip 23 years ago when we said " I DO ". Surprises after surprises. Can't wait for your review, but have fun living it out first.

[jignpig]

It sounds like my husband and I will be on the same cruise in Sept/08 as you. MSC Musica Sept 14th. It will be our first cruise and we are really looking forward to it. It was interesting reading the comments about previous trips. It is coming up fast! We are in Haliburton only 3 hours north of Kingston.

[JUST TRIPPIN']

HELLO JIGNPIG, we have been trying to get in touch with you since we saw your name under the roll call. this being our first trip across the pond as well as our first cruise, it will be nice to know that there is someone else from " home " on board. are you flying out on friday or saturday?

[travelbug1948]

Hi

 

Thank you so much for the info about MSC Musica - I am new to cruising so I have been very worried reading on other forums a lot of negative remarks for the Musica, from the food, not being able to bring drinks onboard and no soft beverages other than at mealtimes etc.

Our party of 8 are taking the eastern Med cruise on 6 July and as it's for my 60th birthday I want it to be a bit special and hopefully this will be the first of many such cruises!! Thank you again

[Booked]

We're just back from our June 13th Musica cruise - and Valderee, thanks again for all your notes, they really came in handy throughout the cruise.

 

And "yes" we chose the cable car in Santorini over the donkeys, or walking! Good advice! But what a spectacular town!!!!

 

Just Trippin' - thanks for your note above - I'm still thinking about my review, but I've already answered some questions on a couple of the recent postings on the board that you may find interesting. Since you, and Jignpig are both from Ontario too, I'm guessing that you like us, booked the full package through the Canadian tour company that specializes in "sun" vacations (don't know if we can name names on these boards) If so, did you include the day in Venice prior to the cruise? And what kind of cabin do you have? - that way, I can give you some more specific info.

 

One comment upfront - you can clear some clothes out of your suitcase. There were no "informal" nights on this cruise - just 5 casual and 2 gala. One suit or jacket is more than enough for men, and 2 "dressier" outfits for women is all you need. Otherwise it's nice casual. (The second gala night there were even a lot of men, minus jacket and/or tie)

 

And the Mykonos night, they combined the 2 seatings and I think the dress was "beach" or "holiday" or something like that. We like most people actually ate off the ship - we found a lovely outside patio, watched the famous sunset and enjoyed apetizers, dinner and a carafe of house wine for about 40E.

 

I'll be back with a more detailed review in a little while, I want to be both fair and informative. But we had a great time, and anyone taking this cruise it the future has so much to look forward to!

 

In the meantime, any questions, feel free to ask. I'll do my best.

[JUST TRIPPIN']

Yes, we booked through the Quest company as well. We were lucky enough to get a free upgrade to the 1st class seats. We fly out on friday and spend one night in Venice. Our room is a balcony room way up on the 12th floor on the starboard side. Not sure if that is good or not. It seems we would have a nice view, but people tell us we will feel the ship a little more.

[Booked]

All good news! We were on the 12th floor as well -12169 - which I believe was on the "port" side. No real motion at all, so relax. And incredible views. I think there was only one evening when it was a little too windy to enjoy the balcony late at night. Otherwise - a leisurely coffee on the balcony every morning (continental breakfast room service if free, and it's the best wake-up call!) and last liquer before bed.

 

You'll also enjoy the pre-cruise part of the cruise - great, great value. Do whatever it takes to sleep on the plane, should be a lot easier in first class, but we used ear plugs and sleep masks to help.

 

The Novetel hotel although outside of "water" part of Venice actually works really well - nice big king beds and great breakfast. Plus a nice perspective of the "whole" Venice when coming / going / and heading out on your tour. Note: bus goes by the shipyards, where we saw the beautiful Eurodam all lit up and ready to start her maiden voyage and several other "in progress" beauties.

 

Tour starts by boat through Grand Canal, then becomes a walking tour from St Marco Square, and you'll probably be given a chance for a gondola ride. We'd been to Venice before, so we split from the group for a couple of hours prior to meeting up again for dinner, but everyone we talked to really enjoyed the whole tour - very informative.

 

Dinner was excellent - a really lovely "real" Venice restaurant, that I'll go back to next time in Venice. And this will give you a chance to meet your new "best friends" for the next week. Our tablemates at the pre-dinner turned out to have the next cabin, and were seated with us on the ship for the early seating dinner. You mentioned in previous postings about it being nice to know people - this works out really well. You'll have familiar faces throughout the cruise from your "little" group of Canadians.

 

Next mornng - leisurely breakfast at the hotel, then tranportation directly to the ship - we were all checked in by about noon. So rather than line-up to board, we headed back to explore Venice for a couple of hours taking the free shuttle. This time the Roma area - a little less busy than St. Marco, and not so much walking. Got back to the ship about 4, just walked on, no line-ups and luggage waiting at our room. Perfect!

 

All lovely - you'll love it. Just writing about it, I want to do it again!

[JUST TRIPPIN']

Thank you. You have just mentioned the part i was most concerned about. Being on the 12th floor i was worried about the motion sickness. My wife and i usually only do resort vacations. It is usually her that ends up woozy on the plane or gets sick from the food. I just figured my time had come and this cruise would be the big " get even ". You are the first person to talk about the pre-cruise time. Sounds great. There might still be time you know. Pack your bags. You can be our official travel guides. We will buy the first round. Thank you so much for all of your information. It has been especially great with all of the less-than-favorable reviews. Having been a member of TripAdvisor, i have learned to read between the lines and decipher the truth. Either way, my wife and i believe you make the best of whatever situation you are in.

[jignpig]

We didn't know how to get in touch with you either, we are new at this. We leave the friday around 6pm from Toronto, first class. Same flight??

[Booked]

You two Ontario cruisers may want to consider teaming up and booking a private Athens tour - some good recos of tried and try "taxi" operators on the "Athens" board. I was in email communication with one, and then opted for the ship tour because there were only the 2 of us. Mistake! In retrospect, I should have booked a private tour upfront and then talked a couple of our "new best friends/tablemates" to share the costs. The trouble with the ship tours and all other bus tours is they arrive at the same time, which makes it incredibly crazy busy at the Acropolis. The good "taxi" guys pick you up early and take you there first, so that you're finished and leaving when the "hoards" are arriving. The only difference is you pay the entrance fee to the Acropolis extra - 12E, I think. People we talked to back on the ship, who did the private tour route, were thrilled with their day. We're thrilled to have seen Athens and the Acropolis, but the mid-day tour crowds cannot be believed! Whatever your choice, you MUST wear good, non slip walking shoes or sandals and take water. Enjoy!!!

[JUST TRIPPIN']

you must have booked quite early too. we booked as of october 31st last year. i was in at the travel agency asking about one trip and before you know it...venice here we come! i still think we need to pool our resources and take ' Booked ' with us. what a great resource for learning what to do and what not to do. i really like the idea of the private tours. everybody i talk to says that that is the way to go, but us being newbies, we are always thinking the worst. the flight time is the same as ours. skyservice i guess. we are both in our mid 40's. you can't miss us. we are the tall couple. we will have to get together at the airport if possible. slight sidenote...my wife just fractured her foot on the 14th of june. she is currently in an air cast. apparently she did a good job. doctor says 5 more weeks. that gives her about 4-5 weeks to recover. the ironic part is that we took this trip now while we were " younger " because we thought there would be lots of walking involved. go figure!

[tangles00]

You two Ontario cruisers may want to consider teaming up and booking a private Athens tour - some good recos of tried and try "taxi" operators on the "Athens" board. I was in email communication with one, and then opted for the ship tour because there were only the 2 of us. Mistake! In retrospect, I should have booked a private tour upfront and then talked a couple of our "new best friends/tablemates" to share the costs. The trouble with the ship tours and all other bus tours is they arrive at the same time, which makes it incredibly crazy busy at the Acropolis. The good "taxi" guys pick you up early and take you there first, so that you're finished and leaving when the "hoards" are arriving. The only difference is you pay the entrance fee to the Acropolis extra - 12E, I think. People we talked to back on the ship, who did the private tour route, were thrilled with their day. We're thrilled to have seen Athens and the Acropolis, but the mid-day tour crowds cannot be believed! Whatever your choice, you MUST wear good, non slip walking shoes or sandals and take water. Enjoy!!!

 

our cruise on Musica was from 4 May 2008 and it was excellent.

 

In Athens contact Paul from Athens Taxis, he is great. He has a mercedes and takes you to all the sites, we even saw the changing of the guard...interesting. The people on the excursions booked through the ship were back on the ship around two pm we got back just before sailing. Paul was great and very knowledgeable although he couldn't go onto the sites with us as he is not a guide. We had a great day with him.

 

As far as not going up on the donkeys in Santorini - that was one of the highlights of our trip. We had no hesitation going on them. It was worth every cent of the 4 euro and would have paid much more for the experience, it was so much fun. We laughed all the way up the 16 zig zags and took some spectacular photos and video. When we got to the top we hired quad bikes and went out to Oia. What a great day!!!!!!

 

Hope you all enjoy your cruise, it truly is a beautiful ship.

 

:) :)

[jignpig]

Just Trippin, we are in cabin 12167. We booked in February. My husband went in and asked about a train trip across Canada and we ended up with this! We said 'I DO' 25 years ago this September and ended up in Haliburton! We loved it so much we moved here. The taxi idea may be a good one from what we read. Not long now...

[JUST TRIPPIN']

So far we seem to have a lot in common. We are on the 12th floor too but at the front right hand side ( i don't feel worthy yet to say that in cruisers' lingo ). More importantly, we too are celebrating our anniversary. There is a long, somewhat strange, somewhat funny story we can tell you about that, but for now, let's just say our anniversary is on september 11th totalling 23 years. I think it's funny that you were looking for something else at the travel agency and ended up with this trip too! I looked up that taxi driver from Athens that " Tangles " mentioned. He accepts reservations over the internet and you can even cancel with 24 hours notice. Now i just have to convince my wife to do it. You rent the car for a half day tour for $150 ( approx.). It doesn't sound like a bad price considering the personal tour. I was thinking of renting it and if you two decided to, perhaps we could share the tour. Only $75 per couple. My wife can't wait to see the doctor next friday to see how the foot is. She is a little nervous to say the least. I think she will be fine. She's a tough one. Two months to go...

[Booked]

A quick stop back on the thread -

 

Jignpig - your cabin is just next to the one we had, we were in 12169 - you will enjoy it so very much on the sail out of Venice - you get the best views imaginable of St. Marco's Square, etc - and throughout the trip.

 

JT - you may want to slip down the the open aft area on 12 as you leave the Venice terminal and sail past St. Marco's Sq, etc. and then return to your cabin and balcony after that, because from your side you'll then have the best views of the other islands, Lido, Murano, etc A whole different side of Venice.

 

As I just mentioned in the other thread - we were showing our pics on the weekend, making people jealous!!!!

 

But reminded me once again of the Acropolis crowds - no one could believe the pics! A trip to the Acropolis is a must, but if you can get there earlier with a private "tour" I'm sure you'll enjoy it much more. The price you were quoted sounds really good - almost less than the ship tour if you do 4 people. Even if its just the two of you, it will be worth it. And with the recos of people like Tangles, and others on the Athens thread, I think you can rest assured about the quality and reliability of Paul or one of the other taxi recos. Going private the first time around may be a little scary, but these guys know what they're doing, they do it every day, and I've found you really can't go wrong with CC recos.

 

Bet you're counting the days!!!!

[JUST TRIPPIN']

I don't suppose you have any of these pictures available online do you? It sounds like they would be good to look at. Is it september yet ?!?!

[jignpig]

We hope your wife's appt goes well and she is as good as new for Sept 12th. We would be interested in a private tour as well because as far as I can read, most seem to enjoy these tours better. Looking forward to hearing from Canadafamily as well. Only 63 days...

[Booked]

JT - Sorry no pics online, haven't developed that skill yet, but will let you know if I figure it out between now and Sept.

 

Maybe others on the the Athens thread????

 

By the way, every night my husband is bringing home brochures and print offs of airfare to Athens and Santorini Hotels - is trying to talk me into a Sept. trip back!!!! - So perhaps we'll be waving to the Musica from a sun-soaked patio when you tender in...

 

Hope the doctor apt. went well.

[JUST TRIPPIN']

not good news...my wife will be in her cast until at least august 11th. things are going well, but the dr. feels it needs more time. that gives us less than a month for her to " re-hab ". with this coming friday the last day for us to pay in full, we now have to decide whether to cancel or not. if we do not, than our cancellation insurance will be void due to a pre-existing condition. needless to say, this sucks, for lack of a more mature phrase. on the bright side, i hear greece is nice in june !!!!???