POESIA Maiden Voyage- Dover/ Venize, 6/ 19 April 2008

[Jacques O]

Dear all,

 

I've (at last!) just completed a ship review of our cruise on the new Poesia.

 

Hope you find the report interesting.

 

Enjoy!

 

Jacques O., Paris.

 

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MSC POESIA - cruise report – April 2008

 

Maiden voyage- Dover/ Venize, 6/19 April 2008.

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION AND OVERALL DESCRIPTION

 

 

I had the opportunity to sail on the new MSC Poesia, on her maiden voyage in April 2008. We started from Dover and ended in Venize, where the ship is positioned for her 2008 season.

We called at Cobh, Lisbon, Barcelona, Civitavecchia, Naples, Messina, Dubrovnik.

 

We left Dover under snow and nasty weather (there was a wave of cold and snowy weather on departure day), just before midnight on Sunday 4th April, 6 hours late!

 

Despite this “cold bon voyage” departure, weather was rather cooperative throughout the cruise. We only had one day of grey weather and rough sea on the 6th April, that is to say the 2nd day into the Atlantic, once the sailing west of the Bay of Biscay almost completed. I guess we had gale force 6, but surprisingly, the ship handled the sea pretty well. We occasionally had patches of rainy weather at sea. During our time ashore, we managed to avoid rain, except in Dubrovnik.

 

 

We chose this cruise because the itinerary was enticing. Although we had visited each port of call before, it is always nice to be back to these wonderful sea cities….Also, we had decided to stay two nights in Venize after ther cruise, to enjoy this magical city. In addition, since I was travelling with my mother, sailing on a ship catering to “Europeans” made the difference to her – she would feel more “at home” than say, on a Princess ship – I mean cruise ships targeted at the English speaking people.

 

We had sailed the year before (in January) on the MSC Musica, our first cruise with MSC. We rather liked the ship and what was offered on board, apart from a few small things. So, we had no objection to sail MSC again, bearing in mind that we would not get 5-star service, or anything like what we enjoyed last year on the Royal Princess or the QM2 in October. 2005. Moreover, sailing on a maiden voyage, though not on an exceptionally prestigious company was something that helped made up our mind. Last but not least, I had found a particularly competitive price for this cruise.

 

 

The Poesia, is the third of the “Musica” series completed in 2006. Unsurprisingly, at 89600 gross tons, she is like many of the panamax ships, more akin to a floating condo with balconies. Her forward section is too high, and she is rather angular and very rectilinear. Most of her superstructure incorporate balconies. She is all painted in white, with the only colour features being the big blue funnel, the MSC logo painted on either side on the after section of the hull, as well as the glass used for the balconies and for the floor to ceiling panels of the upper decks.

 

This said, Poesia’s interiors reflect warmth, cosiness, and good quality, as far as both the decoration or the furniture are concerned. In my view, though, the palette of colours are more contrasted than on the Musica.

 

Some rooms looked a bit crammed – is it due to the many (thick) columns, or of the impression of low ceiling because of their design? (due to cornices for example)? Or because there is too much furniture? Or too many colours being used in the fitting out?. There is also a lot of brass, (faux?) marble, mirrors (specially in the stair towers) throughout. Although some lounges are quite roomy, there is no wasted space. All rooms are one deck in height, except the atrium which is (only) three decks in height, but looked nevertheless spacious.

 

The layout is quite similar to what is found on ship of that category. It is rather good, because there was no bottle neck. Of course, some rooms were understandably at times very busy, but it couldn’t be other wise on a ship made to cater for over 2500 “guests”. Passengers’ flow was smooth.

 

 

The ship was running to maximum capacity or so. Sailing during took place during vacations time for some, so there were quite a few families with kids. Therefore, the average age was not too high! Many nationalities were present, but unlike last year when the Germans represented 60% of passengers, the breakdown by nationality was more balanced this time. The largest complement was English speakers, about 1600 people, coming from Australia, New Zealand, the US and Britain, together with a group from Asia (China or Japan). For many of them, it was there first time in Europe – and what a way to discover our continent, after all!

 

People behaved alright. I didn’t notice any rude or untoward attitude (except the smoking on balconies at time, something strictly forbidden though…But the notice stuck on the balcony door was only in English; so I worked out it did not apply to “non English speaking” natives). Still, some at the theatre during the shows spoke between each other (out of consideration towards their fellow passengers, of course) as if there were in a lounge. This drives me crazy. I had to change seat a few times. Dress code was far from being excessively formal too, to say the least…

 

 

 

FOOD : restaurant and cafeteria.

 

Well, it was not the best we had on a cruise ship. To be blunt, I would say it was bland and un-imaginative. This said, it matched my expectations (that were not too high in this area). Honestly, it was fair. I never had a bad breakfast, lunch, tea-time, or dinner.

 

Price of drink was alright, as far as wine was concerned (the Italian wine we had for dinner cost around 25 euros, and was rather nice for a “standard” one). For other drinks, the choice was a little expensive (all prices are in Euros, and inclusive of service).

 

 

Restaurant.

 

There was a variety of traditional Italian food, each night featuring specialities from a particular region. The nicest items were the pasta and Risotto, which were very tasty, and that I thoroughly enjoyed. Meat was not of the best cuts (of beef, for instance)! Fish was OK. Dessert and sweets very nice (we had enjoyed them very much last year on the Musica – they must have a talented patissier). It was no surprise in this context that we were never offered Beef Wellington or Lobster! Never mind.

 

Some people complained that the dishes were not hot enough, or the plates not hot enough. That’s right. But this is a point that bothers more American and English people than continental Europeans. It didn’t bother me.

 

We had a table for four, at the second sitting, sharing with a nice couple from south East France. Service at the restaurant was alright. One must bear in mind that it was Poesia’s first cruise, and that therefore, the crew has to get used to a thorough organisation among a full complement of passengers, and to working with their team mates, some of whom they’re not fully acquainted with.

 

Our waiters tried to do their best, but service was not perfect! It nevertheless didn’t spoil our dinners. I like to get two entrées (main fares), but the first few days, I only got one! Never mind, I did not really need two entrées! Later, the two entrées were put on the same plate: not a truly sophisticated presentation, but again, we were not sailing Princess for instance. Likewise, I most of the time ordered two desserts, but at the beginning, I only got one! Never mind, I was in no need to get two desserts! After a few days, things got tuned up – and for instance, the head waiter remembered I liked coffee with my dessert. Coffee served is (most regrettably) instant coffee! If you want proper coffee, say, an espresso, you pay for it. Or you have it at the bar. Same thing with Costa, by the way.

 

At dinner, our waiter provided us with tap water, which we had to request – our glasses were not refilled without having to ask. This was not too big of an issue, because we were offered vouchers for bottled water – as past passengers, I guess. So, I enjoyed Italian fizzy (acqua frizzante) water too. We also had Italian wine each night. The wine carte is comprehensive, with a strong emphasis on Italian wines.

 

Dining organization was alright, except the evening of the Barcelona call – where we left at 2 am, the following morning. The 2-sitting system (18h30 and 20h30) was not altered. They could have organized an open sitting instead, and then the cafeteria, say, from 9 pm. It was not the case. It’s silly for many people were out to town. Like us! We came back in the evening for a short while, did not eat at the restaurant but only had fruit in our cabin, before heading back to town. When we came after midnight, we had food at the cafeteria, where the midnight buffet was held.

 

 

The running of the cafeteria was generally satisfactory.

 

First of all, there is food only at meal times. Outside those times, you can’t get anything except through room service. The food variety on offer was not that extensive; the quality was sometimes not top notch, but it was adequate.

 

We did not have to struggle to get a table for breakfast or lunch, unlike last year where it was chaotic! It was a bit surprising because this cafeteria, made of two sections, is a large room. Remembering this “organisation” , we decided to order breakfast on most port days in our cabin….The morning of Lisbon, breakfast arrived 45 mn late! I had to ring up twice to find out what was going on… “too many orders”, I was answered…The other mornings, timing was right…. Sometimes, the order was slightly different from what we had specified on the card!

 

Getting food was no big trouble, as there were sufficient stations in use. There was no big queue (unless you turned up at “peak hours”, which we avoided).

 

Last year, drink service was no good at the cafeteria, because of the few drink stations. There was a waiter on duty to serve guests at each of them (with people queuing to get served). This time, there were waiters walking to and fro in the cafeteria, offering juice, coffee and hot waters for the tea, as well as staff behind the drink machine. It worked fine.

 

Now, for lunch it was not so easy to get tap water….as they were more ready to sell you bottled waters! The worse was during the midnight buffets when they took place there: there was simply no tap water on offer… and the drinking machines were not working…. You had to order “paying” bottled water! A shame. It didn’t really bother me, but a few years ago, I would have gone mad because of this. Many people resented this attitude Honestly, I think it just appalling and so mean. They try to get money out of your pocket when ever they can, on MSC… no joke!

 

 

Entertainment

 

Entertainment was as a whole enjoyable. The entertainment team was friendly. They tried their best to speak 5 languages (Italian/ English/ French/ German/ Spanish). We took part in a few activities (like quiz or trivia). and even won a few times –just a small present-, with some other fellow passengers we would meet for this occasion.

 

Entertainment in the theatre was generally speaking, good. The theatre is a comfortable and huge room, for 1249 people. Sight line is excellent, with no pillar that blocks the view.

 

The first few nights, it seemed ‘over stretched’; as if they were trying hard to make it last 45 minutes with not too much…. Oh, it did not bode well… But in the cruise latter part, we were given proper shows, lasting 45 minutes. There were even a few ‘production’ ones, which we enjoyed.

 

These performances included a juggler (poor), a mime (very talented and entertaining), a tenor (very talented too), contortionists (that I didn’t like as I found them “freaky”), etc… Understandably, because of the language barrier, all these performances were “‘visual” ones.

 

Shows presentations were made in 5 languages, which went well. I have high consideration for the cruises directress and her (female) deputy, who both where at ease in English, Italian, French, German and Spanish.

 

The entertainment team staged a show most nights, complementing the theatre ones, in one of the large lounges. I attended a couple of them and found them low key, but quite amusing.

 

Singers mostly sang songs in English – except the tenor at the theatre of course. There were good singers and small bands; that included a ‘Viennese caffé’ orchestra (of 3 string female players and a male piano player), which was particularly patronized.

 

 

RESTAURANT.

 

 

There are two “regular” restaurants on board. Each one is deck in height, which means that the atmosphere is a somewhat crammed and noisy.

 

We were seated at “II Paladio” Restaurant, on deck 6. Compared to the one one deck down “Il Fontane” (similar in size and number of seats), it is more pleasant: it is cosier and sounds less noisy. Last year, on the Musica, we shared a large table in the one on deck 5, and found the atmosphere quite noisy. This time, our table for 4 was against the sea-wall. There was a banquette against the sea wall, which was hardly wide enough! Opposite were two chairs (no arm chairs on any restaurants). I noticed that large tables – for 8 or 10 passengers for instance – were to close to the others, meaning that waiters had sometimes to struggle. There was certainly not enough space for the waiter to serve his guests with manners, as he would have to cross over other people’s plates.

 

There are “Speciality dining alternatives” to widen your choice of dining venues. The forward section of the cafeteria becomes a pizza and kebab restaurant – at a supplement similar to what would be found ashore. The after one, called “l’Obelisco à la carte restaurant”, with views over the wake (and the after terrace) is made of nicely laid tables. The extra fare there is 18 euros, plus wine on top. Menu was really appealing (I had a look at it). Spoke to an English couple we dined there and spent a very pleasant time. Then, there is the sushi bar, which atmosphere in the shades of watery greens was attractive. I didn’t have a look at the menu, but again, I’m sure the price is what you see ashore. There is also the “Enoteca” – the wine bar – “Il Grappolo d’Oro”, which offered top wines with trendy food, again at a supplement.

 

 

CABIN.

 

Well, I must say it was not a good cabin. It’s all my fault. When I made the booking, 3 months prior to the cruise, this cabin was offered, and I ‘seized’ it, for fear of it being no longer available at the same price… It was N° 70165, cat. 10, on Carducci (n° 10) deck, portside. It was a balcony cabin in the midship section of the ship, overlooking the life boats in the recessed (central) section of the ship. In this section, outside cabins are larger than those in the forward and after sections, which are flush with the hull – it’s where we had a cabin last year, the second most forward on deck 8. Well, the difference is that the larger cabins are fitted with a sofa, instead of a chair, as well as a wider desk.

 

Once in the cabin, we discovered that as it was a communicating one, there was no sofa, but an easy (low) chair instead….To make up of for this, I would take one of the two armchairs from the balcony, which was handy.

 

Storage was sufficient (it even included many drawers – in the night tables or the desk.)

 

The bathroom, large enough, was tiled with proper tiles; it was not a poor imitation. It provided enough space to store your own things – a shelf unit in one of the corner and space below the sink, protected by doors. The shower was protected by a curtain. Water power was very efficient – it was such a plus. We were also given nice bath robes, of thick cotton.

 

Well, the location was no good, because it was almost opposite a technical stair case, and the noise of the doors being slammed was a real nuisance. I got really bothered and got some ear plugs from the reception, to help sleep in the least worse possible condition!

 

Now, for somebody who spends hours perusing through cruise brochures, studying deck plans, having ended with such a cabin was pathetic! For in the deck plan of the MSC brochure, it showed the sign for a connecting cabin and the technical stairwell….

 

The fitting out of the cabin was very welcoming. Colouring was attractive - the tones were in various shades of deep blue for the bed spreads, the chairs, the (thick) curtains and the carpet. The walls were covered by floor to ceiling mirror panels, as well as dark brown wood panels, which where more like large square of wood, assembled together, thus providing a more finished note.

 

The balcony was of a good size – with a table and two armchairs, made of good wicker plastic imitation. The partition between balconies ensured proper privacy, and the deck levels were flush with each other – so there was no possibly of looking down onto the balcony of your fellow passengers below.

 

Service in the room was just OK…. Our cabin stewardess did her best, but her assistant was no good. Both came form Madagascar, from where quite of a lot of cabin staff come from, as they speak French. The stewardess, Michèle, –who was very smiling and friendly- had been working for MSC for quite a few years, but on cargo ships. She asked to work on the company’s cruise ships, but she said that is was much harder work because some passengers are disrespectful or unnecessary demanding.

 

The first night, although I had requested to have the beds made separate when we meet the cabin stewardess soon after our arrival at the cabin, it’s only when we retired there after the show that we found that the stewardess and her assistant were preparing the beds…. Didn’t bother us too much. After all, it was the first night with paying ‘guest’s so the staff had had a hard time over the previous hours. The worse was still to come. Now, for two nights, the beds were not made ready, nor was the bathroom maintained and the towels changed! My mother spoke to the stewardess who blamed her assistant. The latter did not bother to do his job! This is the first time this happens to us. I just can’t believe it! Is he doing his best to be sacked? We did not complain, but I’m pretty sure that less exacting guests than us would not tolerate this. It was also difficult to get ice cubes (we got a pot for ice, but there was ice only twice in a row…) bah!....In my view, if you ask for an ice bucket, you mean to have it filled regularly with ice! Don’t you?

 

 

MISCELLANEOUS

 

Sign posting on cabin decks was poor. There are 4 staircases on the ship (but no “bubble” lifts in the atrium), and do not differ from any other. They don’t have a name, nor a letter, nor a specific carpet colour for instance! In corridors, there are no signs – no arrows or any other mention showing the forward and aft section, nor any mention of the ship’s side (starboard or aft) There are just mention of cabin numbers – so you have to work out that small numbers refer to the forward section, whereas the big numbers refers to the after cabin ; likewise, even numbers refer to starboard cabin, whereas odd ones refer to port side cabin. Still, the words “odd” and “even” (with the translation in Italian) were mentioned. I found this lack of mark quite confusing, unpractical…. and I had to make a mental effort to work out my where abouts at times!

 

Elevator service was efficient.

 

The carpeting, however, in the cabin and in the corridors looked like it was suffering from wear! Most peculiar for a new ship.

 

There were two formal evenings: “captain’s welcome” and “farewell”. During the parties before dinner, you could get a fresh glass without too much trouble – that’s positive.

 

Sport facilities were apparently good, with all the training machines…not that I used them at all! The sport room and the spa were located forward, one deck above the bridge. There is also behind the funnel a large area done as a tennis and basket court. There are two outdoor swimming pools (no indoor or covered one), as well as two sets of 2 hot tubs. I have used the pool and the hot tubs a few time in the evening… but at around 7 pm time they were put out of order and the pools covered with a net. A bit early to me.

 

When the sun shone, outdoors decks were pretty cluttered with sun loungers all over the place: round the pools and on the deck above – overlooking the pool -, where is was difficult to find one’s way: it was rather chaotic to be honest.

 

 

The shops were attractive, but it was easy to avoid them : they were not in an “unavoidable” passengers way. But on either side of one lounge bar. The liquor and tobacco shops sold their products at a fair price, and you could even take them away… to your cabin. I bought a (cheap) bottle of whisky, which drank in the cabin… with ice cubes (of the lack there of)!

 

Deck 7 which is the embarquation deck, features a wide promenade. It’s almost an all rounder. It goes round the show room, but not aft, because this section is occupied by the full width after lounge, “Le Moulin Rouge”. Pity, but it was still pleasant to stroll that deck. There is also no sun lounger there.

 

 

 

CONCLUSION.

 

 

We enjoyed this cruise. It does not rank as the best we ever took, but certainly not as the worse (though I wonder was an awful cruise can be). It was just another sea voyage, on a floating hotel.

 

The itinerary was perfect, as it allowed us to visit some of the most important sea cities of Southern Europe. This was surely a decisive factor regarding our choosing this cruise… like the decent price we paid for it.

 

Weather was fairly good, and we can’t complaint about it. Don’t forget we sailed on different seas, that can at times be temperamental.

 

The ship is comfortable, large, but remains human sized. The décor and atmosphere are of good quality and tasteful; as the Poesia is a brand new ship, it was spick and span!

 

Food and service were adequate. The choice lacked imagination, quality was not top notch, but we never ate something that we found awful.

 

Service was at times lacking, but all in all, I have the felling that the staff was working hard so that their guests had a leisure time.

 

Entertainment was fair too.

 

I appreciated the fact that there was a good mix of nationality on board.

 

So, will I sail MSC again? I can’t rule that out.

 

 

Now, I can’t tell you about the itinerary, and our day ashore, at each port of call : how we travelled, what we visited. I’ll try to do that later…. But I’m off in a few hours to Barcelona, to stay one night, before embarking Sunday 22nd June on Royal Caribbean’s Brillance of the Seas, for a 12-day cruise up to Venize and back to Barcelona.

 

[Mattsudds]

Jacques,

Thanks for the review. Its about what I would expect from MSC. The new ships seem nice but overall it sounds like the product wasn't consistently good quality. Its a real shame and I wish they would work on it. Being on the newest ship, I expect you had the cream of MSC crews, which makes the steward lapses you mentioned all the more disappointing.

[sea-explorer]

Thanks for taking the time to write this Jacques. It is much appreciated.

 

I think we too may have a problem with a technical lift. Funnily enough there is some-one from these boards in "our very cabin" as we speak, maybe he will come & report back for me.

 

In the meantime, I hope you are enjoying your time on RCI. :)

[dan66]

I just desembarqued from MSC Poesia and I found a lot of things very different from what was outlined here:

 

1. I found food was very good, both at the buffet and at the resaurants. The food is italian style oriented so if you don't like italian food is another thing. I am italian and I found it absolutely appreciable. Pasta was always well coocked, with no excessive oil or fat, meat and fish were tasty, vegetables absolutely appreciable and desserts were lovely. The menu was different avery day and I absolutely disagree with the fact that the dinner was always the same! There were just three or four foods that were present every day, while all the other ones were changed. I would have appreciated if some foods were present again because I found them particularly good!
   
2. The crew was always very professional and polite. They tried their best to accomplish all my requests. A more serious problem was with the behaviour of some passengers that were not used to respect rules (no jumps in the swimming pools, no children at the Casino, and so on). So the crewmen had to do their best to both make them respect the rules and to remain polite. A very hard trial. But they always did it.
   
3. The bars were opened from 6 a.m. to 3 a.m. and you could get food at any time, not only during meals! The cafeteria becomes a buffet during dinner, so it can't work as a cafeteria during the meals. But the bar inside cafeteria is always open.
   
4. I had no problem with asking for tap water. But remember that mineral water prices are the same (or even lower) in italian restaurants: I desembarqued in Venice and I payed 3.00 E for a bottle of mineral water in an absolutely normal restaurant while paying 2.60 E for it on the MSC Poesia... Sure, in Greece I payed 1.50 E for water at a street vendor, but that's not the same thing. While espresso prices are the same as in a common italian bar: 0.95 E (where I live, I usually pay 1.00 E for an espresso!)
   
5. Entertainment was always very good. A good variety of shows with very good level artists. No trace of the contorsionist, by the way. The tenor was good, even if I found him a bit excessively imitating Bocelli, while the Soprano was absolutely tremendous (the only off tune note): embarassing tune problems and mostly absolutely unable to interpret the songs. The other artists were, on the contrary, really perfect, with a very high level of costumes, scenes, music, etc. The theater was large enough, with a very good quality of sight (no seat had obstructed view). The only strange thing I found was it was violet! I don't know if it is the same outside of Italy, but here the violet is considered a forbidden colour for theaters (as it leads misfortune)!
   
6. the ship is absolutely clean everywhere: you can see crew members cleaning something at any time! I can't understand the note that was made about carpetry: it was new and not seemed to be "used" in any place! I found furnishings very elegant and sobroius (except perhaps at the zebra bar, where the zebra carpets remembered me a bit the Costa style...)
   
7. the timings were always respected: meals, port departures and arrivals, shows, etc.

Conclusions:

Maybe many things were changed or corrected from the first cruise on this ship, but I found now all works pretty good.

Sure, it is not a 5-stars top level cruise, but you don't pay for a 5 stars... (please MSC managers don't read the next sentence...:D ) I think I was given more than what I expected for what I payed.

 

Please, pay attention when giving your opinion, mostly when bad considerations are made. When I read your impressions before my cruise I thought I was embarquing on a Galea instead of on a cruise ship and I considered giving up...

 

Fortunately I did'nt...