Orchestra Review March 21-28! Had Fun!

[misand]

:pWe sailed the Orchestra from March 21-28, 2009. We booked this cruise about a year out. There were 28 other people that went with us. Many of these friends had never cruised before. Here is my review based on my opinions and observations.

Our family flew into Miami airport rented a car and drove to Fort Lauderdale. The rental car companies have shuttles to take you to the cruise port. We waited in line for over an hour to rent the vehicle.

Hotel prior to embarkation was the Courtyard Plantation. The rooms were very comfortable and I would stay here again. It was about a 15 minute drive to the cruise port from the hotel.

Embarkation: Absolute breeze!!!!! We arrived about 12:30 and were on the ship by 12:45.

Cabin: Inside cabin on deck 12. Loved the cabin, hated the shower curtain (ha, ha). There was fresh fruit put in the cabin the evening we arrived. Bottom beds were pushed together and 2 bunk beds were folded down at night. They did have railings on them in case anyone wondered. The bed was so comfy. I enjoyed the key card that turned on the lights because as soon as we went out of the room the room steward would be in there cleaning. I even came back to our room a couple of times to find my dirty clothes folded on my bed. Also if you need to call home from your room you can do that, it is $5.99 a minute. We were under the pool deck, so we did hear chair noise and in the evenings stomping and music. This was only when they had deck parties. We heard the chairs moving every morning, which was okay it told us we needed to get up soon. The closest stairwell from us would only go down not up. This was due to the pool being above us. Not a big deal. The safe was easy to use. Overall really like the room!

Dining: Here is where our issue came in. We had requested early dining a year ago. We called our agent to confirm multiple times. They even said they had called the cruise line and we were confirmed. When we arrived everyone in our party was late seating. Our party was supposed to be close together. I expected several seperate tables but not late seating with part of our party across the aisle. We had 2 tables of 7, 1 table of 8, one table of 4 and 1 table of 2 in a completely different restaurant. We went to see the Maitre’ D. He told us to eat late seating the first night and he would change it later that night to first seating. Of course once we get to late seating he tries to convince us we need to stay on late seating because the party would be impossible to find enough table together on early dining. Not like we were really together anyway! My daughter is crying because she wants to go to the kids club but that starts at the same time as late seating. I’m upset because the plans we had for a year are so messed up. The Maitre’D didn’t see this as a problem; he said we would enjoy late seating better. We finally gave up and stayed on late seat. This was way too late for some of our party so they ended up eating the buffet the rest of the cruise. The first night dinner ended at 10:30pm. It took 2 ½ hours.

Food in the dining room was hit or miss! I usually enjoy the soups, salads, appetizers and desserts. The main course is never to exciting for me. The food I found really good was the filet mignon, broccoli soup, cream of asparagus soup, strawberry soup, Caesar salad, white chocolate mousse cake(Can you say heaven!), and the cheesecake The Baked Alaska presentation was fun. Oh I also really liked the spaghetti with butter, garlic and some spicy seasoning. My husband really enjoyed some of the Italian dishes. The lobster was disgusting, not like most lobster on other ships. It was like the lobster was literally cut in half and laid on the plate.

Buffet: Breakfast was great! They had all sorts of bagels and breads, bacon, sausage, home fries, eggs, etc. .One of the stations has a toaster. I did this every morning. If you go back to the back area on the left side you will find the toaster behind the counter. We made bagel sandwiches quite a bit. You can also find sliced tomatoes if you want a BLT. The also would fry eggs or make you a ham and cheese omelet at the first stations if you ask. Pineapple and orange juice was available all day, along with tea. They had tiny juice cups, Styrofoam cups and larger plastic cups. Very satisfied with the cup sizes. Lunch was the grill on the right side of the buffet. This had hamburgers, hot dogs, sometimes brats, and chicken or pork burgers with all the fixings. The buns were so good. On the left side of the buffet is the pizza side. There is also a very nice salad bar. There was also a pasta station with the special of the day. Other items were available but we didn’t eat much of them. From 3:30 to 4:30pm was tea time. They had little pastries and deli sandwiches (Yum). The grill was open I believe until 4:30pm. We did have the pizza one evening and it was pretty good.

Gelato-all I can say is you have to try it! It was $2.00 for a waffle cone or $1.50 for a cup. This is featured in between the two pools at the bar. Eat fast because it melts quickly! Really liked the chocolate chip, and milk chocolate. Soft serve ice cream is available at a different pool bar for the same price.

Pools: Closed at 6PM. This was a bit early for many of us stuck on late seating for dinner. Pools were very pretty. They are saltwater. Jacuzzi’s not hot enough. If you go into the spa, they have a wonderful adults only Jacuzzi. There are 3 and they overlook the ocean. Perfectly relaxing.

Kids Club: Very disappointing! We have been to the kids areas on RCCL and NCL. My kids loved them. This line however was not so good for the kids club. Parents are supposed to sign the kids in and out. In reality anyone could sign them out as they never check id’s or cruise sign and sails. In the 3-6 a parent opened the door and one child started to wander out into the halls. The staff did catch him but he was really upset and wanted out. The 3-6 group (jungle room) seemed to be better at activities than the 7-12. The 7-12 room was babyish. They had mats on the floor, blocks and things you would see for toddlers in the doctor’s waiting rooms. My older daughter and her friends said all the staff did was yell to be quiet and blow a whistle. We tried the kid’s area on a couple of occasions. Many times the kids would just be watching a movie.

Ports:

Key West was nice. We docked at the naval base so MSC had the conch train take us to town. We walked around and shopped. Port time was 7-2, but you had to take the last train by 1:15 back to the ship.

Cozumel- We love it here. We went to Mr Sancho’s and did the all inclusive. This was great. Food was wonderful We booked the all inclusive with tourcozumel dot net. Some of our party went parasailing and others did the banana boat. The port times were 9-5 ship time. Cozumel time this was 7-3 due to daylight savings in Cozumel not taking effect until April 5th.

Grand Cayman- We took an MSC excursion, it was the Racing Catamaran(Cockatoo) to Stingray city. We were one of the last back to the ship. This was very relaxing. I actually held a stingray. My children got in the water also.

Cayo Levantado-Can’t wait to go back! The island and beach was wonderful. We were one of the first tenders off. The white beach chairs are free. We played in the water. There were waves here which made it really fun for the kids. The sand is just like walking on powder. Tendering was very easy. We ate chicken kabobs on the island. Don’t forget to try the pineapple drink. An islander made us one for $5. Very tasty. There were stands you could by stuff. They will bargain with you a little. Make sure you verify sizes while you were there. My husband bought an XL shirt and he got it back to the boat and it looked like a teenagers large. My 5 year old got an outfit size 8 and it was almost too small for her. She is pretty petite too. I really can’t say enough good things about this island. Our port time was changed to arriving at 7:30, with last tender back at 2:30. Many people were upset with the time change.

Activities around the ship-Things like Arts and Crafts (Flower making) were for adults only. If you pushed the issue your child(10) could do it with you. They had one night that was carnival games, my daughter was really excited to do these, when we got there she wasn’t allowed because children’s games were around the corner. Those children’s games consisted of rolling a giant dice on the floor or throwing a balloon around. She didn’t bother after the 1st minute because the only other person interested in those games were the 3 year olds. Everywhere we turned was adults only. Karaoke we were told our tweens could do a song, but once we went to turn it in, they were told only with an adult. Kids sail for free, so you would think they would be really into the family activities.

Entertainment: Shows were great! The best at sea so far!

Pro-Cabin, ship, drink packages and gelato, Con-KIDS CLUB! Port times need to be longer, some of the food, lack of unlimited soda packages

Overall: MSC was a good value for the money. You need to keep reminding yourself of this when you start complaining to much about the little things. Our feelings were we would go again if the price was right. We had a lot of fun hanging out with our family and friends. If we had not had our friends to hang out with, it might have been not as much fun. My children would have been more disappointed with the lacking kids club had she not had friends to play with at the pool. They do not have near as many activities as other cruise lines. I will give them credit that they did try to have activities at the pool at certain times. The lack of activities didn’t really bother us as we were busy with our family and friends. The Wild West show was really fun out by the pool.

Really we would go back again! Just some kinks that need to be worked out. I could see they were trying to adjust to some of the American likes and dislikes. Give it a year and many of my complaints will hopefully be obsolete.

Happy Sailing!!!!!

Any questions just ask!

[nevis92]

I was also on this cruise and came away with a very similar impression. Does anyone know why they cut the time at Cayo short? We didn't want to leave and stayed until they kicked us off the island. We all agreed that it was the best day of the week.

[CeleBrat]

Misand--

 

Thanks for the informative review. What cabin were you in? We are booked on Deck 12, inside quad, leaving on SAT.

 

CeleBrat

[resistk]

Cayo Levantado was so-so - it got crowded fast with a 3000 pax ship. If MSC provided food and drink for free and I didn't see any. Beach was so-so, water not so clear. Vendors were great for arts and crafts though. Labadee is much better as these things go.

[nevis92]

Cayo Levantado was so-so - it got crowded fast with a 3000 pax ship. If MSC provided food and drink for free and I didn't see any. Beach was so-so, water not so clear. Vendors were great for arts and crafts though. Labadee is much better as these things go.

 

I STRONGLY disagree. I've been to Labadee and it is nice but I thought Cayo was far superior. Loved all the coconut palms and the small size of the island. The water may not have been crystal clear but was very good for swimming. Also, my kids spent the ENTIRE time finding all kinds of beautiful shells in the water. They found an enormous starfish, a perfect sanddollar, and many shells.

 

If you spent your time on the main beach, it was very crowded but you didn't have to go far to find a secluded beach or a shady spot on a grassy hill right on the water.

[hriechel]

"If you spent your time on the main beach, it was very crowded but you didn't have to go far to find a secluded beach or a shady spot on a grassy hill right on the water."

 

Can you give more specifics on how to find these on Cayo or where to go to escape the main beach? I know the island is very small and part is occupied by the hotel.

 

Thanks!

[resistk]

We were all the way over at the end of the beach by the seal pen and it was still crowded compared to when we were there on the Opera. I didn't see any secluded beach, I think the trick is to get off the ship early and get a beach chair because there are not that many. Some folks were even spilling over into the dock area to swim. It's not a bad beach at all for swimming but snorkeling was fair to poor.

[Rumball]

We were all the way over at the end of the beach by the seal pen and it was still crowded compared to when we were there on the Opera. I didn't see any secluded beach, I think the trick is to get off the ship early and get a beach chair because there are not that many. Some folks were even spilling over into the dock area to swim. It's not a bad beach at all for swimming but snorkeling was fair to poor.

 

I share this impression of Cayo. I snorkeled for a minute and couldn't see my hand in front of me. At Stingray City you could snorkle in crystal clear water even though the water was choppy that day! Cayo was jammed with folks from MSC and Princess. We got off the boat late and couldn't get beach chairs anywhere. Still, it was pretty.

[resistk]

I'm not sure Princess shares Cayo, the Ruby Princess was at anchor closer to Samana, pretty far away for a tender. The confusion may be because the Orchestra had both gold and blue beach towels. I can't see how there was room for two shiploads on that beach.

[MacBrave]

I'm not sure Princess shares Cayo, the Ruby Princess was at anchor closer to Samana, pretty far away for a tender. The confusion may be because the Orchestra had both gold and blue beach towels. I can't see how there was room for two shiploads on that beach.

 

Nope, there was a group from Princess there as well. They were setup to your left as you came the walkway from the port to the beach.

 

I know because we arrived late at the beach. I then spotted a few empty chairs and made a beeline for them only to be turned away by a couple gentlemen saying this area was for Princess guests only. I then noticed some kind of rope or tape separating the beach areas.

[cmcclusk]

Misand--

 

Thanks for the informative review. What cabin were you in? We are booked on Deck 12, inside quad, leaving on SAT.

 

CeleBrat

 

also on deck 12 from the 3-21 sailing - noise from the Western Pool night was noticed if in your cabin - and in the morinig of at sea day(s) when chairs were brought out. We were in a balacony - so heard kids running the pool deck while sitting out on our balacony.

 

If you are thinking of a Stingray trip while in Grand Cayman - we went with a group from CC Boards booked with a company "Native Way" http://www.nativewaywatersports.com/ excellant service and much cheaper than the trip offered with MSC. :)

 

depending on your location - I recommend heading to the "AFT" back of the ship when heading to breakfast or lunch - you will land in the "nicer" dinning area and it is less crowded.

 

Hope you enjoy the trip - we did - if you get a chance say hello to "UTAMA" waiter in dinning room deck 6 - we had him first seating on the 3-21 sailing wonderful man! :)

[punky04]

cmcclusk

 

We met Utama also -- he was not our official waiter (we had Kapriana) but Utama came over and introduced himself to our family -- he is a very nice man. Did you by any chance get his picture?

[Rumball]

regarding Stingray City in Grand Cayman...we tried it this year, but did not book ahead because of a fear that the ship would not arrive in time. The ship arrived with plenty of time, and we tendered to shore and were immediately bombarded by high-pressured sellers of trips to stingray city. if you hate that kind of thing, book ahead. But let me tell you the prices you pay to those guys who are under pressure to sell is MUCH better than ANYTHING you will book ahead of time. Although they advertise $40 per person for a 2.5 to 3 hour trip to Stingray City including a snorkling stop, they will immediately undercut themselves when you balk at paying so much. We paid $75 in total for the four of us, two adults and two kids aged 12 and 8, for a 3-hour tour (and the boat kind of reminded me of the Minnow). It included snorkling and stingray city, and bussing to and from the spot. You know we got the best deal because all the dancers from the ship were on the same bus!! That's roughly half the price I was offered ahead of time. You can't beat it. Ask for a guy named Darwin at the terminal...he's one of the young Hondurans, rather low-key versus some of the local Cayman crown that are rather loud and pushy. They all hold up cardboard ads and solicit you. And don't believe there will be soda...we were given water and kool-aid, which was fine, but you all end up in exactly the same spot playing with the stingrays. Enjoy!!

[Rumball]

I'm not sure Princess shares Cayo, the Ruby Princess was at anchor closer to Samana, pretty far away for a tender. The confusion may be because the Orchestra had both gold and blue beach towels. I can't see how there was room for two shiploads on that beach.

 

you're right, but you're wrong. there wasn't room for two shiploads on that beach. but nevertheless there were two shiploads on that beach. and it was VERRRRY CROWDED. We couldn't even get ourselves one beach chair - they were all taken!!!

 

I suspect there were more MSC passengers on the island than Princess passengers, by about two to one. only because, as you say, Princess was anchored closer to Samana, and MSC closer to Cayo (but not that far apart).

[misand]

Misand--

 

Thanks for the informative review. What cabin were you in? We are booked on Deck 12, inside quad, leaving on SAT.

 

CeleBrat

 

 

We were cabin 12083.

[misand]

I was told the only way the Princess passenger can come to the island is to book an excursion through their ship. We got off MSC on tender number 5. The whole beach to ourselves(it seemed like) for at least an hour. This to me was the perfect beach for playing in the water and relaxing. The pineapple pina colada drinks were so yummy. We bought them from a vendor by the back bathrooms. They were $5. I would agree the beach is not a snorkeling beach as there are waves. The waves are what made it so much fun for the kids.

 

Later in the day the brought a sea lion out for everyone to see. If you want to see the sea lion more for free, sit down closer to the big rocks. This is by the area they bring the excursion people to play with the sea lions. I tried to attach a picture but the computer doesn't seem to like me.

 

Misand:p

[tupperwarebysue]

I am sailing on MSC Orchestra on 4/18/09. We are flying into Miami and I need to figure out the best way to get to Ft. Lauderdale. We are flying down on Friday and are spending the night in Ft. Lauderdale. Does anyone have any suggestion? Our travel agent has been singularly unhelpful with this.

 

misand you mentioned that you rented a car and drove to Ft. Lauderdale. Was this economical and easy to do? How did you get back to Miami once you disembarked?

[snookymom]

I am sailing on MSC Orchestra on 4/18/09. We are flying into Miami and I need to figure out the best way to get to Ft. Lauderdale. We are flying down on Friday and are spending the night in Ft. Lauderdale. Does anyone have any suggestion? Our travel agent has been singularly unhelpful with this.

 

misand you mentioned that you rented a car and drove to Ft. Lauderdale. Was this economical and easy to do? How did you get back to Miami once you disembarked?

How about a daily rental from Miami before your cruise & a daily rental from Ft. Lauderdale after your cruise. Thay way the car rental co could drop you off & pick you up when you get back.

[cmcclusk]

cmcclusk

 

We met Utama also -- he was not our official waiter (we had Kapriana) but Utama came over and introduced himself to our family -- he is a very nice man. Did you by any chance get his picture?

 

Yes we did take serval pictures with Utama - I haven't loaded them yet ... when I do I will place a link for you to view them at. :)