Would we like the Opera?

[MizLizzie]

Hello, all. The dh and I are considering the MSC Opera for a Baltics cruise in late summer. I would appreciate any candid advice on the Opera, or on MSC in general. I have not uncovered a lot of current posting here regarding this particular ship. Member reviews seem to fall into either "love it" or "hate it." It does seem that customer service on MSC leaves a lot to be desired.

 

Our previous cruising experience, admittedly limited, has been:

RCL in the Carribean (very nice ship, good staff, good food, fellow cruisers were mostly pleasant)

NCL in the Med (gaudy ship, decent food, great staff, nice mix of Europeans and Americans, and a wonderful spa)

Carnival (good food, but otherwise, we are still horrified and in culture shock)

 

We are Americans in our early 50s. Our hobby is European history. We are very quiet, and do not like organized activities. We don't gamble, drink, smoke, party, or go to onboard shows. We do travel extensively in Europe, try to fit in, don't pitch fits, and speak French and German well enough to survive. We don't like loud kids, but accept them as a part of life. In cruising, our primary interest is the ports and the culture. We tend to book the ship's excursions, so the quality of the excursions really matters to us.

 

Does it sound like the Opera and MSC would work for us? Any advice gratefully welcome

 

Many thanks,

Lizzie

[AmoMondo]

Hi there

 

The Opera is practically identical to the Lirica except for a little bit newer and has some outside cabins with balconies, whereas on the Lirica you can only get a balcony if you opt for a suite. the reviews of the Lirica here will give you some idea of what to expect on the OOpera as far as the ships facilities are concerned. The Opera is a mid size ship although many will now class as small with the advent of these super sized vessels. MSC may suit you from the point of view is that they don't do masses of organised activities or try to push you in to doing anything and it is most certainly not the party type of line. many don't like that but I do as I prefer peace and quiet to chill out and relax. Sounds like you may do so also.

On the baltics itinerary, expect English speaking passengers to be in the minority. The majority are likely to be German and Russian. Announcements are minimal, but when they are made they will be in French, German, English, Italian and Spanish. This is not necessarily an issue but the down side can be that if you prefer to explore ports on ship's shore excusrsions, these can be cancelled at short notice if there are insufficient English speaking passengers booked on a particular excursion. if you prefer doing ports on your own, then this will not be an issue for you. Expect dinner times to be later than those quoted on these threads for caribbean sailings. First is likely to be 6.45pm and second 9.15pm. Food is not available 24 hours a day and the only option at dinner is the formal dining rooms. On a week's cruise you will have 2 formal evenings, with the remainder being a mix of informal and casual.

I note that you say that you do not normally do shows, however I would recommend a visit to the theatre as the shows are of very high quality. I particularly enjoy the classical music ones. if that is not your thing, then there are quieter lounges to sit and have a chat and a coffee and listen to some nice live music., The coffee shop is also quite a nice place to people watch.

MSC is renowned for the cleanliness and beauty of their ships and the Opera is no exception. It does not have many of the extras that the newer bigger ships have like rock climbing walls, skating rinks etc but it sounds like that is something that would appeal to you.

MSC admin can be a wee bit chaotic or amusing at times but they usually manage to sort things out in the end.

There are many complaints about service and the friendliness of crew. From my personal experience, I've only experienced bad service once from one crew member in 9 cruises totalling 93 days. I think some of the "bad press" can be attributed to the differences in the Americab=n service, where staff will approach you and offer drinks etc immediately whereas the European way is more to hang back and wait for an indication that the passenger requires something. I find the "American" way a bit too pushy and "in my face".whereas some used to the American way, will see the other as lacking. Also Europeans tend to be more reserved and not as openly friendly to someone they don't know - so again I think this explains some of the complaints. You say that you ae well used to Europe and like to blend it, on that basis i don't think that you will haev nay major issues. I've been on the Opera 6 times, including a baltics cruise, so am more than happy to answer any further specific questions you have about the ship or MSC in general

[*Kendra*]

I am looking at this ship also for their cruise in October.

 

The last poster is correct about the European way of doing things... I haven't cruised with MSC but, I have with Costa and I am imagining they are the same in that perspective. I am an American living in Italy and I actually enjoyed the Italian way of doing things.

 

I hope this thread gets more responses because I am now looking at a cruise on this ship or on the MSC Poesia.

[sea-explorer]

Ah! AmoMondo & Kendra, the two people I'll most likely be stalking (port ideas) soon. :D Glad you both enjoyed your cruises. :)

 

MizLizzie. Not much to add to AmoMondo's excellent comments, but I really do want to re-inforce her comment on the theatre, you really should try the shows. I haven't sailed on the Opera, but have sailed the Baltic on her sister ship, the Lirica. From everything you have written you should be fine with MSC. The only other issue is perhaps the food, it has been criticized a lot for not appealing to American tastes and may be slightly different from the fare you are used to.

 

Kendra, I was on the Poesia last year & have contributed to a few threads on the sailing. If you just search for Poesia on this forum they should pop up. Anything else you want to know, just ask.

 

(Oh, & yes, Costa & MSC are pretty much the same in the way they do things, passenger mix, food etc. A few slight differences. Some perhaps in Costa's favour & some in MSC's. Overall though I think I would lean more towards MSC, especially if they introduce an all inclusive drinks package which has been rumoured on this board. ;))

[*Kendra*]

Sparky! How are you? I am actually trying to book the MSC Opera Black Sea cruise on October 15th. However, the price seems WAY to good to be true and as soon as I told the travel agent I wanted to book and needed to go to bed I stopped getting emails. Its almost 2 am here and I have been waiting for an hour!

[MizLizzie]

This is not necessarily an issue but the down side can be that if you prefer to explore ports on ship's shore excusrsions, these can be cancelled at short notice if there are insufficient English speaking passengers booked on a particular excursion.

 

 

Ah. That would be unfortunate. Never thought of that complication. We can stumble around in a couple of languages, but to take an entire excursion . . . no. Oh, well.

 

Many thanks for all the info,

Liz

[sea-explorer]

Kendra, have you got it sorted. It looks a great itinerary. Yes, MSC's prices are good. I'm sure you'll enjoy it...especially the gelato...totally different to the ??:eek:?? 'ice cream' found in Costa's buffet. :D

 

MizLizzie, Yes, Amomondo is quite right in that you may run the risk of some excursions being cancelled due to lack of numbers. However, this won't happen in the main ports, like St Petersburg for example, where a ship's tour is the only way most passengers will be able to leave the ship. In addition, they often combine tours. For example we went on an excursion on our last cruise where the English speakers were with Italian speakers. This only meant the guide had to say everything, twice, once in English and again in Italian.

 

However, being forewarned is being forearmed. If we are visiting a port where we feel an excursion is advisable, we tend to book a private tour. We are a family of four and tend to find this works out cheaper anyway than a ship's excursion. Added to this you have the benefit of personal service, visiting exactly what you want with door to door service at all the sights, detours & loo stops etc as & when you want, no waiting around on a bus for the stragglers etc. We did this very successfully in St Petersburg & were off the ship & on our way whilst the rest of the passengers were still gathering in the lounges.

 

We are not really fit & active, but nevertheless, on our Baltic's cruise in particular, we were able to explore all the other ports very easily on our own after perhaps taking the ship's shuttle to the centre in one or two of the ports first. In the Baltics in particular this is so easy as we had no problems at all communicating in English and it is very easy to get around.

[AmoMondo]

Mizlizzie, one other thing I wanted to add re the language/excursion topic is that in the baltics, they get a lot of Scandinavian passengers too who an't get excursions in their native anguage so invariably opt for the English ones as they mostly seem to speak excellent English. So whilst the risk is there of a trip being cancelled, it is more likely in the Med than in the Baltics.