Considering 2 MSC cruises

[Dukegirl5577]

I'd been recommending NCL to my parents, because I thought they would like the flexibility of not having set dining, and in general, I think they would agree.

 

However, they're most interested in round-trips from Rome, because, well, obviously Rome can't be seen in the 12 hours you generally get in port during a Mediterranean cruise. In doing my research, it seems the best deals are on MSC, which is a line I'd never even heard of until recently.

 

Has anyone ever been on the following?

 

The 7-night Mediterranean Marvels itinerary on the MSC Lirica (Rome, at sea, Malaga, Tangier, Alicante, Marseille, Genoa, Rome) or the 7-night Splendid Mediterranean itineraryon the MSC Splendida (Rome, Genoa, Marseille, Barcelona, Tunis, Valletta, Messina, Rome)?

 

My father has never been on an ocean cruise. My mom did a Princess cruise more than 20 years ago. They did a riverboat Danube River cruise last year with Grand Circle Travel. Mostly they do land tours.

 

My husband and I (who are not going with them, but who talk about our cruises often) have sailed on NCL and Carnival, and I did Princess (well, when it was Sitmar) more than 20 years ago.

 

How is the food? The service? The entertainment?

[Mr & Mrs Canada]

Not the same cruise, but we just completed a Baltic cruise on MSC Opera. Food at our varied from OK to superb; but most of the "OK"'s came from others at our table. I enjoyed every meal. And if you're traveling around Italy, and enjoy Italian food, then MSC fits right in because the chefs are pretty well all Italian. Superb pasta, every night.

 

Service was consistently excellent. Entertainment -- that's a matter of taste. We were traveling with friends and spent free time chatting, not watching entertainment. But there were plenty of entertainers, well circulated through many venues, and the nightly show in the theatre was packed every time I peeked in.

[AmoMondo]

Dukegirl5577, I've posted a fairly lengthy reply to this question on the other thread MSC Not For Americans, before I'd noticed you'd asked this question here too