My wife and I recently returned from our 7-day cruise on the MSC Poesia (sailed 4/6/13). It was our second journey on MSC, (the first one being on its sister ship, the Orchestra), and truly one of the best cruising experiences we've had in recent years.

Our trip started on a sour note, unfortunately. We had booked the cruise through MSC's own travel agents. Although we were not able to use our Discover card to pay for the cruise, we were told (twice), that the credit card would be accepted onboard for our shipboard expenses. Wrong! We found ourselves sailing with virtually NO line of credit!

On the bright side, the woman at the Accounting desk (Kayleigh, from South Africa), was very knowledgeable and sympathetic. She came to trust us during the week, and consistently "advanced" us some credit if we needed it to pay for our excursions and drinks onboard. She knew the ports very well, and told us we would be able to get a cash advance in San Juan most definitely. I also received my paycheck on the Friday at the end of the cruise, and we knew that would help our situation as well. When we disembarked for the final time, Kayleigh told us to swing by the Accounting desk to say good-bye. Read more