We booked a suite and the agent specifically asked the MSC booking agent to confirm our Aurora suite had a balcony. They (MSC) did so we booked and once on the ship realized it did not have one. When we approached the front desk onboard, we were told this has been a problem with prior bookings but the ship offer nothing except to downgrade us to an outside cabin with a balcony which we took because that was important to us.

The downgraded cabin was nice and comfortable and I wish we had not taken the bait for the suite (it was priced very well) and stayed with just an outside cabin. One of the problems with the Aurora suite is that you have a large full length window and there is an outside deck in front of the cabin but the view is blocked by the the railing. Also the crew can walk anytime by the front of your suite so you have zero privacy and as well if you book the Aurora suite you must close your cabins curtains after dark or you will get a call from the bridge that you are interfering with the navigation.

The main dining room food was simply gross and after eating there the first night we did not go back until the last night and instead we ate at the buffet which was pretty decent to good. We returned the last night for the gala dinner and it was so bad we left and went to the buffet in the middle of the meal to finish up. The staff in the dining room are too overworked and too many tables to service. We heard this complaint from many fellow passengers. Read more