We (DD age 12 & I) returned from the 11 night New Years Cruise on the MSC Orchestra and as it was a great trip and a great ship I decided to write a review. We booked the cruise with an European internet agent and reserved flights on our own. Unfortunately as we reserved the flights without their assistance they did not want to assist us with transfers from Milan to the ship, they & MSC said this was not available. With the info from previous CC travels we were well informed on how to make our way and had no problem doing so. When we arrived in Milan there was a MSC Rep collecting other passengers and luckily as they still had free places on the bus they were more then willing to take us with (price 28 Euros per head, compared with 21 Euros on the bus to Genoa + taxi fare from the station to the port). The bus took about 2 ½ hours and got us straight to the terminal with no hassles of luggage as this was taken care of. Embarkation was quick and easy even though at first it looked like there was quite a line it went rapidly and by the time we got upstairs, picked up cruise cards, took security pictures and gave credit card details we were able to proceed straight onto the ship. We were escorted to our cabin (Deck 11, Aft balcony - # 11247) - the cabin was a bit smaller then we were used to but clean and had all the necessities required. As we were settling in, the cabin steward came by and introduced himself and asked for any special wishes (we requested extra pillows, towels for the balcony chairs, ice to be refilled twice daily and two copies of the daily programme in English - to keep one for the scrapbook). He was great at keeping to the request & kept the cabin spotless throughout the entire cruise. We went upstairs to the buffet as this was the only thing open at this time to get a snack for lunch. The selection was OK but we noted that the selection or variety rarely changed for the duration of the cruise thus we simply ate in the restaurants when we could. The other reason was that the crowds were incredible, OK it was a New Years cruise & the ship was at full capacity but I came on vacation to relax and not be shoved or sit in an overcrowded loud cafeteria style setting. The breakfast selection in both the restaurant and the buffet was the same daily - I admit I miss the eggs Benedict which is one of the luxuries I enjoy on cruises and unfortunately I was told that it sometime is available for lunch. Thus for breakfasts, as my DD tends to want to sleep in as late as she can, I ordered the hot drinks and yogurt through room service and went to the buffet and took a selection of stuff to eat breakfast either in bed or on the balcony (only twice as it was not as warm as we hoped). The food in the restaurants for both lunch and dinners was good, a nice choice of starters, soups, pasta/rice and then main course and deserts with different sorbet and ice cream flavors daily. Time wise it of course took longer but it was a nice opportunity to meet new people and to sit and relax. We had fun having a chocolate fondue at the chocolate bar for a change of taste...even though it was fresh fruit that we dipped in chocolate over a flame it was ever so sinful & it was an amazing way to enjoy the afternoon. As this was an 11 day cruise they had 4 formal/gala nights. The first following a welcome reception by the captain; the second New Years eve and the fourth third again after farewell drink with the captain. There was also a special captain get-together for those celebrating anniversaries, passengers on their honeymoon or repeat cruisers which was also a gala evening. The last gala night they did serve lobster and had the traditional baked Alaska being brought in by the waiters and introductions of the main chiefs and Maitre'd. The Gala buffet during the last gala evening was simply amazing, they put on an incredible spread of very artistic decorations and food arrangements - it's really a shame that some passengers could not respect the 15 minutes viewing time to allow for taking pictures and had to push to get food and destroy the marvellous work the crew put together. I'm always amazed that European cruises are not as formal as American based ships - but to each his own. The ship itself is gorgeous, shinnying with lots of brass and being only a few months old they do a very good job keeping it spotless and very new looking both inside and out. The public areas are spacious with nice touches and variety throughout the ship. For our taste there were not enough organized activities on board, even on the 3 days at sea, when we expected more to be organized - we had to keep ourselves busy and find things to do. The things that were organized were lead by a young and very dynamic team & they did their utmost to keep things fun and active. The shows were good but if you sailed previously with MSC ships many were repeats of both theme/content and costumes - so no exciting surprises for past cruisers. We were very happy with the service all around. The cabin steward was great and even took the extra effort to run to open the door when I was carrying breakfast to the room, he kept us well equipped with ice and our entire extra wishes. The hosts on board both the German (Ulrike) and the English (Maurice) were both fantastic and down to earth with always a smile and good advice; both spoke perfect English and were available if/when questions arose. Restaurant staff was polite and service oriented, for example, our dinner waiter was quick at knowing our likes and was there with ice water before we even had to ask for it and my DD's favorite soft drink was waiting for her. In the lounges and bars it was pleasant to note that we were not constantly asked if we wanted another drink, it didn't feel like if you are not drinking you are not welcome; and when you wanted a drink, the service was prompt. We did not take any of the ship organized excursions as we like to organize our own thing and most of the ports of call were repeats for us we knew what we wanted to do. We met some lovely people on board and truly hope that some turn into e-mail friendships and perhaps even future cruising mates. Disembarkation was a bit of a drag as we don't have EU passports. Even though by the color of our luggage tags we could have been off the ship at 8.30 am as the immigration formalities took longer all those with American, Canadian, non-EU passports waited around the reception until the passports were finally brought in. When they finally came everyone jumped to the reception & it was a herd trying to get their documents to get off the ship. We finally managed to get off after 10.00. Less time to spend in Milan, but just enough to grab one last good Italian Pizza.