MSC Musica Review

MSC- Yes! - But. . .

Review for the Eastern Mediterranean Cruise on MSC Musica

Rating by category

Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
Service
Cabin

Additional details

Sail Date: Jun 2008

Took a 7-day Cruise on the MSC Musica from June 1-8, 2008. Our ports were Bari, Italy - Katakolon,Athens,Santorini,Mykonos&Corfu (all in Greece) and Dubrovnik, Croatia. We arrived in Venice the day prior (highly recommend!)which allowed us time to enjoy an entire day in Venice and get over being jet lagged. We arrived at the ship terminal around 10:30 in the morning the day of our ship's departure and found the check-in to be efficient and friendly. Being from the U.S. and having been on many cruises (this was the 21st!), I was curious to see how an Italian-based cruise line would compare to all the American lines we had cruised with previously. The check-in employees were helpful and spoke English well. We were given our cruise cards and assigned a number for boarding. We were directed to wait to board the ship in airport-like seating until our number was called. As Americans, the first thing we noticed is that we were in a huge minority! Nearly all passengers seated around us appeared to be Italian or German. Personally, I was enjoying the diversity of the different languages and appreciate different cultures, so I felt this would be quite an adventure! MSC does a great job communicating all announcements (in 5 different languages each time!)so, you just have to listen for the one you can understand! Boarding was organized, although passengers seemed to be pushy and didn't seem to understand the term "personal space". For the entire week long cruise, it seemed I had someone (usually Italian), pushing behind me (or in front of me)in the elevator, in the line at the buffet, waiting to exit the ship, etc. etc. (Very aggressive!!)

We boarded the ship and were greeted by a porter who personally walked us to our stateroom (a first for us!- nice!) When arriving at a ship's cabin, we are accustomed to being visited by our room steward within the first few hours (or the first day, for sure). Well, on this ship, we spent 7 days and nights and NEVER saw or met our room steward once! The room was always very well taken care of but if we needed something, (like more towels) we had to make a call to the front desk and then were visited by a maintenance person (not our steward). Aside from that, we were pleasantly surprised with our accommodations. I had initially been disappointed to be assigned to an ocean-view cabin, as I had hoped for a balcony (sold out), but my disappointment quickly faded as the room was beautiful, roomy and the window was large. There was a bowl of fresh fruit waiting for us, a coupon book redeemable for 6 bottled waters and plenty of storage space for our clothing and personal items. The cabin was spotless and (as it turned out)very conveniently located just around the corner from the Main Desk and Main Lobby of the ship on Deck 5. With three adults traveling together in the room, we never felt crowded or cramped. As our luggage had not yet arrived, we decided to go exploring the ship while it was still fairly uninhabited by passengers. On every deck we found another pleasant surprise. Lots of beautiful lounges, bars, clubs and dining rooms. Absolutely gorgeous furnishings and attention to detail in all areas. The Musica was possibly one of the more beautiful ships I have sailed on. We found out the ship was not even two years old, so that explained why everything looked and smelled brand new! After orienting ourselves with the Musica, we visited the Dining Room staff to change our dinner time from 9:30pm to 7:15pm. The staff was friendly and allowed the change with no problems. We might have enjoyed being seated at a larger table with other passengers, just to experience dining with someone from another country, but we were assigned our own table for 3, which was fine. Our luggage arrived quickly (within 2 hours of boarding) so we got our swim suits on and headed for deck 13 to enjoy the pool area. There was a table set up at one end to check out a beach towel (none in the staterooms). The pool decks are lovely and are equipped with plenty of lounge chairs that are the best I've ever seen on a ship! They actually have an awning which shades your head (and face!) depending on how you position it-a genius idea! As we lounged by the pool with our "Coke Light" (European terminology for Diet Coke)- the deck became increasing more crowded with each passing minute. We quickly determined that many on board were traveling with kids, as the hot tubs filled immediately. (no chance I'm sitting in a jacuzzi with a bunch of wildly hyperactive children!) We found the area to be very noisy, (to be expected) with passengers, friends and families talking & laughing loudly back and forth (another thing we observed about Italians - they have FUN and they're LOUD!) The roaming bar service was not nearly as noticeable as on American cruise ships, which is good and bad, depending on how much you want to drink! I purchased a soda/water package for 38 Euro, which provided (not unlimited-like in the U.S.) but 14 drink coupons (bottled water or soda). Kind of expensive, but you're in Europe! Everything's expensive!! On the pool deck there were several bars and a Gelato bar(no FREE ice cream poolside) which we visited half-way through the cruise. (2.50 Euro for one scoop? - crazy!) and don't ask for sample tastes of Gelato - the staff thought we were NUTS! "Can I have a taste of the Mango?" their reply...."Ma'am, it tastes like mango - just get it"! Wow! Another response I've never heard in 21 cruises! Kind of rude, but I passed it off as cultural differences! Additionally, our dining room experience was fine, but I've had much better on Carnival. The waiter and bus boy did not seem to have much personality, were not overly friendly and actually scoffed when we would didn't finish a meal!(come on, there are like, 6 courses- we were FULL!!) I've never seen wait staff react that way - ever! The food was very nice (better on Celebrity and Princess)- however, the presentations were lovely and the choices varied enough to please most. Sailing the Adriatic Sea, I had looked forward to enjoying lots of fresh fish, but found most that I chose to be 'fishy' and disappointing. The tiramisu was possibly the best ever on any cruise ship, and we enjoyed some very nicely prepared pasta dishes. Overall, the dining room was a good experience for us, just not superior waiters or bus boys, which was disappointing. Also be warned that the dining rooms (although beautifully decorated) are very crowded and noisy, (remember, lots of loud families traveling and enjoying each other!) with tables being situated extremely close to one another. Conversations at tables on both sides of us could be overheard (although we didn't understand a word of their Italian!) Another thing about dining on MSC Cruises- One evening after a long day in port, we fell asleep and missed our assigned dinner seating at 7:15pm. When we awoke at 7:45, (starving) we thought, 'no problem', we'll just head upstairs to the buffet (which, on any other ship, is open for breakfast, lunch AND dinner - even late night dining). Not on the Musica!! The only place to get something to eat during the dinner hours was to order room service (which they charge for!) OR to dine at a sit-down Pizza and Pasta restaurant (also NOT free! 7 Euro for pizza? - NO way!) We were very disappointed to find out about that! Obviously, we were forced to get all dressed up (it was Formal night) and went to see the Head Waiter about allowing us to dine at 9:30 (which we were allowed to do). So....be warned that you MUST attend your scheduled dinner seating or be forced to pay for a meal somewhere else on the ship! Also, don't get excited about late-night buffet - with the exception of one night during the week -they don't offer it! A couple of other things that bothered us about this cruise -they closed down the hot tubs early (before 7 pm) and we had really looked forward to some evening soaks without lots of children around! Also, we did not appreciate the fact that they allow smoking on board. (supposed to be restricted to certain areas/lounges, but many passengers took advantage of that rule). Finally, the cruise line could work on training their employees in customer service, (friendliness training!) Overall,I would give the MSC Musica a favorable rating. We booked MSC for the itinerary & price, and enjoyed a mostly positive experience with the cruise excursions, entertainment and food. Even with the few issues we encountered on this cruise line, it did not bother me enough to complain and I would sail with MSC again in the future.

Cabin Review

previous reviewnext review

Find an MSC Musica Cruise from $59

Any Month

Get special cruise deals, expert advice, insider tips and more.By proceeding, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

© 1995—2024, The Independent Traveler, Inc.