MSC Preziosa Review

4.5 / 5.0
386 reviews

Watch out for fine print.

Review for the Eastern Mediterranean Cruise on MSC Preziosa
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Pepsi2theMax
2-5 Cruises • Age 50s

Rating by category

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

Additional details

Sail Date: Dec 2015
Cabin: Oceanview Stateroom
Traveled with children
Preziosa Christmas
Preziosa Gingerbread House
Preziosa Cabin

This was my first cruise with MSC although I have cruised before with P&O. Had a great time - the ship is lovely, the ports visited were interesting, the service and entertainment were great. My biggest gripe was that there were a lot of out of pocket expenses we hadn't been made aware of. MSC's upfront costs are low ($660pp twinshare) which is very economical when you consider that a P&O cruise we did the year before was $945pp quadshare. However, when we arrived at Civitavecchia very jetlagged, having flown from Australia, we were told that if we wanted to buy drinks it was most economical to buy a drinks package. One of these was a water package. Water! I asked if they didn't offer water for free in the restaurant and was told no, so, concerned about dehydration, we bought a water package 15x1 litre bottles for about €30. When we boarded we discovered that water was indeed offered for free in the buffet! Thanks for the heads-up! We didn't use all the vouchers, so not actually a saving.

When we got our bill we were further shocked to find that a service charge of €8.50 each per day had been added as gratuities for the staff. While i do not begrudge the very hard working staff this extra, I take exception with MSC adding this after the event. The extra €119 was something that we hadn't budgeted for. Personally I would rather MSC added this to the upfront cost to the consumer so that we AREN'T counting on having it so we can eat on the rest of our trip.

Finally, if you are a non-smoker or asthmatic, watch out. Smoking is permitted inside the Casino, but it drifts out into other areas of the boat including cabins.

Cabin Review

Oceanview Stateroom

Cabin O1

Very nicely laid out. Everything worked well. But be careful of a room with an "obstructed view" as you lose metres of floorspace.

Port Reviews

Rome (Civitavecchia)

Embarked and disembarked in Civitavecchia. It is a looong way from the city and airport. Consider another starting point!

Palermo (Sicily)

Shared a horsedrawn carriage ride around city. Very nice and fun. Great pace for taking pics. About €60 for 4 of us.

Malta (Valletta)

Opted for Hop-on-Hop-off touist bus. About €10 each all day. Good except when the bus failed to stop and pick us up in Mosta. Definitely see Mdina!

Barcelona

Very quick trip around places of interest in Barcelona. Gave us a good overview, but shame there was only time to see Sagrada Familia from outside.

Marseille

Not much time to see Avignon, but guide very knowledgeable. If i had it to do again though, I would have opted for tour of Aix-en-Provence and Avignon, rather than Avignon & Marseille.

Genoa

Opted for hop on hop off tourist bus €12 each. Good overview of the city.

5 Helpful Votes
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