With 5 cruises under our belts (3 in the last 9 months) we believe we are experienced cruisers. Admittedly, the first 4 cruises were all with Royal Caribbean (variety of size of ships) and this last 5th cruise was with MSC Fantasia – where it all went downhill. Nothing was substantially wrong, but it all adds up. A few examples:
· GENERALLY UNHELPFUL STAFF. Whilst there are some staff that were excellent (our waiter Melvin included), most staff we found to be very stand off-ish, unhelpful and definitely not willing to go the original mile (never mind the additional mile). Whether it was asking where the nearest toilet was (a shrug and an apology) or asking for a taxi at the ship on the last day (‘not something we can help you with’) you don’t get that feeling of being looked after or a valuable customer.
· AVERAGE QUALITY OF FOOD. Nothing we ate were we too impressed with (and we are not fussy eaters)
Cabin was nice - the only letdown being the absolutely tiny television that was poor quality and impossible to see from the bed.
As we got off the ship, a taxi driver approached us and offered to take us to Athens city centre as the buses were on strike for 25 euros. He then said that if we preferred he take us to the city centre, give us a tour of all the sites we wanted to see and then bring us back again afterwards for 80 euros. We were very dubious but on a whim we went for the tour guide option. It was FANTASTIC! We visited all the sites like the Acropolis, Temple of Olympian Zeus, the changing of the guard outside Parliament, Mt. Lycabettus and Panathenaic Stadium and George explained them all to us. We were able to get out and explore at our place whilst he waited for us. He was so friendly and knowledgeable and we saw far, far more than if we had done a ship excursion or tried to do it ourselves. We have his mobile number should anyone wish to contact him and arrange this for themselves! It was the highlight of our trip.