This was my 22nd cruise and my college friend's 6th cruise so we are both experienced cruisers and know to take the reviews with a grain of salt. We decided to try the MSC Poesia based both on price and that this was a comedy cruise and we both like comedy. I booked over the internet for a balcony cabin Category 5 Guaranteed about 1 month before the departure date and was pleasantly surprised that we were upgraded to a Category 12 balcony cabin. The on-line check-in was more confusing than other lines as both people MUST register at the same time which was difficult for us as we live in different states and work different schedules.

We arrived in Fort Lauderdale by car on Friday and took advantage of a Park and Cruise promotion offered at the Cambria Suites. This hotel has just opened and they have to work out logistical problems transporting so many cruisers to so many ships, but the Hotel was beautiful. If you do take advantage of their Park and Cruise, be prepared to wait for the van both going to the port and especially being picked-up at the port.

Due to having to wait for a van to the port and being the last group to be dropped off, we did not get to the port until 12:15. The lines outside were not very long, but the lines inside were really long. MSC did have seats for the passengers instead of having to stand in long lines as I have had to do on other cruises. The staff was nice and we got on board in a short amount of time. They did not push the boarding pictures like most other cruise lines. I was impressed to see the staff waiting by the elevators in white gloves to escort us to our cabin and I really liked being able to go directly to the cabin and dropping off the carry-on luggage. There are more sets of elevators on this ship so the wait time for an elevator was short. I have had to wait 15-20 minutes after a show to get an elevator on other lines, but I was usually able to get on within minutes. Read more