Hello, my husband , daughter aged 13 and I have just returned from our first ever cruise and we can't wait to go again! We arrived in Venice at 11 and found the whole embarkation process painless. Our initial reaction to the ship was wow! how glitzy it was and spotlessly clean. We were on deck 11 in a family room and were very pleased with it, it was maintained to a high standard and if we had a complaint it was to the constant supply of fresh towels! we try to be enviromently conscious. We opted for the second dinner setting and enyoyed very good meals. The Italian courses were far superior to the meat course which was average. Buffet lunch was good but noisey but there was always lots of choice, we are not big meat eaters . We did overhear young Americans saying they missed steak! The whole ship was kept spotless and we found the staff to be hard working and courteous. I was disappointed with the pools, there was no way that I could squess in to on and I am not big! They were packed and dangerous! This was my one big concern. There should be a tine set aside for adults only. I did not attend the shows so can't comment, I just found that there wasn;t enough time to do everything. Afternoon tea was provided and the cakes were delicious. Food was also served at midnight, snacks and sandwiches....how anyone could be hungry is a nystery to me!

As for the rude Italians! I never saw anyone rude or jump a queue...instead I found them to be happy , family orientated and cheerful. It was a pleasure to watch the dads play with their children in the paddling pool. The line does use every opportunity to sell but that is what I would expect , it,s a business! I am so happy that we went on our first ever cruise but I do feel that perhaps it,s not the line to pick if you,re American. I did not know what to expect but we were wll very happy and will hopefully travel again with MSC