Well,

As I said in the headline, I knew what I was going to get-- I read the brochure but more importantly, I studied the reviews. The MSC Armonia is a budget cruise, specifically for Italians, going to great ports, on a budget, budget (how many times shall I say budget?).

Embarkation: easy, fine, but Venice is a very expensive city for cabs. Ask if you really want to go from Venice. We shouldn't have- its not a city for the disabled (obviously) although don't let that put you off as an included port in an itinerary. The procedure when you get to the ship (don't ask me how to find it, the cab knew) is easy- they hand you physical tickets (why not post them out?!?), they take your luggage and you are on. From that point, if you're in a wheelchair, the fun is over. We got on up a steep ramp to deck 4. Nobody meets you there. We spent half an hour lost, in a state, pushed and shoved by rude Europeans (literally shoved), until we found our way back to reception and joined the wrong end of the line to be shown to our cabin. MSC really has no idea how to help disabled people (its not just the ramps guys). Read more