MSC Lirica Review

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3.0
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Overall

The 1,976-passenger MSC Lirica is one of four medium-sized Mistral-class ships, dating from 2003.

MSC spent more than $200 million on Lirica and the rest of the Mistral class during a two-year refurbishment program in 2014–2015 that saw a nearly 80-foot-long section sandwiched into the middle of each ship. The "stretching" procedure added nearly 200 more cabins -- 94 of which have balconies. During the refurbishment, the line also took the chance to update the spa and childcare facilities, as well as to add an interactive water feature called the Spray Park to the top deck.

The sleek and traditional looking MSC Lirica is tastefully designed and decorated with Italian flair. Forget about Costa-style neon, however; the ship's famed Italian architect Giuseppe de Jorio is known for creating more traditional, as opposed to flashy decor, relying on marble and brass. Most of the public rooms are small and intimate.

During the summer season MSC Lirica entertains mainly Europeans with multiple languages used onboard, so prepare to learn some Italian, German, French and Spanish if you want to communicate with your fellow passengers.

In winter, the ship is based out of Rio, offering four-night sailings to Uruguay. MSC Cruises says that around half of its crew is Italian, while the rest of the hotel crew comes from Eastern European countries and a few from the Far East.

MSC Lirica will homeport in Shanghai from May 1, 2016, initially for two years.

About

Passengers: 1976
Crew: 671
Passenger to Crew: 2.94:1
Launched: 2003
Shore Excursions: 304

Fellow Passengers

During the summer time most of the passengers are Europeans, mainly from Italian-, French-, Spanish-, and German-speaking countries, but the cruise line carries guests also from English-speaking nations, such as the U.K., USA, and Australia. Europeans tend to smoke more, even in the no-smoking areas. Dining rooms are off limits to smoking.

MSC Lirica Dress Code

On a seven-night cruise, there are two formal nights (though many ignored the dress suggestion and some people even wore jeans to the dining room). Otherwise, dress is casual.

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More about MSC Lirica

Where does MSC Lirica sail from?

MSC Lirica departs from Venice, Ancona, Livorno, Livorno, Palma de Mallorca, Rome, Civitavecchia, Valencia, Marseille, and Barcelona

How much does it cost to go on MSC Lirica?

Cruises on MSC Lirica start from $79 per person.
MSC Lirica Cruiser Reviews

MSC in a nutshell

My family has taken about 20 plus cruises and MSC did a fairly great job in meeting our expectations. This was our first MSC cruise.Read More
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missellen24

many10+ Cruises

Age 30s

Great ship, Ideal size, not overcrowded, great crew

We were so impressed with this experiance we decided we would do again, which we did with MSC and the experience could not have been more disappointingly different!!Read More
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Sanala

couple2-5 Cruises

Age 60s

Mediocre experience

The children's organized play rooms are smaller than we believed they'd be and the relevant ones for us were only a solution for an hour or two.Suitcases were ready for us when we exited.Read More
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jonruth

couple2-5 Cruises

Age 60s

Thanks MSC for proving to be nothing but an uncaring money grabber

After an awesome 6 days Rome/Venice stay, downer came with the horrible MSC Lirica experience.Read More
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Margaret T.

couple2-5 Cruises

Age 60s

MSC Cruises Fleet
MSC Lirica

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