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The MSC Lirica is the first of two new medium-sized cruise vessels for the privately owned MSC Cruises. A seasoned European cruise traveler might recognize the 58,600-ton and 1,560-passenger MSC Lirica. She is actually a sister ship to three ships already operated by First European Cruises (Festival Cruises in Europe).
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, when the ship sails 10-night cruises from Ft Lauderdale, the company expects to carry Americans and Europeans on a fifty-fifty ratio. 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.
Ultimately, Lirica, which was christened at its spring 2003 launch in Naples by Sophia Loren, offers a genuine Italian-style cruise experience (particularly in the Mediterranean). Lirica's Caribbean season begins with a variety of sailings (more unusual itineraries than the typical American-influenced cruise line).
MSC Lirica 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.
MSC Lirica Gratuity
Plan to tip about what you'd tip on an American-based ship -- $10 per person per day. Tips are paid at cruise-end.
We boarded the Lirica at Civitavecchia to cruise to Istanbul, Yalta, Odessa, Athens, Sorrento (Capri), and Genoa. MSC traces its history to cargo shipping, and care of the ship is tops -- constant cleaning, polishing, painting, crew training on a ... continue |
To start on the positive, the ship was spotlessly clean and the waiting and cabin staff were excellent. Unfortunately there are no more positives. We have cruised a number of times and this was our worst experience.
The bad experience started with ... continue |
After reading some of the negative comments we (experienced cruisers including HAL, RCCL and Celebrity) prepared for the worst on our first MSC cruise. But we found our 7-day cruise with the MSC Lirica fantastic!
Our balcony suite was spacious, ... continue |
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