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MSC Opera

MSC Armonia

We chose this cruise as it sailed from Havana and we disembarked in our home province of Alicante so we got to see Havana and the Caribbean with no jet lag!

The cabin (inside fantastica) was spacious and airy due to the clever use of mirrors. Plenty of wardrobe space and room to move around.

The entertainment team were great. Not to everyone’s taste I get that but the ship was big enough to avoid them if it’s not your thing.

We were just observers most of the time but they were very enthusiastic and obviously enjoyed what they were doing which was infectious.

The ship is dated especially with regard to the technology available but the ship is now in dock for an upgrade.

All the personnel were very friendly and helpful. 

My only disappointment was the limited choice and sometimes the quality of the food. Also, due to translation issues you were never quite sure what you were going to get!

That said,wonderful fresh pasta and pizza were always available, unfortunately salad consisted of lettuce and not much else!

The bars all had different genres of music, something to suit most people and there was never really a scramble for seats or even sun beds as long as other passengers were being sensible and considerate.

We started off with my husband saying he thought this would be our last cruise and finished it looking forward to booking another one soon.

First MSC cruise but not the last

i was a single traveler so cabin was ok,but would be a bit crampt for 2 but if u were to have a twin bed set up it would work better for u. i paid 600 pounds for 18 nights cuba to genoa excluding flights sthe service and food was ok but a bit like school dinners but again £600 no complaints. i would recomend the drinks package 288 good value ingludes cacktails all alcahol cofe exsetra.+ ice cream if there are 2 0f u just get 1package as the staff dident cair how many drinks were on each card and when i spoke to reception they said it dident matter so its up to u, but buy the package b4 u go its a bit cheeper. be prapered for loud music on deck though, a shock for me ,only used to Cunard.lol.

if you pay full price u may not be so happy though ????

Gor the price i paid it was very good, But!

This was my second cruise on Opera.  I last travelled on her to the Black Sea thee years ago.  On my last cruise I would have rated the ship four or five but this voyage had some major problems.

Firstly the good points:

The ship has medium sized, modern and comfortable cabins.  These cabins are well maintained and the cabin stewards are first rate.

The ship has a good layout and all the public areas are cleaned and well maintained.

The Allegrissimo drinks package was good value and the overall standard of the drinks were very good.  A minor point, a larger beer selection and diet tonic would be nice.

The food overall was good.  However this times we did have a few poor meals.  Last time on the Opera all meals were good.  Service in the restaurants and bars was excellent.

And now for the not so good:

Tiny gym for a large ship.  Always impossible to get a machine.

This voyage was an Atlantic crossing.  When my wife and I went to breakfast at eight AM, most of the pool sunbeds were reserved.  By the time we went out at nine all beds were reserved.  there wer plenty of beds on deck 12, but that had no shade and was pretty windswept.

From our lofty perch on deck twelve we noted that a fair proportion of the beds were still unused at eleven.  Even more galling was we noticed some groups had reserved  two beds, one in shade and one in sun.  Since the Company has a policy of no reservation we tried to raise the issue with reception.  I will come back to this point at the end of my review?

Excursions.  The ship advertised a large selection of of excursions in the English language.  We booked three and two of them were cancelled.  One of our excurions booked was to the Normandy landing sites.

Many of the English speakers were from Australia and New Zealand.  Some had come specifically for the D Day sites.  MSC showed no interst in helping them, although internet research showed local guides were available.  I tried to talk to the Excursions Manager?

Major Complaint.  I thought the sundeck and excursion problems were worth complaining about.  It took half a dozen visits to reception to get anyone of authority to listen.  The excursions manager saw me after we had left Cherbourg a full thirty hours after my original complaint.

Would I use MSC again?

On an ocean transit, NEVER.  The excursion and the sundeck problems would put an end to that.  Also on a British / AMerican ship there are far more activities in the event of a crowded deck / inclement weather.  MSC did try, but when at the multinational quiz you hear the same question in five languages and lose the will to live.  Entertainment also was less to my liking, but the classical concerts were excellent.

On a Med or short cruise.  PERHAPS.  Given a good itinerary, comfortable cabin, good drinks and reasonable food I might be tempted.  But I would be careful to sort out my own excursions before I left home

English Speakers Beware

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