Poor food. Very poor service in restaurant Golden Lobster Low.. Very slow service, wrongly deposited bottles of wine, bread service only by request and slow. Shore excursions extremally expensive. Some of them absolutely not interesting for example in Seydisfjordur. Transfer to the city in Reykiavki terrible expensive (should be free of charge). Some cruise crew are quite arogant. Towel service at pool not available. Maya and Inca restaurant terrible overcrowded with poor drink services and a very slow cleaning tables. Quite frequently cards were mixed up during bar service causing further problems. Cabin no. is on key card wich is quite rare on board. Wrong charges are quite common. For example for mini bar. All my excursions booked on line disappeared and I have to book them again on board. Pluses: quiet cabin. Interesting itenerary. Smooth check in and check out. Very good theatre performances. Good musicians and comfortable lounges along the ship however music was sometimes too loud.b Read Less

I always wanted to visit Norway and the fjords as I am intrigued by the history of Vikings and of the scenery. This was our first cruise , it was our 25th wedding anniversary and my husband 's 50th birthday .There were a couple of things that bothered us like the wait to get on board the ship on the departure date we got there at 13.00 PM and had to wait 3 hours in the queue , we were tired and hungry and thirsty and that was not the greatest way to start our holiday. Secondly a fault that we found on the ship the only one I would say is that there is no, do it yourself laundrett , a must on a ship that carries 4500 passengers and 1200 crew members.On a 11 day cruise one needs to wash his clothes, I did manually but the rules on the boat say that no clothes are allowed to be hanged in the balcony, so that was a problem and last but not least as we are still suffering from a severe backache, the mattress in our room was very uncomfortable it needs changing, I should have mentioned this to my room attended, but never got round to it. As for the rest everything was great from the food to the service and the crew were excellent starting from our room attendant John Lerry Cuyos, who cleaned and took so good care of us always making sure we had clean towels and sheets and making up our bed even twice a day , so friendly and kind he always started my day with a smile bless him, and than our two favorite waitress Elena Gonzalez Gonzalez and Italjani, and last but not least our personal waiter Maskurin from Indonesia, they were all even others exceptionally kind, good at their job and friendly, I recommend this Holiday and MSC Preziosa but please anyone of the administration that reads this please take note of my request, as I am sure that in future alot of people will comment on this. Thanks again for our fantastic holiday, Anthony and Fiona Borg. Read Less

I choose MSC without going through the reviews and that was a big mistake. The only high standard other than the ship is the amazing staff which I believe that they are the most valuable asset. And if they they don’t take care of them they will loose them all. The food is not to the standard as in other cruises I’ve been to. The same food offered in the buffet as for n the dinner seating dining. Other cruises offer water, lemonade or ice tea without any charge during the dining seating. All other drinks are charged. But with MSC you have to buy your drinks. The food in general is not very tasty. From the 11 nights. Only few nights the dinner was tasty. The pasta and risotto was under cooked. The seafood, scallops risotto with one small piece which might be a starter but not main dish. They offered butter chicken which was tasty also. The ice cream and desserts was tasty. Which you can only get for free in the dining seating. In other places you should buy them. No soft ice cream machine. One small snack bar which offers complementary cakes and sandwiches. The buffet area is the only place you can get snacks from till 2am. In the buffet during lunch and dinner only water, tea and coffee is available without charge. The pizza is very nice. All the food offered is labelled. They offered roast turkey which was tasty. But most of the food offered needs to be improved in standard and quality. Salads and dressing was nice too. The daily show was boring. One or two nights were ok. The last show was a disaster and it was what was best as they say from what was presented during the previous nights. The animation team were very good and exciting. Again all the staff were so good. They worked so hard. Some did look tired but didn’t stop smiling to the guests. The excursion were over priced. I’d like to thank all the staff if it wasn’t for them it would have been a hell of a long journey. Definitely won’t cruise with MSC again. Read Less

My husband I were on MSC Preziosa for the 11-night Northern Europe cruise (May 26 - June 6). We picked this cruise because of the itinerary which included Hamburg, cities in Scotland and Iceland. The ship interior was beautiful and the public area was clean. This was our first cruise with MSC. We have cruised over 10 times with Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Norwegian. We were disappointed by MSC food quality and overall service. It is unlikely I will book another MSC cruise again. FOOD Breakfast -- The breakfast selection was pretty much the same everyday. Coffee is too weak everyday. Pastry quality and selection were good. Plenty of fruit Dinner -- We picked the 1st seating option in the dining room. I would rate the entree quality from poor to just OK. The food presented often did not match the descriptions on the menu. Occasionally, there would be a good entree and/or desserts. I was most surprised by the poor pasta entrees since MSC is an Italian cruise line! SERVICE The ship appeared to have the most confusing beverage policy. For example, we had the non-alcoholic beverage package. We could get free bottled water in dinning rooms but not at the buffet or different bars. I could get a free cup of tea but not coffee after dinner. We were charged Euro 3 to 5 each time. Different staff members had different explanations. Many passengers were confused and argued with servers about this. Our cabin service was below par. It took several days to get face cloths and a missing mug. The room to room phone message system does not work. We were traveling with another couple and there was no way to leave them a phone message. We called the guest service and was told that the message system on the phone does not work. ENTERTAINMENT The in-house group of singers and dancers was quite good. However, it could get repetitive night after night. On the last full day of cruise, it had a piano concerto performance by Maestro Mauro Bertolino in the afternoon. It was great!!!! TV and COMMUNICATION The in-house TV offered little useful information except I could review my room charges online. It does not even show the temperature of the port of call. There was only one English speaking station (BBC). I bought the standard Internet package. It was working fine until the last week. EXCURSIONS We booked our own private tours. The ships offered many excursion options but appeared to be overpriced Read Less

Chose this ship as facilities look great and the pools were very warm but too deep for children and non swimmers.Hot tubs had broken jets. Boarding was very easy and although cabin not ready until 3 pm was able to use facilities as I put swimwear etc in hand luggage.We had a balcony room on deck 11,this was very clean and comfortable with a kettle in the room but milk never replenished.Our room attendant Nilson was very good. Food was just warm but good quality and lots of choice in buffet restraunt but finding tables was very difficult and ship was not full.Staff here were run off their feet and it ewas easier to go to bar for soft drinks etc,water is easy from machines. Entertainment variety very poor,shows only about 45 mins and though a lot of time and effort put in not very good,mostly singers and ballroom dancers. Plenty of bars but again you have to wait a long time often over 20 minutes as staff so busy.We did try to order at bar but waiters asked for your order and took card so not a choice really.Staff in bars were really nice but again rushed off their feet. We went to Zebrugga,Rotterdam,le Have and Hamburg,all docks miles from town in massive ports you can't walk around so shuttle buses sometimes put on but at €16 each very expensive.We did quite a few excursions but they were rushed with long bus journeys. All in all very disappointed a very expensive ship cinema €7 each for 5 minutes average drink €6 though we had drinks package pre paid at £186 each.Poor customer service ,staff tired and overworked crowded dining rooms never again will we cruise MSC Read Less

This was a short Cruise just to enjoy time away Embarkation: Was easy and quite quick with the usual queues. A few more desks open would have made the process of little quicker. Once on the ship you were greeted by the usual array of special offers for the spas drinks and restaurants. Our cabin was ready so we headed down the drop cases. Followed by a pleasant drink in a bar and then sail Away. Having been on a few MSC ships this one is the newest there was plenty of space the pools and Jacuzzis never seem very busy. The ship itself is very clean we went into all the bars before settling and the pizza bar where they serve beer. Service was always good too long for a refill. Dining was fixed seating only at either 6:30 or 8:30 pm our dining room was over two levels service was always good the food was as good as we had anywhere *TIP* get to know your waiters ours exceptional in their attention to detail. Nothing is ever too much trouble with attention to customer service. There's a lot of talk about small portions we eat in the dining room to stop from over eating as is sometimes the case if we use the buffet, with restaurant dining a just order second meal be it a starter, main or sweet we on occasion order a second something from the menu to share there was never an issue. The talk of no tea and coffee following a meal all you have to do is request this and they will happily bring it and we have on occasion when in conversation with fellow diners. Beautiful theatre, the best I've seen. You can see the stage from wherever you are. Productions were average the shows were quite short but filled with entertainment the storylines were non-existent so as previously said by others, the shows were very random an introduction of a start middle and end would make these shows flow, and enhance enjoyment. Talking about shows there was a major shift away from the opera singing ballroom dancing kind of shows we have seen on previous MSC ships the Swiss magician was very good the fact all the acts are incorporated into the show I thought was a nice touch. All in all we had no problem with the ship or the service on board. My only running on the whole voyage was the photograph desk where they seem to work for themselves rather than the cruise line. Customer service seems to be at the bottom of their list, top of the list seems to be selling you overpriced photographs. The sooner MSC change the digital photograph sales the better across its entire fleet. All in all quite a good voyage. The people travelling to Europe I'm thinking of using a European cruise Line just remember that they are actually tailored to Europeans especially Italians and Germans. Who have very different ideas on queuing and pushing into Lines? Just remember when in Rome! Which is why we have started to do the same, or we worry about it less!. My *TIP* as always with getting good service treat the staff well and don't forget to add a tip where deserved, always works well for me to the point even returning to a ship I have met up with servicer that I have previously met and treated well on other ships and been given the first class service by not only them but their fellow servicer. Final words the ship is a beautiful ship with friendly staff and good service. Read Less

We chose this cruise for the destinations. Those did not disappoint. However our experience with the staff was unpleasant at best. For example, 1. In the wine bar, we asked our server for a napkin to wipe our table from a previous occupants spill and we were told we had to go to another bar to get one. When we did, it was closed. 2. We bought an expensive drink package and were allowed to have any drink up to 10 euros. We ordered a wine tasting for 9.50 and were told that we had to pay for it because it wasn’t included in our package. As a matter of fact, that seemed to be the phrase of our Cruise “it’s not in your package” 3. At one of our sit down dinners, we asked our server for a mixed drink. His reply was, “well I’m gonna have to go all the way to the bar to get it because we only serve wine and beer”. Hence we only sat down twice for dinner and ate at the buffet the rest of the time. 4. Our adult friends wanted an ice cream (the dessert options were very minimal) and they were told that it was for the children. 5. We wanted to buy some photos, and began inquiring about the various packages. I’m not sure if that upset the man behind the counter, but he was rude so we left without any photos. 6. Food was nothing spectacular. No ice carvings, or dessert sculptures or chocolate fountains like you see on most other cruise lines. Very plain. This is the kind of attitudes we dealt with the staff for the entire cruise. Very short, curt answers to our questions. Just not accommodating or friendly at all. The one positive dining experience was at the butchers cut restaurant. Everyone was simply amazing, especially Muliada. Has We will never sail on an MSC Cruise Ship again. They just can’t compare to Norwegian, or Royal Caribbean, or Princess. Read Less

Just looked very nice from photos of which the decor was but the service was not at all great. The entertainment was really bad the shows were the same every night but with different costumes. Staff not at all friendly some actually rude. Staff in restaurant not at all friendly enough to hold a conversation or even get to know your name. Thought the food in restaurant was very simple no coffee or tea offered after dinner. Shuttle service from ship was well over priced in fact other shipping lines offer free shuttle services. The only thing going for MSc is you offer drinks packages of which help a great deal. The buffet on the 14th floor had the same food every single day not enough verity for our needs so if you did not like the menu for the day in the dinning rooms the buffet was even worse. Read Less

This was our fourth cruise with MSC and the second on the Preziosa. This is a beautiful ship and we were happy to be back on board. We enjoy the multi-national feel of the passenger list. My partner is disabled and confined to a wheelchair and for the most part we were offered plenty of assistance by the always friendly and helpful staff. Embarcation in Southampton was quick and efficient and we were soon in our cabin. We had an accessible cabin on deck 9 with plenty of room to manoeuvre the wheelchair, a roll in shower and toilet with plenty of grab rails around the walls and a ramp to easily access the balcony. The decor was very pleasant and our cabin steward kept everything neat and clean. Also we were near the front of the ship and the nearby lifts seemed to be much more available than those around the busy atrium area. On the whole meals in the dining room were excellent with plenty of choice. Some people have complained that the portions were small which, admittedly, they were but the menu clearly stated that additional items such as vegetables were always available and we always ate enough. The waiters were wonderful and eager to please. Whenever we visited the buffet the choice was amazing although I can't comment on the temperature of the hot food as we tried to eat healthy and stick to the salad options. The one area where we felt let down was the excursion choice. For the most part we are happy to be independent and do our own exploring which is just as well because all the organised excursions required participants to be able to climb the coach steps and in Hamburg we were advised that even the shuttle buses were not accessible. Like it or not, cruises are popular with disabled and elderly passengers and it's frustrating in this day and age that people with mobility issues can not be catered for in this respect. Assistance was offered for final disembarkation but only one steward seemed to be helping when we arrived. We gave up waiting and found our own way off the ship. We tend to book our cruises well in advance to ensure we get an accessible cabin so tend to miss out on last minute offers. For the price, however, we believe MSC offers great value for money. Read Less

Our fifth cruise but our first with MSC and certainly our last. I booked purely on the good reputation that MSC has, big mistake. No one informed us that the starting port for our 15 day cruise on MSC Preziosa from Southampton had in fact been Hamburg and that every port we called at people would disembark and others would embark amongst the passengers getting off for the day, which felt like we were on a ferry and not a relaxing cruise. All it caused was endless queues and disruptions both on and off the ship. The ship itself is stunning and very clean with staff always cleaning wherever we chose to be. Our balcony cabin on the tenth deck was superb. However, where to start. I had prerequested a table for two in the restaurant and was told to confirm once on board which I tried to do, only to be told everyone in the long queue had requested the same and we would be on a waiting list, never to be contacted again. Now the lack of information about the starting point became clear, all the two seater tables had long since been allocated. Our cruise cards did not include our drinks package, so off to stand in another long queue at reception to get that rectified. Sat on a six seater table in the restaurant on the night with people we had never met and it took just short of two hours to serve us three courses of very small portions with very little choice. It was the last time we frequented the restaurant but listening to other couples later in the cruise they were ordering multiple portions with one couple even ordering a main for a starter and two mains for a main an not because they were greedy, I kid you not. We ate the remainder of our meals in the Inca self service where the food always looked desirable and well cooked with plenty of choice but alas none of it was ever hot. Full English warm, curries warm, carvery warm, the heated counters were never turned on, the later you arrived the colder it all got. Only hot food were pizzas late at night. Oh how I wished I had read previous reviews First port of call was Guernsey one and a half hours waiting and queuing to get off and one hour queuing to get back on. Can't believe someone got paid to design the sports bar, four bays with three not so big televisions in each all situated behind the heads of the people sitting in the fixed seats in front of them, please just raise the televisions by a metre. My wife and myself are in our sixties but the idea of having flamingo dance lessons in the disco at 11.30 pm came as quite a surprise, the following night was Irish dance lessons at the same time Shuttle bus charges at the ports were extortionate with no mention that some times there are free port buses and sometimes it is just a stroll into the city centre (Rotterdam springs to mind) We were disturbed to witness a lifeguard assisting a parent physically lifting his large teenage son out of a wheelchair and into a jacuzzi all on a wet floor in the bathing area ( a health and safety nightmare). A fitted hoist would be a good addition for such circumstances. Overnight stay in Rotterdam was a farce, arrived early afternoon and set sail early next morning, so not the long "explore the sights" stop that the itinerary impression gave. Four days before the end of our cruise we had a leaflet informing us that no duty free could be bought after Hamburg "the start port" for what reason we are still baffled. Once we left Hamburg "the start port" to continue our cruise we found we were now on a mini cruise with new people that had embarked there, calling in at Le Harve, Southampton (our finish), Zeebrugge, Rotterdam and back to Hamburg. Strangely the standard of entertainment and quality of food suddenly improved, I can only assume this was to encourage mini cruisers to book longer cruises after this taster. In my opinion the many negative reviews for this ship do not lie, we shall not make this mistake again Read Less

My wife and I have cruised with several lines but it has been Royal Caribbean for the last few years. However, we had a number of issues on our last trip with them so we decided it was time for a change. We were attracted to this cruise with MSC (who we hadn't used before) because of the interesting itinerary and they were offering a good deal on a Fantastica balcony. Also, MSC matched our RCL Diamond Plus status which meant that we had a Black Card which gives their highest level of loyalty benefits. First impressions were very good indeed. Embarkation at Southampton was quick and easy and the ship was, in our view, the most attractive that we'd been on. It is both elegant and glitzy and the Swarovski staircase in the central atrium is stunning although I daresay some will find it OTT. Throughout the cruise the ship was kept spotlessly clean, both externally and internally. In fact, on numerous occasions when sitting in a bar we had to move out of the way of the guy vacuuming the carpet. My wife is disabled and uses a mobility scooter so we were lucky enough to get a disabled access cabin on deck 10 (10145). It was very nicely decorated and furnished and was more spacious than the Junior Suites we normally have with RCL. The only slight drawback was that drawer and hanging space for clothes was rather limited. We managed but four people in the cabin (it has a sofa bed) would struggle. With the possible exception of Guest Relations and Excursion Desk staff, who were rather supercilious at times, the crew, bar staff, waiters etc were friendly and helpful. My wife spends a lot of time in the cabin because of her lack of mobility and our cabin attendant, Jovi, went out of his way to look after her. This all round helpfulness is perhaps surprising in view of what we learned from other passengers and crew members about the crew's pay and working conditions. My wife and I are smokers and one reason for moving away from RCL is that the latter are constantly making their smoking policy more and more restrictive and on most of their ships there is now nowhere indoors where smoking is permitted. This is just about acceptable when it's warm and sunny but cruises from Southampton often involve chilly, wet and windy weather for the first and last two or three days. On Preziosa there are several outside smoking areas and smoking is also allowed in the Casino and in a very pleasant little smoking room attached to it. We found this a big plus point but I do realise that others will regard it as a negative! Unfortunately, however, there were numerous drawbacks which detracted from our overall enjoyment. There is no facility for registering a credit or debit card for your on board account during the online checkin process as there is with RCL. When you board the ship you have to find a card terminal and laboriously enter the requested details. If, as my wife does, you use a debit card they immediately take a minimum of 250 Euro from it and if, like my wife, you don't spend that much during the cruise you have to queue at Guest Services on the last evening for a refund which they give you in cash (Euros). MSC have a 'hop on, hop off' policy so there were many passengers embarking or disembarking at every port of call as well as those just getting on and off for excursions etc. At several ports this contraflow of passengers resulted in congestion and queues because the gangways were only wide enough for people to go in one direction. It took me an hour to get back on the ship in Hamburg, for example. This cruise originated in Hamburg and we were told that there were 3000 Germans on board as against 800 from the UK. Germans do have an unfortunate reputation for rudeness and arrogance and I'm afraid that on this cruise many of them lived up to it. Queuing politely seems an alien concept and some would almost climb over my wife on her scooter to get into a lift first. There appears to be a rising tendency for cruise ships to dock in the outer reaches of ports and this happened in Brest, Malaga, Hamburg and Le Havre. In addition, Guernsey involved tendering whilst the itinerary included Amsterdam but it was changed to Rotterdam. As we booked before the change was announced we were given a free coach transfer to Amsterdam but because the ship was late in arriving in Rotterdam and it took an age to board the coach there were only two and a half hours' free time in Amsterdam instead of the four originally scheduled. Yet the ship didn't leave Rotterdam until the following morning so why the rush to get everyone back? Shuttle buses were provided in some ports but were charged for - up to 15 Euro pp which we and many others thought was unreasonable, not so much the level of the charge but the fact that they charged at all. Moreover, the buses provided were usually normal type coaches which meant my wife couldn't use them (hence she was unable to do the Amsterdam transfer) because she is unable to climb up the steps. Full disabled access buses were to be found in some ports but information on the ship regarding their availability ranged from sketchy to non-existent. Consequently, my wife was only able to leave the ship with her scooter in Lisbon, Cadiz and Vigo (the latter was, in fact, another change in the itinerary because we should have gone to La Coruna). Even then there was a problem because in Cadiz the steep angle of the gangway meant that she had great difficulty in manoeuvring her scooter on it. In fact, we heard that two passengers in wheelchairs had actually fallen out of them at the end of the gangway. We did mention these problems and were told that the steepness of the gangway was due to the state of the tide but we have been to Cadiz many times with RCL and had no trouble at all. Still on the subject of embarkation and disembarkation, when we arrived back at Southampton we found ourselves at a different terminal (Mayflower) from the one we had left from (City). We weren't told about this beforehand and most people didn't realise it until they came out of the Mayflower terminal building. This caused a problem for those who had arranged to be met by relatives or friends, had booked taxis or left their cars at the City terminal car parks, in other words the vast majority. Shuttle buses (free!) were provided back to City terminal and its car parks but the process, including loading luggage on to the shuttles, was time consuming and frustrating. In our case, because my wife couldn't get on the bus, I left her and our luggage at Mayflower, took the shuttle to City, picked up the car and drove back to Mayflower. In view of the above comments we think that MSC need to have a good look at their general organisation, particularly their procedures for embarkation/disembarkation at all ports and also for giving out information. We were aware that announcements over the PA system would be in 6 languages but English was always first so we could ignore the rest. Eventually, however, the constant babble really irritated us, particularly when it meant that you couldn't have a conversation because of it. The positive side was that there were less exhortations to buy or do something than on RCL ships and, thankfully, there was no dreaded Art Auction! We're not ones for shows so we didn't go to the theatre but others we spoke to that did said they were a mixed bag. There wasn't an awful lot in the daily programme and RCL are much better in that respect but we do appreciate the difficulties in catering for a multi-national complement of passengers. Live music in the bars and lounges was pleasant but not memorable. No British TV channels in the cabin except BBC World News. Dining. The Inca buffet is similar in layout and operation to the Windjammer on RCL ships but we felt that the Windjammer offers a bigger choice and better quality. Breakfast was fine (except for a perennial shortage of mushrooms and bananas) but the choice at lunch and dinner was such that there wasn't much we fancied. Having said that, the burgers and pizza were excellent. However, my wife finds it difficult to use the buffet when she's on her scooter because the dishes are too high for her to reach. In addition, the cards on the counter describing the dishes were too high and in print too small for her to read. Because of this she had breakfast in the cabin every day and we had most of our lunches and dinners in the MDR (Golden Lobster). We always have MyTime dining with RCL but that wasn't available to us on Preziosa so we had to choose between 6.00 pm and 8.30 pm sittings, neither of which really suited us because the first (which we chose) was too early and the second too late. And in the second week the early sitting was brought forward to 5.45 pm. The service was excellent but the food was essentially the same as in Inca and generally ranged from poor to mediocre with a quite good dish occasionally, but not often enough, making an appearance. It was frequently not hot enough, portions were small, meat was generally tough, there were hardly any vegetables and, despite the fancy Michelin type descriptions, it wasn't aimed at British tastes (yet MSC made a big thing about providing kettles and Yorkshire Tea in cabins for the benefit of the British). There was a choice of six main courses but the first two were always some sort of pasta and risotto, the third was fish and the last was a vegetarian option so really there wasn't a lot of choice or variety. And some of the combinations were strange. Leek and potato soup frequently appeared which should have been fine but they'd added shrimps to it which put many people off. And how about asparagus soup with tapioca pearls or steamed cod with raisins and onions? My wife got so fed up with it all that one evening we ordered a T-bone steak to share (24 Euro supplement) but it was so tough as to be inedible. In the past we have complained about the food on RCL ships but it's streets ahead of MSC. There should have been three speciality restaurants we could have gone to but Eataly wasn't open, we didn't fancy the one serving Japanese sushi and Butcher's Cut was closed for refurbishment. However, the latter did re-open on our last night so we went there. It was a complete contrast to the Golden Lobster and we had the best steak dinner we've had in a long time so they can do it if they try (and you're prepared to pay). However, even better was that one of the Black Card benefits is a meal in a speciality restaurant so it didn't cost us anything extra. So, to summarise the major pros and cons: Good: Beautiful, elegant and well appointed ship. Spotlessly clean. Lovely cabin. Good service from friendly staff. Nice little perks with the Black Card. Excellent dining in Butcher's Cut. Reasonable provision for smokers. Not so good: Unsatisfactory arrangements for getting off and on the ship during and at the end of the cruise, particularly for anyone disabled. General organisation, communication and dissemination of information poor. Annoying multi-lingual PA announcements. Indifferent shows, entertainment and activities. Mediocre food (except in Butcher's Cut). As for a comparison between MSC and RCL, we think that the Preziosa was nicer and better maintained than the RCL ships we've been on and it almost made them look rather shabby. MSC prices are cheaper, too. Food and on board activities are better on RCL and the way they run the cruise operation is very slick which makes MSC look amateurish. Would we go with MSC again? Probably not but I see that Indy's cruises out of Southampton next year have been cancelled so you never know........ Read Less

We completed our 15 nights Northern Europe cruise which set sail from Southampton Port on 30 April 2019. There were 6 of us, my husband and I and 2 other couples. After booking the cruise, I had cold feet when I read the many negative reviews on Cruise Critic. So I switched from a balcony room to an interior as I was not going to pay for a poor experience. However the whole cruise turned out to be unexpectedly good. Embarkation started at 3 pm despite some passengers saying you could get a queue ticket when you arrive at Southampton. We were there at 11.30 am and checked in our luggage before walking out to Ikea for lunch. When we returned, embarkation had already started and we had to join a queue which took almost 30 minutes to clear. Once on board, we headed to the activation machines to link our credit card to our cruise card. There was hardly any queue at the counter throughout our stay, which was good as we could have our queries attended to quickly. All the counter staff speak English and were quite polite. The muster drill was quite well organised. We headed to the theatre where there was a staff briefing everyone. After that, we were lead to our muster station. About 5 days before we disembarked, there was a talk about disembarkation in the theatre. Again the speaker was very clear when she briefed us. Just 2 days before we disembarked at Southampton, some officials from the British immigration came on board to have a "face to face" interview with us. Our passports were stamped and we could walk off the ship on day of disembarkation as we opted for self assisted disembarkation. I was quite worried we wouldn't be able to disembark in time to meet our driver but all ended all. Speaking of entertainment, I must say it was lack lustre. Having so many nationalities on board it must have been difficult to plan any entertainment. The ship is actually a shuttle ship as people embarked and disembarked at various ports. This was not too bad as there was no jam when we embarked and disembarked at Southamption. The ship did not berth at La Coruna because of bad weather but made a stop instead at Vigo. The change in schedule was handled very well and an announcement was made throughout the ship, including our rooms. Notices were also sent to m our cabin quickly. Very professional. We booked a Bella experience which was the most basic experience. No room service unless you pay for it. There was also no body lotion in the bathroom. But we had a kettle and tea and coffee making facilities in the room and that was a big bonus as we did not have to top up our drinking bottles every night. Another bonus was that breakfast and lunch were served in the main dining room everyday, whether it's a sea day or port day. In other cruise lines, there were breakfast and lunch in the main dining room only on sea days. Though no free drinks were served in the main dining room except during breakfast, it was not a big problem because we could order a bottle of plain water or go up to the buffet restaurant after our meal. The menu in the main dining room changed everyday, except for breakfast, and it was well presented. The buffet restaurant also had a wide variety of food but the menu didn't change very much. Pizzas were good and they were very generous with the fruits although no berries were served. I am quite a fussy eater and am happy to say I am happy with the food served. I didn't take any shore excursions from the ship so cannot comment about it. Read Less

Free upgrade to balcony is why booked ,The embarkation took 2 hours of Queuing ,which seemed to be the way the rest of the cruise went,que for shore excursions to get on and off boat, the excursions were late and disorganized.Entertainment was in 5 different languages as were the trips,75 percent of ship were German and it was catered more for them all bars singing in German .The food is not catered for the British and what was like carvery meat tough and inedible roast potatoes oily and undercover Yorkshire puddings were rock hard . Hot water in urns not hot so Luke warm tea.Food dried up and not hot just warm .Food in restaurant menu very limited and not to British taste mostly meat not enough veg .Not enough lifts and we were constantly squashed .Cabin had no sofa so no where to sit only on bed which was rock hard and uncomfortable ,holes in curtain and sheets carpet had catches in .No extras had to pay for everything . Read Less

I chose because of the low cost. unfortunately I got what I paid for. After more than 10 cruises with other cruise I can't tell how disappointed I was. The issue started before I left home. Calling MSC you have 2 choices 2 for new booking or 3 for existing booking. If you choose 2 someone answer within 30 seconds, but if you choose 3 then no one ever answers. I tried several times no luck. Then when arrived at the ship we had to carry our own luggage to our cabin. This has never happened to me before. But this was only the beginning . At every port we had disembark and re board via a very steep ramp. I use a cane and this was very dangerous . At one port we were tendered in the rain but they only used 3 life boats for 4000 people. Coming back we had to wait 1and 30 minutes in the rain, plus when we got to the ship we had to climb a steap stair case on the outside of the ship. The food in the buffet was barely edible and the dining was not much better never more than 3 choices. That started with having to argue for water at our table. We were 6 at our table but never had more than 3 pads of butter. Coffee and tea came very late (I suspect they were hoping we would loose interest and leave . Other than the cabin steward no one was approachable. All the staff did was try to sell us extras. As to special restaurants there were none. I would happily paid for a better meal but that option didn't exist. They did sell a steak in the dining for €23. we took it hoping it would be acceptable and it was. The only good meal in the entire 2 weeks. Apparently sail with MSC a second time. I can't imagine why. Read Less

We chose MSC because it looks luxurious inside and we wanted to try something different. We've been on 10+ cruises from one week to 5 weeks each. Unfortunately, this cruise is geared for the German and European markets Staff at customer services weren't up to date with what was going on on the ship. I find there are certain nationalities who are excellent at customer services. It comes to them naturally and other nationalities need more training. They feel they are above the customer because they are wearing a uniform and whatever they say is final. Went to book an excursion for 6 of us and was told it had been fully booked since before we sailed! So why not take names and add on another coach? Those staff members need more training. They simply shrug their shoulders when they don't know something. There's machines on that floor to register your card to pay for expenses incurred for your cabin. Credit cards are not a problem as all charges automatically go on your card when you leave. Debit cards and cash however they charge an amount immediately and if there's money to be refunded you have to go to customer services and you're refunded in the ship's currency which is euros so beware if you put down cash in sterling. Tours were very expensive compared to other cruiseliners. In the ports shuttle buses were provided but you had to pay! From€6.90 to€15.60 return per person! So if you can't walk a mile you're stuck onboard in some ports. We got the hop on hop off in several cities to get our bearings and then got off and mooched. The drinks packages are good. 3 tiers and they include the bottled water. Cocktails were good as was the prosecco so the family were happy. Dining was fixed seating only at either 6:30 or 8:30 pm. It does give you the chance to get to know your waiters who are exceptional in their attention to detail. Nothing is ever too much trouble. Food was good. Portions smaller than average but you could order two entrees, mains or desserts. Unnecessary as there's always food everywhere. The buffet upstairs was hit and miss because it's divided into sections, the quietest being right at the back but the selection of food is not the same on both sides so you have to go right round 3 sections on both sides to suss out what's there before making your choice. Prime time is hell as usual trying to find a seat and at breakfast you have to ask for a banana at the fruit counter because they hide them behind? Pizza is being made all the time and was fresh and tasty if that's what you like. Lattes and cappuccino were included in the package which was a plus so you can get them in any coffee shop or bar onboard. Extra special Coffee with whipped cream or special syrups are separate. The ice-cream (yummy) was also included in the package and served in several bars. Maintenance on the ship is good. Crew are onto it all the time. You can see them everyday doing something on the lifeboats, painting the whirlpools and everything looks pristine. One main gripe would be the announcements over the tannoy. Five languages for every announcement. I know 3 and by the time they got to the Spanish they were rattling it off so fast you could barely understand it. How do other cruiseliners cope with only English?? Films: there aren't any. Big screen on deck is used for advertising. No deck chairs lined up for films, no popcorn! What a waste! Daily events: dance lessons in a venue that accommodates maybe 15 people and a quiz in five languages and MasterChef at Sea: they ask you 10 questions in 5 languages and then give you the answer in 5 languages. By the time you've reached the 10 the answer you've slid off your seat in exhaustion! Then on the next sea day they get the 6 finalists and ask them to arrange some salad leaves on a plate to be judged by the ship's chefs. This show's format doesn't really adapt itself to at sea since you're on a stage and you can't cook on it (health and safety). Beautiful theatre, the best I've seen. You can see the stage from wherever you are. Productions were average. Swiss magician very good. Talks were only about ports selling you the excursions. They could have used that theatre for films in all languages. Not one. Library non existent. It's part of a seating area with one small shelf for English with a handful of books and a few magazines previous customers have obviously left. So, download books onto your Kindle or stream your films before going. This cruise was Mediterranean and Europe so G4 was available except when out at sea where the ship's mast took over and you went onto maritime satellite network which can crucify you so put your phone on airplane mode when you leave port. We had a good time because we were a family of grownups and played cards and games for entertainment. Drinks and food were good and we did our own thing on a beautiful ship. Make of this what you will Read Less

We chose this Cruise for the Itinerary and because we had previously had 3 Good Cruises with MSC. We took a North Europe cruise on the MSC PREZIOSA from Souhampton. The following review is, I feel, very fair with the Pros AND Cons. We arrived at the Terminal to face a queue of “well-over” an hour – there was one security entrance – BUT people returning from a trip ashore were “filtered” into our queue – limiting us to 6 or so people every 5 minutes – WHAT A WELCOME ! CABIN – Our Inside cabin was adequate and the attendant was very diligent with the cleanliness and linen changes. DINING – We were VERY LUCKY – our 1st sitting was at a table for 6 – with 2 great couples – with whom we had “a lorra laughs” ! The food was good but not great. There are now less courses that on our previous 3 MSC cruises - 3 effectiive courses – and our waiters were good. Not as friendly as on many other cruises and at times there were apologies because “this galley was having problems” !! The buffet restaurant was huge with a good selection – BUT again the staff were very “clinical” – OK but distant – not-too-friendly – and there were often more staff selling “drinks packages” than clearing off – with head waiters “mucking in”. ENTERTAINMENT – the absolute “pits” – many, many people complained about the “very inferior” shows. Rubbish ventriloquist, lady climbing the curtain, Paul McCartney impressionist on 3 consecutive nights, etc. etc. – Come back TUI and P & O with your much better quality shows !! TOPSIDE – The pools were very clean and there were lots of sun-loungers. ACCESSIBILITY – The lifts at many times were GREATLY INDEQUATE for the 4000 or so passengers – especially for the unfortunate ones with wheelchairs or walkers – sometimes “almost killed” in the rush to get in. THERE WAS SCOPE TO HAVE A SPECIFIC LIFT DEDICATED TO THEM ???? DRINKS PRICES – The “packages” seemed to be a bit of a con - 29 Eurosper person per night – 870 Euros for 2. The 6 Euro LIMIT per drink is very low ($15 0n NCL). AND IF YOU SPENT MORE – IT WAS THE WHOLE PRICE !!! We went “pay-as-you-go” and still managed sufficient drinks. GOING ASHORE – In WW2 the German navy had “Q” ships – I think MSC were taking on the challenge with “QUEUE SHIPS” !! There were massive queues at several ports for disembarkation AND embarkation – TOTALLY DISORGANISED – with dozens queue-jumping at every opportunity – A VERY ANNOYING EXPERIENCE !!!! When the ship is so huge – WHY NOT CREATE A COUPLE MORE GANGWAYS AND SECURITY SCANNERS TO LIGHTEN THE LOAD ??? Having sailed on over 20 ships with 9 different lines – THIS WAS FAR AND AWAY OUR WORST EXPERIENCE !!!!!!!!! MSC seemed to rank EUROS, EUROS, EUROS’s over customer satisfaction. Charges for “shuttles to town” were excessive – when the distances were walkable (even to 70+ year olds). A constant sell for “drinks packages”, spa treatments, fine-dining, etc. The size of around 4000 passengers does not help – we have been on ships from 650 passengers to 3000+ - BUT HAVE ALWAYS HAD A REALLY ENJOYABLE EXPERIENCE. Overall - for what we paid - it was “good value for money” !! BUT I SUPPOSE YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR !!!!!! COME ON MSC – GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER !!!!! Read Less

The itinerary was what prompted me to take this cruise, the ship was luxurious and the staff very professional. The average rating comes from the main dining room food, small portions, and average quality. Some excursion staff is sadly lacking in experience knowledge and organization! Missing excursion tickets, after several attempts and frustrating times dealing with the excursion staff at their counter, after quining up the day prior to the excursion. The day arrived for the excursion, but still no tickets. Again a very frustrating time at the excursion desk trying to explain my predicament and then finally a different staff member, just "reprinted" the required tickets, of cause I asked why not so in the first place?? Some on ship meeting points were too small and too many people squeezed into this space for too long at the time, very bad! Instead of leaving the ship as 1 group on the correct advertised time, guests were already on the tour bus and those on time were almost late! Bella balcony cabin has no chair, a cube. The theatre entertainment started to repeat after 7 days on a 14-day cruise. The gangway was often a problem, whether it was only 1 in use for passengers coming and going with a lot of elderly people in wheelchairs or walking difficulty, so a very slow process. Then some times the gangway in use was just too steep, even for a healthy person. Upon your return from your excursion, unlike many other cruises lines, there was No refreshing welcome drink and cool handtowel waiting for you........... Read Less

. . we have just been on MSC Preziosa 30th April - 15th May . . . brilliant cruise, beautiful ship, good food, friendly staff, great entertainment and theatre shows . . . and a free premium drinks package - what’s not to like ? We have been on over 20 cruises with P&O, Princess etc, and this goes down as one of the best. On a few points that people have mentioned :- 1/. No need to hang around for two hours and make the coach late - passengers with independent travel arrangements are able arrange a disembarkation time to suit. 2/. 4000 plus passengers getting on & off at ports - why would you expect NOT to queue at times. Chill - have a leisurely breakfast whilst the rush goes ashore and then just walk off without a problem. We got off the ship at every port and only had to queue once. 3/. Our (table for 6) food in the Golden Lobster was always good, with extra vegetables brought out and sometimes one of the other meals on the menu to share. We even had meals that our waiters told us about that weren’t on the menu ! Double ice cream on the desserts - lovely ! It seems like some people are never happy - unless they are complaining Read Less

Although this was a beautiful ship the level of customer care was well below any other cruise we have been on, very few of the crew spoke and barged past as if you weren't there.When we were waiting to embark we waited fot 1 1/2 hrs in the queue because there was only 1 desk open when we finally got on board we were faced with another queue to register a credit card why could it not have been done all at once as on other cruises. It costs nothing to be polite perhaps the people who train them need training also. The food in the buffet was very dryed out and tasteless because to much was put out before anyone could eat it. I had a hot chocolate snatched from my hand by the person in charge of the drinks station and told it wasn't aloud as it wasn't breakfast time. The casino was always very smokey and that carried up to the floor above not nice for non smokers.the wording in the brochure appeared to promise 2 days in Amsterdam our trip arrived there about 5 pm and we were picked back up at 7.45 the ship left the Dock at 6am definitely not 2 days. Every thing on board was at a charge the 3d cinema was a simulator 7 euros each for about 8 minutes all films on the TV were 7 euros each and the only TV programme in English was BBC World news and no music channel.The shows were very much of the same just using different costumes and the resident artists. Any information we were given at reception was usually wrong such as instruction on disembarking which deck and timings. Disembarking was made very difficult due to the steep angle of the gangplank. All in all we were very disappointed and we will not be cruising with them again. Non of the English people we spoke to on the cruise would travel with them again. Read Less

I Wanted to try MSC and see what i thought,I had done 5 cruises on them but not for 7 years. sadly you cannot carry over your points so from BLACK i was NOW SILVER. PRE CRUISE. I Flew on RYANAIR from STANSTED AIRPORT to HAMBURG got train to HAMBURG and found my hotel very close the station. I had to walk up stairs to get to the RECEPTION to check in and get KEYS then a lift to the 4th floor anmd walk up to 5th floor. A good size room with heat working i shared a toilet. After retired as it had been a long day. FRIDAY 26th APRIL. After BREAKFAST with was good but hard to find a free table as there was lot of people there. I found JUICE,CEREALS,MEATS AND CHEESES and FRIED EGG. A ROLL AND CHOCOLATE SPREAD. Then left the KEYS and went to LANDSBRUCKEN and walked along the PROM found some ship models and walked to the CRUISE and MARITIME MUSEUM. I always love going there even though i had done it before. Saw lots of models to buy and went in lift to 9th floor and saw thousands of models. Then got train back and had a GERMAN SAUSAGE. Then got ferry to see "BALMORAL" CRUISESHIP THERE and walked yup the many steps to get a great view of the ship. Eventually she left and then went back to get something to eat. EMBARKATION DAY. After BREAKFAST much quieter today i left HOTEL to get a ticket for the SHUTTLE to the SHIP they charged it to my onboard account. After a super fast check in i boarded the SHIP and as CABINS were not ready till 2pm i went to have a BUFFET LUNCH. Then the CABINS WERE READY and was happy ton find a large inside cabin with COFFEE MAKING FACILITIES. I put my small case in so had to wait for it to arrive. Lifeboat drill was 1715Hrs So had cakes in the buffet for afternoon tea. I picked up my LIFEJACKET and went down to the CASINO. I showed my CRUISE CARD and managed to find somewhere to sit. They showed up how to put the LIFEJACKET on then it was over it was hard work walking up 5 flights to get back to my cabin. Then dinner was at the LOBSTER RESTAURANT 1st sitting which i like and sat with TIM AND ANDY another couple and another couple later. THE Food was good a lot of choice i had free bottled water as i had booked through an american agent. Then i went to the SHOW at 2115 After going up on deck to see the ship leave. It was called 70's FEVEWR SHOW 2 ladies singing 70's songs i like some of their songs but a lot of people walked out. I saw them on the bus and they were so nervous doing this new show. I now went to the LOGO SHOP with the PREZIOSA models which were gone! they said they had sold out but managed to the one in the window. Next day they were there why would he lie to me? I like a cigar butb even though she is a big ship she had no CIGAR ROOM I went on deck it wad very cold and noticed it said NO CIGARS? where are we supposed to smoke them then? NO coffee in cabin despite asking for it but had ice in bucket. AT SEA. I went tom the LOBSTER RESTAURANT and asked to sit with other but the other 4 people spoke german and very little english! We wait for 30 mins to take out order and had to waive out menu's atb the waiters! Got JUICE and asked for SWISS MUESLI it was ordinary muesli with milk and yoghart (NOT THE SAME) and EGGS BENEDICT WHICH WAS GOOD and hard toast. LE HAVRE. I got up at 0545Hrs to see the ship arrive in LE HAVRE,Then had BREAKFAST in the BUFFET plenty of room and found a much better SWISS MUESLI,FRIED EGG,BACON,SAUSAGE,BEANS and BLACK PUDDING. Then the ship was cleared so i could leave. As i had not booked and excursion and the shuttle bus was 6 EURO and last one was 1800 i Walked to the STATION it took 40 mins the queue at ticket office was so slow in missed the train to PARIS and had to wait 2 hours for the next one. The toilets were out of order too. I Had a CREDIT CARD but as the ship wanted to charge 250 euro i had only a 200£ limit i could not use it on the ship so i had to get 220 euro out of the ATM. It took 2 hours to get to PARIS got a ticket for the METRO went to the EIFFEL TOWER and MONTMARTRE a lot of walking there and it had changed a lot.I missed the 1723 Train but mins and gor 1749 instead it was rush hour but got a seat ok. When i got to LE HAVRE i walked to far and had to go back ended up at cross channel port had to go back and only got on the ship with 10 mins before i gangway went up! All the food wasc finished apart from slices of pizza i wanted cake but said not till 2200 lady got me 2 plates of cakes and watched the ship sail. Saw a much better show with singers and dancers. DISEMBARKATION. I woke up at 0445Hrs to make sure i saw us arrive in SOUTHAMPTON I got MY PARMA FLAG OUT and hope STEVEN SAW ME and the flag as we passed by. Had another nice BUFFET BREAKFAST but no BLACK PUDDING. As i had only a case i could leave the ship at 0730Hrs i also could not find my t shirt and asked my CABIN STEWARD where it was he found it under my pillow he never even said sorry i never gave him a tip. I walked off the ship and got the 0900 train to LONDON. WHAT I THOUGHT of CRUISE. I liked the food Service was poor in parts show were pretty good. But did'nt like credit card charge,logo shop,cabin n steward not the best and smoking was a bit strange. So not asure if i would go on MSC AGAIN. Read Less

Myself , My Partner & My Parents Done a Back to Back 8 day cruise on 22nd April 2018. We arrived at Southampton and joined the ship very easily our rooms where ready and all our details where checked very well. We had a easy Drinks package and was surprised of the lack of choice on this package included however I did include the drink my partner mainly drank that was until half way through the cruise and they changed what we where allowed so our drinks package was a waste of time after this Food was always cold in the buffet restaurant no matter where time we actually went to eat, we changed our eating time over the cruise but this didn’t matter , at the al la carte restaurant the menu was limited and portions very small Entertainment was not the Best compared to other cruises it was very amateur and some of the show themes just didn’t make any sense. The only think that made this cruise enjoyable was the staff , they are one of the best we have experienced and they can’t do enough for you, always smiling and asking are we ok and telling us to enjoy our day, Read Less

This was my first cruise on MSC and I should have paid better attention to the reviews. There were so many things wrong, the list is long: 1. Food. I was on the ship for 15 days and the same cold breakfast buffet was offered everyday. There is no service in the buffet unless you pay for items from the buffet bar. 2. Be prepared to add the cost of water, tea or coffee in the main dining rooms. They will not bring you a glass of water, but offer a bottle of water for Euro 3,44. That is per meal. Also don't bother to go to the dining room to get away from breakfast or lunch in the buffet. The same buffet is is set up both places. You can order from the menu, as I did one morning but they just put buffet food on the plate. 3. You have an assigned dining time and a seat and DON'T ever move to another table with empty seats or they rush over to make you feel like a criminal. It happened to me. I sat at a table for 8 the first night and no one else came. I am a solo traveler, but that is no excuse. Three nights later, I was seated again at my proper seat and table. No one came, I put the napkin on the table and walked over to a table speaking English-table for 6 with only 2 diners. Immediately the waiter approached, arms flailing stating "You can't change tables!" My response was "I just did. I refuse to eat another meal by myself.". "You have to check with the boss and he has to OK the move." Have they never heard of "my time dining" or "pick your own dining time" as many other lines have? 4. Four ports we visited, we were notified the night before that we would be docked outside of town, but they would offer a "shuttle" to get us into town. Of course, there was a price, averaging euros 10 per person. When you are told you are 30 min. away from the town via bus and don't have a clue where you are docked, what other option do you have? My theory is the cruise line has to pay to dock the ship and areas out of the center of town are cheaper, so it is another way to make money. This wasn't busy tour season, and when we got to towns, there were places for more ships and none of our rides took near as long as they stated they would take. 5. I got off 1 day early, and on that day we were told we were 30 min. away from city center. I have my luggage so what else do I do but pay for the shuttle? When I went to the excursion desk to sign up, I was told I could not use the shuttle because I was disembarking. "What, you are just going to drop me God knows where and I have to find my way?" After a phone call, he permitted me to buy a ticket. 6.On disembarkment day, I was not the only one leaving. We were told to have luggage out in the hall before 8am but would not be able to leave until 4pm or after and were instructed to meet in one of the bars and someone would come and give instructions. Our luggage could be picked up in the terminal. I, along with others, obeyed and sat there, Well, no one came. We decided to get off on our own and find our luggage, and as were were exiting, we met people coming back onto the ship and said there is no luggage in the terminal. They had to come back, then get off another deck and look for their luggage on the dock. Luggage was found, but what a mess! 7. If you enjoy the shows, don't go on this ship. They were almost non-existent. The ones they did have were nice, only ever lasted less then 1/2 hour. 8.I did not use all my pre-deposited money I added to my ship account before sailing, so I ask customer service desk how to get it back. The response was, "Come back on disembarkment day and we give you euros." I returned as told, talked to the same girl and she said, "We don't give you cash back". Wait a minute, "You were the one that told me how this works and only yesterday. I came for my money." She went to the back room and when she returned, she said, " I will give you the money in euros." 9. I attended a CruiseCritic reception, and the officers in white uniforms were to come around and talk to the passengers. I sat there 50 minutes, making direct eye contact with the men and NO ONE approached me. The cruise director, Darren was there and I asked to speak to him. I told him about the "criminal" way I was treated in the dining room and also had some real issues with a laundry package I had pre-purchased. He said he would check into the laundry issue and get back to me the next day. I'm still waiting. Four days later, I went to the service desk, and told them I had not heard from him. They called his office and said the office would call me and set up an appointment. I expressed my disappointment in Darren and said he must not be a man of his word. I am still waiting for that call also! There were a few good things that were appreciated.: 1.The cabin was neat and tidy, and clean daily. 2. I enjoyed the 9 ports we visited and the excursions I did go on were orderly and well run. 3. The ship was beautiful and always clean. The cruise director stated at the CruiseCritic meeting that MSC was putting 14 new ships in the water in the next 12 months. If they are are going to be a big player in the American cruise industry, they will need to make some changes and have some organizational skills with much better communication between staff and toward passengers. It seems there is only chaos and no one knows how or why things are to work or run. I have been on Avalon, Viking, Holland, Princess, Celebrity, and NCL over the years and they were all better than this. I will not be booking another cruise with MSC. Read Less

We joined the MSC Preziosa in Hamburg for the west European cruise visiting Le Havre, Southampton, St. Peter Port, Brest, Lisbon, Cadiz, Malaga, Vigo, Rotterdam and back to Hamburg. This was our first time with MSC and we booked the Yacht Club (YC). The embarkation experience with the separate YC welcome lounge and being accompanied through security and through to the YC concierge was a pleasant start to the cruise. Out butler Nandan Priolker and junior butler Muhammad Moelyadi did an excellent job and were very friendly. We explained to them that we didn’t want to be waited on hand and foot and they respected this wish. But they did treat us very well and were always there to give us advice and to help us with any problems we had. Overall the staff in the YC were very friendly and helpful. They know when the guest would like to chat or if the guest wants to be left alone. Nayara, Priscilla, Natish, Pradeep, Mungroo, the barman “Odd-Job” just to name a few, work hard to make a pleasant cruise experience. The Top Sail Lounge offers continental breakfast, afternoon tea and various small snacks according to the time of day. It would be nice to see a change in the selection of bread rolls and Danish pastries on the breakfast buffet but otherwise it was sufficient for us. For a light breakfast with scrambled eggs, sausages, bacon etc. it’s possible to go to the outdoor One Bar on deck 18 – even during bad weather. The lift to deck 18 is in the YC area. The One Bar also offers light lunches with salads and cooked food which vary from day to day. The cooked food is on warming trays but is not covered. So, if the weather is cool (as it was in northern Europe), the food gets cold. Added to the plastic plates also being cold doesn’t make the food very appetising. On our first day we asked if there is any soup as the weather is cold. We were informed that they could get us some but why didn’t they just have a tureen on the buffet. The next day there was a card to say that soup and a daily menu could be ordered. If you order eggs (e.g. poached, omelette etc.) at breakfast or if you order the soup or daily menu these are cooked in another part of the ship. Therefore, when you get them they are not hot anymore. We didn’t use the YC Palmerie restaurant; it’s at the other end of the ship. If the weather is nice and NOT windy you can stroll along deck 15, otherwise you have to go down in the lift (preferably to deck 7), swim though the crowds to the back of the ship then go up in the lift to the restaurant. This was the only part of the YC which was not actually in the YC area and was a big disappointment. We visited the Inca/Maya buffet twice. We didn’t eat there but it seems there is a good selection of food but we can’t comment on the quality. The food stations are spread around to avoid queues. The front of the restaurant was crowded but there was plenty of free seats at the back. We liked the idea of the take-away burgers, hotdogs and French fries which we tried and found to be very tasty. We had roomservice pizza twice. This was delivered quickly by our butler. It was warm and we found the quality very good. But then again, we wouldn’t expect anything different on an Italian ship. When visiting the ports, we didn’t do any MSC excursions but used the shuttle buses. The service was good and the prices reasonable. If you have time do not go on shore first thing, wait a while until the rush is over. The queues are very long at the 2 gangways. When we went ashore in Guernsey by tender, we waited in the YC concierge lounge and where then escorted as a group by a YC butler. For the other guests this may seem that we were pushing in front but, Hey! we paid for this service. Disembarkation was a pleasure! We had to leave the cabin by 8:00 to 8:30. We could have breakfast in the Top Sail Lounge and could wait there. When we wanted to leave we were again escorted by a butler who helped us with our cases which were waiting in the Cruise Terminal. We were the escorted outside to the Taxis. On the whole we enjoyed our cruise in the MSC Yacht Club. We were just dissapointed at not having the restaurant actually in the Yacht Club Area and that the only other choice was to go to the One Bar on the 18th deck. As mentioned above there wasn't much choice on the buffet and the food wasn't hot. Also, it's not the place to be in cold weather. Read Less

Dates fitted our holiday window, so we gave it a go. Lead up all went good, emails and info supplied. Boarding was swift and free from issues. Met by friendly staff and went to our cabin. Cabin was small but found it to be cosy and well equipped. We had our first evening meal in the Lobster restaurant. We had different meals and found the food to be far from restaurant fair. Mostly tasteless with "Michelin style descriptions" which we did laugh at. We were led to a table for 6 first, and expected to join total strangers, after me asking for a table for two, this was arranged with little effort. I don't mind the odd night with strangers, but this would have been set in stone for each and every night after. Due to the disappointment from the Lobster, we used the buffet on night two. Food average and fairly well laid out with a fairly good choice. Pizzas were fantastic without fail. Night three back to try the Lobster, food just as bad, completely tasteless and made up to be something to blow your mind, and really far from the descriptions again. The British head chef came out to meet everyone in the restaurant. I did make a joke to my wife,"If I was him I wouldn't show my face, service up that rubbish" I don't know if the chef is to blame, or the budget he has to work with. The entertainment was not great and had a distinctly European based feel, not really for the UK pallet. We do like a good drink and a dance to a good band. MSC did lack this for us. We had a bit of a culture shock regarding the general rudeness of the mixed European passengers, during leaving the ship on tours, particularly completely ignoring ques and just barging in anywhere. The same behaviour on the ship, while in the buffet and waiting for lifts. We generally don't do drink packages and usually buy as we go. The first night we ordered two beers with our meal and ended up with a bill for 14.95 Euros. This frankly is daylight robbery for two 33cl beers. We then filled our back pack with cans of beers during city visits and had no problem bringing these aboard, on our return. A bucket of ice and two cold beers later, then repeat. We also like a nice coffee, and found that the special coffees on offer were tasty, but very tiny and around 8.00 Euros for two. There is a lot on board that you find to your peril, after ordering, ending up with a larger than average bill for. There is also a charge of 14.95 Euros added to your room bill every day for tips, this does anger me as I have always been of the opinion that a tip is for service over and above the normal. We did remove all tips in the end, as felt that we were being ripped off at every turn by MSC, and felt this was our only form of getting our own back. We do give cash tips directly to staff who do give exceptional service. The ship is a stunning well equipped ship with as good as the best out there offer, however, we did feel that overall the mixing of several nationalities does tend to back fire to a large degree, the general poor quality of the food on offer and the very high prices charged for beverages does mark this ship/company down considerably. As we only went on this trip as a fill in break during Easter time off, and a break away, we did enjoy it generally, we did mange to laugh at the poor and miss described food, the rows and squabbles amongst passengers. The rip off prices, that led us to used plan B. The endless 6 language announcements that can grind you down. If you treat most things like water off a ducks back, then MSC is a great, different experience of cruising. Give MSC a go. If however you look for value for money, first class dining, a great time being entertained during your evenings with the drink flowing, without busting your wallets, I would leave MSC well alone and stick with the UK/USA ships instead. Happy Cruising....... Read Less

What we liked : - Beautiful ship - Cabin is fine and was kept very clean, the cabin steward did a great job. - Disembarkation was very smooth, we were allowed to stay on board till around 10 o'clock which is appreciated. What we disliked : - embarkation was bad. We arrived around 13:00 and was not even allowed to get into the departure building and had to wait in the waiting area at the arrival hall (this is Southampton). They started to call for black card members to go to the departure building around 1400 and after that the rest of the passengers. So around 1415 all guests waiting at the waiting area went over to the departure building where a huge line formed. It took more than 45 minutes to go through this line which is totally not necessary if they would let you wait in the departure area when you arrive. -Food is bad, buffet food always only lukewarm and old (sitting there for too long )At first, we thought it was because we had late lunch, due to the bad embarkation process, we only got on the ship at around 1530 so quite late. Next day, we went at 1230 when the lunch started and the food was also cold or lukewarm. No matter what time you go there, food is just not warm. Breakfast is much better as sometimes you will get hot and fresh pastry items. Limited choices in the MDR and food quality is average at best. -We could not get our desired dining time(even we have booked the Fantastica experience). We went to see the restaurant manager on embarkation day but he would only get us on a waitlist and we never heard back from him. We prefer 1e sitting but was not able to get that and 2e sitting is just too late for us.(dining at 21:00 is just not our thing) -service is hit and miss. We did have an excellent server but we also encountered some very rude staff. (guest services, photo studio staff etc) We don’t expect service to the extreme but do expect to be treated friendly and courteous but it is not always the case. -Entertainment lacking. Shows were bad too, only 1 or 2 shows that was good, other than that just a singer or two singing a few songs. This is not what I expect to see in the theater every night. Lacking activities, there is not much to do on board. Just some dance lessons, stretch exercise and a trivia that is done in 5 languages. It's a pain to sit through that. Most people just sit in the different bars/lounges to listen to some music. Summary : I guess it is "you get what you pay for" but I do not feel we have paid a cheap price for this cruise so we do feel disappointed. If you have paid a bargain price then you may find things OK. Read Less