Notice that the title is not unexpensive cruise, as this one costed some usd 3500 for a couple and a todler in a balcony. Well, if this is your first cruise, you probably will like it. But when you have a bunch of others as previous experiences, you might get disapointed as we did (and most of the passenger we spoke with who had previous cruise experiences) Let me start with the good points: the ship is new, and beutifully decorated in a modern and posh way. cabins are nice and entertainment is also good, being the slides and waterpart on of the best i´ve seen on cruises. Now the down points: The food is far bellow average. You´ll rarelly see cow meat on the buffet or the menu. Burgers, pizza and sousage are available everyday, alongside with chicken. And most food lack taste or freshness (fish, salmon and chicken always seemed "dry", overcooked or looked like done hours ago and just heated to serve) Remember those nice formal dinners, where they serve lobster at least in one day? Not on this one, lobster is sold at usd 50 at the "speciality seafood restaurant". A nice steak? Not served on the regular restaurants, but rather for 95 usd in the "butchers cut" In fact the formal restaurants do not serve not even water, they charge you usd 2,10 per botle (and its not perrier, or fiji, just regular botled water that they sell for 30 cents on the supermarket) We know that cruise lines always try to find ways to charge you more on additional items, but never expected they to come to your table and offer you a meat plate for next night, to be served on the very same restaurant you have your dinners, but only if you pay an extra of usd 20 per person... this was very sad posture by them. Bear in mind also that this is a 5100 passanger ship, and the crew seems not able to handle so many passengers (I will definintelly not cruise on their 6500 passenger ship expected for 2020). And since you are not allowed to access parts of the ship unless you are a "yacht club member", you have to live on a smaller portion of the ship.(you will not acess the front lounge, one pool, one restaurant and one sundeck, unless you are VIP paying for a suite on the "yacht club" SPA, sauna and steamroom are also not accessible, unless you pay a daily rate to use the spa, or choose the "aurea" experience upon booking, paying a few hundred dollars more. There is also a bowling lane (45usd per hour) a F1 simulator (10 usd per play), a zipline (12usd per use) and a 3d theather (10 dollars per 5 minutes) Other down points were that they seemed to try to save money by contracting some chep tender boats (all our ports of call were tendered) and we`ve seem one of them be at large, without motor for almost an hour.... cruise did not send any of their tenders to save the passengers....they had to wait for another old tender to go there and transfer them in the middle of the ocean, from a boat with a broken engine that was being taken away.... We heard by the passengers that complained that they got a standard letter plus a bottle of proseco (very cheap way again to apologise for putting people´s life in danger....) Well, in general is not a bad cruise, but considering the quality of the food and all the extras they charge, I´d say it´s value should be from 20% to 30% less than a similar lenght cruise in other good cruise lines such as RCCL or Princess. Read Less

Food is terrible, this is the weakness point for sure. The food had no taste, no presentation, no talent. Service is a nightmare, it is clear for me that people had no training and its not prepare for the functions, there was no leadership, the managers were extremely arrogants and they spent their time talking each other instead of looking their team, I have never seen such attitude before in my previous crusies. The ship looks nice however it doesn’t work, the theater and the other areas are too small for the capacity of the chip 4300 passangers. We had to make a reservation for the theater but it never worked, we are oblied to seat on the floor, the theater has 03 presentations per night but the capacity is not enough to attend all passengers. It is a very ashamed situation for everyone. The restaurantes work in three shifts, so the last dinner is at 22hs45, my cruise was overbooked so I had bo other choice, that means my dinner started around 23hs15 everyday, crazy. I have already traveled with Costa and Royal Caribbean and had a nice experience! MSC never more!! Read Less

Due to the fact that this ship is new and luxurious, we had high expectations for our vacation. But it ended up as the worst cruise service we ever experienced. Unprepared crew, no knowledge of what's happening at the ship, and always with a bad mood (with few exceptions). Attendants of the bar always busy, causing waits of up to 10 min for a simple beer (which was sometimes, warm). Food is the worst, breakfast has always the same options with low quality coffee. Lunch is basically hamburger, hotdog, fries and pizza (2 or 3 flavors). If you want some meat during lunch, there's only one location serving it, with at least 20 people on waiting line. Dinner is even worse, the options are always tasteless and repeated, ingredients are not as good as expected from a cruise service (if you order a steak, don't expect a juicy thick one, you'll receive a very thin tasteless overcooked). Elevators were pure pain, always slow with an automated system to distribute load that does not work. Cabin was good but the bathroom was a bit small. Entertainment shows were good, but the cruise didn't offer trivia/quiz/sports activities The ship has never landed on "Buzios", one of the main ports to be visited, always claiming bad weather (even though there were no clouds in the sky, and a quick google search indicated weather was perfect). TouchScreen totems and smartphone applications were really usefull for managing what to do and how much money you have spent. If it was possible, I would ask for a refund. After this cruise I'll stay away from MSC cruises and stick to Royal Caribbean (the best company so far). Read Less

This ship has the worst crew and the worst food. Stay away from MSC. I would recommend any cruise line over MSC. BCL, Celebrity, Royal Carribean, Princess, Carnival, Oceania, etc. Food is salty, listers quality possible. If you like bad pizza breakfast lunch and dinner along with hot dogs this cruise is for you! If you want the typical shrimp, lobster, escargot and smoked Salmon his cruise is not for you. Dining room service is rushed with absolutely no flexibility. If it’s not on the menu you will not get it. Everything is processed with salt solutions. Salads are soggy. Fish of the poorest quality along with 2 to 3 ml thick salted steak. Buffets are the same everyday! Tilapia, pizza hot dogs, terrible desserts. If food is important then don’t come on MSC! It’s rare to find a helpful person. Bar service is good but it’s hard to no get sick eating the food. It’s sad that MSCi so cheap when they have invested so much into the ship.entertainment was good but no bug name outside entertainment! No enrichment classes. Read Less

Having sailed with various other cruiselines we liked the itinerary (never been to Rio) free drinks package, cabin upgrade and had seen recent reviews. Embarking in Barcelona.............a long process. Difficult to know what was happening. We all had our numbers for processing. Needed to keep asking what was happening. Not a lot!!! Eventually spotted movement. Need to pay attention as no repeated info over tanoy system. (When ship came in cold drinks trolley came into cruise terminal).You could also buy snacks and beer etc from cafe. ON BOARD SHIP ....................well impressed. Yes new ship, lovely and clean, looks big from outside but didn't feel any bigger than some we have sailed on. Probably deeper with all cabins but easy to navigate your way around. Lots of grays, silver, mirrors (bit disconcerting at first), swarovski stair case (crystals and lights) in Atrium, easy to see stage from three decks, 3 large screens with varying scenes, bars etc on different levels. A busy spot between theatre and eating. CABIN.......... greens and greys, good size, compact storage, with balcony (small but fine), shower OK size, beds comfy, air conditioning easy to use. Hand wash at sink, in shower dispensers of shampoo and shower gel. hairdrier in drawer, under "desk" in cabin. We always bring our own soaps, shampoo and conditioner. No kettle for us.... but accessible most of time from buffet on Deck 8. If drinks package ask for bottled water from bars. DINING.................. headed for MARKETPLACE (buffet on deck 8 /always very noisy) on boarding ship. Long boarding delays, must have caused problems for caterers. Pizza and chps tepid, place mobbed, lucky to find seat. This would be our breakfast, lunch, or mid aft or late snack, post theartre place to munch. If weather good can sit out on deck. Usual salad, fruit,bar, Pizza/pasta, Grilled food, Asian food etc Lots of choices. SILVER DOLPHIN for dinner was allocated to us. Not compelled to dress up but smart!! You can mix n match your menu ie have starter with a main. Always option of steamed fish, veg poatoes/chips you can have instead/with your main. Otherwise might be teeny porttions/strange mains ie hummous and other dip with pitta bread. Waiting staff efficient and helpful. SPECIALITY DINING French/Asian/Steak........we didn't pay extra and dine there. Used GOLDEN SANDS once as friends booked this retaurant but little difference to ours. OCEAN POINT other buffet/just as busy as Marketplace. Maybe not as noisy. Maybe not enough staff :sometimes lack of mugs, food always needing topped up. HAND CLEANING NO PROMPTING IN BUFFET/DINING ROOM .........automatic wash, soap, driers and hand gels available (sometimes empty!!) ENTERTAINMENT.............for kids looks great Forest adventure Park etc For adults Amusement arcade bit Cinema 4D/F! simulator/Bowling. Zipline pay extra. Behind Haven Lounge, towards back of ship, pool table, board games and library. Limited but good books in library but noisy spot to sit. Quiz really good fun but happens near end of cruise. Probably busy entertainment folk. If sunny more activities line dancing music on deck. Can grab an ice cream (on drinks package) or pay for ice lolly delic. WOULD have been good if we had known there were times when we should wear WHITE, MASKS and even FLORAL. Member of entertainment sidled up to us and said you are expected to participate in Beach party, mean't to be in Hawaian gear. We wandered off for a drink. Well all the Brazilian folk new what they were doing!! ODEON THEATRE ..........book from your cabin or on screens around ship/by lifts or queue up just before show then rush in and check for spare seats. Shows overall really good. Lots of usual singing, dancing, lovely costumes, acrobatics, (amazing), magic. Good mix. BRAZILIAN SINGER on stage in Atrium.....................she had an amazing voice/her group played for long spells every night. Guests singing along. She had a good rapport with audience. Another singer Rudy lovely husky voice and smile. Another young man who played guitar did a mix, nice voice but might be better to do songs that people can engage with. Current .and 60's, 70's etc to get them singing. SERVICE is really good overall but probably not enough staff, to cope with everyone/everything. Delays when embarking, delays when disembarking. PORTS AND EXCURSIONS Better doing your homework and seeing what u must visit. We just did our own thing, walked into town most times had shuttle once and one excursion "RIO and shopping" saw main sights. Communication at these times seems to be, "you find out what is going on" not really using mic to communicate. Maybe too many people to stick in the Theatre and put into different groups and advise them over mic what is happening and when to move. Especially as they are already in groups of English or Portuguese or Italian etc speaking groups. Read Less

i chose this cruise based on it being a short break around the Med and because I wanted to try MSCs new ship. The embarking process was a bit long but relatively well organised and didnt take too long. as they were directing everyone into the buffet at lunch as you can imagine it was rammed and it took a hile to find a table. The cabin was spotlessly clean but we didnt get the beds separated into 2 individuals until after I had called a few times to guest services ( I was travelling with a friends ). Being an avid traveller of Norwegian and Royal Caribbean I expected to meet the cabin steward on the first day but it took a few days ( of a 4 day cruise ) to figure out who our steward was. We ordered choc covered strawberries which were mushy and not very appetizing. If it is out of season dont offer them. I guess that was my fault though. The ship itself felt like the layout was confusing but every area was spotless and very impressive. The shows in the theatre could have been better and more entertainment could have been offered as I felt like we were only being offered half of what could have been. The food was ok but I was left with an upset stomach after the second night in the MDR so stuck to the buffet. You have to try and avoid peak times at the buffet as otherwise finding a seat is quite some feat. I have had better food on other cruises but it was ok in general. Not impressed that they charge you for everything. Even 7 euros for a film to watch as otherwise you are stuck with news channels and there was a huge queue at Guest services on the last day as they automatically charged 34.99 euros per person to your bill for the welcome photo whether you want it or not so be warned. Disembarkation was an absolute shambles. No organisation whatsoever and there were at least 200 people queuing up in the staff areas of the ship waiting to disembark and people pushing in and arguing etc. Having said all this I would travel with MSC again but be better prepared for what to expect though after my experience on Seaview I think there is a lot to say for smaller ships Read Less

We chose this cruise of the Western/Central Mediterranean because it was convenient to my son’s school schedule, but we were excited about the Itinerary: Napoli, Messina, Malta, Barcelona, and Marseille. In the end, we were disappointed. We had an Aires suite on deck 11 and the room was very nice. Spacious, modern, proper, BUT WE NEVER SAW A CABIN STEWARD. No one asked about ice in the room or extra towels. We were disappointed here. We were supposed to have a wellness consultant but could not even get a tour of the thermal area of the spa. We were very disappointed with the spa. Meal service started out strong as we had any time service in the Golden Sand Restaurant. Dinner on night 1 was great but the quality did not hold up over the week. Service, however, was good. The shows were terrible. The casino was Smokey. The music was average at best. Read Less

This brand new ship from MSC certainly has the WOW factor, the decor is stunning and the internal spaces are stylish and well thought out. Embarkation from Barcelona was a breeze, and the welcome on board was warm. We absolutely loved this ship, the cabin was spacious and clean with a lovely decor. Our cabin steward was efficient and friendly again brilliant service. The dining room was just great and the food was fabulous. Cannot fault the waiting staff in the dining rooms. Lovely bars to choose from and the drinks package was reasonable and great value compared with RCCL. We used the gym facilities which were clean and the staff very helpful. The buffet dining was also very good, the late night options were good too. Fresh pizza make throughout the day/night as well as many more fresh food options. We loved the destination on this western Med itinerary, our first time with MSC and our expectations were exceeded. Read Less

We chose this 7 day cruise for the itinerary. We had not been to Europe, so we wanted to experience several places and this cruise was ideal for all the places we got to see in a short period of time. It is great to not to have to worry about food, hotels and services and to be able to sleep while transitioning from one port to another. Its an excellent way to see a lot on your first trip. This cruise ship had it down for organized embarkation and disembarkment! They do an excellent job. I felt like the food was mediocre in comparison with other ships I have been on...but definitely not bad. I had no problem eating and finding American cuisine on this international boat. The boat is HUGE! It can house up to 5,000 guests. I never seemed overwhelmed by this, but several times the elevators were backlogged, especially after shows or dinner. The shows were kind of random...I did not understand the themes and it just seemed like singing with crazy costumes and acrobatics thrown in. I ended up only going to a few and enjoyed spending time in the atrium with the musicians and fun activities. The Sports bar was fun, as was the casino bar. I would have rated the service excellent when we were 80% through our trip, but the last two days we did encounter a few rude staff members (Shine bar and room service) which turned into a disappointing ending. The ports were amazing, I thought. My least favorite were Marseille and Genoa. The highlights of our trip were: Taxi Mister Cab Driver (Naples and Amalfi Coast)- Ciro was a delight, and he set up a guide for us in Pompeii who was beyond excellent! We then went to downtown Naples for the best pizza and went shopping on the Christmas street and bought homemade Nativity scenes and ornaments. FUN day! Our day at port in Messina was also a highlight, as we hired a driver to take us to Taormina for a cooking class at Porta Messina Ristorante...They were amazing and this was such a fun experience. I would definitely recommend this activity. We chose cannoli making but they have other wonderful classes. Giovanni was our chef and he was knowledgeable and kind. We then followed up by shopping around Taormina, taking in the beautiful views and shops, then headed to the Gambino Winery for a wine tasting (well worth it). It was about a 45 minute drive, with beautiful country views and delicious wine paired with a lunch for 29 Euros. Then we headed back to the ship. We started in Barcelona, getting there pre-cruise one day before and stayed at a Hostal- Som Nit Born because they had a room with four twin beds (a hard find in Barcelona), The room was plain and clean and just fine. We walked around and found a great outdoor cafe and they kept our bags before boarding the ship the next day- We caught a bus (stop very close to the hotel) to La Rambla Street and enjoyed shopping and lunch. The ladies at Som Nit Born spoke great English and called us a cab to take us to the ship when we returned. Check each destination and the prices of the cruise and decide where to Board...I might would consider Messina or Naples next time, as we liked those places the best and could go early and spend more time those places. I did enjoy the last day at sea before disembarking in Barcelona, though, as it was a relaxing day after an amazing trip! I am thinking of taking my husband and my children on this cruise (young adults) as it is an experience of a lifetime. I was with friends on this trip. It is a good buy for the money and for the most part a great experience! Read Less

I need to preference the review by saying this is for the Yacht Club. I can't speak to other cabins or dinning. Firstly, Yacht Club is the only way I'd do this ship. The service is insanely good. We existed the cab in Barcelona and before I could determine where I needed to be, someone from MSC spotted my yacht club tag and escorted us immediately to a private area with drinks and food ready. Within 30 minutes we were on the ship in the private Yacht Club lounge and had our wristbands and in the Cabin. Our bags were shortly behind. The Yacht Club has a private lounge with breakfast, afternoon snack, and music nightly. The private restaurant is overlooking that, and the private pool area has breakfast and lunch too with a pool and hot tubs. In this area, you're never asked for you room number or asked swipe a card for a drink, simply ask and it comes. The food is excellent in all the areas and the whole time I didn't have a single thing that I did not like. For lunch I opted for the pool area and had anything from fish to steak. The breakfast was cooked to order along with hot and cold selections. The attention is on details here. You must remember that the company picks the brightest employees to work on this part of the ship. The Yacht Club has a dedicated elevator, so you rarely wait to get to other parts of the ship. The Butler service is fantastic, and they bring you anything day or night. Feel like another drink, but already in PJs, not a problem, just pick up the phone and it appears. You have special robes, towels, private concierge, etc. You truly have a private part of the ship. For your excursions, your butler meets you in the lounge and walks you directly off the ship. When we returned to the ship after the excursion, our butler was waiting at the bottom of the gangway to bring us back to the room. so are the other parts of the ship crowded? Sometimes, yes, I mean the ship is huge so sometimes certain parts may seem crowded. My kids sometimes enjoyed the buffet while at kid’s club and never had a bad thing to say, the main buffet always looked good and clean. The water parks and slides are fun and zip-line is included with Yacht Club as is the gelato. You can get a drink anywhere, just show them your band and they scan it. We did try the thermals, again included with Yacht club, but they were often crowded, and yes sometimes wet towels were left around. I wish they were a bit larger, but I bet it depend on the sailing because they are expensive to access with Yacht Club, I think $50 per day. The ship speaks many languages, so yes, many non-Americans. Look, you’re on a Mediterranean cruise and you mustn’t expect everyone to be American and yes you might find some other cultures rude, but perhaps it’s you and not them. If you want the USA experience stick carnival cruise or Disney. I enjoy being around people of other cultures. We also loved the shows. Read Less