I was on the Poesia in December 2011, again in December 2012 and also on Jan 19th of this year (2013). In December 2011 the food was almost all Italian and we enjoyed the experience. In December of 2012 it looked like they were making an attempt to serve american food to their guests. As reported here in many posts it was terrible. I went on about 5 weeks later and the change was almost beyond belief. In talking to a staff member she said that they read every report card from their guests and realized rather quickly that they had a problem and stepped in to make it right. The food was hot both in the dining rooms and the buffet. The french fries were hot and tasty in the buffet. There was sufficient wait staff in the dining room so there was virtually no wait time at all. The fish and beef selections were great. I was amazed. Kudos MSC . That is how all business should be run. See a problem and deal with it.

Embarkation was a breeze. The ship is maintained like no other I have been on. All woodwork and brass etc. is perfect and you can see people working to keep it that way. Their game plan seems to be to cut out all the expenses they can to keep the cruise price within the reach of common people. They do not have an orchestra but used recorded music instead for example. That way they do not have to house, feed, and pay the musicians . There are a lot of other differences. Some of them you might like and others you may not. There are NO art auctions. The photo department although there,are not in your face every moment as they are on some lines. In summary. This is not a cookie cutter cruise. They are finding their own way in the market. It is a classy ride at a bargain basement price. Without a doubt there will be many changes in this cruise line as they gain experience with the American market. It is obvious the way they reacted to the food issue they are not afraid of change. I wish them luck. I met a lot of wonderful staff members and look forward to my next trip.