Last year I attended a local Irish Entertainment show. There were flyers on every chair announcing a 7-night Western Caribbean cruise on the MSC Poesia departing from Port Everglades, Florida (Fort Lauderdale) on February 2 called "Andy Cooney's Cruise of Irish Stars 2013." Although we never cruised on the MSC cruise line before, four of us decided to remain positive even after reading some negative comments on cruise websites and booked it. I am happy to report that most of them are no long true. Our itinerary included Ports of Call at Cozumel, Mexico, Roatan, Honduras, George Town, Cayman Islands, Falmouth, Jamaica and Port Everglades. I have been to all these ports previously, so I took this cruise for the Irish entertainment package. We did not take any organized shore excursions.
After parking our vehicle at a convenient off site location, we arrived at the terminal around 11:15. Check-in went smoothly and we were on board about 20 minutes later. Our room was ready so we dropped off our carryon bags and headed up to the Villa Pompeiana Cafeteria (buffet) on Deck 13. We quickly found a table and there were many varied food choices: salads, pastas, foccacia, carved meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, cheeses, breads, burgers, hot dogs, fries, sandwiches, large pretzels, pizza, etc... and of course, plenty of desserts. The fruit tarts were delicious. I enjoyed a soft serve ice cream cone every day. After lunch, we checked in with our group, toured the ship and headed to our stateroom to unpack before the safety drill. The safety drill occurred before departure and we were required to bring along our life jackets. We actually put on the life jackets in the lounges. The ship checked attendance by scanning room key cards and scheduled a repeat drill for anyone who missed it. All instructions onboard are in at least five different languages since there are many international guests.
Our stateroom was # 9188, Category 5 Balcony located on Deck 9. The room is compact and quite lovely. The floor-to-ceiling wall mirror helps make the room appear larger. There was just enough storage for our needs. The compact bathroom has a shower and retractable clothesline. Do not attempt to use the hair dryer as I did before turning on the electricity in the room. The balcony is roomy enough for two chairs and a small table. There is no smoking permitted in cabins or on balconies. The stateroom was quiet and located not far from a bank of elevators and stairs although located toward the aft of the ship. Passageways are a soothing color with sections of lovely wallpaper art panels depicting soft Italian water vistas. Our stewards, Luke and Patricia brought us ice daily and an extra set of pillows as we requested. Our room wax always kept clean and towels replaced as needed. Everyone on staff always had a smile and greeting for us as we passed them in the hallways. We did not miss the towel animals.
Our cabin was clean, quiet and compact. It was at the aft of the ship but near a back of elevators.