Just returned from our much anticipated first experience of cruising. Went with my husband on the occasion of my 60th birthday and was so looking forward to it based on what we could see on the website. The ship is just as beautiful as you would imagine, the food is good, the cabin was lovely and the destinations were magnificent. However, the good comments stop right there. The service delivered by a much deflated, badly organised and undertrained staff made our holiday very stressful. Getting a table in the overcrowded buffet restaurant was a nightmare, getting a drink at the bar took an eternity and getting on and off the ship at ports was worse than going through Gatwick Airport on a busy day. My list of complaints is endless and I have never seen a reception so busy with people complaining, threatening crew members, asking to see the manager, and wishing they could get police intervention. You even had to queue up to make a complaint and the reaction you received was one of indifference - MSC staff need a lot of training in customr service. Trying to get a newspaper was like asking for the moon - 5 visits per day to chase them was the norm and you might get them around 10pm if you were lucky. Shuttle bus service at ports was a nightmare with waiting time queuing for one hour at Dubrovnik port - we ended up getting a taxi (10 euros for 4 people) despite having already paying for shuttle bus (12.50 euros per person!!!). Getting off the ship at the end of our week was nothing short of dangerous. People were pushing and shoving in very confined spaces and paying no heed to disembarkation procedures and crew members were useless in trying to control the situation. I would not like to see the handling of a real emergency disembarkation. However, maybe, like us, the passengers were just so glad to be getting off the cruise from hell! This was our first cruise and will certainly be our last. I am just sorry that this experience has put us off cruising ever again as I am sure that not every cruise line is as bad as MSC.