Having sailed with the usual suspects (Celebrity, NCL, RCCL, Princess, Cunard) this was our first time with MSC. Have to say was attracted by the very reasonable cost but also excited to try a new line. Read the reviews but the positives appeared to outweigh the negatives, so off we set. Embarkation was easy, fast and smooth, and we found our way to the cabin with no problem. Cabin good and spacious, plenty of storage for 2 women travelling together (we left our husbands at home!) BUT we found we were in an obstructed view cabin, which we had not been told about and did not want. Most of the balcony cabins had the usual glass panel but some towards the front have obstructed views, so if you're booking a balcony make sure it's not obstructed - unless you don't mind. In this one, if you sat on the chairs all you could see on our balcony was the steel side of the ship. Not good, the only reason I book a balcony is to sit with a drink in hand and gaze at the ocean. Our Travel Agent had not been told it was obstructed view and we definitely would not have booked it if we had known. So black mark to MSC. Am still trying to get some redress from them.

However, we weren't going to let it ruin our cruise so we just headed off to the bar, of which there are many. As previous reviewers have said, drinks prices very reasonable compared with other cruise lines. We had the coupon books which are the best idea EVER, $72 for 15 drinks. If you're not a big drinker the Allegrissimo package isn't good value so this worked really well for us. In fact I bought 2 books and didn't even manage to finish the second, despite having as many drinks of all kinds - wine, cocktails, soft drinks etc as I wanted.

Décor-wise the ship is beautiful, little bit 'shiny' for my personal taste but that's what it is, personal taste. Very clean, saw more people cleaning than on any other ship. Cabin and bathroom kept clean by our cabin attendant, who while polite and reasonably efficient didn't seem too happy in his chosen career. We asked him one morning how he was and his reply was 'I'm fine at the moment.......pause....but we have to wait and see what the afternoon and the evening bring'! Not exactly one of life's Pollyannas! Read more