My wife and I were booked on a flight by MCS, with British Airways. Our biggest mistake. Our flight was from Manchester UK, via London Heathrow to Miami. On arrival at Miami "NO BAGS", BA told us they were still in London and promised to deliver them to our next port, Santa Marta. Our bags were delivered to our home 8 days after our return. From the Tags they had been to Bogata twice, Chicago, New York and ultimately Manchester. Can you imagine a 12 day Christmas cruise in the Caribbean with only the clothes we had stood up in, no underwear, nothing! The shops stock on Lirica was very limited. We managed to buy a Kaftan for my wife and a pair of shorts for me, other passengers gave us some underwear and a pair of Flip Flops for me. As the cruise went on we became more we became more depressed and tended to stay in our cabin. We did not go for dinner on formal nights as we were not dressed correctly and embarrassed, Christmas day and the 26th we spent in our cabin with a Burger and fries. We could not go ashore as it was too hot for the clothes we had. We have claimed compensation from British Airways, for the spoiled holiday, they have treated us with utter contempt and insulted us with a cheque for £126 compensation and a GESTURE of a voucher each, of £100 to be used on any BA flight. Embarkation was fast, having no bags.
The ships staff were superb. Reception (Bursars) did all they could to contact BA, at every port with emails and faxes, but BA were uncontactable. Lirica staff were more than helpful, they even sent a port agent a round trip of 150 mile on Christmas Eve to find our bags, airport had closed at 12 mid day. Food quality was first class and plenty of it. Service at dinner was very slow, we had to leave before coffee, as the next sitting was due in. Our waiters tried their best, but spoke no english, often got our choice wrong, and served a steak most nights to a vegetarian on our table. Our head waiter was a "Plonker", kept bringing us a silly Plastic chicken and giving us a pen that gave an electric shock. Thankfully no-one had a pacemaker. When we complained he said, "We only serve the food, I no speeky no engleesh" He was able to speak perfect english to Americans nearby, Big Tippers, We cannot comment on the tours as we could not leave the ship, we had to wait in reception incase our bags arrived for us to identify them on the quayside. Lirica was generally well run, whole ship was spotlessly clean, public toilet were virtually sterile, they were that clean. Entertainment very professional, Tenor was La Scala class.
Our cabin was very comfortable and spacious, our stewardess could not do enough for us, she arranged for our clothes to be cleaned over night, at no charge. Cabin service was fast and efficient, often used by us. The itinerary was very good but unfortunately we did not see any of the ports or attractions. The captain spoke to me and informed me he would be asking questions from head office ref BA. On disembarkation he arranged for us to have a signed letter stating we did not receive our bags, also copies of all emails sent to BA and the port agents on our behalf. PLEASE OH! PLEASE "MSC", do not book clients with British Airways, you will be doing them a disservice. "NO WAY BA" as Virgin show on their aircraft. I now understand why British Airways have set aside £350 Million for expected fines, for fuel surcharge price fixing with other rival airline. In my opinion, this proves to me the corruption that exists in their management structure. I have no doubt the cost will ultimately be bourne by their passengers and the British Tax payer. Yes they made a profit of £602M. I admit my attitude is rather negative and no doubt understandable, I would still recommend MCS and LIRICA for cruising.