I sailed on MSC Lirica for the holidays in 2007 (Dec) and was so disappointed by the cruise. Now let me explain, I have sailed 2-3 times a year on various lines, including Carnival, RCCL, Celebrity and Cunard.

Checking in was the worst experience I ever had at what is usually a seamless process. It took a good 20 minutes for each of us to check in. I had my own cabin so it should have been 1-2-3. Upon boarding, I found the cabin quite small and when I asked the steward to put the two beds together since I am alone in the cabin, that was the last I saw of the steward until day three! I moved them myself, no problem.

The ship was very pretty and I had no qualms with the amount of lounges and areas onboard. BUT... no one ever was in the lounges! After dinner and show I went to one lounge where there was a 'singer' singing standards. I walked in and found the cruise director singing a Frank Sinatra song (one of my favorites). As there were only three couples in the lounge, I sat down and softly sang along. The cruise director stopped singing and told me to please not sing as I was throwing him off. OK..I didn't think my voice was THAT bad but no problem. Then after he was done he left and the 'singer' began singing Nat King Cole... "Unforgettable". Picture a man in his 60s, overweight, balding and with a heavy Italian accent, trying to sing this song. HE BUTCHERED IT! I thought this may have been Karaoke! I wondered why he didn't just sing some Italian songs as they are also nice to hear. Well I left to wander the ship looking for others. Read more