MSC Musica departs from the Port of Kiel during the summer of 2016. Our cruise was one that took us on the Baltic Sea to Copenhagen, Stockholm, Tallinn and St Petersburg.
Embarkation was a smooth process - MSC offers a free transfer service from the Hauptbahnhof for those who arrive Kiel by rail. Disembarkation was a little less smooth, as the sprawling queue for Customs went out of the terminal, through the airbridge, around the lounges and the atrium to make for an unbelievable wait as the extremely tight 1 hour 30 minute disembarkation tries to be made.
The cabin was very much on the small side. One thing very noticeable is the lack of room to store things if you don't want to store it in the cupboard. We had 3 people in our room and the tightness squeezing past each other for a trip to the toilet was bothersome. However, it was kept clean throughout the cruise by our cabin steward, but that is expected of a cruise line.
Your ship docks far away from the city centre. Your only choices are to take the wildly overpriced MSC bus to the city, taxi or a sightseeing bus. We took the last one. Just because it didn't cost much more than the MSC bus.
Take bus 76 to the city centre. Don't do the MSC bus. Frihamnen Port is easy to reach from the city, saving you many Euros by avoiding the MSC bus
Here, the MSC bus is the biggest rip off. The 6.90 Euro journey takes you merely 1.5 kilometres - the time it takes for a quick walk. If you're travelling in a family, take a taxi to the top of the hill at the parliament and walk your way down for the day. But if you're on your own, just walk it.