We are what you might call experienced cruisers..cruising since 1994 with many different cruise lines. We will normally seek out a good itinerary and then worry about the cruise line or ship,so have been on both high end and low end ships. We had a weeks holiday to use and wanted a cheap cruise, a local travel agent came up with this deal they have with MSC. Attractions were British Airways charter flight direct from Glasgow to Genoa, drinks package,balcony cabin and nice looking ship,we had never been with MSC before,but have been with Costa and in earlier days Festival Line so we should have known better!

Flight was really good,we expected the embarkation to be a trial but it was remarkably smooth,we were on an early flight but MSC let us board and we had our cabin 11086 by 1300 hours. The ship and public areas were generally tidy and clean. The decor varies from garish to dark and subdued. Dining was our biggest disappointment and you can see this again and again in the reviews. We are either open dining or buffet fans so it seemed like old school to go back to first/second sitting. So,apart from a Gala night we did not eat in our allocated Red Velvet restaurant,although the food there seemed to be better than the buffet. We can safely say this is the worst buffet food we have come across so far. The buffet restaurant can be a frenetic experience especially at breakfast,although we did find the further away you moved from the main entrances the quieter it became. Cant fault the salads,fruit or bread but hot food was at best lukewarm and of limited choice,probably lunch was the best of the bunch.

The Allegrisimo drinks package looks good on paper but if you want real drink you will have to upgrade! It does entitle you to some nice coffees though. The serving staff in general were efficient and friendly. We are not fans of big shows so did not attend any especially as 1st sitting people had to wait until 2200. However talking to others they did seem to be very visual and colourful shows. We will seek out the best band on a ship and settle in to whatever lounge they are in. There was no decent band or lounge entertainer on the ship in our opinion! Read more