This holiday was booked to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of ourselves and another couple in our party of six.  We have all travelled with MSC before and chose this sailing for the itinerary and to tie in date-wise with the anniversaries. In fact we met the other couple who were celebrating their anniversary on the Melody in 2001 and have remained friends ever since.We flew from Heathrow to Venice but because of a long delay in getting our baggage we were some of the last passengers to board, consequently it was all a bit of a rush.  MSC had organised our flights and it would have made more sense to get us earlier flights to give us more time to settle on board.  We arrived with just half an hour to spare before sailing!Our balcony cabin on Deck 11 was very nice with plenty of drawer and wardrobe space.  Our cabin steward was excellent and attended to our every need with charm and efficiency.We opted for 1st sitting in the Dining Room and were designated Le Fontaine Restaurant on Deck 5, Table 519.  Our problems began on the very first evening when we quickly learned that our waiter had trouble understanding what we wanted and got our orders completely wrong.  He was obilivious to table serving procedures and continually stretched across people to place dishes in front of people instead of serving from the side.  We had to wait ages between courses.  We managed to attract the attention of the Head Waiter (Luigi) who listened to our comments and did talk quite firmly to the waiter.  Each evening Luigi would be hovering to ensure everything was to our satisfaction and in fairness to Gede, the waiter, within a day or so he was much more alert and coped well.  He actually thanked us for helping to improve his skills!  It should not be the responsiblity of the passengers to teach someone their job.  The staff need a lot more training in all aspects of customer service and they need to be able to converse with passengers in their own language .  We spoke to other English passengers who were complaining about the same things but at least our waiter improved with a little help from us!  In fact he improved so well he certainly earned his tip at the end of the cruise.Breakfast-time and lunchtime was open seating in the dining room and you could not be sure to get your own personal waiter at these time. The problems with service, getting wrong orders and general bad attitude were much in evidence at these times.  We tried the self-service (Villa Pompeiana Cafeteria on Deck 13) on a couple of occasions but this was no better.  The staff there who served tea/coffee and were responsible for clearing tables were no better trained and could be quite surly if requested to do something.  At one breakfast-time in the dining room I was served my eggs and bacon etc before I had had my cereals - the waiter got very irate and could not understand why I was cross.  My husband ordered fried eggs with sausage, bacon and hash browns and was actually served one fried egg and tomato!  The waiters could not tell the difference between orange and grapefruit juice and did not have a clue as to what marmalade/orange jam was.  Trying to get a jug of cold milk for cereals or tea was a nightmare - we were always given hot milk and then had to wait ages whilst they fetched cold milk which invariably came in a small tumbler not a jug.  Simple requests which they would have understood had they have had the basic training.Staff would often be standing around chatting amongst themselves when out of sight of the Head Waiters instead of making sure tables were cleared or whether people needed more tea/coffee or toast etc.The bar stewards were very efficient and friendly, especially those on Deck 13 at the Mojito Bar where we spent many a pleasant evening.We ventured up to the Villa Pompeiana Cafeteria one afternoon for Afternoon Tea.  Big mistake!  Passengers served themselves for the sandwiches and pastries - which were absolutely delicious - and then had to go to one of four stations to collect tea or coffee. We found there were no English Breakfast tea bags and certainly did not want any of the flavoured fruit teas or Earl Grey.  I asked the server for English Breakfast tea only to be told "There aren't any". When I asked if some could be found I was told that he was too busy and I should find some myself. I asked a senior looking waiter to help who pointed to another station and said I should go over there and find my own.  Needless to say I stood my ground, telling him it was his job to ensure all stations were adequately stocked and asked him to find me what I wanted and bring it to my table.  Other English people around said "well done" as they too had been fobbed off by this same person.  I did get what I wanted in the end but I objected to the attitude.On the whole the food was good but we have had better both on other MSC cruises and cruise lines we have travelled with.  We feel that water with meals should be free as should tea or coffee after dinner - this was always the case previously and I know that whilst MSC is in the Caribbean these are not charged for - the American market would not accept charges for certain items so why should the Europeans be expected to for these as extras?We noticed that there was no-one to ensure that people used the hand sanitizers on entering food areas.  On other ships we have been on there has been a member of staff stationed at all entrances to insist that passengers use the hand sanitizers.  A lot of the time the hand sanitizers were not working properly anyway!The ship was very clean throughout.  There was always plenty of room to find a quiet spot and we had no trouble finding a sunbed on the days we wanted to laze out on deck or use the pools.  It was good to see the Pool Attendants being strict with people trying to save sundbeds all days and not actually using them.  If sunbeds were left for a long time unoccupied then the attendants would remove the towels and personal possessions.  Some culprits caused uproar when this happened and the Italian tempers certainly did fly on some occasions but the attendants stood their ground.The entertainment was adequate but not up to the standard experienced on other MSC cruises.  We did not bother with the Bingo sessions, the dance classes or the spa (too expensive we feel) and the art auction just left us cold but that is personal choice. I must mention the MSC Club Card.  We applied for this and it was sent in February together with a letter outlining our entitlements. We also received a newsletter.  Both indicated we would be entitled to 5% discounts on excursions and the spa treatments, welcome cocktail party and a 10 Euro Casino chip.  The Information Booklet in the cabin had information on the MSC Club Card and this had the same information as was sent to us but also mentioned a 5% discount in the onboard boutiques.  Having decided to book excursions and take advantage of the discount we visited the Tour Booking Office only to be told we did not qualify for a discount.  We went to the Reception Desk and a very rude lady there said we could not have discounts on excursions as the rules changed on the 2nd April and we were not in the right category of the Club to qualify.  I returned to my cabin and got the information book, having first asked our friends to check the information in their cabin book - we all had the same information.  I took the book, my letter from MSC Club and the newsletter details back to Reception to argue my case but was shouted at and told that rules were rules.  The lady said that it would appear that the information in the cabin books had not been updated, so I can only assume that all passengers on board had the wrong information.  The Club Card is hardly worth bothering with if you are not going to receive what is offered when the cards come through.  It now appears to only apply to services which we feel are grossly overpriced anyway.We feel that MSC has grown too big too quickly.  Previously passengers could rely on a more personal service, the staff were polite, well trained and were willing to serve their clients to ensure they had an enjoyable experience on board.  On the smaller ships the atmosphere was of people really having a good time, the captain and officers mingled with the passengers and the staff were trained to the highest standards in all aspects of the industry.  We have travelled with several cruise lines (e.g. Princess, Costa, Star Cruises, Thomson, First Choice, the former Airtours, Royal Olympic) sometimes on smaller ships, sometimes on larger ones but we have always had good service, well trained staff and value for money.  It would have to be a really good deal and attractive itinerary to persaude me to book another MSC cruise.  We might give the smaller ships in the fleet another chance but I doubt if we would go on Poesia again.  I would suggest that MSC look very carefully at their training schedules, ensure the staff are able to speak the languages of their passengers and generally get their house in order.