We chose this cruise because we booked rather last minute and our options were limited. As a family of 6, finding a cruise without spending a fortune was challenging. The price and "kids sail free" grabbed me. We've taken a Caribbean cruise on Costa before, so I wasn't hesitant to sail with another European cruise line. Much to my disappointment, MSC is nothing like Costa.

1. FOOD ALLERGIES. My son and I have food allergies. He's allergic to dairy, I'm allergic to soy. I called MSC a few times prior to sailing to prepare myself and my expectations for what we would experience. The only answers I could get were, "We've made note of your allergies and your request for almond milk. You may talk to the Maitre D' when you board the ship." No almond milk was on the ship. Nor was there soy milk, rice milk, or any other dairy alternative. I asked. When I visited the Maitre D' the first morning of the cruise, I was blown off. He spoke to me for a total of MAYBE 30 seconds. I asked what accommodations could be made and he said I could talk to the head waiter at dinner. That was the extent of our conversation. The head waiter was no more useful. He would only tell me if certain foods did or did not contain our allergens. He acted as though this were an inconvenience because he had to go ask the chef. When I called room service to order something for my son, I had to ask if something contained dairy. They said they didn't know and told me to call the kitchen. I called the kitchen and they said, "I don't know, I would have to ask the chef." Not I WILL ask the chef, but more like I don't want to go to the effort of asking, but I will if you make me. So I said, "Could you please ask?" Really?? I had to ASK. As if food allergies are no biggie. Nothing people die from every single day. We had numerous similar experiences. The buffet was very challenging since many of the staff didn't speak good English. They kept referring to dairy as 'lactose'. This made me nervous because lactose-free products still contain dairy protein, which is the actual allergen (lactose intolerance and dairy allergy are very different things). One night I was served surimi. I asked if it contained soy and was told it didn't. However, I did have a mild allergic reaction. I'm not allergic to shellfish, so I have to assume the surimi does, in fact, contain soy.

2. CABIN FLOOD. It was formal night # 2. I had just finished curling my hair - something I never do as a work-at-home-mom. My husband was using wrinkle release spray and a hair dryer to get some wrinkles out of my floor length dress. Once finished, he was moving the dress from where he was working on it (hanging from the shelf above the TV) to the bed. The hanger banged into the hi-fog sprinkler head. My vacation essentially ended at that moment. The sprinkler went off. The spray was a pretty light mist at first. I quickly picked up the phone and pressed the emergency button (knowing from past experience that if I called reception, I would be on hold for at LEAST 3-4+ minutes). I frantically gave them the room number and said the sprinkler was spraying. My teen and I started grabbing items and throwing them onto the balcony. Minutes passed and no one came. I called the emergency button again and was told they had called someone (can't remember who - it was hard to hear). The mist became a VERY intense spray, stronger than what would come out of any water hose sprayer. My husband was standing on the bed holding a towel around the sprinkler head in order to minimize the amount of water damage to both the room and our belongings. As the water continued to intensify, I gave up on getting everything onto the balcony. My teen had been waiting out on the balcony (looking glamorous in her formal wear). I instructed her to run into the hallway while my husband continued to contain as much of the spray as he could. It had been at least 10 minutes at this point. I had also called reception from the stairwell and was told they were aware of the problem and had someone on the way. Once my daughter was through, my husband's hands were hurting from the intense water pressure (he's a tough guy - so for him to say it hurt is really something). I finally got him to let go and run into the hallway with us. After 15 minutes, someone finally came and turned the sprinkler off. Read more