Since friends and I were already in Italy we decided to try a Eurocentric cruise. Our travel agent suggested MSC and we booked the Splendida from June 11th through June 17th. We found to our surprise that many things that are covered on American cruise lines were considered extra by MSC. We were nickel and dimed to death on this cruise. We wound up spending $700 more than we expected to by the end. I hasten to say we did not take any excursions because they were outrageously expensive. I also didn't appreciate being charged $40 each day for service charges. On American cruise lines WE decide how much each service person will get based on the service they gave us, with MSC we were just charged outright. Several of the stops were nothing special like Genoa which was a dump and Palermo which was also a dump. I don't like mineral water and was only given an allowance for two bottles of mineral water a day. When I tried to substitute regular water I was charged extra. Kids were out-of-control on the pool levels so as an adult I couldn't enjoy any time at the pool. My bathroom smelled like a sewer and the outlet didn't work. The food available at the daily buffet was greasy and the hamburgers were soyburgers. The Santa Fe Tex Mex restaurant had really substandard food which we paid extra for. As an American I found the entire cruise to be disappointing and can say with confidence that the Disney Cruise Line is far superior.
The balcony was nice, the bed was uncomfortable, the bathroom smelled like a sewer and the outlet in the bathroom didn't work.