We chose this cruise because of the itinerary. We had a balcony cabin which was very nice. The ports were great, although the Albania stop was disappointing. We bought an excursion through the cruise line to Ksamil beach. I would not call where we went a beach at all. It was some concrete decking, at best, with some sun chairs, which had seen better days. We were told there would be towels for us there. There were not. Our guide from the cruise basically disappeared. We were able to get some drinks from the one very small bar that was open (the bartenders were so nice), however they had NO ice at all. Most of the bars and restaurants there were already closed up for the season. IMO, this excursion should not have been offered at all this late in the season as there was virtually nothing going on in Ksamil. We did manage to find one small tavern/restaurant where we had some lunch (which was very good). All the other stops (Bari, Katakalon, Croatia, Athens, Mykonos) were excellent. Would have liked more time in Athens and Mykonos. All the ports were so beautiful. The cruise line however, was a disappointment.

This is a European cruise line, so if you speak Italian, Spanish or Portuguese, you will probably love it. Otherwise, there is very little, if any, English spoken, or any other language. The entertainment staff is very enthusiastic, but every night turns into a Latin line-dancing party, regardless of the kind of night it's supposed to be. If you ask for American music, you will get half a dozen songs or so, before it switches back to Latin fare. There were so many rude people on the cruise itself. Thinking nothing of barging in front of you, or pushing you out of the way to get to the buffet or wherever they needed to go. Cruise staff was so so. We wanted a drink during dinner that we were told we needed to go get from the bar ourselves. Yet, we saw other tables where the servers were getting the drinks for them. Maybe it depends on your server, or the size of your party or something. There were 4 of us. Overall, most seemed indifferent, and there was not that 'above and beyond' mentality in their service. I believe this is because you pay your tips/gratuity up front on this cruise line, so there doesn't seem to be any impetus from the staff to want to go out of their way for you. There were a couple exceptions with one of the bartenders (Martin) and our assigned maid for our room (Stella). They were wonderful. Other than that, none of the rest of the staff stood out. The ship is very clean, I will say that. The food is mediocre, at best. Some nights it was just plain awful. The buffet is always a mad house, and food was just OK, but slightly better than the restaurant. Also, this is supposed to be all inclusive, but there is a Japanese restaurant that is not included, and costs you money if you want to eat there. This seems ridiculous since I just paid a lot of money for a cruise that included food, only to have some food not included. The basic drink package was OK for us, but if you are a beer drinker, you will only get 1 beer choice. I would not cruise MSC again.