Embarkation: A brief summary, the most chaotic, disorganised shambles of an embarkation process we’ve ever encountered. After much queuing, observing lots of gesticulation, lots of shouting and tempers getting frayed we eventually made it on board.

The Ship: The ship is very impressive from the outside and that impression continues inside. We had a balcony cabin which was spacious, very clean and comfortable. There are loads of bars and the ship has the most swimming pools we’ve seen on a cruise ship. All of the public areas are beautifully presented. All of the staff we encountered were very friendly, helpful and efficient.

The Food: Having read the Boards regarding food on MSC cruises this appears to be a very divisive subject with some people expressing strong opinions for and against. In our opinion the food on board was very disappointing. The food in the Buffet was never warmer than lukewarm, morning, noon and night. The Buffet also has a serious issue in that it’s not big enough. Everyday people were doing laps of the area looking for somewhere to sit. Part of the problem appears to be people sitting having a drink from the bar in the buffet, playing cards, etc and not leaving to free up tables for people trying to eat. At night time only half of the buffet area is open for those who don’t want to go to one of the restaurants. Read more