We are just back from a 17 day Transatlantic on Poesia. Whatever MSC's policies may be when cruising in European waters, American usages prevailed on this crossing. Dinner was early, the sittings were at 6:15 and 8:30. As much ice water as one asked for was available at meals; free coffee was available from 6:30 to 10:00, again from noon to 2:30, from 4:00 to 5:00 and again at dinner, which seems sufficient to us for anyone, except perhaps those with a severe caffeine addiction. The food was more than ample, and if one stayed away from steaks and roasts, which tended to be tough, was, for the most part, good. The service in the dining room, if one overlooks an indifferent and disinterested restaurant manager, was excellent. The stewards were pleasant, helpful and did their utmost to satisfy requests, even if these were not always entirely reasonable. While it is true that wine, beer, bottled water and drinks were more expensive than on comparable lines by roughly half, if one was willing to settle for simple Italian country wines, it was possible to purchase a package that provided unlimited quantities of wine, beer and bottled water for $16 per person per day, which seems a reasonable expense. As for drinks, MSC made no objection to each passenger bringing aboard a bottle or two at every port, so that one wasn't at the mercy of the bars. The breakfast and lunch buffets were plentiful, if not Lucullan. The lunch offerings did vary from day to day, and if breakfast stayed the same, at least there was sufficient variety so that one wasn't forced to eat the same thing every day. Or one could eat a splendid breakfast as well as a constantly changing lunch in the dining room. The cabin personnel, a team of two for each cabin, was unfailingly pleasant and helpful, the cabins were cleaned within minutes of our leaving them. Requests for ice, glasses, snacks and the like were promptly and cheerfully fulfilled. The cabins themselves were of a standard size, as were the balconies. Closet space was just adequate as was drawer space. The bathrooms, while not large, had ample under the counter storage space. The shower was adequate for anyone weighing in at under four hundred pounds. The ship's officers were just that, ship's officers who ran the ship with considerable efficiency. Anyone who requires ship's officers to fawn over him had probably better buy his own yacht. The ship was exceptionally clean and well kept, a large number of crew were continually at work, washing, wiping, vacuuming, painting.

The entertainment, at least that part of which that we attended, was exceptional. A quartet of opera singers who would find a place as soloists in any opera house in the world, gave several recitals, accompanied by a first rate pianist. While we did not see the dancers, by general agreement they were excellent. For those so inclined, the Italian national chess champion, an International Master, gave lessons every day and took on all comers.

We encountered very few queues aboard ship, and when there was one, no one attempted to cut into it. There were four banks of elevators and there was no time at which one encountered excessive waiting periods. Embarkation was exemplary. One could check in one's luggage at the Venice railway station, walk a short distance to the Piazzale Roma where buses were waiting to take you to the ship and, if one had taken the trouble to pre-register on line, be aboard within minutes. Disembarkation was something of a muddle - some passengers waited over two hours in the lounges—but this was not MSC's fault, the U.S. customs and immigration services hadn't assigned sufficient personnel to cope with so many passengers. Read more