12/10/2009 - 12/20/2009

This was our second sailing with MSC and we would never consider any other line, having sailed on NCL, HAL, RCI and Carnival in the past. Although there were some MILD language barriers, we actually thought that the staff on the Poesia spoke and understood better English than they did last year on the MSC Lirica (we recognized many of the same crew members). Our biggest complaint was definitely the rudeness and lack of consideration of OTHER PASSENGERS, as some of the more credible reviews also report. For example, when trying to get off the ship in a port of call, other passengers would race to beat us on the elevator before I could maneuver my daughter's stroller in it, then turn around and stare me boldly in the eye. At the Midnight Magnifica buffet, many passengers were so greedy that they charged around with two and three plates of food, overloading them until food spilled on to the floor. I had to dig around for a single cannolli because many had fallen on the floor (wasting the food and causing a slip-hazard). It was downright embarrassing just to be among that crowd of manner-less people and I retreated to my room rather than suffer in the passenger-created mayhem.

CABIN Our category 11 cabin was absolutely beautiful and we really enjoyed the balcony, sipping coffee and watching the sunrise each morning. We travelled with other family members but our family alone took up two adjacent quad cabins, with five children and three adults. At first glance, I was a bit dismayed at what appeared to be insufficient storage space. But by the time I was done unpacking, I had stored all of the clothes and personal items for two of the adults and four of the children in my one cabin, and ALL of the luggage under our one bed! Our cabin was immaculate and our Madagascarian stewards were very attentive. They left us delightful towel sculptures (swans, turkey, sloth, bulldog, elephant) and spoke sufficient English to understand us (much better than our stewards on the Lirica last year). We learned how to say hello in their Malagasy language ("mahna-oh-na") and they were delighted by that simple gesture. "Mees-ouch-tra" means thank you. Read more