We chose this cruise so that other family members could afford the cruise. We also wanted the destinations on this trip. Embarkation and disembarkation were smooth. The ship has a very pretty decor and was very clean. The food was terrible. Actually terrible is an insufficient description. The only thing worse than the poor quality of the food ingredients was the incompetence with which it was prepared. Items ordered from the menu may or may not match the meal that was served. Do not order any soup; they were inedible. Only the pizzas were okay, except when the toppings were burned. The noise level in the dining room made conversation almost impossible. The chairs and tables were so crowded that the waiters had difficulty serving. The employees were cheerful and hard working even though their work load was about 20% higher than at other cruise lines. The entertainment was good, although there was no orchestra or scenery. The shore excursions were good and the cost was reasonable.

This cruise line allows smoking and smoke is omnipresent. No effort was made to keep the port side of the promenade deck smoke free, even though there were 17 smoking receptacles on the starboard side.

My wife and I are retired, have no small children and have more than 50 cruises with 5 different cruise lines. We will not travel with MSC again.