MSC Lirica March 2019 from Dubai to Venice. This was one of our best trips, both the itinerary and especially the staff made this happen. Past similar cruises have felt dull on board, still fun but something missing. The Lirica felt more welcoming, the staff definitely made this happen and made a real point to sit down and get to know us, seating areas allowed you to interact with other guests, and the smaller ship size was easy to meet up with others - we left the ship with some great new lifelong friends. I would definitely travel on this ship again.

The ship is older, lots of brass and glass décor, however it was a pleasant atmosphere. Food I felt was good, much better than other larger MSC cruises we have been on. 21 days and no repetition, that's not easy to do. Dining rooms had breakfast/lunch menus and also a buffet to pick off of (separate from the main buffet). A few inconsistencies with quality of the beef in the meals, a few bad drinks, but that is always expected. Entertainment staff was awesome, the theatre shows themselves were ok and well done, but I really enjoyed the adhoc performances and the random general silliness and fun much more.

We and others had some initial issues with packages and cruise cards, some cancelled excursions, a bit of rerouting and change of ports - this was all handled professionally and quickly by the staff.