MSC Musica Review

Great Itinerary Cruise

Review for the Eastern Mediterranean Cruise on MSC Musica
User Avatar
Traveler-14344
2-5 Cruises • Age 60s

Rating by category

Cabin
Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
Service

Additional details

Sail Date: Oct 2019
Cabin: Interior Stateroom

We picked this cruise because of the itinerary. We have cruised with MSC's bigger ships (Divina, Preziosa, and Seaside). So our expectation at least for the ship experience is a tad lower than the ships we've been.

Ship

Ship is showing its age but still pretty decent. It is a mid-size ship. It looks a bit crowded in some common areas (like the buffet, theater, upper open deck, etc.) but there are some spaces where you can hang out in peace. Common areas are maintained well. We have used the open area in Decks 13 & 14, mostly in Deck 14. The open section of Deck 13 is designated smoking area. Try to avoid it if you do not like the smell of cigarette or cigar. There are 2 pools in Deck 13 which I find not used a lot during our cruise. The weather was great most of our 7-night cruise. We were surprised that there were vacant lounge chairs in Deck 13 & 14. We were able to use them several days during our cruise.

Cabin Review

Interior Stateroom

Cabin I2

Cabin

We had an interior cabin in Deck 12. It is designed to sleep 4 (2 bunk beds hanging on the side walls). Closet space is good enough for 2 people. There are 6 small drawer space, good for 2 people. I guess you can always use the space under the bed. The room space is small but decent for 2 people. Room space for 4 people would be tight. The safe can accommodate an iPad-size tablet, DSLR camera, and other valuables.

The bathroom is cruise ship standard. Shower stall is decent size and uses a shower curtain to cover the stall opening. MSC's newer ship uses glass enclosure which is better than a shower curtain. It has an adjustable height removable shower head. People taller than 5'10" and/or weighs 200 lbs will have challenges with the space in shower stall.

We didn't feel the ship's movement or heard the noise (from all sources) so much. We had a pleasant sleep every night. Being tired from the day's activities might contribute to that.

Our room steward looked after our cabin well. We had an issue (not unlocking) with our electronic safe and was attended to within the hour.

Port Reviews

Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik is worth visiting again. There were other tourist in the Old City besides cruise passengers. The timing of our arrival in the Old City was perfect. Tourist are just starting to arrive and streets were not too crowded. Be sure to prepare your camera. There are a lot of breath-taking views.

We bought tickets (€29/person) to go up the city wall and walk around. It was worth it. There are other City Pass available that includes passes to museum and discounts to stores. I think if you plan to stay multiple days the City Pass is worth it.

Sarande

Much of my rating for this port is related to the weather. It started to pour hard as soon as our tender arrived at the port. We spent 30 minutes in the terminal waiting for the rain to stop or at least change to showers but it continued to rain for over an hour. We braved the rain and walked along the seaside. Some restaurants were open while most of the shops we saw were closed.

Mykonos

The cruise terminal has a boat shuttle to bring passengers to the port in the middle of Mykonos. It cost €2 (one-way), however the wait is longer compared to the more expensive (€7/return) boat shuttle MSC contracted for their cruisers.

It is a very nice town. Lots of places to eat. Neat little shops. There were 3 other cruise ships tendered so the town was populated with cruise passengers. Tourist were moving everywhere so it wasn't too crowded.

Katakolon (Olympia)

It rained while we were going out of the gangway. Katakolon is like Ocho Rios. Unless you take the an excursion to Olympia, there's not much to do near the cruise terminal. If the weather is great, you can go to the beach which is nearby.

Brindisi

It is a nice small city. It is unfortunate that we landed here on a Sunday, when most stores are closed.

Venice

We have been to Venice before. Airport to Cruise Terminal is very easy even when using public transportation (AVTO) albeit lots of walking from People Mover station. During this time of year (October), we are glad we booked our return trip the after our disembarkation date. Otherwise, we would have been stressed-out and paid more rebooking flights than the amount we paid for our hotel stay.

Venice is worth visiting again (at least for 2 extra days).

9 Helpful Votes
previous reviewnext review

Find an MSC Musica Cruise from $99

Any Month

Get special cruise deals, expert advice, insider tips and more.By proceeding, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

© 1995—2024, The Independent Traveler, Inc.