MSC Armonia Review
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This was my third MSC cruise, all in Europe. If you have not taken an MSC cruise, it mainly markets toward the European customers therefore most of the passengers are from Italy, Germany and France. All the cruise employees speak English and all announcements are in five languages including English. The MSC Armonia was the nicest of the three MSC ships I've been on. It's capacity is around 2000 passengers. Small enough to get into most European ports, so we docked at each of the ports on this cruise.
Embarkation: It was difficult getting detailed information on the embarkation location and process prior to the cruise so you find this review useful. I flew into Milan and took a train to Venice (2.5 hrs & 30 euro). Upon departing the train in Venice St Lucia station, an MSC representative was their with a sign and directed me to the right side of the station where I could check my bag for 5 Euro. This was extremely convenient and allowed me extra time to go tour Venice before boarding the ship. If you arrive from the airport, take a bus or taxi to Piazza Roma (near the train station). MSC has a free shuttle bus from Piazza Roma to the MSC cruise terminal. Keep in mind several cruise ships use this port so make sure you go to the correct terminal dock. The cruise ship shuttle buses are behind and to the left of the local buses. The shuttle comes every 15-30 min. One passenger was charged 20 Euro for a 5 min taxi ride from Piazza Roma to the terminal, so be aware if you don't take the shuttle. Once at the terminal, MSC was very organized and it took me only 5 minutes to check in and board the ship. This is in part because I checked in only 45 minutes before departure, I assume it would take longer if I checked in at peak time.
I recommend arriving at least one day if not more before your cruise departure date. The Iceland volcano is going to impact European bound flights all summer (as it did mine) and Venice is one of the most beautiful cities in the World. It was my third visit to Venice and I still discovered new experiences. Another option is staying in Padua, a 30 minute train ride from Venice.