First time cruising with MSC and we were left with mixed feelings. The ship could not really be faulted, being the first voyage from Southampton to Barcelona the ship and everything on board was brand new! Our cabin was well appointed and modern with many USB ports and universal power outlets, which you would expect from a new ship.

We found the entertainment to be interesting, some nights the shows were good and others not so good. As there are many different nationalities on on board it seemed difficult for them to lay on something to everyone taste. As the majority of the cruise was at sea some days we just wanted to do something simple like watch a movie. Other lines like Princess do movies under the stars played on the sea screens. We were shocked that the sea screen on board was not once used to show Movies, TV, or anything other than a picture of a palm tree in the Caribbean, which for a sailing with 4 sea days in the middle of November was depressing to look at to say the least. It was little things like this that seemed odd and could have greatly improved our experience.

The cruise we embarked on was due to be a 5 night voyage from Southampton on 13th November to Barcelona, making just one overnight stop at Lisbon. Due to bad weather on the Iberian Peninsula in Bay of Biscay meant that the ship had to stay in port until Friday 15th at the earliest until the weather passed. This was obviously out of the control of MSC and a decision taken in the interest of safety which we could understand. However, it did mean that our one and only stop (Lisbon) would be missed and we then sailed straight to Barcelona arriving one day later than planned on Tuesday 19th. This meant as we booked our cruise and flights separately, we would have to make the flight changes with BA ourselves. BA charged us the full penalty to change flights to new dates, which was understandable. MSC Cruises made it clear in an email sent the night before we were due to board, that all expenses incurred to change flights or hotels ect. would be reimbursed following proof of receipts being sent to their customer helpline email. I was advised on board by guest services that if I sent this across on boarding day (13th Nov) this would be refunded by the end of the cruise (19th Nov). However, at the time of writing this (13 Jan 2020) I am still awaiting a reimbursement for my expenses; £200 total. Read more