This was our first MSC cruise. We have done a couple Carnival cruises, but we are big Royal Caribbean fans. This sailing was showing a fantastic price for a balcony cabin, with ports of call we hadn’t tried yet, so we decided to go for it! We booked a Fantastica balcony, on the Deck 11, starboard side, 11366. It was a nice size, the only minor complaint we had was that there was not much closet storage. If there were four people in our cabin, it would have been really difficult to unpack everything... Not sure who designed that closet, but they must pack super light! Our balcony was the perfect size for us, and we enjoyed having coffee and pastries (especially the chocolate croissants ) out there every morning. The coffee was very very good. We are all about good quality coffee, and this was very good quality!

We had an early seating in the main dining room, and were seated with two other couples. We got to know them very well and the last few nights we were talking for so long, we were one of the last tables to leave! The service was fine, except I think they assign the waiters to way more tables than Royal Caribbean does, and they definitely don’t spend any extra time getting to know you. That didn’t really bother us, I think maybe it’s a European thing (the less interaction part, not the understaffed part...)? They were working very hard to keep up with things, it was definitely not their fault, they were just incredibly busy.

We felt like our cabin steward was assigned to too many cabins, as well. However, he was very friendly and personable and we chatted with him a lot. I don't think many other guests talked to him as much. He took care of us, for sure! He made us towel animals a couple times, and even brought us an extra set of pool towels. He kept the tissues and TP stocked in the bathroom, which I’ve heard sometimes doesn’t happen. Read more