This is our third cruise on MSC including a trip in yacht club prior to this cruise around the Mediterranean. We flew into wonderful BCN and the cruise port is a very short cab ride to the terminal. Embarkation was long but met expectations due to the many COVID hoops to jump through and documents to check. Once onboard we went to our balcony cabin on deck 13 which was much smaller than expected. A Divina balcony cabin was bigger and Seaside yacht club the size of a normal hotel room. We met our cabin steward, did an interesting safety drill as many passengers had embarked before Barcelona, and went to dinner.

The food on this cruise was a massive improvement over the previous MSC cruises. Menus each night had several great selections to choose from. Most of the dishes were European style and that is what we were looking for on a trip to Europe. The service in the dining room was really great every night. As an Aurea guest, we had anytime dining and several tables were reserved overlooking the ship’s wake. The biggest improvement was at the buffet. There was always a great selection, especially at dinner as there was one chef cooking fresh fish from the port visit that day in different styles. There was also a carving station where a chef would thick cut meats, ham, prime rib, pork, etc. if we were missing home a little.

The entertainment was very short but enjoyable music shows with singers of mixed talent. We went every night as it was a fun time from day one to the end. We did not attend a show at the carousel lounge at the stern of the ship. The specialty restaurants seemed very good when we saw dining in progress. It was very difficult to get into masters of the sea as there was a soccer match on every evening. The casino was busy but no craps. There was a small indoor pool and a hot tub reservation system that was simply too difficult to deal with. The ship was very easy to navigate on the LCD roof had some attention grabbing 5 minute movie shows. Read more