Boarded as a family group of 7 (Gparents/Parents/Children 5 8 10). At the conclusion of the cruise we ticked all the questionnaire boxes "Excellent" or "Good" awarding the overall cruise in favour of "Excellent".(only one irritating problem - see footnote). The excellents included the ship itself,cabins, cleanliness, the entertainment,facilities, friendly and courteous staff, the itinerary, embarkation/ disembarkation procedures and minimal PA announcements.Whereas Food only came in with a "Good" but as the reviews told us to expect warm/cold food we were pleasantly surprised to find most food OK but short of P&O standards. We found our European neighbours friendly and courteous. All in all we found it difficult to understand many of the reviews we had read.

As a family we would definately cruise MSC again (indeed the Grand children will not hear of anything else !). As a mature couple on our own it will probably be with our contempories on P&O.

FOOTNOTE. BEWARE MSC HAIR DRESSING SHARP PRACTICE OF QUOTING ONE PRICE AND CHARGING ANOTHER! My wife quoted 25 Euros, charged 59 Euros, Daughter quoted 29 charged 69 ! My daughter complained and was re-imbursed but I did not want to spoil an otherwise fantastic cruise with an argument over 34 Euros so I let it go. !