We sailed on the Poesia on Feb 18-25, eastern Caribbean in a cat.11 balcony.

Checking in was realatively easy but there is no separate line for those passengers that pre-checked in on MSC's website therefore there is no point doing so online before the cruise. Lines were non-existant on this cruise so it didn't make a difference but this is not always the case. We swapped cabins with my parents so needed to go to guest services on board to replace our key cards. The agent behind the desk kept us waiting as we stood in front of her as she answered the phone and talked to other staff. They should have a separate "behind the scene" person answering the phone on the first day as I imagine many people call asking questions. Again, not a big deal, just a small annoyance. Our first impression of the ship is how beautiful it is. Unlike many American ships that boast loud, bright and overbearing colors, this ship uses soft tones that appear very elegant in an understated sort of way. Kudos to the designers. I have done around 15 cruises and this is the nicest ship by far. I will give you two examples of how small details make a difference. In the photo gallery, there are folding panels that remain closed when the gallery is not open for business. On most ships, you just see the backside of these panels that look like, well panels. On the Poesia, there are beautiful pictures, probably by a well known photographer and I enjoyed walking through the closed photo shop just to look at them. Second detail is the public washrooms on deck 13 near the pool. They are on the sides of the ship overlooking the ocean with floor to ceiling windows. These are the nicest washrooms I have seen on a ship.

Our cabin stewards were very nice and polite and non-intrusive. We made the mistake of leaving one of our key cards in the slot by the door so they thought we were always in the cabin. They left a very polite note to remove the key when out of the room. Read more