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MSC Lirica

Ok - not great

Rostock (Warnemunde)

We took the MSC Lirica on a 7 day cruise out of Venice to Dubrovnik, Kotor, Corfu, Zakynthos, Bari and back to Venice.

Food in the buffets is mediocre at best - mostly poor. The hamburgers are undercooked, which is a health hazard. The cooks do not interact with guests and the food is generally not tasty and of poor quality. The tables are dirty and cleanliness is generally lacking.

The food in the dining room however, is very good. The waiters are attentive, friendly and the presentation is very good.

Service is generally good, but in the coffee corner the waiters try to have people sit down to order but then take the orders of the passengers who just walk up to the bar. Waited 45 minutes to order a latte!

The rooms are in very good condition. We had an inside cabin on the 8th deck and close to the elevator. Very good location.

The cruise ship is old and kinda dirty. The shore excursions were disorganized (the tenderboats were in late, you have to wait for the buses in 40°C no shade for sure). The staff at the pool bar didn't want to work, often just looked away, to avoid eyecontact, it was on their face that they HATE their job and hate the guests. The food selection is poor, especially at dinner (only vegetables? Really? The fish and the meat is too expensive or what?) Let me correct myself, the food was a catastrophe. There is not enough space in the buffet, not enough tables. You have to search for tables for ages (and walk kilometers) if you want to sit down and enjoy your meal. The pools are small, and the "kind" guests occupy EVERY sunbeds early in morning (like 6:30am). And dont think they are using the occupied sunbeds, oh no they just mark them with their towels, and they arrive after their shore excursion is over. Madness i say. Ofcourse the staff around the pool wont help you, they just apologize, and do nothing. Btw don't book your cabin under the pool area! Our suite was on 10th floor and we couldn't sleep, because of the constant running above your head (yes, even late at night). Some of the equipments in the gym were under repair during the whole trip, but i think those machines were "under repair" from months...It is easier (and cheaper ofcourse) to put a paper on them than repair the broken machines...

disappointment

I recently embarked on an MSC Cruise  "Lirica" with high hopes for an unforgettable family vacation. Unfortunately, my experience left much to be desired, tarnished by issues ranging from subpar food and outdated facilities to a distressing incident with my special needs son. While some crew members proved to be exceptional, others displayed rude behavior that soured the overall experience.

Let's begin with the negatives. One of the most disappointing aspects of the cruise was the consistently bad and cheap quality of the food. The lackluster menu options failed to meet expectations, and we often found ourselves seeking alternative dining options off the ship. For a cruise that boasts a variety of culinary delights, this was a significant letdown.

Adding to our disappointment were the encounters with rude crew members. On one particularly harrowing occasion when my special needs son wandered away, the distress was overwhelming. After a few anxious minutes, we thankfully located him. However, instead of offering support or understanding, the cruise director chose to respond with aggression and shouted at me. This unnecessary confrontation escalated into a heated argument, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. It's disheartening that someone in a leadership position could exhibit such a lack of empathy and professionalism.

Moreover, the overall condition of the cruise ship itself was another drawback. Described as outdated and old, the vessel lacked the modern amenities and comforts that travelers have come to expect from cruise vacations. This added to the sense of disappointment and made it challenging to truly relax and enjoy the journey.

Despite these issues, there were some bright spots. The crew at the 6th-floor restaurant stood out as exemplary professionals. They were attentive, warm, and accommodating, providing a pleasant contrast to the rude encounters elsewhere on the ship. Furthermore, the food served in this restaurant was truly delightful, offering a glimpse of the culinary experience we had hoped for throughout the entire cruise.

In addition to the other disappointments, I found the entertainment options on board the MSC Cruise to be severely lacking, especially for families with children. The TV channels provided were extremely limited, and there was virtually nothing suitable for kids to watch. This lack of family-friendly programming made it challenging to keep the little ones entertained during downtime or when the weather did not permit outdoor activities.

One more disappointment that added to the overall negative experience on the MSC Cruise was the inadequate size and temperature of the swimming pools. With a ship accommodating around 3000 people, the pools felt cramped and overcrowded, making it difficult to enjoy a relaxing swim. Considering that the pools are a primary source of entertainment and recreation on a cruise, it was disheartening to find them insufficiently designed to cater to the large number of passengers.

Moreover, the water in the pools was unexpectedly cold, even to the point where it posed a health risk. This chilly water temperature was particularly concerning for families with children, like yours, who are more susceptible to getting sick when exposed to such conditions. It's incredibly disappointing to see a cruise line overlook this critical aspect of passenger comfort and safety, especially when it impacts the health and well-being of young travelers.

In conclusion, my MSC Cruise Lirica experience was a rollercoaster of mixed emotions. While the delicious food and exceptional service at the 6th-floor restaurant left a positive impression, the overall trip was marred by cheap and unpalatable food, a lack of consideration from certain crew members, and an outdated ship. I hope that MSC Cruise will take this feedback seriously and work towards enhancing the overall customer experience to provide a more enjoyable journey for future travelers.

First and last time ever 

Ensenada

We choose this our first cruise after recomendation from freinds, the boarding process was painless and easy and our room cards etc were all in our room on boarding all of the regsitertaion process had been done prior to us boarding and so there was none of the usual stampede for the reception desks.

The cabin was ideal with a decent size balcony and we spent the at sea days relaxing on the balcony enjoying the sun and the sea air, we opted for the Fantastica experiance which we found to be well worth the addional cost with an Aurea suite.

We selected the date of the trip around our aniversary and did all the usual photos onm the winding staircase etc, the photographers were very professional and we purchased several of the phjotos in colour and in black and white and the staircase photo we had framed and has pride of place in our lounge a memory of a truly fantastic 7 day jaunt arount the eastern med, most of the places on the itinery we found insteresting, one of the stops we would not bother getting off the ship again for but on the whole the locations visited were interesting and we had detailed information on each of the ports visited delivered each previous evening which we found informitive and helpfull.

We were so impressed with this experiance we decided we would do again, which we did with MSC and the experience could not have been more disappointingly different!!

Great ship, Ideal size, not overcrowded, great crew

We chose the cruise because it was out of Haifa and was the right length. I knew from the reviews that it wouldn't be at the level of our previous cruises with Celebrity or even Royal Caribbean. But it was disappointing. 

The food was very basic and the buffet was especially disappointing. The pizza however, available from 12 to midnight was excellent. The service was ok, but regularly we ran into things like the juice was finished, or there was no more ice, etc. The restaurant for dinner was ok, but didn't offer any great surprises. 

Compared to ships I've been on there was less space to relax in. The pools were tiny and the spray pool for the kids was activated later than advertised most days. The crew around it didn't  seem to know when it would open and it's not clear why it wasn't on from the morning.

The fitness center is reasonably large and very nice. 

The children's organized play rooms are smaller than we believed they'd be and the relevant ones for us were only a solution for an hour or two.

Only water is for free drinking and harder to come by than  you might think when in public areas.

I'm not a hygiene freak, but was surprised how lax they are on board. If other ships were obsessive about hygiene with regards to not filling bottles from shared water sources, cleansing on entry to dining and exiting bathrooms without using hands, on this ship there was just a note in bathrooms to use paper towels when opening doors and 5hat in itself is clumsy. And those other ships I experienced were in the pre-Corona era. BTW I tested positive for Corona when I came home but that can happen anywhere. It was just more likely because of the culture on board.

Onboarding was very efficient, especially considering all of the paperwork including Corona tests, insurance and health forms. Deboarding was with a long wait. It started late because of the authorities, but considering rooms had to be vacated by 08:30 it wasn't comfortable. Suitcases were ready for us when we exited.

Mediocre experience 

Palma de Mallorca (Majorca)

We chose the cruise as we were celebrating our birthday. The embarkation process went seamlessly; we were shepherded from airport to ship with no problems. There was some waiting for our rooms to become available once on the ship, however, we were roomed before the advertised at 2 pm. Suitcases also arrived in good time.

We were kept well-informed re. activities and entertainment onboard through daily newsletters.  Many of these, was not to our liking, but that didn't take away from the efforts being made to keep a diverse group of people entertained. I was impressed by the entertainment team's energy throughout the cruise. They made a real effort to put a smile on people's faces.

There was a choice of dining style, formal and informal. Must say that I was disappointed to find passengers disregarding the dress code. There were people in hoodies and casual shorts when the night called for more formal attire; this I felt was worn out of a sense of arrogance for the dress code and those who had "made the effort". Hats off to the staff in the formal dining area, they kept their composure in the face of some cringe-worthy attitudes from dinners; e.g complaining about the quality of wine/food. it's my guess that this was just posturing meant to impress onlookers as to their sophistication and expensive taste - it had the opposite effect. 

The reception staff was super helpful.  Even when I was being particularly dim about my wifi login I found them patient and courteous.

As to be expected there was a certain amount of onboard sales, we were able to purchase some beet headphones for less than half price tax-free. 

The nightly theatre shows were a mix, some did not appeal to us but again I did appreciate the effort put into productions especially The Alchemist.

The one disappointment for me was the general rudeness of some of the passengers. This happened too often to be a coincidence. In our experience, it was mainly the older Italian passengers who ignored you pushed pass in the corridors and spoke at the top of their voices with no regard for others around them.  

With regards to the excursions, we used a mixture of the hop on hop off bus and found a brilliant taxi guide in Doha that allowed us to experience memories we will treasure.  

We would travel with MSC again, next time  we would be better prepared for  the cruise bores

Worked hard to please

There was a suggestion to buy this [articular cruise and I liked the list of cities to visit, so I bought it.

In overall, I enjoyed the cruise! There was a pleasant surprise - I got a cabin with a window! Cabin was always clean; it was tidied up twice a day.

I read some complains about embarkation and disembarkation. My experience was different. Logistics was very good. We embarked with no problem (and disembarked), were provided with kind recommendations and attendance. Suitcases were taken directly to the cabin. Cabin was prepared earlier than expected. Yes, it is not big, but enough to have a rest and sleep at night. Even pillows were of different types (soft and "hard") to satisfy different habits. 

Every day there was a detailed program in English and Russian (may be in other languages too, do not now). All anouncement were in different languages as a sign of respect to  passeners from different countries...

Every day shows were good and very good (according to taste?). A lot of dancers, some singers and acrobats. Costumes are very bright and attractive. There were two shows a day, which was very convenient as there were two seating (dinner) at 6.30 and I guess at 9 PM. 

Selection of food was excellent, contained various cheese, sausages, eggs cooked in different ways, bacon, fruits, etc. Coffee and tea – as much as you wish for breakfast. I like fish and seafood and I got it: in the morning and in the evening!! Service (we mainly eat in La Bussola) was very good and pleasant; the atmosphere in La Bussola restaurant was intimate and sophisticated, the service attentive and discreet. Logistics was also excellent. 

The second place we had snack is on deck 11. There is an open veranda (do not remember the name- sorry for that). More democratic and people felt very relaxed over there. Those, who like desserts – it was just fantastic on the ship! 

You can have meal and/or snack almost the whole day….

Alcohol, beverages, cocktails. It is very expensive on board. The packages provided were unacceptable for us. “All inclusive” is 29 euro per day and you have to buy it for 11 days, full stop. Other options (beverages) were not exciting either.

As for water, coffee and tea you had to pay for it during lunch and dinner. Another option – to go to deck 11 after meal.

Public areas were immaculate clean. Pleasant atmosphere. Dimmed light, music…. I enjoyed it.

Countries we visited: UAE, Oman, and Qatar. Excursions are quite expensive. Round 70 euro/ person – a city tour. We have taken it only in Abu Dhabi. Not really exciting. However, in Emirates and Qatar there was a choice – to go sightseeing by yourself by taxi, which is also expensive. In Qatar there were free shuttle busses to take passengers from the port to the city. Excellent idea!

 I Oman I felt very frustrated as we were charged 5 euro per person to get to the centre of the city, round 7-8 min drive. The bus did not even stop at the castle, which is the only one attraction in the capital (apart from the sea)! I considered it to be waist of 10 euro and time. 

Must be said about security. Well done. Every time you leave and return to the ship you have to go through security and that is makes you feel safe. Security officers were always polite and helpful if you had a question. Entry and exits are marked with red tape, no way to lose yourself….Moreover, every time you leave the ship a special card is given to you with tel numbers. I believe it is a good approach.

Overview

Like many other reviewers, we choose this cruise based on the itinerary. We were able to get a very good price on the cruise, which is good, because paying full price would not be worth it.

The Good- Our state room (a balcony on the 12th floor) was extremely spacious. Most of the cruise staff were incredibly friendly and helpful. The embarkation process was the quickest I've ever experienced, and took maybe 15 minutes. 

The Okay - The ship itself is just okay. It is a smaller boat, which provides little for onboard activities. The miniature golf course was really, really sad looking. The pools were adequate and the kids enjoyed the kiddie pool. The casino was the smallest I've seen on a cruise ship. If you have a good book, you'll be able to entertain yourself. The layout design of the ship is pretty horrendous though. In most of the public areas, especially the buffet, the design is very poor, which leads to bottlenecks. The excursions were just okay; most of this has more to do with the ports of call than the cruise line. 

The Blah - The clientele was predominately Italian and Russians, so smoking is everywhere on the top deck and in the pub. Also, there is little knowledge or respect of lines or personal space. The onboard entertainment (shows and musicians) was okay to painfully bad. Jako, an instrumental performer, was great, but unfortunately he only played in the smoking section of the pub. 

The Awful - The food was just as bad as most people have written. 

This is the first cruise I've been on that I've lost weight.The best thing on the boat was the french fries. The dinning room food was, at best, reminiscent of my grandmother's nursing home, and, at worst, inedible. The breakfast was the same every day. The pizza bar offered a special "charcoal pizza," which I'm assuming was accidentally burnt to hell and made a special. The worst thing was the seafood. The lobster, which they served in multiple varieties over the duration of the cruise, was inedible. The prawns smelled like they had been in the open for days - I couldn't even bring myself to eat them. There is only one specialty restaurant on the ship, a sushi restaurant. Based on our experience with the other seafood on board, we didn't eat at the restaurant. 

Overall, it was an okay cruise. We had a great time as a family and saw the ports of call that we wanted to.

Good Itinerary, Great Staff, Blah Food

We chose this 20 night cruise from Venice to Dubai because of the itinerary-- we had always wanted to go to Venice, and seeing Petra has long been on our bucket list.  We booked two balcony rooms through where we were told that if we saw the cruise at a lower price at any time more than 90 days before our cruise, they would match the price.  At approx. 93 days out I found the same cruise at a much lower price but more importantly the suite price was now lower than the balcony price we had paid and included the alcohol package, a spa package and a few other perks.  One call and we not only were upgraded to the suite category, we received a substantial refund.   

We arrived in Venice Nov. 15 to find that there were very few tourists because of all the news about the flooding.  Although there were a few puddles around and there were remains of damage done to hotels right on the canals, we did not encounter any problems due to excess water.  Instead, we had a wonderful time exploring this amazing city with fabulous shops and restaurants.  We stayed 3 days but could have used more time.

Our embarkation on to the Lirica was smooth and easy and our rooms were ready when we arrived with our cards ready for our use.  We are seasoned cruisers having been on more than 10 cruises with Carnival, Norwegian and Celebrity cruise lines.  This was our first with MSC and I was a bit nervous having read the reviews.  We were pleasantly surprised.  I think I would best describe the MSC cruise as a "no frills" cruise where all the basics were there but some of the extras were missing. If you are picky picky picky and have to have the very best of everything then MSC might not be for you.  We are pretty easy going and as long as the rooms are clean and comfortable and the food and entertainment is adequate we are happy travelers.  There were no fancy towel animals on the beds or chocolates on the pillows at night but the rooms were clean and comfortable.  Room service was not free-- there was a minimal charge per item ordered and a small delivery charge so we did not use it. The room was somewhat worn with a few cracks in the sink etc. but every thing was fully functional and did not affect our stay at all. The food was very very good, but where you might have 5 appetizer choices and 10 entrée choices on other ships, on the MSC ship you would have 3 appetizer choices and 5 entrée choices.  Having said that there was always something appealing and the food and service was excellent--no complaints from us.  The price for this cruise was so reasonable that we did not expect the perfection that might come with a very expensive price tag.   Where the ship did excel in our opinion was with the entertainment staff-- they were wonderful.  We had 4 days on the ship with no ports and were kept busy the whole time with trivia contests, dance lessons, games etc.  The shows were OK, but having a ventriloquist having to translate into 7 languages kind of lost the humor by the end.  The dance and singing shows were excellent.  The activities crew had so much energy-- they were up dancing with everyone, they were so friendly and they made the trip so much fun.  We really enjoyed the  band that played in the bar at night-- I believe they were called the Midnight  Project  They were sensational and had everyone either dancing or clapping to the music.  We are not young but we stayed up and closed the bar listening to them several nights.  I would buy an album featuring them they were that good.  The activities and bars were better than any we have experienced on any other ship. Our only complaint was that all announcements had to be made in 6 different languages-- and there were lots of announcements.  The shows were usually quite good-- as good as on any ship-- with a few exceptions.  One night featured a ventriloquist which sounded good but when everything had to be translated into 6 different languages the jokes fell somewhat flat.  It was different though

The ports were for the most part excellent.  We usually do not book excursions through the ship simply because we find the numbers mean you are waiting forever for the slowpokes to get back to the bus.  We loved Greece-- especially Athens.  I had always wanted to see the Acropolis and it was impressive.  There were lots of excursion options and we were able to find one that did not require us climbing right up to the Parthenon-- instead we were provided with great photo opportunities and got to see everything we wanted to see.  Going through the Suez canal was very interesting.  We were somewhat delayed so ended up travelling through during the day instead of at night.  It is like a whole other world beyond the canal-- it was like travelling back in time.  We booked a smaller tour to Petra and it was great. Petra did not disappoint and is truly one of the great wonders of the world.  We were lucky that it was not too crowded when we were there and the weather cooperated so that it was not too hot.  Our guides were amazing and there were lots of opportunities to buy things in the local stores.   We did take advantage of a couple of hop-on-hop off buses and they allowed us to see most of the ports at a reasonable price.  The only problem we had was in Oman where the hop-on-hop off bus was booked through the ship with the promise that they would pick us up on the dock and take us back.  They did pick us up, however when it began to rain heavily the driver refused to go back to the ship and dropped us off in the market  (which by the way was fabulous) We then had to walk (drenched to the skin) back to the ship (about a 1/2 hour walk through water and mud) and were not impressed.  We complained and got our money back.  Oman was interesting as we got to watch the smugglers come in from Iran loaded with sheep and leave loaded with electronics-- all under the watchful eye of the port police.  They waved at us wearing masks and carrying machine guns.  It was quite the show!

Dubai was sensational-- we walked for miles in the huge malls and even enjoyed a Tim Horton's coffee while watching the water show.  All over Europe we had trouble finding anywhere that served cream with coffee-- only milk was available-- so we really enjoyed our "Timmy's" that tasted just like home.  It was fun to look at all of the designer stores and the corresponding price tags.  We did not go into the 7* hotel as you are not allowed in unless you are a registered guest or have a reservation in the restaurant.  We thought we might go there for breakfast until we found out that the cost was  $129 pp for brunch. 

It was an amazing trip-- we saw the poorest of the poor and the richest of the rich.  We saw ancient monuments followed by 7 star modern hotels.  We saw fabulous yachts along with masked smugglers racing in small boats  We absolutely enjoyed everything. The days flew by and before we knew it we were in Dubai and the trip was over.  

I must admit that having read other reviews before we left, I was not expecting much of this ship but we were pleasantly surprised.  I think some people are way to picky and all in all we had very few complaints and the price was certainly right. We liked MSC so much we are in the process of booking another cruise with them for next fall and are taking friends and family along with us.

We had a wonderful time!

This cruise was a retirement present to myself.  

After an awesome 6 days Rome/Venice stay, downer came with the horrible MSC Lirica experience.  From the awful, unwelcoming embarking to disembarking this cruise line administration was nothing but a heartache. 

No proper accommodations were made for unexpected port change: had to maneuver long lines, ordered from room to room before being hoarded on two hours bus ride without even the courtesy of a glass of water. 

More chaos continued at the Trieste Port. 

Luggage subsequently misplaced. Eventually located late night after personally making multiple trips/inquiries. 

Basically, co-passengers and port itinerary were awesome. 

Food: same old same ole.   I was too happy to purchase flavourful meals onshore by week two. 

Entrainment: elementary.  No effort really  put into it. 

My room sometimes smelled like sewer which made me nauseous. To my objection, chemical was used to correct the situation. 

Hard-working floors staff/stewards awesome, however, getting response from the front desk staff was HORRIBLE; don’t waste your precious time and energy to to take anything to their attention. Administration took NO RESPONSIBILITY/ACCOUNTABLE for anything.  They all parroted a million different suggestions accompanied with rude sarcastic flavour with the result always the same in the end; you must be doing something wrong. 

Get this, I was blocked/denied getting bottle water during dining because they had the nerve to withdraw 200€ service charge from my on-board account with 12 days left to go on my trip because, I assumed they thought my account would run out before they got/grabbed their tip.  SHAMEFUL AND HURTFUL INDEED 

After spending your hard earned money, once MSC gets it, you are chopped liver thereafter. 

PITY☹️☹️☹️

Thanks MSC for proving to be nothing but an uncaring money grabber

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