Thought we were getting a special deal but couldn't be further from the truth Within minutes of embarking had been told we needed to upgrade even although we had already paid to upgrade. Basically we were stolen from by MSC . The safety drill was very poor and was ignored by many. The staff who were in charge seemed very lax and poorly trained Food was dire, miserable and tasteless and was clear what we were eating at night was left over from during the day. Dont bother going to reception to complain as we were told it wasnt their problem and to contact head office. A few nice staff but nothing compared to other cruise ships . Didn't use their excursions as had already been ripped off so done our own thing . If it was half the price tomorrow I still would not book with MSC again, very poor Read Less

Chose this cruise for the itinerary as places we hadn't been before . Have cruised with other companies , Royal Caribbean, Celebrity , P & O previously. Lovely start to the holiday with 3 days in lake Garda prior to picking up the ship in Venice. Boarding at Venice a nightmare took over 2 1/2 hours all down to only having 3 security scanners working for over 3200 people , come on MSC sort yourselves out this is not rocket science open more scanners ! Cabin OK very clean and lovely balcony, the ship is very clean except if you eat in the buffet restaurant which is little better than a poor cafeteria , plates not cleaned away and food left everywhere , get more staff, I have never experienced this on other ships very off putting when you are trying to eat . Also food Luke warm never had a hot meal in there. Main restaurant good food but lacking in service we waited 45 minutes between starter and main course and the waiter only had 4 tables to take care off !! Why is that ? Had the full drinks package which was great , especially the Aperol Spritz ! Now we come to the last day on ship due back into Venice ! We were cursed with thick fog which no one can help its how the communication was handled that I have an issue with . We were told initially that the dock time of 10am had moved to 12pm fair enough . At 2.20pm still no news and then we were told that we would dock at 3.45pm . People had flights that they had missed etc and with no information this made a bad situation worse its all about communicating with your customers guys, people were fuming. We were lucky and had a late flight so all OK for us. When they eventually docked no announcements about getting off the ship so a bun fight ensued and it was pretty much a free for all , I feared someone would get trampled on ! In summary MSC are not of the same quality as the premium brands , granted they are cheaper but have cut corners in the wrong places eg no tissues in the tissue dispenser in the bathroom when asked told ' we don't provide these anymore' really !!! Sorry to rant on but its important people know what to expect Personally MSC not for us prefer better quality and service at a higher cost Read Less

Never ever again will I ever step foot on this cruise company!!!! One activity every hour. For 2500 passengers!!! Boring! Not enough restaurants to feed people resulting in very long queues with a lot of angry people! Rude and extremely ignorant staff!!! A lady fainted in front of me and not one staff member went to help her! This ship is unsafe as the crew have no idea of what they are doing!........ oh and did I mention that when you do eat the food is no better than hospital food!. I am going to take this further and not with the cruise company as this cruise line Cleary has no interest in passenger safety and that includes food hygiene....... we even had a woman fall into the water and it took the passengers to save her...... I will warn everyone I know not to book with msc.......... very angry Read Less

Just returned from an amazing cruise on Sinfonia. I’ve cruised Celebrity, Scenic, Royal Caribbean and P&O and I can say MSC were fantastic. Food was absolutely delicious, the Italians know how to cook. I can only assume others have killed their tastebuds if they didn’t like the food. Please ignore negative comments about the food, it’s simply not true. Yes the itinerary is tight but that is no surprise. Just line up and get in early for tender tickets so you are first off the ship and make the most of your time in each port. Santorini and Mykonos were both spectacular. Cabins were comfortable and roomy, I had an inside cabin. Staff were so friendly and helpful. I got calls to my cabin making sure I was happy with everything, Entertainment was fantastic too, good singers and guitarists in the lounges. Only negative was the fact you can’t get second cabin keys when you are a family sharing two cabins with children. This is very problematic and frustrating. Read Less

This was our first, and last, cruise with MSC. Having been on MANY cruises from the US to many different ports including international ports, this was a great disappointment. The food was below our standards in dining room as well as buffets. Often times it was barely warm and the taste left a lot to be desired in comparison to Royal Caribbean or Celebrity Cruises. The entertainment was mostly a waste of time. We spent more time on our balcony than anywhere on the ship. In all of my years pf traveling, never had I encountered so many rude people onboard. Lots of physically pushing, shoving, and making fun of others. The embarkation was not well organized at all, unless you spoke their language that is. The best part of our cruise was returning to Bari and the wonderful lady who cleaned our cabin. She was super nice and the only blessing on the ship for me. My travel companion enjoyed the spa features as well. Everything else was below our standards and a waste of money. The excursions were rushed and poorly organized. Very little time left to explore or shop. One tour guide was extremely rude to several passengers and yet nothing was done about it. One port was understandably canceled due to weather. The second port had an excursion cut short due to a strike with the bus company. When we complained and asked for a partial refund, it was denied and replaced with a bottle of wine and plate of snacks. We don’t drink at all and don’t eat caviar and the like. The excursion to the hidden beach and caves was not depicted accurately. The beach was a stoney area with a sign of danger - falling rocks. The cave was barely big enough to get a small boat into it and lasted less than 5 minutes. I have been in many caves that were far more interesting and had a lot to look at. This was a rip off! I would not recommend this company to ANYONE! WB Read Less

My wife and I decided to cruise for our 25th Wedding Anniversary. We chose MSC for the location. We were lucky to spend 2 days in Venice prior to departure which was amazing. Firstly having read reviews I see a lot of negative reports on what appear to be unreasonable expectations of the staff. One reviewer using words like “our demands were not met” I didn’t realise it was a dictatorship !! Staff- Wonderful people. Multi lingual. This is an Italian company the staff are from all over the world. If you smile or engage them you get the same back. They work hard but efficiently for your enjoyment. Take some time to speak to them. They are wonderful people with great life stories. Remember they are at work just like most of us do, we all have off days. The food was good. Catering for 3000 people from 6am-11pm is a challenge. We ate in the restaurants. Table served by waiters. The dinner choice was excellent and we made good friends. Staff were very attentive and it felt like an intimate dinner party with fine dining. Potions aren’t big but good quality. If you prefer quantity the Buffett will deliver for you. Didn’t eat enough times to share a balanced opinion but there is huge variety. The drink service is slow but the place is busy. The entertainment was perfect for us. A 30 minute show in the royal theatre. Fantastic performers and quality production. There was live music in every bar more background but variety. We didn’t venture to the nightclub. Out cabin was near the front with a balcony. Perfect room, great views and Olivier was very efficient. We didn’t spend much time in there due to the quality of social areas. The ports were as expected. I’ll leave you to decide. We did not make Katakolon due to weather. MSC excursions are expensive. We were advised by others to do Hop on Hop off buses. We didn’t but on reflection should have around €20pp. We did two MSC trips to Athens and Santorini. The drinks package we had has been changed now. It’s worth doing if you enjoy a drink especially during dinner when your glass is continually topped up !! Over all we loved it and it would take some beating. We will use MSC again and recommend Read Less

The embarking process was quick and smooth. The barman at the lagoona bar. Bagus was the best, always friendly and make us laugh. Our waiter at table 704 de oliviera was great. He treated us like royalty. All the ports except Barndisi was great. There is nothing special to see. I would definitly do this cruise again. The musica staff is the best. Our room was located right in front of the ship and it was quite our cabin steward was very friendly and our room was spotless every time we return to the cabin. The food in the restaurants was great. I've tried all the food of which i could not pronounce the name of and believe me it exceeded my expectations every time. The entertainment staff was full of energy and makes us laugh a lot. Overall it was a great ship with a great crew . Well done guys Read Less

This was my 50th birthday treat. Unfortunately the embarkation was terrible. We were made to wait 2.5 hours in the terminal (felt like cattle shed) before boarding (no organisation just all gathered like being at a concert) Compared to other cruise liners this was disgraceful. Staff on board were not that friendly to start with and I think they had so many complaints they had to make an effort, especially to the ‘English Speaking ‘ guests. The food was okay but not a great selection that you get on other cruise liners but the boat was clean. Plus you had to pay extra for tenders and surcharges that we were not aware of. MSC did listen to our complaints and issued chocolate covered strawberries with an apology but there are only so many strawberries you can eat! I hope they do listen and take on board where they can improve on their service. Read Less

This cruise started from Venice and started out badly - the embarkation process was a nightmare. It took us just over 2 and a half hours of standing around with little assistance from MSC personnel. The food was not great either in our view - certainly in the main evening dining. It could have been better prepared, more spices and attention to the taste. I know the kitchens cook for 2000+ people ad it is not easy but that is their job and supposed expertise. I think certain extras were unfair such s paying for tenders at two of the ports. Plus silly things like ice cream - we hade a fantastica package with drinks but had to pay 3 Euros extra to get an ice cream cone One major concern for me was the way the itinerary was described. We were said to have one day at sea - between Split ad Santorini. And so we did. But the visit to Mykonos arrived at 8:00pm at night and left the immediate following morning a 3:00am - thereafter we sailed the whole day and the entire next morning before we got to Dubrovnik. I class this as two whole days at sea and I believe the itinerary description was carefully positioned as to not make this aspect evident. Some passengers had not appreciated this. Read Less

Food in the main dinning room was good some nights and bad others, lobster was available one night for an addition $24 and was very small. And salads are not offered as one of the courses. Drink packages are very expensive, you need at least 19 drinks to break even. Buffet for breakfast was limited, no omelets. Nightly shows were only 1/2 hour long and limited to mostly the same acrobatics and singing. No live musicians , and the limitation of translating up to 5 or 6 languages probably has something to do with why their show were so limited (no Magicians, or comics or broadway style productions) Their were live musicians in some of the nightclubs. The ship doc’d late so some people missed their flight, we had arranged priority departure and found that since we did not book our flights through MSC that we had to wait until those folks got off, and we also found out that we couldn’t walk off with our luggage at Venice. The only reason we did not miss our flight was because we hire private vans for our group. If you need to cancel an excursion be prepared for an argument and escalation to the manager. The positive is that the dinning and room staff were good. And their pricing is attractive but we quickly found that you get what you pay for Read Less

This was our first cruise and we wanted to get an overview of cruising at a reasonable cost. We were looking for a cruise out of Venice to visit the Greek Islands. We absolutely loved the cruise we found the ship to be really well organised and embarkation and debarkation were smooth and quick. I cannot understand the negative reviews that I have read on this web site, it is an international clientele with a majority of Italians but that was to be expected. There is as smoking area outside the restaurant on the top deck but this caused no issues. The public areas of the ship were beautifully clean and the service was very good . The theatre entertainment was first class and the energy of the dancers is amazing. We met some lovely people who have become great friends. A couple of negatives, the food was not brilliant, just ok, we never went hungry but you had to be careful with your choices at dinner and the buffet restaurant was a bit hit and miss. The drinks package....... we had the easy package which was limiting with very little choice and weak drinks, next time we would up grade to the higher package. Also I would bother ordering the Prosecco, canapés, fruit, package as this was was disappointing and we could not eat all the fruit. The shore stops were good ,although we did not go on the organised trips we managed to find out way around with little trouble Overall we had a fantastic time and would travel with MSC again. Read Less

The cruise was a joint holiday for 4 couples who have been friends for many years. We all travelled to Venice separately, with all 4 couples doing other European tours before and after our cruise. ur cruise on the MSC Musica left Venice Saturday 14th Sept. We visited Brindici, Olympia Mykinos, Athens, Albania and Dubrovnik. The MSC shore excusions we did in each of our ports were fantastic for both content and value for money and content. The on-board facilities were excellent with exemplary service from all the MSC staff in the bars, restaurants and bistros, all over the ship.. Special mention to our cabin steward, Irene who looked after us for the week, she was a blessing....Always smiling and asking if we needed anything....A real treasure. Our waiter staff, Jetson, Roy and our dining supervisor, Carlos, in the main dining room also deserve a special mention. Very attentive to our group, always smiling. Great service We loved our daily tours but I think the highlight of our cruise was the nightly entertainment in the main auditorium. From the warm up / comedy teams that started to the show to our main acts that sang and danced and juggles and tumbled across the stage., the nightly shows were excellent. We sampled just about all MSC Musica had to offer including a Private Cocktail function for Minor Nationalities . A fantastic week on-board and one we hope to repeat in the not to distant future Read Less

We felt there was a lot of waiting in lines. But the guests were very rude, arrogant & pushy. And people invade your space. Waiting for a shuttle bus, for approx 200 people and only one arrived a fight broke out. There needs to be more organisation. There is hardly any waiting staff around the pool & go to the bar you would die of thirst waiting to be served. The ship is clean, but in parts smells of an old working mans club due to smoke and stale beer .our room was clean , but it wasn’t very big & the shower was very small. The Buffett is the same every day. And you wait to be seated more waiting in line !! There is pizza & burgers too everyday . Our evening meal was very nice & the staff were so friendly. There are 3 main restaurants to dine at in the evening. You can only get to go to one. I found the reception staff rather in friendly and in dealing with an issue no apology given to me. The day you leave you can only eat until 9, we had a 5.30pm flight but taken off the ship at 10am & then told to take the shuttle to the airport as Venice was too far away to be able to visit! We spent 7 hours at the airport. Once the day arrived for you to leave they just want you off the ship. Oh we were shocked by how many people smoked on the ship & threw their butts overboard. A fire in the making !there is designated areas but it seems they ignore these. We reported one person as he was smoking off his balcony which is forbidden! Read Less

I have chosen the cruise by mistake. If you are interested in the short Mediterranean cruise from Venice select the Norwegian. MSC cruise was very badly scheduled - we had almost no time in Myconas, few hours in Santorini and a lot of time in the least interesting place, Ancona. The service was really bad, I had to ask for several simple thinks, like the safe repair, for days. All simple snacks and mineral water on board are very expensive, not free, like they are on other cruises. I have no complaints about the embarkation/disembarkation. Food, cabin and entertainment were good. If you want to see not the Croatia,s national parks, but the port cities, I would recommend to book the excursions on shore, because the ones from MSC are too expensive. You can easily explore Dubrovnik and Split on your own. The ship is clean, but dull without any beatification. I don’t recommend this cruise. Read Less

Picked this cruise from Bari as we wanted to come back to Bari and spend time in the Puglia area.. Cruise was great although more time could have been spent in ports . Restaurant waiters and service was great and food too. Our housekeeper Mundir was very helpful and always there if Needed. Room was always cleaned to perfection. Entertainment staff were the best I have come across on a cruise . All very talented and hospitality with guests were great and so was the music played as well.. Stefano Guzzardi and Yennier Moreno who are part of the entertainment staff have made this cruise very memorable for me.. not only they are kind, funny and great entertainers , they are both great dancers which I love to do and both made time several times for me.. I would love to join them on a cruise one day .. Luigi Incarnato is also a great entertainer and always gets the crowds going.. Read Less

The worst service we have ever received on more than 50 holidays. Bad food, bad service with no eye contact or a care for the customer and you pay for everything - literally nothing is added for the enjoyment of the customer. We were an inconvenience to the staff. The waiters could not be bothered to offer a service. We queued for half an hour- glad we didn’t get the drinks package-we would still be waiting to get value for money. You literally get sober waiting for another drink. There is a sewage smell throughout the walkway and cabins at times. The waiters are rude, the eating areas are not kept clean. There was blackouts which left the ship feeling hot and stuffy. Two people we were travelling with were feeling sick and there was engine issues which made the boat sway from side to side. We don’t mind rough seas, but this is a Mediterranean cruise. Our kids who normally love kids club, thought the entertainment was not great as they felt hot and cramped in the small space. The quality of air on this cruise is terrible. We felt hypoxic as there is a lack of oxygen. Safe your $ and choose a different cruise line. Unless you enjoy talking for hours on end about how bad a cruise you had. So glad we are getting off today. MSC Masters of the sea??? Perhaps Masters of Bad Service. It would remiss to not add that Natalia at Guest Services was excellent. The only person besides Adi our room attendant that know how to treat a customer. No one else deserves their positions. There are no leadership on this cruise. No team work. How MSC is in business is a mystery. Read Less

It was on our bucket list to go on a cruise. Having chosen the MSC line and wanting to go on a cruise to include the Greek islands MSC seemed a good choice however from admission in them sun at 13.30 in Venice being treated as sheep at the dock was a bad start. No greeting by happy staff. A muddle through check in and on to a shabby ship. Very run down. During our cruise every time we docked and got on board again was a total nightmare. Security staff never smiled or greeted guests with exception of I think SA staff. Total shambles. The rest were surly individuals. In the restaurants the majority of the staff initially appeared untrained and only at the end were getting into their stride. One night at about 23.30 and still having dinner, as the second sitting took a long time to serve, there was a fire alert after a few power failures. The staff all went into panic, not knowing what to do. No control and allowing guests to use the lifts and chaos reigned. Eventually the captain spoke and he too sounded in a panic. We were not able to visit Mykonos due to bad weather but no alternative was given or perhaps even some sort of small compensation for missing out on a port of call. Entertainment was repetitive. Very disappointing trip. Read Less

This is our 10 th cruise and first MSC we chose because of Split, Santorini and Venice and pricing. we had low expectations based on online reviews and we were impressed so much we will take another MSC in Carrebian in Decemeber 2019. Francisco, the restaurant Manager, Herman Fernandis, the Chef and all Waiters in restaurant provided excellent service to our group of 20. Chef cooked a special dietary breakfast and dinner for 4 in our group that we would not have expected from other major cruise line. Even the cafeteria staff is excellent and maintain cleanliness. Mykonos was cancelled due to high winds considering safety- a right thing to do. Talented entertainment programs in the theater. Cabin size and cleanliness were better than some older ships in other cruise lines. Overall our entire group enjoyed the 7 night cruise and no one had any major complaint. Glad we selected this ship and did not pay much attention to bad reviews. Read Less

Me and my friends decided to take a Mediterranean cruise, we’ve taken a few Caribbean’s ones, and this cruise was terrible only good thing was the itinerary. I was in a different room and right when I walked in it smelled like fumes, went to my friends room. The floor was filthy, so we went straight to guest services, they did not care at all, throughout the duration we complained multiple times and different people came to our rooms but still both was done. Msc’s Guest service does not care about customer service. They were extremely rude. I had to pay a bit extra for their “Fantastica” option. There was barley any food options. I paid to much money for it to just be a ripoff in the end. Don’t ever take this cruise line. There is no entertainment on board whatsoever, and entertainment on a cruise ship is very important. That was for a disappointment. The gym was very weak, four treadmills, four bikes and four ellipticals, yea because on a big cruise that makes real sense. There was even a wait limit how ridiculous, Food sucks, most of the workers are rude and don’t know a thing. One worker who was on the clock(mind you) in the buffet was very racist to me and my friends for no reason, never experienced so much hatred and rudeness from a cruise in my life. Such a waste of money and such a disappointment. Thank goddess for the ports of call only good thing about the week. I will never cruise with this line ever again. Read Less

We have travelled with MSC many times and have always been satisfied, however, when the service model changed recently it seems so has our opinion. The embarkation process was a complete joke, keeping people outside the terminal for hours in the blazing sun pushing heavy suitcases. From then on it went one way, down! As we had no choice but to pay the service charge we expected the service to be questionable and I am afraid we were right. I found some of the crew to be rude even though I am a gold member.. not that I expect preferential treatment but I do expect to be teated with respect.. This I have to say was not the case as the guy who serviced (ha ha) our cabin went into the wardrobe and moved my clothes. This absolutely was a no go for me so once again I complained. The Manhattan bar on deck 5 constantly served us corked wine with the waiters not sure what that meant, they clearly had not been trained before being placed behind the bar. Filthy tables in the buffet restaurant, food on the floor and old food piled high in the terrace area added to our disgust. The food in the evening was not great, served cold and beef not appearing on many occasions. The waiting time to embark and disembark was so bad and a constant battle that on the last day a fight broke out on deck 5. I have to say I was surprised it had not happened sooner. It was quiet frightening and we were pleased to finally get off the Sinfonia. Would we travel with this company again-absolutes not. This was my 19th cruise, the worst by far and was certainly not to be repeated. Read Less

American Airlines Cruise recommend this cruise and for that they will never get my business again. I have been on numerous cruises Carnival, Princess, NCL & Celebrity and I would pick any of these any day. We booked an Aura Suite because we wanted this to be a trip to be first class, but we got 3rdclass besides the private sunning area. We were suppose to get priority embarking and disembarking, we got non of that, they can't even put a bottle of free water in your suite even though we didn't have to pay for it on the boat. There was nothing special that you get paying a lot more. The food was terrible and the only good meal we had to pay an extra $20 euro for a steak which I have never seen in the regular dinning room and only at a specialty dinning. We stopped going to dinner and eating off the boat and bring on food as much as possible. The buffet was worse and the only thing that was edible was the French fries, pizza was marginal. The service in the dinning room was great and at the bar and casino, our cabin steward was also great, the customer desk was another thing, long lines and lack of information or help. Getting on and off the boat was a nightmare, no organization and fights almost broke out due to lack of staff and information on how to get off. They charge for every transport to get off the ship which I had never encountered before. It took so much time to get off the boat at some ports by the time you got off you almost had to get back on. When I booked it stated 1 day at sea and we wound up with two and shorter times in the ports. Mykonos we pulled in at 8pm and left at 3 AM, what the hell can you see at that time when it takes an hour to get off the boat. The entertainment if that is what you called it was like high school musical, there was limited in the other areas and at the pool if you didn't want to learn to dance or do aerobics you were out of luck. Their few games they had were horrible and the same stuff everyday. I don't remember anything really happening at the pool at night. I am sorry but I have been on small and older Carnival ships that outclassed this ship or it amenities. After spending so much money on a suite and this cruise, I will never cruise this line again even if the other ship are new and great. This cruise nickels and dimes you and gives you nothing. Read Less

MSC were well priced and fitted in with the area we wanted to visit at the times we wanted to visit. The destinations were all fantastic and, without young children, this cruise would have been good... Problem is.....the kids club timetables aren't really co-operative with the already limited time on the destinations... IF YOU HAVE CHILDREN, AND WANT TO USE THE KIDS CLUB, ENSURE YOU BOOK MSC'S OWN EXCURSIONS TO TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE OF KIDS CLUB they refused to let us pay extra to drop our children in early :-( we've two young children and were quite stressed when we discovered that kids club, most days won't take kids to lunch, most days start an hour or two AFTER the boat hits a destination most days finish a good time BEFORE the boat leaves a destination this hit us particularly hard at Dubrovnik and santorini where we only had 4-5 hours on-site, santorini in particular where we had to cut a private tour short Overall, the staff really were amazing, our cabin guy was superb, friendly, attentive and the children loved him. the downstairs 'my choice' restaurant was great. the buffet, not really that good we felt a little dissapointed overall, unloading of over 2000 passengers was quite a slow process there aren't any laundries on-board - though they do offer a 30 euro for 20 garments about halfway into the cruise... Lifts were 'naff' - extremely slow, or buttons missing / not working Boat is old, but well maintained top deck is very good, lots of pool space, great kids splash park but get up early to reserve a sun-lounger, and be prepared to fight to get your 'stolen' space back, they really should have a 'kids only' side to the pools as both shallow parts were jam packed with adults grumbling at kids having splashy fun! boat felt very crowded....it's a small-mid sized boat of 2,100 guests, but queue times for a table at brekky were 30min+ at peak.....the staff were fairly attentive though, just a shame to see so many people pushing in Part of the dissapointment was culture I guess, we certainly won't be using Italy as a starting point again, as there's minimal respect for personal space or queues, often resulting in a squashed child Would I use MSC Again - after hearing a few stories about their other larger boats, sure, they do sound great, would I go on a small boat like this again?, nope, too many people, too short a time at the destinations and too long to get on/off the boat Read Less

We were guided by our Cruise company to book this one as it fitted the dates and they said it was a good itinerary and lovely ship. The departure city, Venice is breath taking and it is worth spending time having a look around or booking an extra night before or after, but be careful where you stay as lugging suitcases around Venice over bridges is not easy. The Ship, looked nice until you got closer, there was lots and lost of maintenance going on, frayed and lifting carpets on stairs and busy places, broken chairs, beds etc, dirty windows you could not see out of. The cabin was spacious enough (balcony), we spent a considerable time in here as the ship was full to bursting so space was not something you had in comparision to other cruise lines. Food, there was plenty if you had no allergies, my husband enjoyed the savoury the sweet all looked different but tasted the same something sweet! Ports; there were some we were so excited about, but sadly one we failed to arrive due to the weather, however we were informed by staff this happens regularly for Mykonos, so be warned re MSC cruise lines and this port. Athens was lovely and well worth a visit but it is so so hot, need to go out first thing and be under shade in the cool by midday. Activities; they were all done on the deck in the hot sun, so for those whom needed a little shade they could not take part. The shows were good and had different kinds each night, some were really clever especially having the entertainers who were more acrobatic so it made it more visual. Staff, we had a couple of nice ones, however there were some very rude and unkind and unhelpful which impacted a lot on the cruise. Reports of issues took forever (a whole week) to finally get resolved which is far too long. They are not Deaf Friendly or accessible with no transcripts for a Deaf customer, no subtitles on the TV even though they have the subtitles on the remotes and up to date smart televisions. It does seem unfair that a Deaf customer pays the same as everyone else but they do not think about basics that could make it accessible. Having said that they did have areas for disabled people, but again passengers did not care and used them, even when disabled people came along and wanted to access the area the other passengers refused to move who were NOT disabled, staff asked and senior staff, but they point blank refused, disgusting that the staff cannot force them to move as disabled people have enough to deal with, but to not have seating or places that are set out for a person with a disability is plain wrong. This was the same for the lifts, you had to force yourself in to get on a lift if in a wheelchair or with a mobility aid. The one thing we need to warn you about; EVERYTHING costs more, even a class of tap water from a bar is 75 cents!!!! Extra service charges at every turning, we sadly had a deal where gratuities were included, we so wished they had not been part of the package as the cruise line did NOT DESERVE it! We spent a lot of money on the cruise itself and then far far too much (even with watching what we spent on the cruise) on the cruise, it meant it was not 'a good deal' and the ship was not to the standard of P&O, Holland America or Princess cruises; the staff need a transplant in customer services and being sincere and polite. The passengers on the ship, well a high proportion were rude, pushing in, shouting and screaming, smoking in areas that were clearly labelled non smoking, it resulted in us preferring to be in our cabin, luckily we had a balcony, to be comfortable and not having to endure the horrid people and their rudeness and arrogance. Be warned MSC are out to bleed you dry of every penny you have, have a good level of spending money if you dare to try MSC. Be prepared to shout and scream to get things sorted and to be rude and abrupt too! Not a pleasant cruise in fact we feel we have wasted a years savings and have returned with bills and charges, annoyed and upset. We will NEVER use MSC again. Read Less

Embarkation was a horrible experience, 2 hours under the hot sun, no place to sit and no shade. The overall attitude of the staff,RUDE. The cabin had mold in the tub, the sheets were not changed the entire week. The food variety was very limited and almost the same thing all the time, the quality was mediocre. The service, non existent, the tables were always full of dirty dishes and most of the time had to go find someone to clean it so we can seat. Only complementary water, no ice tea or lemon aid like most of the cruise ships. The dining rooms were clean but the selection of the food was very limited. Bar service was the slowest i have ever seen in any cruise ship. The entertainment? well.. they tried, put it this way, there were no WOW moments. All excursion were extremely short, and on the Santorini excursion they first take you to an archiological site, complete waste of time, very boring. DISEMBARKATION BEWARE.. on the itinerary states the ship arrives in Venice at 8:00am, well.. we found out on the last day that it was going to arrive at 10:00am and we would not be off the ship unitl 10:45am Therefore, with this we would off miss out flight back to Florida, so we had to get off at the last port in Ancona and take a train to Venice and incurred all these additional expenses. The staff at Sinfonia were useless in trying to help us with this issue that was their fault. Overall, they have their own schedule as they go along, do not rely on the website for their schedule. We are avid cruisers and have never experience anything like this on other cruise line. (Royal,NCL,Princess) We will Not cruise on MSC again. I have never written a review like this, but i feel the need to make everyone aware and don't waste your money on MSC, Read Less

We choose this cruise due to travel dates and destinations. However if I’d known the minimal standard of this ship I would of seemed alternative options. On embarking it was chaos it clearly states on boarding papers that it commences at 11.30am. However didn’t get on board till 2.30pm. No crew took charge provided any updates. On board it clearly states where smoking is allowed and smoking in cabins or on cabin balconies is not permitted. Leaving Venice everyone was smoking flicking ash etc. contacted reception who advised us to contact them with cabins who were doing it so they could address it. We asked several guests not to flick there ash it was blowing on us but people were rude and aggressive in their response. We contacted reception who said security would speak to guests. However when security turned up they said it was an issue for housekeeping. Our issue with the smoking was that people were flicking aah and not been respectful of others. Mindue has to have a giggle when the ship sells cheap cigarettes onboard. the pool area was overcrowded with on average 40+ adults and minimum 10 children in each of the pools at one time. There is no adult only areas at all. The bars etc has no limitations either. One night we went down for disco at midnight and guests were turning up there with prams with young babies. The music was so loud and young children were grisly. Certainly not a place to take your young children. Excursions. We were meant to go to Mykonos but due to Weather we were diverted twice and arrived at Chania. However customer service could provide no information on the town and there response was they hadn’t been there before. No initiative to seek information for guests. We were then advised that they would discount the bus shuttle for £5. Upon arrival at port it was chaos no crew were there giving directions and the lines trying to get out gates were insane. Finally after people had been in line in the hot sun for over 30minutes the crew went out to assist. It was frustrating as people with young families had stood in line for a long time waiting for shuttles and when you got to gate you could get local bus following the same route for £3.40 and taxi one way was £10. To give them credit we enjoyed the excursions to Olympia, acropolis. However each one costs average of £60 Disembarking: Each person was allocated tags/colours along with times. Initially they were announcing groups then this ceased along with the updates on the screen s. It wasn’t until we approached crew that they advised we could disembark. Upon leaving ship there was one free shuttle to transport all passengers to the main terminal. Again no communication from crew. Terribly unorganised ship Read Less