Trying a New Ship

[Holiday Planner]

I agree SS!

[Holiday Planner]

Our good price for our MSC cruise in November is looking even better. We now have our cabin, and it is a balcony. We booked an inside ... we've always had inside or outside before. Wondering if cruising will cost us more in the future if we get hooked on a balcony!
At under £800 for 2 of us, including regional flights from Manchester, a night in a hotel in Barcelona, and transfer back to the airport, I feel I've got a very good deal.

[Silver_Shiney]

Our good price for our MSC cruise in November is looking even better. We now have our cabin, and it is a balcony. We booked an inside ... we've always had inside or outside before. Wondering if cruising will cost us more in the future if we get hooked on a balcony!
At under £800 for 2 of us, including flights, a night in a hotel in Barcelona, regional flights from Manchester and transfer back to the airport, I feel I've got a very good deal.

[Dancing Queen]

Sounds as if you've got a great bargain there HP even without the upgrade but that is the 'icing on the cake' Enjoy

[Dark Knight]

we are trying another new ship next year
the Thomson Majesty
after that we are changing cruise lines, as Thomson are not doing ex UK
front runners are Cruise and Maritime, Fred, HAL and lastly Pando.
after discussions with my old mate AOTH, we may try one of the smaller Pando ships.

[Susan Watt]

A friend of mine recommends C & M. It was the Marco Polo that she sailed to the Fjords on.

[Silver_Shiney]

we may try one of the smaller Pando ships.

We'll make a TBM out of you yet

[ITWA Travel Writer]

Hi everyone,

Some of the forum administrators know why I have not been active on the forum for a while and I do not wish to broadcast my personal reasons to the many, however, having read all the drivel being pontificated about MSC ships, on this thread, I felt it my duty to come out of hiding to correct many of the misconceptions being uttered.

I have sailed many times on MSC ships in both the smaller Lirica class ships and the larger Fantasia class ships. I have sailed both as a holiday passenger and whilst on assignment as a travel writer and can say without contradiction that all have been exceptional.

This company, still family owned, is classed as a European cruise line who offers a “Mediterranean Experience” in food, service and entertainment. It makes all its announcements in five different languages, which does appear to annoy many Brits, who often have difficulty with their own language, let alone attempting to understand others.

With its food, it provides dietary dishes to suit all the countries surrounding the med. After every port of call you will find the food served at dinner, that evening, in the MDR’s matching the national or regional dishes of that port. So if you want a typical English fry up at breakfast, you will be disappointed at their offerings. If you want “Jellied Eels” for you southerners, or “Tripe and Onions” for you northerners, you will also be disappointed, for what you will get is very good Mediterranean food. If you still want steak and chips, then just go to one of the speciality restaurants.

If you are looking for a comedian or raconteur within the entertainment group, you will also be disappointed. Not everyone speaks a form of English! Plenty of dance, music, opera and yes even “Butlins” style entertainment for those who like that, but you will have to search it out.

As for unruly children, I would say “let not the kettle call the pot black”. I have been on some pando cruises with some very irritating children on board.

MSC ships consistently top the ratings for their cleanliness.

However, one word of caution, If you are considering an MSC cruise from a Brazilian port, or a repositioning cruise back to Europe from Santos, think carefully!! There are many holiday stories told about the German people and their behaviour whilst on holiday. Well the Brazilians are like the Germans but with attitude. Their eating habits are to be beheld as are the manners of the pseudo rich middle classes.

Holiday Planner, I’m sure you will have a great cruise and I will look forward to reading all about it when you return.

So folks, having once again probably annoyed the masses, I will return to my box and watch from afar!!

[Kenmo1]

Good to see you back, John, even if it is only to stir up the masses. I know I have missed your input.

Maureen

[david63]

It makes all its announcements in five different languages, which does appear to annoy many Brits, who often have difficulty with their own language, let alone attempting to understand others.

My experience of "European" ships is that the Brits listen to everything but are unable to hear their own language announcements due to the incessant noise emanating from those of other nationalities - never more so that during the safety briefing.

[Holiday Planner]

Thank you, John. I'm called '"Holiday Planner' for a reason, and had worked out most of what you say about MSC from my research. I'm actually looking forward to a more cosmopolitan mix of passengers. Reading through reviews, it seems that disappointment occurs when expectations are not met, so we know in advance that tap water and coffee are not freely available in the dining room, and that there may not be many vegetables served. We are also prepared for the 7 courses to take up to 2 and a half hours to serve. They seem to be the main complaints about MSC (apart from lack of orderly queues and unruly children!) so we don't think those things will really bother us. All of the reviews say how spotless and beautiful the MSC ships are.

[Silver_Shiney]

Hi everyone,
having read all the drivel being pontificated about MSC ships,

or first hand experience, or from reliable eye-witnesses? That you have (fortunately) had different experiences does not detract from the experiences of others.

It makes all its announcements in five different languages, which does appear to annoy many Brits, who often have difficulty with their own language, let alone attempting to understand others.

No-one objects to announcements being made in multiple languages, it's when people start talking so that you can't hear what's being said. Happens in P&O ships too, when there's only one language. I'm quite sure that, if the Italians started talking loudly during the German part of the broadcast, the Germans would be just as annoyed.

With its food, it provides dietary dishes to suit all the countries surrounding the med. After every port of call you will find the food served at dinner, that evening, in the MDR’s matching the national or regional dishes of that port. So if you want a typical English fry up at breakfast, you will be disappointed at their offerings. If you want “Jellied Eels” for you southerners, or “Tripe and Onions” for you northerners, you will also be disappointed, for what you will get is very good Mediterranean food. If you still want steak and chips, then just go to one of the speciality restaurants.

If you are looking for a comedian or raconteur within the entertainment group, you will also be disappointed. Not everyone speaks a form of English! Plenty of dance, music, opera and yes even “Butlins” style entertainment for those who like that, but you will have to search it out.

Why should this be a problem?

As for unruly children, I would say “let not the kettle call the pot black”. I have been on some pando cruises with some very irritating children on board.

Me too, but I've yet to see any climbing over the sculptures, as has been reliably reported, which was merely a comment about Italians having lower standards on behaviour than the British are used to (although, generally, an increasing number of Brits seem to be unaware of what constitutes acceptable behaviour.

However, one word of caution, If you are considering an MSC cruise from a Brazilian port, or a repositioning cruise back to Europe from Santos, think carefully!! There are many holiday stories told about the German people and their behaviour whilst on holiday. Well the Brazilians are like the Germans but with attitude. Their eating habits are to be beheld as are the manners of the pseudo rich middle classes.

And you make that comment after criticising those of the forum who commented on unruly children?

All that said, John, it is still good to see you back on the forum and I sincerely hope that whatever it is (which is nobody else's business) that has kept you away was nothing serious.

[Holiday Planner]

We have just got back from our MSC cruise and have had a wonderful time. There were very few children on board with it being in term time, and those who were seemed well behaved. Passengers and crew were all friendly and polite. The only incident of queue jumping occurred whilst waiting to leave the ship at Naples and was firmly dealt with by the queue management staff.
The ship Splendida is beautiful and kept immaculate. A constant cleaning regime was in place in the public spaces and our cabin was spotless.
The food, which seems to get some criticism on the forums, we found to be delicious and varied. The 6 courses at dinner were inevitably smaller portions than I have at home when I only eat one or two courses, but even so, 3 or 4 courses was usually all I could manage. It's true that there are not many veg served with the main course (as is customary on the continent) but one course was a salad. The buffet was huge, with just about anything you could want. We quickly worked out which were our favourite sections for lunch, otherwise you could easily spend 20 minutes wandering around just looking at what was available. The roast of the day was popular with the British guests, but we would head for the ethnic section or pasta and pizza sections and salad bar. The deserts section was lovely with exquisite pastries etc. It could be hard to find a table near the front of the buffet, but we found that if we walked to the very back of the buffet there were always tables with great views through the stern windows. I agree with comments that the buffet food isn't piping hot, but it was always tasty. Regarding drinks, in the dining room everything has to be bought - even water, and coffee is not served (except at breakfast). But in the buffet there is a self service tea / coffee machine and iced water. If you drink a lot of tea with milk you might struggle as the only milk anywhere was either hot or coffee creamer, so Andrew drank his tea black, and I developed a taste for fruit teas!
The all inclusive package was popular and good value for those who drink at £20 pp pd. (It also included coffees, smoothies and ice cream). We don't drink and because it was mostly port days we just had the water package. It's best to order any drinks packages beforehand to avoid 15% service charge. If you pre-order any packages or excursions take your paperwork with you. We were OK but we came across 3 couples whose pre bookings had been lost somewhere along the line! (The MSC website is famously bad!)
If you enjoy a daily enrichment programme then this is probably not the cruise line for you. With the mix of nationalities you need to be able to make your own entertainment during the day. That's never a problem for us, and there are plenty of pleasant places to sit with a book - both inside and out. The evening shows were singing, dancing and acrobatic spectaculars. By the end of the week we were beginning to recognise the gymnasts' signature moves, but they were always impressive. Obviously to keep the flow words were kept to a minimum. Many people timed their arrival to miss the CD's introduction in 5 languages, but it didn't bother me. The theatre is huge, incidentally, and there was never any need to queue to get a seat for either of the shows. We opted for early dinner at 6.30pm followed by the show at 9.30 which seemed to work well.
The dress code was hardly observed at all. Most people were stylish, but on the first formal night Andrew was the only person in black tie (apart from the photographers!). Because a new wave of passengers embarked in Genoa there were considerably more for the second formal. But basically you could wear what you like.
We enjoyed the cosmopolitan feel of the ship. We were seated with 2 other British couples for dinner, but for breakfast / lunch in the dining room sat with French, German, Italian, Japanese Latvian and Russian on different occasions. At breakfast I actually preferred this ... I'm not particularly sociable in the mornings and to just exchange good mornings and "where are you from?" suited me just fine!
I loved the dining room breakfast. Coffee, hot croissants and bread were constantly brought round and you ordered anything else off the menu. Pancakes with syrup followed by fresh fruit salad quickly became my favourite. You could get a cooked breakfast, but be warned that the bacon is not how we're used to it .. I can't put my finger on it, but it's not quite right!
So, would I cruise with MSC again? Most definitely if the price were as good as we got this time, and out of school holidays (children travel free, so in school holidays there are LOTS on board!) As long as you're not totally set on the British way of doing things, if you see a good deal give it a go ... But do your research to see if the common complaints are things that would bother you. On the whole, we like the convenience of cruising from the UK rather than flying, but at this time of year it was nice to get straight to the sunshine. On occasions we didn't get as long as we liked on shore (5 hours was typical). We liked the feel of the ship, and were lucky enough to be upgraded from a guaranteed inside to a balcony. Everyone we met had the same upgrade ... 80% of cabins have balconies so there's a good chance. A bit of winter sunshine at a good price - excellent.

[stocktonmackem]

Hi Angela, sounds like you had a fabulous time. A lovely review.
Pat x

[Dancing Queen]

So pleased you enjoyed your cruise HP thanks for the review, always good to hear about other cruiselines

[oldbluefox]

Many thanks for your review Angela. Interesting to read about other cruise lines.

[Manoverboard]

Sounds good, soundsa gooda, sounde de bon .... etc

Which Ports did you visit ?

[Holiday Planner]

Barcelona: fabulous architecture, a gem of a city to just wander around.
Marseille: pretty old harbour. Great views and a maritime theme inside the Notre Dame Basilica. The most dog dirt I have ever seen in one town!
Genoa: we spotted Castello Albertis from the ship and climbed up. A lovely statue of the young Columbus looking over the harbour.
Naples: easy DIY to Herculaneum, but we met up with another couple and he had his wallet stolen on the train on the way back.
Messina: very run down with lots of graffiti. The bell tower was the redeeming feature. Climb up inside as well as watching the noon display.
La Goulette: fascinating. Took a ship's tour to Carthage and Sidi bou Said. Would visit the Roman Baths again under our own steam to get longer there.

[Sweetheart55]

This year we tried Princess and RCI.

While Princess was similar to PO..RCI was,we felt. different in lots of ways,

The cost of shuttle busses hit hard on some families who had several children and seemed to have budgeted for their holiday but didn't realise there were extra charges. I spoke to a couple of families who admitted that they couldn't afford to go ashore.

The variety of food was good but the deserts weren't as nice as PO. I noticed that there was an area in the buffet especially

for wheelchair users, We sat there by mistake on the first day and were firmly moved on.

It was ok for a change but we missed PO having done 13 cruises with them Our next cruise will be on Britannia,

[Jim Crow]

DN

We took a number of enjoyable Thomson cruises in the early days, late 1990's, when many of the passenger were seasoned cruisers with other lines, who like us were enjoying a second/third cruise usually as a last minute bargain. (Topaz, Island Breeze, Emerald)

Ray[/quote]
.................................

We started with 3 Thomson cruises and thought they were great. Emerald, Emerald and Spirit. Only came to P&O for the long cruise we wanted and sort of 'stayed' except one on Cunard ......... never again with them, the attitude of the staff, 'We know we have your tip so why should we bother'. It was a big family booking as well. On top of that we had rough weather and Queen Victoria is a lousy sea boat, rides a head swell very badly with locker fronts dropping off and overheads falling down. Have been on Aurora in rougher seas and just come off Oceana where we had rough seas and she just 'rode them'.

However not very pleased with the drops in standards we have seen on P&O and looking forward to trying Royal Caribbean which a friend always uses and raves over.

[jay-ell71]

While Princess was similar to PO..RCI was,we felt. different in lots of ways,

The cost of shuttle busses hit hard on some families who had several children and seemed to have budgeted for their holiday but didn't realise there were extra charges. I spoke to a couple of families who admitted that they couldn't afford to go ashore.

How very sad for the families. I am sure they got a really good price for their basic accommodation, food etc., but if the "extras" are not explained then their costs can rise far above their expected budget. Unfortunately you don't get owt for nowt, and the cruise companies are at fault for not setting it all out clearly.

[Gill W]

We're going to try something new next September.

We've booked a 3 night break on Cruise and Maritime's new ship Magellan, sailing from Tilbury.

This ship holds 1250 passengers, which is slightly smaller than I prefer, but I think it'll be fine for three nights

The ports are Amsterdam and Antwerp, both places we haven't visited before.

We booked online, and have booked our parking at the same time.

It was all very straightforward, so we are happy so far