barrypoint
February 18th, 2007, 03:50 PM
First, if you purchased your cruise through Vacations-to-Go, make sure you verify your booking number and that it matches the cruise you are going on. We ran into another couple who received confirmation about their cruise on the Opera, 2/5-2/16, but learned when they got to the port that the booking number was for another cruise on another ship 10 days later. They got on board, but only as a "space available" and had to wait until everyone else boarded before they were approved. Just beware and reconfirm.
Now the cruise. We had a great time, but then we always enjoy ourselves. I've read other forums that listed one complaint after another about MSC. A cruise is what you make it, and some folks just like to complain. This was our fifth cruise and the first about MSC, and yes there were some disappointments and some inconveniences, but on the whole, it was a great experience. For the price, we cannot complain. I've paid a lot more on other cruise lines and got less.
The Embarkation -- went fairly smoothly considering 2000 people are all trying to do the same thing at the same time. When we got on board, a young man showed us to our cabin.
The ship -- beautiful, clean, well-appointed. Loved it.
The food -- We've had better, but then we've had worse. The pasta was great, as was the pizza. The dinner entree choices were a tad limited, but on the whole, good (not great, but good). Again, for the price we paid, we're not complaining.
The entertainment -- Great. Loved it. Standing ovations were common. The animation team was hard-working and fun.
The crew -- all polite and accommodating. Never had any rude or discourtious experiences. We ran into quite a few rude passengers, but the crew was great.
The ports visited -- all good except Santa Marta, Colombia. There was nothing there for those who chose not to do a shore excursion. That one they could of skipped.
The shore excursions - we dune-buggied in Mexico, zip-lined thru the rain forest canopy in Costa Rica, and went whale watching off the coast of the Dominica Republic. All were great and we saw quite a few whales.
The fitness center -- had great strength-training equipment and several cardio machines. The only problem we had was getting onto a cardio machine.....they were usually all occupied.
The pool area -- There are plenty of deck chaises around the ship, but around the pool unless you get there early and "save" one, you may have a hard time getting one. The problem is that at any given moment, there were many more saved chairs than people in the pool area. Many passengers save them for the day, and then leave for another part of the ship. So, are there enough chaises - yes. Are there too many selfish inconsiderate passengers - yes.
The casino - usually empty or near so. Not sure why.
The disembarkation - this was a problem. We arrived in Ft. Lauderdale on time at 7am, and our group didn't disembark till almost 11am. We were the last group to do so. The first group disembarked at 9:45am. Once off the ship, everything went smoothly and quickly.
Other points - some passengers complained about the multiple languages used aboard. They want everything in english and only in english. Well, welcome to international travel. If you don't like it, stay home. There were no deck chairs along the sides of the ship like other cruise lines have. That was a tad strange.
Now the cruise. We had a great time, but then we always enjoy ourselves. I've read other forums that listed one complaint after another about MSC. A cruise is what you make it, and some folks just like to complain. This was our fifth cruise and the first about MSC, and yes there were some disappointments and some inconveniences, but on the whole, it was a great experience. For the price, we cannot complain. I've paid a lot more on other cruise lines and got less.
The Embarkation -- went fairly smoothly considering 2000 people are all trying to do the same thing at the same time. When we got on board, a young man showed us to our cabin.
The ship -- beautiful, clean, well-appointed. Loved it.
The food -- We've had better, but then we've had worse. The pasta was great, as was the pizza. The dinner entree choices were a tad limited, but on the whole, good (not great, but good). Again, for the price we paid, we're not complaining.
The entertainment -- Great. Loved it. Standing ovations were common. The animation team was hard-working and fun.
The crew -- all polite and accommodating. Never had any rude or discourtious experiences. We ran into quite a few rude passengers, but the crew was great.
The ports visited -- all good except Santa Marta, Colombia. There was nothing there for those who chose not to do a shore excursion. That one they could of skipped.
The shore excursions - we dune-buggied in Mexico, zip-lined thru the rain forest canopy in Costa Rica, and went whale watching off the coast of the Dominica Republic. All were great and we saw quite a few whales.
The fitness center -- had great strength-training equipment and several cardio machines. The only problem we had was getting onto a cardio machine.....they were usually all occupied.
The pool area -- There are plenty of deck chaises around the ship, but around the pool unless you get there early and "save" one, you may have a hard time getting one. The problem is that at any given moment, there were many more saved chairs than people in the pool area. Many passengers save them for the day, and then leave for another part of the ship. So, are there enough chaises - yes. Are there too many selfish inconsiderate passengers - yes.
The casino - usually empty or near so. Not sure why.
The disembarkation - this was a problem. We arrived in Ft. Lauderdale on time at 7am, and our group didn't disembark till almost 11am. We were the last group to do so. The first group disembarked at 9:45am. Once off the ship, everything went smoothly and quickly.
Other points - some passengers complained about the multiple languages used aboard. They want everything in english and only in english. Well, welcome to international travel. If you don't like it, stay home. There were no deck chairs along the sides of the ship like other cruise lines have. That was a tad strange.