MSC Opera Feb 19 - Review

[CPMichael]

We just returned from the Feb 19th sailing of the Opera. I have to tell you they are making huge strides since the beginning, as I noticed most, if not all, of the challenges they had months ago have been addressed. We had a WONDERFUL time and I would cruise with them again in a heartbeat.

Embarkation: Went very quickly -- hardly had any wait. When we arrived on the ship a crewmember was kind enough to escort us to our stateroom.

Stateroom: We were in a Category 11 Cabin number 12012. WHAT A GREAT LOCATION!!! Front of ship and very close to the pool -- we really enjoyed the room. Large walk in closet, full tub and shower in the bath and plenty of room to relax. Our cabin steward too GREAT care of us with fresh fruit in the room everyday, and always made sure we had extra towels and water.

Dining: I took someones advice here on the baord and requested L' Apprado with a table by the fantail windows. I faxed the ship and when we arrived, the maitre d introduced himeself and showed us to our table -- #153 Right in the middle of the windows. Our wait staff was very nice and we felt the food offerings to be extensive. The food was served promptly with little wait and the overall quality was very good.

Itinerary: We were on the western -- I only wished we had more time in Cozumel -- very short. Other than that I enjoyed the itinerary very much.

Entertainment: We only saw two shows, but of what we saw, we enjoyed both of them and we impressed. I was not a fan of the 5 language introduction and think they only need to announce in english and italian.

Experience: I felt this cruise line make a HUGE effort to keep the ship as clean as possible. By far, the cleanest ship I have been on. There was iced tea offered everywhere with ice machines right where you could help your self. We had iced tea with dinner every night and ice water was present at all meals == not once did we have to ask for it to be refilled. The pizza was wonderful and they had it available all through the cruise. The ice cream machines were only available from 2:30 to 5:30 and this should be changed. The Buffets were imaginative and very well done, every night a different theme. There was a clear effort on this ship to have food offerings that appealed to all and they were successful. Room service was prompt -- and we ordered most every day.

Overall -- I loved the experience and would cruise on MSC again without reservation.

Michael

[wardmav1]

Michael,
Did you find that the original itinerary that you received matched the actual itinerary of the cruise? Just wondering since I have read that some people had their port times changed. Great review.

[CPMichael]

Originally Posted by wardmav1

Michael,
Did you find that the original itinerary that you received matched the actual itinerary of the cruise? Just wondering since I have read that some people had their port times changed. Great review.

Yes, Ours did match the original itinerary.

Michael

[henri]

On our last cruise with Lirica (last November) ice-machines were closed !!
When I asked to open, it was not for free and was charged.
How was that on Opera ??
Henri.

[graham uk]

Great review! I'm looking forward to sailing very soon now.

[beardie91]

Do not worry about ice on the Opera. our cabin attendant put ice in the cabin at least twice a day. It is needed for cooling the rather warm cold water from the tap. The cabin attendant we had was WONDERFUL!!!!

beardie91

[TMom]

[quote=CPMichael]

Dining: I took someones advice here on the baord and requested L' Apprado with a table by the fantail windows. I faxed the ship and when we arrived, the maitre d introduced himeself and showed us to our table -- #153 Right in the middle of the windows. Our wait staff was very nice and we felt the food offerings to be extensive. The food was served promptly with little wait and the overall quality was very good.]

--------------------------------
Did you tip the Head Maitre D?

[okko]

I also took this cruise on the Opera on 2/19/05. I certainly approached this ccruise with mixed feeling having read the "good" and "bad" on the cruise critic boards. I have sailed over 70 cruise including multiple cruises with Home Lines, Sitmar Cruises, Costa, Princess etc. etc. Perhaps I approached the cruise with lower expectations but I was immediately impressed with the embarkation that went remarkably smoothly. The public areas of the ship were attractive and very clean. My cabin was also very neat and clean. The cabin service was prompt and efficient and excellent. The room, although not large, held everything in our 4, 28" suitcases with ease. This size of the ship was a welcomed change from the "giant ships" that sail today.

The food was great, creative, served hot and cooked as requested. The quality of service and the training of the dining room staff could be improved, however, certainly was adequate. The bread, pasta and risotto were their best effort, entrees could have been better but once again were perfectly
acceptable. It appears that the waiters were not trained well enough to handle the number of tables assigned to them. Perhaps in time this will improve.

The entire staff as a whole was friendly, courteous and helpful. The Animation Staff (Cruise Staff) was dedicated and worked very hard.
Because there was only one pool area I would have preferred they spent less time in this area so that it would have been more relaxing but perhaps a suggestion would be to put deck chairs along the promenade deck on Deck 6 so that there would have been an area outside to relax without noise. Fortunately I had a balcony room so I was able to find an area that was
good for me. Unlike previous reviews I have read, I had absolutely no problem finding a bar or deck waiter in the buffet area, deck area or public rooms. The waiters in the buffet area tried their best to be helpful and courteous, bringing tray to tables for people, getting water and ice tea, refilling coffee, etc.

The entertainment was very good. The trio outside the diningroom on deck 5
were excellent musicians and I looked forward to hearing them each evening
The shows were good, perhaps not of the caliber of larger cruise lines but quite good. The cruise staff worked hard in the evening to keep people entertained.

I would have appreciated better cabin television -- actually the addition of a news station (CNN, Headline News) would have been great.

All in all, I loved this cruise line. With a little work I belive this will be an excellent cruise line, it already is very very good. It certainly reminded me of Home Lines and Sitmar cruises which were my two favorite cruise lines. With a little more attention to detail, especially in the dining room, and better trained wait staff, with head waiters and Maitre d's who take a more active role in meeting and greeting passengers on a nightly basis, service would improve. By moving through the dining room, the Maitre D and head waiters would be able to assess and correct staff, and address dining problems as they occur so that passenger leave the dining room with problems solved.

I would sail this line again in a heartbeat and look forward to its return
to the U.S. in the future, and to a time when there will be a ship in the U.S permanently. I hope the ships stay the size of the Opera. I have only good wishes for the success to MSC

[Larry/Charlie]

I have a question about appropriate dress. We are on 3/19 Opera and expect 2 formal nights and have assumed that the other nights are smart casual. Am I correct on that or do we need to bring "semi-formal'' wear. To me smart casual for a man is dockers and a shirt with a collar. Am I correct on this?

[Manualwriter]

Originally Posted by Larry/Charlie

I have a question about appropriate dress. We are on 3/19 Opera and expect 2 formal nights and have assumed that the other nights are smart casual. Am I correct on that or do we need to bring "semi-formal'' wear. To me smart casual for a man is dockers and a shirt with a collar. Am I correct on this?

Two formal nights and the rest were casual. The MSC cruises have a more relaxed dress code then many others lines I have been on. I believe you will feel perfectly in place to dressed in "smart casual" the casual nights.

Don

[pgrob]

I see on the board that there are several people traveling with young adults/teenagers. As are we. What is the dress code for them on forman/informal nights? Also, can they get easy access to soft drinks without paying high prices on our charge? Any ideas for excursions: Puerto Rico, St. Thomas & Nassau?

Thanks. I can't wait.

[graham uk]

Hmm - somewhere in the info i had got the impression that there was going to be a mix of dress code evenings so was bringing a suite as well - won't need this if it is only to be 'formal' and 'casual'. Certainly in the brochure it refers to all three codes - the info book that came with tickets isn't very clear in the English section as it refers to 'casual' and that men will be expected to wear jacket and tie in the same sentence - doesn't make sense. Well think i'll bring all things to be covered :-) (and the ladies out there thought it was only you that worried about what to bring!) Happy cruising.

[Gabor]

Do they have kids club on Opera as I am thinking about bringing two children 7 and 4 -----and they need entertaining !
REGARDS Flora x

[AmoMondo]

Originally Posted by Gabor

Do they have kids club on Opera as I am thinking about bringing two children 7 and 4 -----and they need entertaining !
REGARDS Flora x

Yes it is located up on deck 11 (pool deck) at the front of the ship right next to the spa area.

Can't tell you much about it as I've never sailed with children. Anytime I [assed it they seemed to be happy enough. they also seem to have them involved in other things around the ship too. Noticed one day that they were out and about on a treasure hunt. What was particulary noticeable about it was they were all yabbering away in different languages but appeared not to notice and were all getting all along great (could teach us adults a thing or 2).

The main services on MSC are pretty much the same on every ship, so if you find detals of opening times/activities on here for other ships in the fleet, expect the Opera to be the same. Although you are better looking at other ships on a similar itinerary/region to the cruise you are going on, as there are differences, especially in timings on European vs US sailings.

[whaler20]

Re Micore Travel - As you appear to be a travel agent it is no wonder that you received special attention. However, should you travel with MSC in Europe you will find no free water, no ice tea, no free ice cream and only occasional midnight buffets and certainly not every night.. Seems they have different policies for passengers in US waters.