2/14-2/21 Orcheastra review. 8195 Aft balcony. Wouldn't cruise MSC again.

While we had a good time, we would not cruise MSC again or recommend it. We have done both Princess and Celebrity and there is no comparison. We chose MSC because of the ports of call and the difference in price with the kids sail free option. Next time we will pay to take our 14 month old on a different line. It just wasn't worth it.

Embarkation and debarkation went extremely smoothly. We arrived at the ship around 12 and were inside and had our dinner table changed by 12:40 or so. They had put us on the first dinner seating even though we requested 2nd. As soon as we got on the ship we went to get it corrected and they were very accomadating. Embarkation and debarkation was a very fast and efficient system. If you have a tough flight to catch I recommend getting a porter to help you with your bags. Ours got us a cab as soon as we got out and there was a sea of people waiting for cabs.

On both of our previous cruises, Princess 10 day and Celebrity 11 day, we had normal balconies. This cruise we got an aft bacony, 8195. We did have concerns when booking the cruise with engine noise and being directly above the shaker lounge. We called MSC and talked to their reps and asked about noise from the engine and the lounge. they assured us that you would not hear either. Well they were partially right. The first three nights when the ship was traveling 20 knots we could not hear the lounge because of the engine noise and vibration. They were both nonstop. We had to open the closet doors partially, but not all the way, because of the rattling. You could not have any glass touching anyhthing, fruit bowl and plate etc. it was so loud when sitting out on our balcony you could not talk to each other in a normal voice, you couldn't hear each other. I have never experienced anything like that. The 4th night we were only traveling 80 miles and the boat was going half speed so there was no engine noise. Of course that meant at 10pm the shaker lounge speaker in our room was activated. Good lord. I apoligize to whomever was in 8197 sorry about the crying. Our 14 month old son was up from 11pm to 3am. To say the staff was useless that night, might be an insult to those that consider themself useless. It's always amazing how people can understand you until there is a problem, then there is a language barrier. And while I agree with others that the majority of the staff was very nice, I think just about every employee from italy was rude. It was amazing. My wife said she's not sure if she wants to go to Italy any more if everyone there is this rude. The next day they moved us to a different room but only had one available because a family had debarked in Antigua.

Our dinner server and waiter were very helpful and did an excellent job. Constantin and Carlo also did an excellent job talking and playing with our son. You just have to realize that you will have to ask for a water refill every time you want it. They were working their butts off because the ship was so full.

"Hunger is the best spice." I was amused the first time in my life I heard this phrase and laughed about how true it is. Well, it definitely applied to their food. Bland is the best way to describe the food. I don't think they used many spices at all. Very blah. The caprese salad was fantastic and our server got it for us on the final night even though it wasn't on the menu. I had a steak three different times and they were not good. Very mediocre cut of meat that was not tender. I am amazed at people who said the lobster was good, it was very low quality and not good. Your best option is to do the sit down lunch and breakfast vs the buffet. the quality is much better.

The rudeness of the guests was mind blowing as well. It is sad when a simple excuse me or thank you become so scarce. Their were so many loud and rude people it was disappointing. We had a couple large tables full of Italian Americans near us at dinner. It was as loud as a HS cafeteria the whole time.

The thing that impressed me most about the ship was the number of lounges that they had. It seemed like every 30 feet you walked you were in a new area with different music. From a live piano player to people dancing the selection was very wide and appealing. Plenty of places to sit down and relax.

St Maarten was our favorite stop and the definitely have the best duty free shopping of the four stops.

Overall we enjoyed ourselves but that was a product of our attitude, not this cruise. When reading all of the reviews prior to the cruise I kept a positive attitude and kept reassuring my wife. I told her it doesn't matter how the cruise is we can just sit out on our balcony and enjoy each other and the view. With our room we couldn't do that until last 3 days. There are just too many other options out there that are far superior for a little more money for us to do this line again. i've even read some people enjoyed the food which is mind blowing. I don't think there were two dishes that I would be proud to serve at my home. but that's the beauty of their being so many lines to choose from, something for everyone. I don't know if our blacony was so much louder because it was the lowest level of aft balcony or what. We will just stick with the normal balcony in the future and a different line.

Good luck to those of you about to head out and enjoy yourself. There will be plenty of people complaining about how bad it is because there will be many unhappy people. Be sure to avoid them and enjoy your time there. When everyone was debarking in Nassau we went out and walked the deck rather than wait in line with the complainers. It makes such a huge difference.

Josh

Thank you very much for a well rounded review! I am sorry that your aft balcony was so uncomfortable for you. Lesson learned for many, I am sure! I am still very excited about our upcoming cruise, as reviews like yours and many others that have come in recently have alerted me to any potential problems and how to habdle them if they do arise (please, thank you and a smile!)

Maybe one day you will give MSC another try- perhaps just in another area of the ship! Until then- happy sailing on whatever line you choose!

Hello,

Sorry you did not enjoy your aft balcony! We were 2 rooms down and loved it.

Yes there was some vibration being over the thrusters but did not bother us and

we did not hear anything from the Shaker lounge. I actually was concerned about that

but not a peep. Also had a couple babies next to us on the other side and only heard them on

the balcony. Never heard any crying at night. I really believe the sounds from the engines and the wake put us to sleep every night.

I posted a review in the member review section but they have not posted yet.

Hello,

Sorry you did not enjoy your aft balcony! We were 2 rooms down and loved it.

Yes there was some vibration being over the thrusters but did not bother us and

we did not hear anything from the Shaker lounge. I actually was concerned about that

but not a peep. Also had a couple babies next to us on the other side and only heard them on

the balcony. Never heard any crying at night. I really believe the sounds from the engines and the wake put us to sleep every night.

I posted a review in the member review section but they have not posted yet.

Glad you enjoyed it and very greatful that Lucas didn't bother you. The combiniation of not being able to console your child and guilt of being a noisy neighbor stinks.

Other things I forgot.

We couldn't find our over the door shoe holder for the bathroom but their was plenty of storage room and we didn't miss it.

All rooms have hair dryers.

The gelato was very good. Although don't call it Ice cream. When my wife asked a passenger if her ice cream was good she rudely responded, "It's not ice cream. Its gelato!" That will now be one of our long running jokes.

Last cruise on RCCL--- we could not eat the burgers in the little cafe at the back because the ship was vibrating so bad... my dd literally freaked out! She kept thinking we were on the Titanic!!

Thanks for the review. I laughed when I read about your wife asking about the ice-cream.Was the room you switched to any better?

Yes. the new room was much better. We got switched to room 9135. It was a smaller room, but that was ok. Our aft balcony was the second room from the end. I wonder if it was the combination of being the bottom row plus close to the end that made it so loud? Either way, new room worked.

thanks Josh for your review...We are going of the orchestra March 7th, and I am going with an open mind. Like you, we will enjoy our vacation regardless! We are hoping to be able to post a good review when we return March 14th. The way I look at in, we won't be working for a week, and the kids get to get out of school for the week. We have enjoyed the other 4 cruises that we have been on (Norwegian, Carnival, Costa-2times). We have like some better than others, but have a had a great vacation will all. Thanks again for your opinions!