What a cruise on Poesia

Just back fro the 12/26 - 1/2 cruise on the Poesia. First with MSC and not my last. What a great cruise.

Will write a full review but here is just a little taste.

The ship is clean and beautiful. Where ever you look any time of day someone is cleaning.

The crew was the best. Friendly and always had a smile. Never had an issue with anyone i dealt with.

Food whether in the MDR of buffet was very good. Staff always taking away empty dishes. No problems with ice tea or ice water. Always available. Only disappointment was the lobster dinner on New Years Eve nothing special other wise no problems.

Lounges and Bars plenty of room and great shows.

The animation team were always keeping you busy with great programs either at the pool or any place else on the ship. They start at 9am on the pool deck and they just keep on going like the energizer bunny.

We were 4 in an OV room and had plenty of space.

My 2 boys 12 and 15 had plenty to do without getting involved in the kids club.

Got home last night and just booked for next year 12/23 and took a 2nd cabin for my 2 older kids.

Will finish with this...WOW...Thank you MSC for one of the best cruises we have ever taken. Do not change a thing.

Your quick review was helpful. I'll be taking my first MSC cruise next month. How wonderful your family had a wonderful time on your cruise. My friend Richard had a great time last month on his MSC Poesia cruise.

I was on Poesia last January and I'm looking forward to another great week starting Sunday.

ejd I'm glad you had a great cruise.....we also had our first MSC cruise recently, 10 days on the Poesia.....we loved it too.

IMHO it's far superior to the other 9 cruises we've taken.... and I agree they shouldn't change a thing.

We loved the ship, the crew, the entertainment, and the food..... in fact we loved everything about it!

We loved our cruise as well. We were upgraded (three rooms) from interior guarantees to balconies, so the price couldn't be beat. The food was terrific, the ship beautiful, calm waters so no sea sickness and made it to all the ports - in all, a wonderful vacation!

We loved our cruise as well. We were upgraded (three rooms) from interior guarantees to balconies, !

We had the same upgrade....some more cynical people said it was so MSC could 'sucker new people in'....

Well it worked.... we're well and truly suckered.... We loved our cruise, and now we love MSC!!!!!

I'am happy that you all had a great cruise on the Magnificent MSC Cruise lines.:)

Also if people are concerned about the smoking don't be it wasn't bad. Some people mentioned about pushy Europeans the Americans were the pushy ones. Sorry to say.

it is also nice not to smell cooking on the pool deck. it is all done inside and don't worry about the breaks between meals you don't even realize it. Enjoy the pizza and the bread.

We are also going on the 02/06/11-02/20/11 cruise and looking very forward to it. We were on the Lirica last year and had a great time love MSC

Just back fro the 12/26 - 1/2 cruise on the Poesia. First with MSC and not my last. What a great cruise.

 

Will write a full review but here is just a little taste.

 

The ship is clean and beautiful. Where ever you look any time of day someone is cleaning.

 

The crew was the best. Friendly and always had a smile. Never had an issue with anyone i dealt with.

 

Food whether in the MDR of buffet was very good. Staff always taking away empty dishes. No problems with ice tea or ice water. Always available. Only disappointment was the lobster dinner on New Years Eve nothing special other wise no problems.

 

Lounges and Bars plenty of room and great shows.

 

The animation team were always keeping you busy with great programs either at the pool or any place else on the ship. They start at 9am on the pool deck and they just keep on going like the energizer bunny.

 

We were 4 in an OV room and had plenty of space.

 

My 2 boys 12 and 15 had plenty to do without getting involved in the kids club.

 

Got home last night and just booked for next year 12/23 and took a 2nd cabin for my 2 older kids.

 

Will finish with this...WOW...Thank you MSC for one of the best cruises we have ever taken. Do not change a thing.

Have you written the review yet?

Just back fro the 12/26 - 1/2 cruise on the Poesia. First with MSC and not my last. What a great cruise.

 

Will write a full review but here is just a little taste.

 

The ship is clean and beautiful. Where ever you look any time of day someone is cleaning.

 

The crew was the best. Friendly and always had a smile. Never had an issue with anyone i dealt with.

 

Food whether in the MDR of buffet was very good. Staff always taking away empty dishes. No problems with ice tea or ice water. Always available. Only disappointment was the lobster dinner on New Years Eve nothing special other wise no problems.

 

Lounges and Bars plenty of room and great shows.

 

The animation team were always keeping you busy with great programs either at the pool or any place else on the ship. They start at 9am on the pool deck and they just keep on going like the energizer bunny.

 

We were 4 in an OV room and had plenty of space.

 

My 2 boys 12 and 15 had plenty to do without getting involved in the kids club.

 

Got home last night and just booked for next year 12/23 and took a 2nd cabin for my 2 older kids.

 

Will finish with this...WOW...Thank you MSC for one of the best cruises we have ever taken. Do not change a thing.

Hello,

Thanks for posting your review.

I can't help but notice that you gave your Poesia cruise 5+ stars this year (12/10)and also gave your Costa cruise 5+ stars last year (12/09) yet now you post in your review "Comparing Costa to MSC I would never travel Costa again."

Both were 5+ stars, but one you wouldn't sail again?:confused:

How and why did you rate both 5+ stars?

Have you cruised any other lines for reference?

Thanks in advance.

We were on the Poesia for the 12/19/10 cruise and on Costa Fortuna last year the same week (because we still go by school vacations our cruises on Celebrity Horizon, Holland America Ryndam, and Royal Caribbean Majesty of the Seas were also the same week).

MSC and Costa were comparable on many levels: the many languages spoken, many more dancing opportunities and music than the other lines, both had much more congested buffet lines than the other ships, both served good pizza daily and you could get very good pasta at every meal.

We had a wonderful trip this year on MSC; the things that stood out on Costa were pizza every night from ten to one in the morning where the buffet area was turned into a trattoria with checkered tablecloths, candles, and waiters that took your order for pizza (which was great for us a I have one daughter who is vegan and will only eat a cheeseless pizza and another who will only eat a white pizza), A Pannetone (sp?) deleivered to everyone's room on Christmas - a nice touch, chocolates at night (actually MSC is the only cruiseline that didn't provide this) and Toga Night. This sounds so corny but was a great evening and I missed my beautiful twenty year old son not coming to the dining room in his toga, sandals and crown of leaves at dinner!

The one other difference we (especially my children) noticed was there were less cerebral games (trivia, etc) on MSC and they missed those games. We did take advantage of the ones on MSC; they were almost all held around the pool though. My family preferred games on other cruises held in the smaller various rooms around the ship. We also brought many of our own games with us though (I had four of my five children on the cruise with us 26, 22, 20 and 13 - my 25 year old couldn't join us for the first time). This would not stop us from cruising with MSC again - it was a beautiful ship, very good cuisine, the staff were lovely and accomodating, in all a wonderful vacation.

The truth is we're not loyal to any cruise line; I'm always looking for the best deal and we've never been disappointed.

The reason for the 5+ on Costa last year was the superior way they do things compared to the carnival and ncl cruise lines. The reason for the 5+ on MSC was how much better it was then costa and the other lines that I spoke about.

I hope that helps.

Yes, that makes sense, we didn't care for NCL too much either but we have had good luck with CCL.

Was wondering about your Costa cruise as it is the one most often compared to MSC so I find it interesting you prefer one over the other so strongly.

We loved MSC too! Just got a letter in the mail from Carnival today asking us why we haven't been back. IMO, MSC is much better and I can't wait to plan our next trip. Really wish I could transfer my platinum status from Carnival to MSC. Oh well, just an excuse to cruise more!

We loved MSC too! Just got a letter in the mail from Carnival today asking us why we haven't been back. IMO, MSC is much better and I can't wait to plan our next trip. Really wish I could transfer my platinum status from Carnival to MSC. Oh well, just an excuse to cruise more!

I hope I like MSC as much as you do. I am going to miss the Carnival Platinum perks especially the free laundry.

The thing with Costa was that even though it is an Italian cruise line it is owned by Carnival. The ships are the same. They do things differently then Carnival. The food was better then Carnival and NCL but not better then MSC. The rooms, the staff and the ship are much nicer then Carnival. The activities are all day and all over the ship on MSC.

As you all can see from my signature, I cruise both Costa and MSC. One of these days I'm going to sit down and write a point-by-point comparison between the two lines, citing everything from cabins to food to spa, internet, laundry, etc. I will say however, while both Italian lines are similar, I'll probably give Costa better marks on most things, aside from the horrible Carnival-Farcus interiors of the newer ships. Maybe late next month.

We just got back from a back to back cruise. We enjoyed the ship. It is beautiful. The food was good. We had good waiters, however not eveyone had a good waiter. The reception desk just ok, not always helpful. Entertainment was ok, we have had better on other ships. Lounge shows very very good. The animation team kept us busy with plenty of activities.

Hello ejdl4,

My family of nine are also looking forward to next December on the Poesia! First time cruisers so a little freaked out.

How did you find the weather on your past cruise?

Kids in our party will be two girls both 5 and a 15 and 17 year old. Not too worried about the older ones but I am hoping the younger two will love the kids club!

Desertrose64