MSC Melody 26 July Review

Well, our much anticipated cruise is over, and while there is little I can add to AmoMondo's review - I will give my impressions.

This was our first cruise, and while we are American - we have traveled and lived extensively in Europe. We selected the Melody primarily for the itinerary - this sailing was full of great stops including Sorrento (Pompei), Alexandria, Antalya, and Rhodes.

We were booked in one of the Lounge Deck "Mini-suites", although I am trying to figure out what the difference between the mini-suites and the outside staterooms. We did not have a mini-bar, bathrobes, etc, and as far as I could tell it was the same size as the outside staterooms.

A few impressions:

The ship is old, and definitely shows her age, but it is clean and well-kept.

A late July sailing in the Eastern Med is really hot - Egypt and Turkey were 38-41 C. The air conditioner in the room (and most public areas) did fine when it stayed below 35 or so, over this, however, it got a little warm.

The Entertainment Team was very engaging, without being overly pushy. Several are able to switch between English, Italian, Spanish, German, and French with ease - very impressive. As others have mentioned - everything is done in five languages, but this is generally more interesting than annoying. They do them in the same order, so you can tune out until it is time for your language. The Cruise Director changes languages seamlessly, and is very dynamic.

Every member of the crew, especially the waitstaff, were extremely helpful, and we never found the service lacking. Our waiter for dinner was especially nice and helpful and always had our drinks waiting when we arrived.

Drinks - I had researched the drink packages available online, and decided not to buy ahead, as I assumed that they would all be available on the ship. The only things available on the ship were packages of drink tickets. The one I found particularly helpful was the Peter Pan package. It was 10 sodas/juice/shakes/non-alcoholic drinks for 23 Euro. Sodas are normally 2.70 and the non-alcoholic drinks are 3.90, so this was a big savings. The package was available throughout the whole cruise at any bar. We went through several of these, as my kids loved the Virgin Daiquiris and Colibri drinks. There was also a package for teens which included Red Bull, and a wine package made of seven pre-selected wines and bottled water. I didn't find that drinks were astronomical - the house wine was available in 0.5L carafes for 7 euro, other wines/champagnes are around 4-6 euro a glass, beers were around 3-5, mixed drinks were 6.70, and there was always a drink special which was around 3.50. The Martinis in the Blue Riband Bar were quite nice. We received 11 bottled water vouchers when we checked-in, which we used for excursions. Ice water is available during all meal times, which covers a large portion of the day. One pet peeve about the drinks was that they serve the beer (and everything else for that matter) in plastic cups at most of the bars, and it is never cold enough for Americans. If you specifically ask they will bring you a real glass - especially if you get in good with the wait staff.

Food -

I found the food to be very nice. It is not always presented beautifully, but it was hot and plentiful. I always found enough variety in the dinner selections, and if you don't, there are always stand-bys of chicken, beef or salmon, spaghetti or pene, and mixed salad. For most courses, there are 2 choices and the main is generally 3 or 4 choices. The risottos were nice, but if I see a grain of arborio rice in the near future it will not be pretty! The soups were all very tasty, and I found them hot enough. Salads were a bit disappointing, generally no matter the description, it was a mixed salad.

Don't expect a full-blown Midnight Buffet every night. Often it is just snacks served in the lounges. We had three big buffets, the Chocolate Buffet, a Greek Buffet and the Magnifique. The Magnifique was quite nice, with ice carvings, vegetable displays, etc.

Excursions -

We only booked one excursion with MSC, and that was to Pompei. This turned out to be a lifesaver. I was not aware that Sorrento was a tender port, so upon arrival the excusions were able to get off the ship rather quickly, but those without an excursion had waits of 2+ hours. Considering our limited time in port, we would not have made it to Pompei and back with any time on our own. The tendering process on the return was utter chaos, as everyone pushed and shoved their way onto the tenders. The Sorrento Port authorities seemed very displeased with the process. The tour itself was well run, the busses were nice, and the guide was top-notch.

For Egypt, we booked thru Ramses, and everything that is written about them in the Egypt reviews is spot on. They are wonderful from booking through drop-off.

In Limassol and Antalya MSC offered a shuttle bus to the city center. In Limassol, a taxi was probably a cheaper way to go, particularly for 3 or 4 people, but sometimes it is worth the price for the convenience alone. Rhodes, was the best port of the trip. You walk right off the ship and you are the gate to the Old Town. Wonderful restaurants, sites, reasonably priced shopping - great time!

Messina, Sicily was quick - just time enough to get off, grab a cannoli, some souvenirs, and watch the clock strike 12, then back on the ship. Olbia was not very impressive. We took a very expensive taxi ride to San Panteleo, which was a pretty town with some neat little shops. This was included on one of the MSC excursions, and this might have been a good port to choose an excursion for.

Entertainment-

I liked the shows, but as mentioned, Club Universe is not the ideal venue. It would have been nice to have them in a theater setting. The were two dance groups, a magician, several opera singers, a contortionist, and a circus performer. They all did a very nice job.

OK- enough for now. Feel free to ask any questions and I will try to answer while it is still fresh in my mind.

Thank you for your review.

I am most please with the information about the tour to Pompeii. I have a really short port time too (5hrs) and therefore because it was a tender port have decided to do the ship excursion. It is good to hear that it is a good option.

Thank you also about the information about the paper cups for the beer. We have pre-purchased to 907 package as we are Australians and will do a "little" bit of drinking :D. If the beer was not cold enough for you I am positive that it will not be cold enough for us ;) Lucky I am Australian and will drink anything :rolleyes:.

I will have to use my charm to get glasses as beer just does not taste the same out of a paper cups.

Again thank you for your review.