MSC Orchestra 14th - 21st March

My cousin, niece and I first travelled on the MSC Orchestra in December'08. Genoa to Fort Lauderdale. The Christmas and New Year crossing. We had a fantastic time. We were so impressed with the beautiful ship, the shining glass, brass, marble and the clean Italian elegance and the happy friendly staff that we flew back to the ship from UK to cruise the Caribbean 14th / 21st March.:)

We embarked in 30 minutes. Quick and easy.

During our first afternoon i went to see Domenico the assistant Maitre'D requesting our same waiter (Joni) in L'Ibiscus (Ristorante Superiore) He was very obliging and agreed to our request.

The food is excellent in this restaurant. The staff are courteous, obliging,(nothing was too much bother) and they all work so hard.Always smiling and polite.

The Captain Station was Parminder Singh, who i'm sure many guest's will remember. When he came to your table he was a joy, always had time for polite conversation, or a joke or one of his many trick's! But first and formost making sure every guest was happy.

The most popular and hard working waiter was Luigi Iridio a handsome Italian who warmed our hearts with stories of his wife and how much he loved her, he was so efficient and all his guests praised him, his work and of course his opera singing!Many people had requested to be served by him and refused to go elsewhere. If you get this waiter you are truly lucky!As i kept telling him , his Mama in Italy must be so proud of him!

As i mentioned before one of the assistant Maitre'D is Demenico a tall distinguished Italian, who quietly keeps a check on all his staff making sure that the restaurant runs smoothly. A very serious man who lit up when he smiled, a true gent!

Our other assistant Maitre'D was Vince, a small dark handsome man, who kept his staff in check and when needed showed his true Italian temper. He is very good looking and a very helpful and charming man. dedicated to doing his job well.

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr Vincenzo Porzio the Maitre'D. The man we must all thank for the wonderful L'Ibiscus restaurant. He takes great pride in his work and making sure that all restaurants run smoothly and all guests are happy.

We ate all our evening meals in this restaurant (2nd sitting) we love the wonderful hardworking staff and the wonderful food. part of the reason we returned to the Orchestra and hope to do so again in Aug/ Sept.

The entertainment team are a group of mainly young Italian people, who ensure that all guest's have a good time. They teach dances,play games and encourage all to join in!They seem to unlimited smiles, energy and time for every body!In fine weather they are on deck 13 daytime and evenings in The Savannah Bar on deck 6.

During the evenings there is other entertainment on the ship. On deck 5 at the Bar L'incontro the two beautiful glass stairways meet there is a small stage containing a glass grand piano.The entertainment alternates between Moonlight Quartet 4 young women who play Piano, Violins and Cello. Their classical music is lovely and very popular with the guesta. Inbetween is Los Paraguayos talented guirtar players from Paraguay. They are fantastic! Celso is a requintos guitar player famous in his hime country. A truly gifted man. When he plays solo (can last 7-10 mins non stop!)He plays so fast and so complexed i am suprised his fingers dont start smoking!

Francisco the lead singer, has the most beautiful and powerful voice, the voice of an angel! If he lived in UK he would be a star!On Christmas Eve he sang Silent Night solo, in spanish. It was the most beautiful, touching version i have ever heard and i will never forget it! The youngest and newest of the tro is Edgar who's singing and playing is almost on par with the two professionals. They wear beautiful black and embroidered shirts and hand woven scarves from their home country. They mainly play Latin American music, but seem to to be able to play anything thats requested.

In the Amber Bar on deck 5, a couple called Fabrizo e Ivana perform. He plays the piano/organ and she sings really well. They are very good and worth a visit.

Our cabin was very nice, always kept clean, every morning the beds were made, towels and flannels replaced, even after a afternoon nap the beds were remade and turned down ready for the night. We had no problems with our safe during our trips and we did not use room service.

Dis embarking was also quick and easy.

We absolutly love MSC and will cruise with them for many years to come.:)

Jerseybelle,

Thank you for your well written review. My DH and I sail on the Orchestra two weeks from today. We have never been on a vacation that we found things to complain about, we are just so grateful to have the opportnity. But we have been a litle nervous about this trip considering the negitive reports we have read. (although they seem to be getting better and better, yours was no exception) Thank you for helping me get even more excited about this trip!:)

What ports did you visit and what did you do when you where at those ports? We still are a little unsure about what we want to do. We live near the beach so my DH doesn't want to spend to much time at the beaches.

Thanks again!

Jerseybelle:

Thanks for the great run down on your cruise.

Wondered if you remember an assistant matrdie(sp) Italian, short guy with White hair. A friend of ours wants us to search him out to say hello.Couldn't remember his name only that he was from Sorento. Friend said he would probably stand out mostly because there are not too many staff with white/silver hair.

We will be on the ship next Saturday ---sure hope these high winds we are having in Florida today die down some before then.

Also we have a cabin on the Arpa deck 8 #8035. Wondered who out there can tell us anything about this cabin.

Thanks

Kathy & Buck

In between is Los Paraguayos talented guitar players from Paraguay. They are fantastic! Celso is a requintos guitar player famous in his home country. A truly gifted man. When he plays solo (can last 7-10 mins non stop!) he plays so fast and so complexed I am suprised his fingers don't start smoking!

Francisco the lead singer, has the most beautiful and powerful voice, the voice of an angel! If he lived in UK he would be a star! On Christmas Eve he sang Silent Night solo, in spanish. It was the most beautiful, touching version I have ever heard and I will never forget it! The youngest and newest of the trio is Edgar who's singing and playing is almost on par with the two professionals. They wear beautiful black and embroidered shirts and hand woven scarves from their home country. They mainly play Latin American music, but seem to be able to play anything that's requested.

 

We absolutly love MSC and will cruise with them for many years to come.:)

I went on the March 7th Orchestra cruise and I loved Los Paraguayos so much that I'm going back on April 11th. I just hope they're still there by then and that their contract hasn't ended! I so enjoyed their music! I never knew I had this attraction to Latin American music until I went on this cruise!

Can you tell I'm a retired editor? :D

Anita

So, if you went on your cruise in March, how did you hear Cisco sing Silent Night? You've been on this cruise before, haven't you? Hmmmm. Maybe I'm not the only one who loves Latin American music!

Anita

Jerseybelle' date='

Thank you for your well written review. My DH and I sail on the Orchestra two weeks from today. We have never been on a vacation that we found things to complain about, we are just so grateful to have the opportnity. But we have been a litle nervous about this trip considering the negitive reports we have read. (although they seem to be getting better and better, yours was no exception) Thank you for helping me get even more excited about this trip!:)

What ports did you visit and what did you do when you where at those ports? We still are a little unsure about what we want to do. We live near the beach so my DH doesn't want to spend to much time at the beaches.

Thanks again![/quote']

 

Please be advised that you have spelled opportunity incorrectly. I am sure it was a typo but just in case I thought I would point it out.

 

Happy sails

Please be advised that you have spelled opportunity incorrectly. I am sure it was a typo but just in case I thought I would point it out.

 

Happy sails

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=18716779&postcount=12

would have, not would of

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=18432558&postcount=2

wrongly, not wrong

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=18159947&postcount=1

comman???????? Ha ha!

hi,

We sailed in Dec08 / Jan 09, Genoa to Fort Launderdale.

Oh yes i love latin music!! we became very close.

Are they (Los Paraguayos) still on The Orchestra? I heard that this could be their last week (April 11 - April 18). I hope they haven't left yet! I'm so looking forward to seeing them!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=18716779&postcount=12

would have, not would of

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=18432558&postcount=2

wrongly, not wrong

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=18159947&postcount=1

comman???????? Ha ha!

I love you, whoever you are!

I love you, whoever you are!

Luv Crusin.....are you single?

Luv Crusin.....are you single?

I just know I'm going to regret this....yes, I am single. :p

Wonder if there are more than one group called Los Paraguayos or whether it is the same group that keeps changing ship. ? They sound the same as the group that I came accross on the Lirica last year and the Opera 2 years before that. Come to think of it, I think they have been on every MSC crusie that I've been on in the past 3 years.

hi,

No its wasn't the same group.

i'm almost sure there is a group called Los Paraguayos on every ship. They are all called the same , but it's all different musicans.

In the summer the Orchestra had a group of 4 older guys playing.

hi Buckaroooo.

The assistant Maitre'D you are looking for is in Ristorante Villa Borghese on Deck 5.

He is always polite and always says hello, but apart from that , we weren't in his restaurant, so didn't have any more contact then that.

Thank you for the info. We will be on the orchestra the 4th and the 11th as we are doing a back to back. I will certainly look him up.

Buck and Kathy

hi,

No its wasn't the same group.

i'm almost sure there is a group called Los Paraguayos on every ship. They are all called the same , but it's all different musicans.

In the summer the Orchestra had a group of 4 older guys playing.

Being of a curious nature, I came home from my March 7th cruise and Googled Los Paraguayos. They've been around for YEARS and YEARS! Since the 50's at least. They've released many albums. But, the members have changed over the years. It looks like they started as a quartet and grew to a group of twelve or so. I'm looking forward to talking with Celso, Francisco, and Edgar on my April 11th cruise and finding out how this all developed. Are some of them the children of the original members? I've seen videos from the other MSC ships and one group of Los Paraguayos has a harp, another group has an accordian (concertina). I'd love to hear the entire group together some time.

Anita

Thank you for the info. We will be on the orchestra the 4th and the 11th as we are doing a back to back. I will certainly look him up.

Buck and Kathy

Buck and Kathy - please join our roll call - we have a great bunch of folks and would love to welcome you to our group! We are on the April 4th sailing!

Thank you for the info. We will be on the orchestra the 4th and the 11th as we are doing a back to back. I will certainly look him up.

Buck and Kathy

I can't find you in the April 11th roll calls either. We'd love to hear from you and have you attend our Meet & Greet on Sunday, April 12th, at 3:00 in the Savannah Lounge! Only if you'd like, of course. We ARE on vacation and time does get away from you on a cruise!

Anita

We signed up for the roll call. Hope we did it correctly.

Thanks

Buck and Kathy

JUst got off the Lirica & yes the group with same name was there, a 18 yr old harp player & older guitar & bongo drum player. I was also on the Orchestra Jan 10 & do not remember a group like this. Entertainment great on both ships but I would say higher caliber of professionals on Orchestra, especially the OPera, Concert & Violin performances. Looking forward to my next MSC cruise, being a very frequent cruiser, they offer the best for the least.