ahhhhh opera improvements

[Floridacruiseaholic]

Having just got off the Feb 5th sailing of the opera I must say it has greatly improved from the previous posts.

;)

First of all, what a great cruise line! They even raised their standards and showed the superbowl in every lounge on the ship. Life is good and it is even better with an Italian view on the superbowl.;)

 

Many other improvements are well under way from the previous comments that were made before. They are a fantastic line with top notch service in a class of their own. Would love to travel with them again. Maybe even next year during the superbowl!! Would you care to join us Czechmate????

[EXBRIT]

Whereas I have a totaly oposite opinion. I also just got off the Feb 5 sailing and my husband and I have decided to never sail MSC again. We are not bitter, and there are some positives about the line, but it is not the line for us.

[MikeWitte]

Please do go into more detail. Your input would be valued, of course we can expect one member to refute everything which doesn't paint MSC in the rosiest of hues but he's done it often enough on here already that he is just ignored.

 

Just give it to us straight and let's know the worst.

 

I happen to like MSC overall but its always interesting to hear what others thought, everyones perception is different.

[Spring]

Floridacruiseaholic

 

Im on the Mar 5th sailing, just one quick question, what time did you leave Cozumal, two weeks ago someone said they left around 11:30, but the tickets are saying 7:00??

[jacqi]

Yes, they sail from Cozumel at 12 midnight and you are assked to be back on board by 11.30pm. The Cayman itineary was also changed from 7am-2pm. Have a great trip.

[Floridacruiseaholic]

Whereas I have a totaly oposite opinion. I also just got off the Feb 5 sailing and my husband and I have decided to never sail MSC again. We are not bitter, and there are some positives about the line, but it is not the line for us.

 

 

Just have to ask what it was about the cruise that you didn't like. :confused:

 

Kristen

[czechmate]

I am genuinely pleased and delighted that your experience matched ours!

Sadly though as this thread shows MSC is just not for everyone.

If there have been improvements or if Opera and MSC have simply maintained the high standards we have enjoyed on Melody and Lirica we can only decide when we sail in April.

 

 

what a great cruise line! Life is good and it is even better with an Italian view.

 

They are a fantastic line with top notch service in a class of their own. Would love to travel with them again.

 

Would you care to join us Czechmate????

 

Thank you for the kind invitation which I do appreciate but you are going to be disappointed unless you stay tuned to this message board and book same cruise as me! Time will depend on what is decided with our USA and Austrian friends but can guarantee it will be with MSC.

[czechmate]

Would you care to join us Czechmate????

Had a thought - Maybe you can still get a booking for transatlantic 2nd April and join our very happy band of international travellers.

It is going to be so much fun!

[bobrobb]

Hi all..I am booked on the 3/ 9 sailing of Lirica and have been reading everyone else's boards because I am the only passenger on that sailing (apparently).

I have heard many reference to the "European experience" when talking about MCS. Just what do people mean by this? I have been to Europe a couple of times and while I have had some really outstanding experiences ( particularly in the Czech Rep.) I have no idea what people are talking about. The things that comes to mind for me as a "European experience" is wait staff that treat you like they are doing you a favor by serving you in as slow and unconcerned manor as humanly possible.

[scperk]

bobrobb..I am on the 2/15 sailing on the Lirica and i will post something as soon as we get back on 2/26. I have been on a lot of cruises and I think that it's going to be different now that it sails from Ft. Lauderdale. Lots of times I have heard people complain about things that don't really concern other people on a cruise. You got to remember that you just have to "go with flow" on some cruise ship. Last cruise I was on had Lots of Friends Of Dorothy on it and I still had a great time. I just avoided the disco. anyway I will post something on 2/27....Dennis

[Lill]

So glad to hear that you had a great cruise. :D Hope the improvements are only what was needed and not changes to the overall cruise experience. Hope you'll be posting a review, would love to hear about the changes. :)

[jebl]

Whereas I have a totaly oposite opinion. I also just got off the Feb 5 sailing and my husband and I have decided to never sail MSC again. We are not bitter, and there are some positives about the line, but it is not the line for us.

 

Please tell me more about MSC. My friend and I are considering a cruise on the Opera. We are used to Celeb and RCI. Will we be dissappointed? Another friend cruised Costa and was dissappointed. Are the lines similar?

 

Hate to spend my $$ and be dissappointed. Can you compare MSC with RCI or Celeb? Any help will be most appreciated.

 

Thanks

[EXBRIT]

I can't compare the lines as I have only used NCL previously.

My problems with MSC basically come down to 3 things and may very likely not effect you at all.

 

1. short port times. we cruise to see the different cultures in different ports and found the port times were too short. 2 ports we sailed at 2, 1 port we sailed at 3 and the 4th was a late sailing which was great.

 

2. the food. this was a problem for me and my kids but not my husband. the kids and I are picky eaters and prefer plainer food. There were many times my son would go through the buffet and end up with just a bun on his plate. That said, the food was good quality, just too fancy for us.

 

Also we had a problem with seating assingment. We were assigned late seating. we immediately requested a switch as our kids are 4 & 9. We were told there was nothing available.

 

The first 2 nights we ate at the buffet (which is 1/2 the size at dinner than it is at lunch and with little selection of good food). by the 3rd night we were very annoyed. My husband said he did not pay to eat at the buffet so we decided to try the 8:30 sitting. As suspected our youngest was asleep before his dinner came, and as much as we tried we couldn't wake him.

 

The following day at lunch we tracked down the maitred(SP?) and insisted on an early seating. He told us if we come to the bigger restaurant he will try and fit us in somewhere.

 

When we arrived and looked at the floorplan there were at least 8 unassigned tables. We found out later that the problem had not been lack of space but that he had families assigned in a certain section, which was full, so as not to bother the other passangers. So we were expected to either stick to the buffet or allow our youngest to go without dinner for 7 days. Yes we were annoyed.

 

3. Lack of thing for kids. This is not a cruise for young kids. Buffalo bills only goes to age 8. the club for 9+ only meets between 1 hr to 2 1/2 hrs max per day.

 

the pool is 12" in one end (great for babies) and starts at over 5 foot in the other end with nothing in between. There is no shallowend and as my kids can't swim the pool was useless for them.

 

The shows all started late (first run at 8:45). The movies they ran in the theatre had already run on the tv in the cabin. The somoan show would of been great for the kids to see but again they were asleep long before it started. There was absolutely no entertainment scheduled at a time that the kids would of been able to see.

 

The arcade was empty. Not a single machine. I could go on but basically it just is not a good cruise for young kids. My daughter said the vacation sucked and she was bored on ship. My son loved buffalo bills but this was not because of the staff. Everytime we went to drop off or pick him up they were all sitting talking to eachother. He enjoyed it because of the toys.

 

So if you aren't taking young kids, and your not picky with food and your not in it for the ports, it should be a great cruise.

 

I must say however, the staff is the absolute best staff I have ever encountered (not including the maitred). Yes sometimes there are interpretation problems and little differences because they are european based (ie order a burger for dinner and you might not get a bun, they use hot milk for your coffee etc...) but they are little things which we just thought were funny.

 

The ship is beautiful and well cared for.

 

It's just not a good line for us, but i'm sure it is for many others.

[darmanad]

Other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the show?

[Oakville]

We saw the true Italian affection for kids on the Opera. The staff are always smiling at them and looking for any opportunity to interact with them - touch their heads, grin at them - to get some kind of reaction and generally to tell them that "you are family too and we are happy to have you here". Who cares if the kids muck around with the pasta on their plate or are a bit impatient at the adult shows. We particularly enjoyed the scavenger hunt where the older ones (ahem ... 8 to 11) were consigned to find examples of all kinds of stuff on board. They actually found a picture of a bear in my Canadian newspaper! Good for them. And good for the animators. At one of the lounges, a little girl - no more than seven - danced on her Dad's shoes. Her smile told us that she was having a ball. Give me more......

[EXBRIT]

We saw the true Italian affection for kids on the Opera. The staff are always smiling at them and looking for any opportunity to interact with them - touch their heads, grin at them - to get some kind of reaction and generally to tell them that "you are family too and we are happy to have you here". Who cares if the kids muck around with the pasta on their plate or are a bit impatient at the adult shows. We particularly enjoyed the scavenger hunt where the older ones (ahem ... 8 to 11) were consigned to find examples of all kinds of stuff on board. They actually found a picture of a bear in my Canadian newspaper! Good for them. And good for the animators. At one of the lounges, a little girl - no more than seven - danced on her Dad's shoes. Her smile told us that she was having a ball. Give me more......

 

 

Are you talking about other peoples children or did you bring your own on the cruise? And if you are referring to your own, how old are they?

 

Like I said the staff were great. I only have the highest praise for them.

[jebl]

Jackie,

Thanks for the info. Not travelling with children just 2 adults. I am happy to hear that the service and staff were of such high quality.

[Floridacruiseaholic]

We had a fabulous time. We had left the children at home and had the time of our lives. So different from Royal Caribbean or Princess. In Fact, I thought the food was better on this cruiseline than on Princess. The Cruise Director and activity team was great. I would never bring my kids on this cruise. They would not enjoy it whatsoever. It is a mature cruiseline, though I was impressed that not everyone was over the age of 80. I would go back on this ship in a heartbeat. They did not give you a lot of time at ports but if that doesn't bother you, no problem.

 

Kristen

[bruce_and_ed]

We were on the Feb 5 Opera sailing as well.

 

This was only our 4th cruise, and all the previous times were on Carnival.

 

We are two adults in our 30s. We noticed that it seemed to be overall an older crowd than on Carnival. There's definitely that Italian/European feel to everything. Because there are so many European passengers, everything must be said in 4 different languages. The entertainment was good, though it all had to be pretty visual... and musical... so as to avoid the language barriers. Stand-up comedy would never work with this multi-lingual crowd of passengers.

 

We thought the food in the dining rooms was very good. The pizza on the pool deck was also good - although it's more Italian-style pizza, not American.

 

Overall the service was very nice and attentive. Then again, some of the waiters have this way of conveying this "Italian arrogance". I don't know how to describe it exactly, but I noticed the same thing when we were in Italy for a month. You ask for something, and then sometimes the waiter will just look at you - like he doesn't want to give it to you... Wierd.

 

Anyway, overall, we'd do MSC again anytime.

[henri]

It seems that when MSC is having US-based cruises, that there is a buffet for the evening (not meaning the midnight-buffet). That is surprising !!, because not in Europe, where you can only dine in the restaurants !! I am curious if this is also with our transatlantic on April 02.

Futher, I read that the sauna/steamroom is for free, while others say there is a charge. Can anyone tell me how it is ??

And ... yes.. the burgers, sausages and frites for lunch are very tasty !! We tried them often on our "pyramide-cruise" to Alexandria last November (on Lirica).

 

Thanks, greetings,

Henri.

[jacqi]

Hello Henri, WHich province are you from? I lived in Zeeland for a number of years and my dh is from Belgium(Maldegem). I agree; the "frites met mayonaise" are very good on the Opera! I was on the Feb 5th sailing and did not use the sauna or steam room but was told by the staff in the hair salon that these facilities were free. Bon Voyage in April

[Downdie]

Hi bruce and ed:

Perhaps it was you that was acting weird by asking for items that seemed incompatible in Italian cuisine and culture. As an example, we were good naturedly informed by our waiter Nello at one meal that grated parmesan is never served with some seafood pastas or risottos. Just a no no.Glad you enjoyed the Opera, we did too.

[henri]

For Jacqi,

we live in the provence Zuid-Holland.

Greetings, Henri.

[glowing amber]

Please tell me more about MSC. My friend and I are considering a cruise on the Opera. We are used to Celeb and RCI. Will we be dissappointed? Another friend cruised Costa and was dissappointed. Are the lines similar?

 

Hate to spend my $$ and be dissappointed. Can you compare MSC with RCI or Celeb? Any help will be most appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

 

I really like your factory ticker:)