First Time on MSC- considering Poesia

[mobydog]

Hi All- We are looking to book a cruise on the MSC Poesia for Nov. 2010 because the rate is great and we live in FL. We are not picky cruisers- any meal I don't have to cook or clean after is fine with me! We really enjoy getting off at the different ports and doing our own thing.

 

I have a few questions:

 

• How is the kids program? We are traveling with a 5 & 10 yr old.
  
• Do they sell a soda card or can you bring soda/water onboard?
  
• Is there a refrigerator and safe in room?
  
• Can you bring wine on board (you can on Princess)?
  
• Is there complimentary coffee?
  

Thanks!

[AmoMondo]

Hi mobydog,

 

I've answered your questions below as far as I can, but it is a wee while since I last did a US sailng, Hopefully camofwilliamsburg will be able to answer the one I wasn't so sure about as she knows the ropes for the US sailings well.s

Hi All- We are looking to book a cruise on the MSC Poesia for Nov. 2010 because the rate is great and we live in FL. We are not picky cruisers- any meal I don't have to cook or clean after is fine with me! We really enjoy getting off at the different ports and doing our own thing.

 

I have a few questions:

 

• How is the kids program? We are traveling with a 5 & 10 yr old.haven't ever travelled with kids myself, but the programm did get some good reviews the last 2 years on the caribbean sailings. The manager (think his name was matteo?) posted on here a fair bit and answered lots of parents questions personally. Don't know if he is back again this yer or not. Hopefully someone who has recently returned from the Poesia will be able to tell you more
  
• Do they sell a soda card or can you bring soda/water onboard?They do an all inclusive deal that everyone in the cabin has to have and there is a version for kids that just has soft drinks. Alternatively you can get books of vouchers onboard that safe a bit of money. there are 2 that include soft drinks - the non alcholic cocktail/smoothies one and the other that covers sodas. usually works out that you get either a book of 14 but only pay for 12 or 12 and only pay for 10.
  
• Is there a refrigerator and safe in room?Yes all the fleet (except the very old melody) have these
  
• Can you bring wine on board (you can on Princess)?officially no beverages or food can be brought onboard but they are not very good at policing this rule and many passengers manage to bring drink onboard n both checked and hand luggage. However if you do decide to do this, be aware that you may be unlucky and get a crew member who decides to keep to the rukes and conficate it until the end of the cruise whne it will be returned to you.
  
• Is there complimentary coffee?Definitely at breakfast and afternoon tea. I'm not sure about lunch and dinner as it is not included on European sailings at those meals, but I think it is on US sailings. if it is it is just the regular coffee. All the Italian coffees )lattes, cappucinos, espressos etc) all cost extra
  

Thanks!

[mobydog]

Thank you for the information. I went to MSC's website and they do not have any FAQ. Do you know the cost of the different beverage plans. I saw there were ones that included both non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks. How does that work if there are kids in the room?

 

I appreciate any information!

[camofwilliamsburg]

You got all great info and I would suggest that you wait and see what is on board for the kids. There is juices and ice tea and ice water free during the meal times. At other times I was able to go to any bar and ask for a large glass of ice water with lemon, and I always got it. If you do pick a drink package there are too many to give you prices on since my memory of exact amounts may not be right. I can share my impressions with you. The drinks are the lowest priced drinks I have ever seen in 15 cruises on many different cruise lines. They include the tax and the 15% tip in the drink price. We did get a beer package which was very reasonable but only saved us about 25 cents per beer by doing it in the package. I believe the mixed drink package was about $70 for 12 drinks. I do recall they have many packages for premium and not premium drinks, so.... My point being is that it is FAIRLY priced.

I never brought my kids on board but witnessed the kids around the pool deck area playing games with the staff also in the pool wading area. All seemed to be having fun.

Also, they have many arts and crafts activities to do with your kids. I recall they have them 2 times per day on deck 13 under the awning by the ping pong tables, and near where you check out your pool towels.

Many parents and kids did those projects on a daily basis.

WE had the strongest coffee ever, for all meals. Then I learned you can ask for American Coffee too, but as they say... when in ROme... So I had them fill it only half way and then asked for MILK, which they always brought to me.

Many American things were not known. For instance, back when they began to sail out of the USA we asked the waiter for ice tea. We got a glass of ice and a cup of hot tea. So we showed them what we wanted pouring the hot tea into the glass with ice. AHHHHH each night there in front of us was authentic ICE TEA!

If you want, this is a good hint. Have the cabin steward remove the stuff in the refrigerator. Then you have room for anything you need to put into it.

 

MSC has quickly become my favorite cruise line to sail. If I can help in any other way, pls let me know.

[Deckhandoug]

Hi All- We are looking to book a cruise on the MSC Poesia for Nov. 2010 because the rate is great and we live in FL. We are not picky cruisers- any meal I don't have to cook or clean after is fine with me! We really enjoy getting off at the different ports and doing our own thing.

 

I have a few questions:

 

• How is the kids program? We are traveling with a 5 & 10 yr old.
  
• Do they sell a soda card or can you bring soda/water onboard?
  
• Is there a refrigerator and safe in room?
  
• Can you bring wine on board (you can on Princess)?
  
• Is there complimentary coffee?
  

Thanks!

 

Check the port times to be sure you are satisfied with them, our stops were rather abbreviated which we didn't notice before booking but they really impacted our cruise and excursions.

 

That and the fact that we didn't actually go to the port listed, turns out that the ship never had made that port on any cruise but went to an alternate port instead but MSC insisted with the charade of going to that port every cruise, even handing out tender tickets the night before when most CC'ers and the crew knew we weren't. It really effected those with private excursions, as you can imagine.

 

Hope you have a great cruise!

[lousk]

Hi holly,

 

excellent info above from those who know.

 

Your 5 yr old can be enrolled in the kids club (ages 3-6). It's called the dinosaurs club on deck 14 aft.

The 10 yr old would be in the juniors club (ages 7-12). It's called the poesia playroom deck 14 mid-ship.

 

Just go to the info desk when you get aboard & they'll have all the info there.

 

We were on a t/a last may . There were only a handful of kids but they seemed to be really enjoying themselves.

We decided to take our gd's for xmas wk & they are 2 & 5. This will be a good test since the 5 yr old is experienced on ccl.

 

Good luck & have a great cruise.

 

Lou

[mobydog]

Thank you so much for all of the great information. Our kids have sailed before without the benefit of a good kid's club (Norwegian Sky- little guy loved it, older one refused to go back!).

 

I checked the in port times and they are relatively abbreviated. Just curious- what port did you miss? Did they take you to another island instead? We have been to St. Thomas and Nassau (would not be sad if we skipped this stop) but are really looking forward to St. Marten- although this is the shortest time in port 7-2:30.

 

For four of us with tax for an outside cabin we found a rate of $1074 for a week cruise...for that amount of money I think we can handle anything thrown our way!

 

Going to move forward with booking today!

[AmoMondo]

Hi mobydog

 

I'm assuming you are from the US? Here is the link to the prices of drinks packages you can pre-order.

http://www.msccruisesgetforms.com/

 

Just click on the special requests links fro the Caribbean and it gives you the prices. the Request form to order anything is also on the same page.

[mobydog]

Thanks for the link. I see that everyone in the cabin has to purchase the plan. We are traveling with two children, ages 5 & 10, that only drink milk and water. Would we have to purchase something for them or can we just buy it for the two adults in the room? If we have to buy something the kids won't use...how much?

[camofwilliamsburg]

The poster was probably stating the missed Playa del Carmen stop and YES they did stop in Cozumel. They have changed the itinerary now officially but I would guess that the people who take the Tulum excursion will be let off on a tender in the PDC area and then use the ferry to come back to Cozumel with the ship tours. We did this on another cruise line yrs ago when Coz and PDC ports were listed.

[woodofpine]

On another thread you posted...

 

The med cruises and the USA cruises are run differently. Buffets are available for the USA cruises, and many things are free on our MSC USA cruises. You mentioned poor experience on MSC and that is not something I like to hear, loving MSC. Rick Sasso is wonderful to work with, but he is the CEO of the MSC USA division. Give the cruise line another chance in the Caribbean and see the difference.

 

AND I ASKED...

 

Cam... Please explain your association with MSC.

 

The statement "Rick Sasso is wonderful to work with..." is a clear admission that you are not a disinterested cruise consumer posting on CC. Given the vigor of your promotion of the line, this doesn't surprise me - but I'm not a fan of viral marketing (pro or con).

 

Spill it.

 

(C'mon Cam - no one likes a shill - fess up...):rolleyes:

 

What's your picuniary interest in your Cruisecritic MSC lovefest... Doesn't CC have rules about that? (Ought to...)

[Deckhandoug]

Thank you so much for all of the great information. Our kids have sailed before without the benefit of a good kid's club (Norwegian Sky- little guy loved it, older one refused to go back!).

 

I checked the in port times and they are relatively abbreviated. Just curious- what port did you miss? Did they take you to another island instead? We have been to St. Thomas and Nassau (would not be sad if we skipped this stop) but are really looking forward to St. Marten- although this is the shortest time in port 7-2:30.

 

For four of us with tax for an outside cabin we found a rate of $1074 for a week cruise...for that amount of money I think we can handle anything thrown our way!

 

Going to move forward with booking today!

 

We missed two actually, we were supposed to dock at Playa del Carmen but docked at Cozumel instead, and we missed Grand Cayman due to weather, which happens quite often and wasn't the cruise lines fault of course.

 

Missing Playa caused a lot of fellow passengers to scramble, but the way MSC handled it all season was unprofessional, they KNEW they weren't going to Playa but kept it in the itinerary all year anyway.

 

 

:(

[Deckhandoug]

On another thread you posted...

 

 

 

AND I ASKED...

 

Cam... Please explain your association with MSC.

 

The statement "Rick Sasso is wonderful to work with..." is a clear admission that you are not a disinterested cruise consumer posting on CC. Given the vigor of your promotion of the line, this doesn't surprise me - but I'm not a fan of viral marketing (pro or con).

 

Spill it.

 

(C'mon Cam - no one likes a shill - fess up...):rolleyes:

 

What's your picuniary interest in your Cruisecritic MSC lovefest... Doesn't CC have rules about that? (Ought to...)

 

Oh yes, it's been quite obvious for a long time;)

 

MSC (or any other cruise line I might add) is just not THAT good!

 

:rolleyes:

[camofwilliamsburg]

I can clearly tell you I work for no one associated with cruising or I would live in Florida and be cruising MSC all of the time and only MSC. The poster who said what they did was saying that they had all intentions of writing to Mr Sasso and from the boards he has answered many questions, and YES when I had an issue a long time ago, he emailed me and helped me out in a situation. Other than that, I have no ties. Just a real personal touch I think with a CEO from a company. I was only telling the poster that the MSC USA and the med cruises are 2 different divisions and contacting Mr Sasso for a mishap ( or many) on the med cruises might not be the solution.

 

It is because of the personal touch years ago, that I remain loyal to MSC. Any problems I had were quickly remedied. I LOVE MSC and LOVED MSC before this happened also. I just decided to tell others.

 

Did you know that he meets many passengers every time a ship leaves from Port Everglades? This is such personal contact with the USA division. I have not had the honor in meeting the esteemed Mr Sasso.

[camofwilliamsburg]

There are many of us who love MSC for being a lot different than other cruise lines. I love the interaction that the entertainment staff has with passengers.

I love that the bar waiters around the pool area do not bother you every few minutes for a drink.

I love the sophisticated theater that we attend nightly on a MSC cruise.

I love that there is NO bar service while in the theater.

I love that there are few announcements and that the ship is peaceful.

I love that they consistently get 100 on their CDC score.

I love seeing how clean their ship is.

I love being greeted by the head waiter after only one night and taken to my table which he remembers.

I love having a group of friends join me for lunch and the head waiter again knows who is in the group of friends and takes me to their table. I am not talking about a large group...talking about 3 other friends.

I love the bar pricing.

I love that the ship has live music all over it and that we can enjoy classical and dance music almost any time of the day.

I love the food that you feel satisfied but not overly stuffed.

I love the authentic Italian food with delicate sauces that compliment the food, not mask it.

I love their Baked Alaska... flambeed! and also with pistachio ice cream.

I love the art work around the ship and the marble statues.

I love the size of the ship and the beauty of it.

 

I guess I love cruising and especially love the feeling of peace when I sail on MSC.

[AndrewK]

Funny how people can come away from a cruise with completely opposite experiences and opinions ... :)

 

...

I love that there are few announcements and that the ship is peaceful.

Unlike our cruise where every announcement was in five different languages and went on forever. Not even close to "peaceful"

I love seeing how clean their ship is.

Even if, as on our cruise, the air in most places is filled with cigarette smoke.

I love the bar pricing.

Even if, as on our cruise, it was among the highest we've ever experienced on a cruise ship.

I love that the ship has live music all over it and that we can enjoy classical and dance music almost any time of the day.

Even if, as on our cruise, it may as well have been a tape loop with the same performers in the same venues playing the same numbers night after night.

I love the food that you feel satisfied but not overly stuffed.

... even if, as on our cruise, it's was usually cold and took a lifetime to arrive?.

[lousk]

to mr. pessimist, er, i mean andrewk, take a land based vacation & leave those of us who enjoy the positive side of cruising to do our thing.

 

i've seen some of your posts & you seem like someone who's looking for the dark side all the time. your infatuation against smokers smacks of a reformed smoker. take a break & find something you really like to do besides attacking people & what they like to do.

[familyof4cruising]

I read all these post and wonder how so many people can have such extreme different opinions. I will say that on these MSC threads...I think there are more disappointed cruisers than happy ( and I am sure someone will tell me I am wrong). Just my opinion.

 

I am not expecting to much of my cruise...and going in with a good attitude. I just hate when customer service is not good. A cruise line should have employees that want to help...and satisfy the needs of the passenger. Thats what people expect of us when we are working. My biggest issue is with all the past cruisers that complained that they had a issue and no one cared.

 

I wish I had Rick Sasso email...I would love for him to read these threads. He should be aware of what people think when they get off their ships. I noticed the MSC changed their kids free to under 12. I guess my kids are no longer free ( if they keep that age). I am trying MSC because of the great value, but they will have to please me to have me return. There is a lot of competition in the Caribbean market. I'm not a needy or demanding traveler. NCL and RCCL always have me coming back. I hope I can feel the same after my MSC cruise. I looking forward to coming back after my cruise and giving my review. Good or bad I will post.

[AndrewK]

to mr. pessimist, er, i mean andrewk, take a land based vacation & leave those of us who enjoy the positive side of cruising to do our thing.

 

i've seen some of your posts & you seem like someone who's looking for the dark side all the time. your infatuation against smokers smacks of a reformed smoker. take a break & find something you really like to do besides attacking people & what they like to do.

 

Ummm, unlike what you just did, I haven't actually attacked anyone personally. I've simply posted my actual experiences.

 

I'm quite an optimistic person. I like to cruise ... I've done lots of cruises and lots of land tours ... and I've come away more than happy from most of those experiences.

 

If I had been a pessimist, I probably would have cancelled my booking with MSC when they switched both the ship and the itinerary. Instead I looked on the positive side, reckoned that it was still probably a good deal at the price, and stuck with them. Perhaps go back and read the roll call posts I made at the time.

 

Everything you've said applies equally to some people here who almost fall over themselves in their gushing praise of MSC. We're all entitled to post our experiences and it's only fair to try to maintain the balance in the face of the rather over-the top praise being heaped on MSC by some people ... to the extent that some members have even questioned whether some posters might be MSC employees.

 

... oh, and no, members of our party don't smoke and never have. At least one of us is asthmatic though and I'm sure that even you would have to agree that it's a bit unfair not to be able to attend things like the passenger talent show and other activities and events because they're held in the smoking Pigalle lounge.

[Satincruz]

I read all these post and wonder how so many people can have such extreme different opinions. I will say that on these MSC threads...I think there are more disappointed cruisers than happy ( and I am sure someone will tell me I am wrong). Just my opinion.

 

I am not expecting to much of my cruise...and going in with a good attitude. I just hate when customer service is not good. A cruise line should have employees that want to help...and satisfy the needs of the passenger. Thats what people expect of us when we are working. My biggest issue is with all the past cruisers that complained that they had a issue and no one cared.

 

I wish I had Rick Sasso email...I would love for him to read these threads. He should be aware of what people think when they get off their ships. I noticed the MSC changed their kids free to under 12. I guess my kids are no longer free ( if they keep that age). I am trying MSC because of the great value, but they will have to please me to have me return. There is a lot of competition in the Caribbean market. I'm not a needy or demanding traveler. NCL and RCCL always have me coming back. I hope I can feel the same after my MSC cruise. I looking forward to coming back after my cruise and giving my review. Good or bad I will post.

 

 

Mr Sasso probably does still read these threads from time to time. Here is a link to a Q&A he held in 2009:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=571

 

And his email is: rsasso@msccruisesusa.com

 

He really seems to mean well, and maybe someday will be able to improve many things. What I wonder about is exactly how much jurisdiction he truly has been given--if he's only "in charge" of Poesia? And then only when it's sailing from the US? Or if he's able to help all US/Canadian pax, no matter what part of the world they cruise in? If he has any say in who is hired (since they are all hired overseas) and/or how they are trained?

 

Other than that, it also must be quite confusing for the crew members. They are asked to provide one service style while in EU/to European pax, but then they have to try and switch to a completely different style when they sail from the US/for US and Canadian pax ...

[familyof4cruising]

Mr Sasso probably does still read these threads from time to time. Here is a link to a Q&A he held in 2009:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=571

 

And his email is: rsasso@msccruisesusa.com

 

He really seems to mean well, and maybe someday will be able to improve many things. What I wonder about is exactly how much jurisdiction he truly has been given--if he's only "in charge" of Poesia? And then only when it's sailing from the US? Or if he's able to help all US/Canadian pax, no matter what part of the world they cruise in? If he has any say in who is hired (since they are all hired overseas) and/or how they are trained?

 

Other than that, it also must be quite confusing for the crew members. They are asked to provide one service style while in EU/to European pax, but then they have to try and switch to a completely different style when they sail from the US/for US and Canadian pax ...

 

Thanks for the email I tried that and it got sent back. I even went on twitter. I am cruising no matter what...final payment already paid. I only had a few issues with MSC that my family was not going to be happy with and one was the lunch hours. It seems that this has been fixed per someones post. My concerns are small...things that I can deal with.

 

Service should be service no matter where you are. They do have to adjust to different dining times and the water rules...yes. I understand what you are saying with your post.

 

I am still counting down to my vacation...

[familyof4cruising]

Mr Sasso probably does still read these threads from time to time. Here is a link to a Q&A he held in 2009:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=571

 

And his email is: rsasso@msccruisesusa.com

 

He really seems to mean well, and maybe someday will be able to improve many things. What I wonder about is exactly how much jurisdiction he truly has been given--if he's only "in charge" of Poesia? And then only when it's sailing from the US? Or if he's able to help all US/Canadian pax, no matter what part of the world they cruise in? If he has any say in who is hired (since they are all hired overseas) and/or how they are trained?

 

Other than that, it also must be quite confusing for the crew members. They are asked to provide one service style while in EU/to European pax, but then they have to try and switch to a completely different style when they sail from the US/for US and Canadian pax ...

 

By the way...weird???today my email didn't get kicked back. Thanks again.

[camofwilliamsburg]

I am glad you are going on your cruise with an open mind. I think the extremes here validate such subjectivity. Unlike any other cruise, people board MSC with a PROVE TO ME attitude which sets them up for comparing. I hear it all of the time when I cruise, but also on other cruise lines. When I cruise RCi they compare it to HAL OR PCL.... it is something that people do I guess. I am sorry other people found differing views than I did, but then again, we all have different experiences. I took a Celebrity cruise and had the worst service and people were aghast when I told them since X was suppose to be such fine service. I think it is the luck of the draw that I got a table with a bad wait staff, although all of our food was inferior to RCI also. In my opinion, I also enjoy MSC food more than I do on RCI. I never feel stuffed, but always satisfied. The smoking is terrible no matter where it is. I do remember most lounges are smoke free and the ones that are not I do not go into. Yes the lounge on deck 7 aft is smoking in certain areas, which we all know does not work well for non smokers...it drifts all over. We lucked out then since that lounge was occupied by a group at all times so they did all of the shows and entertainment in the Zebra Lounge, which was non smoking.

The announcements are ONE time in the morning, and yes 5 languages. We actually found it interesting. Then the CD would introduce each nightly theater show in the same 5 languages, taking about 5 minutes. We also found this to be a non issue.

We are all different and we cruise for different reasons. I have done the flow rider and ice skating and wall climbing on RCI. I have listened to the constant announcing of the next activity.... now I like a more laid back cruise. Many cruisers are not at this point yet and that is why they build ships with all different activities on board. If you know you like water slides then why cruise MSC and then come on cc and blast them.

Our drinks by the way were $3 for beer, and under $6 for a mixed drink, that included tax and tip. When cruising outside of the USA they must change the pricing then, because sailing out of the USA they are the cheapest. Even the top shelf stuff is under $8 including tax and tip. When you compare this to RCI drinks it is about 1/4 less!

[AmoMondo]

Thanks for the link. I see that everyone in the cabin has to purchase the plan. We are traveling with two children, ages 5 & 10, that only drink milk and water. Would we have to purchase something for them or can we just buy it for the two adults in the room? If we have to buy something the kids won't use...how much?

 

I don't know the US proces for kids but here in the UK, if a family want to go all inclusive thn if the parents have the all inclusive deal, the kids also need to have the (kids0 all inclusive deal. In the UK adults pay £33.30 and kids just over half of this at £18.90 per day.

 

I'm sure the US site will have a link somewhere with all the info. here is the UK one that lists whats all included and what isn't.

http://www.msccruises.co.uk/uk_en/msc/all-inclusive-cruise.aspx

 

Hopefully this will help you make an informed choice about what is best for you and your family

[familyof4cruising]

Mr Sasso probably does still read these threads from time to time. Here is a link to a Q&A he held in 2009:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=571

 

And his email is: rsasso@msccruisesusa.com

 

He really seems to mean well, and maybe someday will be able to improve many things. What I wonder about is exactly how much jurisdiction he truly has been given--if he's only "in charge" of Poesia? And then only when it's sailing from the US? Or if he's able to help all US/Canadian pax, no matter what part of the world they cruise in? If he has any say in who is hired (since they are all hired overseas) and/or how they are trained?

 

Other than that, it also must be quite confusing for the crew members. They are asked to provide one service style while in EU/to European pax, but then they have to try and switch to a completely different style when they sail from the US/for US and Canadian pax ...

 

He responded...very quick and greatly appreciated.