MSC Poesia -Nov 1-11th Disappointment

[love to cruz]

"Treat the staff with a smile" and they will tell you to shut up and listen to them. This is what we were told ten minutes after boarding the ship for our 16 day disaster. This comment was made because we politely had to ask two times what the front desk receptionist was saying as her accent was so thick we could not understand her and she interrupted us when we tried to explain what our question was. What a start to a vacation.

My husband's family was born & raised in Italy. We went to the hotel manager & mentioned to him how bland and tasteless the food was. The hotel manager told us we were "spoiled Americans" and that he was a chef and the Italians do NOT use spices when they cook. This was told to an Italian with a long, rich Italian heritage, not a spoiled American.

Dinner became very comical as no matter what the ten people at our table ordered someone would not get what they ordered. Also, one person would get their hot food but have no silverware to eat it with, then another person would get the wrong order. You get the picture.

We took two previous MSC cruises and felt they were the best cruise line afloat. Apparently MSC wants to keep their prices low and have made too many cost cutting measures and staff cuts that we feel they have destroyed the wonderful product they used to offer. This third cruise with them soured my husband and son so much on cruising it took over a year to convince them to go again (on a different line.)

I know the MSC cheer leaders will blast me, but the truth is the truth.

[camofwilliamsburg]

Totally different experience. Babies were in the pool I had to talk to reservation ladies about it after being yelled at by the parents to go find another pool if I did not like it. They told me to call them immediately if it happened again, and they sent me 2 fruit baskets as a thank you. My cabin was terrible with adjoining cabin noises from the stranger next door. I asked if something could be done, the next day I was moved down. Upon embarkation we saw we were on deck 5 for dinner, did not like that, went to see official person and he changed us to a great table. ALL with smiles. The food to us was great. We ate from the Italian side and enjoyed every veal dish, every Italian dish. The lunches in the MDR were excellent with choices of calamari and wonderful chicken wing platter for appetizer. The specials that they made fresh were wonderful and fun to watch them prepare. The soups were all flavorful. The lobster was even better than the last few cruises...

Enjoy and do not worry about enjoying yourself.

[Zambini]

Totally different experience. Babies were in the pool I had to talk to reservation ladies about it after being yelled at by the parents to go find another pool if I did not like it. They told me to call them immediately if it happened again, and they sent me 2 fruit baskets as a thank you. My cabin was terrible with adjoining cabin noises from the stranger next door. I asked if something could be done, the next day I was moved down. Upon embarkation we saw we were on deck 5 for dinner, did not like that, went to see official person and he changed us to a great table. ALL with smiles. The food to us was great. We ate from the Italian side and enjoyed every veal dish, every Italian dish. The lunches in the MDR were excellent with choices of calamari and wonderful chicken wing platter for appetizer. The specials that they made fresh were wonderful and fun to watch them prepare. The soups were all flavorful. The lobster was even better than the last few cruises...

Enjoy and do not worry about enjoying yourself.

 

I guess handing out fruit baskets to guests is cheaper than hiring a pool monitor. Asking a guest to patrol the pool area validates the complaints of poor service in my opinion. Do you feel the posts about rude passengers is validated by your experiences or is it an expected part of your wonderful expierence?

[bobar]

i see it as we will just never get to meet someofthese folks on an msc ship. they mustbe doing somethingright..they have no debt,are privately held and have the most modernfleet in the world...but alas. no towel animals. andmost of the shows are donein7-10 day sequences so if you went longer and they were similarbut not a complete repeat you did well compared to mainstreamlines.. I willbegoing onmy4th withmsc inmarch,myfirst ineurope with them and cant wait..already noticed on final paymentthey gace a free water package to all 4 of our cabins...God we americans are spoiled!:cool:

Cam..as longas you keep sailing them and refer to your cruise experiences with them you have every right to defend them...everyoneof these cruise line boards has those that are faithfullyloyal and defend it and those the are negative..nothing new here:cool:

[monicajay]

i see it as we will just never get to meet someofthese folks on an msc ship. they mustbe doing somethingright..they have no debt,are privately held and have the most modernfleet in the world...but alas. no towel animals. andmost of the shows are donein7-10 day sequences so if you went longer and they were similarbut not a complete repeat you did well compared to mainstreamlines.. I willbegoing onmy4th withmsc inmarch,myfirst ineurope with them and cant wait..already noticed on final paymentthey gace a free water package to all 4 of our cabins...God we americans are spoiled!:cool:

Cam..as longas you keep sailing them and refer to your cruise experiences with them you have every right to defend them...everyoneof these cruise line boards has those that are faithfullyloyal and defend it and those the are negative..nothing new here:cool:

 

Hey Bobar! Or, Pirate as I like to remember you. On your advice we did our first MSC on the Orchestra, now booked for the Poesia. Had to slow down a bit as we did a BIG trip to Australia that included a 10 day cruise on a 28 day trip. Yes, we are spoiled. Hope you enjoy your trip to Europe but I know you will. Attitude is everything!:D

[bobar]

thnx..monicayjay

happyholidays...yall will love the poesia...greatship....

cant wait for the europe trip only 81 days tillwe leave...:cool:

[camofwilliamsburg]

Once again my experiences are changed around with negativity by the one and only Zambini. The point was they did do something and not just lip service. They were upset by the fact that I had an altercation with a guest and YES they sent fruit as a way of saying sorry you had to encounter such rudeness. Cruise lines have little to say when guests do not follow the rules. AND yes, they did introduce me to the person who would handle it. Only a phone call away they told me instead of me having to deal with the negativity. AND NO ONE can be in one place watching all the time. I judge customer service by how it is handled after. They made sure it would not happen again, and then sent me a very nice "gift".

BOBAR: thanks for the cheer. I am getting very discouraged here by the negativity and then the constant personal attacks. I tell it like I experienced. And on all of our other 17 cruises, including 9 on RCI there are small issues. Never have I had such polite service as I have had onMSC. They made sure it was all worked out and never was dismissive to me. Maybe, it is in the approach of the passenger that reaps the different outcome. I treat all others with equal respect at all times. I am grateful to be on a cruise ship and they have always bent over backwards with the help they have given me. When help could not be given, they still spoke to me kindly as I did to them. I cannot ask anymore.

NOw ZAMBINI will turn that around to me having low expectations. AS a matter of fact, I am very critical. But I am also very nice to people and they do for me when others get nothing done for them. I guess it is all in the smile!

[AndrewK]

... Maybe, it is in the approach of the passenger that reaps the different outcome ...

 

That's right ... once again turn it around and suggest that it's the passenger's fault. Heaven forbid that you would ever accept anything which happens on an MSC cruise being MSC's fault.

 

If you're "discouraged here by the negativity" then stop challenging everyone who doesn't share your opinion and you'll find things will be much quieter. Keep perpetuating the issues and you'll have to expect the debate to continue. It's the handful of self-appointed MSC disciples who are keeping the agitation alive.

[camofwilliamsburg]

Every time an issue is brought up and I comment Zambini and his followers jump up and down saying something negative. I am not keeping it alive ... I am justifying.

 

Where in anything that I commented would you find that I am blaming the customer? I find on MSC some very RUDE customers who YELL at staff and demand things. They do not need to bend over backwards to accommodate these type of people. What I have witnessed is that they TRY. BUT the passenger YELLS at them continuously. I witnessed this to the point of making one of the women who was very nice cry. He was relentlessly attacking her. You need to realize: these people work for MSC. They own nothing but are there to work. If you treat them like a dog, would you really think that they would go out of their way to help you. If you get lemons, make lemonade.... you make it work with consideration for your fellow human being. No one is entitled to treat anyone with disrespect just because they paid a cruise fare.

 

And YES I will continue to tell my side. I have cruised MSC now 3 times and I have had 3 wonderful experiences. I took other people with us, and they also said it was one of the nicest cruises they were on. My friends have done 46 other cruises and LOVE MSC. I guess it must be us!

[bobar]

i;d like to know what cruiselines zambini likes and why and why this person

is hanging around msc's message board if so opposed to thiscruiseline..wouldseem life would be better spent on positive things, but then that's my 2 cents:cool:

[AndrewK]

... And YES I will continue to tell my side ...

 

When someone turns up on these forums and posts about their experience, they have an "opinion".

 

When the same few people turn up in thread after thread after thread over a period of years with a compulsion to counter anything remotely negative, they have an "agenda" ... and need to get a sense of perspective.

[Deckhandoug]

Once again my experiences are changed around with negativity by the one and only Zambini. The point was they did do something and not just lip service. They were upset by the fact that I had an altercation with a guest and YES they sent fruit as a way of saying sorry you had to encounter such rudeness. Cruise lines have little to say when guests do not follow the rules. AND yes, they did introduce me to the person who would handle it. Only a phone call away they told me instead of me having to deal with the negativity. AND NO ONE can be in one place watching all the time. I judge customer service by how it is handled after. They made sure it would not happen again, and then sent me a very nice "gift".

BOBAR: thanks for the cheer. I am getting very discouraged here by the negativity and then the constant personal attacks. I tell it like I experienced. And on all of our other 17 cruises, including 9 on RCI there are small issues. Never have I had such polite service as I have had onMSC. They made sure it was all worked out and never was dismissive to me. Maybe, it is in the approach of the passenger that reaps the different outcome. I treat all others with equal respect at all times. I am grateful to be on a cruise ship and they have always bent over backwards with the help they have given me. When help could not be given, they still spoke to me kindly as I did to them. I cannot ask anymore.

NOw ZAMBINI will turn that around to me having low expectations. AS a matter of fact, I am very critical. But I am also very nice to people and they do for me when others get nothing done for them. I guess it is all in the smile!

 

Cam, you seem to have a lot of "issues" on your MSC cruises, you have mentioned having to email Mr. Sasso several times to resolve issues, having problems with your neighbors and getting your cabin reassigned, having issues with your table assignment in the dining room, having problems with other guests in the pool area just on this last cruise alone.

 

I personally have never had any of those happen to me in all my cruises, what seems to be the problem?

 

In many service businesses, you would be considered a "problem" customer.

 

Just sayin'

[Capricruiser]

My two cents on all this: There are quite a few of us on this forum that have sailed on several or many MSC cruises and are comfortable being on their ships. Some of these stay in one cruise area, others branch out in two or more areas with different itineraries. Of these "diciples" or "cheerleaders" or whatever else you want to call them, I think we all have experienced some negatives on one or more cruises along with the positives. A well written objective review at the end of a cruise should list both so the reader can make up his own mind if this is the ship or is this the itinerary for him (or her). In my case, I have always enjoyed my MSC cruises and will continue to cruise with them but if I find something I'm not happy with I'll mention it to the ship's staff, I'll write it up on the end-of-cruise questionnaire, and I'll probably include it on my CC cruise review. Hurray for me!

Now I have a problem with some of our friends who have been on one MSC cruise and didn't like it. Instead of writing a negative MSC review and then moving on to their next cruise on another line more to their liking (and on to another forum), they hang on in the MSC forum to constantly let us know how lousy the entire line is because of their one and only negative experience, appearing on almost every thread trying to convince the more novice cruisers that MSC is not the cruise line for them.

Sorry for rambling on like this.

[lddam]

My two cents on all this: There are quite a few of us on this forum that have sailed on several or many MSC cruises and are comfortable being on their ships. Some of these stay in one cruise area, others branch out in two or more areas with different itineraries. Of these "diciples" or "cheerleaders" or whatever else you want to call them, I think we all have experienced some negatives on one or more cruises along with the positives. A well written objective review at the end of a cruise should list both so the reader can make up his own mind if this is the ship or is this the itinerary for him (or her). In my case, I have always enjoyed my MSC cruises and will continue to cruise with them but if I find something I'm not happy with I'll mention it to the ship's staff, I'll write it up on the end-of-cruise questionnaire, and I'll probably include it on my CC cruise review. Hurray for me!

Now I have a problem with some of our friends who have been on one MSC cruise and didn't like it. Instead of writing a negative MSC review and then moving on to their next cruise on another line more to their liking (and on to another forum), they hang on in the MSC forum to constantly let us know how lousy the entire line is because of their one and only negative experience, appearing on almost every thread trying to convince the more novice cruisers that MSC is not the cruise line for them.

Sorry for rambling on like this.

 

Capri...

You're not rambling. In fact, I think you've hit the nail on the head. My wife and I have sailed MSC twice, once many years ago on "Symphony" in the Med, and recently on "Poesia" to New England and Canada. Our Symphony experience was wonderful, and based upon that distant memory, we sailed on Poesia. Our Poesia experience was less than what we had anticipated, but overall, we had a good time anyway. My review pointed out those aspects we found lacking, and based upon our experience, have decided not to sail Poesia again. Whether or not we ever sail with MSC again remains to be seen.

 

Based upon our experience, we have suggested to some of our friends that MSC is not the line for them, but for specific reasons. The rationale being that knowing their tastes and lifestyle, we know that MSC would come up short. For one couple who like to gamble and spend many hours at the casino tables, we advised them to look elsewhere for a company because they are both super sensitive to the smell of cigarette smoke. For another couple who belong to a gourmet club and are "fussbudgets" about food, we also suggested looking elsewhere. I know, I know, food is subjective, but for them, they would find so much wrong in the MDR that it really would ruin their cruise. For yet a third retired couple, his was the kind of job where he "lived by the clock," and attention to detail and punctuality is deeply ingrained in his personality. Enough comments have been made about the perceived disorganization aboard that it is obvious that, for him, a cruise on Poesia would drive him up the wall.

 

For others to whom we have spoken about our trip on Poesia, we've described our experiences, both good and bad, but always have finished the conversation with a comment that although it was not our best cruise, we must have had a great time because the 14 days flew by in a wink. Some are considering doing the Caribbean with MSC this season, and it will be interesting to compare their views with ours.

[camofwilliamsburg]

I brought up issues to show you that they are handled well and efficiently unlike others who are complaining on the boards here about issues not be addressed. In my experience I had issues and they were taken care of. AS far as the pool issues, yes I did not like seeing babies in the same pool as I was in, and I had no trouble bringing it to their attention. The pool manager cannot be around the pool seeing these things all the time. After it was brought up, I did see him monitoring more and being more visible. No I am not a problem customer at all. I had issues, and unlike others who would get on here and say never again, I gave mSC a chance to fix them. They did, so why not cheer about it. I have no agenda but to keep telling people that this is a wonderful cruise line which we have enjoyed. Do your research and know what the ship has to offer so you are not sailing and then wanting a different experience.

[camofwilliamsburg]

Capricruiser: That is one of the real reasons I do try to give the other point of view each time. No agenda just loved our MSC cruises so much that I will try to show others that there are other sides. And then let them decide. If you are the type of person who wants live steel band around the pool, then do not sail MSc. If you then sail and then come on here and complain I do not think that is helpful. If you are the type of person that wants to take drinks into the theaters, then you should not sail on MSC. If you like to be asked for drinks around the pool every few minutes, then you should not sail MSC. If you want 24 hour food availability then you should not sail MSC. If you want comedy shows do not sail MSC.

Do sail MSC if you want a beautifully clean ship. Sail MSC if you want to have a relaxing laid back time. Do sail MSC if you want to interact with staff( their animation team plays games around the pool, line dancing, dance lessons, trivia...), Do sail MSC if you want to experience wonderful entertainment all over the ship : classical music, latin music, ballroom music.

Do sail MSC if you want to see different type of entertainment in the main theaters. The dancers and singers are the most talented we have ever seen on 17 cruises. If you like opera they have opera night with great singers. They stage wonderful shows ( although short). They have been the highlight of our cruises. But most important each MSC cruise ( USA) has had heart and soul. WE get to know the staff and we interact. We dance with them. We sit and talk to them. We have seen them on beaches and they interact with us( when they are on their own time). I have given out my email to many and have kept in contact with them. I felt my MSC cruises had soul. It was truly an experience not just a cruise vacation.

Sorry to also ramble on. I love MSC and my only agenda here is to make sure others go and enjoy it too so MSC USA can grow and MAYBE bring another cruise ship here to the USA. I like to be wowed when I step on board a cruise ship.... I would love another MSC cruise ship sailing out of the USA to experience this as I did on our first MSC cruise.

[cruisenc]

The reason I go on a cruise is to relax- not to need another week to recoup after an amusement park at sea on a hamburger and hot dog cruise line. MSC does an excellent job in my eyes but then again I've been on 55 cruises aand never had a bad one. Some are different then others and some do a little better then others. If you aare looking for gourmet food on ANY 7 day cruise, I would suggest that you look to Crystal, Regent, for that type of service- of course you will be paying2300.00 to 4000.00 more per persn for this service. The 7 day market is institutional food some of which is fast frozen by the caterer before it even gets to the ship and in some cases freeze dried and water is added to bring it to "life" Look around before your critize one line over another

[mamasue]

Cam I agree with everything you say.

Our first MSC cruise last month was ventured into with fairly low expectations.... because of some negative reviews, and the rock-bottom price.

We did our research beforehand, and had a good idea of what to expect, and what not to expect.

Our cruise experience was far superior to the other lines we'd sailed with (RCCL,CCL, and NCL)

We loved the ambiance on the ship, loved the staff... never encountered an unfriendly staff member at any stage!

The entertainment was more classy than other lines... our evenings were never boring... and the food was excellent.

If you're into casinos,talking sofas, bingo and towel animals, MSC probably isn't for you.

I think the important thing for people is to do their research beforehand, then they know what to expect.

We found the 10 days on the Poesia to be our best cruise we've had. In fact, DH wrote a letter to the CEO to let him know what a great cruise it was!!!

We're off to the UK and Asia next week for 3 months, but we'll definitely be looking at MSC for cruises when we come back!!

[Pigsty333]

Wow - after reading some of the posts and the gang banging by some, I would even be afraid to post. I am sailing on the 26th on the Poesia so will definitely post a review.

 

I am looking for relaxation, first time with no kids. Nothing crazy, maybe a massage or two and just hanging out on a deck with a nice book and do some shore excursions.

 

I have been on Carnival (not thrilled) with all the drunks onboard, even before ship departed port, throwing bottles and fighting. One of them getting off the ship in Nassau and ending up getting stabbed on a side street.

 

Did Costa Mediterranea only to observe passengers harass the crew member and even throw food at them because something they wanted was not on the menu or offered and they belittled the waiter, making fun of him and his heritage.

 

So I have seen good and bad. I will definitely let everyone know how the 26th Cruise on Poesia goes. ;)

[Zambini]

Wow - after reading some of the posts and the gang banging by some, I would even be afraid to post. I am sailing on the 26th on the Poesia so will definitely post a review.

 

I am looking for relaxation, first time with no kids. Nothing crazy, maybe a massage or two and just hanging out on a deck with a nice book and do some shore excursions.

 

I have been on Carnival (not thrilled) with all the drunks onboard, even before ship departed port, throwing bottles and fighting. One of them getting off the ship in Nassau and ending up getting stabbed on a side street.

 

Did Costa Mediterranea only to observe passengers harass the crew member and even throw food at them because something they wanted was not on the menu or offered and they belittled the waiter, making fun of him and his heritage.

 

So I have seen good and bad. I will definitely let everyone know how the 26th Cruise on Poesia goes. ;)

 

I'm sure you will have a good time, it's a cruise!

 

MSC is usually described as most like Costa, and I believe the same passenger behavior you witnessed has been reported on MSC in this very thread.

[Puffinater]

We have been receiving emails from MSC (yes I signed up for them) with some great pricing. We are very loyal royal cruisers and thought we might give MSC a try. Have been reading some threads and absorbing as much as I can. Boy I thought Royal had some cheerleaders!

Just might give them a try the price is sure right.

[lddam]

If you aare looking for gourmet food on ANY 7 day cruise, I would suggest that you look to Crystal, Regent, for that type of service- of course you will be paying2300.00 to 4000.00 more per persn for this service. The 7 day market is institutional food some of which is fast frozen by the caterer before it even gets to the ship and in some cases freeze dried and water is added to bring it to "life"

 

Which is precisely why we suggested to our gourmet "fussbudget" friends that they not consider MSC. They also are experienced travelers with 25+ cruises mostly on HAL, X, Cunard and a couple on Crystal, and rarely sail on less than a 14-day itinerary. They had asked if we thought they might enjoy a cruise with MSC, and we gave them our honest opinion. For them, any MSC cruise would be a far cry from that to which they are accustomed.

 

Also, I don't understand why you "have to laugh." Rather presumptive of you to assume that one would be so naive as to expect gourmet food to be served on a budget line. Your condescension is showing, and it's unattractive.:(

[familyof4cruising]

Wow - after reading some of the posts and the gang banging by some, I would even be afraid to post. I am sailing on the 26th on the Poesia so will definitely post a review.

 

I am looking for relaxation, first time with no kids. Nothing crazy, maybe a massage or two and just hanging out on a deck with a nice book and do some shore excursions.

 

I have been on Carnival (not thrilled) with all the drunks onboard, even before ship departed port, throwing bottles and fighting. One of them getting off the ship in Nassau and ending up getting stabbed on a side street.

 

Did Costa Mediterranea only to observe passengers harass the crew member and even throw food at them because something they wanted was not on the menu or offered and they belittled the waiter, making fun of him and his heritage.

 

So I have seen good and bad. I will definitely let everyone know how the 26th Cruise on Poesia goes. ;)

 

 

I will be on the same cruise with you. I have sailed on over 50 cruises , but I will not compare this to the others. Some were better than others , but still enjoyed all of them. For me cruising is about relaxation.

 

I just booked 2011 Christmas week, so I am hoping I come home happy!

[camofwilliamsburg]

Thanks Mamasue for the show of support on here. I hope soon that there are so many positive reviewers here that I will not need to keep saying what I am saying. I hope new cruisers will find the same "magical" experience that we did and continue to support MSC here on cc.

 

Which 10 night did you do? We were on Poesia Nov 10-11.

[mamasue]

 

Which 10 night did you do? We were on Poesia Nov 10-11.

 

 

Cam it was a 3-day and 7-day b2b.... we got on on the day you got off.....the 11th to the 21st.

The first 3 days was a "shiprocked" cruise, where 1/3 of the people had chartered the ship... there were rock bands playing all over the place.... it made for some very interesting people-watching, and we didn't have to get involved in the entertainment.... the normal entertainment was still going on all over the ship. The bands were confined to the Pigalle lounge.

The first 3 days was really a freebie for us, as the TA was advertising the 7-day and 10-day cruises at the same price.

The low price was the first reason for considering the cruise.

We weren't expecting miracles, due to the price...

The first surprise was a free upgrade from inside GTY to superior balcony....

Then the whole cruise..... there wasn't a single thing about the cruise that we didn't love!

When we're next looking for a cruise, MSC will definitely be our first choice!!

 

 

 

 

.