Review "Lirica" Cruise 03/31 to 04/11/2005

[bigmike7]

Yo-

 

Just noticed that this thread has had over 2200 views - amazing!!!

 

Checked with DW regarding the conditioner - she cannot remember either-

 

Good luck calling or emailing MSC customer service - if I have any complaint - it's the lack of communication from customer service with MCS (and most other cruise lines for that matter)-

 

Some times you just wonder why these people take this attitude with communications-eh?

 

Mike

[7continentKaren]

The wine card is now 99 euros or about $120.

[bigmike7]

Yo-

 

Well folks - we liked this cruise so much - thet we have booked the other 'Western Caribbean' cruise for March 20, 2006-

 

We can hardly wait-

 

It will be interesting to see what - if anything - has changed in the last year since this cruise-

 

Will write another review when we get back from the next one-

 

WOW - over 3000 views of this thread in under eight months-

 

Mike

[dawol]

Mike, They do have the breakfast & lunch buffets, don't they? We like the buffets so we can eat when it's convenient for us. My TA said to expect something different from the standard cruise fare so I'm really looking forward to that. Some of the islands we have not been to before, so that will be nice. Which shore excursions would you recommend? Really appreciate all your help. Less than one month to go. YEAH!!!!!!!!! Dot

[bigmike7]

Yo Dot-

 

Yes there are breakfast and lunch buffets and a midnight buffet every night - with one of them being the 'Gala' buffet and another was the kitchen tour buffet-

 

On our cruise - there was no dinner buffet - and the dining room doors closed 15 minutes after the start time - and was enforced-

 

We wound up doing some of our own touring - waited until everyone rushed off the ship - then went out and negotiated with the taxi drivers (good way to find out how well they spoke english) - also depends on which cruise you are going on - Southern or Western Caribbean - 'cause if you are going on the Western one - there are two stops in Panama - and they will only let you off the ship if you are on an organized tour-

 

Happy Cruisin'

 

Mike

[antcindee]

Dot,

Just to help answer a few of your questions, there was no conditioner provided in the toiletries, there was very good shampoo, body wash and soap, bring your own conditioner.

 

As far as what Mike said about the midnight buffets happening every night, that wasnt true for us on the Liricia on the Dec 17th 11 day cruise, there were 3 midnight buffets, one was thru the galley, one was the Gala buffet and one was apparently an extra one they added on because of Xmas so technically there were only supposed to be 2. I dont know if it was just our cruise, maybe someone else on another sailing had more midnight buffets that can add to this issue or maybe they used to do more when Mike had sailed with them or perhaps because they are in the Caribbean they do less, not sure.

 

About the beds, I have been on 37 cruises, I totally agree about HAL beds, they are fabulous, better than my bed at home even. To us, the beds on MSC were very hard and uncomfortable and in fact we werent the only people in the Marshalls store in San Juan looking for eggcrate mattresses from our ship and a number of people including us bought pillows!!!! We also did what Mike did on his Spirit cruise, we told our cabin steward on MSC that we werent sleeping due to the beds and he took extra blankets and comforters and put them under our sheets as an added cushion and that seemed to help.

Hope that info helps you some,

Cindee

[dawol]

Thanks for all the good info. I really do appreciate it. Alice & I have already decided not to do any tours in San Juan (I've been there before and was not impressed), but we want to go to Wal Mart. They usually have a good selection of souveniers and we can get our egg crates there. Wish I had had enough foresight to do this in Hawaii on the Carnival Spirit. I'm almost packed, just a few last minute items. Now to badger Dave into getting his packing done.Looking forward to a wonderful cruise and will think of all of you while on it. Thanks again. Dot

[bigmike7]

Yo-

 

We just did the HAL 'Ryndam' - and have to agree - the HAL mattresses are the best at sea - second was the ones on the 'Regal Princess' - but we have solved the biggest problem - which with us was the 'hip and butt pointers' with a twin 3" eggcrate - cut to fit a king size pillow case - and laid on top (or bottom) of your clothes in the suitcase - does four things - #1 = solves the problem #2 protects your stuff in the suitcase #3 avoids a trip to WalMart on vacation #4 reusable for the next trip (works well with motel matresses too)

 

One twin yields four of our solutions-

 

Happy Cruisin'

 

Mike

[bigmike7]

Yo-

 

WOW!!! Almost 3600 hits on this thread-

 

Have been reading the posts by the folks on the 'Lirica' - after repositioning from the Med-

 

The early posts are very similar to the posts last year (things not great) - yet - by March last year - everyone agreed that the food and service were excellent - which we are hoping will happen when we go on the 'Lirica' again March 20 for the Western Caribbean cruise-

 

Will write another review when we get back-

 

Happy Cruisin'

 

Mike

[dawol]

We are finally back from the most miserable cruise I have ever had. We have had a thing or two we did not like on the other ships but the only things we LIKED on this cruise were: boarding was fast and effortless, the ship was beautiful and really clean. After that, nothing was like anything a cruise should be. The food was TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE. The best food I had was two sandwiches at lunch. The breakfast buffet was awful, you could have poured the scrambled eggs from the container, they were almost RAW. the sausage was BEEF, the bacon hard, overcooked and clumpted together. Ate at the lunch buffet one time, it was so bad. Dinner menu only had 3 items to choose from, unless you wanted a tough beef steak, tasteless chicken breast or half cooked meetless spaghetti. Our waiter was rude and never knew the ice cream/sherbert of the day, had to ask for more water most of the time. They had an ice cream parlor stand and YOU HAD TO PAY. Isn't that CHEAP, CHEAP, CHEAP.All the crew & staff were rude and you better get out of their way because they certainly would not step aside for you. The room stewarts & maids were friendly and spoke & moved aside when we passed on the NARROW hall. On disembarkment, groups were called in colors to exit the ship. We had cruise connection motorcoach transfers and were the last to get off. We had to vacate our cabins by 8 am, so we sat in the public lounge for 3 HOURS. All in all I WOULD NEVER GO ON ANOTHER MSC CRUISE OR RECOMMEND ONE EVEN TO MY WORST ENEMY. Big Mike, if you liked this ship, just try a Holland America (my favorite), Princess, Celebrity or Royal Caribbean, and YOU WILL LOVE IT AND KNOW WHAT A REAL CRUISE IS SUPPOSED TO BE.

[Magwa]

It's amazing how people can have such differing opinions. Sorry you did not enjoy it. My HAL experience was nothing compared to that on Lirica; it's a good thing there's lots of choice around to suit us all.

[bigmike7]

Big Mike, if you liked this ship, just try a Holland America (my favorite), Princess, Celebrity or Royal Caribbean, and YOU WILL LOVE IT AND KNOW WHAT A REAL CRUISE IS SUPPOSED TO BE.

 

Yo-

 

If you can see my signature below - you will know that we have taken a few other cruises - and all in all - besides our very first Sitmar cruise - the cruise on the 'Lirica' last year was the next best cruise we have ever taken - to the point - that we are on her again this March 20, 2006 eleven day cruise of the Western Caribbean-

 

Different strokes for different folks-eh!

 

Mike

[Oxo]

'The food was TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE. The breakfast buffet was awful, you could have poured the scrambled eggs from the container, they were almost RAW. the sausage was BEEF, the bacon hard, overcooked and clumpted together. Ate at the lunch buffet one time, it was so bad.'

 

We were on the Lirica Jan 2006 and overall agree that the food in the Buffet On-deck was very poor!!!! Yes, they overcooked most items. Our experience is over 50 cruises on most of the major cruise lines.

 

'They had an ice cream parlor stand and YOU HAD TO PAY. Isn't that CHEAP, CHEAP, CHEAP.'

 

The Ice Cream machine on-deck was broken. I agree that charging for soft-serve is really cheap!!!

 

'All the crew & staff were rude and you better get out of their way because they certainly would not step aside for you.'

 

Did not find that the staff was rude and you better get out of their way. The staff overall was just like other cruise line staffs. Disagree here.

 

MSC Caribbean has some real issues in the way of food that must be resolved immediately. As for those who say that MSC Caribbean food is not American, we have eaten around the world, know what Italian food is and enjoy real Italian food. The Dining room staff, Table Managers and Asst. Maitre d's try to please and will get special cuts of meat for you, but that is not what should be done. It should be done right without asking for special cuts.

 

Mr. Sasso is a veteran in the Cruise Line industry, MSC should correct these issues now!!!!

 

We will give MSC another chance on the Lirica. We know what to expect and know how to get around the short comings.

MSC Caribbean must be different than MSC Europe.

[bigmike7]

Yo-

 

Over 4000 views - all in less than a year - wow!!

 

Only two weeks until next 'Lirica' cruise-

 

Happy Cruising

 

Mike

[donuci]

We also are sailing on the 3-20-06 Lirica Cruise. Looking forward to it. Have cruised with Holland Amaerica and Princess but never MSC. Hope that your reviews are closer to the actual experience than some of the others I have read. Can you recommend some shore excursions? Some sound great but I know the descriptions can vary widely from the actual experience.

Thanks,

Dom

[bigmike7]

Yo-

 

Welcome aboard - this is our first time to all of the ports with the exception of Ocho Rios - so giving advice would not be from our experiences-

 

Would however recommend a ships shore excursion in Columbia - if only for the group safety aspect-

 

Hopefully this cruise will be similar to our one last year - which was one of the best we have been on - we'll see in one week-eh!

 

Happy Cruisin'

 

Mike

[forecastle]

Ahoy Bigmike

Was on Lirica also 3/31/04 agree with your review. have 30+ cruises.

Did Opera on 2/18/06 and 3/04/06 cruises were even better then Lirica,if possible. Hope your up coming Lirica cruise will be a great as last year.

[bigmike7]

Yo forecastle-

 

Seems like we may have met onboard that cruise-

 

Me young 61 - 6'0" - 260# ruddy faced with moustach and goatee - always wearing hawaiian shirts, jeans, deck shoes and RayBans-

 

Mike

[riverrat]

The food was TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE.

 

As a weight watcher member after this review I have no worries about gaining weight on this cruise. LOL!

 

Salad and fruit are great no matter who fixes it. ;)

 

Is there a walking deck?

[njreo]

As a weight watcher member after this review I have no worries about gaining weight on this cruise. LOL!

 

Salad and fruit are great no matter who fixes it. ;)

 

Is there a walking deck?

 

The entertainment was great, the ship is very attractive. The service is generally good except at the front desk ... they are mean people who never smile. The food is terrible.. the worst I've ever encountered on a ship... and I've had many, many experiences since 1971 on all of the major lines, past and present.

 

They do have a walking deck, but it doesn't go completely around the ship you have to go up a flight across then down again.

 

I did walk instead of use the elevators when possible for exercise. Did a lot of dancing in the disco, pretty good music. I enjoyed the beautiful days at the pool and ports ... it wasn't all bad, but I wouldn't subject myself to the terrible food and abuse by some of the staff again.

 

Also, if you are a non-smoker, beware... they are only supposed to have smoking on one side of the ship, but some Europeans don't believe in it. When I complained in one of the bars when I was on the no smoking side and people lit up the officer told me that there was nothing he could do about it. Also, beware .. if you order a manhattan you'll probably get a rob roy (they make them with scotch). Also, when you say dry martini they think it only means use dry vermouth ... you have to tell them you don't want much vermouth or just order the drink straight. Very expensive, very small drinks.

 

I have read some really good reviews on this board.. but can't figure out how the same ship could produce very good and very bad reviews. Perhaps different voyages .. I'm not sure. But I know what I experienced and it was very unpleasant .. never again MSC ...

[theblond00]

Never never again MSC! I just got off the ship and had a terrible time. The food sucked. The entertainment was so bad we walked out of 6 of the 9 shows. The casino, well, on other ships they were open for business soon after leaving any port. On this ship, the slots were open yet the tables didn't open til 8pm even while at sea all day. Really horrible setup. I did a full review on a different thread titled: Review of Lirica 3/9-20. This is not the ship for an experienced cruiser or an American. It is a sorry excuse for a cruiseline.

[aljohart]

We sailed on the Opera Feb. 18th and had a good experience. The ship was very clean, the entertainment was good, the food was acceptable and the dining room staff very pleasant. We were impressed that they didn't bug you to buy drinks. Our waiter told us that on other lines he had worked, they were paid a commission on liquor sales in the dining room. MSC didn't do that so that is why there was no pressure. Our only gripe was with the itinerary. We have sailed on several different cruise lines and were pleased with MSC, especially for the price.

[njreo]

I was on Feb 4th to 15th - Besides the terrible food, the most tacky thing came when coffee was served. Instead of serving in china, silver, or even metal creamers they used those little packets of imitation 1/2 and 1/2 you get in a diner. When they brought those to the table we all laughed hysterically and thought it was like being at a diner. However there are diners with better food than is served on the Lirica! The wait staff was very nice, but very overworked and could only serve the food that was cooked. After a couple of days I was able to ask the waiter if what I was ordering was returned a lot during the 1st sitting .. if it was, I changed my order. I'm laughing about my experience now .. but it was just awful while it was happening.

 

I hope they read the critiques left by most of the passengers and have made some adjustments. The ship is lovely. Entertainment is good. But they have a long way to go to simple elegance.

 

For me, there are just to many other good lines to consider MSC again.

[Magwa]

I hope they read the critiques left by most of the passengers and have made some adjustments.

 

Oh you can be sure they do.. you see last year American passengers moaned there was no half/half in those little plastic packets. Now you have them and people still MOAN.

 

Those little packets are also served on HAL, NCL, Cunard.. and more. Elegance on a Mass Market Cruise Ship??? not likely at the rock bottom pricing of cruising these days.

[njreo]

Oh you can be sure they do.. you see last year American passengers moaned there was no half/half in those little plastic packets. Now you have them and people still MOAN.

 

Those little packets are also served on HAL, NCL, Cunard.. and more. Elegance on a Mass Market Cruise Ship??? not likely at the rock bottom pricing of cruising these days.

 

I have sailed on HAL, NCL, and Cunard within the past 2 years and never saw those creamers ... Can't imagine anyone wanting those things .. YUCK!