Review of MSC Lirica, 04/22/05 10 day caribbean

[italgal]

Hello!

 

I just got back from a fantastic cruise and I wanted to tell you all how great it was! I want to make sure that none of you out there reads the negative comments on these boards and decides not to go! You would be making a mistake!

 

This was probably one of the best cruises I have gone on in my life. I have sailed 12 times before this with many different cruise lines. my boyfriend who went with me had never sailed before. Both of us just can't say enough good things about this line.

 

Embarkation: A BREEZE! We were in out cabin 20 minutes after we left the check in area. Our bags came about 2 hours later. They have ton of check in people ready and waiting for you. never had such speedy service

 

Service on board: EXCELLENT! Our waiter, Mario and his assistant Maurizio were defintely a dynamic duo. we never had to wait 5 minutes for anything. they were lots of fun and took very good care of us. Some ofthe comments I have read about the crew being rude are just not true. I did see some passegers who were downright nasty to them, but they handled everything with a smile. I have to say all the complainants i heard from were Americans wanting an americanized cruise like Princess or holland America. MSC is not this way nor do they claim to be and thats what I liked about them so much.

 

Food: MAGNICIFCENt! Never had a bad meal in 10 days. The prime rib and lamb you could cut with a fork they were so tender. The sides accompanying out main courses were always fresh, vegetables crunchy.Salads were awesome with different dressings every time. The best part was the pasta and risotto dishes...two different ones every night to choose from....all fantastic! Pizza, burgers, everything was great. The one complaint I heard directly from a passenger was "If they want to cater to the American market, they are going to have to have food 24 hours a day." This was surprising to me as there was 24 hour room service and a midnight buffet every night. if you want to eat in your sleep, then this is not the cruise for you!

 

Ports: great itinerary with lots of different ports. only 3 sea days in 10 days.

 

Ship: this ship glided through the water and the captain was excellent. He always made sure he went around any bad weather. There were many times we forgot we were even on a ship. As well, this was the cleanest ship I have ever sailed on in my life, There were people there that all they did was shine the brass railings. unbelieveable how clean it was.

 

Alcohol: cheapest prices I had ever seen. Beer: 2:50 including 10% grat, fancy drinks :4:00 including grat. We had a half litre of excellent wine every night and it was only 7.50!

 

 

I LOVED this cruise and would go again in a SECOND. Please forward any questions you have and I will try and answer them for you.

 

Don't believe the negative comments. This is a great line!

 

Ciao!

[czechmate]

When I read reviews like this - which reflect the fanastic service we have had in the Caribbean from MSC first on Melody then on Lirica and recently on Opera I am a happy happy man.

 

I am delighted that your experience was so good.

I so agree with your use of the word "untrue". That is so accurate for the majority of the negative comments one reads.

 

It seems some set out to complain in the hopes of a discount or the offer of a free cruise!!

[bigmike7]

Yo italgal-

 

Your experiences were in exact parallel with ours (see my Review of Lirica 3/31 to 4/11/2005)

 

Very happy to see that you enjoyed yourselves-

 

Mike

[BopRN]

How much were soft drinks and do they offer the soda card?

[czechmate]

On our April transtlantic there was no "SodaCard" as such.

 

They offered a "Junior Card" at $20.15. This was for 5 "Virgin Delights" and 5 sodas or fruit juices.

 

Virgin Delights (9 listed in all) were priced at $3.70 and consisted of drinks like "Alice in Wonderland"/Pineapple and Orange Juice Cream and Grenadine or "Fruit Smoothie"/Fruit Punch, Fresh Banana, Papaya and Mango Syrup,or "Shirley Temple"/Ginger-Ale, Grenadine or "Unfuzzy Navel"/Orange Juice, Peach Mix, Cranberry Juice.

 

In the Bars and the in cabin Mini Bar 33cl Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite,Ice Tea Peach or Lemon, Bitter Lemon, Tonic Water etc plus 20 cl fruit juices Orange, Pineapple, Grapefruit, Tomatoe were $2.15

{Orange and Pineapple were available FOC together with Ice Tea all day at the Il Patio Restaurant area]

Ginger Ale and Soda Water 17.5cl $1.80

Mineral Water 1 litre $2.30 1/2 litre $1.30

 

Freshly squeezed Orange or Lemonade 20cl $2.15

[czechmate]

How much were soft drinks and do they offer the soda card?

One cannot help but be curious as to why people make posts.

 

I responded to the above question. The member has since been back on line as the profile shows, has not made any comment, and in fact is thinking of cruising in March 2006 with a different line.

 

All seems weird! Guess that is is what makes Message Boards interesting.

[BopRN]

czechmate...I don't understand what you are getting at...are you talking about me?

[darmanad]

Italgal wrote: "I have to say all the complainants i heard from were Americans wanting an americanized cruise like Princess or holland America. "

 

I am curious. Exactly what were the complaints you heard? I am trying to discover what the americanized cruise is and how it differs from the eurpeanized one.

[caviargal]

I believe an "Americanized" experience is not limited to just cruises. How many times have you heard Americans complaining that things are "just not the same" while travelling in Europe? There are complaints about food, service (my goodness, one does not get a check unless and until one requests it!), lack of ice, lack of whatever is they are accustomed to.

 

I say "they" because, even though I am an American, I do not travel expecting things to be the same as they are here. And, I am very grateful when they are not! I love the fact that pasta is cooked properly in Italy, that the shops close for siesta during the day, that the coffee is hot and strong, unless of course, one orders "cafe Americana".

 

I would consider an Americanzed cruise experience to have the following characteristics:

 

- food based on volume and constant availability

- service that is more about speed and getting one out the door than about enjoyment and elegance

- constant noise, activity and announcements everywhere

- the concept that bigger is always better

- disregard for published dress codes and general good taste

 

I think the era of traditional cruising is fading away and I for one am sorry to see that.

 

I hope that lines like MSC does not become like the rest but continue to offer a product in line with a more refined, service oriented experience.

 

On the other hand, they really need to get with the program in terms of land based customer service, espcially at higher levels.

[shortgreen]

My family and i are taking the Lirica Caribbean. My kids are 19 and 16. Any good suggestions on what to do in port. Also does anybody have any information on diamond shopping in St. Marteen?

 

Thanks

[asctony]

italgal: Thank you for the great review! Please tell me how many formal, informal and casual nights they had on your cruise.

[Tricia28]

How formal were they on formal nights? My husband has a tux, would he be "too dressed" wearing it? We actually like dressing up and miss the more formal days of cruising. We have taught our boys there are certain occasions where they need to get dressed up and they don't have a problem with it either.

[asctony]

How formal were they on formal nights? My husband has a tux, would he be "too dressed" wearing it? We actually like dressing up and miss the more formal days of cruising. We have taught our boys there are certain occasions where they need to get dressed up and they don't have a problem with it either.

I believe if it is formal night and your DH has a tux to wear it. I wear mine and that is why I am asking how many formal nights, etc. Cruising has become too casual just like the workplaces.

[tom_uk]

How formal were they on formal nights? My husband has a tux, would he be "too dressed" wearing it? We actually like dressing up and miss the more formal days of cruising. We have taught our boys there are certain occasions where they need to get dressed up and they don't have a problem with it either.

 

We were on MSC Sinfonia in the Med last May and the formal nights were well-observed. I would say about one-third of the men were in dinner-jackets (that's brit for 'tux'), moe than one third in suits, or other 'smart' wear (eg, blazer, tie & trousers), and a small proportion not. I certainly wore my dinner jacket and felt very much at home.

 

Of course the Med is different from the Caribbean, but I would say that MSC is a line that responds positively to smartly-dressed passengers. The waiters and dining-room staff seemed to be extra-attentive to us on the formal nights.

 

Oh, and we were on first-sitting for dinner. I think that second sitting was perhaps even more formal; there were quite a few families with small children at first sitting, and they did tend to be the ones who hadn't dressed up, which is understandable.