MSC Orchestra Worst Cruise Ever

[Kaetlyncrna]

Warning: this is a very lengthy post about my experiences aboard MSC cruises. Buyer beware! Do not go on this cruise line! I had wonderful ports, and beautiful experiences on the stops we made, and loved those aspects of my cruise,but I do not recommend this cruise line for multiple reasons. I had an incident with my lost luggage which is detailed in a letter to MSC. If anyone would like a copy, I will be happy to send it as it details my experience with being “held hostage” until I could pay €40 (over $50 US) “in cash, “ not charged on my shipboard account,to retrieve my luggage from the airport that was 15 minutes away. On follow up, I discovered that this was a fake charge not charged by the airport. Listed below are all the reasons I do not recommend this cruise line.

 

Food on the buffet and dining room was horrible; meat was typically over cooked and recycled the second day. If you wanted something other than pizza, hot dogs, or hamburger, this is not the cruise line for you!

- Beef, pork roast or turkey would be over cook the first day, and the remainder would be served again the second day

- Broccoli and other vegetables would be overcooked to where they completely fell apart one day, then you would see it again on the salad bar the second day

- Fish was so over cooked that it became soup

- Often the ice machines did not work, and coffee was recycled all day so it became a very thick soupy, syrupy coffee

- The only free beverages are coffee and water; when you go to the downstairs dining room, your only choice is to pay for bottled water; there is no free beverage

- Very little variety and most food is very bland or souped up with so much tomato or pasta sauce that it is unrecognizable

- Entrées such as chicken breast, steak or pork chops look like a cross between high school cafeteria food or the frozen bulkTV dinner meats

- Soups would be recycled each day, and the names changed, but each day it was the same canned soup

- Eating was a disaster as the main serving areas continued to run out of food causing lengthy queues and more frustration and anger among people.

- Most of the time we to go to several different beverage areas for coffee or ice as all the dispensers were empty

 

Boarding, disembarking and pretty much everything where a "line" should naturally form is always chaos. Pushing and shoving is a norm and none of the ship crew would fix it. That also happened in the buffet and dining areas quite often, so we found ourselves trying to eat at unusual times to avoid the line and ensuing chaos!

 

Kids run rampant on the ship; since they are allowed to cruise free, most trips have lots of kids. For example there were babies and toddlers running across the dance floor and even laying down on the dance floor at night and the staff did not intervene; so if you were wanting a nice night out dancing, forget it!

Very limited selection of on board activities

Accounting is very poor and inaccurate; we were charged a service charge for a day that we were not even on board yet! We also were charged a donation to UNICEF that we did not authorize; when we questioned it, they stated our account has been charged “by default” since they were in partnership with UNICEF; had that charge taken off

Majority of staff do not speak English very well and those that do understand you very poorly in case there are issues such as my luggage

All of the overhead announcements are generally given in several languages, with English usually the last, so you have to wait and listen for all three other languages first

 

Excursion and choice of ports were excellent but staff could give very little information on each port if you were not taking an excursion

#dontcruisemsc

#mscworstever

[nikkiw60]

How can you run out of food one day and have it recycled the next day?

Also re your luggage left at the airport was the charge to pay to have it collected ? had you left it there or had MSC?

 

 

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[Kaetlyncrna]

How can you run out of food one day and have it recycled the next day?

Also re your luggage left at the airport was the charge to pay to have it collected ? had you left it there or had MSC?

 

If you reread my post, I did not state that the food ran out. I stated that it would be over cooked and then recycled to be used for the next day. My luggage was lost by the airlines and the airlines safely delivered back but MSC charged a fee. I emailed the airline and they confirmed that they had not charged a delivery fee, that the fee was charged by MSC

Edited February 6, 2018 by Kaetlyncrna
Mistake

[GOLDENBONNY]

How can you run out of food one day and have it recycled the next day?

Also re your luggage left at the airport was the charge to pay to have it collected ? had you left it there or had MSC?

 

If you reread my post, I did not state that the food ran out. I stated that it would be over cooked and then recycled to be used for the next day. My luggage was lost by the airlines and the airlines safely delivered back but MSC charged a fee. I emailed the airline and they confirmed that they had not charged a delivery fee, that the fee was charged by MSC

Eating was a disaster as the main serving areas continued to run out of food causing lengthy queues and more frustration and anger among people.

Why would MSC pick your luggage for free? :confused:

[nikkiw60]

How can you run out of food one day and have it recycled the next day?

Also re your luggage left at the airport was the charge to pay to have it collected ? had you left it there or had MSC?

 

If you reread my post, I did not state that the food ran out. I stated that it would be over cooked and then recycled to be used for the next day. My luggage was lost by the airlines and the airlines safely delivered back but MSC charged a fee. I emailed the airline and they confirmed that they had not charged a delivery fee, that the fee was charged by MSC

 

 

 

Sorry I understood that dining was a disaster as the food kept running out?

Also why didn’t the airline deliver your luggage to the ship if they were at fault?

 

 

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[Captain-John]

I am traveling on Orchestra 24/02 (with an open mind!). I'd be curious to see if my experience matches yours. I hope not!

[sidari]

We have sailed Orchestra from Venice to Dubai and was nothing as you describe, you can claim the cost of luggage delivery from your insurance, it is not the responsibility of MSC to bring your luggage hence the charge. I know this because we were without ours for 5 days on the cruise mentioned above.

[Cuervosar]

I find it odd that one of the common complaints I see about MSC is that they do announcements in several languages.

 

If you've done 2 minutes of research on MSC you should be aware that there is a good chance of several nationalities being on board. If you want to stay cozy in your safe North American shell, venture no further than Carnival.

 

I'm not buying the food complaints.

[Kaetlyncrna]

Eating was a disaster as the main serving areas continued to run out of food causing lengthy queues and more frustration and anger among people.

Why would MSC pick your luggage for free? :confused:

Because the airlines delivered the luggage to them.

[sidari]

The airline do not deliver your luggage to the ship a courier does and that is who and why you pay.

[BermudaBound2014]

C'mon folks... those who have already sailed MSC have GOT to acknowledge that some of the issues in this post are legit, or at the very least echoed in enough MSC reports not to dismiss entirely.

 

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[GOLDENBONNY]

Because the airlines delivered the luggage to them.

So is it 15 min drive or airline delivered it to MSC? Make up your mind you are loosing your story.

[Captain-John]

C'mon folks... those who have already sailed MSC have GOT to acknowledge that some of the issues in this post are legit, or at the very least echoed in enough MSC reports not to dismiss entirely.

 

-

 

Absolutely. I already know that Italians in particular don't queue, that MSC food is not great compared to other cruise lines and that they apply a UNICEF donation to your onboard account. Some of these are issues, some are not. But the tone of the first post is a bit dramatic.

[Kaetlyncrna]

The airline do not deliver your luggage to the ship a courier does and that is who and why you pay.

 

My issue is not that I had to pay, my issue is that they would not allow me to disembark on my excursion until I paid in cash even though I had a credit card on file. They did not inform me of this until we were headed off the ship and they discovered I could not disembark, even though I was in the waiting lounge for over 30 to 40 minutes prior. I almost missed my excursion due to that. The only thing that saved it was at the tour guide waited until they could see what was going on. Then after the excursion was over when I reboarded, they would not allow me to board again until I signed an authorization to charge my shipboard account, even though I had paid for it already in cash. I made them stamp on it that it had been paid for in cash. Thankfully the tour guide was with me that morning when he demanded the €40 immediately and saw me pay for it in cash or otherwise I would have been paying twice.

[Kaetlyncrna]

So is it 15 min drive or airline delivered it to MSC? Make up your mind you are loosing your story.

It is a 15 minute drive from whoever delivers it.

[TravelinGert]

Having suffered through a lost luggage crisis or three did they deliver to MSC's offices and not the cruise port? That happened to us with a different cruise line. We were not charged for it to be brought to the port because the desk employee should have directed the airline delivery guy to take it to the proper place but instead signed to accept it. They made him drive it over in a company car.

[BermudaBound2014]

Absolutely. I already know that Italians in particular don't queue, that MSC food is not great compared to other cruise lines and that they apply a UNICEF donation to your onboard account. Some of these are issues, some are not. But the tone of the first post is a bit dramatic.

 

Thank you for acknowledging that there are tenets of this post that ring true. I do agree with the dramatic part, but certainly we can act more civil than some of the replies here :(.

[Kaetlyncrna]

Thank you for acknowledging that there are tenets of this post that ring true. I do agree with the dramatic part, but certainly we can act more civil than some of the replies here :(.

Thank you for your response. This is my first and last time posting here. I am not new to cruising, but new to this forum and I can assure you I will not be posting again as I am very surprised by some of the responses and the tone of them. Perhaps I did come across pretty dramatic, but I was very frustrated as this was my dream cruise and it did not turn out so well. I am even more frustrated by the lack of response by MSC.

[Kaetlyncrna]

Having suffered through a lost luggage crisis or three did they deliver to MSC's offices and not the cruise port? That happened to us with a different cruise line. We were not charged for it to be brought to the port because the desk employee should have directed the airline delivery guy to take it to the proper place but instead signed to accept it. They made him drive it over in a company car.

 

My travel partner also had his luggage lost, but it was delivered free by the airlines. I have received an email from the airlines confirming that they did not charge to have it delivered.

[cruzeluver]

As soon as you introduce hyperbole you lose me. Sorry you did not have the holiday you wanted.

[Kaetlyncrna]

Who send you here CCL or Royal?

None of the above. I have cruised with several cruise lines and this was my first one with MSC. I am not loyal to any specific cruise line.

[BermudaBound2014]

Thank you for your response. This is my first and last time posting here. I am not new to cruising, but new to this forum and I can assure you I will not be posting again as I am very surprised by some of the responses and the tone of them. Perhaps I did come across pretty dramatic, but I was very frustrated as this was my dream cruise and it did not turn out so well. I am even more frustrated by the lack of response by MSC.

 

That's sad, as I am personally interested to understand more of your luggage story. Perhaps you can come back after MSC responds? Or, if they don't respond (which is likely the case based on prior experiences), then maybe you can explain the situation with more clarity? I think your warning is justified.

 

What you have described in terms of poor customer service is a very common theme repeated over and over with MSC. As long as everything goes well, all is fine, but when problems arise, MSC has a well documented history of not being the most consumer friendly company. Add to that language barriers and international time zones and things get complicated quickly.

[DCGuy64]

As soon as you introduce hyperbole you lose me. Sorry you did not have the holiday you wanted.

 

That's how I feel, as well. Having penned an angry post or two after (or even during) a cruise-related mishap and having been dressed down by people on CC as a result, I know it's not a good idea to post a review (especially the very first one) that's very negative and makes lots of assumptions, even more so when someone is "frustrated." It's common knowledge that water and coffee (and tea, usually) are typically the only free beverages on a cruise, although I would be extremely surprised if they didn't have juice at breakfast, since that's the norm. Making comments about there being announcements in languages other than English just strikes me as unnecessary and detracts from the review, in my opinion. MSC is an Italian line and serves a multinational clientele so it's standard practice to offer announcements in Italian, French, German, etc. Food reviews are by nature subjective, and since I wasn't on the cruise I can't comment on that, though I've read reviews of meals on other MSC ships that claimed they were outstanding. Where the poster does have my sympathy is with the fiasco over the lost luggage. It seems that if the airline was at fault for failing to deliver it in a timely fashion, the passenger shouldn't be stuck with the bill.

Edited February 6, 2018 by DCGuy64
left out the word "be"

[Kaetlyncrna]

That's how I feel, as well. Having penned an angry post or two after (or even during) a cruise-related mishap and having been dressed down by people on CC as a result, I know it's not a good idea to post a review (especially the very first one) that's very negative and makes lots of assumptions, even more so when someone is "frustrated." It's common knowledge that water and coffee (and tea, usually) are typically the only free beverages on a cruise, although I would be extremely surprised if they didn't have juice at breakfast, since that's the norm. Making comments about there being announcements in languages other than English just strikes me as unnecessary and detracts from the review, in my opinion. MSC is an Italian line and serves a multinational clientele so it's standard practice to offer announcements in Italian, French, German, etc. Food reviews are by nature subjective, and since I wasn't on the cruise I can't comment on that, though I've read reviews of meals on other MSC ships that claimed they were outstanding. Where the poster does have my sympathy is with the fiasco over the lost luggage. It seems that if the airline was at fault for failing to deliver it in a timely fashion, the passenger shouldn't be stuck with the bill.

 

Your points are very well taken I have seen reviews of food on MSC ships such as The Seaside that I have heard it is very good. I cannot say that the food here was very good at all. I am typically not a picky eater, but this food was pretty bad. My travel partner who has been to over 110 countries, and multiple cruises, said it was the worst food he had ever experienced in all of his cruises. Contrary to what some posters may believe, I am not anti-MSC. I also am not specifically loyal to any particular cruise line, as have traveled with several of them. I also do not have as big of a problem with the fact that I was charged for the lost luggage. My issue is that they demanded it in cash as I was leaving for my excursion and would not allow me to leave the ship until I paid up, even though I had a ship board account with a credit card on file and requested they charge my account. They wanted only cash. Thankfully I had it on me, or otherwise I would have missed the excursion. The other issue was that they would not allow me to reboard until I signed an authorization to charge my account again another €40. Thankfully the tour guide had observed me paying it in cash that morning, or otherwise I would have been paying twice.

[sidari]

DC ... As posted earlier we lost our cases for 5 days after Brussels airlines removed them from our onward flight to Venice, they caught up with us at Rhodes having been to five other destinations first. We had to pay the courier who brought them and then claimed our money back from Brussels airlines along with the cost of new clothing that we had to buy until the cases turned up.