MSC Poesia was a disappointment

[KAPPHX]

So is the starboard-side preferred on this itinerary?

[liverpoollad]

Michael, thanks for the reply. I will now stick with starboard ,put a peg on my nose & enjoy the view.

 

Kapphyx. On this itinerary I think starboard will be best, if you have pegs:D

 

Cheers

[liverpoollad]

Sorry KAPPHX for spelling your name wrong,funny enough I got Michaels (MaestroHog) name wrong a few weeks ago. Cheers

[liverpoollad]

Sorry KAPPHX for spelling your name wrong,funny enough I got Michaels (MaestroHog) name wrong a few weeks ago. Cheers:mad:

[Mysterybay]

We were on the Poesia’s innagural cruise (April 6th – 19th; London (Dover) to Venice. I was interested to see the member reviews here as well as the comments on this board. Most of the complaints seem to be about the food while the ship itself got generally high marks.

We’ve been on about a dozen cruises over the last 20 years, about half on Princess and the remainder on Sitmar, HAL, RCL, and now MSC. In my opinion MSC falls at the bottom of those lines in terms of the things important to me, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say I’d never sail with them again (though I felt that way at times during the cruise and heard that view from many other passengers).

 

I thought the food was OK. There were high and low points. The pasta courses were good, the main dishes often not, etc. Some things I didn’t like:

 

• The casual dining (buffet) was not even close to 24 hours and was closed entirely at dinner. That wasn’t a huge deal for us on this trip, but it would have been on if we had brought the kids. We have friends that eat exclusively in the casual dining when dining room attire is other than casual because their idea of a vacation is never having to dress up.
  
• It was very difficult to get ice water (that is tap water as opposed to purchasing bottled water) in the formal restaurant or the buffet.
  
• There was no self-service water/tea/coffee anywhere and no free service except during buffet hours.
  
• Free room service – available and extensive on the other ships we’ve sailed on – was nearly absent (limited to very bare-bones breakfast).

Some things I did:

• The wait staff was polite and friendly
  
• Lunch in the dining room featured a full six-course menu (appetizer, soup , salad, pasta, entrée, and dessert) and was often better than dinner.

For the most part I did NOT like the ship itself. Issues:

• Very few of the public areas (library, card room, lounges, …) even had a view of the outside.
  
• The decorating was sometimes nice but sometimes jarringly unpleasant. The disco, for example, was about the ugliest room I’ve ever seen. Obvously this is a matter of taste and only my opinion.
  
• I’m fairly sensitive to smoke which made many of the public areas unusable for me. For example, I completely steared clear of the casino. Also, since smoking in the cabins is merely “discouraged” I think you can be certain that all cabins will have been “smoking” cabins at some point within the first several cruises. That wasn’t a problem for us since the ship was brand new.
  
• Some of the public areas that I generally use on ships were subpar. For example, the library was only open for a couple of hours, twice a day – even when at sea, was very small, and had no exterior windows.
  
• There was not enough pool/pool deck space for a ship this size. Further, they closed the pool and hot tubs at 8:00 pm.
  
• The workout room was small for a ship this size.
  
• The beautiful art collections that are a feature of so many ships were mostly replaced by mirrors and flat-screen TVs (promoting the ship).

Everything else …

 

Good

• The ship was new and the condition of everything was pristine.
  
• The service staff was friendly certainly tried to be helpful.
  
• Embarkation and disembarkation were handled well.
  
• The music in the central atrium, particularly the classical string trio/piano, were very pleasant. The music in the lounges was generally good as well.
  
• They were less strict than other ships about bringing your own alcohol aboard. I was even told by other passengers that they allowed passengers to buy liqour in the duty-free shop and take it back to their cabin.
  
• The Captain’s welcome aboard and farewell coctail parties were well done.

Not so good

• While it’s happening on all lines (except perhaps the super-premiums), MSC has taken nickel and diming you to new heights. For example, there is a charge ($24, if I remember right) for a one-time use of the sauna/steam room – I’ve never had to pay for that before. Personally, I’d rather pay a bit more for the cruise, up front, and have the vacation itself be more all-inclusive.
  
• The drinks, at least for an American, were very expensive. When converted from Euros to dollars, a beer or a well drink was around $9-10 (plus gratuity).
  
• The cabins were smaller than we’ve seen on other ships.
  
• There was often a language barrier when trying to deal with the staff – not surprising on a ship that caters to so many different nationalities, but still an issue. It was, in fact, impossible to ask anything directly of our cabin steward. We had to make requests to the main desk.
  
• The on-board activities were, by far, the sparsest of any ship I’ve ever been on. In particular, that made at-sea days – often my favorite – rather dull. The activities they did have were often available for only very short hours.
  
• No deck chairs on promenade (a favorite place of mine to sit and read).
  
• It was necessary to check out pool towels and other items (e.g. putter and ball for the putting area) on your cruise card and then wait in line to return them. They frequently reiterated the point that you would be charged for anything not returned, that there were cameras in all the shops, etc. Conveying the unmistakeable message: WE DON”T TRUST YOU.

The so-so:

• The shows were of mixed quality. In my experience, that’s always the case.
  
• The cruise staff and officers were polite, but certainly not friendly.
  
• They handled the multitude of languages well, but hearing all of the announcements in 5 languages gets tiring after a while.

In summary, I’d sail with MSC again, but only if it was either a very good price and/or an itinerary I really wanted and couldn’t find elsewhere

[liverpoollad]

Mysterybay.

Thankyou for your comprehensive post.

I have only done 2 cruises over a period of 15 years, 1st with an old bargain cruise company in the UK called Airtours & with Princess a few years ago. My take on my forthcoming cruise with Poesia, is that it will fall in between the both,

The Airtours cruise the ship was a bit tatty,the food good & the entertainment was fantastic.

The Princess cruise the ship was very good ,the food excellent & the entertainment was poor,although the day time activities were pretty good.

A few things you point out which seem disappointing to me are namely, the public areas,the day time activities,the drinking water issue, & the drink prices.

Looking at the photos., of Poesia it does look like the pool areas are too small & to me the decor looks a bit over the top, which is surprising as Italy is without doubt the most stylish place in Europe, and therefore you would think their ships would be the same

Good to hear you can take wine on board as I know a place in Venice where you can by excellent wine from the barrel & I also note your tip on the taking of lunch,(if on board.)

It does seem entertainment is hit & miss on cruises. Who knows maybe I will like MSCs.

Finally no matter what the reviews are I'm pretty certain my wife & I will have great time:):)

Cheers

[liverpoollad]

Mysterybay.

Thankyou for your comprehensive post.

I have only done 2 cruises over a period of 15 years, 1st with an old bargain cruise company in the UK called Airtours & with Princess a few years ago. My take on my forthcoming cruise with Poesia, is that it will fall in between the both,

The Airtours cruise the ship was a bit tatty,the food good & the entertainment was fantastic.

The Princess cruise the ship was very good ,the food excellent & the entertainment was poor,although the day time activities were pretty good.

A few things you point out which seem disappointing to me are namely, the public areas,the day time activities,the drinking water issue, & the drink prices.

Looking at the photos., of Poesia it does look like the pool areas are too small & to me the decor looks a bit over the top, which is surprising as Italy is without doubt the most stylish place in Europe, and therefore you would think their ships would be the same

Good to hear you can take wine on board as I know a place in Venice where you can by excellent wine from the barrel & I also note your tip on the taking of lunch,(if on board.)

It does seem entertainment is hit & miss on cruises. Who knows maybe I will like MSCs.

Finally no matter what the reviews are I'm pretty certain my wife & I will have great time:):)

Cheers

[sea-explorer]

Yes, thank you Mysterybay for your overview. On the whole, from my limited experience with MSC, I tend to agree & there are areas where I wish MSC would improve...extended meal times etc. I must admit when I first saw the photos of Poesia I was somewhat surprized by the 'garish' decor of some of the public rooms which sems to be a move away from the decor on the other ships. Perhaps it was their way of trying emulate the likes of Carnival & NCL etc to appeal more to what they believe is US taste. :D

 

liverpoollad..we too have only been on 2 cruises, the first also on Airtours some 12 years ago. When we boarded we had to wait in reception for a couple of hours as for some reason our booking had been messed up & there was no cabin for us. We ended up in a cramped cabin, something akin to those on the cross channel Brittany Ferries, in the bowels of the ship where the engine noise lulled us to sleep every night. :eek:

 

As you can imagine, MSC was luxurious in comparison. A few tips from some-one who hasn't been on the ship yet, lol. Public areas...ambience is mixed, I'm sure you'll find a lounge etc you will like. Pool deck, yes, I thought more space would be needed on busy crossings. If it's just a sunbed etc you want, I think it would be easier to grab one on the deck above overlooking the pool.

 

Drinking water. Bottled water is of course the norm in Europe, but iced water should be available at meal times. I think it may be hit & miss depending on your waiter from what I have read. I intend to insist. maybe a small tip would be helpful here? :) Also, bring water on board from ports & don't drink the bottled water provided in your cabin as it is not complimentary.

 

Drink prices. I thnk they are expensive too, however, I don't think we find them quite as expensive as our American counterparts, at least those of us who live in the South of England. (I am a Northern immigrant by the way. :)) Also, the price you see is the price you pay, there is not an extra 15% added which is found on many other cruise lines. They also sell booklets of tickets for different drinks packages..14 tickets for the price of 10 drinks generally, which helps a little.

 

I did find day time activities limited on port days too..but maybe that was just me. However, it suited me just to relax as the port days can be quite tiring. The libraries are small, based on a trust system & only open for a couple of short periods a day. Books in English are also limited. I find it easier to bring my reading material with me, & maybe donate the books to the library when I have finished.

 

Lunches..yes, the dining room is a much more relaxing option. The buffet is always worth a try though. My tip is to use the buffet later in the 'allocated' lunch time slot, when the rush has died down.

 

Finally, we took a travel kettle with us & a few supplies, so we were always able to make ourselves a drink returning from port or just before bed etc.

 

I'm sure you & your wife will have a great time. Good luck. :)

[liverpoollad]

sparky1664. Thanks for the post & tips.

Thinking about the airtours cruise,we had an outside cabin on a lower deck,it was just the stabilizes & we went through a force 8 gale,the waves were reaching up to our porthole & the stabilizes were making a terrible racket,we had to leave our cabin & sit in a lounge all night. Maybe that is why we didn't cruise again for 10 years.

Cheers

[Mysterybay]

... occurred to be that I thought might be helpful for someone planning a cruise on the Poesia:

 

While the cabins were a bit smaller it wasn't bad -- things were well laid out. By the way, we had an inside cabin, but I heard the same about the standard outside cabins, with or without balcony. What bothered us most about the cabin vs. other ships is that there was very limited storage space for clothes. Of course, we were on a 13 day cruise that was (in April, going from England to the Med) likely to see a variety of weather, so we had more clothes along than usual. At any rate, it was very tight.

 

They have an updated, "smart" television system in the cabins. There are a number of channels, but if you only speak English, you will be limited to about 5 channels, all news (primarily British). We had a travel DVD player with us. It was not possible to hook it into the TV. The same would be true for a camera or camcorder.

 

Good luck with your cruise. You'll have a great time. We really enjoyed ours, mostly because of the many wonderful ports we were able to visit. I enjoyed every one and I'd like a chance to return to all. If I HAD to pick favorites I think I'd say Lisbon, Dubrovnik, and the Amalfi Coast area (though NOT Naples, which is where we docked ... at least until they get a hand on the garbage problem).

[roadside_attraction]

Thanks for all your great info. Could you answer a few more questions for first time cruiser Canadian mom & older teenage son. Can you take food out of restaurant(to feed sleeping son later or from buffet to eat by pool if he's up by then!)? Is milk free? Juice with breakfast? Think we can bring beer/pop/water in suitcase onboard initially? Can you drink tap water in room? Is there an iron? Does it cost to have room service bring drinks from pop card & could I have wine bottle from dinner wine package brought to room? What is @ cost of glass of wine (euro quote okay) in a bar on ship? We chose Poesia for ports & are english speaking only. How big a problem will this be overall? Read a ship excursion cancelled because of lack of english speaking clients to fill coach. If this happened to us, could we get another tour by getting off ship & finding a tour company at port?!! Generally how early before port time listed do you get ready to disembark & how much time do you have to be back at ship be fore sailing? How could we make our way (not ship excursion) into Dubrovnik to Pile Gate and how easy to find way back to ship? Help! I am both excited & anxious. Feel free to add any further advise. Ta!

 

... occurred to be that I thought might be helpful for someone planning a cruise on the Poesia:

 

While the cabins were a bit smaller it wasn't bad -- things were well laid out. By the way, we had an inside cabin, but I heard the same about the standard outside cabins, with or without balcony. What bothered us most about the cabin vs. other ships is that there was very limited storage space for clothes. Of course, we were on a 13 day cruise that was (in April, going from England to the Med) likely to see a variety of weather, so we had more clothes along than usual. At any rate, it was very tight.

 

They have an updated, "smart" television system in the cabins. There are a number of channels, but if you only speak English, you will be limited to about 5 channels, all news (primarily British). We had a travel DVD player with us. It was not possible to hook it into the TV. The same would be true for a camera or camcorder.

 

Good luck with your cruise. You'll have a great time. We really enjoyed ours, mostly because of the many wonderful ports we were able to visit. I enjoyed every one and I'd like a chance to return to all. If I HAD to pick favorites I think I'd say Lisbon, Dubrovnik, and the Amalfi Coast area (though NOT Naples, which is where we docked ... at least until they get a hand on the garbage problem).

[sea-explorer]

I'll help with this as far as I can.

 

Thanks for all your great info. Could you answer a few more questions for first time cruiser Canadian mom & older teenage son. Can you take food out of restaurant(to feed sleeping son later or from buffet to eat by pool if he's up by then!)?

It's not really the done thing, you could perhaps take a little. Instead though, why not order a room service breakfast, cereal, yoghurts, croissants, juice etc...There is no extra charge for this and it will be there waiting for him when he wakes. He can then still go to the dining room or buffet for a hot breakfast if he is up in time.

 

Is milk free? Juice with breakfast?

All drinks are free at breakfast but not at other times.

 

Think we can bring beer/pop/water in suitcase onboard initially?

I don't think there is a problem with this.

 

Can you drink tap water in room?

Don't see why not..it probably won't taste the best though..a bit warm I should think.

 

Is there an iron?

No. I took a travel iron and travel kettle with me..no problem as sockets were available.

 

Does it cost to have room service bring drinks from pop card

Yes

 

& could I have wine bottle from dinner wine package brought to room?

You could, but there would be a room service charge. You could also take the remainder of your wine from dinner back to the cabin yourself, or they will cork it & bring it to your table the next meal.

 

What is @ cost of glass of wine (euro quote okay) in a bar on ship?

Not sure of current rates. You could also order a carafe of house wine at dinner which will be cheaper than buying a bottle.

 

We chose Poesia for ports & are english speaking only. How big a problem will this be overall?

No problem at all with the staff etc in general. Just fewer passengers you will be able to converse with.

 

Read a ship excursion cancelled because of lack of english speaking clients to fill coach. If this happened to us, could we get another tour by getting off ship & finding a tour company at port?!!

Excursions do get cancelled I'm afraid. Taxis are often available at ports, but not tour guides. You can however book tour guides in advance..no deposit or CC details are generally required. This will work out more expensive for you if there are only two of you though, but it may be worth the extra. I'm thinking particulary of Izmir/Ephesus here. Perhaps there is a roll call for your sailing & you may be able to join others in a private tour. On the plus side though, this is the tour I think is the least likely to get cancelled as there will be a high demand for Ephesus. It does of course depend though on how many English speakers are on your sailing. I prefer not to risk it & have booked a private tour here. I can give you further info on this if you are interested. Other ports...taxis are easily available at Katakolon to take you to Olympia and the rest are perfectly do-able on your own. In Istanbul there is a tram, or you could again take a taxi. You might find the link below useful in planning your day in Istanbul.

 

http://www.letsgoistanbul.com/1day.asp

 

Generally how early before port time listed do you get ready to disembark & how much time do you have to be back at ship be fore sailing?

Generally I've found the ships tend to dock early and you can leave the ship as soon at it has been cleared. This is pretty close to the port times advertised. I shouldn't think you would ever have to wait more than half an hour from the advertised time, but in my experience it has always been much less. On the one occassion we couldn't dock on time, because of heavy traffic in port.. (not on the Poesia run by the way), the time lost was added to the departure time so we still got our full time in port. You have to be back on the ship 30 minutes before departure.

 

How could we make our way (not ship excursion) into Dubrovnik to Pile Gate and how easy to find way back to ship? Help! I am both excited & anxious. Feel free to add any further advise. Ta!

The easiest & quickest way here I think is on the ship's own shuttle. Taxis can be a bit hit & miss at this port with some long waiting times involved in finding one, & again for 2 of you I think the shuttle would be the cheapest. It will drop you off in the old town & will run back & forth to the ship whilst in port. You will be told the time of the last shuttle.

[Mysterybay]

I think Sparky gave you solid info so I'll only comment where I have a slightly different view ...

 

Drinks ...

 

You can bring beer, pop, water, juice, and wine on board with you at the start and/or at each port. Technically, you can't bring liquor, but from what I heard, they were less picky about that than on other ships. In ports that had their own security (e.g. Lisbon), the ship didn't check anything.

 

They sell wine in the duty free shop and allow you to take that back to your cabin. The prices are reasonable but the selection is limited.

 

The refrigerator in the room is small, but if you take out some of the stocked mini-bar supplies you can fit in some beer and pop. For white wine, we requested a bucket of ice and chilled it that way. Don't forget the bottle openers and corkscrews.

 

Cost - I don't remember the per glass cost for wine, but drinks in general were (I thought) very pricey.

 

Breakfast ...

 

Dining room and buffet are both good. Free room service is very limited. If I remember correctly, the choices were much more limited than Sparky indicated. As a father of two teenage boys (14 and 17), my advice is: Drag his lazy butt out of bed, he can sleep at home -- just kidding (sort of). You can't afford to sleep in much on port days -- too much to see, too little time. Actually, we let our kids go ahead and sleep in ... at home :)

 

As for taking food back to your room, we did it a little (only from the buffet, NEVER from the dining room), but it was never full meals -- maybe a dessert item, a yogurt, or a piece of fruit. I saw lots of people taking fruit with them from breakfast on port days.

 

Is there an iron?

 

No iron, no self-service laundry anywhere on the ship (and room service laundry isn't cheap). We brought a little travel iron/steamer. According to the literature they are forbidden (I suppose they're worried about fires?). I'd heard rumors of cabin stewards confiscating them (can't say if it's true) so we kept ours in the room safe.

 

Language issues:

 

No big deal. Our room steward clearly didn't speak english. I'm not sure if he spoke any of the ship's primary 5 languages. We had to go through the desk to make any requests of him. Otherwise, most of the crew you will deal with speak english fairly well to very well. Our cruise had lots of english speaking passengers (I'd guess between 1/2 and 2/3, plus those with other primary languages that also spoke english). I think that was unusual though and undoubtedly was due to the cruise starting in England and stopping in Ireland.

 

Excursions:

 

We don't do them much. When we do, we usually book them after getting off the ship. I've never had any problem doing so. They do group by language, including both excursions and meals. If there aren't a lot of english speaking passengers I suppose it could limit some of your options. I disagree that tour guides are not available in port -- there are always people hanging around trying to make a buck (or Euro, or Pound, or whatever). In a couple of ports our tablemates joined in with some other people and hired a taxi (van) to give them a custom tour and found that to be more flexible and much cheaper. I've had that experience in the past as well. Of course, you need to make sure their english is sufficient.

 

Getting on and off the ship:

 

The only time you tend to have to wait to get off is if they are tendering rather than docking. That never happened on our Poesia cruise. It tends to be a function of the port. Some don't dock the big ships at all, others have limited space and if another ship beats you to it you're stuck tendering. Getting back 1/2 hour before is correct, but they will let you on until they pull up the gangplanks, which is usually last minute. I've been on ships several times where they've waited for people (even those not on ship-sponsored excursions), but I certainly wouldn't bank on it.

 

Dubrovnik --

 

We walked (but that's just us). I'd estimate it the distance at 2 miles/3 km (a bit more coming back because our "short-cut" didn't work out). The ship sent people on shuttle buses. There were city buses as well, but you'd have to figure out the routes. Taxis were easy and prevalent and probably got you there quicker than the ship's shuttle. I don't know what the cost was, but I saw a lot of people catching cabs both ways.

 

Have a wonderful cruise!

[sea-explorer]

Lol, Mysterybay..Just re-reading & I think I did get carried away & muddled with the buffet with room service breakfasts as menus are limited..not sure what is on this ship compared to some others. We all missed breakfast last year on our port day..sheer exhaustion from the day trips, and had difficulty tracking down food, so I intend to 'cover' myself with room service breakfast this time round. :)

 

I probably also misunderstood about tour guides. I was referring to official licensed tour guides. I'm pretty sure you won't find these in Bari, Katakolon or Dubrovnik. Licensed tour guides are hard to track down in Greece at all, even with pre-booking. There may be a possibility in Turkey though as they are much more prevalent here. However, there are always plenty of taxis or drivers willing to take you anywhere at the ports so you won't find any difficulty getting around. It's just that they won't be able to enter sites like Olympia & Ephesus with you & give you an informative tour.

 

There is a pretty informative thread on the Med board about Dubrovnik which will help you plan your time. The shuttle is 7E per person return (or multiple journeys, but you won't have the time for this.) Taxis are generally 10E each way. There are local buses too so there are plenty of options, whichever you prefer.

 

I forgot too that kettles and irons are indeed forbidden. Our steward didn't bother us about this, but it probably does depend on the steward. An excellent idea Mysterybay to 'stash' it in the safe..I'll certainly do this next time, thank you. :)

[macruise]

The reason that kettles and irons are forbidden is because the biggest danger on a ship is fire.

 

There was a note on our desk that they would pull the plug on any laptops left unattended. This was on the Lirica.

 

Ma Cruise

[roadside_attraction]

Thanx again everyone, ever post is helping us get familiar with cruising on the Poesia. I have a few more questions though. Should we take turkish & croatian currency or can we use euros? Where is travel desk located on ship so we can go right away and book Katakolon Ancient Greece tour as they will not let us prebook this one (why, no one will say, so it has to be done onboard) & travel agent suggested doing ASAP. Do I need to pack tennis rackets? We are located port side. Is there good views of greek islands from both sides of ship? How warm a sweater do I need for evenings? Is an 18yr old good in nice shorts & long sleeve shirt at dinner on casual nights? Does this ship supply maps of Bari & Dubrovnik for self touring? Need to locate railway stn in Bari for internet cafe across street? & does Dubrovnik shuttle drop off istraight to old city? Ta!

[Mysterybay]

I'll take a shot at some of these ...

 

Should we take turkish & croatian currency or can we use euros?

 

Dubrovnik has it's own currency. Some shops accepted Euros. Personally, I think using a Visa is best. You get a better exchange rate (the ship will charge you and exchange fee, by the way) and you don't have to worry about left over currency. I think you'd have a hard time finding a shop, bar, or restaurant that won't take Visa. Cabs, however, may not, and the city buses do not so you may need to plan for that.

 

Where is travel desk located on ship?

 

Central atrium, deck 6 (if I remember correctly, deck 5 if not). At any rate, it's right by the main stairs in the atrium, near the purser's desk. Whether or not they are open right away, I don't know.

 

Do I need to pack tennis rackets?

 

Not sure, we didn't play. I assume you're talking about playing on the ship. Again, my memory may be incorrect, but I think they were not full-sized courts.

 

Is an 18yr old good in nice shorts & long sleeve shirt at dinner on casual nights?

 

No. I've never been on a ship that allows shorts in the dining room at dinner - whether 8, 18, or 80. On casual nights he can get by with any non-ratty long pants, including jeans and probably just about any shirt, though usually with a collar (i.e. not many T-shirts in evidence). At lunch and breakfast, shorts in the dining room are OK (swim trunks are iffy and they'd better be dry).

 

Does this ship supply maps of Bari & Dubrovnik for self touring?

 

If so, we never saw it (I can only speak for Dubrovnik). Even if you get one, it probably will be a cheap shopping map. I strongly advise you to leave prepared with any maps or tourist guides you might think you want. The internet is a great resource. When we left we had a portfolio for every port with maps, walking tours, descriptions of attractions, transit maps, etc.

 

Does Dubrovnik shuttle drop off straight to old city?

 

We didn't take it, but I saw it and yes, it drops off very close to one of the main entrances.

[triglav]

We used turkish currency and euros in turkey. I think you needed croatian currency to walk the city wall in Dubrovnik but some shops accepted euros.

 

I found that the air conditioning was chilling at night in the public areas - some people wore shawls etc. but others were fine. My husband didnt need a jumper all week.

 

Our 18 year old wore smart shorts and short sleeved t shirts on all but the formal evenings in the restaurant. On the formal evenings he was not out of place in a shirt and smart dress jeans. Dress was very varied but everyone was smart.

 

You can buy maps of each port at the reception desk they are not provided free - 0.5 euros.

 

Dubrovnik shuttle is great. Straight into the old town. 8 euros per person.

[dan66]

I agree with almost all that was written by Misterbay and Sparky1664.

Obviously some items will be considered either ok or so-so or bad depending on personal opinions and habits. I do agree with the way you expressed your opinion.

 

I think that for Italian passengers Poesia may be absolutely ok. Maybe some items will be not so good for American passengers. I think there is no problem with language for English speaking people (I always spoke English when I found some staff members with problems speaking italian, always claiming mercy for my poor English... :p ).

 

About decoration of public spaces: yes, maybe they tried to copy American style... (just a joke!) :D

 

About irons: I don't know about America, but here in Italy you aren't allowed to use irons in hotels too, not only on ships! The main cause of fires is electrical equipment. And an iron can be a serious source for fire! I confirm: they advertised that the cabin waiters were instructed to plug off all the electrical apparatuses found unattended in the cabins! No trace of confiscating them...

 

You are right about smokers areas on the ship. In Italy we are now used to non-smoking areas (thanks God!) and I found smoking areas on the ship a bit too large (while a smoking friend of mine thought they were too small...) No problem with (my) cabin: either no smoker used it before me or the air circulation system was very efficient... (my nose is very sensitive!)

 

The available space in the cabin is not too large. It was not a problem to me (I used my cabin only for sleeping...), but I can understand that during spring cruises the available space for dresses may be a bit small.

 

The smell: Oh, yes. It was absolutely not constant! You could smell it only three or four times during the whole cruise! And mostly when docked in a port (when the ship is moving the wind sweeps it away). NO! Don't change the side for this!

 

For currency: in Turkey they all accept Euros (but pay attention to the change rate!). And that was the same almost everywhere in Dubrovnick (in a bookshop they did not accept Euros but there was no problem with Visa).

[sea-explorer]

Dan

 

The smell: Oh, yes. It was absolutely not constant! You could smell it only three or four times during the whole cruise! And mostly when docked in a port (when the ship is moving the wind sweeps it away). NO! Don't change the side for this!

 

Are you saying the best side to be on is starboard for this itinerary?

 

(PS: Your English is wonderful :) ..you should hear my Italian, it is virtually non existent. :o )

[hulamoon]

I have never sailed on the Poesia, but we were in the same ports a bit this past May. My husband and I had noted that at each port the Poesia bus driver always asked us if we were on the Poesia. I do not know if it was true for her passengers, but it seemed they were very well organized helping passengers get into port cities.

 

We wished the Zuiderdam had a similar bus service in Venice. After a long walk we were tempted to try to take their bus!:D

[dan66]

Dan

Are you saying the best side to be on is starboard for this itinerary?

 

You can bet on it!

The starboard side (it is the "left" side, isn't it?) is the best one for the uncomparable view of Venice you'll have leaving the port (you'll see Piazza S. Marco exactly in front of your balcony!) and when entering in Istambul.

 

The port side (I mean the "right" side) offers you a good view of the italian coast (but the ship keeps a bit far from it and you'd see just a few lights) and the same is for the croatian coast (a bit more visible in the morning when approaching to Dubrovnick). The port side offers a good view entering the Izmir port (not wonderfull at all) and leaving Istanbul (I prefer seeing it from the starboard side in the morning with the sun rising behind the minarets: simply incredible!). The port side is also interesting when entering the Venice port: the view is the same as from the starboard side when leaving from Venice...

 

Have a nice trip!

 

Dan

 

(PS: Your English is wonderful :) ..you should hear my Italian, it is virtually non existent. :o )

 

(Thank you)

[dan66]

I have never sailed on the Poesia, but we were in the same ports a bit this past May. My husband and I had noted that at each port the Poesia bus driver always asked us if we were on the Poesia. I do not know if it was true for her passengers, but it seemed they were very well organized helping passengers get into port cities.

 

We wished the Zuiderdam had a similar bus service in Venice. After a long walk we were tempted to try to take their bus!:D

 

I found the buses of the Poesia very well organized. Both when I choose the organized tours and when I preferred to have a private tour (namely in Dubrovnick) there was always a bus waiting for us.

 

Only in Istanbul there was no shuttle bus for the pasengers not belonging to the organized tours, but there were several taxies waiting just out of the port.

 

The only tip I can give you is always to discuss the price with the taxi driver in Istanbul: a friend of mine was asked 40 Euros for a trip to the Blue Mosquee area, but after a little discussion he paied only 13 Euros! A guide also said us that they are used to propose extremely high prices because people always ask for lower ones and... they feel themseves offended if someone pays the fare they proposed without discussing! They feel like if the price they proposed was too low! It's like if they were said they weren't able to do business! Every place has its rules!

[AmoMondo]

You can bet on it!

The starboard side (it is the "left" side, isn't it?) is the best one for the uncomparable view of Venice you'll have leaving the port (you'll see Piazza S. Marco exactly in front of your balcony!) and when entering in Istambul.

 

The port side (I mean the "right" side) offers you a good view of the italian coast (but the ship keeps a bit far from it and you'd see just a few lights) and the same is for the croatian coast (a bit more visible in the morning when approaching to Dubrovnick). The port side offers a good view entering the Izmir port (not wonderfull at all) and leaving Istanbul (I prefer seeing it from the starboard side in the morning with the sun rising behind the minarets: simply incredible!). The port side is also interesting when entering the Venice port: the view is the same as from the starboard side when leaving from Venice...

 

 

Starboard is the right side of the ship and Port the left, unless you are facing aft. It's all very confusing - left and right would be much simpler for all of us!

[vjmatty]

Starboard is the right side of the ship and Port the left, unless you are facing aft. It's all very confusing - left and right would be much simpler for all of us!

 

Just remember "port" and "left" have the same number of letters.... that is how I remember it anyway ;)