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	Overall Rating: About the Reviewer: Age: 30 - 49 Cruise Experience: 7+ cruises Traveler Type: Family w/older children Stateroom Type: Balcony A Very Disappointing Cruise by Michelle W. from Tampa Fla. Sailing date: Jan 2009 Pros: We were given an upgrade on our rooms and the two balcony rooms were very nice. We had booked the highest category of interior rooms and received an upgrade to balcony. Cons: The food was extrememly poor quality and quantity, the staff were arrogant, rude and uncaring. Embarkation and debarkation were a nightmare! The crowd had to be controlled by law enforcement. Unfortunately there is very little that I can say that is positive. The ship is beautifully decorated and the cabins were very nicely appointed. However, the food was the worst imaginable and we have cruised 7 times and have some basis for comparison. The staff were rude and uncaring. The staff cannot speak English therefor there were many mistakes made when ordering food or drinks. They literally cannot understand what the customer is saying. The embarkation was a very poorly run operation. Some people waited as long as 8 hours to board but the average wait was 4 hours. Some people boarded so late that there was no food left. The debarkation was not much better. It was disorganized and the crowd got out of control to the degree that 2 passengers became combative and security was needed. The long waits and the lack of any MSC staff maintaining crowd control contributed to the overall mayhem that ensued. When a MSC security employee was approached he indicated that he did not work for the cruise line. Indeed he did as he was on board the whole time and when we got to the terminal he was there in a post representing MSC with his name tag clearly displayed. Ship Details: Ship Quality The layout is a bit of a negative. You have to walk through room corridors to get to most public areas. It requires a lot of walking and customers spend alot of time trying to determine "where they are". Dining/Food The food was hard to describe as it was so poor. There was no seasoning used whatsoever. For example, a cinnamon roll for breakfast was just dough. There was no cinnamon or any type of seasoning or spice used. There was very little food to choose from, it appeared that they were trying to save food costs. The food was neither American or Italian. Stateroom Quality The staterooms were small but nicely appointed and appealing. Ship Staff Quality Honestly, the staff were the rudest and most arrogant individuals I have encountered. They do not speak English and they do not seem to care or to want to be "there". I believe the "culture of the ship" starts from the top. Entertainment & Activities There were 2 shows at night and both were good. The dancers and singers were above average. There was NO other entertainment on board. It was quite boring. 24 out of 26 people found this review helpful. Did you find this review helpful? Overall Rating: About the Reviewer: Age: 30 - 49 Cruise Experience: 2 - 3 cruises Traveler Type: Couple Stateroom Type: Inside Miserable Service Cruise by A Traveler from Miami, Fl Sailing date: Oct 2009 Pros: Boarding was easy, very clean ship Cons: food service, Tour desk help incompetent To start the cabins although nicely keep, were by far smaller than any of all the other cruises we have taken. The price of the cruise seems reasonable until you realize that once inside you have to pay for a lot of extras. Obviously the water, There is no water anywhere in the ship after they close the buffets so you have to buy it. Breakfast buffet is from 6:30am to 10:00am and Lunch from 12:00 am to 15:30pm, after this the buffet is close until the morning. The only way to have dinner is to eat at the restaurants, seating divided into two, the early at 18:30, and the later at 21:00. If this is not to your liking you must go to one of the four of the paid restaurants some with two of them casual seating the other two by reservation only. So if your excursion finish late or you want to sleep early you would have to pay for dinner. Then there is the tour desk, totally incompetent when we got ready to book our excursions we approach the desk and express to the clerk that we wanted to go to Portofino, to which she answer sure fill out the form. As soon as we completed the form and turn them into the clerk she immediately responded that it was all booked. I asked her if they have it in a different language but the answer was no. I asked if she could write my name in case somebody would cancel, she answer that people dont usually cancel. They never bother to write my name or try to see if there was a way around this or if they could book with another company nor even the chance of speaking with the supervisor. Their answer was no and there was no turning back. As far as booking goes they have to call us back twice because of the same thing apparently they over book the Spanish excursion and the only way to go was in the English excursion(lucky for us that we are fluent on both) if not it would have been the same as the Portofino incident. My question is this How Long Has MSC being in the cruise Business that they can not allow people to book on the same Internet that we book our Cruises, therefore eliminating the need for their customers to have to deal with this angry tour desk personnel. Ship Details: Ship Quality The ship is awkwardly design and the signage didnt help much to identify where you are or where you are going a lot of times the elevator only goes to the 12 floor and you are force to either walk thought the entire a dinning room or through the corridor towards the center o the ship to get the elevator to take to the next level. Dining/Food Food was pretty limited and with no visible variety in sight, it was the same menu or should I say layout as the day before, day in and day out. The only thing that seems to change was the desserts, although I am sure it was not so much by design as because they try to rotate the stock. Stateroom Quality The staterooms are well keep and the staff in this department seems to be more professional and involve than in the others. My stateroom attendant was always attending to our need and the towels were change every time we used them, also even thought this woman appeared to be overwork she always manage to greet us with a smile, what a difference from the rest of the crew. Ship Staff Quality I am sure that the staff pretty much conforms to what they are told from the top, it seems like these Italian ships cater more to the European market than the global market. I could sympathize if that is the way they feel but if that is the case perhaps they would save some money by not advertising in the markets that they not care to serve. I believed that both parties would be mutually content should they decide to take this route. Only advertise for the people you are willing Entertainment & Activities I am sure that the staff pretty much conforms to what they are told from the top, it seems like these Italian ships cater more to the European market than the global market. I could sympathize if that is the way they feel but if that is the case perhaps they would save some money by not advertising in the markets that they not care to serve. I believed that both parties would be mutually content should they decide to take this route. Only advertise for the people you are willing to service. 5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Did you find this review helpful? Overall Rating: About the Reviewer: Age: 30 - 49 Cruise Experience: 2 - 3 cruises Traveler Type: Couple Stateroom Type: Inside Not so wonderful by Blanca G from Miami, FL Sailing date: Oct 2009 Pros: The cleanliness Cons: The food This cruise is not good for any one with a medical condition. If you don't eat lunch you are forced to eat at the main dining room and wait a long time to be served or pay at the other two additional restaurant you even have to pay for pizza. I am diabetic and they wouldn't change my sitting from the 2nd. to the 1st. very unethical. The staff seemed very unhappy never smile. The staff for the tour excursions were not helpful at all, very rude. We missed a real nice excursion to Portofino because they did not know what they were doing. I did not have a very good experience on this cruise. Ship Details: Ship Quality The cleanliness was the best. The decor very elegant. Not very accessible to certain areas. Dining/Food Same food all the time. very poor quality. Stateroom Quality Our state room attendant was the best she went above and beyond to please us. Ship Staff Quality very rude at times and not willing to help. Entertainment & Activities The acrobats were the best in the show. 5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Did you find this review helpful?
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