Jean & Jim
DeGrazia
Itinerary: Canada/New England
Sailing Date: October 2nd, 2010
Age: 68/54
Occupation: Retired
Number of Cruises: 15+
OK Cruise - Oct 2
2010 - Canada/New Eng.
by Jean & Jim DeGrazia from Hampton Virginia
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Pros: Pleasant Staff/Service, Comfortable Cabin
Cons: Weak Daytime Activities, Mediocre
Entertainment
Best Uses: Family Vacation, Relaxing Vacation
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MSC provided a nice cruise and delivered exactly
what they advertised.
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The category 12 stateroom is advertised as a
suite. This cabin is no larger than a verandah
cabin on Holland America. Beautiful cabin, high
on deck 15...but it is not a suite!
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Entertainment on
board was good in the lounges, considering they
were all Italian, and did their best to
translate the songs into English.
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The show every evening in the theater was
another disappointment. The stage was very
small, and lacked any appearance of being a
production set. They projected images on a
screen, and had a catwalk with stairs on both
sides, as the only prop for every show for 12
nights of the 14. The dancers were very good
considering they didn't have much of a stage
setting to work with. The entertainers on the
other hand left a lot to be desired. In my
opinion there was not enough variety. Every
night you had a dance routine and then it was
followed by a circus act or a opera singer. No
other type of entertainment was available. This
type of entertainment got real old-real quick.
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On a typical day, the animation team might bring
passengers together for card and board games,
organize trivia contests, offer multilingual
cha-cha lessons on the Zebra Lounge dance floor,
stage an "Italian Party" in the disco, and wear
black clothes with red clown noses as they
tiptoe in a line behind unsuspecting passengers
who are headed for seats in the Carlo Felice
Theater.
The team's antics
are often silly, but the animators carry their
stunts off with such panache and good spirits
that nearly everyone seems to enjoy them. Quite
frankly, if it weren't for these talented young
people. The entertainment on board would have
been a total disappointment!
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Dining on board was just average. The food in
the dining room lacked presentation. It was
good, but nothing to brag about. The buffet was
adequate, good selection everyday, properly
served, and made a good appearance.
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Shore excursions were available as advertised.
The only complaint I heard were from guests that
bought them from a travel agent prior to
sailing. There was some confusion a the tour
desk concerning these pre-paid tours. A couple
we meet had to purchase the tours again, and
were told to take it up with their travel agent
and credit card company. No effort was made by
the cruise line to rectify this situation.
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We had no children traveling with us, but
listings in the daily program always addressed
what was happening and available for children.
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Staff was very helpful, considering the language
barrier. Most spoke very little, if any English.
They did do their best to accommodate the guest.
Service was adequate...They did nothing over and
above in order to make you feel like a valued
guest. I guess with 3200 passengers on board.
There is only so much they can do to pamper you.
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This is my first cruise on board a larger ship.
We normally sail on smaller ships (1400 -1600
guests) so we expected a little more personal
service, especially when your booked in their
best (suite) stateroom. It didn't happen!
Holland America keep those smaller ships in
service - - - were coming back!
