18 Nights MSC Grand Voyages from Barcelona Cruise

Fantastic Middle East New Years Eve Cruise

We're from the UK and this was our first time on MSC. This was a new year cruise from Dubai. We stayed in the Yacht club and I'll do a separate review for this. Our grown up children stayed in the balcony cabins. It was noticelbe that the price was quite a bit lower than what we are used to on RCL or NCL. Embarkation was easy. This is helped by MSC operating multiple embarkation points. Dropped our bags off and literally walked on to the ship within 5 minutes. The ship is huge and we were told it was full. It was busy but this did not have an impact on service and activities. We just had to get used to a few 'quirks. Cabins We had 2 balcony cabins on deck 10. No complaints. Clean and comfortable. Not a single UK channel on the TV though, but the wifi worked fine for things we'd downloaded. We upgraded to the middle wifi package (not the streaming one) and it did allow you to switch devices e.g from your phone to a tablet. Pools and top decks Large pools which weren't that busy. Water park was OK and no real queues. Similalry there were no queues for the ropes course (this is free). There was always something going on. Lots of sail away and deck parties. There is so much to do on this ship. My only small complaint would be that MSC is an Itaian cruise line, so it does cater to lots of europeans and the music in particular was a bit too much 'Euro-pop' (I didnt hear Sweet Caroline once!! LOL). Bars Lots of them, and once you get used to the fact that are ordering points (this is different to the free for all ordering on other cruises) drinks come fairly quickly. We didn't see a lot of waiters getting drinks, so we just got our own. On the pool decks there were also a few pop up bars if you just wanted a beer. Lots of music and activities by the pools. Restauarants Buffets are always chaotic and busy. This is no exception. It's just something you have to deal with on cruise ships. It certianly no worse than Carnival or RCL. We found that the food was pretty good, particulally the breads and pizza (as you'd expect on an Italian cruise line). Our kids ate at the main dining room a couple of times and said the food was OK, but on one occassion service was very slow. The only restauarnt that we ate at was the Mexican. This was like a tapas style thing and was really good with some unusual beers and tequilas available. Entertainment Lots and lots to choose from. Shows in the main theatre were pretty good. Multiple shows every night as they're only 30 -40 mins long. This was ideal for us. We saw some king of AI show and the rock show. Both were pretty good, but its amazing how many rude people just sit their on the phones illuminating everyone around them! Elsewhere, there are pool parties, white night parties, 80's parties, a band in the main bar, guitarist in the British pub and the Atrium. There are also regular shows in the atrium and its huge LED roof. Ports We travel to Dubai and Abu Dhabi frequently so we were OK using taxi's and doing our own thing. Dubai Traffic is terrible getting to the port, and the port is a long way from the tourist areas (e.g. the palm and Burj Khalifa fountains). However its not too far from the creek and the old town and souks. There's nothing at the actual crusie terminal apart form a coupe of shops. Lots of taxis though. Abu Dhabi Similar to Dubai in that its all soread out and there's not one 'main area' We did our own thing and got a taxi to Seaworld. We had 2 days in Abu Dhabi and used the opportunity to visit one of our favourite restuarants. There is a small tourist village outside with several shops and a lot of street food places. It's OK. You can see the Lourve from the ship and this area will be amazing in 2 or 3 years when they finish all of the development. Bahrain We weren't sure about this one as we felt that this was the most conservative musilm country we'd be visiting. It wasn't particularly conservative just be respectful. You wouldn't go to you local shopping centre or chuch in a bikinki top so why woukld you do this at a mosque! Its not the most tourist place and therefore theres not a lot of help on sites like tripadvisor. For this reason we did a MSC shore excursion. It was on offer - a half day cultural tour. We vsisted the main Mosque (beautful and fascinating), the main archeological dig site and the main shopping market area. It was actually pretty good but because it was only a half day tour you don't spend a lots of time in these places. This did upset some of the people on the trip, but it was the people who turned up 30 minutes late to the excursion! Doha Quite a nice cruise port and its worth getting off the ship just to see the aquarium in the cruise terminal. We booked a private trip to do the dune bashing and camel riding in the desert. It was half the price of the ship excursion. New Years Eve We were at Sea so we didn'rt see any fireworks in Dubai or Abu Dhabi which was a shame as Abu Dhabi went for the world record with a 53 minute display. Instead there was a massice deck party. Everyone had drinks and the bars were doing offers on bottles of Champagne and Prosseco. These weren't at rip off prices either. It was busy, but even at 11.55pm we were able to squeeze our way to a view of the countdwon clock. We even bumped into some friends. It was a really good night. I assume that there was similar party in the atrium. The ship looks stunning my only real negative would be the number of rude people. Maybe we're too polite but it costs nothing to be nice and even if language is a barrier (there weren't a lot of Brits or Americans on this cruise) just acknowledge the fact that I've held a door open for you and let us get out of the lift before you get in. Its not MSC's fault and its something I'm noticing on all cruise ships. Overall we loved the trip and MSC. I'll do a separate review of the Yacht club. It was so good we've booked a 2 week cruise to Spain in Summer 26!

Amazing cruise

I can’t believe the bad reviews this ship has! I was pleasantly surprised by our trip! We had done a Costa cruise in Feb and this was 10x better in terms of quality, service, friendliness of staff, ease of boarding and disembarking, service at the bars, and willingness to help in issues. It was spotlessly clean, there were many available sun loungers as opposed to Costa cruises and the shows were amazing! The dancers were incredible and the singers Broadway quality. The only thing I would say needs improvement is the food, it was ok, breakfast was really good but while lunch and dinner were well presented in the restaurant, the taste was ok. Desserts not so good, more like supermarket quality. Food was better on Costa cruises. Kids club also boring for my 10 year old, better suited to very little kids, not much for her to do daily.

MSC Euribia-Dubai

With over sixty cruises on over twenty different cruiselines, I have experienced MSC for the first time and what a revelation it has been. Apart from an initial problem. entering and exiting .my interior cabin, everything else has exceeded my expectations. The staff and their services have been first rate. I have Diamond status courtesy of Princess Elite status match and am enjoying the experience. Although the ship is fully booked, crowding has not been a problem as there are plenty of areas to cater for everyone. My cabin is well located midship and is as spacious as any Interior I have sailed in. My favourite space on board is the Sky Lounge overlooking the main pool and occassionly has a nice duo performing. Although I came prepared for it, I didn't make the White Party due to feeling ill but you would be hard pressed to not find something to please. Would I sail with them again? Without hesitation although options are limited due to living in Australia.