2 Nights Northern Europe from Stockholm Cruise

20 day Northern Cruise-wonderful scenery

Our 20 day cruise went as high as illulisat Greenland with scenery or amount of Icebergs I was not expecting. The ship is old yes but extremely clean and well presented. We had cabin which was your usual balcony cabin layout. The surprise was having a kettle in the cabins to make your tea or coffee anytime. No USB ports in the cabin which is almost unforgiving these days. Food was extensive in its variety. We chose the buffet some evenings and dining room other times. Internet is not good so unless you really really need it, save your money. We purchased the Easy Plus drinks package which covered everything we wanted, alcohol coffees soft drinks etc. The staff were exceptional in their attitude and in clean perfect uniforms always. If I have a real criticism it's the €420 Euro extra charged to our cabin for onboard tips. You pay enough for your cruise so may I suggest the cruise line pay these willing workers more of a living wage from your profits. I booked thinking tip were included. What we liked: Kettle in our cabin Food Staff What we didn't like: Exorbitant excursion prices Terrible internet No USB points Extensive loud ship messages in 6 languages that you never could hear due to passenger noise Tips on top of tips charged

Awesome itinerary for a quite reasonable price

We did a 119 night World Cruise, don't know why the menu here in CC says its only 50 nights. MSC delivers a lot of bang for your buck, though not everything was perfect. But the itinerary and the dining were awesome, although strangely the famous Kaito-sushi restaurant was closed during the whole trip. The staff was excellent, I wish shore hotels would have staff as nice and attentive. The Voyagers-club event was mainly designed to sell cruises so we skipped those after the first one. The ship is in good shape and is maintained very well. Entertainment is repetitive but OK. The complimentary dine and drink package was very good as the waiters were not too strict. One thing that was quite bad was the excursions department, any MSC-excursion seems to be double the price and half the fun of what you can organize yourself. Half the hours in port that is, as the MSC excursions never fully use the time available in a port. Here are some considerations for those who book an MSC-excursion: If you don't receive your tickets at least 48 hours in advance, go and ask. Their system is not reliable, they “lost” three of our excursions, that is about one in 10. Always double check your tickets, MSC once booked us in separate tourbuses, and several times in buses with a language that we do not speak (they operate guided tours in several languages). If your excursion gets canceled (for example if there are not enough participants or if a port is skipped), expect to wait a long time for your credit. MSC returned our money only 9 weeks after they cancelled the excursion. Check if the tour guide actually follows the programme that you bought. In several of our excursions stops were skipped or changed, or commercial stops (to a shop or café where the tour guide gets a commission) were added. Check very well what is included in the excursion, check the wording. You might think you will visit a palace but you will only drive by, or you are supposed to buy the tickets to a place that you visit yourself (and when you get there you find out that it is sold out). Remember that tourbuses cannot go to that one beautiful small viewpoint where only a taxi can park.

Baltics: An American solo experience in Latvia, Estonia and Stockholm!

About the Reviewer: I’m a middle-aged American male who traveled solo on this, my 52nd voyage. I have sailed primarily on NCL with over 25 voyages there and a handful of cruises with Celebrity, Royal Caribbean and Carnival. This was my fourth MSC cruise and my second week on the Poesia. You can find my previous review for the Norwegian fjords in this same section of member reviews for the ship. My previous experiences were on the MSC Meraviglia and the MSC Seaside sailing from Miami and New York City respectively. My cruise reviews are done in the chronological order of things experienced. STATEROOM: 11249 This cruise I was in an aft balcony, the first one I’ve ever sailed in! The balcony room was quite spacious with plenty of closet and drawer space to make it work. There’s a seating area besides the desk in the corner of the room by the balcony door with a table. The room was quite spacious. The shower had a curtain but the shower head also had the two different settings between rain and pulsating. While I cannot stand the shower curtains as I am tall and bending over means touching them, it didn’t take away from the awesome-ness of this room. The aft balcony was the third one towards the center of the portside of the ship. The balcony was spacious despite the angling of the bulkhead. You were covered partially by the deck above and further out you were not. The views were stunning sailing into and out of ports during this voyage and this room was VERY awesome to experience them in! Some might find the vibration from the ship’s propellers a bit annoying when she’s hard to sea but I didn’t mind it. MSC POESIA: The ship was in working order and refreshed with new carpeting everywhere. The lounges were a good place to hang out with Pigalle Lounge on Deck 7 aft being the major hang out during the voyage. Other lounges in the middle of the ship provided entertainment as well such as Poeti and Zebra lounge. The nightclub and karaoke venue called S32 was also a quiet zone during the day for folks to read and had lovely panoramic windows for scenic viewing. For a ship built in 2008 and has seen a lot of passengers, she’s in good condition. Day 1 – Copenhagen, Denmark (In-Transit) Since I was an in-transit guest for this segment, disembarkation was the same gangway used by guests to go ashore who were in-transit. A tip for anyone using this port, there’s a free shuttle bus which can take you to the Orientkaj metro stop. It only runs during the morning hours until about 12:45PM. It’s to help those guests disembarking or embarking. However, they have another bus line that takes you to the beginning of the port. MSC uses Terminal 3 which is the furthest from the bus station and a decent walk but it is a good connection. I bought a day pass for the entire transit system for $10 USD and used it to get around in Copenhagen seeing sights like the Rosenborg Palace royal jewels, Christiansborg Palace and the Amalieborg Palace. I managed to catch the changing of the guards at the Amalieborg Palace. I also was able to see the beautiful and very lively waterfront in Copenhagen. While I didn’t have time for a boat tour, I did get to good feel for the city which I didn’t get the first day I arrived there. Another tip is to skip the Little Mermaid statue. Everyone wants a photo op by it, it is very crowded and really quite small! Back on the ship, I spoke to Marie, a social hostess who specialized in helping the Italian guests on the ship while waiting for cast off. She was always a friendly face out and about and she encouraged me to try the solos gathering again for this voyage. It was a nice conversation. The DJ sail away party was cancelled as it had sprinkled just a little. Two weeks in a row with it cancelled due to a slight shower. I decided to stay up on deck longer and skip the show but tonight’s show was “America.” If you are the second seating for dinner then you catch the first show which runs at 7PM and lasts a half hour. The second show runs at 9PM and is for guests with the first seating dinner. For more details about the shows which I saw all of them in my first week on the ship, check out my other review. Now the one thing that gives me a bit of anxiety with MSC is the shared dining concept. The previous week was nerve wracking enough on the first night. I dreaded this night’s seating. The person who sat down was from my same state (Massachusetts) but didn’t seem to want to overly engage in conversation to pass the time. I didn’t mind it too much and the person never turned up for dinner again. I was happy having the table to myself for the rest of the voyage! Tonight, was the 90’s night in the Pigalle Lounge. I missed it the previous week and checked it out. It was a good time with the DJ. The bar staff in Pigalle were my favorites for the trip. Unfortunately, tonight would be the last night of the trip I would see all the bar waitresses and waiters there as they would be split up and shuffled for this next voyage. Day 2 – Warnemunde, Germany I started my day extra early and skipped the room service breakfast this day to get off the ship early when we docked at 7AM. When I headed for shore, my keycard was flagged and I was denied disembarkation and told to go to reception up one deck. I hurried up there and the immigration purser came out from the back and talked with me regarding my planned trip to Berlin, Germany. I informed the ship of my plans on the day prior to inform them that I knew it was risky and that if I didn’t make the ship that I was going to rejoin the ship in its next port of call – Latvia. The international purser thought I was completely disembarking the ship and denied me doing so. Wires were crossed. After he strongly discouraged me from going, he let me off the ship. Now I had booked a 7:56AM train to Berlin from Warnemunde. There are inter-city trains that go much faster than the local ones to get you from point A to point B. During the busy summer season there can be delays with the trains. However, since it was now in early September, the crowds were gone. The kids were back in school and I was willing to take the risk. The train took 2.5 hours to get to Berlin. It’s not close to the cruise port at all. Be forewarned this is not something you should try if you are mobility impaired or not good with time management. In Berlin I headed immediately for the Berlin Wall memorial. I started out by the visitor’s center and then headed northeasterly until I was by tunnel 57 before looping back to the guard tower, the death strip and the wall of remembrance. From there I looped back to be closer to the train station catching the Riechstag, Brandenburg Gate, Berlin Wall Victims Memorial, Pariser Platz, Unter den Linden and the very overbearing Russian embassy. All this was seen in 2.5 hours before heading back to the train station for the train ride back to Warnemunde. I arrived back to the Poesia with just over a half hour to spare before the cast off. I got back on the ship and checked in with the front desk to make them aware (which they likely knew from the keycard swipe) that I was back on the ship. I happened to strike up a conversation with some of the folks who were standing there including Olyanna (name could be spelled wrong) who was from Ukraine and we talked about the exciting day ashore and cruising in general. It was a very nice conversation. Just a note to corporate about how they advertise this sailing, I wouldn’t recommend doing what I did to most travelers but MSC did market this itinerary with having an option to see Berlin. However, once on the ship, I discovered they were not offering tours because we were not in port long enough. The other ship in port with us this day had chartered a private train to Berlin for their tours. I’m surprised MSC wouldn’t do the same to offer their guests what they advertised. I threw the backpack down and grabbed a quick bite at the buffet and headed for the cast-off party up on deck. This time there were a lot of folks up there and the weather was warmer. The vibe was more party and I was looking forward to a sea day the next day to unwind. Tonight’s show was La Voce Del Cuore. It was my favorite show from the prior week but because of how exhausted I was from my day of traveling; I didn’t make it instead opting for a casual dining experience at the second seating. The other tablemates didn’t show up so I dined alone which was fine with me after my day of adventure. After dinner I checked out Rock N Roll in the Pigalle Lounge with the cruise staff keeping the crowd going. It was this night that I noticed the waitstaff had changed although thankfully Michael Lopez was still bartending there. It was a good night and Michael took good care of me and then it was off to the S32 disco for a short appearance before heading to bed. Day 3 – Sea Day With the lovely view and room service of the Fantastica experience, I headed for the gym. Going early meant you had wide open spaces. Most folks on this sailing sought the gym at around 10AM. I was in there by 9AM and out by the time it got really busy meaning everything for the most part was wide open. The ship had plenty of activities on offer for the sea day morning including origami arts and crafts, bean bag toss poolside, table soccer tournament and food carving demonstrations. At 11:15AM, it was time for this week’s solo traveler event. Surprisingly for English speaking guests, there were more than the previous week for solos. We had a lot of transplants including two from Denmark, one from Florida and a German speaking guest came over to see what was going on as well at the English table. We ended up staying and talking until 1PM! I would later see the two ladies from Denmark throughout the ship although never making the nightly unhosted meet up at the Poeti bar. In the afternoon, there was plenty going on from bingo, dances classes to ping pong tournament and penalty games SHOWTIME: L’Amour The show is a compact version of the Opera Carmen by Bizet. The female opera singer had an amazing voice and stage presence. MSC doesn’t do crappy opera singers. Both of them were actually quite good and the show was very well done. It was accompanied by pianist and the violinist I had seen most nights in the atrium. It’s only done on sea days so make sure you don’t miss it if you like opera. After relaxing for a bit in the room and taking in the view, I changed into my elegant attire and headed for the theater again but this time it was for… SHOWTIME: Paris Fou This show has a variety of acts featuring a stripping / changing of wardrobe juggling act, use of cycles while juggling and a tricycle among the things seen. This is also interspersed by the production cast dancers performing numbers. After a leisurely dinner in the main dining room, I headed for a walk about the ship to take some photos with the elegant attire on. I went to Pigalle and talked with Michael and then went about the ship to find the waitstaff who had moved to other bars that I had grown to know during the first week of the voyage. It was helpful to explore other bars on the ship while seeking them out. While Pigalle was my home base, I did discover other bars which had the music from the atrium close by giving them an equally nice vibe. I hung out for a bit and headed to bed. Day 4 – Riga, Latvia We were scheduled for 8AM arrival but a US aircraft carrier had pulled up the river in front of us and required the assistance of tugs to push her out of the way. It was nice to sail by them and wave from the aft balcony. Sailing up the main river and almost right into the old town of Riga was also another amazing feat. We swung around so the aft balcony was facing the old town and up the river. We were not too delayed and I hurried off the ship when we docked. I walked around Riga starting at the Freedom Monument and moving along the park to check out the barracks which had a display outside about NATO before heading for the castle. Riga is not like the other capitals in the Baltics. It has a more subtle and smaller old town feel, it is not to be underestimated. There was a lot to see and do. You could take a gondola down the canal through the park in the city. The park had lots of places to sit and was quite pretty. Most of the tours stopped in the town hall square which is where I caught up with a lot of the folks from the ship. The House of Blackheads made of red bricks and gilded decorations was the focal point here. ATTRACTION: Museum of the Occupation of Latvia (Latvijas Okupacijas Musejs) Located in town hall square in a modern building which completely sticks out like a sore thumb, this museum is home to the history of occupiers of Latvia. It showcased the time period from 1941 to 1991. The pictures and the stories are bone-chilling but teach an important history lesson which is sadly repeating itself again elsewhere in the world. The overall design of this museum is definitely worth a look. It has fencing around it where the displays are hung from and it has barbed wire overhead. It’s dark and there’s a search light like you’re in a prison. It can be intense with some of the effects (both sound and visual). However, it was more authentic for that reason. Definitely worth checking out if you have the time. English speaking tours of the museum run at Noon. I continued around the old town and headed for the Central Market just outside of the Old Town. It is a hive of activity with lots of flowers, fruits, fish and meats on display and for sale. It’s also by the bus station if you fancy yourself a journey further afield. It is housed in what were once air hangars used in World War 1. Riga also has a bustling art scene with plenty of museums on offer about their art. I didn’t partake in any of them but if you’re into art, be sure to check that out here. All aboard was 3:30PM and we sailed at 4PM. The sun was out and it felt warm on the balcony so I hung out there with a cup of tea. It was very nice to watch the ship sail back down the river. The ship had plenty of pre-dinner / show activities on due to the earlier sail away including a game of name that tune, fitness classes and music all around the ship from live musicians. SHOWTIME: Abyss Since I had time, I decided to check out the show once again. It is a nautical themed show with an aerialist using silks. It’s a good show with many different costume changes. After dinner, the entertainment around the ship still consisted of live musicians in most lounges with the main feature and the theme of the night being the 60s, 70s, and 80s along with Flower Power. The Zebra Bar featured Abba hits while the Pigalle Lounge later on featured an actual Flower Glory Night with the cruise staff to get the party going. Both were a good time. Evenings on the ship were always quite lively or sedate depending on what lounge you were in (or atrium). Day 5 – Tallinn, Estonia We arrived around 9AM. Tallinn cruise port is a newer terminal and a littler further over from the city center and the old town than the ferry terminal. However, it is not that far. ATTRACTION: Hotel Viru – KGB Museum Located on the 23rd floor, a floor no one dared go into when the hotel was part of Soviet Russia, are two rooms where the KGB would hang out and spy on hotel guests. The tour guide did a good job explaining the conditions for guests at the hotel and how there were so many people working there – nearly 1,000 and yet just over 100 today. There were floor guards but more importantly was the bugs they used both in rooms and in the bread plates and ashtrays to hear what Westerners were saying who stayed at the hotel. For $11 EU, the tour was quite fascinating. You are allowed to take photos of the exhibits and are allowed to take photos of the views from that floor. This allowed the KGB to see all of Tallinn from up there. Now there’s also a rooftop bar located there. While in Tallinn, if you’re going on your own, it would be beneficial to get a Tallinn day card which grants you access to many different attractions around town. They have tourist information centers in the heart of the old town which sell the one-day pass. You can also visit online in advance. ATTRACTION: Patarei (Merekindlus) Prison Calling this an attraction doesn’t seem right. It’s not an attraction. The Tallinn card works at this venue. Now about the prison itself. You start outside where there were cells exposed to the elements where people were put in for torture. Next you stop by where the guard dogs were housed and fed dead prisoner remains as dinner. Once you step foot inside the prison, it is a very dark and cold place. Not just physically cold but emotionally as well. You see the torture chambers and the chill you get from the rooms being exposed to the sea right outside gives an atmosphere you would never want to experience when the prison was open. You are allowed to go through a lot of the prison and see different rooms where different things were done, finally ending in the area of the prison where executions were carried by firing squad or just being shot dead. The stories in each room, the feel of the prison gives you a look into what the Soviet and Nazi regimes did for political terror on locals or on anyone who dared cross them. The prison was closed in 2005. Next it was time to head to the Old Town for the more touristy sights including Fat Margaret Tower, Pikk Street, Town Hall Square and walking up to the upper town (Toompea) for vantage points and more of the city walls and gardens. There was also a Russian orthodox cathedral located up here along with the Finnish embassy. ATTRACTION: KGB Prison Cells (Old Town) Included in the Tallinn card, the KGB prison cells were housed in the old town and used to torture people in the basement or beat confessions or other information out of them. Each room in the basement showed a different story. You would see the desks where the interrogations occurred and the solitary confinement at the end. These cells in the basement of this house have as dark of history as the Patarei Prison mentioned earlier. ATTRACTION: Great Guild Hall Also included in the Tallinn card, the Great Guild Hall houses the Museum of Estonian History. It houses interactive exhibits as well as artifacts showing the entire history of Estonia. It is a really helpful place for first-time visitors to the country. After a small bite to eat and a pint at the Town Hall Square, it was time to head back to the ship. Back onboard the ship’s evening attire was casual. A lot of folks stayed ashore late as we didn’t sail until 7PM so the dining room was largely empty. SHOWTIME: Born to Rock Exactly like it sounds, the show features rock music favorites (English). The songs were toe tapping and it was a good show. ENTERTAINMENT: Majority Rules Game Show After a long day in town and knowing we were not arriving into Stockholm until later due to the later sunrise and sunsets (per the captain’s announcement), I checked out the game show in the Pigalle Lounge. Tonight, Michael Lopez, the bartender said I had been too predictable this cruise and needed to try some other vodka drinks. He said he would surprise me and I wasn’t in a hurry and watching the game show so I tried what he came along with. The appletini was a nice touch for sure. It helped to pass the time while waiting for the S32 disco to open. I went for a bit and then went to bed. Day 6 – Stockholm, Sweden Cruise ships are not allowed to transit the approach to Stockholm until first light and must be out of the channel by last light. As a result, when I woke up, we had begun the transit into the channel and it was just before sunrise. The channel is really tight. I fully understand the delay in getting in as anything goes wrong, you would hit something (rock, island, etc). The captain encouraged guests to be out on the decks or just be up to see the entry into Stockholm and it was quite picturesque. When we docked in Stockholm, everyone made a beeline for the gangway. It was complete chaos. Nothing was orderly and people were coming out of the lifts and cutting into the line on the lower deck as people had queued around deck 5. The lifts should’ve been disabled to stop this as it led to needless pushing and shoving as people didn’t enjoy being cut. The ship docked at the furthest dock from town. The Viking Cruise ship had the closest dock and then there were the Viking ferries that had the middle one. As a result, the walk was a bit longer and the ship did offer shuttle busses to take you into town. There was a continuous shuttle service being run. Given the lines that were trying to get off the ship, I opted to walk as it was quicker than waiting in line for the shuttle bus. It is a good distance so if you have mobility impairments, you should take the shuttle offered by the ship. In town I started with the sights in the Gamla Stan including the Royal Palace, the cathedral, the Stortorget (plaza with colorful buildings and a meeting point) and the iron boy statue. Parliament was closed to visitors but was on the island between the Gamla Stan and the new town with shopping centers. I walked over to the city hall but by the time I had arrived and given the number of cruise ships in port, the English tours were sold out for the day. The city hall there like in Oslo, Norway, is supposed to be a real highlight of the city. ATTRACTION: Royal Palace Museums For one price you can get access to four different museums located at the Royal Palace. The royal apartments and the royal treasury at the two biggest sights to see in the palace complex. A combination ticket actually gives you access to four total sights. The two I found the most interesting were the treasury with the royal jewels and the apartments with their ornate décor and stories of occupants of them. Now if you have more time to spend, you might want to take a ship excursion to a better palace called Drottingholm Palace. I happened to be at the palace at the time the changing of the guard occurs outside. It was a good show with plenty of pageantry. After the long walk back to the ship from town, it was time to relax for a bit on the balcony with a cup of warm tea as the ship pulled away. Watching the ship navigate the channel to get out of Stockholm and back out to the Baltic Sea was truly astounding. We would speed up and slow down depending on the narrow nature and the turns that had to be taken. I couldn’t imagine being on a wider ship than the Poesia trying to maneuver through there. There was a parade of ships coming out including other passenger ferries and the Viking cruise ship. SHOWTIME: Space Odyssey Think of the show as a combination of space creatures costuming along with contortionists and some hit songs along the way by the singers. It has peaks and troughs of energy. As with most of the shows on the MSC Poesia, it was a good one to catch (even for the second time). Tonight’s attire was white as the ship was holding its White Party in the Pigalle Lounge. During the event in Pigalle, the cruise staff would get the passengers out to learn the dance moves and the production cast dancers came through to perform their dance number. It was a good time with the after-hours party heading up to the S32 disco. Since it was a sea day I decided to stay up late and check it out for a bit longer than usual. It was a good time up in the disco. The music selection on MSC is much more European dance music (EDM) than what US mainstream cruise lines play. Day 7 – Sea Day I was up early enough to have my room service breakfast and then headed for the gym around 9AM. Given how late a lot of passengers had stayed up the previous night, the gym was largely empty. I took advantage of the quietness and Tristan finally got me to join a Core Abs class which started at 10AM. During most of the voyage those core abs class conflicted with the shows or dinner for most guests. His class was very high energy with music and intensive. Some items take coordination and he encourages you to try and if you can’t do it then to try the next one. Very sociable fellow and ready and eager to help guests with any workout needs they may have. After the workout, the captain came on and announced to those who didn’t already know during his daily briefing that Queen Elizabeth of the UK had passed away the previous day. I found out as we were sailing out of Stockholm. The captain paid a lovely tribute to her and to those who were from the UK on the ship. I thought it was a nice touch among the rest of the information he gives about navigation on sea days. The afternoon the ship went quiet as the captain had warned us the seas would get bad and they did. It was rough but nothing I couldn’t handle. The ship was still offering things to do like mini-golf and ping pong tournaments but most people seemed to disappear from the bars and lounges for the safety of their rooms. I went back and took a nap myself. The rocking helped with extra good quality sleeping! SHOWTIME: Classical Italian Evergreen A matinee show featuring the soprano, tenor and duo allegro of the ship. A pianist, a violin player and the two singers performed riveting Italian opera. Since the ship was moving a bit much, the show wasn’t widely attended. Plus, the random time for the show at 4:15PM seemed a bit odd. It was a good show and both the soprano and the tenor have great voices. SHOWTIME: Tao Just like the name sounds, the costumes are of elaborate designs the production cast wore. The show had different moments of slow pace and high pace. The feature for this production were the acrobats doing incredible feats showcasing human strength. This is the penultimate show for the MSC Poesia. It is a great time. Guests are encouraged to stay at the end for a send off by the ship’s singers and cruise staff. Because of a variety show held later around the same time as the events in Pigalle Lounge by the cruise staff, the Pigalle was very quiet. It was time for bed! Day 8 – Copenhagen, Denmark After two weeks on the ship, it was time to say goodbye (think Andrea Bocelli singing here). I watched the ship pull in from the balcony after having a hearty breakfast in the buffet. You had to vacate your room by 8:30AM, however, I pushed it to 9AM as the room steward said I was the one of a small few in his section disembarking that day. I chose to take a MSC transfer bus to the airport. I was placed on the 10AM bus departure. I had a flight out of the airport at 12:45PM which was moved to 12:30PM. The team did disembark us in time for a 10AM departure. There was a small problem enroute where one of the luggage compartment doors popped open. We were fairly close to the port when this occurred so the bus driver pulled over and had to close it. It was a nailbiter but better than trying to navigate the metro to the airport. Not being one of the first group of people off meant the throngs of folks were off by the time we got off. I would recommend the transfer. I would also suggest not taking a flight departing before 1PM. While the ship says it docks at 9AM, they really mean it. Unlike in US ports when they say the arrival time is really early and they put a later time, the Poesia literally didn’t tie up until 9AM! I know US cruisers are accustomed to different procedures in US ports which is why I’m mentioning it here. FOOD: The food on the ship was good. I’m not a foodie and found all the food served to be good. The waiters were great at making recommendations as well. Anything that didn’t appeal to me in the main dining room, the alternate, always available menu had a nice steak dish I would get. The buffet for its size was quite extensive with a salad station and fruit station located by the entrance. The always available pizza was nice and the other side had grab and go grill burger and hot dog items. The warm dishes varied throughout the week as did the carving station with fresh meats. They had an Asian themed area and Mexican themed as well in the back. I’m not a food critic and MSC does get fairly bashed for their food selection but I had no problems on this voyage. The only problem I had was with seating in the buffet as they had large tables with one person sat at it hogging the window seats. Not everyone wanted to share a table. Room service was the weakest I thought of the entire food offering on MSC. The Fantastica experience meant you had a room service breakfast but they really discouraged you from using it with the limited selections which didn’t include any fruits. I would go to the buffet and get fruit and store it in my refrigerator to have the next morning. Bananas were only available in the morning from the buffet. SUSTAINABILITY: MSC has committed to sustainable cruising. You could see this in the straws they used on the ship not being plastic. Something that really showed me they were committed was the daily room service yogurt cups. They were made of glass instead of plastic telling me they were going to give that glassware back to the vendor for reuse or for recycling which is much easier for glass than plastic for yogurt containers (at least that is the case here in the USA). I thought that was a nice touch and reduction in the single use plastics on the ship. MSC VOYAGERS CLUB: On MSC, they allow you to match your status from other cruise lines into their loyalty program for the perks. I status matched based on my status with Norwegian Cruise Line. This made me an instant Diamond member. It is a lovely perk they offer and one to keep a person committed to their cruise line. Unlike other cruise lines whose status doesn’t expire, MSC’s does. This means you have to sail with them fairly regularly to keep your status. They had extended it during COVID. I think it is a fair thing to ask that if you are status matched you should have to keep cruising with them to maintain it. The perks of a Diamond member include cocktail parties with the officers, a ship made of premium chocolate delivered to your room along with some bubbly and pastries. On larger ships you do get one specialty dining but on the Poesia they only had one specialty restaurant. I like their program! CREW SHOUTOUTS: Excellent service should always be rewarded. Unfortunately, the MSC post-cruise survey doesn’t specifically ask for crew members who went above and beyond so I am doing so here. First off, Team Pigalle and especially the outstanding bartender Michael Lopez (from the Philippines)! The waitstaff in here were always friendly and would converse between orders. After a rotation between the two cruises, I had to find Ulia Thoriq by the atrium bar on Deck 6 along with her bartender Ken. Both of them were awesome as well! A shout out to my second week dining room staff of Fendy Pramanto from Indonesia and Joeneil Macaroag from the Philippines. They looked after me and conversed with me during the week when time permitted as I ate dinner. They learned my preferences quickly and handled them with grace. A shout out to the photo team for their help in keeping me connected to the internet and for helping me use features on my phone that I never knew existed! Marie, the social hostess from Italy, was always a familiar face about the ship and would stop and talk when she had a minute to do so. SUMMARY: I chose the MSC Poesia because I wanted to see how this class of ship felt and the service of MSC outside of the USA product. I was pleasantly surprised by how they treated their Diamond members and the attentiveness of the crew towards said members. I am not sure if everyone had the same level of attentiveness but being a smaller ship, the crew got to know you. It had been a long time since I received that level of service and personalization in many areas of the ship (not just the dining room). Great work team Poesia! The itinerary was the primary draw for why I booked. I had never gone to any of these ports before and the ship had all the best viewing areas for such scenic cruising. The attention to solo travelers was a welcomed sight, even if due to the international flare of the line, it didn’t quite work out as planned. I appreciated the effort to recognize solo cruisers and to get us to socialize. The entertainment is by far the best at sea. MSC prides itself on good quality entertainment and load of it from strings in the atrium to party music in the Pigalle Lounge. I would definitely recommend this class of ship to anyone seeking a more intimate feel.