6 Nights MSC Grand Voyages from Venice Cruise

Don't read the bad reviews!!!!

After reading the previous bad reviews I must admit I was very worried. Well, all I can say is as a family ranging from a 1 year old to a 70 year old, we have had an absolutely wonderful cruise. The staff are very attentive and friendly, and great at remembering your name and order. From the bar staff, table servers and room service. The food was lovely. Always plenty of choice, always hot and fresh and never a shortage of anything at all. We had no problems ordering drinks. Sometimes at theatre show times the bar was busy and there was a wait, but that is understandable. Gym was great and clean, spa great, entertainment 1st class. Free sunbed towels everyday. The only downside was lack of sunbeds on sea days due to some guests putting towels on and not using them. Apart from that we can't wait to come back.

Great experience

We have cruised with MSC Armonia in May 2022 from Venice in the eastern mediterranean. Embarkation was well organized. We checked-in at the cruise terminal in Venice and were brought with small passenger ships to the industrial harbour Marghera where the cruise ship was docked. The staff on board of the cruise ship was really friendly and outstanding. We did a cruise with MSC Seaside in 2021 but were disappointed by the service, this time it was different. The crew was really motivated and friendly all over the ship. No waiting time at the reception in case of any questions, friendly cabin steward, outstanding servers in the restaurant. The ship is one of the oldest of the MSC fleet but well maintained and modernized. We had a balcony cabin which was compared to other cruise ships quite small. There was no couch in the cabin and the bathroom was really small, but overall the cabin was fine. On the first day we had problems with our door which was not closing properly but after reporting to our cabin steward a maintenance person from the ship came and quickly repaired it. The food itself was nice, international meals with focus on italian dishes. Both buffet and regular restaurants were not to crowded. Thats the main thing which made the cruise so positive, it was really cozy. Not too many passengers and a nice athmosphere. The entertainment was not really spectacular, some average shows in the evenings and live music in the bars. Summary: I really like the MSC Armonia, even though its one of the oldest in the MSC fleet it was a great experience and cruise and I had a better cruise than on a newer MSC ship.

Excellent ship and phenomenal entertainment staff

Definitely a more European feel, so maybe not suitable for American families with young kids. The food was wonderful with a buffet running most of the day and several dining rooms. We were in the Marco Polo dining room which had amazing and tasty food each night. The waitstaff doesn't bend over backwards for their guests, which I assure all you boomers is not actually rude, and a lot of them speak limited English, so just be smart about how you order things, and don't expect them to run around the ship getting you fancy drinks that aren't available in the dining room, get them yourself. The pool felt a bit crowded on the days at sea but get yourself a spot on the upper side decks with a view of the ocean and it's absolutely amazing. The bars are quite nice and well placed outside of the dining areas and theater. I think the entertainment and nightly shows were my favorite part. The shows usually featured signing and dancing and the acrobatics were very good. If you get a chance to see the Addams' Family show definitely go for it as it absolutely blew me away. The entertainment staff is a lot of fun and definitely works super hard to make your time not in port a memorable one. Again, just keep in mind that this is a more European feel if you're an American boarding for a Caribbean cruise and all will be perfectly fine. Also the guest relations are some of the most resilient people I've ever met, so don't expect a room upgrade under any circumstances; my cruise was during the COVID-19 outbreak with a much lower number of guests than usual and even so the best we got were chocolate covered strawberries after asking 3 days straight haha. All in all this was an absolutely amazing cruise and I think next time I'll skip out on Carnival and Princess and go for an MSC cruise.