MSC Lirica

A Wonderful Surprise

My Western Mediterranean cruise in November from Rome to Rome on the MSC Lirica was one of the most enjoyable of my many years in cruising (I have taken almost 70 cruises, on all the major cruise lines from Carnival to Silversea). The MSC Lirica is an older (2003) medium-sized (2k passengers) ship that has been beautifully refurbished and is well-maintained. It does not have all the options available on the recently built megaships, but that suits me fine. When I cruise, I do not expect a floating amusement park — I want good service, good food, and interesting ports of call. MSC Lirica exceeded my expectations in all three categories. Best of all, the price was very reasonable. I think that MSC now provides the best value in the cruise industry if you choose the right departure date and itinerary. MSC is especially kind to solo travelers like myself. On most cruise lines, couples usually get a big discount on the second passenger, but solos must pay the full 200% (or more). MSC does not penalize solo travelers — I paid about 140% (of an already low cruise fare) for a solo inside cabin and even received a major upgrade before departure. MSC also excels in itinerary flexibility for its European cruises. Instead of a fixed embarkation once a week, MSC allows groups of passengers to embark at each of the ports of call. This avoids the crowds and headaches usually associated with embarkation day and allows passengers to tailor their start and finish dates to their own schedule. Keep in mind that means that disembarkation at the end of your cruise will begin about an hour after docking, so that excursion and other transit passengers can disembark first for a full day ashore. I enjoyed my MSC Lirica cruise so much that I have booked two (back-to-back) cruises on the MSC Seashore in Florida this January. It is a new megaship that has gotten great reviews on youtube. I am sure it will be a new experience for me, and I will be happy if it is even half as enjoyable as my Lirica cruise was.

Great ship, Ideal size, not overcrowded, great crew

We choose this our first cruise after recomendation from freinds, the boarding process was painless and easy and our room cards etc were all in our room on boarding all of the regsitertaion process had been done prior to us boarding and so there was none of the usual stampede for the reception desks. The cabin was ideal with a decent size balcony and we spent the at sea days relaxing on the balcony enjoying the sun and the sea air, we opted for the Fantastica experiance which we found to be well worth the addional cost with an Aurea suite. We selected the date of the trip around our aniversary and did all the usual photos onm the winding staircase etc, the photographers were very professional and we purchased several of the phjotos in colour and in black and white and the staircase photo we had framed and has pride of place in our lounge a memory of a truly fantastic 7 day jaunt arount the eastern med, most of the places on the itinery we found insteresting, one of the stops we would not bother getting off the ship again for but on the whole the locations visited were interesting and we had detailed information on each of the ports visited delivered each previous evening which we found informitive and helpfull. We were so impressed with this experiance we decided we would do again, which we did with MSC and the experience could not have been more disappointingly different!!

Overview

There was a suggestion to buy this [articular cruise and I liked the list of cities to visit, so I bought it. In overall, I enjoyed the cruise! There was a pleasant surprise - I got a cabin with a window! Cabin was always clean; it was tidied up twice a day. I read some complains about embarkation and disembarkation. My experience was different. Logistics was very good. We embarked with no problem (and disembarked), were provided with kind recommendations and attendance. Suitcases were taken directly to the cabin. Cabin was prepared earlier than expected. Yes, it is not big, but enough to have a rest and sleep at night. Even pillows were of different types (soft and "hard") to satisfy different habits. Every day there was a detailed program in English and Russian (may be in other languages too, do not now). All anouncement were in different languages as a sign of respect to passeners from different countries... Every day shows were good and very good (according to taste?). A lot of dancers, some singers and acrobats. Costumes are very bright and attractive. There were two shows a day, which was very convenient as there were two seating (dinner) at 6.30 and I guess at 9 PM. Selection of food was excellent, contained various cheese, sausages, eggs cooked in different ways, bacon, fruits, etc. Coffee and tea – as much as you wish for breakfast. I like fish and seafood and I got it: in the morning and in the evening!! Service (we mainly eat in La Bussola) was very good and pleasant; the atmosphere in La Bussola restaurant was intimate and sophisticated, the service attentive and discreet. Logistics was also excellent. The second place we had snack is on deck 11. There is an open veranda (do not remember the name- sorry for that). More democratic and people felt very relaxed over there. Those, who like desserts – it was just fantastic on the ship! You can have meal and/or snack almost the whole day…. Alcohol, beverages, cocktails. It is very expensive on board. The packages provided were unacceptable for us. “All inclusive” is 29 euro per day and you have to buy it for 11 days, full stop. Other options (beverages) were not exciting either. As for water, coffee and tea you had to pay for it during lunch and dinner. Another option – to go to deck 11 after meal. Public areas were immaculate clean. Pleasant atmosphere. Dimmed light, music…. I enjoyed it. Countries we visited: UAE, Oman, and Qatar. Excursions are quite expensive. Round 70 euro/ person – a city tour. We have taken it only in Abu Dhabi. Not really exciting. However, in Emirates and Qatar there was a choice – to go sightseeing by yourself by taxi, which is also expensive. In Qatar there were free shuttle busses to take passengers from the port to the city. Excellent idea! I Oman I felt very frustrated as we were charged 5 euro per person to get to the centre of the city, round 7-8 min drive. The bus did not even stop at the castle, which is the only one attraction in the capital (apart from the sea)! I considered it to be waist of 10 euro and time. Must be said about security. Well done. Every time you leave and return to the ship you have to go through security and that is makes you feel safe. Security officers were always polite and helpful if you had a question. Entry and exits are marked with red tape, no way to lose yourself….Moreover, every time you leave the ship a special card is given to you with tel numbers. I believe it is a good approach.

We had a wonderful time!

We chose this 20 night cruise from Venice to Dubai because of the itinerary-- we had always wanted to go to Venice, and seeing Petra has long been on our bucket list. We booked two balcony rooms through where we were told that if we saw the cruise at a lower price at any time more than 90 days before our cruise, they would match the price. At approx. 93 days out I found the same cruise at a much lower price but more importantly the suite price was now lower than the balcony price we had paid and included the alcohol package, a spa package and a few other perks. One call and we not only were upgraded to the suite category, we received a substantial refund. We arrived in Venice Nov. 15 to find that there were very few tourists because of all the news about the flooding. Although there were a few puddles around and there were remains of damage done to hotels right on the canals, we did not encounter any problems due to excess water. Instead, we had a wonderful time exploring this amazing city with fabulous shops and restaurants. We stayed 3 days but could have used more time. Our embarkation on to the Lirica was smooth and easy and our rooms were ready when we arrived with our cards ready for our use. We are seasoned cruisers having been on more than 10 cruises with Carnival, Norwegian and Celebrity cruise lines. This was our first with MSC and I was a bit nervous having read the reviews. We were pleasantly surprised. I think I would best describe the MSC cruise as a "no frills" cruise where all the basics were there but some of the extras were missing. If you are picky picky picky and have to have the very best of everything then MSC might not be for you. We are pretty easy going and as long as the rooms are clean and comfortable and the food and entertainment is adequate we are happy travelers. There were no fancy towel animals on the beds or chocolates on the pillows at night but the rooms were clean and comfortable. Room service was not free-- there was a minimal charge per item ordered and a small delivery charge so we did not use it. The room was somewhat worn with a few cracks in the sink etc. but every thing was fully functional and did not affect our stay at all. The food was very very good, but where you might have 5 appetizer choices and 10 entrée choices on other ships, on the MSC ship you would have 3 appetizer choices and 5 entrée choices. Having said that there was always something appealing and the food and service was excellent--no complaints from us. The price for this cruise was so reasonable that we did not expect the perfection that might come with a very expensive price tag. Where the ship did excel in our opinion was with the entertainment staff-- they were wonderful. We had 4 days on the ship with no ports and were kept busy the whole time with trivia contests, dance lessons, games etc. The shows were OK, but having a ventriloquist having to translate into 7 languages kind of lost the humor by the end. The dance and singing shows were excellent. The activities crew had so much energy-- they were up dancing with everyone, they were so friendly and they made the trip so much fun. We really enjoyed the band that played in the bar at night-- I believe they were called the Midnight Project They were sensational and had everyone either dancing or clapping to the music. We are not young but we stayed up and closed the bar listening to them several nights. I would buy an album featuring them they were that good. The activities and bars were better than any we have experienced on any other ship. Our only complaint was that all announcements had to be made in 6 different languages-- and there were lots of announcements. The shows were usually quite good-- as good as on any ship-- with a few exceptions. One night featured a ventriloquist which sounded good but when everything had to be translated into 6 different languages the jokes fell somewhat flat. It was different though The ports were for the most part excellent. We usually do not book excursions through the ship simply because we find the numbers mean you are waiting forever for the slowpokes to get back to the bus. We loved Greece-- especially Athens. I had always wanted to see the Acropolis and it was impressive. There were lots of excursion options and we were able to find one that did not require us climbing right up to the Parthenon-- instead we were provided with great photo opportunities and got to see everything we wanted to see. Going through the Suez canal was very interesting. We were somewhat delayed so ended up travelling through during the day instead of at night. It is like a whole other world beyond the canal-- it was like travelling back in time. We booked a smaller tour to Petra and it was great. Petra did not disappoint and is truly one of the great wonders of the world. We were lucky that it was not too crowded when we were there and the weather cooperated so that it was not too hot. Our guides were amazing and there were lots of opportunities to buy things in the local stores. We did take advantage of a couple of hop-on-hop off buses and they allowed us to see most of the ports at a reasonable price. The only problem we had was in Oman where the hop-on-hop off bus was booked through the ship with the promise that they would pick us up on the dock and take us back. They did pick us up, however when it began to rain heavily the driver refused to go back to the ship and dropped us off in the market (which by the way was fabulous) We then had to walk (drenched to the skin) back to the ship (about a 1/2 hour walk through water and mud) and were not impressed. We complained and got our money back. Oman was interesting as we got to watch the smugglers come in from Iran loaded with sheep and leave loaded with electronics-- all under the watchful eye of the port police. They waved at us wearing masks and carrying machine guns. It was quite the show! Dubai was sensational-- we walked for miles in the huge malls and even enjoyed a Tim Horton's coffee while watching the water show. All over Europe we had trouble finding anywhere that served cream with coffee-- only milk was available-- so we really enjoyed our "Timmy's" that tasted just like home. It was fun to look at all of the designer stores and the corresponding price tags. We did not go into the 7* hotel as you are not allowed in unless you are a registered guest or have a reservation in the restaurant. We thought we might go there for breakfast until we found out that the cost was $129 pp for brunch. It was an amazing trip-- we saw the poorest of the poor and the richest of the rich. We saw ancient monuments followed by 7 star modern hotels. We saw fabulous yachts along with masked smugglers racing in small boats We absolutely enjoyed everything. The days flew by and before we knew it we were in Dubai and the trip was over. I must admit that having read other reviews before we left, I was not expecting much of this ship but we were pleasantly surprised. I think some people are way to picky and all in all we had very few complaints and the price was certainly right. We liked MSC so much we are in the process of booking another cruise with them for next fall and are taking friends and family along with us.