Review of May 2018 cruise on MSC Lirica

I have just submitted a review from my cruise on the MSC Lirica and thought I would submit a copy on this board for people who might not otherwise see it. Additionally, I will check this thread for awhile to answer any questions. I copied and pasted my original report and see that the format was changed. Sorry about that. If it's too annoying, check under ship's name directly.

MSC LIRICA May11-18

I haverecently returned from a cruise on the MSC Lirica, sailing from Venice throughthe Adriatic. Everything I will reportis my personal opinion, which I recognize could be quite different from someoneelse’s take on the same cruise. I am asenior female from the USA and I traveled solo. This was my 30th cruise. As on most cruises, there were pros and cons, but overall, I was verysatisfied with the cruise.

I embarkedaround noon on May 11th and it went smoothly and quickly, maybe 30minutes from arriving at the terminal to walking onto the ship. The ship is clean and in very goodrepair. The décor is mirrors everywhere.The staircases and elevator banks look so similar that sometimes it was hard totell if I were in the place I meant to be. I had an inside cabin which was quite roomy for a solo, but might havelimited drawer/storage space for a couple. The closet was large and had a dozen hangers.

Service wasgood. The staff must deal with multiplelanguages, so there was occasionally a breakdown in communication there. Nonetheless, they all tried to fulfill my wishes.

I attended 2ship’s parties and both were very well handled. One was for the returning Voyagers Club members. They had unlimited champagne and mocktails, music and dance entertainment, and theCaptain addressed us. It was held in thetheater, though, so the intended purpose of meeting others who have sailed onMSC before couldn’t really happen; not when you are immobilized in rows. The other party was a meet-the-captain party,but he did not attend. There weremultiple complimentary drinks offered and good entertainment. Go a little early to get a good seat as therewas standing room only for the late-comers.

I would liketo have attended more of their shows but their reservations system took somefiguring out. The shows werecomplimentary but required a reservation, to be made on automated screens. I was not the only one who thought they hadmade a reservation, only to be turned away from the show for having noreservation. Get some help from the customerservice desk. What I did see was verygood quality, lasting about 30 minutes. Due to the many languages served, you can expect singing/dancing typeentertainment with some acrobatics.

Most of thepassengers were sun lovers and the pool area was always packed with full loungechairs. Even the “promenade” deck waspacked, so a walker would have to dodge the chairs. There was no observation lounge at the frontof the ship as there has been on every other cruise I have taken. So finding a nice place to relax and enjoythe view took some ingenuity.

Earlierreviews had mentioned nuisance smokers, but I did not find that to be aproblem. There were 4 designated smokingareas and the only one that had an odor was around the Lord Nelson Pub. I never noticed it in the Casino, but I was notthere at a time of peak activity.

The food wasaverage for a cruise. Some dishes werevery good, but many were just okay. Ihad a fixed dining time and saw the maitre d’ right after boarding to ensurethat I was seated at a table of English speakers. At breakfast and lunch you could sit anywhereand others could be seated to share your table. Portion size varied but tended to be small, which suited me. My table companions and I ordered two coursesif we felt one would not be enough. Thedeserts were especially good. (On manyother cruises I have felt the deserts were pretty, but not tasty. That was not an issue on the Lirica and I atemore sweets than planned.) The buffetwas just like most buffets and I ate there only on embarkation day, when thatwas all that was available.

On thenegative side, the biggest complaint throughout the ship was for the ubiquitousupcharges. I had booked through MSC-USA,consequently, I received a water package for lunch and dinner. Otherwise, that is a separate charge forwater. That was the limit of my benefits. Dealing with MSC-USA was veryfrustrating. Representatives were not knowledgeableand gave different answers to the same question and usually gave incorrectinformation. I was entitled to free roomservice during certain hours, but that was useless since there was a charge forevery item on the room service menu. Atmeals you should take care that certain items may have an extra charge. If in doubt, ask before ordering. For example, fresh orange juice at breakfast wasabout E4 and when they ask if you want orange juice, you may assume it isincluded; processed orange juice is included. There is a nice coffee shop onboard, with charges for coffee, but accompanimentsare included if you buy coffee.

The ship usuallydid not berth near the destination towns and provided shuttles for various fees(from about 7-13 Euros each). (FYI: in Mykonos the ship’s water bus is directlynext to the city water bus and goes to the same destination, but the public busis only E2 each way and runs more frequently. Heraklion was walkable.) I hadbeen to all the ports before and did not take any of the ship’s excursions, socannot comment on them. Port stays weretoo short on several stops. There wereespecially a lot of complaints at Dubrovnik, that there was hardly any time tosee things, considering the time to get to and from the city.

I hope theseobservations are helpful to those of you wondering about the MSC Lirica. I ask myself if I would sail on MSC again andthe answer: it depends. I would have to like the ports and be surethere would be enough time to see what I wanted, including transport time. The ship experience itself was fine.

Thanks for the review Nalla. :)

Thanks for your review!