Back from Splendida! review coming... any questions?

Hi guys

Yesterday we got back from a wonderful cruise experience on the Splendida and it was like a dream for us! We had some minor gripes, but mostly it was a wonderful experience, which was even more special because of the fact that we were travelling with my parents. We bought this cruise for them for my dad's 65th birthday, as he is terminally ill. This was his big wish and we made it come true, we enjoyed SO much being together, spending valuable time and enjoying all ports together.

Even more great was the weather: every day sunshine except when we were in Genua and back in Marseille. But the first days lots of sunshine and getting some vitamine S (for sun)! I do not know what I enjoyed more: this cruise or seeing the pure enjoyment on my dad's face! :-)

I have SO much to say about MSC, the ship, the crew, the Italians, what is free and what is not, the ports etc etc. I will use this post to make a detailed review in the next days. if you have any questions, shoot: I will try to answer what I can!

Our cruise was 28 march from Marseille, then Barcelona. Tunis,. Malta, Sicily, Rome, Genua and back to Marseille.

I am Carina, 32 years old travel agent from the Netherlands, with my husband Erik, 34 years old IT specialist. Together with my Dad (65) and mom (64). We had 2 inside cabins category 3 on deck 10, numbers were 10047 and 10035

DISCLAIMER:

This will be a very personal review. It is coloured by the fact that we travelled under special circumstances, as well as the fact that I am:

A) European, from the Netherlands, and therefore not used to certain things like tipping, free water etc etc

B) a first time cruiser, so I have NO comparison whatsoever. I will have comparison to AIDA in a few weeks, but that's hardly a common cruiseline as well. My opinions are thus based only on this MSC experience

C) a flexible, happy-go-lucky person who is easily pleased, and who is easily impressed (eg we are not used to SUPER luxury travel etc)

D) we travelled with my father who is terminally ill. This made some thing more difficult, more fun and more special than they would have been otherwise.

E) I am a very overweight person which sometimes also may affect my level of activity and my perception of things, although I hope not too much ;) It surely affects my appetite and liking of the food on board! :)

That being said, let's start this review. I am sorry I do not know how to use colours, bold etc in this post. so It'll bee boring text

TRAVEL

On the very early morning of 28 march we were picked up by a taxi to drive us to Lille in Northern France. We had spent the night (well, the few hours that were our night) at my parents house and the kids were at home with my inlaws, who watched them the whole week.

The taxivan drove us in 1,5 hours to Lille, and we arrived WAY to early, the train station was still closed! Luckily the driver stayed with us till it opened at 5:20- am so we could sit in the warm van. I am sure dad would have frozen to death otherwise, he is so skinny and so easily cold since his illness.

At the station it was a short wait untill our TGV arrived (Train Grande Vitesse). We were VERY comfortable in our first class seats! The train wooshed us thorugh France in a heartbeat: in only 4,5 hours we arrived in Marseille. A very comfortable and fast way to travel. Of course the plane would have been faster, but dad can not travel by plane anymore, so train was our best bet. At 85 euros per person for a return in first class, I thought it was a bargain!

When we neared Marseille, we came out of a tunnel and there she was! We could see our MSC SPLENDIDA ship in the sunshine in the distance! I jumped and yelped from excitement, to the frowning dismay of our fellow passengers LOL.

At the station, Erik (my husband) and I lugged all the luggage, we wanted to make this trip and doable and easy for mum and dad as possible. We looked for the taxis and were told it would be 30 euros. Let's do it.

In the end, it was 25 when we got to the ship, so that was a good cab driver. We were simply stunned by the beauty and the largeness of the ship; it promised to be a very special week!

In next segment I will talk about the check in, drink packages and first impressions of the ship.

Any questions? Just ask and I'll do my bewst to answer.

Oh, and sorry if I make mistakes, my typing is too fast and english is not my first language.

Hi Catharina

Welcome back. I'm so, so happy to hear that you and your family had a wonderful time. I knew how special a trip this was for you and your dad and I was hoping that it would turn out really special and memorable for you.

I'm really looking forward to reading the rest of your review. i had to smile about your description of your first sight of the Splendida. that's exactly how I felt when I first saw the Fantasia and I wasn't a first time cruiser.

Thanks AmoMondo!

It really is not describable how you feel when you see the Fantasia or the Splendida, I think every ship will be unimpressive from now on :)

EMBARKATION

Marseille is not a main port for MSC embarkation. First we stood in line for our luggage. No porters here (at least not at 11:30 am). We delivered our bags in the terminal, where they would be scanned and handeled later. In this port, you are not present if (or when?) they are scanned. In my suitcase I had some cans of pepsi and some cans with mix-drinks like bacardi cola. No problem, The suitcase turned up intact around 5:30 pm by my cabin, with all the goodies inside.

After leaving our suitcases, we went up to the check in area. We registered our creditcard and recieved our board-card. We went to an information stand on drink packages. We bought the cocktail package, the small beer package and the soda package. We could not buy a wine package, this would be handled later with dinner. No worries: you can buy these packages later on also, so no need to buy A LOT at once! I was sure we would need multiple packages, but turned out we had enough.

The cocktail worked out to be 12 for the price of 10 compared to buying them apart. The softdrinks (cans! big ones too) worked out to be 2,20 euros per can in stead of 2,70 euros apart (excl 15% service charge) The savings on beer was comparable, thus good deals I think.

Anyway, more on drinks later.

We had to wait 15 minutes and at about noon we could enter the ship. We were not met by a crewmember for a photo shoot nor to show us to our room. Maybe because we were so early, because later on we always saw people having there embarkation picture taken with a not-so-handsome sailor and a lifesaver (how do you call those rings things in english?). And we saw a lot of people throughout the week being escorted to their cabin by a white-gloved crew member. Not so for us: we just found our own way to our cabins on deck 10 to leave our handluggage.

TIP: please put your lighter clothes or even bathing suit in your handluggage! I was so hot with my winter clothes untill I finally had my suitcase at 5:30 pm! Really stupid, as I have read this tip so many times before...

So, check-in was a breeze but not as 'complete' as we saw later on with other passengers. (although I did not need a picture and we found the rooms pretty quickly ourselves)

THE CABIN 8)

We had 2 inside cabins. I tried to get an upgrade/upsell on several levels (since I work in the industry) but failed. The ship was full or almost full so none to be had. When I saw the inside, I was not dissapointed! I found the cabin quite large (for 2 people!) with a nice big and VERY comfy bed with a mirror on the wall behind it. A little bench and table and a dressoir. Enough closet space and IMHO also enough clothes hangers. But hey, I 'only' brought 8 or 9 different outfits, and some for my husband. ;)

The bathroom was also adequate, I had expected much smaller! Water pressure and temperature was always nice. I sometimes clinged a bit to the curtain, but that is to be expected with my size LOL.

The minibar was stocked and had enough room for the cans I brought from home (and the butter that was requested by our sicilian guide, more on that later) We never used anything from the minibar. The roomservice menu was not very expensive and also very small. Not many choices. Only in-room breakfast was for free (albeit not so elaborate) but we nevfer tried this. All in all, very happy with the cabins!

Every night we received the newspaper for the next day. The first one in French but I asked the steward for english ones and he did so after that. I just had to 'train' him to put them under the door! He had the habit of knocking to deliver them at or after 10:30 pm, when we were usually just getting to bed or already asleep. After instructions he understood and just slid the thing under the door. (his knocking was persistant!)

I also instructed him to make up our beds with seperate blankets (we just hog them otherwise and we fight about them) It took him a full day to understand what I wanted. First he thought I was cold and needed more blankets so he turned up the heat! :)

He did his job, not more, not less. We did not have a special bond with him. My mum had only one little gripe: when she wanted to go to her cabin for a bathroom and shower visit, they were cleaning and they let her wait outside for a long time. She thought they should have let her in and resume the cleaning later, but that's debatable.

Later more on our first lunch and the impressions fo the ship!

Hello Catharina,

Thank you for the review sections you are posting. I am glad you had an overall positive experience. It seems very genuine, while making it clear that no cruise is completely perfect. It seems to me that may cruisers have high (or unrelaistic) expectations about their cruise vacations. I am looking forward to other review sections you will post later.

I do have a few questions for you:

1. Was there a CASUAL alternative for dinner (not the specialty pay restaurants)? I am worried that my 3 year-old son will not stay still for a long dinner service.

2. What was your opinion regarding entertainment?

3. On formal nights, how FORMAL were people actually dressed?

4. Did you notice the children's section and facilities? If so, what was your impression?

Hi dr Blue

I will try to answer to my best ability:

1) There is no FREE casual alternative for dinner. No buffet. It is really double: MSC is a perfect line for families, with their good sized cabins and kids-free pricing, but the only included dinner option is, well, dinner in the Main Dining Room. This was one of the reasons (amongst others) we decided to go without our boys this time. They are 4 and 2 and especially the 2 year old would never sit still long enough.

There ARE pay-options. The mexican is OK and reasonably priced (ala carte), for kids the Pizzeria might be nice (also pay, dit not try so can't comment on quality or prices), and in the sportsbar where you can get snacks and cafeteria style food ala carte. (there are more but not suitable for kids IMO)

We saw a lot of people with (VERY) young kids wondering around the dining room, going to the hallway with toddlers in strollers, cradeling crying babies, away from the crowd.

If your 3 year old sleeps easily in a stroller, I would suggest you take second seating (9 pm), have your toddler eat a light meal earlier in the sportsbar or pizzeria (or even pack him a sandwich from lunch for later!) and then walk him around till he sleeps, then have dinner together with sleeping toddler next to you.

or, do as many parents do, take turns in entertaining him and make dinner as short as possible by not ordering 6 courses :) In my opinion, the waiters were very kid-friendly (I think I saw a special kid's menu but not 100% sure) and the crowd was also very tolerant towards kids. Especially since the crowd is 80% or more Italians who have quite rowdy kids themselves most of the time (more on the subjects ITALIANS later)

2) ENTERTAINMENT. Well we did see one show. it was nice but not really our kind of thing to do every night. Shows were very non-verbal (due to multuiple nationalities on the ship) like a Mime-player, musical like performances, lots of dance etc.

The rest: there was an active entertainment team and lots of things to do during the day and night. Pay and non-pay! But, as I understand, WAY less so than on American ships, so I can't compare. If you want to know anything in specific, just ask me.

3) FORMAL NIGHT. (GALA)

Well, we dressed formal in suits and gowns. I guess half of the people were dressed also like us. Then a quarter in less formal (like what would be considered semi-formal) and then a quarter just did not care at all. ;) We liked to dress up and felt not out of place! But should you ask this because you hate to dress up: no worries, you won't be shunned or sent away if you show up even in jeans and a shirt. It does enhance the atmosphere for others though, if everyone tries to make a BIT of an effort to look nice LOL

We hade 2 gala nights (Barcelona and Messina), 2 casual nights and I think the rest was informal. Maybe 1 semi.

4) Children's facilities

I noticed a very nice polar themed pool for kids, but it was not working? At least I never saw anybody, nor water, in there. I did not see the rest of the kid's stuff, as I was not looking for it this cruise. I did see the kids coming by a few times with their kid's club, all wearing identity bracelets and all walking with their hands on the shoulders of the kid in front of them, in a neat line. I saw them walking like this in the buffet restaurant and once in the theater, where they all got good balcony seats to see a show.

Good is also the slide for kids and the pools have many shallow bits for kids to play with water sprayers. There is an indoor pool which is good temperature for kids also when outside is not.

Bowling is fun also(although at pay, I think it was 4 euro, not sure)

I hope this answers some of what you are looking for. Feel free to ask more, anyone else is also welcome. I intend to make this thread as sincere and informative as I can for anyone who wants to know more about this product.

Continuing:

We left our hand luggage in the nice cabins and went on to explore the ship. Man, it is big! And so beautiful! We were just walking around with huge smiles and sometimes with open jaws of amazement. Of course it was my first time on a cruise-ship, so I was bound to be amazed anyway I guess. The pools, the sundecks, the bars,: it all looked SO nice in the sunshine!

We looked for the buffet restaurant on deck 14, BoraBora (and PagoPago, they are one and the same). In this restaurant buffet breakfast and bufet lunch is served every day (breakfast from 6:30 till 10 and lunch from 12 till 14:30) and also a teatime (from 15:45 till 16:30) conmsisting of cakes, cookies, some tarts, some sanwiches, coffee and tea.

The BUFFET LUNCH was really quite OK, I thought. No way can you cook a buffet for 4000 people and have everythin piping hot! If you want hot, freshly made food, you are better off lunching in the dining room.

Always a salad bar. Always some meat and cheese, some cold dishes like pasta salad or rice salad. Always some hot pasta options, pizza slices (not many varieties but nice), potatoe/meat/veggie options, a carvery station (recommended, was nice EVERY day!) and one buffet line with fries, hotdogs, hamburgers and the like. This line was only 1, and all the others were repeated. This line was therefore the busiest and sometimes took a long time to get something, especially with lots of rude people (sorry, mostly Italian) jumping in line, pretending there was no one there with them.

There was also dessert stations with jello and tarts and cakes, very nice. No ice cream.

I liked the food, there was always something good for me to find.

!!!!! At lunch no drinks are included. You just order and get served a drink. HOWEVER: there ARE water stations that are sometimes being used by people hidden between the buffets. It is not really meant to be used at lunch, but I saw people using them anyway (and sometimes even using brutal force to try and use the locked juice machine as well! :( )

I have no opinion on this, as I am never used to free drinks with my lunch anywhere. I just buy them. But this is how it was anyway.

Now we are on this subject anyway, let me tell you about the

WATER SITUATION

Yes, it is true, no free water except for breakfast. No ice water, no free water bottles. I heard recently that US passenghers now get water coupons, check with your TA! I dod not get any free water. My dad just asked for a small glass of tap water for his medication sometimes and he got it every time at no charge. So maybe if you ask friendly enough...

The bottled water in your room is at charge (maybe except with those coupons) and also at dinner. Not expensive, but if you are used to free water it is a let down I guess.

However consider this: MSC is usually cheaper than the american lines. If free water, iceatea or coffee is very important to you, consider that you are probably paying for it with other lines.

I am not used to free anything, so had no problems with it whatsoever.

The water in the stateroom is drinkable. I did and survived ;)

Tomorrow, I will write more on the ship and Dinner

hallo catharina, blij te lezen dat het allemaal goed is meegevallen, wij vertrekken volgende week maandag met de splendida en hoop dat het ons even goed bevalt.

Kun je iets meer vertellen over de excursies die jullie hebben gedaan( en eventueel ook de prijzen), wij zijn nog altijd aan het bekijken wat we kunnen doen.

Helllo Catharina,

Thank you for your answers regarding the entertainment, menu and children facilities. It does provide a better picture of what I should expect on my uocoming MSC cruise. I am enjoying your reviews and detailed opinions. Keep them coming (when you get a chance).

Hi Catherina,

Thank you for your time to write all about the Spendida. We can't wait until our turn in July. We have a question:

In your cabin, does it have 110/220V outlet so you can charge your camera etc. MSC website mentioned only the older ships are came with 110/220V outlet but nothing on the Splendida.

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Thanks.

Hi there

PC168: Yes, there were some normal outlets 220 V. We charged up our camera there. I think 2 outlets.

Celebrity fan: Leuk dat er ook regio genoten op het forum zitten! Ik zal vandaag meer posten o.a. over excursies. maar we hebben niets via het schip gedaan! Allemaal op ons eigen. Hebben jullie dezelfde route? U mag me ook mailen met vragen op vanoverveld apestaartje hotmail

I will post more later

Hi Catherina

Im enjoying reading your comments, it makes me feel like I am still walking around onboard. I cant believe it has already been 4 months since I spent 11 nights on this amazing Oasis that is the MSC Splendida. & yes I too know that great feeling of seeing the ship for the first time. Nothing really prepares you for how big it really is! We also travelled with my parents & also had two inside cabins up on deck 11. My parents still cant stop talking about the great time they had!!

Am happy that you and your family had a good time while on the Splendida, and am having fun reading your review here :)

p.s......and yes, the Splendida's size seems to make other ships seem so small in comparison. Last month was on the NCL Jade and she (Jade's not that small at some 92,000tons) seemed small "in my mind" when I compared her with Splendida. Thinkwill have to wait for the MSC Favolosa now ;-)

Hehehe! I hope we are not all spoiled now ;)

I too will have to scoop out that MSC Favolosa but I am sure for us Oasis of the Seas or Norwegian Epic will be pretty impressive too. We just like the ships to be so big and new and sparkly :) Hey, next week I am on Aida Bella, which is much smaller, but I am sure I'll have a good time. Any cruise is better than being at home LOL

Where was I?

O yes, THE SHIP

we finished our lunch and went on to explore the ship. We went up to deck 15 and saw the Playa del Sol, the so-called ZEN area, adult only pool and sundeck at the aft of the ship. Wow, it was beautiful! I could not wait to go and sit in one of those jacuzzis, unfortunately had left my bathers in my suitcase, so this day it was not going to happen. The ZEn area was very nice and if the wind on the aft had not been so cold, we would have sat there many times! This time of year, if the wind comes from behind, this area was a bit too cold, especially for my dad who is easily cold since he is ill (and lost a lot of weight).

Luckily the ship is fitted with screens so that on deck 15, there are enough spots where one can relax and sit in the sun. We all had a small hour orso on the sunloungers and we were already burnt! Man, 18 degrees in Marseille sure enough is hot when you are in a windless spot. B)

What we noticed all the way when we were checking out the ship, is the degree of detail everywhere. I love mosaic tiles, which are used a LOT at the pool areas and everywhere, so I was very happy. But not only those; everything was just perfectly finished. My dad worked as a tiler some years ago, and we was always looking down in amazement at the beautiful Italian tiles in all colours and shapes ans sizes, laid perfectly, cut sharply according to him. Even in the lifts!

It is a ship with very elegant decor, at least to my taste. Every bar or lounge is different in shape and decor, so everyone can find his or her favourite spot! The purple bar with all purple and stripes, the piano bar for a more nautical elegant atmosphere, the sports bar with sports memorabilia, TV screens, bowling etc, the Aft lounge with wavy chairs and a nice dancefloor and so on, and so on! if you can not find a favourite spot on this ship, I do not know what WOULD be nice for you. Our favourite was the cigar lounge, later more on that.

Around 5:30 pm our suitcases had arrived and it was time to unpack, have a nice hot shower and put on some evening slothes for our next adventure:

DINNER

We had requested early seating and a table for four at booking, and we got what we requested. There are 3 dining rooms: Villa Verde on deck 6, and 2 different floors of La Reggia, lowed (deck 5) and upper (deck 6). We were assigned La Reggia lower and it is an elegant restaurant, although all the velvet and dark yellow took some getting used to from my side. ;)

First seating is 6:30 pm and second at 9 pm, which was just way too late for us with two parents who are on medication and who are used to eat at 5, like all older dutchmen. Only on 1 night, Tunis, the seatings are 1 hour later both, because sail away from Tunis is only at 7 or 7:30.

Our waiter was Mahmudi from Indonesia, a little nice man who was quite serious. He was very polite and friendly, but he never grew as close to one of his tables (as far as we could tell) as some of his colleagues. He did a very good job however and we were happy to be served by him.

We got a menu which was themed on a region in italy, and we could choose from six courses (appetizers, salad, soup, pasta/rice dish, main course, dessert). It was perfect. My dad can not eat very much anymore since his radiation treatments, so he was fine just ordering a soup and a pasta dish in stead of a main course. The rest of us ate mostly 4 courses. One day I tried 6, but I felt stuffed for hours!

The best appetizer I had all week was a pate with tangy orange marmelade, loved that! The best pasta dish was pumpkin risotto. The best main course IMO was a turkey dish and the best dessert was the baked alaska on Gala Night 2! (more on that later)

Now this on the food in the Main dining room. It was hot enough for me, never got cold food. It was also not bland for me, as I sometimes read. Everything tasted nice and pure, not overly salted (which I do not like but may be your preference). I was SURPRISED that they managed to get difficult dishes like turkey or risotto on the tables for so many people, still tasting pretty good! It is difficult to make a not-too-dry Turkey or a not-over-stirred risotto anyday, let alone for 1000 people or so! I was impressed.

Make up of the plates was not always overly pretty, but hey: it went down fast enough so who wants pretty curly basil leaves and drizzles of balsamic vinegar on the plate? For me, the food in the MDR got a 8 out of 10, some nights even a 9.

As stated as an answer on one of the questions above, the MDR is the only FREE option at night. The rest are pay restaurants (more on those later). This did not bother us, we had fun and good food.

We bought the WINE PACKAGE which consisted of 7 bottles of wine and 7 bottles of water, so one of each every night. This was 129 euros plus 15% and it was a good choice for us. No hassle with 'What shall I drink tonight?' We just opened a wine and a water and this was enough for the four of us every evening.

About the other DRINK PACKAGES we had: if you drink by the pools, you get plastic glasses. That is OK with me, would not eant it any other way with kids running around. What we noticed, was that the SMALL beer package we pruchased was officialy for 12 small beers of 0,2 litre. This happened only in the pool areas, there indeed the glasses were tiny and 200 cl approx (and too cold according to my father). But in all other bars we went, the coupon for a small beer gave us a big bottle of 330 cc and a glass!

so a TIP for BEER DRINKERS: purchase the small beer booklet, no need to buy the big beer one. You get big beer anyways in all bars except by the pools. :)

We also had a lot of fun with the cocktail package 12 for 69 euros plus 15%. I LOVED their frozen cockatils like Strawbery Margartia and MSC Colpa di Fulmine. Thouroughly enjoyed these.

Taking a break from typing now. Is there anyway I can post a picture with this review to make it less boring? Or is that against CC rules?

Hehehe! I hope we are not all spoiled now ;)

I too will have to scoop out that MSC Favolosa but I am sure for us Oasis of the Seas or Norwegian Epic will be pretty impressive too. We just like the ships to be so big and new and sparkly :) Hey, next week I am on Aida Bella, which is much smaller, but I am sure I'll have a good time. Any cruise is better than being at home LOL

 

Where was I?

O yes, THE SHIP

we finished our lunch and went on to explore the ship. We went up to deck 15 and saw the Playa del Sol, the so-called ZEN area, adult only pool and sundeck at the aft of the ship. Wow, it was beautiful! I could not wait to go and sit in one of those jacuzzis, unfortunately had left my bathers in my suitcase, so this day it was not going to happen. The ZEn area was very nice and if the wind on the aft had not been so cold, we would have sat there many times! This time of year, if the wind comes from behind, this area was a bit too cold, especially for my dad who is easily cold since he is ill (and lost a lot of weight).

Luckily the ship is fitted with screens so that on deck 15, there are enough spots where one can relax and sit in the sun. We all had a small hour orso on the sunloungers and we were already burnt! Man, 18 degrees in Marseille sure enough is hot when you are in a windless spot. B)

 

What we noticed all the way when we were checking out the ship, is the degree of detail everywhere. I love mosaic tiles, which are used a LOT at the pool areas and everywhere, so I was very happy. But not only those; everything was just perfectly finished. My dad worked as a tiler some years ago, and we was always looking down in amazement at the beautiful Italian tiles in all colours and shapes ans sizes, laid perfectly, cut sharply according to him. Even in the lifts!

It is a ship with very elegant decor, at least to my taste. Every bar or lounge is different in shape and decor, so everyone can find his or her favourite spot! The purple bar with all purple and stripes, the piano bar for a more nautical elegant atmosphere, the sports bar with sports memorabilia, TV screens, bowling etc, the Aft lounge with wavy chairs and a nice dancefloor and so on, and so on! if you can not find a favourite spot on this ship, I do not know what WOULD be nice for you. Our favourite was the cigar lounge, later more on that.

 

Around 5:30 pm our suitcases had arrived and it was time to unpack, have a nice hot shower and put on some evening slothes for our next adventure:

 

DINNER

We had requested early seating and a table for four at booking, and we got what we requested. There are 3 dining rooms: Villa Verde on deck 6, and 2 different floors of La Reggia, lowed (deck 5) and upper (deck 6). We were assigned La Reggia lower and it is an elegant restaurant, although all the velvet and dark yellow took some getting used to from my side. ;)

First seating is 6:30 pm and second at 9 pm, which was just way too late for us with two parents who are on medication and who are used to eat at 5, like all older dutchmen. Only on 1 night, Tunis, the seatings are 1 hour later both, because sail away from Tunis is only at 7 or 7:30.

 

Our waiter was Mahmudi from Indonesia, a little nice man who was quite serious. He was very polite and friendly, but he never grew as close to one of his tables (as far as we could tell) as some of his colleagues. He did a very good job however and we were happy to be served by him.

We got a menu which was themed on a region in italy, and we could choose from six courses (appetizers, salad, soup, pasta/rice dish, main course, dessert). It was perfect. My dad can not eat very much anymore since his radiation treatments, so he was fine just ordering a soup and a pasta dish in stead of a main course. The rest of us ate mostly 4 courses. One day I tried 6, but I felt stuffed for hours!

The best appetizer I had all week was a pate with tangy orange marmelade, loved that! The best pasta dish was pumpkin risotto. The best main course IMO was a turkey dish and the best dessert was the baked alaska on Gala Night 2! (more on that later)

 

Now this on the food in the Main dining room. It was hot enough for me, never got cold food. It was also not bland for me, as I sometimes read. Everything tasted nice and pure, not overly salted (which I do not like but may be your preference). I was SURPRISED that they managed to get difficult dishes like turkey or risotto on the tables for so many people, still tasting pretty good! It is difficult to make a not-too-dry Turkey or a not-over-stirred risotto anyday, let alone for 1000 people or so! I was impressed.

Make up of the plates was not always overly pretty, but hey: it went down fast enough so who wants pretty curly basil leaves and drizzles of balsamic vinegar on the plate? For me, the food in the MDR got a 8 out of 10, some nights even a 9.

 

As stated as an answer on one of the questions above, the MDR is the only FREE option at night. The rest are pay restaurants (more on those later). This did not bother us, we had fun and good food.

 

We bought the WINE PACKAGE which consisted of 7 bottles of wine and 7 bottles of water, so one of each every night. This was 129 euros plus 15% and it was a good choice for us. No hassle with 'What shall I drink tonight?' We just opened a wine and a water and this was enough for the four of us every evening.

 

About the other DRINK PACKAGES we had: if you drink by the pools, you get plastic glasses. That is OK with me, would not eant it any other way with kids running around. What we noticed, was that the SMALL beer package we pruchased was officialy for 12 small beers of 0,2 litre. This happened only in the pool areas, there indeed the glasses were tiny and 200 cl approx (and too cold according to my father). But in all other bars we went, the coupon for a small beer gave us a big bottle of 330 cc and a glass!

so a TIP for BEER DRINKERS: purchase the small beer booklet, no need to buy the big beer one. You get big beer anyways in all bars except by the pools. :)

We also had a lot of fun with the cocktail package 12 for 69 euros plus 15%. I LOVED their frozen cockatils like Strawbery Margartia and MSC Colpa di Fulmine. Thouroughly enjoyed these.

 

Taking a break from typing now. Is there anyway I can post a picture with this review to make it less boring? Or is that against C rules?

:eek: wath can we do in messina will be there may the 5 help:confused:

Hi travelgeorge

In messina we did a private tour with mario astone

if you want, I can give you his email address

it was a nice tour, we went first to see the views from Castelomola, then we had free time in Taormina, per my request, then we had some look out point and some sights in Messina

He is very knowledgable and friendly. I kind of feel like I have a friend in Sicily now :)

my email is vanoverveld at hotmail if you like to know more

Tomorrow will post more on our ports and other impressions of the ship!

Catharina,

I'm so glad that you had a great cruise and particularly that your father had a great time, given his illness! Your post is bringing back fond memories. I look forward to reading more.

Catharina, your review is very nicely done and quite informative. However I note that you haven't posted it to the CC MSC Cruise Reviews yet. Please do so otherwise it will do no good to anyone a few weeks from now when it's so far down the forum that no one will find it anymore. There have been two more Splendida reviews posted since I posted mine back in February. Please post yours!

Hi Capricruiser!

Sure I intend to. I just don't have the time to write the whole thing at once. So I figured I would post it here in pieces, in the meantime collect questions and answer them, and then make a whole review of it to post in the review section. It is just in the making ;)

A small bit to continue for now:

BARS AND LOUNGES

We used our first night to scoop out all the bars and lounges, but I am guessing it took us three days to get a total overview in our head of what was really available. There is so much to chose from for every occasion or taste!

One of our favourite hang outs sinc day one was the cigar lounge. It was a quite corner of the ship, not many people there and very serene. A Great place for us to unwind after dinner and have a drink before bedtime. We are (unfortunately!) early sleepers so never made it past 10 o'clock. I think my roll call members are still angry with me for never showing up at their meetings 10:30 and 11:30 pm... :( I hope they understand my explanation on the roll call, I really was beat every evening, especially from guiding and helping my parents a lot.

Another favourite was the Piazetta, the little Italian square in the middle of deck 6 where people meet and mingle all the time. Beautifully tiled, with painted skies and some fun shop surrounding it. I always enjoyed sitting here watching people and waiting for the cigar lounge to become empty at 9 pm, when all the pre-dinner-smokers rushed to their second seating. Too bad there was a marketplace going on every night on the Piazetta. I understand, stalls sell more than shops, especially iof they create the impression that things are cheaper that way. But it took up a lot of space I thought.

There are some shops here for jewelry and clothing but also sweets and cakes and icecream. The italian iceacream on this ship tastes very good! Try it as dessert at dinner or here for a small fee in the Piazetta. If you love your icecream, like I do, you will not be dissapointed!~So creamy., hmmm! (By the way, I did not gain nor lose a pound this cruise, so I am happy with that result LOL)

I also liked the aft lounge and so many more. You will for sure find a favourite spot yourself.

SHOW

The first night we skipped the show since it was Marcel Mimo and I sincerely HATE mime players. Can't help it, I dislike them (and clowns). ;) I just glanced at it, got the shivvers (spelling?) and went back. The second night we did see most part of the show (USA show) but after 30 minutes we decided we preferred to do other things like have a cocktail and play some cards, or go to the casino. The show was good, well preformed, don't get me wrong. But it is all very visual due to multiple nationalities. As was the mime player, now also this USA show was singing and dancing. Very good, but not to my taste for every evening.

Will write later on about our first port stop in Barcelona and the breakfast of course...

Catherina-

I'm enjoying reading your review. I'm so glad you all had a good time.

BREAKFAST

The first breakfast we had was fine. We never tried the dining room for breakfast so can't comment on that. Our sailing was full, but if you walk to tha aft of teh restaurant, there are usually spaces enough.

A waiter will bring coffe/thee/ hot chocolate, another one brings juices. The buffet is one long main line (like lunch) where the frieds eggs and omelets are. The rest of the buffet area has multiple of the same lines. With scrambled eggs, bakes beans, sausages, bacon, tomatoes, boled eggs (hit and miss those boiled eggs!), fresh fruits and canned fruits, yoghurts, cereals, cold cuts and cheese, bread, jams etc, little focacia pizaa thingies, muffins and cake. I think that sums it up.

OF COURSE, breakfast is the same everyday, like many complain. But what more do you need? Okay the only things missing are bagels, pancakes or waffles and maybe salmon for the fishlover. Maybe those ARE present on american lines, I don't know. I found the selection good enough to enjoy myself every morning and to eat differently every day.

BARCELONA

The port area is too far to walk from the city. You can either take a shuttle bus at 6 euros per person that takes you to the bottom of La Rambla, or you can take one of the long line of cabs that are waiting. Be sure to queue for this, we witnessed some Italians cutting line line and some Brits getting really upset about it. If you are 4 people, the taxi will work out cheaper (about 7 euros per taxi one way to the same location as the shuttle)

We wandered la Rambla with guidebook in hand and also wandered through the narrow streets of Barrio Gotic. We have seen barcelona many times so we were able to just take stroll and take it easy. My dad got really tired very soon, so after a coffee we headed back to the ship around 1 pm.

If you never been to Barcelona, I would suggest you take a taxi from the ship to Parc Guell or the Sagrada Familia (I love parc guell but both are very must-see) Maybe if time allows, you can take in both. Than let them drop you at placa de Catalunya. Taxis are abundant and cheap and metered. They might not have much small change though!

At Placa de Catalunya, go inside El Corte Ingles store all the way to the top, have a coffee there with the best view in town. Then walk down la Rambla taking in the side streets and a bit of Barrio Gotic, and you will end with the Columbus statue again, where you can take a cab to the ship.

The afternoon was OK, we sailed towards better weather so we were able to explore a bit more and catch some rays.

The Barcelona day is half day and therefor also:

GALA NIGHT

These are in Barcelona and Messina. About half of the people were dressed in Gala clothing (long dress, suit with tie or tux), a quarter was a bit toned down (semi formal) and another querter did not care at all. So either way you will not feel really out of place.

This is also the day of the captain meeting and cocktail, there is FREE champagne in lounges to be had ;)

Gala night had a special menu but I thought not so different from other days. It was most of all nice to just enjoy being all dressed up together! Lots os pictures are being taken but no one is obligated to buy any. We took our own on the sprakling Swarovski staircase. Would love to share it here but do not know how to add pictures

DAY 2 TUNIS

Well, you do not arrive in Tunis till 2 pm, so the morning was spent sunbathing and relaxing and sleeping in a bit. I even finally had a chance to sit in the aft jacuzzi!

On arrival in Tunis, we were greeted by a Tunesian band an some camels that walked alongside the ship when we docked. They were there for a good atmosphere and of course if you wanted you could have your picture taken on a camel for a small fee.

Now maybe a dissapointment for you: we did not go ashore here so can't comment on Tunis. We decided to enjoy the relative quiet on the ship and lay by the pools. It was 20 degrees so qarm enough for that, allthough had to stay out of the wind. It was a lovely afternoon, they even opened up the retractable roof of the indoor pool. Around 5 pm I decided to go ashore for some souvenirs. I did not need to clear customs as there is a shop with souvernis at the port. Good enough to get a fridge magnet and some herbs and perfume :)

On Tunis day, all seatings are one hour later because of the late sail away. So we had first seating at 7:30 pm and second was at 10 pm. I was really knackered after first seating and a cocktail, so I did not make it to the meeting our roll call had around midnight, yet again. sorry guys! :(

By this time in the cruise I was getting really worked up about some of the behaviour of some of the :

ITALIANS

80% of the ship's clientele is Italian and while there certainly are lots of nice Italians people on board, we just seemed to encounter all the rude ones! I admit: when I read reviews beforehand I thought: what are these people complaining about? Lift behaviour, rude Italians, how bad can it be? Get a life!

Well, after 2 days I was getting high blood pressure myself and shaking my fist in anger at the umpteenth time we were shoved aside by an Italian family who took the lift before our eyes. I just had to tell myself to relax and deal with the lift situation. We had the bow lifst, so those were not as crowded as the center ones. But it just seemed that most of the Italian guests did not see other people at all. They get in and out any lift, no matter if it is going up or down. They get in before people have a chance to get out (my mom was 'stuck' like this several times! No amount of 'scusi, need to get out here!' made them notice her. And she can be LOUD if need be! ;) ) they cut in lines, shove you aside (also at the buffet by the way)

and lost of their kids were just running around amok, playing with lifts, making lots of loud noises. I never thought I would get so bent out of shape over such a thing, but I did. It was highly annoying and one of the reasons I would consider taking another line than MSC even! Not the line's fault, but less Italians.

Of course, I do not mean to generalize, I am sure not all people are like this, but we just had so many rudeness upon us...

The lowpoint was when mom and dad waited for a lift. One stopped and a big rowdy Italian family with stroller came out. Mom and dad went in the lift. As the doors cloesd, the Italians realized they were on the wrong floor, so he put his foot between the lift door, SCREAMED at my mom and dad to get the hell out (in Italian obviously) and after mom and dad were so shocked they actually listened to him, they got in and left my parents standing there with their jaws on the floor. I think that was the moment my mom decided a cruise is very nice but if she ever goes again, it will be on another line, PURELY due to the high % of rudeness she encountered by, I am sorry, mostly the Italians on board.

I am just saying this so you can prepare for it en try to be relaxed about it, as we did. It did NOT ruin our cruise, but it is the ONLY thing we would consider leaving MSC for.

Will comment on day 3 in Malta later

Catharina, are you sure they were Italians??? I guess you understand Italian quite well.

catharina thank you so much for your informative posts!! Although we are travelling on fantasia on June 4th your posts are giving me an indepth view of the ship!! Although after your last post regarding the "guests" on board, I have a feeling I may have to get anger management classes before I go:o:rolleyes:!!!

Hi Guys

Capricruiser, I do not mean to offend you in any way, like I said: there are for sure lots of very friendly and polite Italians around! I do know a lot of languages and while Italian is not my strongest, I do recognize it. It is too bad we just ran into some rude people. We also met some rude spanish people, but less so. Sometimes I think this is just a modern problem, not being polite to other people.

Again, we did not let it ruin our cruise, it was just striking that before we sailed, I frowned upon the people that were complaining about lots of rude behaviour, and now I was the one being all worked up about it!

Do not take offense, the people on this board seem all very kind and friendly. And to the defense of those mpeople on board: i really don't think they mean to be rude. It sometimes was just as if they did not see you or did not know better. A few times when a woman or man tried to cut in the buffet line, I tried to nicely point them that there was a queue and people had been waiting 10 minutes to get at the frieds eggs. Most of them just siad Scusi and joined the queue, as if they just did not see it. Maybe queueing is more a north european thing, as well as the correct lift behaviour obsession ;)

Mairead, Fantasia is quite the same as I understand, so hopefully you can gather a good image and some tips from my review. I need to speed things up though to be able to finish this review before my next cruise next week! ;)

No need for anger management! You will just get frustrated to a point where you say: okay and now I am lwetting it all gooooo and I'll just wait longer for my lift... OHMMMMM

Catharina, are you sure they were Italians??? I guess you understand Italian quite well.

I'm positive she was right since I experienced exactly the same issues onboard and ashore on the Fantasia last year. The lift behaviour (or lack thereof) in particular. i speak French, Spanish, some portuguese and german and a little Italina and was positive that they were Italian. It seems to be a far bigger issue on the the bigger ships and the Med than else where. I sailed 6 times on the Opers (various plcaes) and hardly encountered this behaviour at all. Did have a bit of an issue on the Lirica where I actually was injured by the pushing and shoving. I'm visually impaired and just cannot compete with them at all and they take full advantage of this. In port trying to get a taxi to the airport, instead of there being a line for taxis 9as in a lot of other places), it was literally a scrum. I got pushed to the ground, my cases knocked all over the place and just left there, with a twisted wrist, Eventually when I'd given up ever getting a taxi and catching my flight, 3 very kind Italian ladies noticed me and offered to share a taxi with me since they were also going to the airport. earlier in the cruise I also witnessed a French couple getting really upset because a large group of Italinas had barged them out the way and knocked their pushchair over with their baby in it.

I love Italy and the Italian way of life. It is my favourite place to go on holiday and one of the reasons that I cruise MSC. However I find it difficult to ignore this mob rule behaviour when it is so extreme (as catharina did too). It doesn't happen all the time and I've not yet worked out why that is, but it is irritating at best and downright dangerous at other times.

All nationalities have their good and their ugly traits. the Italian one seems to be the psuhing and shoving one.

catharina thank you so much for your informative posts!! Although we are travelling on fantasia on June 4th your posts are giving me an indepth view of the ship!! Although after your last post regarding the "guests" on board, I have a feeling I may have to get anger management classes before I go:o:rolleyes:!!!

mairead

Stand your ground and if necessary stick your elbow out - that seems to work best. getting angry doesn't work - just makes you feel bad and remonstrating doen't work either. "Scusi per favore" or "prego" seems to work with a lot of them but not with the worst offenders.

Avoid the central lifts at busy times (dinner/returning from ashore) and walk to the next bank of lifts and you will save yourself a lot of grief.

You may also have no or hardly any issues. sailed 10 times with them and only once had significant issues (unfortunately the fantasia last April) and lesser ones on the Lirica.