MSC Poesia Eastern Caribbean 1/9-/16 Cruise Review (long)

[spacy]

General

 

I hope this review helps those who are new to cruising as well as those who cruise farely regularly and have never experienced MSC before. If you have any questions feel free to ask them and I will try to answer them the best I can.

 

Our cruise was on the MSC Poesia (pronounced Po-ee-zee-a) sailing for one week leaving Fort Lauderdale Saturday, January 9th and coming back Saturday, January 16th. The ports visited were San Juan (Puerto Rico), Philipsburg (St. Maarten), Roadtown (Tortola, British Virgin Islands) and Nassau (Bahamas). We left Fort Lauderdale when most of Florida was going through a cold snap, so it was a bit cooler than we expected. Coincidentally, there was a 7.0 earthquake that hit Haiti during our cruise but we did not feel it while docked. Our hearts go out to the people of Haiti. The two of us are both male and professionals in our 30s and 40s coming from Seattle for some sun and fun and were able to experience most of that despite the cold snap.

 

The whole ship crew is very international. Most of the dining, bar and house cleaning services are done by Balinese and Italian gentlemen. The spa was mainly Balinese women. The theater and other types of entertainment were mainly Italians and those who spoke around five different languages (English, Italian, Spanish, French and German). Most things that are mentioned on board are repeated each time for each of these languages, so have patience. Remember that this is an international cruise ship and you'll be fine. There were quite a few announcements on the ship's PA system on the first couple of days but they were very useful information. The other days the announcements were non-existent or there was one announcement that whole day.

 

We booked our cruise about a couple of months before departure on Priceline so we paid the full balance when booked. We read that the Bahamas required a passport to enter but it was no concern on the cruise as they don't check IDs when you leave the boat. I used my enhanced driver's license issued by the state of Washington as photo ID to go through security to reboard the ship during the whole cruise. If you have an ehanced driver's license you should be able to use it in lieu of a passport if you are doing this exact cruise. I was able to use my enhanced driver's license to go through customs and immigration at the end of the cruise.

 

Embarkation

 

The taxi ride to the ship's terminal was a mess because of the huge long lines at Fort Lauderdale port. There were something like 6 or more cruise ships leaving the same day and the port security did nothing to direct traffic. To get into the port itself you need to show your ship ticket. You might attempt to walk through that initial security but we didn't even though we stayed at a hotel close to the port.

 

The embarkation process by MSC went very smoothly. There were friendly greeters all along the winding path up to the ship. We checked our luggage in at the front and went through initial xray security. After that, we were in a seating area where we had to fill out a short medical form saying that we did not have any symptoms of being sick (runny nose, cough, etc.). If you did I believe they recommend you visit the medic center for a quick checkup after you boarded. After that, we waited in line to check in, where they gave us our ship card with our table number for dinner seating. They took one credit card to charge all expenses onto it at the end of the cruise. They also took a photo of each of us which is used to identify you when you're leaving and coming back on the ship during excursions. The picture is not on the card itself, just your name and the table number. When we boarded the ship, we were assigned a greeter who led us directly to our room on the 12th floor. I believe we entered on the 6th floor. Our baggages would arrive shortly after. We

don't know exactly how long that took as we immediately went exploring the ship and having lunch at the buffet.

 

Mustering

 

The required emergency drill was performed around 4pm the day of embarkation. At that time, you don your life vest, which is found in the closet, and head towards the assembly station noted on the emergency placard in your cabin. There, they provide you instructions on how to put on your life jacket. It was pretty boring and thankfully was over within about an hour. For those who boarded after 4pm, they were required to attend an onboard informational session the following morning.

 

Tipping

 

On board, there is no concept of cash. Thus, you never directly tip anyone using cash until the very last day after they have closed out your onboard account. Tipping is handled via a standard 15% charge for food and beverages. Housekeeping tipping is done via a standard $12 per day per adult "Service Charge" that gets added to your bill. They give you a printed bill halfway through the cruise for you to view and this bill includes the "Service Charge". This did confuse quite a lot of people, including us, as we did not recognize what that was for halfway through the cruise. That service charge was for the whole cruise. If you don't agree with the service charge you can go to the Reception desk and have them adjust it. Everything on board is handled via your ship card.

 

Entertainment

 

The ship does try to do a good job at entertaining its cruise members. I personally don't care too much about being entertained on the ship so I did not attend most of the activities posted in the Daily Program. On the second night, which happened to be a formal night, we did attend the captain's welcome cocktail, where they served free champaigne or guava juice. The captain and all of his crew were then introduced on stage at the theater. One person asked jokingly who was running the ship at that time. After the captain's speech, the regular theater show went on. The theme for that night was Island. We saw a few dance numbers and a few acrobatic numbers similar to Cirque de Soleil. I didn't have any expectations about the show but I left enjoying it grealy. Video taping and photography was prohibited but it didn't seem to matter as I saw so many flashes during the show. I even snuck a flash photo in during one of the acrobatic acts, which was truly amazing.

 

The Daily Program does list activities for kids and teens as well. The playroom area is a small playground area for younger kids and there is an arcade room for older kids. The Daily Program has lots of activities during the day and evening listed. Some of these events inlcude dance lessons (polka was our cruise theme) and lots of contests (like movie trivia and a men vs. women competition). There are card and board games you can also check out on the deck. Most of our entertainment at night was watching movies that I had brought with me on my laptop. I wish I had remembered to bring my deck of cards and other little games though. Daily meetings for friends of Bill W. (Alcoholics Anonymous) and friends of Dorothy (gay/lesbian) are posted in the Daily Program.

 

Towels

 

MSC provides these ugly orange beach towels for checkout on the deck or for excursions. You provide your cabin number and they note how many towels you check out. When you check them back in you give them the same information so that they can track all of it. This same system is done for excursions. They usually have someone near the plank for checking out towels so you don't need to have to run all the way to the top deck to do so. There were a couple of times where we did not need to note our room number for checking in or out our towels for our excursion. They provide standard white towels in your cabin bathrooms.

 

General Dining

The restaurants on board seem to have different levels of services. The hours they are open seem to be slightly different each day so check your Daily Program each day to make sure you don't unexpectedly arrive too late. There is no 24-hour food service. Room service also ends late at night.

 

Villa Pompeiana (Buffet)

 

Food at the Villa Pompeiana was mediocre. We had lunch several times and breakfast several times at this cafeteria. If it seems like the line is too long, have one person in your party bypass the line and head forward into the next room, where they might have set up additional lines with the same type of food. The grill, unfortunately, seemed to be only on the right side of the cafeteria, and in the front. The grill serves standard American fare such as hamburgers and hot dogs. As with almost everything else on this ship, the food is very European, well focused on Italian. This makes it a great opportunity to try different foods.

 

Iced tea can be grabbed in individual cups if you see them. The juice machines never seemed to have juice (orange, pineapple) in them when I was looking for them. There is a coffee station as well. I'm not a regular coffee drinker but I had decaffeinated coffee one time and the water was salty making it unenjoyable. There are many water dispensers in this cafeteria. The water stations seemed to be always opened even when the food sections weren't. We filled up our water bottles here without any complaints and brought them back to the room to avoid having to pay for the bottled water in our cabin. We tried filling our bottles at the gym one time and got scolded.

 

Buffet dinner here is offered each night, including the formal dining nights that require you to dress up formally to eat in the Le Fontane and Il Palladio restaurants. We ate dinner here one night and the fare was similar to lunch so it's an ok alternative for those who don't care about dressing up for dinner. This dining hall generally served light buffet fare around midnight each night for those who crave a snack or more food late at night.

 

Kaito Sushi Bar

 

This is an a la carte restaurant that serves all types of sushi with some cooked fare. The food here was very good. We came on a night when one of our excursions left us coming back past our usual dining time. We asked for the All You Can Eat special at $28 per person and they were hesitant to offer it to us because it wasn't one of the days they were offering it. You need to check the Daily Program to see if they do offer it that day. But, they gave in and offered it to us anyways. The plates we ordered varied from small servings to larger rolls. We definitely ordered enough to make it worth the $28. The sushi seemed fresh and appetizing. There were some that had cream cheese which seemed more westernized. Overall, a very good dining experience. Kaito always seemed empty when we walked by and that night was the same. They recommend making reservations beforehand but we never had problems just walking in without one.

 

Le Fontane and Il Palladio Restaurants

 

First seating is 5:30pm and second seating is 8:00pm. Most Europeans will be dining at second seatiing as they are used to eating late. We got second seating because we booked late and first seating had a waiting list but it worked out well for us as 5:30pm is a bit too early to eat considering lunch usually starts at noon.

 

On our first night, we sat at a table with two pairs of ladies. One of the older ladies complained throughout the whole dinner even becoming rude at our waiter. At the end of dinner, we were resolved to try to find a different table. We were successful the following day with the matre'd as he was sympathetic towards us when we explained our story. Our new table had 5 older Germans who spoke very little English but were very pleasant. The adventure of trying to communicate was actually fun, including using our smartphones to help translate from English to German what we wanted to say to them.

 

Food at these restaurants was very good. Each day, the left side of the menu had standard American fare and a vegetarian list while the right side was more Italian. I eneded up ordering almost everything on the Italian side because I enjoy trying new food. I'd recommend most of the items on the Italian side, including the tiramisu. The servings are smaller compared to what Americans are used to. I'd recommend ordering multiple dishes if you are hungry that night as there are no rules for how much you can order.

 

Water and iced tea are free at these dining areas, although you would need to request iced tea. Alcohol and any other type of beverages, including soda, require you to give your ship card to the waiter at the end of dinner with the standard 15% gratuity added to your bill. The first night was a little chaotic as everyone seemed to be at dinner and so water and iced tea took a while to get refilled, even after asking for refilling. The other nights it seemed like they got into the groove. I always order water and iced tea each night and they anticpated this. One of the gentlemen at our table also ordered beer each night and they asked him as well each night. Once you get to know the staff, they get to know you. A little patience and kindness definitely goes a long way anywhere in life and that applies here as well. Besides the first night, we found our dinner experience very pleasant with very good food.

 

The food on formal nights was obviously much higher end. The last formal night we had lobster and filet mignon as options. The dining crew also ran around the dining hall holding dessert that had flames coming out of it for show. The chefs were also introduced. It was a much longer dinner because of the celebration.

 

The Le Fontane restaurant was also open for open-seating breakfast and lunch with food that was similar to dinner food in quality. We spent more time here for lunch than the buffet. They did also serve items from the grill like hamburgers and hot dogs. Items on the breakfast menu included items that were not in the buffet dining room, including eggs benedict.

 

L'Oblisco Restaurant

 

We never dined at this restaurant, which seems to be in the same area but all the way in the back of the buffet dining area. We did check the menu and the two highest items we saw was a 32 ounce T-bone steak for $37 which they recommend to serve 2 people (that's one pound of beef per person!) and giant prawns for $23. The menu seemed pretty standard so I'm not sure why anyone would go here and pay unless they wanted that huge steak. Like Kaito, this dining room always seemed to empty around dinner time.

 

Beverages

 

There are soda, cocktail, beer and wine packages that can be purchased on board. I believe some of the wine packages need to be purchased before boarding. We did not purchase any of these packages. We did order individual cocktails, wine glasses and one wine bottle during our cruise which did not warrant spending so much more money on these packages.

 

Midnight Buffet Magnifique

 

At 11:45pm on the last formal night, the cruise held this buffet in the Villa Pompeiana. At that time, they let people in to take pictures of all the food

sculptures, which were made using various fruits, meats, vegetables, butter and ice. The buffet itself started at midnight and included various appetizers and lots of desserts. They also had sangria for $3.50 per glass but I do not recommend it as the sangria I'm used to is nice and fruity and this wasn't. There was a chocolate event that occurred on a previous day but we just happened to miss it. The event occurred during the afternoon one of those days and had chocolate desserts.

 

Dress Attire

 

There are dress codes on the ship. I am the type of person who does not like to be told what to wear just to go anywhere. I'm not a slob at what I wear. I just don't like having to dress up to go eat somewhere. With that said, I knew this cruise ship does have formal nights so it was something I was willing to put up with.

 

For the top deck with the swimming pools, pretty much anything goes except being topless or bottomless. The Villa Pompeiana requires you have a shirt, shorts and sandals as a minimum. This attire is the same required minimum to roam the public areas of the ship. At night on casual nights, they recommend you dress in long pants but I've seen people in shorts. The dining rooms on casual nights require long pants but I've seen people wear shorts in them as well. On formal nights, we were able to get away with wearing slacks, shoes, a long-sleeve shirt and a tie instead of the full tux or suit that I see most gentlemen wear. Women usually wear dresses on formal nights. These requirements were for the formal dining halls as you can bypass these rules by eating in the buffet.

 

Cabin

 

We got a category 11 oceanview balcony cabin on level 12, which is one level below the main outside deck. We could sometimes hear people running on the top but it was drowned out by the white noise of the ocean waves hitting the ship. The room and balcony were small but it had plenty of storage for everything we brought on. The full beds were combined to make a king-sized bed. There was also a bunk bed that folded into the wall for an extra person if needed. The television was a very small 20" LCD tv that only carried a few channels like TNT, HLN, CNN, CNN en Espanol, Cartoon Network, ESPN, Rei Italia and lots of MSC informational channels. There is a channel that plays a single movie repeated throughout the whole day at set times. That movie is shown in the Daily Program.

 

There is wired internet in the room. Rates included $25 for 60 minutes and $85 for 250 minutes. There is wireless internet in the internet hotspot area in public areas of the ship for similar prices. They supposedly also have wireless access inside your cabin but I was not able to connect to the wireless connection via my laptop from my room. We thought these prices were too expensive so opted to stay not connected. The only port that got any cell phone service was in San Juan, Puerto Rico. At that port, I used my Blackberry tethered to my laptop to give it access to the Internet. If you have an unhacked iphone, you're out of luck.

 

House keeping service is performed twice daily. The first is in the morning where they do the complete service including vacuuming. The second service is in the evening usually during your evening dining hours. They were pretty good to notice that we were still in our rooms so didn't bother to knock on our door to ask for cleaning. One thing I noticed was that the drain in the standing shower in our cabin didn't drain fast enough when the shower was on maximum so it always left about an inch of puddle after I finished showering. The shower had dispensers for shampoo and liquid body soap. I brought my own shampoo and conditioner and used their body soap which was fine. There's liquid hand soap at the sink as well. You have to put the toilet seat down in order to flush it which helps remind people to keep the toilet lids closed. There were clothes hangers in the closet, a safe, a mini-bar, and hair dryer also in the cabin.

 

Ship

 

The ship is fairly new and overall very beautiful. It does not have a lot of amenities like water rides, climbing rocks, etc. that some of the American cruise ships have. There is a tennis court, a mini-golf course, a couple of outdoor ocean-water swimming pools, hot tubs, an outdoor movie screen, a library, card room and cigar room. There were two nights that they were showing movies out on the outdoor movie screen. There were always plenty of poolside chairs on the upper deck to sunbathe.

 

Gym and Spa

 

The gym was rather small but had enough cardio machines each time I visited so I did not have to wait in line. There were some weight machines as well. All machines looked out into the water with a great view from the glass windows. The gym is in the same area as the spa.

 

We booked a couple of one-hour massages on the second at-sea day. It was $126, service charge included, for a one hour massage and they were trying to sell packages of 4 or 6 massages with 10% and 20% discounts respectively. The massage we received was Balinese and standard, nothing too unusual, but relaxing. They did not apply lots of pressure although you could have requested they do so. They offer the standard fare of spa treatments as well. There are also a sauna and hot tubs located in this area and are free for use. They do require swimming suits in those and closed-toe shoes for the gym.

 

Excursions

 

We had 4 port cities on our 1 week cruise. We enjoyed all of our booked excursions, however I really wish the time spent on land would have been much longer. On my previous cruise on Royal Caribbean in the Mediterranean, I remember booking two excursions back to back on the same day because we docked early in the morning and left late in the evening. I really wanted to spend much more time in the cities we visited. San Juan was 2:30pm-10:30pm, Philipsburg was 10am-8:30pm, Roadtown was 7:00am-2:30pm and Nassau was 12:00pm-6:30pm. What was also disappointing was not knowing what times the excursions left when we booked them so that we can plan extra time to do other things at these places. It felt like if you booked an excursion, you only have about an hour to plan something else in those cities. I am not sure why MSC chose these docking schedules. It could be a limitation to how fast the

Poesia can go or it could be for other reasons.

 

The excursions we took were all well-run. For San Juan, we chose the Bioluminiscent Bay kayak adventure. The experience was exhilerating even though it took 3 hours just to drive back and forth. The bay contained organisms that have the same properties as fireflies. When you reached your hand into the water it would sparkle. This is one of very few places on the earth that contain these organisms as the whole set of environmental requirements need to exist. In Philipsburg we chose the Horseback with ocean Ride excursion that allowed us to go horseback riding on the quieter side of St. Maarten. The horses were well trained to follow each other but they provided basic instructions on how to handle the horses anyways. The ride took us over hills overlooking the water then back down and into the water, so we got wet up to our waists. For Roadtown, we chose the Baths at Virgin Gorda excursion. Buses took us to another port where a ferry took us over to the Virgin Gorda island where we sunbathed on the beaches and navigated through twisty caves. It was nice at those three cities as they were further south and much sunnier and warmer. Remember that we had left Fort Lauderdale during a cold snap. For Nasssau, knowing that the weather would be a bit cooler, we chose not to book an excursion and just wander the island on our own. We ended up booking a 2.5 hour snorkeling tour anyways on land for $30 per person, which happened to be $4 less per person than booked through the ship. I have not yet compared other cost benefits of booking the excursions through the ship vs. by yourself on land. If you're more adventurous and want to do things on your own time schedule, book them on land. There were plenty of "island tours" around the ports. Although 3 of our 4 port cities were 1 hour ahead, they made us always keep with ship time (which was Fort Lauderdale time) to avoid any confusion.

 

Disembarkation

 

If you are capable of handling your own luggage and taking it off the ship yourself, I would highly recommend signing up for their Self Assist option. That way you are the first passengers off the boat during disembarkation. Otherwise, you are given color-coded tags you put on your luggage and by 1am on the last day, you need to pack and put your luggage outside your room. Packing was tricky if you do not have an additional bag where you can leave some stuff (toiletry, clothes) unpacked for use the morning of the last day.

 

The ship was supposed to arrive in Fort Lauderdale at 7am but it was there 2 hours early. We woke up around 5am and went to eat in the dining room around 7am. They didn't start calling the first color until 8am. we looked at the list the night before and realized we were all the way at the bottom (Lilac 3 for guests on deck 12 who did not book through group travel agents). The first color called were for early flights, transfers to FLL airport and some groups. Our color was called around 10:10am and we were able to get off the ship and pass through customs in 10 minutes. We then took a taxi to MIA airport which cost $80 before tip and then tried unsuccessfully to get on standby for flights home since our confirmed flight left at 3:45pm. We did notice port security directing traffic so it wasn't too chaotic.

 

If we had to do it again, we would have tried to book a flight that leaves in the late morning. We would also have chosen MSC's option for transfer to MIA airport (the second color called) which was $33 per person.

 

Rating

Overall, I would rate this cruise experience a 4 out of 5. The cruise ship is fairly new, clean and beautiful. The crew is nice and has adapted to issues earlier passengers might have had. This is my second cruise experience and I enjoyed it. As always, there are things the cruise ship can improve on. I still wish the docked time in the cities would have been much longer. The best word of advice again is: make your cruise however you want it to be. For those who like to complain about little things and let them get to you all the time, you will not have fun. That applies to this cruise ship and everything else in life. Bon voyage!

[bobar]

thank you for a great very thorough review that matchd our experience on the same week exactly. glad to see some people enjoyed it as much as we did, and we participated in most things...my dad was mr. poesia!

[Cruisenouvelle]

Thanks for taking time to cover all the bases- cabin, cuisine, activities, etc. We will be on Poesia in April for the Bermuda cruise, so I'm eager for any info I can get! I'm glad you enjoyed it, thanks again.

[camofwilliamsburg]

MSC is a leader in eco friendly cruising. They never bothered you in the stateroom cabin because they know you are in there. When you enter your cabin you are told to insert your "key, sea pass" into the slot. That allows them to know by a light outside the door if you are in the cabin or not. This also cools your cabin and brings up lights. When you leave and take out the card, it turns off the lights and does not allow the a/c to run at the same temp as when you are in the cabin. Very nice touch. No one bothers you when you are in your cabin if you use this system.

You mentioned some nice excursions and what I have found is that MSC does a really good job at finding good excursions and not ripping you off. You mentioned your snorkeling only cost you 4$ less pp than the ship tour. That just proves my point. Most other cruise lines charge almost double. I am glad you were happy with your cruise. WE love MSC for its beautiful ship and quality entertainment. After rock climbing, flow riding, ice skating many times on RCI I find MSC to be a totally different type of cruise. More relaxing for us. There is plenty of time on excursions to do the activities I also enjoy like white water rafting, zip lining, tubing, snorkeling...

I really enjoy the more laid back style that MSC offers and you seemed to embrace it too.

[AmoMondo]

I really enjoyed reading your well thought out, well balanced and informative review. I think both first time cruisers and first on MSC will find this an invaluable guide on what to expect.

[lauderdalebob]

I'm taking the Poesia on 10/9 Canada/New England cruise and it's so nice to read some positive reviews about this ship and MSC. I've read SO many bad ones over at the official spot to place a review that I've been thinking maybe we should cancel. I'm going to keep reading up until the time the final deposit has to be paid, but I'm sure we'll end up going. We're doing Poesia in the Fall for the itinerary mainly and I'm really looking forward to stopping in Newport, RI. We're not the go out and party crowd and watching the ocean go by suits me just fine and reading a good book. I think MSC may be just the ticket. Thanks again for posting your comprehensive review!

[camofwilliamsburg]

Do not fear and do not cancel. You will regret that. If you are wanting something different and understand that this will give you refined entertainment and great ship to be on, then pls go with an open mind. We were very scared last year when we tried MSC and now it is my favorite cruise line. We have done 9 RCI, X cruises and some CCL 10 yrs ago. We have enjoyed climbing rock walls, and also the flow rider that RCi has to offer...but then I wanted more of a cruise, not a amusement park. I wanted nice dancing venues, talented entertainment and something nicer.... We got it on MSC. You know more people write here to complain than compliment. It is also harder to undo these. There are plenty of people cruising on MSC in the USA that are falling in love with the cruise line. You have to be able to embrace the difference and not want them to change. We found the food to be much better than on RCI. We did a back to back on Poesia and then on Jewel of the Seas and not one meal on JOS was better than we had on Poesia. We loved our Poesia cruise, and we hope you will too. My DH and I will return to do Poesia for a great itinerary in the Caribbean and Central America in Nov. We cannot wait. DO not hesitate. The ship glistens. What other cruise ship sparkles? What other cruise ship waits for you upon boarding and escorts you to your cabin ( yes they say X does, but this did not happen on our X cruise). What other ship will you have standing ovations and goosebumps from such high level of talent on the stage nightly. What other ship encourages the activities staff to interact with passengers like they are old time friends? It is not just a cruise, it is an experience! Go with a smile, and do not worry!

Any questions, just email me...

[vijoge]

watching the ocean go by suits me just fine and reading a good book.

 

Throw in a nap on deck and it's about as perfect a day you'll ever find.

:)

[viwami]

Spacy,

Thanks for taking time for this review. It is very helpfull for us. Will be on Poesia on April 3rd E. Carabbien.

[obendus]

'Quote:Spacy':"I hope this review helps ..... <deleted for expediency> ... For those who like to complain about little things and let them get to you all the time, you will not have fun. That applies to this cruise ship and everything else in life. Bon voyage" End of quote

 

Thank you for a well articulated and thoughful review.

May I also append some information for the CC'ers, pointing to 'scans' that I have made of this sailing daily programs.

This is a 'URL' that is only valid for a month.

The 'scans' cover the dates (January 9th through 16th), serve only as a guide, only apply to the now expired cruise, and may not refelect MSC's plans for future sailings.

 

http://travel.webshots.com/album/576378845JCYzzk

[spacy]

Thanks, folks, for all the kind words about my review. I was quickly re-reading it and realized I should have done some more editing but wanted to get my thoughts out before I forgot them ;).

 

Obendus, thanks for posting scans of the Daily Programs. That was my next step but I don't have to do it now that you've done so :).

[MTL=CRUISEFAMILY]

Probably one of the best written and enjoyable reviews I have read in the last year.

 

YOU MADE THE SHIP COME ALIVE!

 

You were very fair and honest in your reviews without any nasty remarks, on any shortcomings... remarkable.

 

We sail next month..thanks!

[rashmi2999]

Thanks for the thorough review and posting the daily programs...very useful since my girl friend and I are both first time cruisers...and sailing next wknd!

[obendus]

WE love MSC for its beautiful ship and quality entertainment.

The ship, albeit a tad smaller than what we are used to, is by far the cleanest and most elegant and contemporary design.

The entertainment is leagues above anything we have seen onboard. Not sure if we'll book again with MSC but nobody can take the 'gold medal' above MSC for these points.

[obendus]

"...the Bahamas required a passport to enter but it was no concern on the cruise as they don't check IDs when you leave the boat. I used my enhanced driver's license issued by the state of Washington as photo ID to go through security to reboard the ship during the whole cruise. If you have an ehanced driver's license you should be able to use it in lieu of a passport if you are doing this exact cruise. I was able to use my enhanced driver's license to go through customs and immigration at the end of the cruise "

 

San Juan required photo ID to complement the cruise-card for re-entry to the Poesia. This is the first time I've had this requirement actually enforced at a port of call. At St. Marten, one of my grandsons lost his ship-ID-pass, and the passport allowed us to reboard. A quick visit to the passenger services desk and all was fixed quickly!

 

Please DO carry photo ID, of some variety, when leaving the Poesia.

[obendus]

Tipping On board, there is no concept of cash. Thus, you never directly tip anyone using cash until the very last day after they have closed out your onboard account. Tipping is handled via a standard 15% charge for food and beverages. Housekeeping tipping is done via a standard $12 per day per adult "Service Charge" that gets added to your bill. They give you a printed bill halfway through the cruise for you to view and this bill includes the "Service Charge".

 

You can request a printed copy of your shipboard account at any time from the passenger services desk. Please do this a few days prior to disembarking to avoid 'lining-up'. We found the charges to be entirely accurate, so no disputes.

[arf2005]

Well written review. We're doing the Western side but all of the ship info applies and your description has been very helpful. I can't wait for March!

[New_To_Cruisin]

Hi Spacy,

 

Thanks so much for your thorough review on your experience on the Poesia! Being new to cruising, it's lovely to read an objective detail of what to expect. We're sailing this coming weekend, and I am so excited! I'm really looking forward to the experience and appreciate people's feedback on their own experiences.

 

Thanks again!!

[dlbaqua]

what a great review

exactly what I was looking for to convince me to book for next month!

[Coastcruisers]

Spacy, thank you so much for your fantastic review. We took notes along the way and if it were not for a computer hibernation would have spent far too long pulling everything together. What a pleasure to log on and read your review.

 

We, too, enjoyed breakast and lunch in LeFontane, our evening dining location. We have cruised more than 30 times and generally do not dine in the dining room other than for dinner. This is the only cruise line (that also offers a buffet) that offers a breakfast menu so varied, and always serves it hot. Lunch is a dining experience if a table for two is your choice. Our dining mates at 5:30 sitting were exceptional, with us enjoying the conversation and good company. Service was always outstanding, and after the first evening the waiter knew to serve our water in the wine glass, saving the larger for our wine. We purchased a wine package, a good choice, so our waiter always had the wine list ready for us.

 

We loved our third cruise with MSC, the Entertainment Activities Staff is by far the best at sea and interacts extremely well with guests, with no age barriers. Zebra Lounge was our regular stop for the trivia that appealed to all ages; dance "lessons"; and music to dance by. The show put on by the Activities Staff as a tribute to Michael Jackson was spectacular, Richard, the lead in the group did Michael proud.

 

For a quiet moment and some soft jazz to dance to, we frequented the Bar dei Poeti, adjacent to the Zebra. Not too many cruise lines continue to offer such a variety.

 

With respect to some "complaints" about lack of things for children to do is reall only limited to the children's imagination. Children always find pleasure even though there was no big slide in a pool or water toys, the 20+ children with their parents on one of the sea days had no problem finding fun wth the waterfall into the pool and enjoying their own "wave pool" due to the motion in the ocean. Also, MSC is the only cruise line we are aware of that reduces the daily gratuity of $12 pp to $6 for children -- and we have cruised on most of the cruise lines.

 

As far as the complaint about $3 being posted to an onboard account as a "contribution" to UNICEF, at check-in you are asked if you wish to donate.

 

In closing, we were impressed the evening of the cocktail party for past guests, newlyweds and honeymooners, when the Captain made mention of the fact that he was aware of complaints and that they were trying to satisfy the needs of all their guests. The response from the audience was overwhelming.

 

MSC is our cruise line of choice, it may become yours if you enjoy a relaxing vacation and being waited on.

 

Happy Cruisin'

[bobar]

coastcruisers,

they have become my cruiseline of choice as well and so i will now be looking to do a 10 day caribbean every fall and a 7 or 14 day every spring, until such time as hopefully they port year round out of nyc or something like that...With the exception of ncl, my last several cruises on rccl and carnival have been so blah that i just dont feel like going back.:cool:

[spacy]

"...the Bahamas required a passport to enter but it was no concern on the cruise as they don't check IDs when you leave the boat. I used my enhanced driver's license issued by the state of Washington as photo ID to go through security to reboard the ship during the whole cruise. If you have an ehanced driver's license you should be able to use it in lieu of a passport if you are doing this exact cruise. I was able to use my enhanced driver's license to go through customs and immigration at the end of the cruise "

 

San Juan required photo ID to complement the cruise-card for re-entry to the Poesia. This is the first time I've had this requirement actually enforced at a port of call. At St. Marten, one of my grandsons lost his ship-ID-pass, and the passport allowed us to reboard. A quick visit to the passenger services desk and all was fixed quickly!

 

Please DO carry photo ID, of some variety, when leaving the Poesia.

 

Oh, I was trying to state that I was researching whether my enhanced driver's license can be used completely for the whole cruise. It ended up that you can use it for cruise checkin, going through customs on the last day and everywhere else.

 

During my research, I found that St. Maarten and the British Virgin Islands accepted the enhanced driver's license for coming in and out of those countries. But, the information for the Bahamas stated that a passport was required for entry and that they did not recognize the enhanced driver's license. It didn't matter for this cruise as they don't check IDs when you leave the boat and exit the ports.

 

But yes, it's wise to bring a photo ID (I think a driver's license should suffice) with you when you leave the boat. The Daily Program reminds you to do the same as well. As you mentioned, San Juan was the only port that required a photo ID to allow you to enter the port but it's wise to bring it anyways.

[familyof4cruising]

First off the ship were at 8:00 right? So very easy to make an 11:15 flight in FLL? Port and FLL are 10 minutes away.

[camofwilliamsburg]

YEs you will have plenty of time to get to the airport. They disembark very orderly with no waiting time to get your luggage. Then customs was very swift too.

[obendus]

With respect to some "complaints" about lack of things for children to do is reall only limited to the children's imagination. Children always find pleasure even though there was no big slide in a pool or water toys, the 20+ children with their parents on one of the sea days had no problem finding fun wth the waterfall into the pool and enjoying their own "wave pool" due to the motion in the ocean. Also, MSC is the only cruise line we are aware of that reduces the daily gratuity of $12 pp to $6 for children -- and we have cruised on most of the cruise lines

We had our grandchildren onboard for this 'hop' and they enjoyed the onboard activities of the 'juniors 7-12' program. MSC has some really exceptional people working in the kids program. Matteo and the team deserve special praise... awesome individuals! It was tough to 'pull-them-away' for our shore excursions.

The gratuity, while automatic, wasn't sufficient, so we topped-up accordingly. Not of requirement... but there were some services that were that good!

 

As far as the complaint about $3 being posted to an onboard account as a "contribution" to UNICEF, at check-in you are asked if you wish to donate.

 

Are you kidding me? What a great idea for MSC to adopt this cause.

This is totally optional, and I wouldn't object to them adding a voluntary contribution amount for those who wish to donate additionally. I have no problem poo-poo'ing the photogs that are quite obviously shooting for profit of the lines, ignoring the bingo ads, and eschewing gold and silver by the inch. An OPT IN donation, at the end of the cruise is something I would welcome. No penalties, no guilt, but just an option.

 

In closing, we were impressed the evening of the cocktail party for past guests, newlyweds and honeymooners, when the Captain made mention of the fact that he was aware of complaints and that they were trying to satisfy the needs of all their guests. The response from the audience was overwhelming.

 

The standing ovation was well deserved. Have you EVER seen such a beautiful theater?!?!