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Poesia Review (Thanksgiving Week)

southernmomga

By southernmomga,
in MSC Cruises

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southernmomga

southernmomga

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*any other questions, please ask and I will try my best to answer* :)

 

We sailed on the MSC Poesia the week of 11/21 to 11/28, Thanksgiving week. We had 22 people in our group including my parents, my sisters with their families, and our family. The oldest in our group was 73, the youngest was 10 months. Our group cruised on Thanksgiving week in 2007 on the Costa Fortuna and in 2008 on the Carnival Triumph. My parents picked the MSC Poesia for this year’s trip because of the fantastic value (kids cruise free, etc).

 

The Ship

The Poesia is beautiful. There are literally people cleaning all day long. I saw people cleaning various things every time I walked around the ship. There are lots of places to sit and definitely lots of bars. There were also many shops selling things from t-shirts to iPods.

 

The Food

I am probably the opposite of a ‘foodie’, it does not take much to impress me. If someone else is cooking it and cleaning up, I’m already happy. ;)

 

We approached this cruise as vegetarians. My parents keep kosher, and we did not want to show any disrespect by eating meat on the cruise. If anything, this cruise inspired me to eat less meat in general. I’m eating more oatmeal, nuts, and beans now since we’ve been home since I enjoyed them so much on the cruise.

 

The breakfast buffet on Deck 13 was great. There were lots of options available. I will say that there is a sign that said “omelet station” and it was not truly an omelet station.

 

We had breakfast in the dining room only once. One difference was that in the dining room I could order an omelet with egg whites only, and I did not see that as an option on the buffet.

 

From 10 am to 12 pm the buffet is closed and there are croissants and danishes available only. I think that there could have been a little more variety here, maybe some fruit and cheese?

 

The lunch buffet was also good. I found things I liked most days. There was a salad bar available in addition to the buffet.

 

Pizza was also available most of the day (not all day), the pizza was good.

 

One section of the buffet was “the grill”, there were hot dogs, hamburgers, French fries, etc. Sometimes (not always), I would see chicken nuggets, fish sticks, chicken wings, mozzarella sticks at this area as well.

 

We had lunch in the dining room once, it was fine.

 

From 2 pm to 4 pm, the buffet is closed (including pizza). From 4 to 5:30 they did serve “snacks” such as finger sandwiches, made to order sandwiches (tuna salad, chicken salad), and sweets. I would have liked to have seen fruit at this time also.

 

We had dinner in the dining room most nights, and it was good. I had salmon, pasta, eggplant parmesan. All items were served hot. Our water glasses were kept full. The kids menu was typical items such as pizza and pasta. However, they did have omelets on the kids menu a few nights and that was nice since my kids like eggs.

 

We had the dinner buffet on Deck 13 on two nights. It was good, lots of options. In fact, some of the same food that is served in the dining room is also served on the buffet. FYI.

 

Crew

Everyone was very nice. Always a “hello”, or “good morning” when you passed a crew member while walking around the ship. Our housekeeper was nice; the one issue that did not seem to get resolved was that I wanted our ice bucket to have water in it, not ice. I would have been happy with ice water. But she only had ice on her cart, not water. A couple of times it was ice water, but most times just ice. Otherwise, our room was cleaned twice a day and kept up very well.

 

Of the 22 people in our group, 21 of them were assigned to the wrong cabin. My father was in charge of assigning people to cabins when he first took care of the booking many months ago. There were certain reasons why it was done the way it was, so I don’t blame him. However, it needed to be fixed as soon as we were all on the ship.

 

I went to the customer service desk and explained the situation to one person…two or three times. She did not understand so she got someone else and after about 45 minutes we got it taken care of. She had to assign each of us to the correct cabin and it took some time. But after that initial transaction, it was all correct.

 

Cabin

We were in cabin 5051. It had two beds and two upper bunks. I was glad we had our “always take on cruise items”, including: night light, travel alarm clock, small power strip, flash light, and over the door shoe holder for all the little things that won’t fit on the very small amount of counter space.

 

Gym/Spa

I visited the gym once. It was clean and nice. However, there is no water fountain in the gym. You had to exit the gym and go to the bar to ask for water. That was a little strange.

 

I did not visit the spa but my sister did and she said the massage she received was wonderful. Try to wait until the last sea day to book your spa services, that is when they have the big discounts.

 

Ports of Call

Key West: we did not get off the ship. The ship docks at some sort of military area so you take a trolley to the city.

Ocho Rios: we went to the beach that is right there by the pier. It costs $2.50 per adult and had restrooms and many trees for shade. Very nice.

Grand Cayman: we took the tender, walked around, and came back to the ship.

Cozumel: we did not get off the ship

 

Entertainment

I was unable to go to all shows because I stay with our youngest (10 months) for bedtime (she nurses to bed and sometimes wakes to nurse). My evening activities depended on her naps and what time she was going to bed. I was able to see part of one show that was classical music and opera singing, which I thought was very good. I saw the beginning of another show that was Broadway singing and dancing, looked good from the small part I saw. I saw another show that had the knife throwing type thing, and also acrobats (female, amazing!) and these two guys that were super strong and did all sorts of balancing acts (really amazing). The shows could not be in English or have lots of speaking parts since there were passengers from all over the world.

 

The cruise director, Anna, seemed nice. She spoke before and after the shows and I saw her once in the hall.

 

Kid’s Activities

My kids did not attend the kid’s activities so I don’t know anything about them.

 

Summary

We had a great time. For us, the cruise is all about spending time with our families and everything else is somewhat secondary. The food was good, the ship was clean, and the crew was nice, the kids were happy. My mom was not cooking and cleaning for everyone, and that’s a huge part of why we go on these cruises. My parents really enjoy seeing everyone together. :)

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Zambini

Zambini

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From 10 am to 12 pm the buffet is closed and there are croissants and danishes available only. I think that there could have been a little more variety here, maybe some fruit and cheese?

 

Pizza was also available most of the day (not all day), the pizza was good.

 

 

I thought pizza wasn't available all day, as I posted on another thread, thanks for verifying.

 

Thanks for the review

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southernmomga

southernmomga

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Hi: We are going on the same ship on the 19th. We both love fruit. Was there fruit available? Is there cereal available for breakfast? Thanks!

 

Fruit is available at the breakfast, lunch, and dinner buffets. It is also available in the dining room for dinner as a dessert option.

 

Yes, there was cereal for breakfast. I don't know if you try to avoid high fructose corn syrup, but all the boxed cereals they had available had HFCS as an ingredient.

 

However, there was oatmeal available. :)

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mamasue

mamasue

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We got off the Poesia the same week you got on.

We also had a great cruise, and loved the ship.

We found the food very nice.

Just curious.... why didn't you get off at 2 ports?

We also found the staff great, and loved the entertainment. did you get to see the afternoon opera show?? Excellent!!

We'd definitely sail MSC again!

BTW, we're also in GA! :)

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southernmomga

southernmomga

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We got off the Poesia the same week you got on.

We also had a great cruise, and loved the ship.

We found the food very nice.

Just curious.... why didn't you get off at 2 ports?

We also found the staff great, and loved the entertainment. did you get to see the afternoon opera show?? Excellent!!

We'd definitely sail MSC again!

BTW, we're also in GA! :)

 

We knew we would not take any type of taxi or public transportation with the kids because of the car seat/seat belt issue. In Key West when I realized it was more like a "trolley" and less like a "bus" we could have gotten off the ship, but decided not to. We really did not have any money to spend and it was really hot outside. In Cozumel it was also hot and we did not want to spend any money. Also, it was a long walk from the pier to the city area. So there you go. The kids were happy to stay on the ship. :)

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southernmomga

southernmomga

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The OP says there is no food from 2 to 4. I think you said there was food until 3. We will just eat in town instead, but just wondering what the time really is for lunch when the ship is in port.

 

I am looking at the programme from the day we were in Jamaica.

 

Lunch buffet from 12 to 2:30.

Lunch in the dining room from 12 to 2.

Pizza from 12 to 4.

Grill from 12 to 2:30.

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ardt64

ardt64

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Hi: We are going on the same ship on the 19th. We both love fruit. Was there fruit available? Is there cereal available for breakfast? Thanks!

 

Hi Pumpkin, we will also be on the Dec 19 cruise. Have you gone on the roll call yet for that trip?

Lisa

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camofwilliamsburg

camofwilliamsburg

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They have wonderful fruit. Just ask at breakfast for the fruit. If you want fresh berries too ask for the fruit salad, then it comes all chopped instead of slices. As for the oatmeal, it is thick and creamy and very good. Use the cinnamon and add raisins and the nuts...what a treat! Their eggs were made perfectly when I asked over medium. Had great eggs each time.

If there is anything you especially love, ask, they will try to get it for you.

We love MSC and am so happy that others are finding this a positive experience. Their entertainment is superior to any of the other cruises we have ever taken. JUST WISH THEY WOULD BRING ANOTHER CHOICE OF SHIPS TO THE CARIBBEAN!!!!

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  • 4 weeks later...
luv_2_travel

luv_2_travel

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We are taking our first family cruise on MSC Poesia this week. We figured since it's our first time, a two-day cruise would be a great idea. We will be going to the Bahamas. Our room is actually in the same vicinity as yours.

 

We'll be driving to Ft. Lauderdale and parking. Any feedback on that experience including embarking/check-in?

 

I hope that I could get some details about the kids' program (ages 7-9). I haven't seen many posts about that topic. Did you notice kids with floaties? We have some left over from our trip to Orlando. It seems like the most entertaining show for the family would be those with acrobats. Any feedback?

 

I'm getting a clearer idea of how the dining experience works. Anyone else have any comments regarding snacking? My husband and kids like to snack!

 

Overall, I just want to be prepared in order to get the most out of our cruise especially since we won't be on the ship for very long.

 

I'll take pros & cons with a grain of salt. I don't want to get into long, drawn-out debates like I've noticed in other threads. If anyone has programming for U.S., 2-day Caribbean sailing on Poesia to post, I'd greatly appreciate it.

 

Thanks, in advance, for your feedback!

 

countdown.pl?image=Beach-9&name=luv_2_travel&date=1-2-2011&text=So excited!&ship=MSC Poesia

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AndrewK

AndrewK

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... Anyone else have any comments regarding snacking? My husband and kids like to snack! ...

 

I'm inclined to snack too. I'm not sure if the US cruises are the same but on our Poesia transatlantic cruise we usually managed to find something to nibble on. We found the buffet a bit uninspiring but pizza seemed to be almost always available ... and it was very good. The four cheese variety particularly appealed to me ... probably not the healthiest option but hey, it's a cruise!

Our cruise also had free soft-serve ice cream in the afternoons just outside the forward entrances to the buffet ... near the pool. It doesn't go with beer quite as well as pizza ... but it was an unexpected and popular bonus which we took full advantage of.

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luv_2_travel

luv_2_travel

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Both choices are a family favorite so I'll get no complaints there! :D It seems like the meal spacing is fine. I just have to be ready for "I'm hungry!" Maybe we'll find unexpected treats as well. Can't wait to find out!

 

Did you attend any shows?

 

Thanks for your feedback! It was very helpful.

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AndrewK

AndrewK

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... Did you attend any shows? ...

 

Yes, we went most nights ... lovely big theatre and never any hassle getting seats. The entertainment was a very good standard (acts along the lines of cirque de soleil and designed to appeal to a multi-national audience) but ours was an 18 night cruise and in the end things did become a bit depressingly repetitive. There was a classical trio of musicians and some classical (operatic) singers. They too were very good ... but again, the novelty wore off a bit after 18 nights.

 

The musical entertainment in the various lounges was the usual cruise standard but regrettably repertoires seemed limited so you got exactly the same thing every night.

 

As your cruise is much shorter, repetition won't be an issue and I'm sure you'll enjoy the shows.

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camofwilliamsburg

camofwilliamsburg

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You will have no trouble finding areas to dance in. The pigalle lounge each night has music and also the Zebra. Also they have a fine group of jazz musicians in the "red bar lounge" right before the Zebra Lounge.

 

If you are into snacking, have your steward clean out the refrigerator and then get some stuff while the buffets are open and refrigerate for later.

 

If you do room service they have a nice sandwich with fresh tuna on a bun and it comes with CHIPS. When you order any drink in a bar they also serve the snacks with it( either chips, nuts or oriental mix). If you have a drink in the wine bar they serve appetizers.

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cruisingcanadian

cruisingcanadian

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You will have no trouble finding areas to dance in. The pigalle lounge each night has music and also the Zebra. Also they have a fine group of jazz musicians in the "red bar lounge" right before the Zebra Lounge.

 

If you are into snacking, have your steward clean out the refrigerator and then get some stuff while the buffets are open and refrigerate for later.

 

If you do room service they have a nice sandwich with fresh tuna on a bun and it comes with CHIPS. When you order any drink in a bar they also serve the snacks with it( either chips, nuts or oriental mix). If you have a drink in the wine bar they serve appetizers.

 

Cam,I believe you will love the Crown Princess.Do not forget to visit the International Coffee where you get tons of mouthwatering FREE snacks at any time of day or night,and the Vines with wonderful sushi and tapas with a purchase of a glass of vine.I was on the Crown 4 years ago and had a hard time to leave the ship.You made a good choice!

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