Spotless Armonia!

[Skipper Tim]

I sailed Armonia and found it to be nothing but spotless... Everywhere!

 

<snip>

 

We loved the Armonia and its amazing staff so much, we have decided that MSC will be our line of choice for future cruises.

 

Thanks Gossyboy, that is very good to hear.

 

P.S. I was sick of reading the "Grubby Armonia" headline when almost all the other comments in that thread went the other way.

[Gossyboy]

Maybe I was being a bit flippant by suggesting they should wipe it but if something was bothering me so much I would consider not using the whole line, I would have got it sorted either by staff or by doing it myself.

 

I think MSC comes in for a lot of unnecessary criticism and people are quick to jump on the band wagon.

 

We went on the Armonia with mixed emotions after reading all the comments / reviews and was very pleasantly surprised. Like I say, so much so we will continue to cruise with them for the foreseeable future.

 

Mind you, the fact I have won a free week in the Yacht Club sailing on the 20th May has added to my enthusiasm :)

 

You should be able to follow my exploits on their website and twitter as this is part of the deal :) Can't wait!!

[Skipper Tim]

Maybe I was being a bit flippant by suggesting they should wipe it but if something was bothering me so much I would consider not using the whole line, I would have got it sorted either by staff or by doing it myself.

 

Yes, absolutely. I have lost count of the number of times I have fixed things in hotel rooms rather than go through the turgid process of reporting it and seeing what happens.

 

I think MSC comes in for a lot of unnecessary criticism and people are quick to jump on the band wagon.

 

Spot on.

 

We went on the Armonia with mixed emotions after reading all the comments / reviews and was very pleasantly surprised. Like I say, so much so we will continue to cruise with them for the foreseeable future.

 

As you can see in my signature, I will be on the Armonia next March. I am encouraged by your remarks.

 

Mind you, the fact I have won a free week in the Yacht Club sailing on the 20th May has added to my enthusiasm :)

 

You should be able to follow my exploits on their website and twitter as this is part of the deal :) Can't wait!!

 

Now you have to explain this! A free week in Yacht Club??????

 

Tim.

[moomoocow]

Gossyboy do you need a companion? ;-)

[Codidy]

Gossyboy & Skipper Tim .... thanks for waving the Spotless Armonia flag, we also love MSC and travel up to 30 hours to cruise her beautiful fleet. With the Italian heritage of the fleet and European style, it is a delight to board her elegant decks. So sad for those who miss out on experiencing MSC....

[Skipper Tim]

Codidy, I hope to meet you one day. I am spoilt with MSC at my feet. The discussion about cruise lines is very much real with my mother. She prefers RCI to MSC. We disagree endlessly. We both like Cunard however, but not their prices. It is good to agree on something.

 

T.

[jdvmd]

Yes, absolutely. I have lost count of the number of times I have fixed things in hotel rooms rather than go through the turgid process of reporting it and seeing what happens.

 

 

 

Spot on.

 

 

 

As you can see in my signature, I will be on the Armonia next March. I am encouraged by your remarks.

 

 

 

Now you have to explain this! A free week in Yacht Club??????

 

Tim.

Great to hear! Congratulations on the Yacht Club!

[Skipper Tim]

It was suggested on the 'Grubby' thread that this thread was started out of annoyance. Not so!

 

There may be a valid complaint from the OP relating to a specific cabin. However and more generally, I find the propensity to complain over praise utterly tiresome. Such complaints would have more validity if they were supported by a lifetime of documented praise or constructive criticism.

 

I am sailing on the Armonia next March. A large amount of the value to me is the anticipation. A misjudged title like "Grubby Armonia" affects me and others in a similar position who continuously return to this forum to see the ship we have invested our holiday hopes in described as "Grubby"!

 

The OP has detailed his complaint. The Armonia is not "grubby" and the title of his thread was misleading and unnecessarily inflammatory. There was unacceptable uncleanliness in cabin 8187. Now I would like to hear from the OP what were the positives the experience aboard the Armonia.

 

The World is full of whingers and I have little time for them. If the OP of the Grubby thread is not one of them, then here is a chance for redemption.

[sidari]

Tim ... The choice of Thread title was somewhat misleading to others i agree but if someone has a genuine greivance that they believe has been ignored then surely they have a right to make a complaint? that hardly makes that person a whinger or whiner does it.

 

At least reilly1 has not used the CC poll to make his or her point, however it would be interesting to see the photographs to see just how grubby the door was said to have been.

[reilly1]

It was suggested on the 'Grubby' thread that this thread was started out of annoyance. Not so!

 

There may be a valid complaint from the OP relating to a specific cabin. However and more generally, I find the propensity to complain over praise utterly tiresome. Such complaints would have more validity if they were supported by a lifetime of documented praise or constructive criticism.

 

I am sailing on the Armonia next March. A large amount of the value to me is the anticipation. A misjudged title like "Grubby Armonia" affects me and others in a similar position who continuously return to this forum to see the ship we have invested our holiday hopes in described as "Grubby"!

 

The OP has detailed his complaint. The Armonia is not "grubby" and the title of his thread was misleading and unnecessarily inflammatory. There was unacceptable uncleanliness in cabin 8187. Now I would like to hear from the OP what were the positives the experience aboard the Armonia.

 

The World is full of whingers and I have little time for them. If the OP of the Grubby thread is not one of them, then here is a chance for redemption.

 

Not worth listing all my previous praise for numerous cruises. I have many posts, feel free to read them and see. This is the first time I have ever complained about a cruise and I sincerely hope it is my last as I cruise to enjoy myself and not to moan!

[reilly1]

I would love to share the photos but genuinely am not very computer savvy and don't know how! I have tried but get the message "a security token was missing". Sorry.

[reilly1]

 

 

 

Hope they worked!

 

Showing dirty, rusty window, GRUBBY bathroom door and filthy shower.

[Skipper Tim]

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Hope they worked!

 

Showing dirty, rusty window, GRUBBY bathroom door and filthy shower.

 

The photos were very small but from what I could see i would say that the issue is not "grubbiness", or anything your cabin attendant was directly responsible for, but rather poor maintenance. What I see is a rotten wooden frame, rust and mouldy tile grout. I would have reported these to reception upon embarkation and asked to be moved to another cabin before unpacking.

[Skipper Tim]

For anyone who is interested, I have managed (with a lot of help from my pupils!) to post 3 of my photos on the "Spotless Armonia" thread. I posted them there as, on that thread, I felt verbally attacked by a particular CC member who called me a "whinger" and stated that my negative comments should be "supported by a lifetime of constructive criticism" and demanded that I should take a "chance of redemption" Why? If anyone wants to be bothered to trawl through all my posts, you will see very quickly that I am passionate about cruising and take every opportunity on CC to give helpful advice to others. I was under the understanding that I could also air my valid grievances here without being attacked. I was not expressing an emotion, opinion or feeling - I was stating the facts, as can be seen from my photos. By the way, after viewing the photos, the same CC member who had attacked me said he would have "asked to be moved to another cabin before unpacking". Enough said. I will not be posting in the MSC forum again regarding this matter and the final thing I will say is that I have still not had a response from MSC, so maybe their customer services are not up to scratch either.

 

I will skip back to the Celebrity, RCI and Fred Olsen forums as I have 3 cruises booked with them which I can't wait for!

 

Reilly1, I am sorry if you felt 'attacked'.

 

I think this is a classic case of grabbing the stick by the wrong end and proceeding to beat about the bush with it. Your photos do not show 'grubbiness'. They show poor maintenance in one cabin (rust, rot and mouldy tile grout). You mention hairs, stains and gunge but these are not shown.

 

Had these been reported immediately upon embarkation through the appropriate channels you would have had a good chance of having them rectified or changing cabins and sparing the same fate to the next occupants. To go through the cruise and complain in a public forum afterwards with the misleading title "Grubby Armonia" compounds errors upon inappropriate action at the time. If there was a systemic failure, e.g. a failure of your cabin attendant, then he or she should have been dealt with also.

 

Your most recent post (quoted) continues the error of (mis)representing an entire cruise line by one cabin.

 

I was making the case above that people find it easier to use these forums to complain than to praise and inviting you to do the latter to balance your remarks - hardly an "attack"!

[Alex71]

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Hope they worked!

 

Showing dirty, rusty window, GRUBBY bathroom door and filthy shower.

 

This is nasty. :eek: I definitely wouldn't have put up with that either. Having said that, our experience on our three cruises with MSC over the past 12 months (Opera, Orchstra, Splendida) was completely different. All of our cabins were spotless and well maintained. The Armonia is their oldest ship. Could that explain the difference?

[AmoMondo]

This is nasty. :eek: I definitely wouldn't have put up with that either. Having said that, our experience on our three cruises with MSC over the past 12 months (Opera, Orchstra, Splendida) was completely different. All of our cabins were spotless and well maintained. The Armonia is their oldest ship. Could that explain the difference?

 

Possibly.

 

I sailed on the Melody a few years back which atbthe time was their oldest ship (much older than Armonia) and whilst it was a bit outdated and the fold down bunk drove me nuts rattling in it's frame, cleanliness was not an issue.

[Skipper Tim]

Possibly.

 

I sailed on the Melody a few years back which atbthe time was their oldest ship (much older than Armonia) and whilst it was a bit outdated and the fold down bunk drove me nuts rattling in it's frame, cleanliness was not an issue.

 

The QE2 was 39 years old when I sailed on her and I was not confronted with any maintenance (or "grubby") issues . The Armonia is a spring chick by comparison.

[AmoMondo]

The QE2 was 39 years old when I sailed on her and I was not confronted with any maintenance (or "grubby") issues . The Armonia is a spring chick by comparison.

 

Well with a bit of luck she'll have a stint in dry dock before she toddles down to the Red Sea and any cabins like that one, can get a spruce up before outpr merry band get her home ro Europe.

[Skipper Tim]

Well with a bit of luck she'll have a stint in dry dock before she toddles down to the Red Sea and any cabins like that one, can get a spruce up before outpr merry band get her home ro Europe.

 

I notice on her weekly Winter itinerary she arrives in Sharm 08:00 every Saturday but doesn't leave until 21:00 Sunday. I wondered if this was connected with some sprucing work? There is a week, starting 5th January, missing from her calendar too.

[Capricruiser]

The photos depicting poor maintenance of reilly1's cabin would turn me off as well. Since the "grubbyness" was certainly within the capabilites of the on-board maintenance staff and shops to correct, it would have been appropriate to either move reilly1 to a new cabin (better an upgrade) or if not feasible, then send in a team for a couple hours to resolve the defects. I would have immediately insisted in this regard with either the customer relations manager at Reception or the hotel director.

[Codidy]

Codidy, I hope to meet you one day. I am spoilt with MSC at my feet. The discussion about cruise lines is very much real with my mother. She prefers RCI to MSC. We disagree endlessly. We both like Cunard however, but not their prices. It is good to agree on something.

 

T.

Hi Skipper Tim, Our family are also divided on their favourites ;) My Mum is a huge Holland America fan and regardless of where in the world, if they cruise it, off Mum goes. At present, I've got her considering a wonderful Baltic itinerary on MSC with a balcony, something she doesn't usually treat herself with on HA. Our wish is for MSC to visit our Australian waters. Bon Voyage Skipper Tim