Our Disappointing MSC Preziosa Experience

[napito]

To all:

 

I'm leaving on a business trip tomorrow & will not be back on this board for several days. I will not be able to follow up on any more questions during that time.

 

Thanks,

 

n.

[luv2vacation]

To all:

 

I'm leaving on a business trip tomorrow & will not be back on this board for several days. I will not be able to follow up on any more questions during that time.

 

Thanks,

 

n.

 

Thanks for your review. Have a good trip!

[riclop]

We just returned from a 7-day cruise on the MSC Preziosa out of Venice. The experience was very disappointing and I have posted this review on a couple of other sites but for some reason can't get it posted under member reviews. I am putting it here in case someone researching this boat comes across it.

 

My wife and I have been on 7 cruises before, all on Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, or Carnival but this was our first MSC cruise. We chose this cruise because it started in Venice and cruised the Eastern Med during early April and that's what we wanted.

 

Check-in was a torturous 3-hour process of waiting in long lines with nothing provided by MSC to make passengers comfortable (uncomfortable waiting area, limited access to restrooms, no food/water provided, etc.). After check-in, we had to wait in line another hour to "register" our credit card and another hour in line to "confirm" our excursion reservations. All this in spite of having done all of this previously with the MSC Web Check-In two weeks prior. As far as I can tell, the web check-in has no function and the check in process is a nightmare.

 

At first blush, the ship was very nice having recently been renovated. Most cabins have large balconies and they all appear to have unobstructed views. The rooms were larger and better furnished than any previous cruise that we have had.

 

There were, however, big problems here too. The bed lacked sheets or a blanket the first night, just a mattress, and we were told that bed linens would be provided. When they had not been by 10 or so PM, I went roaming the halls and stole some from an unattended cart on another deck. There was an "interactive" TV but I never found useful information on it concerning our ports of call, the ship, or excursions. It could not access our account. We sent 4 articles of clothing to be cleaned in the laundry service -- it took a full 3 days for the clothing to be returned. A minor but important point: neither us nor anyone we talked to ever had a little "towel animal" as part of the cabin service -- apparently that's not done on this ship.

 

There were two places to eat on the boat not counting the pay restaurants (of which there were several). One was the buffet which was always open but only had food a few hours of the day and during those brief times the place was badly overcrowded. No table service and inadequate bussing staff so if you were lucky enough to find a vacant table, odds were that it would still have the plates from the previous set(s) of diners. The buffet itself had a very limited set of choices and the food was not particularly appetizing. No drinks were included with the buffet but you could find tap water in the ice machines. One of the most infuriating aspects of the buffet was how the crew members would come and push their way in front of you to feed themselves.

 

The other place to eat was in one of the two assigned main dining rooms. We were assigned the L'Arabesque which also had breakfast for the ship. The food here was WAY too salty in a fairly transparent ploy to sell more drinks. No drinks were included with the meal without additional fee -- you even had to pay for water. Americans received coupons for 6 "waters" at check-in so apparently there have been complaints about this in the past.

 

By the way, the breakfast offered in this restaurant was very nice and fully "cruise ship grade." The food was good, staff attentive, the entire operation run efficiently. *Whoever runs that breakfast ought to be promoted to chief of dining services (and whoever is the current chief should be fired).

 

I think that we were most put off by the attitude of the crew toward the passengers. You almost never received a smile or hello, they never offered to help, they were often confrontational or even cruel. With the exception of the breakfast staff, our courteous cabin attendant and friendly (but badly overloaded) dinner waiter, every interaction with the crew members was neutral or negative, never positive.

 

The shows were very lame. Each night was the same stage set, the same performers with essentially the same show: singing, dancing, some acrobatics all to canned music. The only thing that changed from night to night was the songs and the costumes (which were simple and crude). The performers themselves were talented but were really just regular crew members and, during the day, you would see them bussing tables, waitressing in bars, etc. I doubt that MSC spent more than $1,000 in all of the theater shows combined for the entire cruise.

 

The port calls (Bari, Katokolon, Izmir, Istanbul, Dubrovnik) were very short: 4 - 5 hours typically. In spite of this, it took a full hour to disembark for an excursion and another hour to re-embark the ship. So, if you had an excursion, nearly half of the time in port was spent simply getting off and then back onto the ship. One of the reasons for this is that the ship uses very cheap hand-held scanners (for verifying cruise cards) rather than the much faster autofeeding scanner machines used by the other cruise lines. Because of the lost time, the excursions were all much shorter than advertised, did not go to all of the advertised sites, and were very rushed. Truly, MSC's procedures made each port of call a chore and hardly worth the effort.

 

Even more maddening, at several of the ports of call, all of the ship excursions went to the same "demonstration" which were actually pressure sales jobs. On one excursion we visited a leather company that pressured us to buy overpriced leather jackets and, on another excursion, a carpet-making company that tried to sell us $8,000 rugs. Both of these trips were very disagreeable and, since all excursions went to the very same places, I have to assume they were required parts of the contract with MSC that the independent excursion company had to agree to do. Presumably MSC gets a kick-back from this reprehensible practice.

 

The ship had far too many passengers for its modest amenities. The "aqua-park" is sized for a ship with half as many passengers; the atrium area sized for a ship a third of this size. As a result, there are long lines for everything, everything is overcrowded. Imagine waiting in line for an hour so that you can get into an 6-foot wide jacuzzi with 8 other people. Sound good?

 

Check-out was just as nightmarish as check-in -- it took us 4 hours even though we had no questions on our bill. We were to vacate our cabin by 7:30 AM and at 7:15 they started banging on the doors to tell people to get out. At 7:30, they started banging on the doors again threatening to charge additional fees. We were not permitted to actually get off the boat until almost noon. My wife said she felt like she had been in prison.

 

There are a lot of problems on this boat and we did not meet any fellow passengers who intended on taking another MSC cruise. We did meet a few people who had had MSC cruises before and they all said that they were so disappointed in this one that they might not do another one.

 

I know that my wife and I won't be on another MSC cruise and, as a result of this one, I will never recommend them to anyone.

Most of your points are so far fetched its very unbelievable!!!

[AmoMondo]

I note the OP said they arrived at 11.30. WhT was official check on time? 2pm, 3pm? Can o suggest for those of you yet to cruise with MSC that some if not all of the 3 hour wait you're now panicking about was due to the OP arriving at too early?

 

I once waited more than 6 hours to get ona Costa ship. Sounds terrible doesn't it? What of I tell you embarkation time was meant to be 19.00, I arrived at 9.30 and Costa actually started letting us on at 15.00. Still sound terrible?

 

Preziosa must be unique in the fleet in only offering food for a few hours despite being open 20 hours per day (like the rest of the fleet)

[CarshaltonDon]

Napito - yes we were on the same cruise.

 

Like Napito, I am a new poster on here. I have also cruised before - principally on RCL but also a very nice trip on the MSC Splendida. I certainly didn't expect that a negative review would be pounced on by some MSC cheerleaders who are trying hard to imply that he has exaggerated or made it up. Are we only 'allowed' to post rave MSC reviews on here ? Nice welcome you people give to new posters !

 

The official checkin time was 12:30. We arrived at 12:45. We were still being 'processed' at 3:30. We got on board at 3:45.

 

My own very similar review of this trip is sitting in the moderator's queue. Napito's review could just as easily have been written by me, in which case my response would be take it or leave it, I'm not bothered. I expect MSC aren't that bothered either.

Edited April 17, 2014 by CarshaltonDon

[Skipper Tim]

This has to be taken apart. I am not sure if it is a fake review or just highly coloured by the reviewer's genuine disappointment but it is riddled with highly improbable details which need to be challenged. Reviews like this do the community no service whatsoever.

 

The experience was very disappointing and I have posted this review on a couple of other sites but for some reason can't get it posted under member reviews.

 

1) Why was the OP unable to post on other sites?

 

2) Does this therefore come under the 'axe to grind' category?

 

My wife and I have been on 7 cruises before, all on Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, or Carnival but this was our first MSC cruise.

 

Warning - these are all U.S. lines.

 

There were, however, big problems here too. The bed lacked sheets or a blanket the first night, just a mattress, and we were told that bed linens would be provided. When they had not been by 10 or so PM, I went roaming the halls and stole some from an unattended cart on another deck.

 

The lack of bed lined should have been reported to Reception along with the choice of pillows from the pillow menu. Stealing from a trolley does not correctly resolve the issue.

 

There was an "interactive" TV but I never found useful information on it concerning our ports of call, the ship, or excursions.

 

The excursions channels are available in five languages.

 

We sent 4 articles of clothing to be cleaned in the laundry service -- it took a full 3 days for the clothing to be returned.

 

The laundry service has two guaranteed turnaround times depending on cost. I would be very surprised if they failed to meet those times and I they did, the issue should have been raised for refund and compensation.

 

A minor but important point: neither us nor anyone we talked to ever had a little "towel animal" as part of the cabin service -- apparently that's not done on this ship.

 

I have friends who would immediately disembark if they found a towel animal in their cabins. They are judged by many to be in particularly bad taste. Each to their own but I would prefer the cabin attendants to be making more productive use of their time.

 

There were two places to eat on the boat not counting the pay restaurants (of which there were several). One was the buffet which was always open but only had food a few hours of the day and during those brief times the place was badly overcrowded.

 

This really goes into the realms of make-believe. MSC boasts buffets open 20 hours of the day across the fleet. If ever there had not been food available for one moment on any day between 6 a.m. and 2 a.m. the issue should have been raised through the appropriate channel - the Maitre 'd or reception. That there was only food available for a few hours of the day is simply not credible.

 

No table service and inadequate bussing staff so if you were lucky enough to find a vacant table, odds were that it would still have the plates from the previous set(s) of diners.

 

If you go to the buffet at a busy time and cannot find a table, simply ask a member of staff. They will also clear it for you and fetch you drinks.

 

The buffet itself had a very limited set of choices and the food was not particularly appetizing.

 

Food is personal and on an Italian line might not be what the OP was expecting. That there were a very limited set of choices is difficult to believe.

 

 

No drinks were included with the buffet but you could find tap water in the ice machines.

 

On all MSC ships there is 24 hours free water, teas and coffee and hot and cold milk from the drinks stations in the buffet. Drinks in the MDR are charged.

 

One of the most infuriating aspects of the buffet was how the crew members would come and push their way in front of you to feed themselves.

 

Only the officers are permitted to eat in the public areas and mostly do not. The thought that crew would push in front of guests to eat where they would be instantly sacked for eating is ludicrous.

 

No drinks were included with the meal without additional fee -- you even had to pay for water. Americans received coupons for 6 "waters" at check-in so apparently there have been complaints about this in the past.

 

This is a cultural issue. Americans expect not to pay for their water so they don't - they get vouchers included. The rest of the World expects to pay for drinks and drinks service with a meal so they do.

 

I think that we were most put off by the attitude of the crew toward the passengers. You almost never received a smile or hello, they never offered to help, they were often confrontational or even cruel. With the exception of the breakfast staff, our courteous cabin attendant and friendly (but badly overloaded) dinner waiter, every interaction with the crew members was neutral or negative, never positive.

 

Again this is a cultural issue. The OP is mis-reading European professionalism for all sorts of negative behaviour. The European way is that staff are not your friends they are staff. They should not behave in a fake-friendly manner and should be practically invisible until needed. I cannot imagine them being confrontational or cruel and if they were should have been immediately reported. The breakfast staff are just the same staff as at lunch or dinner.

 

The shows were very lame. Each night was the same stage set, the same performers with essentially the same show: singing, dancing, some acrobatics all to canned music. The only thing that changed from night to night was the songs and the costumes (which were simple and crude). The performers themselves were talented but were really just regular crew members and, during the day, you would see them bussing tables, waitressing in bars, etc. I doubt that MSC spent more than $1,000 in all of the theater shows combined for the entire cruise.

 

One simply has to laugh at the thought of the entertainment team having to work as waiters through the day.

 

Also MSC has multiple venues of live music on every single ship on every single evening. Live music is one of MSC's fortes.

 

The port calls (Bari, Katokolon, Izmir, Istanbul, Dubrovnik) were very short: 4 - 5 hours typically. In spite of this, it took a full hour to disembark for an excursion and another hour to re-embark the ship. So, if you had an excursion, nearly half of the time in port was spent simply getting off and then back onto the ship.

 

Simply incredulous. I am loathed to queue for anything. The longest I have ever queued to get off an MSC ship is around a minute. I have never queued to get on one. What can one possibly be doing for an hour getting on or off?

 

One of the reasons for this is that the ship uses very cheap hand-held scanners (for verifying cruise cards) rather than the much faster autofeeding scanner machines used by the other cruise lines.

 

What a strange thing to say. I would have thought that a person operating a hand-held scanner would be faster and more security-focussed, albeit more costly, than a self-service machine.

 

Because of the lost time, the excursions were all much shorter than advertised, did not go to all of the advertised sites, and were very rushed.

 

If an advertised site were missed out for any reason, then a part-refund would have been in order along with an apology and compensation. Claims like this simply do not stack up.

 

The ship had far too many passengers for its modest amenities. The "aqua-park" is sized for a ship with half as many passengers; the atrium area sized for a ship a third of this size. As a result, there are long lines for everything, everything is overcrowded. Imagine waiting in line for an hour so that you can get into an 6-foot wide jacuzzi with 8 other people.

 

No I cannot imagine that. As followers of my rantings from MSC ships will know, I jacuzzi at least daily on a cruise and prefer to jacuzzi alone. I have never had to queue and only had to share on a couple of occasions. There will be busier times than others. Besides, queuing is unimaginable. It is not within the Mediterranean mentality.

 

Check-out was just as nightmarish as check-in -- it took us 4 hours even though we had no questions on our bill. We were to vacate our cabin by 7:30 AM and at 7:15 they started banging on the doors to tell people to get out. At 7:30, they started banging on the doors again threatening to charge additional fees. We were not permitted to actually get off the boat until almost noon. My wife said she felt like she had been in prison.

 

Such experiences have never been reported before. If they had occurred, I am sure we would have seen them before. On the contrary, there are reports on Cruise Critic of people not vacating their cabins until 12, hours after they were meant to be off the ship, without issue or disturbance. This aspect sounds totally contrived.

 

There are a lot of problems on this boat and we did not meet any fellow passengers who intended on taking another MSC cruise. We did meet a few people who had had MSC cruises before and they all said that they were so disappointed in this one that they might not do another one.

 

The OP doth protest too much me thinks. As if suspecting the account will be ridiculed, trying to add gravity at the last.

 

My next cruise may be on the Preziosa. I have it pencilled in my diary. There is nothing in this review that remotely makes any sense or has a ring of truth about it. It will not influence me as much as a feather touching the other side of the planet.

 

I find it sad that a CC member feels the need to invent such nonsense whether founded in some form of personal disappointment, or not - it is hard to say.

[Katgoesonholiday]

There are a lot of Cruise Critic members, myself included, doing this itinerary over coming months. It will be interesting to see if and how experiences differ.

Edited April 17, 2014 by Katgoesonholiday

[canny_cruiser]

Well I'm 3 nights off "black" status with them but I can believe the post. The comments about crew in particular - not the cabin or restaurant staff, but the reception and, especially, the purser (accounting) desk people. Their attitude is usually one of "The answer is NO, now what's the question?". If you're not Italian, you get nowhere. The only exception in my experience are the Brazilian transatlantics when they have young Brazilians on reception who do go out of their way to be helpful.

 

I used to cruise MSC for the low prices but now I don't suppose I shall ever reach "black". I expect that also applies to a good few other posters who have commented here as their days of £25 a night are now in the past.

[CarshaltonDon]

The official checkin time was 12:30. We arrived at 12:45. We were still being 'processed' at 3:30. We got on board at 3:45.

 

On disembarkation, we left our room at 7.30, went to the theatre at 9 as required, we were led off the ship at 11:00. My son wheelchaired his grandmother to deck 5 as required and was then sent consecutively to deck 6, 7 and then back to 5 and finally got off just ahead of us.

 

The queue to get on board at Bari was over an hour wait, at Katakolon it was the same. By Izmir they had got themselves sorted out a bit but they were still poor dealing with the wheelchair.

 

Equally, for excursions we were being asked to turn up in the required lounge an hour before we were led off the ship.

 

Take it or leave it.

[Skipper Tim]

I used to cruise MSC for the low prices but now I don't suppose I shall ever reach "black". I expect that also applies to a good few other posters who have commented here as their days of £25 a night are now in the past.

 

Well, the repo prices were £25/£35/£45 inside/outside/balcony. Now they are £35/£40/£45. Yes, a big increase for insides but zero increase for balconies.

 

The sting is the sole-occupancy supplement which was zero but is now 50%. It is against my religion to pay a sole-occupancy supplement when there will be empty cabins onboard. I can't do it and there is simply no question of me booking until this cross-subsidy from singles to couples is removed.

[Elmartellama]

I note the OP said they arrived at 11.30. WhT was official check on time? 2pm, 3pm? Can o suggest for those of you yet to cruise with MSC that some if not all of the 3 hour wait you're now panicking about was due to the OP arriving at too early?

 

I once waited more than 6 hours to get ona Costa ship. Sounds terrible doesn't it? What of I tell you embarkation time was meant to be 19.00, I arrived at 9.30 and Costa actually started letting us on at 15.00. Still sound terrible?

 

Preziosa must be unique in the fleet in only offering food for a few hours despite being open 20 hours per day (like the rest of the fleet)

 

We're sailing out of Venice at 17:00 on MSC Fantasia, I think the latest to enter the ship is 15:00h. Which time would you recommend to check-in? We arrive at Venice train station a little before 12:00h and I thought about going directly to the ship (since the last time we sailed with RCI and we had no problem whatsoever having the same time schedule)

 

Also, I saw at the Venice Port map that there's a drop luggage point (or something like that). Do you leave the luggage in that location prior to going to the terminal? In that case, if you arrive earlier I guess you can go elsewhere instead of waiting in the terminal building.

[Flying is for Planes]

We're sailing out of Venice at 17:00 on MSC Fantasia, I think the latest to enter the ship is 15:00h. Which time would you recommend to check-in? We arrive at Venice train station a little before 12:00h and I thought about going directly to the ship (since the last time we sailed with RCI and we had no problem whatsoever having the same time schedule)

 

.

 

I am on the June 1 out of venice and I plan on getting to the ship at 230PM and not before. Theres no hurry

Edited April 17, 2014 by Flying is for Planes

[sidari]

Tim ... Originally Posted by napito

 

I think the op was saying that the review is posted on other sites but as we know with CC you have to wait until it has been read by the mods and does not appear instantly as they do on other cruise sites.

 

On all Three of our MSC cruises there have been staff eating in the Buffet in the evening, they included Customer Service staff, Shop staff, Spa staff, Entertainers and Officers although they do tend to sit at the back and away from customers.

 

The Buffet on the Opera last year was not open 20 hours a day as MSC claimed it would be but that may have been because it was in its infancy.

 

The Queues to get off the Divina at some stops were ridiculous and made worse by poor organisation for which Italians are renowned. In Miami they blamed a faulty walkway that people had been using to leave the ship for the day for over Two hours, there were also long lines of people getting back onboard in Malta due to the short stop time which may well be what happened with the op and their short stops. where the ship has an all day stop this was not an issue.

 

The lines are made worse by the security staff taking seapass cards off people to scan them and then hand them back instead of just scanning them while held by the passenger, this would allow the lines to move quicker.

 

As Kategoesonholiday says it will be interesting to see what other people have to say who are also on the ships sailings.

[Elmartellama]

Sorry, duplicated

Edited April 17, 2014 by Elmartellama

[Elmartellama]

I am on the June 1 out of venice and I plan on getting to the ship at 230PM and not before. Theres no hurry

 

I like to acces the ship ASAP anyway. I wouldn't feel very comfortable boarding at the very last minute, in case something happens.

Edited April 17, 2014 by Elmartellama

[Katgoesonholiday]

I am making a mental list of things to check when onboard. Having read a recently published review, I am determined to get a photo of the infamous ashtrays/soap dishes that has given some poor cruiser cause for much righteous indignation. Are they or aren't they a soap dish? I find myself consumed by curiosity! :D

 

I will also be taking note of the state of the bacon and will report back as to whether kiwis count as Americans or as Europeans when it comes to dinner time water.

[earn]

I am sorry you had such a bad experience, but I am stunned at some of your comments. This does not mean that I don't believe you, but that I have difficulty understanding how things could have gone so badly wrong in such a short time.

 

We were on the previous cruise, which came from Brazil, to Venice. In fact Preziosa celebrated her first birthday while we were doing the trip. As far as I am aware there has been no refurbishment, she is just new. Our cruise was fantastic. Partly that was due to meeting a great bunch of people, but it was mostly due to MSC and the ship.

 

We did not port in Venice until around 8.30am, which I think was about 30 mins earlier than planned. I also always arrive at the port around 11am, but in this case, with the ship's arrival being much later than normal, that would have been a mistake. Embarkation in Santos was fine, but disembarkation at Venice was very poor. We actually got off the ship quite quickly. but the luggage hall was so small they couldn't fit all the luggage in, so it was drip fed out of the ship as space became available. I pity anyone who had an early flight booked. If I ever return to Venice again I will always self disembark. I think this is mostly the port's issue.

 

On our cruise the buffet was open from 6am until 2am, so as you say 20 hrs. there was always food available. Breakfast started as continental, but from around 7am until 11am yo could have cooked. Pizza & fresh fruit seemed to be available all day. Lunch started when breakfast finished and stopped at 3pm, but on our port days they kept lunch out until around 4.30pm. After that I think there were cakes, cookies & burgers etc until dinner started at 7pm. that lasted until 10pm, then back to sandwiches, pizza and fruit. Unlike other cruise lines the MDR is open every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and as you say the service and food is great there too. On our cruise it was the Golden Lobster that was available for lunch and dinner, but no matter where we dined we enjoyed the food and service. We are Diamond with RCL, and I found it easier to find a clean table in the Lido buffet than I would in Windjammer. My advice is to try the back, where you will also find the ethnic food corner, yum!

 

Perhaps the staff are suffering from the cold Med weather cf Brazil, but we spoke to many many staff on the ship and they were (with the exception of one of the photo staff) polite and friendly. Also possible a lot have changed and were new.

 

As far as the sheets are concerned, I would have been straight to customer services to have that sorted. Completely unacceptable, but again very unusual for MSC, who in my opinion have some of the best housekeeping at sea.

 

Ports of call are never best done by ship's tour, and most people who have cruised a lot would not do them. However, if this was your first cruise in the Med I can understand why that might be a good choice. I have done 3 ships tours in my life, all with RCI in the Caribbean, and never again.

 

Our entertainment was fantastic, but again perhaps they were on for the Brazilian season and left in Venice.

 

In short we had a great cruise, with great company, great food and beautiful surroundings. Preziosa is by far the nicest looking ship I have ever sailed on. Carnival valor is by far the most ugly :)

[Skipper Tim]

I am sorry you had such a bad experience, but I am stunned at some of your comments. This does not mean that I don't believe you, but that I have difficulty understanding how things could have gone so badly wrong in such a short time.

 

I have extreme difficulty in believing any of this outrageous nonsense.

 

As far as I can tell, the OP is working for the competition. There are just so many things which are blatantly untrue but play into the fears of the U.S. market that MSC are moving into.

 

Nonsense and drivel.

 

For those reading these posts, beleive those with a history and reputation for speaking the truth.

[GOLDENBONNY]

GoldenBonny - Are you trying to imply we are the same person or something ? If you are then excuse me if I don't appreciate the joke.

 

What joke? I did ask to chek on your IP ;)

[GOLDENBONNY]

I am making a mental list of things to check when onboard. Having read a recently published review, I am determined to get a photo of the infamous ashtrays/soap dishes that has given some poor cruiser cause for much righteous indignation. Are they or aren't they a soap dish? I find myself consumed by curiosity! :D

 

I will also be taking note of the state of the bacon and will report back as to whether kiwis count as Americans or as Europeans when it comes to dinner time water.

 

 

Please check how many of bar attenders sing and dance in shows :p

[alli]

I am making a mental list of things to check when onboard. Having read a recently published review, I am determined to get a photo of the infamous ashtrays/soap dishes that has given some poor cruiser cause for much righteous indignation. Are they or aren't they a soap dish? I find myself consumed by curiosity! :D

 

I will also be taking note of the state of the bacon and will report back as to whether kiwis count as Americans or as Europeans when it comes to dinner time water.

 

Please check how many of bar attenders sing and dance in shows :p

 

Also, please check the wait time in line to use a hot tub! Do they hand out tickets for this or do people just form an orderly line?

[GOLDENBONNY]

Also, please check the wait time in line to use a hot tub! Do they hand out tickets for this or do people just form an orderly line?

 

 

On good line they would give tickets but on bad MSC a guess line would be.:p

PS We got new review about YC now. :p:rolleyes:;)

[alexkrn46]

Globe-Trekker -- You might also look into some of the ferries in the area. There are several that operate between Croatia, Greece, and Italy. The next time we travel in this area, that's what we'll do.

 

eroller -- You are probably correct about MSC having to step it up in the Caribbean to compete with other lines and that may help explain our experience. This trip was so early in the season that there just weren't many choices and MSC had the market nearly to itself then. BTW, most of the other passengers we met were European and most had the same complaints that I related and felt that the trip was, at best, "just OK." So it wasn't just a North American reaction -- people from many European countries complained too.

 

 

the only time I have been sea sick is on a ferry, the service is non existent.

[moomoocow]

I'd like to weigh in here having sailed on the Preziosa and also having disembarked in Venice.

 

First off - everyone asking when they should arrive for embarkation should take a look at the PDF of their invoice for the cruise. It will clearly state their embarkation time. Arriving early/late causes problems as Amomondo has eloquently remarked on previously. My Divina Rio-Miami cruise has my embarkation at 9pm. Yes, pm. I have no wish to wait around in a cruise terminal to board a ship for hours. I will get no prize or advantage from getting on before any of the other passengers so take a guess what time we will arrive at the ship? That's right! 9pm.

 

I have only ever encountered one rude member of MSC staff which was actually on the Preziosa. It was so unexpected and against type that the interaction is etched on my memory and Mr Moo and I often laugh about it. This was an abnormality however as I'm not fluent in any other languages I can't be sure that the rudeness isn't occurring in a different language. What the OP describes re: the Portuguese discussion perhaps could have been handled differently as a direct challenge would have rendered the perpetrators embarrassed and annoyed. I would have took their names from their badges and immediately reported them to the Guest Services Manager. The behaviour is inexcusable and should be dealt with by their employers in the correct way.

 

The OP's other experiences are probably being taken with a grain of salt (sorry!) by other board members (cheerleaders and naysayers alike) because of perceived inaccuracies such as not knowing the Preziosa is brand new and not a refit. The fact there is another review from the YC perspective for the same cruise doesn't point to conspiracy or duplicity. It actually supports the general tone of this review. It is evident the Preziosa experienced real issues on its first outing post repo. It seems there were supply issues, logistic issues, staff issues and timing issues. In short, it sounds like a bit of a nightmare.

 

However, I would like to advise readers that this is, in no way whatsoever, indicative of the standard MSC product. It's a perfect storm of bad luck that resulted in the OP's experience which they've reported on. A complaint letter may well invite a hefty discount off a future cruise which, I'm sure, the OP will not want to avail themselves of. For the rest of you cruising on the Preziosa or other MSC ships I am sure this experience will not be repeated.

 

So long as you don't queue for anything and turn up for embarkation at your allotted time......:D

[Skipper Tim]

I'd like to weigh in here having sailed on the Preziosa and also having disembarked in Venice.

 

First off - everyone asking when they should arrive for embarkation should take a look at the PDF of their invoice for the cruise. It will clearly state their embarkation time. Arriving early/late causes problems as Amomondo has eloquently remarked on previously. My Divina Rio-Miami cruise has my embarkation at 9pm. Yes, pm. I have no wish to wait around in a cruise terminal to board a ship for hours. I will get no prize or advantage from getting on before any of the other passengers so take a guess what time we will arrive at the ship? That's right! 9pm.

 

I have only ever encountered one rude member of MSC staff which was actually on the Preziosa. It was so unexpected and against type that the interaction is etched on my memory and Mr Moo and I often laugh about it. This was an abnormality however as I'm not fluent in any other languages I can't be sure that the rudeness isn't occurring in a different language. What the OP describes re: the Portuguese discussion perhaps could have been handled differently as a direct challenge would have rendered the perpetrators embarrassed and annoyed. I would have took their names from their badges and immediately reported them to the Guest Services Manager. The behaviour is inexcusable and should be dealt with by their employers in the correct way.

 

The OP's other experiences are probably being taken with a grain of salt (sorry!) by other board members (cheerleaders and naysayers alike) because of perceived inaccuracies such as not knowing the Preziosa is brand new and not a refit. The fact there is another review from the YC perspective for the same cruise doesn't point to conspiracy or duplicity. It actually supports the general tone of this review. It is evident the Preziosa experienced real issues on its first outing post repo. It seems there were supply issues, logistic issues, staff issues and timing issues. In short, it sounds like a bit of a nightmare.

 

However, I would like to advise readers that this is, in no way whatsoever, indicative of the standard MSC product. It's a perfect storm of bad luck that resulted in the OP's experience which they've reported on. A complaint letter may well invite a hefty discount off a future cruise which, I'm sure, the OP will not want to avail themselves of. For the rest of you cruising on the Preziosa or other MSC ships I am sure this experience will not be repeated.

 

So long as you don't queue for anything and turn up for embarkation at your allotted time......:D

 

Mrs MooMoo, you credit the OP far toooo mooouch. I think it is an absolute fake. Study it.