How worried should I be about MSC Presciosa?

[Jocla]

Going on 7 day cruise from Venice in July . The reviews for the Presciosa are lukewarm to say the least . This is our first cruise and am now worried that we have been sold a bum deal. We have also bought a drinks package .

 

Any comments welcome.

[loppy]

We are also booked on Preziosa sailing on July 11th. We have previously sailed on MSC Musica and prior to that Royal Carribean Brilliance of the Seas. Before we sailed MSC I also read a fair number of negative reviews and was worried as you are. The Musica was fabulous as was Royal Carribean. MSC are different it is not all gushing as the US companies are, however if you get used to the European way...I.e lack of queuing,some loudness/chaos etc then you will have a great time. The ships are beautiful and let's face it you are cruising the Med...things can't be that bad.ENJOY.

[Elmartellama]

Not at all! You'll have a great time, even more than most of us if it is your first cruise!

 

The good things about that kind of reviews is that they lower your expectations, in the end you'll be extra happy because of them :D

[AmoMondo]

Well I've never been on the Preziosa but I've spent around 5 months in total on MSC ships and never had a bad experience. Was every little thing perfect all the time, of course not. Is it ver anywhere.

 

The drinks package is fantastic value and it's very easy to get your money's worth and it eliminates a nasty surprise when it comes to the bill at the Ned of the cruise.

 

The most recent dissatisfied reviews relate to the first cruise after t.he ship repositioned from Brazil and there may well have been some logistical issues as a result. So,e of the claims though, seem exaggerated or just untrue - e.g. Food only being available in the buffet for a few hours. Food of some sort is available for 20 hours out of 24. There is already someone else on here posting they just got off the ship and had a good time.

 

Some of the adverse reviews on MSC (folk either lost.he them or love them for some reason) are from experienced cruisers used to the way other (mainly American) cruise line things do things and are unhappy at the differences and view them as bad, not just different.

 

If you are used to going to the Med on holiday and experiencing the different ways, French, Spanish! Italian and Germans behave and don't get in a tail spin if everything is not the way we do things in the UK, you'll be fine. Who knows you may even love it and get hooked as I did!

[Katgoesonholiday]

When in July are you going? My husband and I are on the 5th of July sailing so we are following the reviews quite closely too. Like you, it's also our first cruise.

 

My general take on it is that maybe there have been some logistical issues, maybe there are some cultural/expectation dissonance issues ... but at the end of the day I'm going in with an open mind prepared to have a fabulous time! I'm not worried at all.

[Jocla]

Thanks people for taking the time to post . I'm going with my sisters and we always look for the positive aspects in everything . A good point was made about differences between the American and European experiences and expectations. Will post a balanced report on return .

[earn]

Worry not, you will have a great time. We spent 17 nights on Preziosa in March and had a fabulous cruise. This was our second MSC cruise and we hope to do many more.

[Wookiee]

As Amo said, I think a lot of the negative reviews come from "seasoned cruisers" who expect things to be done as they are on their "preferred line".

 

That could be Americans expecting all the in-your-face service stuff, or the Brits that are used to sailing out of Southampton waving the Union Flag and never want to feel that they are "abroad" whilst on the ship!

 

With Msc you get the feeling of being on a "foreign" holiday all the time, which is the point of going on holiday, right? ;)

[magpie23]

We are also booked on Preziosa sailing on July 11th. We have previously sailed on MSC Musica and prior to that Royal Carribean Brilliance of the Seas. Before we sailed MSC I also read a fair number of negative reviews and was worried as you are. The Musica was fabulous as was Royal Carribean. MSC are different it is not all gushing as the US companies are, however if you get used to the European way...I.e lack of queuing,some loudness/chaos etc then you will have a great time. The ships are beautiful and let's face it you are cruising the Med...things can't be that bad.ENJOY.

Hi Loppy,my husband and I are booked to sail on the 12th July from Venice.Are you booked on this one as well?

[loppy]

Hi, yes we are on the same cruise. We are staying in Venice for the night before and 2 nights afterwards. We are really looking forward to it....some down time. :)

[magpie23]

Hi, yes we are on the same cruise. We are staying in Venice for the night before and 2 nights afterwards. We are really looking forward to it....some down time. :)

Hi Loppy,FINALLY I have found someone on the same cruise!!!! Soooooooooooooo excited.I started a thread last November but no body replied.I am going to post on it again on MSC roll calls.Hope you can post there and we can keep in contact.Bye for now!:):):):)

[Scot born]

I am sailing on the 16th Aug when you all come back please write a review as this will be my first time with MSC and I also have read negative reviews, not to worried as we love cruising, a holiday is what you make of it. Enjoy Relax and have a great time.