Bad reviews

[Bosjoe]

This has been one of the best cruises I have ever been on. Yes things were a little slower then i was use to in the dining room, no biggie, if you meet great tablemates then you might not notice it as much. I think people complain so they can just hear themselves complain. Don't sweat the small stuff people.

 

I have never judge a cruiseline if they have a omelette/egg station on a cruise ship or burgers wrapped in paper or bagels, do you people know what a real good bagel is? Its not what they serve in the buffet on a cruise ship. If you like buffets, maybe you should stick to Golden Corral and stay of ships. :)

 

Now in just over 2 weeks I am going on the biggest cruise ship and they have the worst buffet setup and wait and no omelette station in the windjammer either. They have the same exact eggs that are offered on Divina fried egg pre-cooked, cheese omelette and those things they called scamble eggs. :)

 

Divina is a beautiful ship, great entertainment, fabulous drink package, awesome juice bar, Violinist and piano players, waiters that leave you alone on the pool deck as you try to sleep, no yelling drinks of the day. Awesome Pizza in the buffet, lil cute finger sandwiches with the crust cut off.

 

One more thing I am sad I had to cancel my cruise on Divina in September such horror of missing one of the best ships out there.

[Aussiegrlfl]

and from the menus I've seen if you want a made to order omelet.......go to the main dining room for brekkie..........and eggs benedict.........just adapt...........I've found that most buffets I go to in the States have the same old, sometimes dried up if it's been there too long food......so go do the more formal leisurely brekkie in the MDR...and enjoy that which you think is lacking in the buffet............myself I can't wait until my Sept sailing to discover and venture into a new experience..........and trust me I'm diamond on RCCL/ Elite on Celebrity, whatever 20+ with CCL is and I've always booked with them because of the "perks".....but I'm willing to try a new experience because the price was right..........and it was RIGHT...so if it sucks........then so be it............but I truly believe YOU make the experience you have each and every day...........whether it be at a hotel, cruise, work or a grocery store..............YOU determine how YOU will allow whatever experiences come your way affect YOU...........it says that when you are squeezed....it is what comes out that shows who YOU are...........

[Tatka]

Hmmm we had omelet stations in buffet on Poesia. Why did MSC decided to remove them?

[IJustWantToGo36]

Hello,

 

For quite a while I have been reading a lot of very negative reviews regarding MSC Cruise Line. I am a travel consultant and I would like to shed some light on why there are numerous complaints and how to avoid them. BTW I will never reveal my real name or who I work for. I'm not hear to sell you anything.

 

The first point I would like to make is that you should never book your cruise on your own. Big mistake. Some people think they know everything that a travel consultant knows but in all honestly you don't. .

 

Cruz52

I am asking this from an unbiased standpoint. Please respond.

 

In this internet age, what information does a travel agent possess that is not available on-line?

 

Years ago I understood the benefits of a TA, but for cruises today, the internet insures that there are no secrets.

 

If I am wrong, please explain.

 

Thanks

[maureencruiser]

and from the menus I've seen if you want a made to order omelet.......go to the main dining room for brekkie..........and eggs benedict.........just adapt...........I've found that most buffets I go to in the States have the same old, sometimes dried up if it's been there too long food......so go do the more formal leisurely brekkie in the MDR...and enjoy that which you think is lacking in the buffet............myself I can't wait until my Sept sailing to discover and venture into a new experience..........and trust me I'm diamond on RCCL/ Elite on Celebrity, whatever 20+ with CCL is and I've always booked with them because of the "perks".....but I'm willing to try a new experience because the price was right..........and it was RIGHT...so if it sucks........then so be it............but I truly believe YOU make the experience you have each and every day...........whether it be at a hotel, cruise, work or a grocery store..............YOU determine how YOU will allow whatever experiences come your way affect YOU...........it says that when you are squeezed....it is what comes out that shows who YOU are...........

 

Oh, Aussiegirl, you and I are SO going to get along! :D:D:D

[the_princess]

Cruz52

I am asking this from an unbiased standpoint. Please respond.

 

In this internet age, what information does a travel agent possess that is not available on-line?

 

Years ago I understood the benefits of a TA, but for cruises today, the internet insures that there are no secrets.

 

If I am wrong, please explain.

 

Thanks

 

I was thinking the same. We booked this cruise with a TA and I already know more then my TA just from researching online. My TA didn't know that booking drink package online would save you 15%.

[AmoMondo]

I was thinking the same. We booked this cruise with a TA and I already know more then my TA just from researching online. My TA didn't know that booking drink package online would save you 15%.

 

That is what I found when I started cruising a few years ago. Booked a few via TAs when I knew nothing but very soon, I realised I knew more than they did as I had a vested interest in spending time researching my holiday plans than they did. They told me that things weren't possible that I had no bother booking myself. Also in the UK, you end up having to pay final balance almost a month earlierbthan when you book direct. They need to be ensure they allow time for payments to clear....blah, blah. In this day of faster electronic payments processing in 2 hours or less, that is utter nonsense.

[gaddgie]

So true... and a smile goes a long, long way to changing a not so great situation into the one that you want!

 

I find many of the reviewers seem to be looking for things to tick them off. Each little blip something to be savoured and held onto, I wonder if they make a list in a notebook so as not to forget each insult and offence. My favourite are the reviews that say the rooms were great... the entertainment was great... the pools were great.... but give it 1* out of 5 overall because of little things like the bacon wasn't crisp and the waiter didn't speak great English.

 

 

Couldn't agree more. So take the reviews for what they are,. Accept the ones full of factual verifiable information and ignore the rest. Especially the one where they are complaining because they had to put their keycard in a slot, (just inside the room and near the door by the way) to make the lights and toilet work.

 

Go with a positive attitude and have a great cruise.

Edited August 15, 2014 by gaddgie
added just

[sidari]

"Also in the UK, you end up having to pay final balance almost a month earlier than when you book direct"

 

Already had a reminder about final payment for the November cruise and if i don`t pay up within 5 days a charge of £10 pp will be added! If the deposit had not been so high due to the flights I would consider telling them where to stick the holiday .... :D

[helen haywood]

I remember the first time I traveled to Europe when I was a child. I was amazed to see the different things other nations ate for breakfast!! The meat and cheeses, the miso soup, the fried mushrooms and baked beans, the croissants!! I thought, gosh!, why do we only eat eggs and bacon or cereal? Adventuresome back then in our family was pancakes!

 

Bring on diversity!

 

Some people travel and only want to eat at McDonalds or Hard Rock. That's not me!

[GOLDENBONNY]

frankly, I normally don't pay attention to reviews, but there are so many negatives that they are beginning to influence my decision to remain on the Transatlantic cruise I have booked. One constant that I see, even in the good reviews, is the fact that the breakfast buffet doesn't offer an omelet station, or fried eggs, or bagels, and hamburgers (pre cooked) is the big item for lunch. The buffet is something that MSC can correct immediately. Too many people are repeating the same negatives. They must have some truth to them. MSC must be reading, bur judging from the dates, they aren't interested in changing. A sad situation.

 

Who told you they don't have hamburgers or fried eggs ? And why you think to "correct" is to add hamburgers? for me it's to delete them from ship at all and replace with calamari and shrimp and caprese ))

[GOLDENBONNY]

I remember the first time I traveled to Europe when I was a child. I was amazed to see the different things other nations ate for breakfast!! The meat and cheeses, the miso soup, the fried mushrooms and baked beans, the croissants!! I thought, gosh!, why do we only eat eggs and bacon or cereal? Adventuresome back then in our family was pancakes!

 

Bring on diversity!

 

Some people travel and only want to eat at McDonalds or Hard Rock. That's not me!

 

Parents come to me all the time on cruise with : OMG your 5 years old eats all food from adult menu . OMG our kids eat only pizza ....

I always wonder why on every cruise line kids menu is-junk menu Don't get me wrong we do eat pizza or burger sometimes but if we don't have them on cruise ship we will not even pay attention .

[American Bear]

 

ditto!:d

[cruiseclues]

We're going on the MSC Divina January 24, 2015...this will be our 2nd MSC cruise...We expect a beautiful ship and expect to have a great cruise...the advice others have given seems to be excellent advice. :):):):)

[DipBrat]

Parents come to me all the time on cruise with : OMG your 5 years old eats all food from adult menu . OMG our kids eat only pizza ....

I always wonder why on every cruise line kids menu is-junk menu Don't get me wrong we do eat pizza or burger sometimes but if we don't have them on cruise ship we will not even pay attention .

 

Most people like to relax their discipline and their diet a bit while on vacation. I get that and it makes sense. The problem is most American kids now eat such a lousy diet that vacation food has to be really junk to be attractive to these kids.

[AlbertusMagnus]

I only made reference to omelet station, bagels and hamburgers because these were among the most negative reviews that I have seen. I halved traveled many times on Costa, and find no fault in the way Italian lines operate. Being a first generation Italian American, who has been to Italy over 35 times in my lifetime, many times for months at a time, I am very familiar with what the "Italian Way" is. I am just commenting that MSC should address these negatives if they are trying to attract more American cruisers. My wife and I are going, and we'll enjoy every minute of it.

Ciao,

A

[DENIE]

gaddgie....I noted the complaint too about having to have a room key in the slot for the lights to work. I've stayed in hotels where that is the case as well. I guess some people always have to complain about something....

[Katgoesonholiday]

Mmmmmmmmmmm! Best omelette ever - on the Preziosa last month! Nom! Nom! Nom!

 

 

[Elmartellama]

Even if MSC does not have an omelette station in the buffet (neither does the mighty Oasis of the Seas, like others have mentioned), they offered a wide enough selection of scrambled eggs, boiled eggs, fried eggs, and prepared omelettes.

 

Now let me tell you, the most important factor of a good quality omelette are just the eggs, and no big hotel, cruise ship or even restaurant these days uses good eggs. For many years I ate the eggs that our grandfather gave to us, after he had picked them at his farm. That was the real deal, and the taste and flavour from the final dish were spectacular.

 

Nothing that you can eat at a massive buffet can just compare to that, simply because in this day and age eggs are almost industrially produced.

 

So what does it matter if the omelette is prepared "in front of you", when the eggs are all the same low quality and the omelette tastes as plain and bad all the same? To me it just doesn't. I picked the prepared omelette because it's exactly the same stuff that the "fresh" omelette they could prepare. Only, you save a lot of time not having to wait.

 

As for bagels, I discovered them when I visited NYC. They were invented in northern eastern Europe, then taken to America. We do not eat them in the Mediterranean sea. I prepared them fresh at home, and also make our own smoked salmon. They don't taste the same as the ones you can find in a cruise ship.

 

And please, how can someone believe that the hamburgers are the main thing of a MSC buffet... There are like 50 different things you can eat at a MSC buffet, how can someone say that!

 

To us, the main problem of the buffet is that it gets crowded at peak times. For example, if the ships leaves at 14:00 from the port everyone goes to the buffet at the very same time. That happened in our sailing several times, mainly due to change of itinerary because of the weather.

 

You won't have that problem if you have long hours in port, or many sea days. Just the same way we did not have that problem on the Liberty of the Seas in Europe, since many people was in port during lunch.

 

Regarding MSC and RCI. You can love MSC after having sailed Royal. That happened to us. My partner liked more Royal, yet he had a great time in MSC. I liked them both.

 

MSC has good things that royal does not have, and Royal has some things such as the flowrider, the climb-wall, the exterior jacuzzis, or the ice ring that are just unique.

 

My main complain of MSC is they do not offer My time dining. That's a big minus for us. and ultimately we would choose Royal. However, MSC itineraries in Europe (eastern med and Norway) are so much better that Royal's to us.

Edited August 16, 2014 by Elmartellama

[Skipper Tim]

I have to agree with most, but not all, of what Elmartellama says.

 

I used to know someone who drove a lorry around the farms collecting eggs for a big supermarket chain. He visited each farm once a week. That means a supermarket egg can be a week old before it even gets to the shelf! My neighbour in Greece keeps hens and he occasionally gives me a few eggs. Their taste is incomparable!

 

What is an omelette station other than a place you have to stand waiting for an omelette? On MSC you can order any omelette you like and have it brought to you by your waiter.

 

I have to agree with many others that the best part of the buffet is 'ethnic corner'. Whenever I have been to the buffet, I head straight for it - a different selection from somewhere in the World every meal and it is always so good it relieves me of the responsibility of making a choice. Lush!

 

To read comments about hamburgers after the amazing creations in ethnic corner takes some dealing with.

 

The buffet does get crowded at peak times. Then different parts of the ship gets crowded at different times. If it is hot and sunny on a sea day it is busy on deck. Then they head to the buffet for lunch. If it rains or is windy on deck, the masses are clogging up the lounges below. The trick is to anticipate what others will do and head the opposite direction. MDR lunches are sublime when most are fighting for space in the buffet. A bar that is closed during the day can be a great place to read. On a port day, stay onboard while most are struggling to get off, enjoy the quiet ship, have an early MDR lunch then go ashore when most are returning to the ship. The herd instinct can be used to considerable advantage.

 

Now, point of disagreement. I too moved from Royal Caribbean to MSC and loved the difference. However, I would find it very testing moving back. The once thing I didn't like about Royal Caribbean above all else was the constant hard-sell. It was endless sales announcements piped into my cabin - which could not be switched off - and around the ship, leaflets under the door, waiters harassing me wherever I was and any contact with any member of staff was used as a sales opportunity. I remember asking a veteran RCI cruiser how she put up with it and her reply was "it just washed over" her, she was so used to it. I don't want to become like that. MSC thankfully does not suffer from this blight. I also enjoy the much-more culturally diverse ambience of MSC.

 

An MSC ship is a holiday destination in itself. A Royal Caribbean ship is like a U.S. chain hotel.

 

Cunard is the oddest from my experience. It is an American theme park idea of what an old world British cruise line would be like now. It is not at all British! Which brings me back to eggs. On the QE2, it was simply impossible to get an egg fried in the British way - i.e. so that the outer yolk is cooked but is still runny inside. It was either raw on top or the American 'over easy' fried to death. The sight of an uncooked egg on my plate was enough to put me off the rest of my breakfast. This was the first of many 'cracks' in Cunard's Disneyesque fakery.

 

With current MSC high solo fares, I am now investigating some of the smaller country-specific European lines sailing old, small, former ocean liners. These are the grand old ladies of the sea and promise a cultural experience to boot.

Edited August 16, 2014 by Skipper Tim

[Tatka]

Tim, I like MSC a lot, but do not understand your comment about RCI ships being like chain hotels. Many of them are destinations with all entertainment and fun things to do. Try newer ships. Many people dont even care where they sail when they are sailing with RCI.

[Skipper Tim]

Tim, I like MSC a lot, but do not understand your comment about RCI ships being like chain hotels. Many of them are destinations with all entertainment and fun things to do. Try newer ships. Many people don't even care where they sail when they are sailing with RCI.

 

Perhaps because I am a sailer and like the peace of the sea, I don't want to be troubled by any staff - I really, really don't want any entertainment or 'fun' things to do.

 

If I go on a cruise, it has to be about new company, service and dressing up. Otherwise, I would be better staying at home.

[maureencruiser]

Who told you they don't have hamburgers or fried eggs ? And why you think to "correct" is to add hamburgers? for me it's to delete them from ship at all and replace with calamari and shrimp and caprese ))

 

I believe you misread his post, he said burgers were the "big thing" at the buffet, not that they didn't have any.

 

Skipper Tim, I keep hearing about the "constant announcements" from many people on these boards and i have no idea what they are talking about. I can remember when I started cruising in 1991 , announcements were made in your cabin, but, it has been YEARS since I heard one there. When I am in my cabin, sometimes I hear an announcement in the hallway and I have to run and open the door so I can hear it. I usually sail Royal Caribbean and the captain comes on at noon with his spiel about location and weather and immediately after that, the CD comes on talking about the events, bingo, etc. The whole process is about 5 to 10 minutes. Then, no more announcements all day. I sailed the Allure, Grandeur and Jewel in the last year and this was the procedure on them all. I did Carnival this year as well and I honestly don't remember ever hearing any announcements, not even the captain. I'm a little hard of hearing, bit, I'm not completely deaf. :D

[Tatka]

Perhaps because I am a sailer and like the peace of the sea, I don't want to be troubled by any staff - I really, really don't want any entertainment or 'fun' things to do.

 

If I go on a cruise, it has to be about new company, service and dressing up. Otherwise, I would be better staying at home.

Well, chain hotels don't have any entertainment.

 

MSC has just like other cruise companies. Shows and smaller scale.

[Bosjoe]

I believe you misread his post, he said burgers were the "big thing" at the buffet, not that they didn't have any.

 

Skipper Tim, I keep hearing about the "constant announcements" from many people on these boards and i have no idea what they are talking about. I can remember when I started cruising in 1991 , announcements were made in your cabin, but, it has been YEARS since I heard one there. When I am in my cabin, sometimes I hear an announcement in the hallway and I have to run and open the door so I can hear it. I usually sail Royal Caribbean and the captain comes on at noon with his spiel about location and weather and immediately after that, the CD comes on talking about the events, bingo, etc. The whole process is about 5 to 10 minutes. Then, no more announcements all day. I sailed the Allure, Grandeur and Jewel in the last year and this was the procedure on them all. I did Carnival this year as well and I honestly don't remember ever hearing any announcements, not even the captain. I'm a little hard of hearing, bit, I'm not completely deaf. :D

 

Yes coming into the room has been shutoff for sometime now, you hear it in all public area if you want to hear in in the room, you have to go to the sound knob by the desk to turn it up. They still make plenty of announcements throughout the day about bingo, activity, big sales on the promenade. Sometime we just tune them out now. My last cruise on the TA they had some of them.