Splendida not so splendid

[resistk]

On board this nightmare ship. Thousands of children verywhere jumping, spilling food, running around wild. Lots of tatooed young men roving around. Food spilled everywhere. Total chaos in all the venues, lines everywhere. Was a line at 3PM to get into the buffet for example. Ship at over capacity in my opinion. Noise level in dining room beyond anything I have ever experienced in over 40 cruises. Cabin was grubby and run down, more like a channel ferry than a cruise ship. MSC needs to put some limits, they can't keep up with these passengers who are sreaming, dropping foods, and clogging all the venues, Have been onMSC many times and have a black card and have never seen anything like this. It is like a scene from Dante here at times.

[BrentD]

Man, sounds like you should've stayed at home in a safe space...

[sidari]

Maybe do not cruise when you know there will be lots of kids!

[champagne123]

On board this nightmare ship. Thousands of children verywhere jumping, spilling food, running around wild. Lots of tatooed young men roving around. Food spilled everywhere. Total chaos in all the venues, lines everywhere. Was a line at 3PM to get into the buffet for example. Ship at over capacity in my opinion. Noise level in dining room beyond anything I have ever experienced in over 40 cruises. Cabin was grubby and run down, more like a channel ferry than a cruise ship. MSC needs to put some limits, they can't keep up with these passengers who are sreaming, dropping foods, and clogging all the venues, Have been onMSC many times and have a black card and have never seen anything like this. It is like a scene from Dante here at times.

There were "thousands of children?".......The capacity is 4,363..so I guess there were more children than adults.

 

Tattoo's. What in the world does this have to do with anything? Many people have tattoo's...not sure how this would affect your cruise.

 

A ship cannot be over capacity. You should know this.

 

Lines? There are lines everywhere and every venue on every ship I have ever been on. You should know this also.

 

Noise level? I don't understand. Was music blasting? Were people talking, laughing? Please elaborate.

 

Black Card. Again..what in world does this have to do with anything? Does it mean that everything should be perfect for you? Does a Black Card member get special or better service than anyone else. Please elaborate. I am curious.

 

It is summer. There are always tons of kids on ships for their summer vacation. Again..you should know this.

 

 

I am not saying that some of the things you claim are not true, but I perceive all of your statements an exaggeration and therefore I do not take it seriously at all, but thank you for taking the time to write your rant. :cool:

[CCC3]

Never sailed MSC, but summer does happen to be summer vacation for kids, teens and college age young people. Cabin cleanliness can be easily reported to the hotel director or housekeeping staff. Since you are a MSC veteran (and I'm not) are there any places where children aren't allowed? Or quiet decks/venues for someone desiring a little peace? Can your dining time be adjusted at all? Having to adjust your vacation to avoid the hassles isn't ideal, but you may want to try, so that you can enjoy your vacation. And remember...it's their vacation too. Hope the rest of the week goes better for you.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[resistk]

Have about 7 or 8 MSC cruises under my belt since 2004 including two in summer in Western Med and this one is pretty bad crowdwise, I have kids myself but do not them run wild. Maybe a different demographic at work here but this is really really crowded and really really noisy. Food is mediocre compared to other MSC ships and ship not the cleanest. I am here and you are not.

[CTBob]

Have about 7 or 8 MSC cruises under my belt since 2004 including two in summer in Western Med and this one is pretty bad crowdwise, I have kids myself but do not them run wild. Maybe a different demographic at work here but this is really really crowded and really really noisy. Food is mediocre compared to other MSC ships and ship not the cleanest. I am here and you are not.

Thanks for the information. This confirms my decision never to sail when school is out.

[CCC3]

Have about 7 or 8 MSC cruises under my belt since 2004 including two in summer in Western Med and this one is pretty bad crowdwise, I have kids myself but do not them run wild. Maybe a different demographic at work here but this is really really crowded and really really noisy. Food is mediocre compared to other MSC ships and ship not the cleanest. I am here and you are not.

 

 

I have looked at Divina. Is it anything like Splendida? And seriously...can you contact the hotel director about food & cleanliness? Those are two big deal breakers for me.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[CCC3]

Thanks for the information. This confirms my decision never to sail when school is out.

 

 

After cruising several times in the summer, DH and I took a cruise mid-January. Kids & college age were for the most part, back to school and we loved it! ❤️

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[resistk]

I have looked at Divina. Is it anything like Splendida? And seriously...can you contact the hotel director about food & cleanliness? Those are two big deal breakers for me.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Divina is a sister ship but newer and better kept up than Splendida.

[resistk]

Thanks for the information. This confirms my decision never to sail when school is out.

 

Mainly Italians and Spanish here. Lots of kids, pick another line and it won't be a problem, kids sail free on MSC. But this time, it is really too much.

[Rhea98]

I have looked at Divina. Is it anything like Splendida? And seriously...can you contact the hotel director about food & cleanliness? Those are two big deal breakers for me.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I have read many reviews of Divina. Each always noted how very clean she was. Please check into this before turning away from her.

 

Sent from my Nexus 9 using Tapatalk

[CCC3]

I have read many reviews of Divina. Each always noted how very clean she was. Please check into this before turning away from her.

 

Sent from my Nexus 9 using Tapatalk

 

 

Oh, I'm still looking!! I have two cruises booked with Royal at the moment...I need to enjoy those before booking more! [emoji7]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Two Wheels Only]

Lots of tatooed young men roving around.

 

How is the mere presence of young men with tattoos a problem? :rolleyes:

[Norwegian Cruiser 73]

Reminds of my 7 night cruise on the Jewel Of The Seas of RCCL from Rome/Civitavecchia to the Greek Islands in August last summer. My DH wanted to leave the ship after two days. No cruise is bad but this was the worst we ever had....much of the same issues as described by the OP here. The ships in the Med sail at full capacity during the summer and is full of Southern European families regardless of the line. If I'm gonna sail in the peak summer season it is in the MSC Yacht Club.

[Bra_BE2014]

Yes, tatooed young men are the worst [emoji23]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[resistk]

How is the mere presence of young men with tattoos a problem? :rolleyes:

 

It isn;t but there are tatoos and then there are ther home made ones,

[Two Wheels Only]

It isn;t but there are tatoos and then there are ther home made ones,

Aesthetics aside, what were the people actually DOING that was a problem?

[8420PR]

I sailed on Splendida in April this year, and thought both the ship, service, food and fellow passengers were great. However I don't remember kids being a problem (there were a few), but I would assume in the summer there are many more.

 

I hope your cruise gets better!

[MISTER 67]

We sailed on Divina last August and there were lots of kids but they were well behaved and for the most part not loud and rambunctious. Sailed again on her this past May with very few kids, not as crowded. We are sailing again on the Divina on Sept. 2 and there probably won't be many kids.

As far as long lines in the buffet, we never experience them as we are early risers and are usually the first ones up there, same with lunch. I have walked through the buffet around 2pm and it is quite crowded but I'm wondering if passengers don't know how far back in the ship the buffet goes, in fact it has a different name, Calumet in the front and Manitou in the back.

[ljandgb]

Could the lunch buffet line be an issue because Europeans tend to eat later? Lunch is usually 2-3:00pm for European restaurants. Perhaps going at noon might be an advantage.

 

We'll be on Splendida in 2 weeks. We'll see how it goes! Of course, we'll have our 4 kids so maybe we'll see things differently.

[Beamafar]

Could the lunch buffet line be an issue because Europeans tend to eat later? Lunch is usually 2-3:00pm for European restaurants. Perhaps going at noon might be an advantage.

We'll be on Splendida in 2 weeks. We'll see how it goes! Of course, we'll have our 4 kids so maybe we'll see things differently.

 

We usually head to the buffet at 12pm if we're going to lunch there - it's nice and quiet, the food is just being put out so it's at its best and hasn't been handled by too many people in the meantime. :)

 

Same applies to having lunch in the MDR in terms of quiet and availability of tables.

[CCC3]

On board this nightmare ship. Thousands of children verywhere jumping, spilling food, running around wild. Lots of tatooed young men roving around. Food spilled everywhere. Total chaos in all the venues, lines everywhere. Was a line at 3PM to get into the buffet for example. Ship at over capacity in my opinion. Noise level in dining room beyond anything I have ever experienced in over 40 cruises. Cabin was grubby and run down, more like a channel ferry than a cruise ship. MSC needs to put some limits, they can't keep up with these passengers who are sreaming, dropping foods, and clogging all the venues, Have been onMSC many times and have a black card and have never seen anything like this. It is like a scene from Dante here at times.

 

 

How are things going now? I'm hoping things are better, and that your cruise is turning into an amazing vacation. Update?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[JPR61]

Have about 7 or 8 MSC cruises under my belt since 2004 including two in summer in Western Med and this one is pretty bad crowdwise, I have kids myself but do not them run wild. Maybe a different demographic at work here but this is really really crowded and really really

 

noisy. Food is mediocre compared to other MSC ships and ship not the cleanest. I am here and you are not.

 

I've sailed with MSC 6 times, and 1 of them was a 20 night grand voyage and 2 more were 14 nights and I still don't have Black Status still only a Gold

[Beamafar]

I've sailed with MSC 6 times, and 1 of them was a 20 night grand voyage and 2 more were 14 nights and I still don't have Black Status still only a Gold

 

I made Black back in 2014 after cruise #7 with 5 x 7 night cruises and 2 x 11 night ones. It was the onboard spend that got me there at a time when you got 1 point for every €200 onboard spent (you now get a point for every €150 OBS). When Voyagers Club was introduced, MSC effectively dropped the number of points you get for a cruise, making it harder to accumulate the points needed to get to Black if you're not a big spender onboard. Also, now that a lot of cruise prices include drinks packages, the opportunity for onboard spend (by buying packages) and, therefore gaining points, is further reduced.

 

As a matter of interest, in the next few months I'll have reached 300 points - 3 x times the number needed to attain Black, and get nothing extra!

 

Apologies to the OP for going off-topic.