Currently on Splendida..

[RealNorwegianCruiser]

I am currently on Spendida with my 6 years old and wife. We joined from Istanbul. 

 

This is so far my least pleasant cruise experience..

 

Here is why (for now):

- Embarking in Istanbul was unorganized,  and it was very few signs from MSC in the harbour. Sad, since the port area is one of the most beautiful cruise ports I been to.

- Food. You get food. You dont leave hungry, but the quality is not very good. It lacks TASTE. The pizza is of course good, but you cant live on pizza for a whole 9 night long cruise.. The worst with this is that we are not very picky when it comes to food - believe it or not.

- Understaffed and stressed. Crew seems tired,  waiters keep forgetting parts of our ordens in MDR. Service is slower than on any other MSC cruise we been to..

- Sooo many russians. So many! You could almost rename the ship MSC Moscow! Last point is not only MSCs fault though. (Yeah,  I got an issue with ruzzians because of the Ukraine war..)

- Spendida starts to look tired. Poor old lady.. 

- Pools are very cold. Basically nobody uses them. (I am Norwegian. Im used to cold stuff...)

 

We got a new cruise with MSC coming up from Barcelona in October, and at this point I consider to cancel it. I would lose 800 EUR in deposits, but it would maybe be okay... Small price to pay based on this experience so far.

 

So all in all: cruising? Well.. more like a very good ferry ride..

 

(Im diamond/black, so its not my first experience with MSC).

 

 

 

 

 

 

[RealNorwegianCruiser]

My wife and son is very pleased with the onboard pastry.

[glentally]

7 hours ago, RealNorwegianCruiser said:

My wife and son is very pleased with the onboard pastry.

I can live off pastry for a few days. Any decent entertainment? Day or Night Deck Parties at sea?

[michelle028]

Please continue to post!! Sailing on Splendida in July. 

 

If you can, please post menus or food pics. 

 

Is your cruise going to Bari? Let me know if there are tours offered by locals when you get off the ship. I tried to find a cruise excursion for that port but I couldn't!

[RealNorwegianCruiser]

Today we are in Trieste. Nice place.

 

My wife had to leave the cruise today due to personal reasons, but my son and I Will stay on back to Istanbul. 

 

The disembarkion in Trieste can be summed up in one word: chaos! Since the ship arrived to the port much later than usual due to some wind, people qued up in the stairs with their luggage. Everyone tried of course to be first one off.. it seemed like the crew had no control! It worries me to be honest. I saw two dudes even start fighting. A good ol Spagetti Western... 

 

I am also surprised over how bad English skills many of the crew members got. My English is not the best either, but these guys STRUGGLE with communication. I pray to God that nothing serious happens while Im onboard, because that Will end really bad I am afraid.

 

Was on a show yesterday. Circus something something. It was ok for me, but boring for my 6 years old.

 

Service in MDR was faster tonight, but unfortunately I am still not impressed with the food. Sorry.. I wish I could be positive about more.

 

I Will finish on a positive note tonight though: Butchers Cut still great! I met a old "friend" from Meraviglia there as well: Elvis. Very friendly waiter.

 

Tomorrow sea day, then Katakolon, Pireaus, Kusadasi, and back to Istanbul. 

 

Btw: dont buy Fun Pass on Spendida. Only 4k cinema and two other game machines working.. 

 

Bari: easy to do on your own. Walkable from the ship unless you got health issues.

 

Parties: I was travelling with wife and kid, now travelling only with my kid. Im in bed around 22.. sorry. 

 

One more positive thing: everyone is very friendly towards my (sometimes) noisy six year old..

[michelle028]

4 hours ago, RealNorwegianCruiser said:

Today we are in Trieste. Nice place.

 

My wife had to leave the cruise today due to personal reasons, but my son and I Will stay on back to Istanbul. 

 

The disembarkion in Trieste can be summed up in one word: chaos! Since the ship arrived to the port much later than usual due to some wind, people qued up in the stairs with their luggage. Everyone tried of course to be first one off.. it seemed like the crew had no control! It worries me to be honest. I saw two dudes even start fighting. A good ol Spagetti Western... 

 

I am also surprised over how bad English skills many of the crew members got. My English is not the best either, but these guys STRUGGLE with communication. I pray to God that nothing serious happens while Im onboard, because that Will end really bad I am afraid.

 

Was on a show yesterday. Circus something something. It was ok for me, but boring for my 6 years old.

 

Service in MDR was faster tonight, but unfortunately I am still not impressed with the food. Sorry.. I wish I could be positive about more.

 

I Will finish on a positive note tonight though: Butchers Cut still great! I met a old "friend" from Meraviglia there as well: Elvis. Very friendly waiter.

 

Tomorrow sea day, then Katakolon, Pireaus, Kusadasi, and back to Istanbul. 

 

Btw: dont buy Fun Pass on Spendida. Only 4k cinema and two other game machines working.. 

 

Bari: easy to do on your own. Walkable from the ship unless you got health issues.

 

Parties: I was travelling with wife and kid, now travelling only with my kid. Im in bed around 22.. sorry. 

 

One more positive thing: everyone is very friendly towards my (sometimes) noisy six year old..

Thanks for taking the time to review!

 

 

Are you booking a cruise tour for Katakolon? I was researching and saw you could do an easy train to Olympia there and back on your own.

 

For Trieste,  what did you do there? I'm embarking from that location. But staying the night before.

 

Edited May 18, 2023 by michelle028

[Frode]

I note that Cruise Critic quite easily has removed my entry that I wrote yesterday, about Russian passengers - as well about the fact that MSC in these times of war (Russia's attack on Ukraine) should not allow Russians citizens on board their ships (Russians are actually barred from traveling into/within the EU).
I find this to be censorship from Cruise Critic.

 

// Rgds a former MSC employee (for 12 years, 2006-2018)

[mscdivina2016]

On 5/16/2023 at 6:01 AM, RealNorwegianCruiser said:

I am currently on Spendida with my 6 years old and wife. We joined from Istanbul. 

 

This is so far my least pleasant cruise experience..

 

Here is why (for now):

- Embarking in Istanbul was unorganized,  and it was very few signs from MSC in the harbour. Sad, since the port area is one of the most beautiful cruise ports I been to.

- Food. You get food. You dont leave hungry, but the quality is not very good. It lacks TASTE. The pizza is of course good, but you cant live on pizza for a whole 9 night long cruise.. The worst with this is that we are not very picky when it comes to food - believe it or not.

- Understaffed and stressed. Crew seems tired,  waiters keep forgetting parts of our ordens in MDR. Service is slower than on any other MSC cruise we been to..

- Sooo many russians. So many! You could almost rename the ship MSC Moscow! Last point is not only MSCs fault though. (Yeah,  I got an issue with ruzzians because of the Ukraine war..)

- Spendida starts to look tired. Poor old lady.. 

- Pools are very cold. Basically nobody uses them. (I am Norwegian. Im used to cold stuff...)

 

We got a new cruise with MSC coming up from Barcelona in October, and at this point I consider to cancel it. I would lose 800 EUR in deposits, but it would maybe be okay... Small price to pay based on this experience so far.

 

So all in all: cruising? Well.. more like a very good ferry ride..

 

(Im diamond/black, so its not my first experience with MSC).

 

 

 

 

 

 

I agree with what you posted.  I did 18 nights in Yacht club and got off in Trieste on May 1st. This was the worst MSC cruise I have been on and I have taken many. This was my 3rd this year. I started a post of my cruise and I did not post much as it would have been all negative.

 Even our YC room was small and the same size as most of the other rooms on the ship.

 

We did not have many Russians but many Italians. I am an American.

 

For the post asking about Trieste.  It was a nice town but it is actually very large. We stayed near the airport which is not close to the port, at a new hotel and had a very nice suite. We actually had the whole floor.

 We were there on a holiday and allot was closed.The port of Trieste is a warehouse basically. 

 

 For the post about entertainment. If you have sailed MSC, you probably have seen it already. Not impressed with massive use of video screens as back drop and scenery. I found them boring and walked out many times.  

 They have taken "B" singers and turned them into headliners. Having a white female sing Motown songs by some of the greatest African American female singers was just a joke. Never mind doing this for 35 minutes. Just her singing.

 They have an aft lounge that has a decent band that plays every night. If you like ballroom dancing this is the place until 11pm.

 Every night they went from groups of seated people asking what type of dance they would want.

 This was the best part of the cruise. Despite all on board, only about 4 couples danced so we had the whole floor.

 They did have them parties in there but not till real late. There was also deck things going on some nights.

 

 For the post that asked about Bari.

 

There is not allot to see or do. When you get off in this small area, you need to go under a main street thru a tunnel then up again for the town. There were two people holding signs for tours. That's it and they actually just walk you to a taxi and take a cut.

 There is a fort right there that you can hike up too. 6 Euro pp. You actually dock at a walled town with small streets many shops and eatery's.

[michelle028]

Good to know about Bari thank you

[michelle028]

On 5/16/2023 at 6:01 AM, RealNorwegianCruiser said:

I am currently on Spendida with my 6 years old and wife. We joined from Istanbul. 

 

This is so far my least pleasant cruise experience..

 

Here is why (for now):

- Embarking in Istanbul was unorganized,  and it was very few signs from MSC in the harbour. Sad, since the port area is one of the most beautiful cruise ports I been to.

- Food. You get food. You dont leave hungry, but the quality is not very good. It lacks TASTE. The pizza is of course good, but you cant live on pizza for a whole 9 night long cruise.. The worst with this is that we are not very picky when it comes to food - believe it or not.

- Understaffed and stressed. Crew seems tired,  waiters keep forgetting parts of our ordens in MDR. Service is slower than on any other MSC cruise we been to..

- Sooo many russians. So many! You could almost rename the ship MSC Moscow! Last point is not only MSCs fault though. (Yeah,  I got an issue with ruzzians because of the Ukraine war..)

- Spendida starts to look tired. Poor old lady.. 

- Pools are very cold. Basically nobody uses them. (I am Norwegian. Im used to cold stuff...)

 

We got a new cruise with MSC coming up from Barcelona in October, and at this point I consider to cancel it. I would lose 800 EUR in deposits, but it would maybe be okay... Small price to pay based on this experience so far.

 

So all in all: cruising? Well.. more like a very good ferry ride..

 

(Im diamond/black, so its not my first experience with MSC).

 

 

 

 

 

 

When you order food off the mdr menu do they charge extra if you order say more than 1 appetizer or dessert? 

 

 

 

I was on Royal earlier this year and they were actually encouraging us to try many different appetizers etc.

 

 

Let me know, I'm curious!

[RealNorwegianCruiser]

We normally order the todays risotto as starter, and we got ine more dessert one evening. We dont got extra charged. They can Just try..

 

Katakolon. Just got cancelled due to wind. Had no plans there anyway. Will be sea day instead. Thanks God for Ipad, since my 6 year old start to be a bit bored.

 

Trieste: due to my wifes personal issue, we had to get her to the bus station. Then I took my son to a toy store and bought him a lot of LEGO. That was expensive.. After that we had a good ice cream, walked a bit around and looked at buildings.

 

Yesterday was sea day. We basically stayed half of the day in the jacuzis in the back of the ship. Less crowded there.. We ate ice creams, and mock cocktails. That was fun for my son. 

The watch on my Phone regulated itself after the cellphone network, so my son and I had Albanian time. Not ship time. Therefore we missed dinner in MDR. No big deal, better choice of food in the buffé. And since it was elegant night and my son wanted to wear his Guns'n Roses tskirt, it felt allright to go to the buffét. I pick my fights with the kid carefully this vacation, and choice of tskirt is not a fight I care to take..

 

Thats all for now. Pireaus/Athens tomorrow. Since its Just my kid and me, we need to do some kid friendly stuff. Rearrange plans in other words. I heard a rumor about a war ship you can visit, so I Will google that now.

 

Frode: freedom of speech.. what to say...........?

[RealNorwegianCruiser]

And no: you cant Just walk off the ship if you are unhappy about the cruise, or in my wifes case a personal issue. You need to fill out a form. "Break of voyage declaration". Then the ship inform local authorities etc.. THEN you can walk off. 

 

.. No rage quitting here, my friends! 😀

[glentally]

On 5/17/2023 at 6:50 PM, michelle028 said:

Please continue to post!! Sailing on Splendida in July. 

 

I'm on the July 2nd to the 11 th and dying to hear something / anything about the ship.  What date is your sailing Michelle?

 

Edited May 23, 2023 by glentally

[michelle028]

5 hours ago, glentally said:

 

I'm after you!! It's definitely nice to read about current sailings on Splendida.  I find it hard to find updated reviews online compared to ships that sail in North America. 

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

On 5/18/2023 at 2:30 PM, RealNorwegianCruiser said:

My wife had to leave the cruise today due to personal reasons, but my son and I Will stay on back to Istanbul.

Recommend you check with Reception that you're only being charged the daily service charge for 2 passengers, not 3.

 

We decided to depart MSC Seaview a few days early back in 2021 and had to complete the same form.

 

I was on MSC Splendida last month out of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and did not notice the crew being overly tired or unable to converse in English. They likely changed out a lot of crew in Istanbul.

[bobnjeff]

On 5/20/2023 at 12:08 AM, michelle028 said:

When you order food off the mdr menu do they charge extra if you order say more than 1 appetizer or dessert? 

 

 

 

I was on Royal earlier this year and they were actually encouraging us to try many different appetizers etc.

 

 

Let me know, I'm curious!

We’re on the Preziosa right now. You can order multiple appetizers and entrees and desserts at no extra charge. Food has been excellent. Beautiful ship. Zero complaints. Our first cruises on MSC. We are on the second of two B2B. We’ve been on over 40 cruises mostly on Celebrity and Royal but including Cunard and P&O. MSC currently is as good as Celebrity was many years ago when they were a truly fantastic company. Our December cruise on Celebrity was awful. 

[bobnjeff]

On 5/24/2023 at 3:45 AM, michelle028 said:

I'm after you!! It's definitely nice to read about current sailings on Splendida.  I find it hard to find updated reviews online compared to ships that sail in North America. 

We are currently on the Preziosa. Second of two cruises B2B. Absolutely wonderful cruises. Zero complaints. We’re very experienced cruisers having done over 40 mostly on Celebrity and Royal. We took Royal to get to these cruises and we sailed on Celebrity in December. MSC is leaps and bounds better than either. Beautiful ships, superb food, entertainment that is 10 times better than anything on any ship we’ve sailed. The crew onboard are truly incredible, amazing, excellent! Celebrity used to be almost this good many years ago but they have gone downhill dramatically. Forget about Royal. They have cut so many corners and pinched pennies so much it’s like the Walmart of cruise lines. 

[michelle028]

3 hours ago, bobnjeff said:

We’re on the Preziosa right now. You can order multiple appetizers and entrees and desserts at no extra charge. Food has been excellent. Beautiful ship. Zero complaints. Our first cruises on MSC. We are on the second of two B2B. We’ve been on over 40 cruises mostly on Celebrity and Royal but including Cunard and P&O. MSC currently is as good as Celebrity was many years ago when they were a truly fantastic company. Our December cruise on Celebrity was awful. 

Thank you! 😊  especially for the positive review!

[bobnjeff]

1 hour ago, michelle028 said:

Thank you! 😊  especially for the positive review!

We read a lot of negative reviews about MSC but decided to give it a try anyway. So, so so glad we did. We are on the Splendida next April from Cape Town to Genoa. Can’t wait!

[RealNorwegianCruiser]

6 hours ago, bobnjeff said:

We are currently on the Preziosa. Second of two cruises B2B. Absolutely wonderful cruises. Zero complaints. We’re very experienced cruisers having done over 40 mostly on Celebrity and Royal. We took Royal to get to these cruises and we sailed on Celebrity in December. MSC is leaps and bounds better than either. Beautiful ships, superb food, entertainment that is 10 times better than anything on any ship we’ve sailed. The crew onboard are truly incredible, amazing, excellent! Celebrity used to be almost this good many years ago but they have gone downhill dramatically. Forget about Royal. They have cut so many corners and pinched pennies so much it’s like the Walmart of cruise lines. 

 

If Royal has turned into Walbart of cruise lines, I am really curious what MSC is. Lidl? 🙂

[RealNorwegianCruiser]

So, on Tuesday my son and I disembarked in Istanbul. A 9 night long cruise was over for this time.

 

Again it was chaos on disembarkion. Rowdy passengers, and very little control by MSC. A passenger was even screaming to one of the security officers, and no actions by MSC. The whole situation was close to out of control. Yes it happens because the cruise guests doesnt follow the rules, but when noone enforce the rules, people dont care.

 

Istanbul is fantastic as always! We stayed in Hagia Sofia Mansions Istanbul, Curio Collection by Hilton, for 1 night before we flew back home to Norway. A very good experience! The staff was very child friendly, and he hotel itself was lovely quirky! It might be one of my new favorite hotels! Walkable to Hagia Sofia, Blue Mosque, and Grand Bazaar. A smart choice if you got limited time in Istanbul, and want to see many of the historical gems.

 

We got a upcoming cruise with MSC in October. This time from Bacelona, and with MSC Seaview. It will be our 5th cruise with MSC since its already paid in fully. One land based vacation on Gran Canaria after that.

 

Will that be the last MSC cruise for a while? Who knows. Maybe this Splendida cruise was just the one rotten apple. We might get impressed again. But this time I will not do what I normally do when I am back from a cruise: Be looking for a new cruise deal with MSC.. Because, well, because we are on a break! Its not you, its me. I just expect more..

 

[RealNorwegianCruiser]

Walbart = Walmart.

[michelle028]

Quick question...do they have snacks available outside of the buffet ie near Pool bar on the Splendida? Like fries etc

[mscdivina2016]

19 hours ago, michelle028 said:

Quick question...do they have snacks available outside of the buffet ie near Pool bar on the Splendida? Like fries etc

Yes they had burgers,fries and other things just before you leave the pool deck heading towards the buffet itself

[CruisingFox27]

On 5/18/2023 at 11:37 PM, michelle028 said:

Thanks for taking the time to review!

 

 

Are you booking a cruise tour for Katakolon? I was researching and saw you could do an easy train to Olympia there and back on your own.

 

For Trieste,  what did you do there? I'm embarking from that location. But staying the night before.

 

 

We are embarking Splendida in Trieste in October, how did you find it? Trieste not Splendida, we've sailed on her 3 times so know she is lovely 🙂 Did you fly to Trieste or Venice?