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The Italian experiance
Reviewed By: Phillips, St Albans on 18th Aug 2008
Cruise Line: MSC Cruises	Times cruised before: 6-10
Cruise Ship: MSC POESIA	Sailed: August, 2008
Destination: Mediterranean	Age: 46-55

Having just returned from a weeks cruise on the MSC Posia I felt I should reassure prospective cruisers who may be thinking of booking a cruise with MSC The ship is magnificent as you would expect as is virtually brand new The public areas are spotless and are cleaned 24 hrs a day Our cabin was with balcony as with other ships they are not huge but we could sit out on it read a book etc and whatch the meditteranean sea at its best The cabin in our opinion was one of the nicest we had ever stayed in and we have completed 8 cruises with several different cruise companies We enjoyed the nightly shows even though they were aimed more towards the majority of the passengers ie italian members and we found the music on board varied and pleasant apart from the DJ who during a under the stars party was busy mixing tracks which got on my nerves I guess I am too old!! There were midnight eating events every night of some description but because we were on the 2nd seating which started a little late at 9.30pm we had no interest in these as we had just finished dinner an hour or so earlier The food although started off as adequate we found improved through the week and although could be hotter I would say was good but I guess could be a little better That said it was plentyful and we found the service excellent as we had a great waiter who was very helpful letc The sun decks were clean with generally plenty of sunbeds As with any holiday there are downsides and I think its up to the individual how big a deal you want to make of it to either shrug it off or let it ruin your holiday However here are our downsides There was little or no information on the ports of call if as we did you wanted to make your own way through the ports of call The cost of excursions were very expensive The cost of drinks on board were as expensive as on land and dearer than most places in the UK Also there are few complimentary drinks/ice creams available during the day and at meal times Infact even though tea and coffee are available during lunch Buffet thet are not easy to find the bar were they are available along with free glasses of water The only TV channel worth while in the cabin is Sky News and with news at the moment being rather depressing it would be nice if there was an entertainment channel as well in English as exists for the Italian,Franch and German passengers There is a film service but again to watch a film costs 12.90 euros As with most cruise companies there were no free films even though these may be a little older than available on the Posia Although there were activities during the day and to be fair the entertainment team did their best to encourage passengers to get involved most of the time we did not have a clue what was going on except for the daily news letter but this at times was confusing as there was little explaination in English when these events were taking part We were ok with the fact that the ship is geared very much towards the Italian market and you have to be prepared to understand this and if you should have a small issue the reception are not over helpful that said there was an English Hostess who was very helpful and was available every day Infact idf you have stayed in an I alian resort this Posia is a simular experiance Over priced extras but lovely and charming at the same time and manic with loads of kids(That said we were on board the middle of Europes summer holidays) The question is would we rebook with MSC and the answer is yes however we would take some sort of media player for the cabin and prepare more ref the ports of call rather than struggle to find information once we had docked
Quality of Food
We ate in the buffet for breakfast and lunch and the restaurant in the evening
Entertainment
The best show was the last one Sin City a Las Vegas style show To be honest all the shows were good especially the male Tenor who had a great voice
Shore Excursions	n/a

Staff
The waiter who was freindly helpful etc
Children's Facilities	n/a

Onboard Activities
Yes there was plenty to do but not a lot of explaination in English
Cabins
We had a lovely cabin on 11th deck
Overall Rating

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Comment by Smith, Chopwell, Newcastle upon Tyne (15 Oct 08 11:31) about this REVIEW.

I was very relieved to read this review, as my husband and I have booked to go on an Easter cruise on Poesia next April for 11 nights and, after reading other reviews, I began to feel sick and wished we hadn't booked! I hope the food improves before we cruise next April - there is no excuse for poor food. We have cruised several times with P&O both in the mediterranean and the Caribbean and have always had great food, entertainment etc. This will be our first time with another cruise line. Fingers crossed!!!

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Question by JONES, WALLSEND (01 Oct 08 09:06) about this REVIEW.

I have read a couple of reviews regarding sewage smells? I have just booked a cabin on deck 11 where you on the port side or starboard side, did you notice any unpleasant smells? Thanks

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Answer by Phillips, Bricket Wood (02 Oct 08 09:09) to a QUESTION by JONES (01 Oct 08 09:06)

Hi There We had no problem with smells We had two cabins as we had two of our daughters with us and we we had one cabin on each side of the ship I was also aware of the complaint so I checked immediately on the balconies as I said we had no problem

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Comment by JONES, WALLSEND (23 Oct 08 09:03) about an ANSWER by Phillips (02 Oct 08 09:09)

Thanks you that is a relief as I have booked the Easter cruise on Poesia and was trying to cancel as the reviews where not that impressive, having found that difficult to do we had resigned ourselves not to use the balcony

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Comment by Holmes, Abingdon (20 Aug 08 17:47) about this REVIEW.

I'm happy to see this review, we're booked on the MSC Opera in Oct and I will report back here after that event! If you look at MSC reviews, they tended to be not-so-good a few years ago, but have markedly improved of late. (The point about expensive excursions does still get made, BUT if you look at cruise lines they ALL get the same point made!) Re the 'port info' issue, we always do some advance research for any holiday (cruise or not), to be better prepared about exploring on our own. It's hardly rocket science, most libraries have relevant books (don't take them with you!!) and the internet has masses of info. We're already considering pre-booking a car for a day at one of the places we're going on the Opera. As for a predominantly Italian pssenger list, so be it. Some will speak some English, most will be nice people. I've been on cruises where after a couple of days I fervently wished I had a good excuse NOT to talk to (some of) the British people on our table, so this could be a an advantage!

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Question by Graham, Crosslee, Houston (20 Aug 08 09:30) about this REVIEW.

Have you ever tried Island Cruises and if yes, how did it compare with MSC?

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Answer by Phillips, Bricket Wood (20 Aug 08 10:07) to a QUESTION by Graham (20 Aug 08 09:30)

Hi Graham yes the first cruise we did was with Island cruises These are aimed at the English Passenger MSCwas a better standard although it was our first Island cruise that got us hooked into cruising MSC sits in my opinion between Ocean Village and Princess cruising so I guess 3-4 star rather than 4 star Just be aware that the boat is full of Italians and very few English speaking people Regards Stephen

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