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Sunday 7th September 2008

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What great value for money!
Reviewed By: Barber, Salisbury on 26th Jul 2008
Cruise Line: MSC Cruises	Times cruised before: 3-5
Cruise Ship: MSC Rhapsody	Sailed: July, 2008
Destination: Mediterranean	Age: 56-65

My wife spotted a late deal on the MSC Rhapsody - 7 nights Western Italy taking in Scicily Malta Tunis and Sardinia. Sounded great - and it really was! Having cruised on much larger ships we aligned our expectations to the Rhapsody - it was smaller yes, but in no way did MSC relax their brand values. Service, food and attention to detail were excellent. From the special check-in at Gatwick (BA) to the on-board courtesy, we have only praise for MSC. We've read so much rubbish about Italian cruise ships 'only serving pasta' - the food was varied and dinner usually consisted of 6 courses if you really wanted to indulge yourself - wines and drinks in general were expensive, not helped by the weak £GB to Euro exchange rate. Regarding the itinerary, the excursions were adequate (places ticked all the boxes) and covered a variety of languages - bearing in mind that MSC's first language is Italian, they have this aspect well covered. Tour guides were great. Everything ran to time. We even made an unscheduled evening stop (anchored off Portofino) and tenders took us in to this fabulous millionaire's haven - it really was a delight. Cabins were a little on the tight side - but this is a cruise ship not a resort hotel! Our cabin towels were changed twice daily and the friendly cabin staff constantly refreshed the general tidiness. No problems there. Good hanging and storage space for suitcases etc. Entertainment on board was 'a bit Italian' but the entertainment Director and his team were great guys - they had the right balance of involving the audience without offending those who did not wish to 'take part' - music / shows etc adequate to good. Overall it was a terrific holiday - we packed in so much (our choice) into 7 days it felt like we had been away much longer. Well done MSC !
Quality of Food
Meridian restaurant - varied dinner menu Occasional lunch
Entertainment

Shore Excursions
Pompey - excellent Sardinia coast Tunisia - Carthage
Staff
Alex - Cabin Attendant Enzo - Meridian Restaurant Waiter
Children's Facilities	n/a

Onboard Activities

Cabins
The key word is Expectations - we were not expecting something aligned to a mega-liner
Overall Rating

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Comment by cullinane, cork (28 Jul 08 14:08) about this REVIEW.

Thanks a lot for this review,its just what i wanted to hear,nearly all the reviews on MSC are very negative. I know from experience that there are some people who just love to have a moan,but you are the second person to have enjoyed your cruise on this ship. We will be on this ship for 22 nights & that is why i am so anxious. with baggage restrictions its unfortunate that I have to bring a hairdrier & travelling iron, it would have been great if they were there,anyway I am looking forward to our cruise & the fact that it is a smaller ship actually appeals to me.We have an outside cabin on deck 4 but we have not been given the no.yet. thanks again,Olive cullinane

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