First time cruiser on the DE £10 cruise deal.

My first impressions of the ship were how clean and gleaming everything was. The Melody has just undergone a re-fit, so there were new carpets and furnishings throughout. Having seen ratings of 2.5 stars on some websites I was very pleasently suprised.

Embarkation and debarkation were a breeze probably because of the small size of the boat.

The cabin (R22) was larger than I thought it would be, with sofa (sofabed), easy chair, double bed, one bunk and plenty of space for clothes. The bathroom had also been refitted with shower, basin and toilet, plenty of clean towels (changed several times a day). We were upgraded from inside grade 5 to this outside grade 8. Fruit, shampoo, shower gel etc were supplied, Water was also provided but costs 2.10 euros.

The ship itself is now some 30 years old and is small compared to many of the others we docked by, but there is quite a bit of deck space. The sunbed race takes place at about 9.30am, but as soon as you hit port there's plenty of space and it's much quieter. The two pools were not widely used as they seemed too cold (it was early May).

Food aboard was excellent for the ship category and cost, even if I had paid the full price, there was nothing to complain about. Dress code was relaxed, Most people were smart, but even on Gala nights nothing seemed enforced. Food quality and choice were good with steak, chicken or pasta always available if you didn't fancy anything on the main menu. Wine was around 20 euros or a package was available for 99 euros for the week. However, the wine selection from the package seemed to be substituted for house wine unless you asked specifically. Gala night was excellent with Lobster etc.

Lunch was buffet in the terrace or more formal in the main dinning room. This was the usual buffet fayre, but a good choice. Midnight buffets and breakfast were also good.

The staff aboard were polite, efficient and friendly. My only minor complaint was that the cabin staff ignored the do not disturb a few too many times. Also, at one point were were disturbed in our sleep by the captin and five stewards coming into the room unannounced to inspect the bathroom floor for an unexplained reason. But that was a minor incident and the other staff more than made up for that. Our waiter service deserved special praise, Nello was charming, hysterical and very generous with the wine!

Entertainment isn't a high point and is fairly simple, don't expect broadway. The DJ seemed to want to impress the younger people, the 60's/70's/80's night consisted of bizare Itailian europop.

Overall, It was a very good experience, there was no hard selling what-so-ever on anything. Everything is relaxed and easygoing. Staff seemed eager to help. I'd have happily paid the internet prices.

If you expectations are six storey shopping malls, Las Vegas entertainment and world class dining then it's not going to be your kind of thing. I'd read some really bad reviews before I travelled on Melody but my cruise exceeded all my expectations. It's quite old fashioned, but I believe in a very good way.

This holiday was booked via a much discussed promotion in the Daily Express,it was my first time on a cruise so I had no idea what to expect, but heres how it all went.
My flight was from Gatwick on Sunday 15th with Easyjet, the day before the cruise set sail. Check in at Gatwick with Easyjet was a bit of a nightmare as there was huge queues, but once my cases were checked in I met up with another HT member(Maggie), and we were soon boarding. Easyjet does not book seat numbers, you find your own seat on the plane, but we both managed to get extra legroom seats at the front of the plane which I would recommend. The flight took off on time and was very smooth. Once at Linate airport I phoned up the hotel I had booked to stay in and they picked me up at arrivals. I stayed overnight in the Country Hotel Borromeo which is close to the airport, reasonably priced and is a lovely hotel, which also offers free transfers to and from Linate airport. I would totally recommend this hotel for future Melody travellers needing an overnight stay. After a good nights sleep I was back at Linate airport to meet the MSC rep and be transfered to the Melody. The rep in red jacket with MSC board was there at 10oclock as promised and was expecting us. We were told that the transfer bus would not be leaving till 11 as there was another flight to wait for. By 11 I was on an air conditioned coach heading for Genoa. The drive was a a lovely one cutting through the mountains with some nice scenery. We arrived in Genoa at 1pm. Boarding the ship was quick and efficient, we were told just to leave the coach and cases would be in our rooms when we boarded. After a welcome glass of wine we boarded. In the boarding area there are MSC staff selling a wine package of 7 bottles of wine to be taken at Dinner (one each day) for 99euros. I did not buy this , but it is probably quite a good deal, especially if 2 people are sharing and saves you worrying about ordering wine each day. I was very impressed with check in procedures and by 1.30pm I was in my cabin , my case already there and was forming my first impressions of the ship. Having originally been booked in a cat5 inside cabin on Bahamas deck, I found myself upgraded to a cat9 outside cabin on Continental deck which was a pleasant suprise. My cabin was spacious with a double bed, 3 seat sofa and chair coffee table and lots of wardrobe and drawer space. It also had a bath and shower in a decent size bathroom. The furnishings were all clean and looked fairly new. I had no complaints at all about the cabin it was spotless and had all the usual hotel complimentry bits, bowl of fruit , bucket of ice , shampoo, soap , sewing kit etc. After freshening up I met with a fellow HT member(maggie) to have a look around the ship.We headed for the satelite cafe where the free wine was flowing as we set sail from Genoa, drink as much of it as you can as after this it will have to be paid for. After several glasses of wine I joined the sail away party by the Calypso pool where there was lots of dancing and partying with the ents crew.And so was the start of a great holiday......
We booked up a table for dinner, this is done in Club Universe after you have boarded. You are able to choose 1st or 2nd sitting and the nationality and size of your table. We chose 2nd sitting , but I would recommend others to choose 1st sitting as otherwise you will not start and finish eating till very late.

FOOD... The quality of the food on board varied. Breakfast,Lunch and Dinner in the resteraunt were absolutely superb, as good as any 5 star hotel I have stayed in. My only one complaint was once I asked for my steak rare and it arrived well done, the second time I ordered it rare I got it rare though. The breakfast and lunch buffets in the satelite cafe were fine but nothing special just typical hotel buffets but were handy for nipping in for a quick feed without all the formalities of the resteraunt. The midnight buffet was ok for a snack late at night but nothing to write home about, being on the 2nd dinner sittting I didnt bother much as I was not hungary as dinner(7 courses) did not finish till about 1030pm.

DRINK... I thought the drinks on board were fairly priced. 3e20 for a large beer, 3e for a glass of wine , 4e20 for spirit and mixer 2e10 for a soft drink. All are charged to your cabin and paid for at the end of the week so it is easy to get carried away.

ENTERTAINMENTS.... There were shows on every night in the Club Universe, ranging from dancing, singing and UV puppet shows (worth seeing) to magic and contortionists. In the Junkanoo lounge there is an Italian duo singing every night(very popular with the italians, apparantly they are quite well known in Italy). As well as this there are 2 singer/piano players who alternate between the riviera terrace and the blue riband pub. The blue riband pub became the main meeting place for the Brits on board with a late bar and singing and piano , it was a good place to have a conversation with some background music. We ended up there most nights and were always the last to leave, sometimes under orders from the captain. There is also a disco, which was dead the first few nights of the cruise. One night we went in though and it was full of young Italian men who by the end of the night were all kissing and cuddling each other. The one night it was busy in the disco was Sat night for the 60s,70s 80s party.
I didnt tkae part much in the daytime entertainment , as I was either in port or sunbathing during the day, there did seem to be plenty organised though if thats your thing.

SHIP STAFF... The ship has an international crew and apart from Ayesha the English hostess you are unlikely to meet any whose English is that good. Having said that they all seemed eager to please and worked hard with a smile... APART from the 2 security guards who walk round the ship together looking as if world war 3 is about to break out... If any future cruisers can bring back a photo of them smiling I will buy them a beer. Ayesha is a fantastic girl, who always seemed to be around making sure everything was ok, she did ask me how many more HT passengers were coming and I told her about 6 a week for the next 16 weeks, I did have to feel sorry for her, what with CUNARDQUEEN and the rest of HTers the week before and us this week , the poor girl has to face another 4 months of us.

SHIP CLEANLINESS.... I found the ship and my room kept very clean throughout the week. Staff were always sweeping polishing and cleaning tables.

ITENARY... Just a quick rundown of what I thought
Naples....absolute dump,full of mad Italian drivers
Malta.....very nice, lots of old sandstonebuildings
Tunis....to hungover to remember...v hot though
Ibiza... absolutely lovely clean , nice shops
St Tropez... THE BEST lots of very rich people , designer clothes shops. You can take a boat trip from the harbour for a 1 hour trip looking at all the houses of the rich and famous, only 8 euros, recommended.
I cannot comment on any of the MSC excursions as I did not take them, but those I spoke to that did seemed to enjoy them.

OVERALL.... A totally enjoyable holiday enhanced by all the nice people and characters I met aboard. I would not hesitate to use the Melody again, possibly on a Carribean cruise though. It is a good value for money FUN cruise.

Pat

I enjoyed most of my cruise, though not when things went wrong (as happened quite frequently). However, I should stress that most people I spoke to would cruise on the Melody again, though those were mainly first-time cruisers. Only one lady who had cruised on other ships would use the Melody again, the others wouldn't.

Service in the restaurant wasn't up to scratch on the first sitting on some tables, and if you went to the main entertainment each evening (which I did), you weren't out of the restaurant in time to get the good seats - and you can't see much from the back.

The ship itself had all the facilities most cruisers would need, and bearing in mind that it's rated at 2.5* it's good value for money if you get a discounted price.

The fruit carvings, usually done daily, are excellent - there is a deeply artistic man who also does a demo later in the week. Well worth going to.

The excursions were excellent. I did the Capri one, and opted for the chairlift to the top of the mountain - if you love beautiful scenery you'll adore this trip - well worth the extra 6 euros. I took lots of pics. The historical and cultural tour of Tunis was fascinating, and I was glad I decided on it. I also did the island tour of Ibiza - again, extremely beautiful and well worth stopping for pics. St Tropez was lovely too, the Port Grimaud and Ramatuelle excursion doesn't sound interesting, it's one that you have to go on to appreciate that it's more than worth while. Again, loads of pics.

Overall, I'm glad I did this cruise, especially as it was with the Daily Express £10 offer and so I didn't pay much for it. There was lots of fun and good times among the negativity.

I went on the Daily Express £10 cruise and that is all I paid. The travel arrangements went well. I travelled BA from Heathrow and a rep met us at Linate and the transfer went smoothly. The same goes for the return.

I was upgraded from inside Bahamas to inside Premier deck and had a small cabin with a small double bed - adequate for one. Usually, I travel cheapest inside single on the QE2 but this cabin was better. The cabin and the ship as a whole were very clean and the staff very pleasant.

My grading for entertainment is based on one show so it is probably not a fair comment. I ate mostly in the restaurant as it was half term in Italy and the ship was full. I tried the self service once but gave up because of the noise and the queue. The table for the restaurant was booked before we even got on the ship and I sat with other British people. Our table were not really into the entertainment but we did like the pianist in the Blue Ribband bar.

I only went on one excursion in Tunis. Naples and Valetta I had been to before. The one place that surprised me was Ibitha. We were ashore until 10pm and it was quiet - not at all what I expected. There was one anchor point - in San Tropez and, luckily, the weather weas calm.

The staff were very polite and friendly. A young lad from Bali who was pouring the tea asked me where I came from in England. When I told him Southampton he said "Your football team went down!"

Most of the time it did not feel as if you were moving but there were a couple of rough nights. It is a ship I would sail on again but, for one, it would be rather expensive for the cabin I was in.

There was house wine at 6 euros a half litre for dinner which I thought was good value. Tea and coffee had to be paid for in the bars during the day but it was free if you had room service. You had to pay for food if you had room service.

I had a very enjoyable week and now need a week to get over the late nights.

I see that there are a lot of detailed reviews about this ship. I sailed with my dad on a Med. cruise which took in Tunisia, France, Spain, Italy. All I have to add is that she is friendly, not too big as to be impersonal and our waiter ALWAYS, remembered that I like my red meat blue. Fantastic.