My wife and I recently took a cruise on the MSC Opera from Dover to the Norwegian fjords. (25 June to 6 July)

While the itinerary and the on-board entertainment staff were excellent there were a number of fairly major points which will ensure that we never use this company again.

A significant number of staff in the self-service restaurant were ill-mannered when serving customers, however given their treatment by their supervisors it was obvious that they were treating customers in the same manner as they were treated.

I held a door open for a waiter with a tray of dirty dishes to pass though, there was no acknowledgment from the staff member, no thank you or even a smile, I was totally ignored. You were expected to step out of the way of staff walking around and through the self-service restaurant.

On receiving a drink which had the wrong content, martini and not white wine, the bar tender refused to accept that he had poured the drink from the wrong bottle and would not replace it.

On every other cruise I have been on, food has been available for most of the day – not so on the MSC Opera. They stop serving breakfast at 10 am and don’t start lunch until 12 noon. There is no food available if you sleep on. Not even a roll or bread.

Not that a “long lie in” in the morning was something that was easily achieved. Our stateroom attendant called our room on 4 separate occasions and hung up when we answered – we had the do not disturb sign in place on three occasions and on one he called at 7:40pm to see if the cabin was free for cleaning – we were on late sitting (8.30)

The staff on hand when embarking the ship were more interested in talking on the phone than assisting new clients to find their rooms.

The bar hours in the disco were set to suit the staff not the customers. Some nights if the officers were in the disco the bar was open until 3am, other nights it closed at 1:45 if there were no officers about, even although there were a few customers.

One of the big “no no’s” of cruising relates to throwing cigarette ends over board. We were reminded of this in the literature and in the Capitan’s address. However, the officers obviously work from a different set of rules. We witnessed two of the ships officers directly after the last “draw” throwing their cigarette ends overboard from deck 12.

The Italian guests on board, at a guess about 50% of the total guests, have no concept of “waiting their turn” or queuing. They were in the main, loud and ignorant.

When requesting the reimbursement of gratuities, I was informed that this was not possible, they had to be paid. I was then informed that they could be reduced by half but not removed from my on-board account. I was told that the information I had received from my travel agent was wrong. I returned to my cabin, fetched the conditions booklet issued by MSC and produced it for the customer services staff. Her response was that her supervisor was not around and she noted my complaint and cabin details stating that someone would phone me in my stateroom or write to me. No call, no letter.

As well as those fairly major points the minor things which one gets use to on cruises and were missed on this ship include:-

The chocolate of the pillow
The odd “towel” animal
A robe in your stateroom
A sail-away party
Entertainment on deck when leaving port
The welcome back onboard greeting when you arrive back to the ship
A smile from the staff
The sight of officers walking about the ship (except in the disco at 2am)

our first cruise experience lovely ship friendly cabin staff dissappointing entertainment would choose english cruise next time lovely unforgetable experience thanks to my lovely husband

about a mouth ago my family and I sailed on the MSN Opera
it was the time of our lives even though we've been on a though msc cruises before but on slighty bigger ,newer ships, we still found it exciting and amazing.

the cleanliness is the best always someone clean the lifts on stair case. the cabin was always tidy and the cabin stewards were so friendly and helpful.

the food was great, always something if your feeling peekish i cannot understand people going on italian cruise and expecting english food i think it makes a lovely change to have different meals i really did enjoy the food :)

The entertainments team were just WOW i loved them such nice cheeery people and considering the hours they work to keep those gourgous smiles on their faces was just heartwarming. Scherice Jonker,Zenon Michael Jagiela ,caron and Andre just made my hoilday complete because we were insuch a big group it was nice having the entertainment team there to have a giggle with.
the shows were very good they wernt on very much but still there was a lot of other things to do.

the casino my family and I loveed it in there and the lovely lady working behind the bar i chatted to her every night real lovely lady .

Midnight buffet magnifica Was just simply W O W

the late night disco was fun but the music wasnt very good but the other people loved it so its not too bad

the only only only downside is the service charge but otherwise i think this was one of the best cruise and defornetly recommonend it to other people x

My wife and I boarded the ship at Dover which went very smoothly.All staff were very helpful throughout the trip.Food was good,the wine waiter couldn't seem to understand that white wine is served cold but the waiters were very good and mainly cheerful.On board entertainment left a lot to be desired with what seemed to be staff doubling up as entertainers.Excursions were very expensive and generally it paid to do your own thing.Drinks were far to expensive and then to add 15% service charge on top plus a charge for tips at the end of the cruise was adding insult to injury.MSC seems to be run with accountants in mind rather than customers.We have cruised before but wouldn't return to MSC which is a shame because the MSC Opera is a beautiful ship

ship cleanliness
the ship cleanliness was excelant!as we were walking up the banasters staff were cleaning behaind us. there wasn't a finger mark anywere.
ship food
the ship food was generally good exept there was not alot of choice for the children. on the formal night they have a special menu, so my daughter struggled to find something to eat. this is out 3rd cruise and on the other 3 cruises there was 24hour food service but on the opera there was not. the pizza and grill was open from 12pm til 4pm. then 1st sittings was at 6.15.
ship staff
the ship staff was very friendly and polite. our own waiter always very polite and officent. my friends son is disabbled and needs his food cut up, and our waiter reconised this and did it without even being requested to!
onboard entertainment
the on board entertainment was not to good. there was 2 shows on every night but the entertainment was often a bit boring. we had 5 days at sea and there wasn't much to do for the children, they were 10, 14 and 15, and the only clubs were at 3.00pm for about an hour. (although there was a club on all day but that was for the younger children.)
overall
overall it was the worst cruise we have been on but still was very enjoyable. the company was just let down by there entertainment.

This was our first cruise experience.

Our flight arrived in Venice around 2:30pm, the ship sailed at 4pm so we were a little worried about “missing the boat”. This proved unfounded as we were greeted by MSC placard wavers and whisked away by coach to the departures area, and in no time we were onboard. Luggage arrived outside our cabin door within an hour or so. I got the feeling that arriving quite late was an advantage as there were no queues whatsoever during the embarkation process. I have read that it can take a couple of hours to board at the busier times.

Cabin - 10147 : Inside on Turandot deck.
Clean, compact and functional. Shower area is small but you could always leave the curtain back for more elbow room. Decent size wardrobe with hangers, drawers, underbed space, etc. meant you could clear the luggage away. Safe behind corner mirror. Tv has webcam view from bow so easy to see what the weather was doing, also ship channels with progress map, weather report, speed, safety stuff, etc. TV channels in English were BBC World, Euronews, and one movie channel.

Service
Excellent, all our dealings proved to be quick, efficient and friendly. Our dining table waiter was very efficient and was always keen to “have a laugh” with us. Bar staff were always willing to have a chat and were very helpful. Cabin staff were in and out all day, every time we returned they’d made the bed, replaced towels, and so on.
The staff represent a multitude of nations, we met Indian, Phillipino, Russian, Bulgarian, Romanian, West Indian, and so on. The managerial staff were mostly Italian.
Data sheets every afternoon/evening give information about the ports of call and all the onboard activities, food times, bar hours, and so on.

Food
A very good standard across the board, dinner being particularly good. This was what I remember of the food schedule:-
0700-1000 Breakfast – buffet style – Continental, Full English, Scandinavian, etc.
1200-1400 Lunch – served or buffet style – take your pick – massive selection.
1200-1800 Pizza/Grill – hand made pizza, chicken, fish, beef, salads, fries, a daily special pasta etc.
1600-1700 Tea, sandwiches, cakes, biscuits.
1900 & 2100 – main dinner sittings – 6 courses(or less if you want!) – typically three appetisers, a salad, two soups, a risotto or pasta course, four mains, and several sweets. The menu changed every day but there were “regulars” of chicken, fish, steak and spagbog.
Midnight Buffet – varied from snacks and sandwiches the lounges to fully fledged buffet including a spectacular Gala Buffet.

Drinks
Complimentary coffee, tea, iced water, fruit juice was available most of the time from one place or another and I think you could get these free as room service also.
Bars serve alcohol from lunchtime until the early hours. Most bars shut between 1 and 2am but the disco and casino bars seemed to stay open as long as there were customers. We saw 4am in the disco bar most nights!(which may explain why we didn’t make any of the organised tours, or breakfast for that matter!!)
Bar prices were reasonable, a typical short and mixer was 4 Euros, but this was a large measure(NOT a single), large beers were just over 3 Euros.
(if you want a cheap top up you can buy duty free on board and drink in your room, there were no noticeable checks to stop this)

Entertainment
Various during the daytime and spread throughout the ship, quizzes, deck games, crafts, languages, bridge, live music, etc, something for all tastes and ages.
Evenings had a main show after each dinner sitting in the 700 seat theatre, these weren’t really to our taste but lots of people loved them all! Live music and singing in the lounges and bars, then a disco after midnight. The Casino seemed to be open all evening/night as well.
There are various kids clubs and activities for different age rangess right up to teens who had their own evening sessions in the disco.
All this in addition to the usual pools, jacuzzis, bars, gym, minigolf, etc.

Evening Dress
Two “Gala” nights(one with a preceding Captain’s cocktail party, free Champers!) – we asked and were told to wear your most formal gear for these two nights. Most of the chaps wore Jacket and tie, but a fair number(including me) wore Dinner jacket and Bowtie. Many Ladies wore gowns, etc.
Two “formal” nights – Jacket and tie.
Rest were “casual” – shirt and trousers but tie/jacket not required.
There were people who didn’t dress up at all, so don’t worry if you don’t want to.

Tipping – none required. Apparently bar bills include 10% and any other tipping is entirely your choice. There is an information sheet towards the end of the week that explains.

Ports of call
We didn’t take any of the organised tours and there was no need to use anything other than your legs at the ports, apart from Istanbul(see below).
What we made of the stops:-
Sunday: Bari, Italy – we didn’t even leave the ship! Had heard/read that the place was closed on Sunday so gave it a miss.
Monday: Katakolon, Greece – Not really history buffs so opted for a quiet wander around the small town.
Tuesday: Kusadasi. Turkey – A nice enough resort to have a walk around, lots of shops, bazaars, etc. we had a drink/snack in the heart of the place and watched the world go by. When will the locals realise that endless pestering actually puts people of buying!
Wednesday: Istanbul, Turkey – Having run the gauntlet of taxi drivers waiting at the port gates, we opted to take a bus tour. These are very similar to what you see in London, Barcelona, etc. There’s a bus stop about 200 yards along the road, just turn left leaving the port gates. The bus does a complete circuit of the city with the usual climb on, climb off set up. We’ve found this to be a good way of seeing the sights in other cities, and you can get off at anything you want to get closer to. We had a wander around near the Galata Bridge, it’s much less touristy and there was a fruit, veg and fish market, and other stuff more in keeping with the real Istanbul, and no pestering street sellers! It is possible to walk from port to the Bosphorus in about half an hour, but this is through the city’s financial sector so not too inspiring, though there are a couple of Mosques and the Galata Tower.
Thursday: at sea.
Friday: Dubrovnik, Croatia – The only stop where the ship couldn’t dock close enough to walk off. The ship’s tenders took us ashore and landed right in the old harbour area of Dubrovnik. The old walled city is a fascinating place, particularly if you venture off the main couple of tourist streets. We had a rather exciting return to the ship as the sea had become choppy and getting the tender alongside proved to be something of a white knuckle ride!
Saturday: Venice, Italy – We were fortunate enough to have late flights so had about 6 hours to spend in Venice. You can store luggage in arrivals for 2.5 euro per item, last collection is 4pm. There is a Vaporetto water bus ticket booth and stop right alongside the arrivals terminal, this takes you directly to the St Mark’s square stop. The return ticket was 10 Euros. We had a lovely walk around the central area and then settled in a quiet square for lunch.
Remember to arrange your coach transfer to the airport to fit in roughly with your plans in Venice. Our late flights meant that MSC put us on the last airport coach(4pm), but we were back a little early and they fit us on the 3pm one, so no waiting around.

Clientelle – vast majority are Italian(as you would expect), followed by Germans, French, Spanish, Americans. We met or overheard 30 or 40 Brits I suppose. There were also small groups of Japanese, Scandinavians, Aussies, etc. Isn’t it strange how poor people’s manners are these days? I always hold a door, give way to a lady, etc., the majority just barge through without a please or thankyou, such a shame.

Summary - Fantastic experience, if you’re hesitant to try it, go for it, I’m glad we did . We’re already planning the next one!

The ship was so clean and looked brand new. They even painted the outside when she was docked to keep her gleaming white. Inside polishing and cleaning was carried out constantly. Our cabin was immaculate with towels being changed at least twice a day and the beds made up in the mornings and turned down in the evenings when we were at dinner. The cabin was fine for space with a lot of storage. We had 2 single beds and this worked much better than the cabins I saw that had one double bed. Between the 2 single beds were bedside cabinets which gave you plently of space to walk between the beds. Although our cabin was an inside one the lamps and main lighting created a nice atmosphere as did the mirrors making the room seem bigger than it was. There is a safe behind the mirror in the corner of the cabin. The water in the room and the mini bar items were not free but we could order tea/coffee/juice etc 24 hours a day to the cabin free of charge.
The food was very good overall. The soups, pastas and risottos being excellent while some of the other dishes were just ok. You could always find something to eat that you liked and could order salmon, chicken, steak and chips spaghetti bolognese each night if you did not like what was on the menu. The gala nights served lovely meals and generally the food quality was better in the restaurants than at the buffet even at breakfast. Drinks prices were reasonable and the cocktail and drinks choice was huge. The midnight buffets were good if you could manage to eat anything. On the Gala nights it was worth going to the midnight buffet just to take photographs. The captains cocktail party was good too with lots of free drinks flowing!!Afternoon tea in the lounge with the waiters in the white uniforms carrying tea/coffee/sanwiches and cakes was really nice and made you feel very spoilt.

There were more than enough staff to make you feel special and all the waiters, bar staff and cabin staff were polite, friendly and helpful. We changed from early to late dinner sitting and changed restaurants too yet there was no problem with our request to do this. If you do want to get your dinner sitting changed then you must get it changed as soon as you get your allocation in your cabin when boarding. There was a big queue to do this. Some of the reception staff were quite rude and definitely gave preferential treatment to some other nationalities and the officers were not very visable and were aloof when you did see them. This did not spoil the holiday for us at all. A problem we did have though was that all announcements were given in about 8 languages and English was not repeated so we had to be really on the ball to find out what was going on, especially when needing to find out what to do when going ashore or disembarking to go home. Lots of information was delivered to the cabin in English each day though so we didn't feel too isolated. I think I met about 20 English people on the cruise. We were really in the minority but the the staff made every effort to sit people of the same nationalities together for dinner.
The entertainment was OK but I have seen better and found some of it a bit repetitive although the quality was really good. There are 2 show performances each evening so you get to see one no matter which dinner sitting you are on. There is plenty to do on board anyway to entertain yourself and more bars than I expected so you don't need to go to the shows each night. The night club was really plush with a good atmosphere and was good fun but due to the early starts most days was not always a good idea!! The gym and leisure facilities had to be paid for and the spa treatments were very expensive so I did not use them. The only time the ship seemed overcrowded was the day we were at sea. At all other times there was always somewhere to go to get away from it all.
We did not go on any excursions and found it easy to get around on our own. Again we often grouped together with other Englilsh cruisers and shared a taxi or walked round a port together. The people who have paid for excusions get priority getting off the ship so it can get a bit stressful trying to get off. It is better to leave it a while and enjoy breakfast than stand in a queue for half an hour trying to get off while people push past you.The places we stayed at were all varied and very nice with Dubrovnik being my favourite. Bari was visited on Sunday so was practically deserted which was a bit of a disapointment. In Kusadasi you were hassled relentlessly which was annoying and made us go back to the ship early. It is worth getting any cigarettes, perfume etc from the Duty Free at the port there though. Istanbul seemed cheaper for most shopping and you did not get hassled as much there but need to get a taxi or go on an excursion to get the most out of the place. All other ports are within easy walking distance of attractions, shops etc.
Overall it was a great experience and I liked mixing with the other nationalities. I would love to go on another cruise and would use MSC again.

Seventh of May 2005, a memorable day! My cruise was actually happening. Early morning to Gatwick and a reasonable check in and uneventful flight, found after a bit of wrong direction, the girl who checked us off and on to coach then to the port. A slowish wait but it enabled me to find a couple of other D E people, not Gill though.
We saw the ship! It looked huge and beautiful; at the terminal there was orange juice available but no café. Still, I think every one was too excited to worry over things like that.

We had been given numbers and then the magic moment when we could go aboard. Our luggage had our cabin numbers on and would be delivered.
When we were called, a smartly dressed cabin steward took us to our cabins.
First impressions were excellent. Two single beds, T.V., shower, ample hanging space, shampoo etc.

There was a leaving port sort of party and then unpack and start to find way round. As there was not a table no in my room, two of the D E people and I had decided first sitting was going to be better than late. We all asked to be moved to a table together, no problem. At dinner we found another gentleman also D E had been given our table so we had 2 male & 2 female, it worked really well and we had a lot of laughter and all sorts of conversations.

We tended to eat in the restaurant for most meals and not the buffet. Meals were excellent, 7 course dinners, 5 course lunches. The wine deal good value 99 euros for 7 bottles of wine and 7 waters so we had 2 lots for the 4 of us and split the cost.
The entertainment was very professional, good dancers, excellent costumes and lighting. Different each night. Plenty of bars and music going on all over the place but there were also plenty of quieter areas if you wanted to sit and chat
I found Gill by remembering her surname so reception told me her cabin number. I went ashore with her and her cabin sharer a couple of times. I only did one official excursion but teamed up to go to Olympia, and in Istanbul went to the Blue Mosque by taxi. Found the hassling in Turkey turned me off buying any thing but I enjoyed the colourful atmosphere.

The afternoons were spent sunbathing, watching the dancing lessons and games and swimming and sitting in the hot tub, then tea and cakes at 4pm.
I haven’t jumped on the scales yet!!!!!!i I daren’t!! The three formal nights were well done. Our table did not bother to queue up to get a photo with the captain or any of the other formal portraits. I just bought one picture of our table. On Gala night lobster was on the menu and complimentary champagne then Baked Alaska was set alight and paraded through the restaurant. it looked very good. That night there was also a gala buffet. That was the only night I got to the midnight buffet! There were ice carvings, fruit and vegetables cut in exotic animal and flower shapes! The whole set up was a real picture!

There were only about 100 English speaking people on board. The rest, all 1000 plus were Italian German, Spanish etc so we were outnumbered. !!!!!
There were 700 staff comprising 43 nationalities all charming polite and helpful. Cabins were spotless, towels changed as soon as one was used!!! Plenty of comfortable mesh sun beds and plenty of towels. The usual nationalities got down early to bag beds but there were plenty!!! It happens every where!!!!
There is quite a lot of waiting around on checkout day. You leave according to flight etc then the air port wait. If you want to tip it’s your choice, no pressure. If any more info is wanted just ask. Just one point, if you are very well built you may find shower a bit small, don’t drop the soap!!!!!! A minor point otherwise 10 out of 10.

I wish I could go again even if it was more than £10. We got a bargain - an incredible deal!!!!!!!!

We had the most fantastic time on the Opera. A fabulous ship and what a good itinerary! So many totally different places in such a short time. The ship just seemed to slip silently along at 21knots transporting us effortlessly from one port to another and although we could have done with a bit more time in some ports of call we did travel an enormous distance in a week to see them all. Joanne, her nan Clarice and I met up with several other DE cruisers, so to Carol, Cliff, Jenny, Iris and Norma if you've found this site, welcome!! Joe and I recognised each other at check in and Carol was infront of me too. Cliff we met on the plane. Funny really how we all ended up sitting in the next rows to each other! We met the others at the airport waiting for our transfer and Gloria was on our dinner table having flown in from London.

We were all seated on first sitting even though our cruise documents clearly said 2nd sitting. When some of us tried to change to later sitting the maitre'd said REEZE did not tell us what you wanted (so how come MSC docs had our requests there?). I suspect the REEZE passangers are becoming well known to our hosts. After a few attempts we did manage to acquire a table for second sitting which some of us made use of. The last night had us sitting on the table next to all the captains/officers in all their finery. Very dashing.
In all fairness apart from that one incident the crew couldn't have been more helpful and we had a wonderful week being pampered stupid. Second puddings? No problem. Second helpings? No problem. Change your mind at the last minute cause something else looks nicer? No problem. Second glasses of champagne.... Actually, I think if Cliff had been on the ship a moment longer he would have got some of the staff fired for fulfilling his very charming requests ("filch me some napkins, they go with me dining room" being one cheeky example!)

We had lots of fun, danced till dawn, drank contraband champers in the disco under the officers noses. Though when the darn thing popped it's cork and it hit the roof unexpectedly and Joanne and I couldn't stop laughing I think there were a few uncertain looks in our direction. We repaired to a cabin to finish it off and chew the cud till the wee small hours. We soaked up sun by the pool and found a nice quiet windless spot on the bit of deck behind the disco. The pool games etc can get a bit noisy and at 21 knots there is usually a stiff breeze blowing on all the open decks. At night we watched the shows, played games, drank in the bars, hit the casino, shopped in the duty free, bought our photos, dressed up, dressed down , went twice to the Captains cocktail party (more free champagne! ) ate at every opportunity including the incredible midnight buffets up on deck 11 (don't miss them and take your cameras!) and generally did far too much to have possibly packed it all into just one week

A quick point whilst I remember - Take a credit card with a pin you know!! They do accept them but don't accept signatures, rendering mine utterly useless at Ephesus!

Help I owe someone a Euro for a taxi in Istanbul! I forgot.. sorry whoever it is! Hope that was all I forgot???

We didn't do any tours but found that if you went yourselves you could easily eavesdrop parts of english speaking tours if you felt the need. We wandered the old town of Bari on St Nicholas day when the place was full of Pilgrims dressed all in black and the Pope was on a big screen in the main square. (We wondered why there were so many police around, it seemed like a bit of overkill for our personal protection I thought .
We wandered around Katakolon, a lovely little town with artists and crafts people in nice shops. I'd go back.
We took a taxi to Ephesus and walked down through the ruins with the world and his wife but it is an amazing site!
We walked over the Galata bridge in Istanbul, under the underpass and found ourselves infront of the spice market, a lovely place to poke around and not too big. Some of us braved the crowds of football busses and supporters to see the Blue Mosque etc whilst I repaired to the total peace of the empty ship and lay musing in the hot sun watching Istanbul go about its business through the ships railings.
We had a peaceful day at sea when the weather turned to cloud and rain so the quiet of my wonderful cabin enveloped me for most of the day to recoup some energy for Dubrovnik our last port.
What a lovely place. We walked the walls and wondered at the views over the red pantiled rooftops and out to sea, where our pretty white ship lay slumbering in the blue, blue waters.
We rode the waves in the tenders and took photos to remind us of our time spent in the company of others and the places we'd been to. Then back she brought us, the Opera, to where it all began, sailing up the Grand canal in Venice past St Marks Square to our final docking, our disembarkation, our transfer, our flight and our goodbyes.

As Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem goes

"I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all."




Hilary