MSC Cruises
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Disappointed with the worlds biggest cruise liner at this time should do better!
Was really looking forward to this Cruise on the MSC World Europa as at this moment in time it's the biggest cruise ship in the world. Lets start with the positives, the ship itself is quite impressive due to it's sheer size and has colourful lighting at the back with the biggest slide on view. Good promenade decks with plenty to look at and do, but remember and check out what's included in your package as quite a lot is not included. The bars are great, and there is loads of them, and the quality of drinks included in the Premium package is really good. Our favourite place to go was the Gin and Masters bar with great service and really good quality drinks. The singer in the Masters bar was exceptional and really made for a great night out. We had a balcony cabin which was a good size, modern decor and furniture and quite basic, nothing to much to shout out about but was always clean and tidy. The shower cubicle is small, however the shower is very powerful and hot. The pool areas are good, however on sea days there is not enough beds to go round and my 70 year old mother had to lie on her towel on the actual deck for a seat!! After not being able to find any pool staff and the bar staff being unable to assist we complained to reception and they did upgrade us to Top 20 area for next 3 days, but not everyone was as successful. Sea days you need to be up early to get a bed, but please don't do what a lot of people do, put your towels down and then not use for hours! I am a total foodie and my biggest let down was the food nothing was fine dining, including the complimentary restaurants. We were on a 5* ship with 3* food and had paid a lot of money for the pleasure! There just wasn't enough choice, nothing was ever hot, felt like a school dinner hall and quite often parts of the buffet restaurant were closed, so for a ship which was at full capacity this just didn't make sense. When you say the best thing on your plate was the potatoes what does that tell you!! I heard the same complaints time and time again. I had a friend with me and this was her first time cruising and I had to keep telling her honestly other cruise liners are not like this. The staff were lovely but I honestly felt there wasn't enough of them around the pool and pool bars, especially on the sea days to cope with the amount of people especially when a large number of them were complaining. The ports we called out were great other than Dammam which I still can't quite fathom why MSC would choose to stop here, unless it is to save themselves some money! If doing this trip please remember you cannot drink alcohol whilst in this port and have to be at least 2 hours away from the port before you will be served an alcoholic drink, which is a bit annoying when you paid for a drinks package and are not told this at the time!! For me I would never cruise with MSC again, I think the food issue is too important and a large part of anyone's cruising experience so my advice is to stay well clear.