Thought I would post up a review of our recent trip on Preziosa to hopefully help anyone looking to travel on the ship.
I will do it in sections, I know some people prefer it chronologically but I tend to read the sections that interest me most in reviews. A bit of background – I am Platinum with NCL and have cruised with others in the past so have precedent to compare this cruise to. It was my first trip with MSC and we as a group were quite nervous given the appalling (I cannot emphasise this enough), appalling shore side service prior to this cruise. Suffice to say the shore-side operation is completely separate to the way the ship is run.
Embarkation: – we had booked private transfers from Venice airport as we were a party of 12 people and the price MSC quoted was almost 50% more than what we secured it for (c. £12 p.p. return). Our flight arrived just after 1100 and we were at the cruise terminal for 1125 (I was concerned about the time it would take as our return flight was quite tight and so was relieved it was a shorter trip than I had been told by both the transfer company and others). They quoted 55 minutes! The transfers were excellent and our driver friendly and competent.
On arriving at the terminal, there was a mass of people and the line was not clearly defined. Exacerbating this, several (dare I say) Italian families were standing chatting in the drop-off zone and did not move even when we were clearly struggling to get by with our luggage. Understand that is nothing to do with MSC but it was an awkward start.
We were queuing outside for 40 minutes in the heat. After putting our bags on the conveyer, it was into the terminal for more queuing. It is the longest I have had to wait to get on a ship, but in fairness every check in desk was full and they were trying quite hard to shift everyone through. Another 40 minutes inside and we were on the boat. First impressions – visually, very impressive!
Everything sparkled and was clean and modern. The staff directed us to the buffet as the cabins wouldn’t be ready until 1430. I did think it was silly to direct every single person to the buffet immediately on boarding, and indeed it was incredibly busy – however this was the only occasion where we were overwhelmed by the crowds here. 5/10 for the embarkation.
Cabin: I chanced my luck at 1345 and the cabin was ready. Cabin 12239, port-side and quite aft. This is a B2 balcony cabin which I upgraded to at the last minute (previous couple of posts will explain this, this is part of my contention with MSC Shoreside). Seemed to be a bit larger than the balcony cabins we are used to on NCL so this was a plus. Modern furnishings and clean as expected. Plenty of storage for 2 people for the 7 nights (or longer). The balcony was of good depth and the furniture reasonably comfortable. The settee was large and as good for storage as it was for sitting on! Bags were delivered at approx. 4PM just before sail away.
There is a hairdryer supplied in a drawer near the TV, although it is not terribly powerful so perhaps best to bring your own. There are mirrors everywhere. I did not find this offensive although I know some people do not like it. The ‘cube’ stool under the desk is suitable for doing makeup, drying hair etc. but not comfortable for extended periods.
The bed itself was large and comfortable, although the pillows were merely adequate. Extra pillows were on a shelf above the safe so we had 2 each. Lighting in the cabin was very good, and the reading lamps at night were fine and did not cause disruption if 1 person was trying to sleep while the other read.
The bathroom, in brilliant white, was clean and there was lots of storage under sink. I did like the glass shower doors (instead of the awful curtains), that folded in to give more space when the shower was not in use. The colour scheme here is far less offensive than the blue that Carnival have used in some of their ships. Overall very pleased with the cabin, 8/10. Being a cabin in the aft section, there was some issues with noise from the engines/stern thruster when docking so I cannot justify any more than 8 as during early dockings it was loud enough to wake you up. Earplugs fixed this.
Dining: - presumably by special arrangement, we had a table in the Golden Lobster for 12 people. The wait staff were excellent, and after the first few nights knew our drinks off by heart and had them waiting on our arrival. The food was generally good, although for an Italian line some of the pasta and risotto dishes were not up to scratch – usually undercooked and warm instead of hot. Menus offered enough variety so that even a fussy eater like myself could pick from at least 3 courses every night. The waiters accommodated us all well, as we all had varying numbers of courses every evening and of course we ordered different items each time. There was hardly ever an occasion when no-one had a plate of food in front of them, so this co-ordination was appreciated. Generally out of 9 adults and 3 children, the adults had 3-4 courses from the menu each night plus dessert (never more), and the children 3 courses being starter, main and pudding. Special requests such as extra plates of the same course, or having a main course as a starter were accommodated without issue.
A note on drinks here – if you like to drink beer, cider or spirits with your dinner, the waiters have to go to another bar to get these drinks. The drinks offered in the MDR is generally limited to wines (and some others which I forget). So bring a drink in with you if you do not want wine (or want your favourite tipple and wine). Our waiters were great and fetched all the special requests from another bar but I am not sure if this is a widespread practice so your mileage may vary.
The buffet we used for breakfast and lunch most days, and only occasionally struggled to find a table. We had to secure a table first and then go up individually for our food because it was a full sailing. Off-peak, I imagine this is not a problem. There is plenty of food and variety, although only 1 pizza station so if you are at the opposite end of the buffet it is quite a trek. Actually, I noticed only a few stations were repeated and there was only 1 place to go for certain items . Bar service is offered from lunch onwards and there is a bar in the buffet. Food quality was generally good, although some meats were fatty. Burgers were not to my taste but that is subjective. Pizza was very good, as was the daily focaccia which changed from olive to onion etc.
A note here about the plates and crockery – you pick up a platter shaped plate from stacks at each food station – I often had to discard the first 2 or 3 I picked up due to bits of food or stains that were not removed in the dishwashing process. Not encountered this on any previous cruises. Sometimes the cutlery wrapped in the napkins was soiled too (not dirty, just not cleaned properly). No big deal, just pick up another set, but more attention is required in this area. The same goes for the mugs for teas and coffees – 2 or 3 to find a perfectly clean one.
An aside here which applies not only to the buffet but throughout the ship – there are hand sanitiser stations in all the usual places but these are not at all enforced and it is very easy to walk by them if you are not looking for them. I would say 30-40% of people used it as they passed. Compared to NCL’s chime of ‘washy washy’ the compliance here is poor. Overall, I would give the food 7/10 with all of the above in mind (plus lots of other experiences I haven’t detailed!)
Drinks, Bars, Entertainment: -
There is a multitude of bars throughout the ship, too many to comment on individually. All were stylishly furnished although did not necessarily keep to a theme i.e. it is still possible to get beers, wines and champagne at the Il Cappucino bar. A lot of bars were underutilised i.e. the distribution of passengers was not necessarily even across all the venues. There was a bias towards bars in the central areas at night. There are 2 poolside bars at the main pool, and 1 bar at the infinity pool at the back.
You will not go thirsty on this boat. Most of us had a package in one form or other and found it well worth it – we totted up the receipts and suffice to say, both Allegrissimo and Allegrissimo Premium were financially worth it compared to what we would have spent if we were not on the package. Drinks selection and variety was very good, and the cocktail and wine lists extensive. Sometimes there was a wait of 10 minutes + after placing an order, but that could be due to our large party so it is not a complaint and we soon became accustomed to allowing for the extra time. Staff did not insist on seeing a key-card from everyone to prove they were on the package which was good as that would become very tiresome very quickly if that was the case. The casino is located at the front of the ship, a location I much prefer compared to the mid-ship arrangement on some NCL ships. That way, all of the smoke is contained at the front. You have to walk through the casino to get to the theatre so I understand why it was placed there. I watched one show, ‘Pandora’ but shows are not my thing so it would be unfair to comment as I don’t really know what I’m talking about! It was acrobatic in nature, which is about all I can tell you.
Overall the drinks packages, variety and service score comes to 8/10.
Ports: -
First up was Bari – was not expecting much from this port but was pleasantly surprised by the nice little back streets and it was good for a stroll for a few hours.
Then was Katakolon – this is literally a one street town (sorry, 2) and there are cafes, shops and restaurants which surely must rely only on the cruise ships for income. Again, nice for a stroll. I am limited to 6 photos so removed this one as there is not much to see.
Then was Izmir – this was quite ‘full on’ in terms of taxi drivers and other merchants milling around the port area. A polite and firm ‘no thanks’ gets you through the throng without too much trouble. We followed the route where most signs and arrows were pointing and ended up on a street full of shops. We walked back via the front promenade which was fine.
Istanbul – the port itself is quite run down and there is no clear signage for getting out. Thanks to CruiseIreland for his tips for touring Istanbul, we did it ourselves using the trams. Tram service was fine, the stop is outside the port and it is fairly self explanatory for getting around. We did not go into any sights except the Basilica Cisterns, which was 20tl p.p. and fine to see. We then walked to the Grand Bazaar from the main sights, this is very easy to do and it is well sign posted. Must admit I was impressed with Istanbul as I imagined it would be ‘older’ and more run down than it actually was. Too many films! Stopped for drinks outside the Bazaar and got some complimentary beef and chicken kebab samples.
Dubrovnik – the last stop, and by far the most impressive in my book. I would certainly return on a city break for a few days as there is so much more to see. Taxis to the Old City are 10 euro from the port, this is well signposted. Caution however – one of the taxis (out of the 3 we used) ripped us off by spouting some nonsense about a road closure. True enough, he did point out a road with some cones and a barrier across but he explained that would increase the price and the journey would be metered instead of the flat fee. The scamming £$%# charged 18 euro and everyone else was charged 10. Disgusting and not a good advertisement for Dubrovnik. He claimed it is not easy or possible to change the signs showing the price in the port for a few day’s roadwork. Hmph. Now you know. Agree the price BEFORE you get in – any more than 10 euro and you find the next taxi as the driver is dishonest. A note on this – there were several ships in port the day we were in, and finding a taxi was quite chaotic. We had to walk quite far from the ship to grab a taxi as it entered the port area. MSC were running a shuttle bus but as usual we decided to DIY.
The walls of the Old City are beautiful and the whole place was clean and a great experience. We only had a small glimpse but it was enough to encourage us to return.
This was an itinerary we had not done before and we were pleasantly surprised by the weather on the route at this time of year – never below 20 Celsius except in Venice.
Disembarkation: -
We had an 1145 flight departing from Venice, and I was quite concerned we would be late for the flight. I went to reception the day prior to request the earliest disembarkation (it is not possible to take your own luggage off, the earliest tags are Grey and timed at 9AM). There is a list on the final day’s daily programme showing Grey tags are only for cabins on Deck 9 but we got them no problem when we explained we had an early flight.
Credit where it is due – this was the smoothest disembarkation I have ever had on any cruise, period. The total opposite to getting on. We gathered at 0830 in the Green Sax bar ready to leave the ship. There were no announcements whatsoever that we heard, however, people just generally headed for the exits at about 0905 and we joined the throng. There was a line to get scanned out of the ship, but after that, it was a short walk to the terminal and the cases were all lined up ready to be collected.
Very easy and smooth to pick up the cases, I was concerned they would not be all out on time but this was not an issue. We were outside meeting our driver at the agreed 0930 time with no problems at all.
9/10 for disembarkation (the 1 point deduction is because they could have been clearer as to when we should start heading for the exit – we worked it out just by following the crowd).
An aside not related to MSC - Marco Polo airport is a MESS. We arrived at 0950 for an 1145 flight (nearly 2 hours before, as they request). This flight was with Jet2 and it was disgusting. There were 3 check-in desks open for a number flights, and they could not cope with the demand. The queue was easily in excess of 1KM long inside the airport. A flight to Manchester departed before us and they were prioritised at check-in – some people had been waiting since 0830 for their 1100 flight but could not check in when they arrived and were rushing to the front of the line to make the flight. I will be complaining to Jet2 separately.
After that awful experience, security was even worse. People were shoving through and there was no queuing concept evident. To top it off, some idiots were standing in the middle of the throng not going anywhere but simply reading their newspapers. After clearing security, it was 1125 and boarding had begun. We got onto the bus and were on the plane for 1140 – not having had the chance to sit down or browse duty free as we are accustomed to. A very harassing experience in part due to Jet2 and in part due to Marco Polo security arrangements. We were chased away from a security desk because it was for ‘America only’ – and it was empty!
Back to the MSC Preziosa – totting up, I get 37/50 for the areas I have scored which is an approval of 74%. I think that is fair for the ship experience. I was surprised given the sheer number of negative reviews before I travelled and fully expected it to be far worse than it was.
However – the shore-side administration merits 1/10 and that is being very generous. This pulls the overall experience score down to 38/60, being 63%.
I would like to cruise with MSC again, and the ship experience was on par with what I have experienced elsewhere. Little differences such as fixed dining times, and limited specialty restaurants I just accepted as being part of a different experience.
My preference is NCL’s any time setup (and the diversity of offerings),I like the idea of being able to go to a French one night, a steakhouse the next and a Brazilian the next – that’s just the way I prefer to dine. For us, the 1830 sitting on Preziosa was a trifle too early, as we had to start getting ready in the late afternoon so didn’t get to relax as much after returning from port as we are used to. But this certainly didn’t overshadow the experience and we had a great time. And obviously the 2100 sitting was too late for our British tastes.
In conclusion – if an MSC cruise came up at the right time, for the right price, I would strongly consider using them again but I would have as little to do with their shore side team as possible as it truly is a stressful and unpleasant experience which doesn’t put you into a holiday mood. This needs addressed from a high level, and soon – Preziosa was stylish and beautiful and a pleasant place to be which is such a stark contrast to the pre-trip experience.
If you have any questions, please ask away while the experience is fresh in my mind………