A first-time contemporary cruise, we were not sure what to expect after having read the mixed reviews on many websites. After the cruise experience, I can tell you we were delighted!! Our trip was the 11 night Panama Canal cruise.
Embarkation and disembarkation: Somewhat impersonal and crowded, but the only time during the entire cruise we were even cognizant of crowds. Enjoyed watching those ...
This was our 8th cruise but the first on MSC. Have to say I was disappointed. The first thing that was upsetting was that to cash in your US American Express travelers checks to play in the casino, they charge 3%. I told them none of the other lines we/ve been on do that. Answer: thats how its done in Europe" "Its the home office policy." They sure don't warn you on this when you book with them. ...
My sister and I had a ball on the Opera! We have taken several cruises (together and with others) and felt that this cruise was the best ever. We booked on-line and it couldn't have been easier. Everything was done in a timely manner and our service was very responsive.
My sister and I met at the Ft. Lauderdale airport and took a taxi to the port, which was only a few miles away, but a $15 cab ...
i have had a chance to read a couple of other reviews of this exact same cruise and i mostly disagree with what was said by them. all cruises have problems. none are perfect, and msc is no different. luckily i knew what to expect and i also have patience.
I personally enjoyed this cruise very much. much more than the a couple of the others i have done on so called main stream lines. the main ...
My wife and I are both 50. This was our 18th cruise together. We have cruised with all the major lines. Our 11 night Southern Caribbean cruise on the Opera, from 1/14/07 to 1/25/07 was by far the WORST cruising experience we have ever had. The idea of cruising with an Italian based ship and experiencing a different shipboard "culture" sounded appealing, but was terribly disappointing in its ...
My wife just read Sportinglife's review of our most recent trip. She yelled to me and asked if I had a different screen name as it could have been written by us. MSC Opera...Jan 14-25, 2007. We selected this cruise (our 10th) as we were intrigued by the itinerary and it was a Big Bands cruise with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. We were a group of 8, all family members. We knew it would not be the ...
Opera is a beautiful Italian ship with plenty of public space; very clean, good entertainment, and wonderful food.
Embarkation was uncomplicated and fairly smooth. My wife and I had previously cruised on the Opera in February of 2005 and knew what to expect.
Our cabin was clean and very functional. Public areas are abundant and very pleasant.
Very interesting ports of call: We visited Fort ...
My wife and I have been on over 25 cruises including many of the Celebrity and Holland America ships as well as Cunard, Princess, and the older Home Line. Only one time on a Carnival Cruise and that still remains our worst experience.
First the simple things.
Embarkation and debarkation were by far the easiest and best organized of any of our cruises. We arrived at the pier a bit early (10:45) ...
Opera Back to the Caribbean 1/14/06
Preface:
This was originally posted, on 1/22/06, on the Cruise Critic Community Board, which led to some questions and allowed for clarification based upon those questions. The biggest clarification is that we did, in fact, have a great cruise! This was directly due to the group we were with. There are issues mentioned here specifically to help those who ...
BIO: I along with my wife have been on 14 previous cruises. Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Princess, Norwegian, Century, and yes even Disney. By far this has been the worst cruise yet.
EMBARKATION: First, the ship on the previous sailing had not arrived till 10 am. We always get to the ship early to beat the lines and unwind. However, as we got to the gate we were told we could not enter the port ...