We are long time cruisers, having traveled the best of all cruise lines. This was our first cruise aboard MSC. Here are our comments: Considering the fact that one is in environment of 2,000+ passengers, overall, we have to say the cruise was fairly good. Let me say at the onset, we are very demanding passengers. We know good food, good service and good accommodations. Accordingly, if one expects the best, their going to be disappointed. On the other hand, if one compares this cruise line to Royal Caribbean or Carnival, MSC wins hands down. The biggest problems we encountered was the fact that despite this being an Italian ship, most of the crew are all from 3rd world countries. Most do not speak English and lack any experience. This is most evident in the dining rooms where the waiters cannot understand what one is saying. Nor do they understand what Italian food is really all about. Fortunately, in our case, we speak Italian. Once we became aware of the inability of the waiters to speak either English or Italian, we grabbed the Maitre D'(who are generally Italian) and demanded good service and good food. Without hesitation, we were assigned to a table with an excellent waiter who spoke good English and Italian. This fellow knew how to serve and was as good as you could find at any restaurant. The Maitre made certain our food was as good as one can expect on a ship this size. Without this,(with the exception of the their ice cream, which was outstanding) do not expect anything but mediocre food and service. Our cabin steward was excellent. The biggest other problem one will encounter is MSC's policy of charging extra for everything. Be prepared to be "nickel & dimed" everywhere. At the various ports of call, unless you are on an excursion, you will be dumped, far from anywhere (at most ports) with no transportation to the various city centers. So, its either pay the exorbitant excursion prices, or be prepared to walk, and sometimes very long distances. And, don't expect any help from the ladies at the reception office. Frankly, they didn't have clue.....! Frankly, as a group, they had little knowledge or information regarding the ship, or the ports of call. In fact, most of the time, what little information they had, was erroneous. Overall, if you can handle the above stated deficiencies, I suggest you give MSC a try.