MSC Orchestra Review

4.0 / 5.0
394 reviews

Superb setting for a romantic retreat!

Review for the Mediterranean Cruise on MSC Orchestra
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eddiecat
6-10 Cruises • Age 20s

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Additional details

Sail Date: May 2017
Cabin: Balcony Stateroom
The Cinque Terre.
Overlooking pool deck.
Just a beautiful pic of the company logo.
The cabin before we left Barcelona.
Breakfast with a view!

My boyfriend and I are 19 and 20. We are both pretty busy people starting careers and completing various qualifications. Last minute (one month before the holiday) we booked to go on the Orchestra end of may to early June for a week.

First of all the cabin was everything and more than what we expected. It was spacious and bright, despite the balcony being directly above the lifeboats the balcony was private and it was big and very clean. The room was large and had a big mirror opposite the bed which meant a lot of reflected light making the room look even larger. Air conditioning was fantastic, was always the temperature we wanted.

Secondly the ship was contemporary, perhaps an acquired taste in some bars (animal prints etc.) however the rest of the ship was clean and modern and there were many other bars to chose from obviously! The buffet was unbelievable. I have been on many cruises where the buffet was perhaps average at best, but the Orchestra had fresh pizza every day all day at the buffet with other wonderful Italian food. It was fresh and a lot of the food really clean and healthy. Felt like a cleansing! Was so much better than I expected. The food in the restaurant was of a normal standard, however the waiting staff made up for the average food. They always made the effort to make a conversation, big smiles and very polite. The was one bar that we went to every night before dinner (The Amber Bar), one barman made the effort to get to know us etc. and he bought us snacks with our beers (and refilled them sneakily after we had finished them).

Cabin Review

Balcony Stateroom

Cabin B1

We were given an upgrade. The cabin we got was clean and light, super spacious and very private. The bed was incredibly comfy. The balcony was spacious and also very private. Could not fault it.

Port Reviews

La Spezia (Cinque Terre)

Breathtaking . If you decide to explore it on your own (which I recommend), get the boat to the different seaside towns. It has got a timetable and you can get on and off wherever. So romantic and very leisurely.

Corsica (Ajaccio)

Spent up to 6 hours wondering and exploring. It was a fantastic old looking city with some absolute gems in the back streets. There was also a market on and it was brilliant to look at the various local treasures being sold.

Cannes

It was fabulous for shopping and pottering around, the scenery and the port was beautiful.

Genoa

Our least favourite port, it was incredibly industrious. I would definitely recommend taking an excursion, or else you'll find yourself walking back to the ship after 30 minutes.

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