MSC Musica Review
3.5 / 5.0
loughreagal
10+ Cruises • Age 70s
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Sail Date: Apr 2018
Cabin: Balcony Stateroom
We just completed a 7 night cruise on the MSC Musica to the Med. I was a bit underwhelmed with the reviews but went ahead and booked it anyway as the dates, price and itinerary were perfect so thought I’d take a chance. The cruise was amazing and my husband and I had the greatest experience.
As an American who has cruised on many American cruise lines such as Celebrity, Princess, Carnival, etc. I can understand how an American might not appreciate the MSC line as it is very European. But I have been living in Europe for 30 years, so do have more appreciation for the European sensibility and style than most Americans might.
Food: Many previous reviews stated that the food portions were too small. Yes, they are small. And if you’re an American expecting huge portions this is not for you. But my husband (who is Irish) and I appreciated the smaller portions as many times we wanted to try more than one appetizer, or entrée or dessert and they were small enough that we could try two and not waste food. The Italian family at the table next to us ordered three different dinners per person each night!
Cabin Review
Balcony Stateroom
Cabin B2
Cabin: Again, this is something many of the American reviewers complained about. Yes, ours was a bit smaller and if we had been the larger American sized type of people, might have found it a bit uncomfortable. We had balcony cabin 10174. The balcony held two comfy chairs and a footstool. There was a small table in the room which we placed on the balcony to have our breakfasts and smoothies during the days and evenings. We purposely asked for the starboard side so in most ports we overlooked the water rather than the busy ports so that was perfect. Also, our travel agent in Ireland told us not to take a cabin on level 11 as that had all the connecting rooms which the families take so it might have been noisier with all the kids running around. Our cabin steward Claudia was wonderful and very helpful as explained before. We had ordered a fresh fruit basket for our first night and it lasted us throughout the cruise so it was nice to have that even though we were able to take fruit regularly from the buffet as well. But it took us a day or so to get our bearings so it was nice to have that little amenity immediately. And nothing beats eating an apple on your balcony as you cruise out of Venice on a sunny day! The bed was a king size but a bit hard for me. Next time we book I will ask for a padded topper which I am sure they can provide.
Port Reviews
Brindisi
For Brindisi there is a free shuttle bus from the ship to the town. From there you can take an inexpensive bus tour which is cheaper than the ship’s excursion. The independent tour buses are waiting at the MSC stop so they are easy to find.
Santorini
. Santorini was a bit of a disappointment – we tried to do it on our own but really should have taken the ship excursion or taken a boat ride around the island and bypassed Oia. We took the tender to the small port of Fira. From there we took another boat (only 10 euro I think) that took us to the small village of Oia. We walked for a bit but there was not much to see on the small road – great views however from the tourist boat! From there we got a shuttle to Fira which was gorgeous! For the next time, if we don’t take an excursion, we would just take the funicular from Fira port up to Fira and walk around for the day. The early morning is crazy because of the crowds getting on the tenders – those with the ship excursion get on first. We waited until 11 AM and we were able to just walk onto the tender – no crowds – no waiting. As I said, knowing what I know now, we should have taken a small boat ride around the island and then just gone up the mountain to Fira. Next time!!!
Athens (Piraeus)
For Pireaus/Athens I would recommend taking a ship excursion. The reason being it is so crowded with tourists and tourist buses the traffic is horrendous. We had a bit of a panic on our own trying to get back to the ship on time as the traffic was so bad and so slow. We just made it but I did not need the stress. With the ship excursion they will hold the ship until the group gets back so you can enjoy the day without the stress. Just know that you need to be a real walker to get up to the Acropolis – it is quite a hike. You can take the hop on/hop off buses (yellow and blue only go from Pireaus port). However, as I said, the traffic is so bad and there is no guarantee that you could get back to the ship on time, and they will not wait! Kotor looked wonderful and scenic from the ship. It docks right by the town so you can just walk off and go right into the town. The problem for us is that when on a cruise we are very late sleepers! The ship docks at 7 AM and leaves port at around noon so you have to be up early. Since we did not get off the ship (we slept too late!) I cannot comment on whether you should take an excursion or do this on your own. But since the ship leaves so early and you don’t have much time in port, I think I would go with a ship excursion so you know the ship will wait for your group to return!
Corfu
Corfu was a wonderful little town. The ship offers a low cost shuttle into the city centre. From there you can stroll around and have a wonderful Greek meal so we did not need the ship excursion. I think if you want to go further afield it would pay to take the planned excursion but we were happy just pottering around.
Kotor
! Kotor looked wonderful and scenic from the ship. It docks right by the town so you can just walk off and go right into the town. The problem for us is that when on a cruise we are very late sleepers! The ship docks at 7 AM and leaves port at around noon so you have to be up early. Since we did not get off the ship (we slept too late!) I cannot comment on whether you should take an excursion or do this on your own. But since the ship leaves so early and you don’t have much time in port, I think I would go with a ship excursion so you know the ship will wait for your group to return!
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