This was our first cruise with M.S.C. cruises and we chose this cruise for the itinerary not the ship. Before we booked our cruise we looked on various websites for reviews on the Opera but there was not many, and what there was were not very good. The majority of the passengers were from Italy as you would expect as this cruise line is Italian and sailing from Venice. If anyone is looking for a sedate cruise then give this ship a wide berth. Italians like to party and constantly clap. They clapped at anything that moved, they have no concept of queuing for anything or anyone. Because there was about 95% Italians on board they just took over the ship. If you are thinking of dressing up for both the Captain Night or the Gala Night don't bother as M.S.C. do not stick to the dress code for their formal nights as more or less anything goes. The cleaning staff were busy all the time keeping the ship clean and shining. All of the crew members we met were very polite and wanted to make sure passengers have a good time. We chose the All Inclusive Drinks Package which worked well but don't expect top of the range drinks and be prepared for a long wait in the bars

Embarkation/Disembarkation: was very good. Smooth with no hitches.

Cabin: Outside cabin number 8143 was a little on the small size but kept very clean by our cabin steward Mr. Escobar. He made sure we didn't want for anything. He was very chatty and gave us some good advise to make sure we had a good experience. Bathroom was very small but as we were only on the ship for 7 nights it was fine. Read more