MSC Cruises Reviews

Tuesday 7th Feb 2012

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Msc Opera

Dischordant Notes On The Opera

Dischordant notes on The Opera

Reviewed By: Neville, Hornchurch on 28th Jun 2009
Cruise Line: MSC Cruises	Times cruised before: 3-5
Cruise Ship: MSC Opera	Sailed: August, 2008
Destination: Mediterranean	Age: 56-65
Cabin: Balcony	Occasion: Annual/regular holiday

On our first cruise on The Opera in June 2006, my wife and I were overwhelmed by the attentive service and the majesty and glamour of the chic interior. We vowed that we would return at the earliest opportunity. In August 2008 we noticed that The Opera was deparing from Harwich to Venice via Malta, two of our favourite Cities, so we booked a balcony room immediately. We really were excited about crusing on the Opera again and savouring some of the Italian style and sophistication that had so enamoured us on the first trip. What a difference 2 years can make! The ship was as chic and elegant as we first recalled but the restaurant service had deteriorated beyond all reasonable expectations. The poor waiter appeared to have so many large tables to cope with that he frequently delivered the wrong food or none at all. We were left explaining to our fellow diners just why we had booked to come on this ship whilst many seasoned "cruisers" vowed never again. As the trip progressed, Lunch time became a feeding frenzy where only the fittest and the undisclipined survived. This ruled out the British contingent who were no match for the hordes of Italian families who took immediate possession of tables, trays, cutlery and anything else that could be purloined or occupied. My schoolboy rugby training came in very handy as I bobbed and weaved my way through the masses of swarming munchkins. We eventually gave up on lunch, prefering the more controlled afternoon tea and cake session in prefernce to bruised shins and elbowed ribs. This makes us sound rather old and doddery but to the contrary, we are both extremely fit and active and used the well equipped gym daily. The afternoon tea sessions became our haven of sanity for just one hour on the days we were at sea. Would we go again? - probably yes as the ship and its style appeals to us - provided that MSC immediately improves its dinner service. Would we go again in the summer or at any time that the Italian schools may be on holiday? Oh no - definitely not. War games were never my speciality and pushy, near hysterical Italians and complaining Brits is not my idea of cruising. Steve
Quality of Food

Entertainment

Shore Excursions

Staff
Cabin Staff were very good
Children's Facilities	n/a

Onboard Activities

Cabins

Overall Rating

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Comment by thomas, stockton-on-tees (18 Aug 09 10:32) about this REVIEW

I travelled on the Opera on her very first cruise, two weeks around the Carribean. I can truthfully say that the service, the food. the entertainment and every thing else about the ship was first class. Mind you, that was her maiden voyage. But surely things can't have declined so much. I will find out soon because I intend to take another cruise on the Opera very soon. I have travelled with other cruise ships including several other Italian lines and I may be slightly naive but the passengers seem well behaved (including the Italian ones). Sorry you had such a bad experience.

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Comment by Bosscat, Argolida (29 Jun 09 06:37) about this REVIEW

How interesting - thank you for this review. We sailed on the Opera in her maiden season (2004) and twice more thereafter, as we enjoyed the experience so much. To hear that the quality of the dining experience has declined is very disappointing, as we found it excellent five years ago. The hordes of Italians descending on the buffet like so many locusts sounds familiar, however - do they no longer open the main dining room for lunch, as we found this so very civilised and usually quiet when we did our 3 Opera voyages.

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Comment by Neville, Hornchurch (01 Jul 09 23:12) about a COMMENT by Bosscat (29 Jun 09 06:37)

Yes the restaurant did open in the afternoon and many Brits chose to dine there. Because of the compulsory eating disorder, which appears to inflict itself on most travellers from the time they set foot on board, we decided to use the open restauarnt because of the choice of food and the opportunity to load one's plate with salady bits and pieces followed by a good selection of pastries and jellies!!. The lower restaurant offered less choice. So I guess our pain was self inflicted at lunch time. As I mentioned originally, the dinner service really had declined, which was a great pity because the service we recieved on our first trip was excellent. Some fellow travellers muttered that the service had declined because it was the "family season" but whatever the cause, it rather cast a cloud over a much looked forward to recounter with the Opera. Steve

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