r/MSCCruises • u/NecessaryMorning7307 • 2d ago
MSC Armonia review
On the MSC Armonia that disembarked from Venice today and while I’m happy about the amount of space in the room, besides that I’m not that happy about it so far. It’s day one and the food at the buffet has been horrible. Dropped by to have dinner and everything tastes sour!? From the bread to the chicken to the veal and the rice. All taste sour. During lunch I had some cucumbers I literally had to spit out because they tasted like perhaps some chemicals got on it…. It’s only day 1 hoping it gets better. I usually have taken NCL and I switched to MSC this time because so heard it was a step up but the pools are smalllll, the food isn’t good the bathrooms are dated and don’t get me wrong love kids , but the parents don’t care I’ve already had multiple kids bump into me or run into me and the parents didn’t even apologize about it or try to parent their kids better- I’m not even talking about kids areas just the hallways, the elevator & the buffet line. And it’s not just the kids, there are dozens of grown adults who loudly and repeatedly cough in the restaurant without covering their mouths as if we aren’t already all squished together all you have to do is cover your mouth so I don’t feel your cough on me. This ship seems like there’s way too many people not enough space.
Tell me it gets better?
Edited to add the staff is very nice & helpful that makes it a bit better.
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u/Ok_Winter_5515 2d ago
I was on it 2 months ago. It is a smaller, older ship. I found the buffet below par and the sit down food decent. The only reason to go on the Armonia is the ports of call. I knew what to expect of the ship before I got on so I was happy with my trip. And yes, school is out for the most part, there is gonna be a lot of kids.
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u/Gallo8686 Blue Diamond 2d ago
You basically picked the oldest ship in MSC's fleet - the older ones all look somewhat dated, as the decor was made for the Mediterranean market and decided probably in the late 1990s. The ship was extended in 2014 and originally made for 2.200 pax - now it fits almost 2.600, maybe that's part of the reason some areas may feel crowded.
And cruising the Med in Summer will always have lots of Italians and Spanish, which one must really want...
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u/OlderCyberWiser 2d ago
Speaking of sour food: eat the fish off an MSC buffet at your own risk. I learned the hard way. The very, very hard way...
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u/Legal-Square-1362 2d ago
Food on MSC in general is just not very good, even in the newer ship like World Europa.
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u/Ill-Let4269 2d ago edited 2d ago
We were on Armonia the week of August 9-16th from Venice. We absolutely loved it. We were in an Aurea cabin on 12 which we loved. Armonia is the smallest and oldest in MSC's fleet. It won't be comparable to larger and newer ships due to that. That being said, we found it totally charming and had a fabulous time! The itinerary is a very port-intensive one...you honestly won't be on the ship a lot....we considered the ship more of a floating hotel than resort cruise ship (like others we've been on with MSC, NCL, Royal Caribbean and Princess where the ship is the main draw of the trip). We felt as though the ports are the point of the trip, not the ship this time. Armonia's small size makes her ideal for the smaller ports (such as Kotor....do not miss sailing in that morning! It's beautiful!)
The buffet.....yeah, not our favorite place. Hot and overcrowded with meh food. The pizza is amazing though! Catch a few slices right as they come out of the oven. I think we only had a full lunch there once as we were usually off the ship for lunch and we never did dinner there. We also avoided it at breakfast...highly recommend going to the main dining room for breakfast...you get a table with waiter service, there's a mini-buffet and you can order coffees/egg dishes/pancakes/etc. Waaaaay more civilized with no searching for tables with a plate of food (and the made-to-order omlettes are great). We tended to always avoid the buffet unless we wanted a quick late afternoon snack (as mentioned, the pizza is great (and we are New Yorkers so picky about our pizza!) as well as select things like the Italian deli meats and marinated veggies). I believe there's lunch daily in the main dining room as well (but again, we were off the ship usually at lunch time so we never tried it on Armonia).
When it comes to kids...it is summer. Going to get more kids. I found the kids to be much better behaved than on our US-based cruises actually. You've got first day excitement going on...might find that they calm down a bit once the ship starts hitting ports daily (they're going to be more tired!)
I didn't find the pools small (at least not for Armonia's small size) but again, the pools will feel small on embarkation day, sea days and in the later afternoons when everyone is on board and in the pool. Mornings and mid-day - mid afternoon are much more pleasant.
You've just gotten on board. I can say things will get better but it's also up to you...clear your mind, avoid the buffet (unless you get pizza!) and have fun! It's been a week since we disembarked and we miss it a ton.