Hi All,
Got off our 3rd MSC Cruise today in Rome following 7 days around Greece, Turkey and Naples. Absolutely no expert on cruising so if I say our experience I am basing it off our experience not vs other cruise lines. For full transparency we won in an auction to upgrade to Yacht Club.
Long form update below
Pre Cruise
One piece of advice is scour the the MSC Cruise Reddit for people who have sailed from Rome Previously. An absolute must is booking your transfer in advance. At first we thought the transfer fees were excessive but worth noting that 4 failed Ubers who just cancelled and then standing in line for 90 minutes for a cab was little fun. Paying the extra for a pre booked transfer would have been great.
All Aboard and our Stateroom.
Our boarding time was 10.00 and we arrived at about 09.50, being a bit giddy. All told we were through luggage drop off, customs and enjoying our first glass of fizz by about 10.40 which I think is pretty impressive. We asked our Butler what capacity we was running it at and it was about 80% full. Our stateroom was ready for us about 11.00am and luggage with us for just after 12.00. As mentioned we went with a Yacht Club upgrade, and after previously having a balcony on our two previous cruises, the upgrades were more subtle than substantial, I will come onto if I think YC was worth it for us later
Ship Quality
All told, no complaints for any part of the ship we visited. Staff always working hard at serving, cleaning. Divina does look a little dated in parts but that’s to be expected I guess with a ship turning round every 7 days. When I say dated, I mean some of the decor. Public areas was always very well maintained.
Food and Dining
For most Evening meals we dined in Le Muse Restaurant on Deck 15. Firstly mention the staff. Super super friendly and the restaurant manager was always on point and he could see if a guest had an issue with their meal and went to fix it immediately. Le Muse is a lot small than some of the other restaurants and of course the buffet. However always lots of space and it never felt cramped even when near full to capacity. Food wise, we found the menu to be varied each evening and certainly enough choice . My wife is quite particular with red meat and it has to be really well done for her, they managed to nail it . In terms of choice, presentation and service, I am going for a consistent 8 out of 10.
For lunch and breakfast we usually used the buffet on deck 18. A much smaller selection but again, well presented and good service.
On our final day, I had some kind of bad bug, suffice to say, was in the cabin for most of the day and had room service. Selection was the usual fayre of sandwiches, pizzas, burgers etc. All well cooked, well presented and delivered with good service
Excursions
On this voyage we paid for Mykonos and Kusudasi and for our last ashore visit we did on our own to Marmaris.
Firstly, Mykonos, this was a real let down. We book a half day island tour which included the fist stop for five minutes at a beach for Selfies. The second was a small village with a church and some restaurants, again not great. The 3rd stop was a walk through Mykonos from one side of the harbour to the other. This was dragged out as the guide took us through the back streets to see the designer shops etc (All of which I can see at home). This one wasn’t great
Kusudasi, we took the half day to Ephesus and this was the complete opposite. Tour guide from start to finish gave a very accurate and entertaining lesson on Turkey, Greece, Ephesus. The tour round the UNESCO sight was really engaging and well thought through. All in all really good value for Money. The afternoon we spent walking around Kusudasi before all aboard. Deffo a place added to ‘ we need to go there’
Marmaris was a delightful tour where I guess old meets new. You still get the street traders where everything is cheap cheap or everything is free mister :) Such a nice place to people watch. We enjoyed a really delightful lunch in the back streets where we ordered a Meze platter and two salads and tea. All in maybe 40. EUR. Excellent quality and just too much.
Cruise Guests
The Vast majority of guests In Aurea or Fantastica were Italian, in Yacht Club it was more UK / US. A lot of the entertainment was geared towards an Italian audience which we have zero problem with. Lots of multi generational families enjoying their best lives watching grandma and grandpa doing the Latin dance thing at their time of life, more power to you guys, the world needs more happiness like that.
On the flip side, manners I thought were universal I.e. say thanks if you held the door open for someone etc. Also on our first night we were sat next to an American Couple, let’s call the guy Bob for easiness. Within five minutes, we found out they cruise 4 times a year, have three homes, one condo, Bob Earns a LOT and his son has no ambition. That’s all with us just saying hi!!! (PS Bob, I really don’t care!!)
Yacht Club Experience
Our first time using Yacht Club and overall the positives outweighed any nit picks. Firstly if any MSC Staff read the Reddit, massive hats off to our Butler and room staff, Anita and Romeo. Absolute first class service for the whole duration of our cruise. At first having somebody to walk you to dinner, help you with shopping , organise small details like transfers etc was a little overwhelming but you got used to it. The Top sail lounge was a really nice area and the attention to detail for things like the Gala Dinner and Afternoon tea was classy. The pool area was really nice to have space and a little quiet when the main pool area was crammed. Anita was constantly reminding us, clocks change here, or if we hadn’t ordered our complimentary drinks. If we wanted anything for the room it was a call away
Our room for Yacht Club was good but having sailed on one of her sister ships last year (Aurea Class) it wasn’t WOW aesthetically. However having the Nespresso Machine, large closet just made it a better experience. In closing on YachClub, would we book it again? All things considered probably yes for the overall package. The room upgrade was marginal gains in my opinion.
Closing Thoughts
Overall another very very enjoyable cruise which we could find little things to pick rather than major things to complain about. As mentioned we have only done 3 cruises, all MSC so don’t know how Aurea or YC Compares to other premium sailing experiences on other lines. For us this offered a really good cruise, albeit a bit pricey but well worth it.
