I am booked on this cruise and this is my first time cruising in the Caribbean. I have been reading reviews on this cruise ( mostly complaints!) and am getting a bit disheartened before I even go. Has anyone got anything good to say about this cruise?

Hi First McCruise, I haven't sailed on the Lirica, but would like to point out that most negative reviews on any ship come from people that may have had a couple of minor problems and have decided that the whole experience was terrible. I have sailed with Costa, which is an Italian based cruise line. While they are not anything like the main stream cruise lines, they offer a great product. It is going to be different than Princess, NCL, HAL, RCCL, Carnival in that most announcements will be in 5 languages. The food will have European influence. The crew will speak English, but it is not their primary language. It is a different experience, but to me, a fun experience. I've sailed on Costa 4 times and will continue to sail with them. I prefer Princess, but have always had a great time on Costa. Our last 2 on Costa were on the Magica and the Mediterranea. The cabins were much larger than our cabins on Princess. Don't go with a negative attitide, just remember that it's a different culture and have an open mind. I'll bet you'll have a wonderful time! Best wishes and let us know when you get back how much fun you had!

Hi First, we sailed last March on the Lirica on a 10 day Panama cruise and loved it. We have been on a total of 18 cruises,(Princess, Cunard, American Hawaii, Carnival, Holland), the Lirica was as good as some of the lines and better than some. You have to go on your cruise with a open mind. Its a Italian based company with European flair. Many different nationalities and language spoken. The one thing that impressed me there was no politics on the ship. It was a true vacation with everyone enjoying. Service was great on our cruise, better than most other lines. English was the main language spoken, although announcements,(very few compared to some lines which is good), were spoken in 4 or 5 languages. The daily newsletter was also written in 5 or 6 languages. All in all it was a great cruise and we would highly recommend MSC.
JC

quote:

Originally posted by First McCruise:
I am booked on this cruise and this is my first time cruising in the Caribbean. I have been reading reviews on this cruise ( mostly complaints!) and am getting a bit disheartened before I even go. Has anyone got anything good to say about this cruise?

I just came back Feb 08/2008 from sailing on the Lirica Eastern Carribean 10 days. I have to agree with Penny if you want to find fault you will. That was my second cruise the first with Princess Sun 10 days Southern carribean. Overall the Lirica was good. They were on time at all Ports and the disembarkation was fast and simple. If this is your first Cruise go with a positive attitude and if you wish to cruise again try a diiferent cruise line. My wife and I enjoyed the cruise it was a good bang for the dollar.

Many of the issues that rear their heads as complaints on Cosat and other European cruiselines are because of improper expectations. Costa is not a traditional North American cruise experience. The cruises will have many nationalities represented and english is just one of many languages spoken onboard, in the dining room and on announcements. The food will be less geared toward an American palette and more international. If you're looking for a Main Street USA cruise experience stick with Carnival and Royal Caribbean departing US ports. If you'd like to enjoy a little of a cultural experience with your cruise and feel like you're in the Med while cruising, even in the caribbean, Costa should be on your list.

Cheers, Neil

I'm afraid Penny is right on the money. Like marriage, a cruise is an empty box, you can only take away what you put in. I believe that most people cruise to experience the "world" and you know what? America is not the world. So go and look forward positively to your first cruise. Bring a good book cause sometimes, just sometimes, a good book is worth the entertainment one looks for.

I thought the question was about MSC lines, if I'm not mistaken most of the responses are about Costa, or is it Cosat, cruise line. I am a experienced cruiser and know the difference between good and bad. I for one HIGHLY recommend MSC Liraca and the rest of its ships and crews. We sailed on her March 07. Crew, food and entertainment was FANTASTIC. also the ship was immaculate.
JC

Oops, JC you're right. I posted a response and ended it with mentioning Costa instead of MSC. I've done that before. Costa is the largest European cruiseline but MSC is the fastest growing with a lot of new ships coming in the very near future. They both have a lot in common, both based in Genoa and similar demographics and other things. If you like one, you're likely to like both. If you're not crazy about one you probably won't like the other.

Cheers, Neil

quote:

Originally posted by JC 49:
I thought the question was about MSC lines, if I'm not mistaken most of the responses are about Costa, or is it Cosat, cruise line. I am a experienced cruiser and know the difference between good and bad. I for one HIGHLY recommend MSC Liraca and the rest of its ships and crews. We sailed on her March 07. Crew, food and entertainment was FANTASTIC. also the ship was immaculate.
JC

I've been looking at MSC with some interest but their ships remind me of being very similar to a Costa ship we took in the Mediterranean some years ago. The prices look appealing but I've been reluctant to make the jump. How was the smoke situation aboard?

Rich, when we sailed March 07 smoking was not a problem. I haven't smoked in almost 9 years, don't know if you are a smoker or not. We had a suite with a veranda and I know our neighbors smoked on the veranda but I think MSC might have changed their policy on this since then. In the lounges there were certain areas for smokers. The only place that we noticed it was in parts of the casino, and that wasn't bad.

Thanks JC 49, No I don't smoke or like the smoke & it's almost impossible to avoid smoke in any casino or balcony on any cruise line. With the discounted prices I'm seeing on MAC I think we'll try them in the fall some time.

I can honestly say that I have had the most wonderful fun filled holiday in a long time. We were a party of three couples in our mid 40s and 50s and everyone one of us had a fabulous holidays. Not all plain sailing but full of fun. The MSC Lirica has to be one of the cleanest ships ever. The staff, service, food was excellent and we couldn't fault anything. Well, almost anything. The only thing to irritate us on the holiday was the rude, bad mannered older Americans. They treated the staff like slaves and complained about the pettiest things - it was appalling. Why bother going on holiday? One women complained about her cabin attendant because there was a hair in one of her toilet glasses!! Get a life!
I can't repeat some of the language from some of the women. We couldn't beleive some of the complaints. Some of the women said that the food was not up to there standards as there wasn't ten different dressings! My husband told them the food was excellent and that they would be able to taste it if it wasn't smothered in dressings. One patrionisingly told us it would only suit Europeans (with a put down tone)and my husband agreed in that we prefer quality rather than quantity. The younger Americans are very polite and well mannered and really nice so who taught them!
We didn't do any excursions but did explore the town/city that we were docked in. Experiences I will never forget. Some of the places are so poor. Our idea was that we didn't book a cruise to spend all our time on land travelling and we weren't really that bothered where we went as we hadn't been before anyway.
The entertainment on board was international and varied and of a very high standard. Prices were very modest on board too.
All in all though the cruise was fantastic. So much so that we have booked with MSC for next year. I don't think we Scots are that easily pleased but we loved it. Young or young at heart Americans you will love it - Oldies you will too but only if you really want to!

We aren't complainers but if I saw a hair in my bathroom glass I think I'd have to say something to thew cabin steward to be more careful.

I'm glad you enjoyed it First McCruise. I had a feeling you would. I compared it to Costa because I haven't sailed on MSC---yet. I will definitely try them because I like to experience different lines. To me, each has their own "style". I don't know why people treat the crew/staff so rudely, as they are totally subserviant. These people are humans, they are working their tail ends off for very little compensation. They are doing like the majority of the other humans on this planet, trying to make a living for their families. As I posted earlier, most of the complaints are from something minor that gets blown out of proportion. I'm thrilled that you are going again! Best wishes!