4-Day Cruise to the Bahamas and the Caribbean on MSC GRANDIOSA

I decided to write a review since I spent a lot of time looking for reviews before our family cruise and hopefully this might be of help to someone.

This is only my second cruise and first with msc .

Firstly the ship is beautiful and I found all areas including the Cabin to be very clean . Public toilets always clean whenever I used them.

We sailed Fantastica level with a Balcony on level 12 .

We had 2 adults and 2 teens .

The room had a couch that was converted to bunk beds and remained that way for the week.

Space was tight and we had to keep on top of the kids clutter but it was manageable just about .

The beds were very comfortable and kids also found the bunks comfortable.

Bathroom was fine, occasionally a slight musty smell from the drain but not enough for us to complain about it .

Our room attendant was excellent and introduced himself on our first day asking us if we had any questions .

He was happy for us to remove the drinks from the cabinet and fill with our own water .we had the premium extra drinks package . This does not include the mini bar .

We had 4 msc aqua bottles waiting for us in the room and we used these to fill with water out and about the ship during the week.

I found the aqua station easy to use at buffet and we would hand our bottles to be filled when we passed a bar that was not busy and last thing at night we would pop up to the buffet for one last refill .

I do it think would be better to have far more refill stations around the ship that people could sort their own water.

It would also save the bar tenders time since between filling water , making coffee and getting drinks for people the bars were far far busier than they needed to be snd often did not have enough bar tenders to cope with demand.

We ate in 2 speciality restaurants, Hallo Taco and Butchers Cut . Butchers cut was very good .Our drinks package worked in both . With wine on the premium package you order by the glass and not bottle . In Butchers cut the waiter poured from the bottle and our glases were always topped up so that was no issue for us.

On all other evenings we ate in the MDR . We had fixed dining and that worked well for us. We requested a late sitting knowing we would be in port most days and allowing for teenagers to sleep in a little and have a swim or relax when we got back onto the ship.

We got 8pm sitting along with my sisters family .We had linked our booking in advance of the cruise so we had a table for 8 in total . 8pm worked perfect for us.

Our restaurant was The Purple Crab and our server , Mark, was a superstar! With 4 kids in our group we had sauces on the side , mains swapped out , special requests from kids for pasta or burgers or fries and he sorted everyone out . If we were unsure what to order he would bring a spare for us to try . I ordered Risotto on the first night and was warned I might find it a little firm. It was perfect and I would highly recommend it.

I found the fish a little overcooked but everything else was really good. Again our drink choices were remembered and brought without asking on the second night . Really good service.

Thoughts on the buffet : I brought the kids at around 10am every day for breakfast , we went straight to the back towards the sliding door to pool area. It was quiet there and the choices are mostly repeated at the different stations . When the kids wanted pancakes or waffles we didnt need to go to the indoor buffet at all as the station outside the buffet next to main pool had waffles and pancakes ready to go. This same outside pool station had burgers , pizzas and hotdogs available all day from 12 until about 5pm to grab and go .

The lunch at buffet was from 12( I think ) until 3pm . We were mostly off the ship but when we came back early the middle section was very busy so we moved to the back and found it fine.

The only day the buffet seemed bad was the sea day and we just by luck missed the chaos that seemed to begin around 2pm . We were leaving and groups came in and staff seemed to have trouble coping .

Given the choice I would only use the buffet for quick snacks but all the food I tasted from it was good and they seemed to have a good variety of food in my opinion. More staff helping to move the flow of people and perhaps guiding to free seating would improve the experience .

There was always plenty of food available between sittings and especially late at night, pizzas constantly also fries, burgers and plenty of left over dinner items still being served after midnight. You will not go hungry on this cruise. I always went to the buffet to get a cup of tea before bed and was astonished at the amount of food being eaten at all hours !

The pool area we did not love . It was packed always like human soup.

The weather was incredibly hot so the kids would cool off in the aqua park and I would find somewhere on the shady side of the ship to sit . I was always able to find a sunbed but never close to the pool which was fine by me. The sunbeds do not have attached sunshade which is a pity as the sun was relentless .

The gallery area inside the ship was lovely and cool. The edge bar was nice to have a coffee or drink at any time.

Almost everyone made an effort to wear white on " White night " and msc make a big effort with the evening time parties . If you are a night owl you will be well catered for .

We only had 1 sea day and I'm not sure how I would feel about more sea days . The younger kids on the cruise seemed well catered for but our teens struggled a little on the sea day. I think they would have liked more organsed games of basketball or soccer outside of the teen clubs that they refused to go to or just a few more activities .

We had the fun pass and it was well worth it . The formula 1 was a hit and expensive at I think 12euro a go . The VR was also good and perhaps 10euro a go but it adds up quick. We only ever had to wait 10mins to use the formula 1 car or VR cinema. Bowling we booked the day before.

We went to see 3 shows all at 1030 pm and the shows are between 35 and 45 mins long . The Abba show we enjoyed and the kids really enjoyed the starwalker mJ show. The shows book out fast on the app so you need to book them fast. Each show was released at about 3pm the day before as far as I can remember.

We really enjoyed our days off the ship although the heat made excursions difficult.

We boarded in Palma so our first port stop was Barcelona. We took the msc shuttle to the trade centre and walked from there along las Ramblas and the Gothic quarter. We had a snack and refreshment in a pleasant plaza and then a little shopping before making our way back to the shuttle and ship . We did pay for the shuttle I think 9euro each .

In Cannes we wandered off the ship at around 11am onto a waiting tender to bring us to Port and from there we walked to the beach and got in the sea. It was seriously hot so our plans to wander around town were curtailed.

In Genoa our group split up . The kids all walked to the aquarium with my husband and the rest of us went on an excursion to Portifino and Camogli. We loved this trip . The excursion was listed as 140euro but the night before the the price dropped while we had dinner to 98euro per adult . We felt this was good value and booked it . Great trip would recommend.

In La spezia we got off the ship to free waiting shuttles that took us to the edge of the port . From there we walked 5/10 mins to the public ferry and paid for a return trip to Portovenere . We did not have time to go to Cinque Terre as it was after 11am when we got off the ship. As it happens Portovenere was a great choice for us. We wandered to a lovely little pebble public beach with a pier that the kids enjoyed jumping into the sea from . We really enjoyed this little town and caught the 1445 ferry back to Port . The ferry trip took about 35mins giving us plenty of time to get the shuttle back to the ship .

Our final stop was Rome and as we have been to Rome before many times as a family we decided with the temperatures so high to just take a wander around the Port and use the pool while it was quiet.

Disembarking at Palma was very simple and hassle free. We left our cases outside our room the night before between 10pm and 1am . Woke up at our leisure , had breakfast and walked off the ship at around midday . No issues , our cases waiting for us when we got off .

Would we sail with MSC again ?

Yes absolutely. We did go on the ship with our eyes open . We live in Ireland and holiday in Europe every year so we are used to the various personalities . Bring your patience and take your time . This is a big ship with a lot of people on it. With so many people queuing systems for the buffet and bars would make life easier for everyone and I think the staff struggled at times. Personally I prefer my space and slow travel on land but the grandosia is a lovely ship and cruising is a nice way to see Ports and places we otherwise may not choose to go to for an extended holiday and I now have more places in Italy on my list for a repeat visit !

The kids all enjoyed themselves but they would have enjoyed more use of the soccer hall or basketball had it been available more often outside of the clubs . Amongst kids English language was in the minority , Italian and Spanish being the majority just something to be aware of if traveling with a lone child but the kids clubs appeared to be well attended and our kids had a great time overall.

I rated thso review " Average " but it is really a solid " good" just not quite " very good" yet.

My kids begged to go to the games room with the pass I had paid extra for for them. A little while later our son rang very upset looking for us to go up. We got there to find our 10 year old girl crying and shaking clutching her games pass and our 15 year old son shaking and upset. A lady in her 50s had tried to steal my daughter’s property when my son tried to protect his little sister a man in his 50s restrained him and won’t let them leave . The staff watched all and did nothing to help the kids from the strangers than were Spanish. I had to demand 3 times they call security when security arrived I told them I wanted the cctv check which they did and it lined up with my kids statement. We were told if we wanted to press charges we would have to leave the ship and we were better off contacting our solicitors when we got home. We were told if we see these people on the ship for the rest of the holiday to avoid them. We spent the rest of the holiday worried we would see them the kids were terrified. My youngest started having nightmares. On the last day there was a card on our door looking for us to go to guest services when I got there the lady said we wanted to know how you liked the food I said is that all you want what about my kids and the attempted robbery and assault the lady said it is not the job of the staff onboard to ask how your kids are. Not one person ever called to see if they were ok. MSC themselves have been ignoring me click and go holidays have been emailing and called me they are also having no luck with MSC. The staff are rude people are moved around like cattle on the ship. It’s too crowded. They were good with the gluten free food and our room steward was very good and helpful. I did not get to use the gym or spa as my kids would not leave my side after the incident. The pool was too small for the amount of people on the ship but it was always clean

This was a repositioning cruise from Port Canaveral to Barcelona. I was traveling by myself in a balcony cabin that I got for a FANTASTIC price. There were only three stops on the cruise so lots of sea days (my favorite) The food in the main dining room was average to good. The food in the buffet was OK but repetitive. The things I think they do particularly well: Cheese cake - nice and rich and creamy, pizza - the best at sea, breakfast pastries - not the flaky kind, the gooey sticky bun cinnamon kind. What makes them so good is that they use honey, not brown sugar. In fact honey is their sweetener of choice in many things and you can really taste the difference. Fruit - All of the cut up fruit was ripe and delicious, no hard nasty melons

As far as service - my cabin steward reliably brought me ice everyday and with the mini bar stuff removed the whole ice bucket fit in there perfectly. Dinner service was uneven. I had to track down someone for water and dinner silverware as on many nights they didn't take my salad utensils away they just left them for me to eat my dinner with.

I like that stateroom service is only once a day. I thought I would miss the turn-down service but it's really much better and I didn't have to worry about my guy knocking on the door to see if I was gone or not.

The fitness room is way to small for the size of the ship and there were young kids messing with the equipment. They need to replace the rowing machines with Concept2 rowers. One of the rowers was broken and the other one had a rusty chain. Not good. They should replace them with Concept2 rowers. They are the industry standard.

One thing that surprised me is that MSC does not allow passengers to bring flowers onto the ship. This was the first time I had ever encountered that and I hope that the other lines do not follow suit.