8-Day South America Cruise Aboard MSC MUSICA

My wife and 2 daughters (aged 18 and 21) had an amazing cruise with MSC Musica. The ship was amazing as was our room. The itinerary was great as were the excursions. The staff were fantastic. Sukla, Jackson and David made each night in the restaurant a lovely occasion. Their service each night was impeccable as was the quality of the food. The show team was absolute class as was the entertainment team. A special mention must go to Camilla whose quality, energy, enthusiasm and interaction with guests was another level of brilliance. We also had interaction with Oliver and Hamza who were also brilliant. My daughter has just graduated from a performing arts college and has aspirations to join a cruise ship team as a dancer or part of the ents team herself. She was so impressed with MSC she has already applied. As an independent travel agent I would highly recommend MSC

I would leave 0 stars if possible. This is our second MSC cruise and first cruise since the pandemic and our second MSC cruise (we took one MSC cruise 10 yrs ago and that was our only other horrible cruise experience). The ship and cabins are dated and look and feel dirty. The waiters harassed us daily to try and get us to sign up for a drink package and guest services was a joke. The negatives: 1. Our cabin was not cleaned and filthy on the first day of the cruise, so we had to leave so they could clean it. That already starts the cruise off badly. 2. We were in balcony room and there was constant LOUD noises from the vents all night. 3. We could rarely use the room’s balcony since someone was always smoking on theirs and we couldn’t breathe when we tried to sit on ours. 4. The one excursion we took in Sardinia was disappointing and not worth the money. 5. Guest services is a joke and we’re not helpful until the end of the trip when we showed them pictures and video proof of our experience. 6. The food was below average for a cruise, even in the dining room. 7. MSC no longer has the one night of steak and lobster in the main dining rooms. You now have to pay extra, and the waiters are persistent in trying to get you to pay. The positives: 1. The shows were good. 2. The itinerary is a good one with one sea day. 3. They tried to make it up to us but it was the day of disembarkation and at that point, we were done. Save your money and take it to Royal Caribbean, Celebrity or Princess. We were with family that had never cruised before and I was so embarrassed.

The cruise was great, fantastic and friendly staff. TJ from the entertainment team was great.

Some of the casino staff could occasionally be rude, but some were great. Good variety of shopping and great deals.

Entertainment was good, loved the theatre performances. Pool/Jacuzzi as expected was crowded most of the time.

Food is the only place they can make a lot of improvements. As a vegetarian, I had limited and repetitive options. They have an ethnic food corner; which wasn’t operational during dinner. Many times when they ran out of items, they weren’t replenished. The restaurant usually had 2 vegetarian main options but sometimes it was just 1. They really need to add more international variety (other cruise lines have a better variety).

Rooms were fine, decently sized. Photographers were amazing, we ended up with some of the best pictures we’ve got taken.

Excursions are expensive and I advise you to book your own.