8-Day Tour Around The UK Cruise Aboard MSC PREZIOSA

The cruise is generally overcrowded. The buffet is poor quality, plastic glasses and plates, sharing tables. The food is slightly above school dinner levels.

The restaurant food is similar standard to the buffet, but with long waits service. Not the staff’s fault.

There are no paper menus, so guests are expected to scan a QR code to see what is available. This means that at most dinner tables, lots of people are on their phones.

We previously used the P&O main restaurants, which I found to be very good. Night and day compared to MSC.

We didn’t get to dock at Hamburg because of the weather, which is fair enough. Unfortunately, we stopped at Bremmerhaven, a place with nothing to see or do - plus largely closed on a Sunday.

The organisation was shambolic getting on and off the boat. This was being managed by MSC staff - but they took zero responsibility for the chaos. 1 hour to get on the boat and 1 hour to get back on, plus Yacht Club guests were allowed to queue jump, which added to our frustration.

We’ve previously sailed with P&O and NCL, which were far superior to MSC.

MSC = avoid at all costs. I’m really sorry if you’ve already booked. Hopefully, half term was particularly bad. If you are thinking of booking, please avoid.

Overall:

I selected this 14 nights cruise based on the stunning itinerary, and for that I have been fully satisfied: all the ports of call have been stunning with enough time to visit and in particular MSC Preziosa was the only mainstream ship reaching the remote Svalbard Islands in 2026.

Food was good with Mediterranean imprint. Ship is elegant but overcrowded, and this was the main drawback to me. My Outside cabin was spacious and well equipped. Entertainment was ok, but without spikes.

Cabin:

I occupied the “Large” Oceanview cabin. This cabin seems to be more spacious than other standard cabins: there are very roomy wardrobes (five doors, three of which have hanging space, one with shelves and another with drawers, plus two additional shelves and a safe). There are no power outlets next to the bed, but the desk has two European Schuko 220V outlets and two American 110V outlets. There is also a shaver outlet in the bathroom.

Our cabin had two optional Pullman beds, but there would also be space for a sofa bed, which in our case was instead occupied by two armchairs and a small table. As a result, there is a large desk with a padded stool and a nice coffee table that could also been used as a second, small desk.

The bathroom has a shower enclosed by transparent folding doors, which can be folded inward to provide more room to move around when the shower is not in use. At first glance, this is definitely better than a shower curtain, although a person of XXL size would certainly not be able to enter/exit the shower box freely.

There is a generous flat-screen TV, a minibar, and a kettle for coffee, with a selection of coffees and teas.

The Ship

The ship is elegant and well maintained, but with one major drawback: the public areas are not adequately sized for its maximum capacity of 4,500 passengers (3,500 based on double occupancy). I believe 3,000 would be the maximum number of passengers needed to make the experience on this ship comfortable. This also taking into consideration that during winter or (like in my case) for Northern destinations -we were sailing most time North of the Polar Circle- the open air pool and solarium cannot be utilized, so pushing the people to stay in the inner spaces.

During our stay there were 4,000 guests on board, and the result is that it was very difficult to find a free table in the buffet, both at breakfast and at lunch on sea days. The spaces are also rather limited, with narrow aisles between the tables and along the food-service counters, creating a constant feeling of overcrowding.

The main dining rooms also feel cramped because the tables are placed too close together, the aisles are extremely narrow, and tables are shared by guests from different cabins, with no possibility of choosing a private table or dining on your own.

Another drawback I noticed in this ship is that there is no real “observation lounge”. There is a nice panoramic lounge on Deck 16, the Crystal Lounge, but it is relatively small and has very few armchairs. It is also used as a nightclub. During our cruise, it proved completely inadequate as an observation point while sailing through the Norwegian fjords. Result was to have people packed close to the windows in the beautiful Maya buffet, keeping tables occupied also for non-food reasons.

Internet

I was upset about the way the internet packages are managed. The prices would be fairly average (read: high) if it were not for the fact that the internet system allows only one device to be associated with the package for the entire duration of the cruise.

If you own two devices, for example a smartphone and a tablet, it is not possible to switch the connection from one to the other, because the package is permanently linked to a single device through its MAC address. This is not explained clearly enough at the time of purchase.

Adding a second, third, or fourth device is prohibitively expensive if you do not actually intend to use them simultaneously.

For me, this was a real issue and this will reduce my favour to MSC for the future.

Laundry

There is no option to use self-service, coin-operated washing machines. If yiu are planning to use laundry I recommend to consider a Laundry Package purchased before departure, so to spend 50% of the publisehed per-piece rates.

Entertainment

Good quality entertainment all around the ship during days and nights. The stage shows at Diamond Theater, having 1,600 seats, proved to be talented and professional, although on other ships of similar size from the same company I have seen considerably more elaborate productions.

During our 14 nights cruise there were 5 Broadway-style productions and 7 acceptable solo shows, plus 2 of them to forget. Unfortunately, no live music performed on stage. While the shows and choreography were impressive, I found the set design and lighting usage terrible; I have never seen an LED wall used so poorly or a theater so lacking in special effects.

This gave the impression of a somewhat “budget” production, something more commonly associated with ships carrying fewer passengers.

Food

MSC Preziosa has some real strengths when it comes to Mediterranean cuisine, which I greatly appreciated.

Buffet: the variety of fresh fruit is definitely above average; the pizza is absolutely fabulous and hand-stretched; there is a good variety and selection of pasta; vegetarian dishes are readily available; and there is also a good selection of international specialties.

For breakfast, I particularly appreciated the wide selection of jams and honey, while the rest of the breakfast offering is broadly comparable to what I have experienced on other cruise lines.

The afternoon tea offering is good, with scones, finger sandwiches, and other items.

On special evenings, there is also an extensive, somptuous midnight buffet.

In the MDR, the menu always includes a selection of starters, including a soup and a vegetarian option. Among the main courses, there is always a different daily pasta dish and a risotto, the latter being consistently of a very high standard.

I found the meat dishes rather unappealing, while the fish dishes were adequate, even if not exceptional. Desserts were good.

Overall, my impression is positive when it comes to the Mediterranean approach to the cuisine, although the offering may feel somewhat limited if judged from a more international perspective.

Itinerary

The outstanding itinerary was the main reason I chose this cruise. In 2026, MSC Preziosa was the only mainstream cruise ship to call at the Svalbard Islands. We also touched the beautiful Ports of Tromso and HONNINGSVAG (North Cape) North of the Polar Circle, plus 3 wonderful fiords: Molde, Olden and Stavanger.

As well, Hamburg, the first and last port of call, was an excellent location worth surely a stay.

Service and communication

Announcements are always done in 5 languages. This could be a little annoying, but is surely useful for many. Port lectures are held in various sessions in the Theater in different languages at different times. Announcements are comprehensive and cover all the main activities.

I found service good, both for cabin attandance, MDR’s, buffet and bars.

Hamburg to Iceland round trip with stops in Scotland. No problems other than North Atlantic winds and fog.

This was our 4th MSC cruise, second on Fantasia class. We prefer the Sea class. Previously we were NCL Haven guests..

MSC Yacht Club has great staff and services, good food (not great), nice suite. Starlink Wifi is included, as are drinks up to $16.

Entertainment was okay in the theater at night. There was music all around the ship. Evenings we had a piano player in the Top Sail lounge.

Iceland was the highlight of the trip, long walk in Reykjavik. Which is a beautiful city all powered by Geo-thermal energy. Interesting history that is very well documented.

Golden Tour bus ride. Glaciers, mountains, hot springs, waterfalls, volcanic craters; lots of natural beauty.

Most of the cruisers were German. We made friends with a group of Australians.

We spent an extra day in Hamburg after the cruise.