21-Day South America Cruise aboard MSC VIRTUOSA

Good points

Ship very clean, had a balcony cabin nice clean seems decent balcony cabin

Food was ok in MDR but a bit repetitive, service excellent in MDR, but very slow between food courses, buffet absolutely chaotic, buffet food very repetitive same dishes every day, struggle to find seats in buffet.

Not so good points

Not enough seats in any bar,

Loads of people just left to hover looking for seats

Over 6000 passengers and really only facilities for half that amount of passengers

No encouragement to sanitise any where

Theatre holds only 700ish people so you really struggle to book a seat for the shows

The app constantly crashes so booking anything can be a problem.

Very very loud ship, no quiet relaxing areas

Ok this was in school holidays but there was at times no control of children running almost ferrel, would I go again, unsure might be nice to see the ship not so busy.

An autistic passenger’s perspective: A sensory nightmare and "Butlins at sea. Review:

I have just returned from a cruise on the MSC Virtuosa. Being on the autistic spectrum, I tend to look for holidays with moments of peace, calm, and predictable spaces. Unfortunately, this ship was the exact opposite: it was a complete sensory nightmare, and the best way to describe it is "Butlins at sea."Complete Lack of Quiet Retreats

The biggest failure of the Virtuosa is that it offers absolutely nowhere to escape the noise. Every single bar, lounge, and public room was constantly jam-packed, incredibly loud, and had a very "lairy" atmosphere. There were no designated quiet zones or low-sensory lounges where you could sit peacefully, read, or decompress. The overcrowding was constant, and the rowdy nature of the crowd made public areas completely overwhelming. Getting a seat in the buffet area on Deck 15 was nearly impossible most mornings; the only days when it was slightly better were when the ship was docked at the ports, as people had got off the ship to see these places. The ship's capacity says it was 6000, but it felt like it was much closer to 16000, as you could not find a quiet space anywhere because everywhere was noisy and jam-packed, and it had me yearning for the days when cruises attracted a wealthier class of people, as they seem to now be targeting the chav market.

If you are neurodivergent or struggle with sensory overload, I would strongly advise you to avoid this ship at all costs, but especially during half-term time.

The Only Sanctuary:

Because the public spaces were so chaotic and loud, the only place I could find any peace and quiet was by retreating to my cabin and locking the door. A holiday should not require you to hide away in your room just to cope with the environment, but that was my only option on this cruise ship. The waiters and the cabin stewards were brilliant and did a brilliant job, and worked very hard to try and make it as comfortable as they could. The food would often run out at the buffet, and they would be working really fast to replenish it, as there were, as I said, there were a lot of people down there in the buffet, and some very greedy ones too, and so sometimes they would struggle to keep up, but that was not at all their fault, and I just feel that with less than half of the people on board, this could have been a much more pleasant trip. Final Verdict

While the ship is physically impressive, it is managed like a high-capacity holiday camp with zero consideration for passengers who need a calmer environment. It was stressful, loud, and not peaceful at all. I will definitely not be sailing with MSC again, especially not during school holidays, and I would urge anyone else on the autism spectrum or with sensory difficulties to look at smaller, more traditional adult-focused lines instead.

Just back from a nice 7 night cruise , two of our ports were cancelled , one changed to another Spanish port and we were a day late departing Southampton but that is no fault of MSC .

Big shout out to Jonas our fantastic room steward who always had a smile , nothing too much trouble and done a fantastic job at keeping our cabin sparkling clean.

Always plenty of food at the buffet , quality not as good as other liners I’ve been on . The Mexican was very nice , really worth a visit and if you are a chocolate lover , try the lava cake at the chocolate shop . Lovely ice cream too all at an extra charge of course .

What let this beautiful ship down was the sheer amount of people , it was half term week and the ship was full but it just felt too overcrowded, we could never find anywhere to sit , shows fully booked by 8:15am so we missed out on a few , wait times at main dining room were crazy so only ate in there twice .

The shows were good but in my opinion not up to the standard of P&O, Disney and RC . ABBA was FANTASTIC tho and the hypnotist was very entertaining . Comedian was 10/10 and entertained the whole family .

The wait to get a drink was insane at any bar , I’m glad I’m not a drinker . It was almost always quicker to go to the buffet for a juice .

The cold juices at the ports were a nice touch and not something I’ve seen on other cruise liners .

Servers in the MDR not as helpful as other liners - I wonder if this is due to gratuities being included