MSC BELLISSIMA Reviews

Our cruise got off to a rocky start: I couldn't be found on the passenger list during check-in. It turned out our cabin had been changed without notifying either me or the boarding staff. They spent a long time trying to figure out why I was missing until they finally found a handwritten note in a logbook about the cabin switch. There were three families traveling together; we had specifically booked three cabins next to each other, but we ended up being moved from Deck 14 to Deck 8—and no one could give a clear explanation why. We started the boarding process at 1:00 PM but didn't get into our cabin until the evening because the new one was locked and the key cards weren't there (meaning we couldn't use any onboard services). The cabin steward knew nothing about it and told us to go to reception. On the first day, the line at reception was like the queue for the Louvre; I waited there for about an hour. The reception staff didn't know why the cards were missing either, so I had to explain that our cabin had been changed (it seems to me that if there was a problem with the cabin, they could have handled the logistics without involving me). I later checked the cabin we were originally supposed to have; it was a total wreck—it looked like it had flooded and was being dried out (it wasn't repaired by the end of the cruise, so the next guests likely faced the same issue). In other words, the problem had existed for a while, but they didn't think it necessary to warn us in advance. So, the first day was a total loss. The travel agency's website advertised the trip as 5 nights/6 days, but in reality, it was 5 nights/4 days (you can essentially write off the first day), and on the last day, disembarkation began at 7:30 AM—meaning you had to get up at 6:00 AM, have breakfast, and head out. The dining arrangements were a disaster, too. It’s the first time I’ve seen long lines at a buffet restaurant when half the tables are empty—meaning there aren't actually that many people. It’s all down to the way the food service is organized. There are constant plumbing issues in the cabins, too: sometimes the toilet overflows, and at other times, only hot water comes out, with no cold water.

It was our first time travelling with MSC and unfortunately, it will be our last.

I want readers to know that we are not cruise snobs, but we give very fair and reasonable feedback for the benefit of other (future) cruise travellers.

The Good: the ship is absolutely beautiful. It's a city on the water and our balcony suite was excellent.

The staff were just wonderful and did an amazing job with the 5000+ passengers.

The negative: the food was very average in both the dining rooms and buffets. This is an area the cruise company needs to improve because the food becomes boring very, very quickly. Some of the food was cold, tough, still frozen, or for the desserts - bland and tasteless (looks nice but taste like crap).

The ships entertainment was also very average for a 10-day cruise. The young singers and dancers did an OK job, but there is much better quality performances on other cruise lines. Bands and other live musicians were very average.

Lots of trouble with drink ordering and over charging on our drinks package caused a few trips to guest services to fix it all up.

I big thank you to those crew personnel that deal with so many passengers on these cruises, as they all work so hard. Maybe the cruise leaders can find better solutions to resolve the highlighted issues to help make MSC a better cruise company

Our experience aboard the MSC Bellissima from April 2 to April 11, 2026, traveling as a family with a toddler and during a 16-week pregnancy, was unfortunately marked by significant operational and communication failures that future travelers should be aware of. From the moment we arrived at the terminal at 11:00 AM, the embarkation process was extremely disorganized, with absolutely no assistance provided for luggage despite traveling with six suitcases, a stroller, and a small child; we were forced to carry everything over a considerable distance without guidance or support, and the entire process took nearly five hours, with boarding completed close to 3:50 PM. A particularly concerning issue occurred during check-in when the system flagged my pregnancy—information I had not actively disclosed at that moment—yet at no point prior to the cruise was I informed through the app, email, or any communication channel that a medical clearance letter would be required to board; as a result, I was nearly denied boarding and had to urgently contact my doctor late at night due to the time difference to obtain documentation, creating an extremely stressful and avoidable situation, especially considering my condition, and with very limited empathy shown by staff, aside from one employee who informally assisted us. Regarding dining, while the food itself was acceptable and we were always able to find options, including for our child, the menu was repetitive, and more concerning was a persistent unpleasant humidity-like odor in the Lighthouse Restaurant across multiple days and meal times, suggesting issues with ventilation or cleanliness that negatively impacted the dining experience; service in bars was notably attentive and efficient, while buffet service tended to be slower due to overcrowding, although I would like to highlight that Eduardo, one of the waiters, provided exemplary service and stood out for his attentiveness and professionalism. Entertainment was one of the more positive aspects of the cruise, with consistent live music, a variety of evening shows, and ongoing activities that helped maintain a lively atmosphere onboard. However, port logistics were another major weakness, particularly in Kagoshima, where we waited nearly two hours in a disorganized taxi line with no clear system, no staff control, and no priority given to families, even as other passengers were allowed to cut ahead. In Jeju Island, accessibility issues became evident when disembarking with a stroller, as there was no clear ramp access or assistance provided, forcing us to carry the stroller with our child inside on stairs, which is unacceptable for a cruise catering to families. Finally, the disembarkation process was completely out of control: although the ship arrived in Tokyo at 10:15 AM, we did not exit the port until approximately 2:20 PM, with our assigned disembarkation time at 12:24 PM and luggage groups 43–45 still not being called while earlier groups were significantly delayed, demonstrating a total breakdown in scheduling, communication, and crowd management; the process was slow, confusing, and far below the standards we have experienced on multiple cruises departing from cities such as Miami and Seattle. On a positive note, the balcony cabin itself was clean, comfortable, and well-maintained, and our cabin attendant, Sabina, provided excellent, attentive, and detail-oriented service throughout the trip. Overall, while the ship has potential and certain aspects such as entertainment and bar service were enjoyable, the repeated issues with organization, lack of communication, poor port logistics, and inadequate handling of special situations such as pregnancy and traveling with a child significantly impacted our experience; this review is intended to ensure that other travelers are fully aware of what to expect and can prepare accordingly if they still choose to sail on this vessel.

This was our first cruise with this line, and will be the last. I'll focus on the services provided by the ship and avoid the issues with the line since their marginal.

1. Upon boarding, my in-laws and I needed to have our picture taken for the card key. The person taking the photo failed to notice my father-in-law's eyes were closed. This resulted in other crew hassling him (as if it were his problem) getting off and reboarding the ship during our first port of call.

2. During the mandatory safety exercise, the video failed to notify us that we needed to proceed to our designated group area to have our cards scanned. It did tell us that if traveling with someone with a disability should go to guest services to let them know. We were on our way to guest services when we were denied access to the elevator--we were told that we had to go by stairs. Trying to explain that my in-laws cannot risk the stairs unnecessarily due to health and falling hazard met deaf ears from one crew member. Fortunately the second was more receptive. Upon checking in with guest services, they didn't seem to care anyone was physically impaired, either.

3. During the 1st dinner, the staff very busy. I get that being the 1st meal, things might be a bit hectic, but they were so undertrained as to let us know. As a result, the bottle of wine we ordered did not arrive until after I had to complain, which was after the appetizer had been brought out. My father-in-law's bottle of beer arrived but was warmed by the time we could toast to the in-law's first cruise.

4. The practice of hiring English-as-a-2nd-Language really created problems on this cruise. Probably because it was a 3rd or 4th language. But since this cruise departed from Japan, few of the crew even understood Japanese. I digress for the moment. We did not buy one of the drink packages because we're not heavy drinkers. At the end of the 1st meal, one of the servers came with the bill but before letting me sign it, walked away to take care of something. When he returned, the cost had increased. His explanation was that we had to pay for the complimentary water. When I refused to sign for that we became frustrated. Eventually the head waiter came around and clarified--the charge was the service fee, not the water. Apparently the other waiter couldn't grasp the difference between complimentary water and service fee.

5. After returning from the 1st port of call, my wife and in-laws were required to surrender their passports without any sort of explanation or instruction as to what to do for the rest of the cruise or when they would get them back. ZERO information. Upon arriving at our next port, they were not allowed out of the immigration area because they did not have a printer photocopy of their confiscated passports. We had to wait over an hour for the ship to provide photocopies, causing us to cancel our plans for the day. When we complained that we should have been told, the crew told us the "travel agent" should have told us this. Nope, sorry. It's the cruise line's and ship's responsibility to make sure everyone aware of this as not all ports and nations are the same. Don't go blaming someone not present for your mistakes.

6. Tying into #5, before we got to that point, the crew tried to separate my wife and her parents from me because of our passports. We didn't want to become separated as none of us had ever been to the place and didn't wish to get apart. If we had, I would have ended up outside immigration and wondering where everyone was. Getting the concession to keep us together took blocking the line for 5 minutes before the crew gave in.

7. #5 and #6 was not us alone. There were others in the same situation. I counted at least 100 other Japanese nationals blocked by immigration at the 2nd port call. All the time we're on the ship, they advertise that they have over 300 years of experience. It really does not show. In fact, getting through immigration during the 1st port call took 2 hours. We had plans that were, fortunately, curtailed by the weather. The only time I've ever experienced such delays through immigration came from having to use a tender in rough seas...and that didn't take so long.

8. On average, I'd say about half of the staff were friendly or respectful. The dinner staff started out that way, but after the hassles were resolved, we understood each other and things were great. The staff in the breakfast and lunch, on the other hand, were downright rude. As soon as we were seated, they expected us to know what wewanted. As soon as they had our order, they disappeared like roaches in light. It often took 5 minutes to flag down someone to get a refill on coffee or juice. When we did, the person serving made like it was a total bother. The breakfast coffee server was the absolute worst. After being told to come to us, he passed our table twice. On the second pass I tried to stop him and he just snapped at me for running out of coffee or milk.

9. There wasn''t much choice for entertainment onboard that we saw compared to other lines. The complimentary show offered 2 or 3 shows a night and changed every night. We had to jump on the chance to get tickets as soon as they became available because there's not enough seating for everyone on the ship. In the end, the in-laws enjoyed them but my wife and I slept through most of them.

10. The pay-to-view Carousel show. I can say that it met my expectation. We paid $12/person to get a drink. The show wasn't worth it. It ran a bare 30 minutes and the story was empty. Singing acrobats that couldn't sing as well as the free entertainment staff.

11. Circling back to guest services. As with many faces to the public, it seemed their job was to stonewall with apologies and deception, often blaming other services without addressing the issue. For example, the eventual return of the passports. We were told they'd be returned to the rooms at a specific time frame and we had to be present to receive them. We waiting during that time frame without anyone coming with the documents. Fortunately, I passed our room steward as we left and I asked him about it. He was able to get them in a matter of a minute without further hassle. They also parroted the excuse that travel agents need to tell when passports need to be surrendered.

I haven't been on a lot of cruises, so I do give leeway for different protocols. The cruises I've been on, however, had told me exactly what to expect at every port of call. In comparison, MSC and the Bellisima staff, specifically, seem to have no experience or fail to learn from it. I certainly have, and will not use MSC again.

Let me first say that I’ve cruised between 20 and 25 times. I’ve cruised with multiple cruise lines and MSC has been the absolute most disappointing experience. Being an experienced cruiser, I always buy the premium drink package, the most expensive internet package and always book a cabin with a balcony. How could you complain with all that? Well, the temperature on this ship feels like HELL, apparently the premium drink package does not include drinks in the main restaurant?? And, although they have an app, you can not make reservations on it and all signage on the ship is in Japan, therefore we couldn’t find the table to reserve a seat at the nightly show and the line to Guest Services was wrapped around the lobby. I will never cruise MSC again. The common areas are beautiful and our cabin IS spacious but the overall service lacked in every aspect.