MSC VIRTUOSA Reviews

This ship is a disaster. The menus are when I say bad I mean exceptionally bad. The choices are rubbish and when you do find something eat the food is cold and they don’t seem to care. The buffet is terrible and like school meals (bad school meals). The reception staff don’t care or understand a complaint. I had pre booked for a speciality show and then it was made complimentary so I was given a non refundable on board credit. If I don’t spend it the I have lost it. The reception staff could not under non refundable credit is not the same as paying back the money they should not have taken. I am currently onboard and cannot wait to get off at the end of the cruise in Southampton. I hope someone from MSC read this whilst I am still on board and do something about this ship.

Where to begin?

Our balcony room was the smallest we have ever experienced. No room to swing a dead mouse let alone a cat!

The food in the main dining room was barely edible. Food in the buffet never seemed to change.

You could hardly find a seat in any of the bars in the evening, and if you did, the waiter service was a joke!

No announcements were made [including safety ones when you embarked], the Captain hardly spoke English and the Offices were no where to be seen.

Sunbeds on the open decks were at a premium and as usual on all cruise ships these days, towels were left to reserve beds for hours on end and the Crew NEVER attempted to remove them.

We went to one evening show [music of ABBA]. It was more like a karaoke performance as no musicians were present. The cast just sang and danced along to a backing track.

A couple of positives? Well, both embarkation and disembarkation were brilliant. We were on board within minutes of arriving and were off the ship before 7 in the morning.

In summary then, I can only advise that you give MSC and in particular the Virtuosa, a very wide berth [pun intended!] and leave it to those who have low expectations and even lower standards!

The ships facilities are good but overcrowed and understaffed. The food is Luke warm at best and that includes the cold food. If this was under UK food standards agency regulations MSC would be shut down as a health hazard. I have spoken with the guest services to see if i can be moved to a less cramped and more suitable restaurant, this cannot be done due to the ship being full. Also Spoke with a couple of guests in Yacht Club today and they have the same issue with cold hot food and warm cold food like cheeseboard’s. This is the basics either get it right or get a bank of microwaves so people can enjoy hot food. The cabin is very good. The bars are very busy with the serving staff being hit or miss on motivation and interest. The Caraousel show was amazing but the other shows have been out of tune with the backing music drowning out the singers. First and last MSC cruise.

a great experience overall. (late aug/early sept)

stunning views of Norway. lots of entertainment throughout the day and night. plenty of buffet to choose from.

fun for everyone from all walks of life.

i was pleasantly surprised to hear a rare japanese composition played by Simone, a talented pianist/member of MSC staff, who also plays a wonderful selection at the piano bar during the evenings. never thought i would hear that beautiful rendition live in public.

the pools are all heated so you can enjoy them in all weathers.

it can feel a little busy at first but you learn to settle and can always find a quiet spot if you plan accordingly.

wifi is sold as an extra but we just used the local wifi when near land. you dont need to be glued to your gadgets anyway.

theres enough on the room tv to keep you informed when out at sea.

we did the photo package but did not bother with the drinks plan as that would have been £60 a day for the 2 of us. (£30 each).

buffet included water/tea and coffee/ fruit juices so you wont go thirsty.

theres no vending machines or drinks fridges in the onboard shops so make sure you bring a flask if you dont intend to do the drinks packages .

The ship is lovely and clean

The staff are extremely helpful and very welcoming

The food was very good

The cons

The marketplace restaurant was like a zoo at meal times very very full and busy

The main complimentary restaurants were well organized but they leave guests in dressed in shorts tshirts baseball caps in the evening very unprofessional.

Bar areas were overcrowded and too near each other to be enjoyable as singers had to stop singing not to compete with singers in another close area making sound levels uncomfortable,

The theatre shows had to be booked as only holds approximately 750 with 3 shows 35 minutes each and 6000 people on board

On sunny days no subbed available unless you’re there to get on at 6am and the whole ship is so full .

Everyone we spoke to had the same complaints and would not book on this ship again,

Also there is no dress code it’s a wear anything you want cruise very very very casual anything goes

We have been on 3 previous Smaller msc ships and were great