MSC Cruise Lines

Where to begin? It was bad from beginning to end. We traveled on the MSC Musica September 11-18, 2011. First off, their website asked if we were celebrating any special days, and of course we were, a birthday and a wedding anniversary. I put in the pertinent information, and nothing! Why ask if you aren't going to do anything? When I asked the restaurant staff, I was told (a) they didn't know, and (b) they didn't do anything special (also known as, they don't care). All of the waiters wanted to slap the food down and go home. When I complained, loudly, I received an invitation to meet with the captain. When we went, it was actually newlyweds night, and for another $50, I could get a picture with the captain. We walked out. Then the last night, in the other restaurant (we gave up on our waiter), they did a whole happy birthday thing for a guest! Wow.

The internet on the ship was a joke, and a really expensive joke as well. It cost me $6 in the internet cafe for 10 minutes, and all I got was "waiting for Yahoo to download". I'd have been better off throwing the Euros over the side, for I would have gotten the same value, and not waited 10 minutes to find out. The room version was not any better. It cost me close to $20 to send two emails in an hour. This made us essentially cut off from family back in the states. I was not a happy camper..

When we pulled into Athens, we went to get a cup of coffee before going on the tour, but alas, this must have been the first time they pulled into a port on a Thursday morning, because there were no coffee cups. When we asked about it, we were told to go to the other side, but they had none as well. When we asked about it, the responses ranged from indifference, to outright hostility from the staff. When we got back, they locked down the "free" water/ice machines, and forced you to buy bottled water from the bar. We were hurried during our entire tour to the Parthenon, then given 18 minutes to shop in their designated store, only to get back with 4 hours before departing. Since they pull into Piraeus, there was no opportunity to go back into town. Why did we have to rush? I wanted to shop the shops at the bottom of the hill, and walk on the rock that St. Paul walked on, but was told I could not, due to time constraints. What a rip off.

I stood in line for an hour to get the 1st launch into Santorini. They let the excursionists off at 7 AM, but us scoffers did not depart the boat, until almost 9. By the time we actually got into the port, we barely had time to get up the hill, do a little shopping, and hightail it back to the boat. I had the 1st launch! Imagine how much time folks with launch #36 had! Pathetic.

I bought an excursion, because I didn't think we could make it into the old town and back expeditiously. So imagine my dismay when they announced the night before that they would have bus service to/from the city! When I asked why they didn't announce this at embarkation, so I could make an informed decision, I was told "you should have asked". Really?

The food was average, the cigar bar had one broken cutter and no cigar lighters, and the entertainment in all of the bars was exactly the same: one person playing a keyboard. The tip is automatic, so there is no incentive to even try to make your stay enjoyable. The waiter routinely reached across my food, to pick something up or lay something down, and getting off the ship was delayed, because they had one guy checking IDs for the 6,000 people getting off the ship.

The MSC Musica is all about making money, at the expense of their customers, not by trying, even slightly, to make their customers happy. In fact, I was so disappointed, I wound up having a 45 minute conversation with the ship's customer service manager, who spent that 45 minutes alternately writing things down, and dropping his jaw in amazement. Do yourself a favor, take a different cruise line if you are going to do the Greek Islands. Instead of an enjoyable, relaxing cruise seeing the sights, it was just the opposite. It was expensive, disappointing, and they robbed me of the three things I wanted most: personal service, time in the ports, and an experience I would cherish in the coming years. Do not get on this ship.

They confiscated my Swiss Army Knife, treating me like some sort of terrorist, with the promise of its return at disembarkation. This was so chaotic. They never called our number that we were told to pick the knife up at the end of the gangway. When we got there, they told us that it was back at the top. At that point, the water taxi arranger started yelling at us, because we were so late. So, there was no turning back. After months and months of multiple e-mails demanding my knife's return or monetary reimbursement (it was given to me by my late husband), all MSC does is ignore me. They are the worst cruise line ever. Never ever use their so-called services. They are terrible.

My wife and I were in an MSC opera ship from May 14 to 17, when the ship's motor broke. They made the wrong decision to go at South Hampton instead of going to the nearest port to fix the motor, as an international agreement. Then, we were involved with different events. One motor was fixed and it broke down again. We were involved with no tap water, no toilet, and just sandwiched for four days. On top of it, we were pulled by remorquor for a period of 16 hours and then we were stuck in the ocean. After that, we were transferred by small shuttle to Sweden's small port to take a bus to the airport; still without lunch at 0300 hours in morning. We were transferred to one hotel for a period of 3 hours to rest. Prior to that, we checked the baggage in at the airport and at 0300, they decided to return our baggage to us, then we went to the hotel. The following morning, we were picked up at 0800 hours for the airport.

Awful customer service. MSC cruises had their ship stuck in the middle of the ocean! Sign of poor maintenance! So 3000 people suffered. Also another 3000 were canceled on the night before the cruise from London to Northern Europe. My family with small children was left in London with nowhere to stay. We had to pay for everything out of pocket to stay in Europe until flight back. MSC only returned our cruise fair with no compensation after using our funds they charged 10 months prior (over 2.500) for their business gains. We have to pay interest on that money. Why should not they?! If we cancel last minute with MSC, they would not refund us a penny. Why does this sleazy company think they can destroy my family anniversary, leave us stranded in London and pay no penalty for bad service and unsafe ships! Awful cruise line! Never again! We lost thousands of dollars. We got sick. We lost family celebrations plans and small children suffered.

My husband and I took a cruise on February 27, 2011. We thought we were buying the Holistic Days at Sea, and discovered that we were not, once we got on the cruise ship. We were offered to join the group for an additional $700 each (for a one week cruise!). The site did not indicate that there were two groups on the ship, the Holistic group and everyone else. As a result, we were not able to eat vegan food as we had anticipated.

Many parts of the ship were closed off at night and we were not allowed access because of the specialty cruise. The library was never open for us to use, the pool was closed in the evenings for the specialty group to use, the seminars were only for the specialty group and no alternatives were offered to the remaining passengers. The food was horrible at best. The night shows were pretty much the same shows (same people) just singing different songs in different outfits.

We watched food workers eating behind the counter as they prepared and served food. We watched them drop table cleaning rags on the floor and pick them up and wipe the tables. We watched people cough in to cloth napkins and then a worker came along and used the napkin to wipe off the table. On three occasions, they were out of lettuce at the salad bar! We only ate seven lunches and seven dinners (14 meals) and three times, they were out of salad.

We never received paperwork from their company before we left. We didn't know that two nights were formal nights and almost all the restaurants on the ship were closed because of this! We hadn't brought any formal clothes because we didn't know! The ad boasts of numerous restaurants to choose from when eating. They don't tell you that you are assigned one at dinner, and you can't go to the others on the list.

When we tried to talk to the workers on the ship, they were unable to communicate very well in English. Our complaints went unanswered. I emailed the company on March 19. I itemized our entire cruise with everything that happened and on what day. I received an auto response email saying that they would get back with me. I have heard nothing to date (it has been two months now). I have repeatedly emailed them--asking them to at least acknowledge my email. Nothing. We will never cruise with this company again. Do your own research before cruising with MSC cruises. They have numerous complaints like this.

I am disappointed about the cruise on the 14-18th of February 2011. We have just arrived back from the 4-night cruise on MSC Sinfonia. Firstly, could you in the future please advise your passengers that if they require an alcoholic drink in the N shed to please bring their own, as only cool drinks are available? Our trip was supposed to be to Barra lodge, but it was cancelled on board due to a cyclone which I can fully understand as the safety of the passengers aboard is your number one priority. But we were ferried over to Portuguese islands, and we paid $15 per person for a boat trip to Inhaca which was just as well, as there was no food brought from the ship to shore (which was advertised in your daily newsletter).

We had to have lunch at our cost which I feel is really disgusting, as the huge amount of money that we paid and spent on this cruise was saved by your company on fuel, etc., by not having to cruise further. Also, to still charge us for this excursion was inconsiderate. We should have been offered this excursion on the house!

I have traveled on most of your cruise liners over the years and have always had nothing but praise in all departments. However, I must notify you that your cabin and dining room and general cleaners really did a wonderful job of keeping the passengers happy and the boat sparkling clean. However, I can't say the same for the cocktail and bar staff who was very scarce for the amount of passengers you have aboard. And lastly, the quality of the meals, but not quantity, has drastically declined for the amount that was charged. So as you can see, I am very disappointed with this trip and will really have to think very carefully before I undertake to travel with your company again.

There was also very little seating available around the pool deck and in the theater with so many passengers aboard, and seating could never be found that was not reserved by other passengers for their friends who most of the time never arrived. This should be investigated and controlled. Further, we had to watch the shows standing on the steps.

Well, first this was to be are first honeymoon after 37 years and it was a total joke for all the money we paid. Our tickets said that the ship was suppose to leave at 5pm but it never left out of port everglades port until around 8.45. The pass cruises that we have taken were great on another cruise and this MSC Poesia was horrible. No music that was worth hearing if any and the shows was a joke most of all the food was gross and my husband had food poison and had to see the ship Dr. and they charged him a on godly price just to talk to him about 3 minutes which we should not have had to pay for 66.00 since it was from your food on the ship.

We were told from crew members when asked question why there was so many complaints and why. Their comment was that the ship was not full and that they had to cut back on a lot of things. This was bull because the way we feel that we were punished for them not being full. I feel in that case we should have been told because these days money does not come easy and for the price that we paid was not worth ever going on this cruise ship again. The only thing good I can say is that the there was a few of the crew that was really nice but some of the people on that cruise was so rude that all I can say. It was a total joke and I will be telling everyone how bad the Poesia was.

Last of all to hear good music that should have been on our cruise we had to sit and lesson while in ports from other ships music. Our joke that I wouldn't even call a cruise was 12-12-2010 thru 12-19-2010 a date that we will never forget. Thanks for nothing MSC Poesia.

I went on cruise in August 2010. had a few problems with flights that were arranged through MSC. The connecting flight to CDG airport were too tight and due to this, we missed our connecting flight. Also, once on board, we found the reception staff to be very rude and arrogant. To top it off, we paid our bill on disembarkation in Euros only to find that when we got home they had debited our credit card as well. One month later, we are still trying to get our money back since they are stating that we have not yet paid.

We asked for a receipt on the day that we paid but because of the language barrier (English is very poor), they did not understand what we said and just kept pointing to our invoice. There was evidence of our payment as the English speaking rep was nearby and knew we were paying in cash. And also CCTV cameras were filming us as we make the payment. We have made several complaints to MSC in London, but still nothing has been resolved. It appears to me that they like to take your money and can't do enough for you. The holiday cost us over $4,000 and we are absolutely appalled. We are under a great deal of stress concerning this matter, it has me and my family ill. The amount is $500.00 and it's a lot to lose if you have paid it already.

MSC won't return our 6 pieces of luggage! My family and my sister's family wanted to celebrate a memorable Christmas so we chose MSC to make it special for the seven of us. We wanted to experience the "European charm and the genuine warmth and Italian hospitality" so convincingly touted on MSC's website. The seven of us had never cruised with MSC before (but have many times with other cruise lines) however, we had high expectations. The embarkation day was on Dec. 22, 2010 from Genoa, Italy on the MSC Fantasia for 8 nights.

Upon arrival, the airline lost all 7 pieces of our luggage. Air France said they would try to deliver our luggage at the next port. We practically spent our time on board the Fantasia standing on lines just to check for our luggage every day, several times a day. Unfortunately we only received one luggage back. On the disembarkation day, we kept checking with MSC to make sure they did not have our luggage. MSC employees kept telling us they did not have our luggage. They instructed us to check with Genoa airport at the lost and found. When we did, we were shocked and outraged to be informed by Ms. D. at Lost and Found that MSC had taken our luggage! Firstly, MSC gave us the wrong information and secondly they took our luggage after we disembarked. She told us to call Mr. R. with MSC who was in charge of luggage when we arrived back to the USA. Since we were on a return flight back to the USA, we had no choice.

We are all quite disappointed with MSC's staff. Most have nonchalant attitudes and an unwillingness to help. The hospitality that MSC's website so proudly touted was really nonexistent. Communication skills are lacking and below par. It is 7 months and MSC still has our 6 luggage and demanding that we pay to get them back! (Air France refuses to help saying the luggage were already delivered and signed for). How can MSC demand we pay for the negligence and incompetence of its own employees! For the past 7 months, we have been through the most frustrating and fruitless ordeal imaginable just to get back what rightly belongs to us.

I would hate to think that MSC has employed unscrupulous individuals who hope passengers do not claim their luggage, perhaps our luggage have been auctioned off? We have incurred thousands of dollars of unnecessary expenses due to MSC's unwillingness to return our luggage promptly. Our luggage MSC is holding contains beautiful evening gowns, cashmere suits and sweaters, Christmas and birthday presents, electronics etc to celebrate. However, my most valued possession is my laptop.

My family and I have just returned from vacation on the MSC Poedia Cruise Line, and I must say I will never recommend anyone to take this cruise- no way! Everything you have read from other people's comments are so true. There are non-English speaking people on this ship, we were consistently repeating ourselves and got nowhere. The staff is rude, yes. I had to let two of the women have it when they screwed my account up and acted as if I did something wrong and spoke their language among each other.

The list goes on, the food is terrible, they write the menu in 4 languages and you still can't understand the English part of it therefore you don't know what you're eating. The buffet is bad and it's the same thing every morning/night and when they say it's over at 8pm, they mean it. They don't let you finish picking stuff out and they are already removing the stuff to close it down for the morning/night.

All I wanted was a good vacation which was overdue for my family and we just had a terrible time and my 11 year old was so looking forward to it and was disappointed, they advertised kids under 17 are free but did not have much for them to do as far as activities. Listen, take theses reviews seriously and do not spend your money. It will be a horrible experience. Not to mention every island we docked on the ship never left on time to go to the next island, there's a 1hr to 2 hr delay.

Me and my husband as well as my sister and her husband have been on the MSC Sinfonia cruise from 15 March 2010 - 17 March 2010, South Africa, Durban to Portuguese Islands. It was the worst experience ever! We are also going again on a Mediterranean cruise next year but as a result of the bad service and rudeness of most of the staff on board of the cruise ship Sinfonia, we have decided to go with Costa cruises next year. We have also been sharing our disappointment with all of our friends, colleagues, etc.

The following are our complaints: We were not taken to our cabin but merely dropped off at the elevator and told us on which deck our cabin was. The bath in the cabin were dirty and had body hair in it. The bed cover were unevenly draped over the bed, given it an unmade look. The cushions were thin and hard. The shower curtain smelled like pee! The information session was really of no use to us and many other people, as there was no room left in the theater and people were standing and thronging outside the doors and in the corridor trying to hear what was said. Thus we could not hear.

The next morning, we went to the "Terrace buffet restaurant" and we had to wait for a table to open, with plates of food in our hands, and looking helplessly at the waiters that did not even try to assist us with a table! Eventually, when a table opened we had to, still with plates of food in our hands, asked the waiter twice to clean the table before he responded with a dirty cloth and just smeared the leftover food around the table and onto the chairs! We reprimanded him but he just ignored us and walked away! I could scarcely eat the now cold food on my plate! And why does an ice-cream parlor at a pool area only opens at 12:00? By the time it eventually opens, the queue is so long that the idea to get an ice cream has passed.

The staff at the casino, photo gallery was very rude. The Italian staffs' English language skills is non-existent as well as their mannerisms and as most of the crew is also Italian, I am just wondering how this will affect the safety of your passengers in an emergency? We could only see one show because we went an hour before the time to get seats. In all the other instances, there was not even standing space available at the shows! The day of disembarkation, we were one of the first people to wait for disembarkation as our flight was early. We did not even have breakfast. All the other people who had breakfast later on started to queue on the side of reception where we were told not to stand thus we waited on our chairs in the front at the right side of the "ropes'.

A young Italian crew girl started to arrange the disembarkation at the exit and when we moved on to our place in front, she chased me away like a dog saying I must not try and jump the queue! Who the hell gave her the authority to speak to me as if I am a dog and falsely accuse me? I am a paying customer and three times her age and she doesn't even blink to behave in this manner. How can she accuse me of something that she cannot be sure of? Because if she knew what was going on, she would have seen that we were the first people sitting there and waiting to disembark. That was the worst. Never in my life has someone spoken to me with such disrespect like she did and embarrassed me by falsely and openly accusing me! An officer also emerged but did nothing! Is this what I have paid for? To be spoken to as a dog and to be embarrassed and to be falsely accused!

And this I will never forget and it is mostly this that will make me never to set foot on one of MSC Cruises again and to let as many people as I can know how their crew members treat their patrons! I am sure they have all the film footage to corroborate my allegations and I am sure we were not the first people to complaint about the Sinfonia. How do they get away with this? I even tried their website to find a place where I could send them my complaint but no contacts. The one that I eventually found just won't go through. The page keep on coming up with errors!

We took a New Year's Cruise on the MSC Poesia, and needless to say, it was the worst you could ever expect in the world from a cruise line. They have such horrible staff at the front desk and cruise excursions desk. The wait staff and room staff was very nice, but those snobs at the front desk were horrible. I hope anyone researches this line before they buy it. The New Year's Party that said it was going to be reveling all night was the biggest joke ever. The food was terrible! I think MSC should stay in the Med!

As prominent cruisers, we were horrified at the events that unfolded. We booked ourselves on what was supposed to have been a fantastic holiday. Booking through Starlight Cruises for the New Year cruise on 26 Dec. 2009 - 6 Jan. 2010 to first experience false advertising--an advertisement which advertised many different specials of which Starlight would only honor one. This was then reported to the advertising board. Our cruise unfolded as follows: arrival in Durban at 9:15 only to stand in a hot warehouse until 12:00 to be called for boarding another hour--through customs to eventually get into our room at 14:15.

The realization that more than 60% of the employed staff do not speak a word of English and barely understand it. No explanation as to where we need to go or what to do. We were then told that we would eat dinner at 18:30--we were not given any other options or time, this was way too early to eat. Thinking that it could only get better, we were only more disappointed.

Our cabin was tiny and had four of us shoved into it, barely giving room to get dressed and having the most ridiculous shower with a curtain that sticks to you and a floor you slip on constantly. We then race off to dinner and receive the worst food that we have ever tasted. Most of the food was badly prepared, over cooked or raw and tasteless. (The so-called chef needs to go back to school and learn how to cook as he has no clue). Asking for coffee at dinner is a joke as they refuse to serve it.

Now, when you book your cruise through Starlight, you are informed that you will be automatically charged $4 per adult and $2 per child for tips per day. This amounts to $12 a day. We then realized that when ordering a drink of any kind, buying coupons or fetching your own stuff, you are charged a 15% service fee. When we asked what it was for, we were told it's a legal charge for service--that would be great if there was any service. My question is what service as it is nonexistent. You are served from plastic cups, plates, glasses which are filthy, damaged and full of germs. Spend the duration of the time repeatedly begging for someone to serve you. Some days, we waited five hours before a waiter was even present and even when you fetch your own drinks, you still pay a 15% service fee.

The next best thing is that everything is way overpriced and all in dollars. You pay for all--cold drinks, ice cream, coffee, cocktails, beer, wine, etc. They only serve coffee at breakfast, lunch and tea which tastes like dishwater. We then go to breakfast and stand in a queue of 50 people to get something they said was breakfast (as other cruises put it, "If I had to feed this to my dog, it would bite me"). My children's birthdays have better food.

The other disgrace was the number of uncontrolled children on board ranging from babies to 15. The children aged 3 - 12 ran around unsupervised, bumping people over, screaming, messing and stayed up until sometimes 2 in the morning. We were told that they cannot control this. They had no activities for your 8 -12 during the day that was exciting. Teenagers ruled the roost. A number of times, we noticed some 12 year old kids who were drunk, which meant that they were allowing underage drinking. Then, you have the junior night club and teen night club. The teen club was between 10 - 11 PM for ages 13 -17. Why then did they allow men aged 30 - 40 to roam around this club and they were not parents? It was a bit disconcerting for a parent.

We then played bingo and paid $40, which is R225 for one game only to be overrode by young children playing as well. What happened to gambling that is just for 18 and over? And in all due respect, when playing for a cash prize, it's still considered as gambling. You then go into the casino and have children walking through it all the time, croupiers talking to each other while people play cards, which is just unacceptable. And on top of that, have 10 and 12-year old kids walk in and start playing slots--no control. Going to the theater shows at night is a nightmare again. Adults are standing and small children are sitting in chairs to watch shows that are not meant for their age group in any way. No seating control and most of the time, you could not see anyway due to the number of people standing.

Then, you get your photos to be charged $19.90 per picture and they are distorted and out of focus. When I asked for assistance, I was ignored and then had to put up with a Columbian lady staff member screaming blue murder at me. My husband went to call the management and I had to endure being told by a Romanian staff member that South African standards are too high and that "all South Africans are racists and that is why we are having a problem." For heaven's sake, this is a South African cruise. To top it off, the director of Starlight was on board and when approaching him, he was most disinterested, his answer was, "Send me an email."

Please do not waste your money booking one of their cruises because it is a complete rip off. What you see on the website, advertisements and TV is not what you are getting. The only thing they are interested in is how much money they can make. Another site with many complaints is hellopeter.com. Please also go to facebook.com and search Starlight MSC complaints and join the complaints blog.

We went for a cruise on MSC Poesia for December 27 - January 3, 2010. This cruise liner is the worst I have ever been on. Although the ship is beautiful, this is where it stops. If you want room service, you need to pay additional for food. Our group actually thought that we were on candid camera as our first meal was so terrible. But then, we discovered that every meal was the same. Food quality and presentation was that of my child's school cafeteria. Never again MSC.

This had to be the most frustrating vacation for my family. The ship's employee's were from various countries however we were only able to find one person who could understand and speak english. For a ship setting sail from a United States Port, English should be understood and even somewhat spoken. Many of the employee's were rude, I would assume this is due to the communication barrier.

On formal night, a male employee entered the ladies room where there were quite a few ladies in line and in the bathroom stalls. When the male employee was questioned if he should be in the ladies restroom he politely answered "yes", which was the only english many of the employee's spoke. Another woman in the ladies room stated to the male employee "there are women in here coming out of the stalls half naked, do you really think you should be in the ladies room?" the male employee smiled and replied "yes".

The first night we went to dinner we requested to have our table changed to sit with our friends, the maitre de was quite rude and even though we knew that there was no one else going to be at our friends table, the maitre de moved us but to a table near our friends, not to thier table where only 2 people sat at a table the seated 10.

My family and I attempted to enjoy the lavish meals and midnight buffet as this is something everyone looks forward to on a cruise however, the meals were not great and the service was aweful to the point that on formal night, we waited almost an hour and a half for our dessert. The midnight buffet was disgusting, the last night only having what was labeled as "Assorted Sandwiches". I'm not sure what these sandwiches contained but it resembled a mix of spam and mayonaise.

Room service menu only had a few things. When ordering from the menu, it would take multiple times for the order to be correct, if the order even came. The portions were rediculously small for all the food. For example, the fruit salad platter consisted of 1 thin slice of cantalope, 4 grapes, and a slice of canned pineapple.

When returning from an excursion in Jamaica, we went back to our cabin on the ship and read the itinerary for the day and discovered the drink special of the day was Jamaican coffee. We went down to the pool deck and ordered the Jamaican coffee. The person who took our order told us we could not get the daily drink special price at that bar which I really found bizar since this was the drink of the day and I would expect be get the special price at any bar on the ship, especially since there was not a specific bar listed where the special price would be valid. The prices of the drinks were extremely high and thats if you could get bar service.

Our package included all taxes, fees, tips, etc. which were all prepaid. When receiving our bill the day before disembarkment, MSC was kind enough to include a fee of $150.00. If I hadn't remembered that all gratuities and fees were included, this would have gone unnoticed and MSC would have gotten away with double charging. We were not the only people this happened to, they did this to everyone in our group, which was approximately half the ship.

Rather than refunding the amount for each bill in our group (and they had a list), we could not enjoy our last day on the ship, instead we were being sent from one place to another and finally waiting in a huge line (approximately half the ship) to get the $150 removed from the bill. Luckily we went after lunch because the employees of MSC took a lunch break and left everyone stand in line while they went to lunch rather than take shifts or have replacements fill in.

To get the $150 back, MSC made us, and everyone else complete a form which basically stated we did not want to pay any gratuities for services and I didn't feel comfortable with that since we already paid $150 in gratuities and anything ordered such as drinks or soda automatically deducted 18% gratuity. Somehow that just does not seem right that I should sign a waiver for something I'm not waiving.

I have been on other cruises and this was not as a cruise should be. The entire cruise was extremely frustrating. Rather than being proactive, the cruiseline caused precious vacation time to be wasted due to thier error that could have been corrected in a much more discrete way rather than causing for half a ship to line up in a dining room. This vacation is definately not what we paid for causing for the time on the ship to be very unpleasant and irritating.

We cruised on the Musica, May 10, 2009 through the Greek Isle and Croatia; it was the most terrible experience I have ever had. The staff are rude (they watched as I cleared a dirty table to be able to sit and eat); the food is adequate in quality at best (there are not enough tables to seat everyone, so you have to stand and wait for one to open up); the excursions are not portrayed correctly in the brochures; the entire ship is very disorganized; children are not required to be with their parents and allowed to run all over the ship unguided. It was a waste of $4000 plus all the stress involved. I was never so glad to have my vacation be over!!

In December, I clicked a link on a the MSC Cruses website that showed a cruise with concerts with Chuck Negron of Three Dog Night, Blood, Sweat, & Tears, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, and the Beatles tribute band (The Return). When I clicked the link I received a form to fill in my comtact information. After that Pauline Jennings of Americas Vacation Center (AVC) called me and proceeded to book my cruise. I invested $2752.80 for the cruising with the music for four people.

From the start of the cruise nothing was right. We were supposed to have first seating for dinner we ended up with the late seating. When I first received my key card I seen that the seating for dinner was wrong. I was to have first seating and our cards said second seating. I was told to talk with the Matrade, who was VERY rude and told me that the first seating was too early for me to eat. We experienced rude treatment from most of the employees of MSC Cruises. About the only ones who were nice wre our own waitstaff and all of the cabin tenders we passed in the halls. Even the other waitstaff we met in the dining room for breakfast or lunch were rude or gave us wrong orders.

We couldn't get into any of the concerts. When we finally found out about the concerts they were more than have over. We were told that we didn't book the concerts. The website made it seem like the whole cruise ship was cruising with the oldies but it actually wasn't and that was misleading.

I sent Pauline Jennings an email stating our disappointment with the cruise and being mislead into thinking we were with the oldies group when we actually were not. After a second email to Pauline she replied I will help you get repayment for your unhappy events with MSC. All you had to do was ask. You are not the only one that has had problems' with the cruise line. (I still have this email)

Then she sent another email stating I have forwarded your Letter to MSC CRUISES. Their Contact number is 1-800-666-9333.

I finally received a letter from Rosalie de los Hoyos of MSC Cruses which said that the Cruise was not a Theme Cruse for the entire ship and MSC was sorry for my dissatisfaction. MSC never offered even a partial repayment of the money I paid for a cruise that I never received.

I also tried to go to someone higher at AVC for help and I never received a response from Ashley Wolf but I received another email from Paula Jennings calling me a lier and was very rude and unprofessional.

Without the concerts the cruise activities were very boring and not as great as other cruise lines I have been on. We all were very disappointed with this vacation and I feel that I was mislead into investing over $4300.00 (which includes airfare and hotel) not including the time I used from work for a very bad vacation. All of the announcements during shows, bingo, etc. were multi lingual Italian, French, German. These announcements were long and apparently funny because the audience were laughing. English was last to be translated and it was short.

All in all this is the worst vacation I've ever had.

I've invested a lot of money for this vacation (which was a Christmas gift to the others) and feel I didn't receive what I paid for which was a cruise with concerts of oldies groups.

Ashley Wold and America's Vacation Center just blew me off when I went to them for halp in getting a refund or even a partial refund.

In December, I clicked a link on a the MSC Cruses website that showed a cruise with concerts with Chuck Negron of Three Dog Night, Blood, Sweat, & Tears, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, and the Beatles tribute band (The Return). When I clicked the link I received a form to fill in my comtact information. After that Pauline J of Americas Vacation Center (AVC) called me and proceeded to book my cruise. I invested $2752.80 for the cruising with the music for four people.

We couldn't get into any of the concerts. When we finally found out about the concerts they were more than have over. We were told that we didn't book the concerts. The website made it seem like the whole cruise ship was cruising with the oldies but it actually wasn't and that was misleading.

I sent Pauline J an email stating our disappointment with the cruise and being mislead into thinking we were with the oldies group when we actually were not. After a second email to Pauline she replied "I will help you get repayment for your unhappy events with MSC. All you had to do was ask. You are not the only one that has had problems' with the cruise line." (I still have this email)

I finally received a letter from Rosalie d of MSC Cruses which said that the Cruise was not a Theme Cruse for the entire ship and MSC was sorry for my dissatisfaction. MSC never offered even a partial repayment of the money I paid for a cruise that I never received.

I also tried to go to someone higher at AVC for help and I never received a response from Ashley W but I received another email from Paula J calling me a lier and was very rude and unprofessional.

This was the worst vacation/cruise I have ever been on. The staff at MSC cruises do not know what customer service is. This ship is sailing out of Florida with the majority of passengers speaking English, yet nearly every employee could barely speak English, let alone understand it. It was a hassle to have to ask for or request anything and I would have to ask for what I needed because it sure wasn't going to be offered. I have never been so disgusted with the way that I and other guests were treated on this cruise. In addition, they offer to let children sail for free in an attempt to get families on their cruises, yet there are very few activities for the children to do. In fact, my child and my friend's child refused to go back to their kids club because the staff yelled at all of the children all the time - probably because they couldn't understand them because the staff doesn't speak English!

We have taken 20 cruises and never encountered anything like what happened on this cruise. There were many saftey infracations but the worst were concerning health. I became ill and I was taken to the infirmary where the doctor gave me an I-V. When I tried to find out what had been used I was told that the infirmary kept no records. When I arrived home I was still ill and my doctor found that I had an Ecoli infection. There was a great deal of sickness among the passengers.

Since arriving home I have been trying to find out how prevelant this kind of thing is and contacted the CDC, Coast Guard, Osha and found that this is a common occurance and well known by the various agencies. When one travels on ships that are registered in foreign lands they have little or no protection. This fact is certainly not well known by the traveling public. Travel Agents claim to have no responsibilty for anything that happens on the ships they book. From the investigation that I have done I feel certain that I have no claim to any kind of damages but I do feel that the facts should be made public. Is there any way that can be done?

I HAVE REIEVED WRONG INFORMATION FROM THIS COMPANY WHICH DESTROYED MY 7 DAY CRUISE AMONG OTHER THINGS. THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU WAS INVOLVED AND THEY CHOSE NOT TO ANSWER.

I have been on 11 cruises to date and never have a I been on a cruise like this one.

I am writing directly to you because I feel you should be aware of the service and attitudes that are being offered by some of your staff. I called your USA office some 2 weeks prior to sailing. I spoke to a wonderful lady who was very patient and kind. I asked for a few requests that need to be confirmed in order for my family and I to commit to the particular cruise.

Question 1. I need a picture window and not a port hole. Done

Question 2 I need early dinner around 5:00 or 6:00 PM. She advised me that on Mediterranean cruises 1st seating is at 7Pm. I advised her that I am traveling with an 18 month baby. She advised me that we can have a bite at the buffet just to hold him down and then go have dinner. I asked her if I would be able to get 7Pm. She verified and confirmed me the 7Pm dinner.

Question 3. I will need a transfer on the return only. She advised me no problem, however it would be another department who will handle the actual transfer. In the mean time I will need to send over the information to set it up. Cool ....

I got all that I need I gave my credit card nbr and off we were on a wonderful holiday.

Oct 12, 2007: We boarded in Civitavecchia only to find out that dinner is at 9PM. No problem, I said to my husband . We must have had some mix up, I will go see the maitre d.. I spoke to the assist maitre d. Who clearly need to get listening skills and need to get some customer service skills. This gentleman did not say the words you are a liar but was very close.I asked what happened to our 7Pm dinner? He said we have no more room at 7Pm. I advised him that I was confirmed at 7Pm this was a very important point in order to confirm this sailing. He said the travel agency you were dealing with wanted to make a sale.

I advised him that I dealt with Msc Usa directly . He argued for a few minutes that it was a travel agency and they simply wanted to make some money. I asked him what do we do I have a baby . He said eat pizza. Pizza is not dinner I replied . Then he answered me in Italian cosi e signora

I walked away in frustration.. Then I tried to go get my transfer confirmed for the return ( note I have an email) I was sent from shore excursion to front desk several times until I got upset. I proceeded to explain to your front desk staff that I have an email that states I need to purchase my transfer on the ship. Again I am told by your staff. That we do not have transfers to the airport and it is impossible that Msc would try to sell me such a product.

I was getting very upset. I told the 3 girls that were listing to my story. You may think I am a real Bitch but I am not . I am very upset at this moment as no one is listing to what I am saying and no one is taking the blame for the companies error or omission. I advised that I could supply the email. No need was the answer from 1 lady. Then a gentleman in white comes up. I refused to go over the story. I advised him to ask the front desk and Ass Maitre d what the problems are, and that this cruise is starting off on the wrong foot.

After 1 hour of being on this ship I went to find my family and have dinner at the buffet. My husband was not pleased and said show then at least the email to prove you are not lying, and you have been dealing with Msc Cruise Usa. I said I am wasting way to much time and they do not even care to see it . I work for the airlines in Customer Service department and I will never accept an agent telling a customer you are a liar especially after s/he said I have documents to prove the statements. Clearly their has been a crack in communication with in the company.

Oct 13: We had to run around the ship to get some water. When we would get to the bar we were forced to pay for it Mr.Sasso I am aware you came from Celebrity. I am not sure how they operate but I can tell you I have been on Holland, Carnival. Royal Carribean, and Princess and water/regular coffee/tea are available at no extra in the buffet area.

We went to the buffet for some dinner at 6pm and it was closed and we waited till 7Pm in case it would open at the same time as the dinning rooms. It did not. My son was getting hungry and very upset . Luckily I am still breast feeding and was able to hold him off a little. Then we looked at room service , guess what , their is a charge.

We finally went for dinner at 9PM and my son was providing the music to other guests. The ass Maitre D came over to our table. I told my husband this is the gentleman I spoke to yesterday. The gentleman asked if everything was alright and why my son was screaming. My husband told him that he is hungry. My Husband proceeded to tell him what I told him yesterday. He said he would try to see if anything becomes avail. Sure enough, the next day we get 7Pm dinner at the same table.

I am very well aware that passenger were boarding and being disembarked at all ports of call and that seating change, but all we asked was for some honesty and respect.

We received our dinner but no water. We were asked to purchase. What?... I also can not understand why you offer no buffet at night. Not everyone like to go eat in the dinning room. Then we walked around the Casino and we hear one of the staff yelling at a 9/10 year old boy that he should not be playing with the machines. He is correct however when you have machines in the hallways it is any childs game. I guess Msc cruises has very long contracts cause some of your staff need to get off the boat for some time.

15 Oct: We were charged 0.50Euros for a map. Imagine out surprise when we stepped outside and we were given new maps for free. Also note we had a shuttle that took us at the port doors but the shuttle was not available for the return. Very poor service.

16Oct: We were confirmed our transfers. I advised the officer who gave me the news if some miracle happened ,because we know have several transfers. I did not wait for an answered I simply said thank you and walked away.

17Oct: We were charged 4.00euros to the port entrance. Nickel and dime.

18oct: Last but not least, we were having trouble logging onto our computer. After numerous discussions with your It person we got our Internet access refunded, but not after she told us this is our systems problem I asked her, why did it work the other day?. She said the setting must have been changed . Advised her we never changed anything. Others have complained that logging onto out computer was difficult and they rather use the ships computers..

Mr Sasso, I need another holiday to forget this ordeal. I am very displeased with the cruise and I am looking for a refund. I was not given what I was promised. I had to chase and explain to your staff. Note I always buy my cruises last minute so I end up paying under 350.00$ usd for a 7day . This time I payed double the price for trouble. This cruise line was highly recommenced by a colleague. I guess he will be earing about this soon. I am looking for a refund on the price, water/coffee consumption, to port transfers and maps. Please do not send me a credit I am not returning. I will let your office determine the amount and then I will see if I agree.

I wanna comment on the wonderful work of some of your employees. Monica/Alessandra and Matteo the Kids clud. Nadia and Assistant room stewart and waiter and assistant waiter. These were wonderful and proud to be employed and working for your company. Cheers to them.