MSC Cruises Poesia

1. Issues with MSC Cruises – staff and no care taken Our experience with MSC Cruises was nothing short of disastrous. Upon our luggage arrival to the room (eventually and after the boat had left the port!), my laptop was damaged beyond repair due to mishandling of our luggage by MSC staff. Their indifferent response, citing Italian law to… Read more

indemnify themselves from liability, was infuriating and dismissive of our loss. Additionally, my husband’s luggage was damaged, with a broken wheel and other items in my laptop bag also suffering damage, all before we had even left port, so nothing much we could do and heaps of travel with broken devices, communication and luggage. This level of carelessness is appalling. 2. Poor Service and Health Risks on MSC Cruises The conditions on board MSC Cruises were abysmal. We were charged for room service and bottled water, despite these being listed as included in our package. The dining arrangements were rigid and poorly managed, and the staff were consistently unhelpful and very rude. The buffet area was a chaotic free-for-all, with food being served at very unsafe temperatures and salad items not properly rinsed (bugs and dirt on the food), leading to significant health risks. The overall environment was so unsafe that we feared for our wellbeing. The aggressive and violent behaviour of other passengers (I have to say mostly European – it is an Italian boat!), particularly during disembarkation during bus tours and in the ship’s buffet area, made us feel threatened and unsafe, along with unable to change cruise restaurant bookings from late afternoon to early evening when we needed to eat, made for very unwell, and very unhappy passengers. This appalling environment ultimately led us to disembark early in Copenhagen on, cutting our holiday very short out of concern for our safety. Never again will we travel on an Italian boat, not just on MSC Cruise ships, it very much reminded me of the move – The Ghost Ship! 3. Additional Costs from Early Disembarkation The decision to disembark early, made in the interest of our health and safety, resulted in substantial additional expenses. We were forced to arrange alternative accommodation, meals, transportation, and adjust our flights, all at significant additional cost. These expenses are directly attributable, in my opinion, to the gross negligence of My Cruises in selecting and promoting such a substandard supplier, and we have had no suitable response from My Cruises in regards to this disastrous package holiday that is so subpar, it should have been free!

DON’T BOOK WITH MSC CRUISE LINES – If I could give it zero stars I would!! DONT BOOK WITH MSC We are currently on this terrible cruise. Over 500 people on board have signed a petition protesting the way MSC are treating us. 1. So many sea days Change of itinerary increasing itinerary to an extra 20 sea days, less port times, and no compensation for these changes or refunds of tax… Read more

and port fees. Going back to Walvis bay twice. Boring and why couldn’t they have chosen somewhere nicer!!

As compared to other cruise companies such as Cunard, princess, costa, holland America who have all put in place packages for their customers and have communicated with them.

2. Entertainment- uninspired and mediocre quality, more forgettable performances than memorable. Daily activities- is on a set and forget programme we do the same activities every day if you don't dance, drink or exercise you are pretty well screwed. Miss information. The ship is full of misinformation and Chinese whispers.

Uniformed staff comment about ship life restaurant staff telling cruisers that we are running out of food. Just this morning honey and grapes were on short supply. It seems to be a big joke that the world's largest shipping company had supply issues.

3. On board issues: The worst food ever on a cruise ship. I can say this as we have been cruising for over 20 years and have never ever come across such bland, boring and unappetising food. Both the restaurant and buffet consistently produce poor quality food. With only one speciality sushi restaurant on board there are no other options.

After many emails have been sent to head office worthless apologies nothing else has been received.

Wasted visas - many customers wasted lots of money on unnecessary visas. We were forced to apply for Brazilian visas even though we showed them the smart traveller website that visas weren't required but following their instructions we applied for such visas only to be notified 2 days later that these weren't required.

There is so much frustration for what was meant to be a dream cruise! Not stuck on a ship with no communication from Head Office. Out of pocket expenses and boring itinerary!! Book with anyone else but MSC

No help from anyone – We had our trip cancelled and sailed on the Poesia. Staff on the counter on the ship unhelpful with our packages that were cancelled. MSC still have AUD $ 3780 of our money paid in July for the cancellation excursions and keep fobbing us off with dates when we will get it back. The ship is 3 star and that’s what you’d expect going cheap. Days at… Read more

sea are too boring as the entertainment is poor. Smokers walk around everywhere and are not cautioned. No would definitely not travel with MSC again. After the end of December we are taking legal action for our money refund. There are better ships out there.

First time cruisers – We (my husband and I) were booked to go on the MSC Orchestra. Due to problems this was cancelled. We were then booked on the Poesia. As first time cruisers, we had not pre-conceived ideas and went with an open mind. We found this ship small, friendly and staff excellent. We had no paperwork, as our first cruise was cancelled 7 days before we were… Read more

to depart Australia, on a TripaDeal tour. We were somewhat anxious. From the moment we stepped on the gangplank to the day we stepped off, we found nothing to complain about. Quite the opposite. Staff were amazing and were there to assist with any questions. Buffet was good, plenty of food, food and more food. Requests were greeted with a smile and nothing was too much trouble. We didn't eat at the Buffet very much. Excursions etc. When we did found it very good. We ate in the dining room every evening, it was beautiful, red velvet and chandeliers. Our waiters were very experienced and attentive. Being a vegetarian I had meals to choose from or just had to ask. Excursions were run with military precision. For our first cruise we were impressed, we were on deck 10 and had a balcony. At sea days we would have breakfast in our cabin and wander or do absolutely nothing, they became one of our favourite days. Bars, Theatre, etc, etc. Always plenty to do. Quiet nooks to just sit. We agreed that we would prefer a small ship 3000. 7 days would be ideal. Thank you MSC Posia for making our 1st cruise so memorable. Would we travel with MSC again....YES WE WOULD.

Don’t do it! – MSC Poesia was an absolute disaster. They renamed a spa the kids pool. Children weren’t allowed to use a basketball or plastic golf club without getting an adult to sign for it. We ended up buying our own basketball in Sweden to save them the trouble. Shows were second rate and very repetitive which limited your options of what to do. Customer… Read more

service staff were quite often rude and extremely unhelpful. They honestly could care less whether you were enjoying your holiday. Not one tv show or movie available in English to watch. No cinema. The big screen near the pool was only used for their own ads. The library had one tiny shelf of English books which disappeared on the first day and were never seen again! The buffet didn’t change from lunch to dinner and for the whole 24 days remained the same apart from a tiny section called daily specials which really weren’t special at all. The monotony and lack of anything to do was just torturous. Definitely not worth ruining your valuable holiday time taking this ship line.

Where’s the communication – I booked back in 2018,I was informed that my credits would stay there until cruising is available.It’s now 2022 I was moved to a cruiseSep 2023.1 person decided to swap her cruise but left credit on the MYC 00327 , so with that notification Msc has decided to cancel my booking without informing me and given my money back to another person.