REVIEW: MSC Poesia (10 Day Baltic Sea / Oceanview)

While writing the posts about the flights and now the cruise, I realized that I should be making two posts: one with the cruise review and one geared towards the travel hacking bit to make them flow better. So I am only briefly touching on the casino comp + status matching in this post (if you want to learn more on that process, here’s that post! 

And for an overview of my entire trip, read this post.

CRUISE INFO/SHIP SPECS

ITINERARY 

HOW I BOOKED 

CASINO COMP from Ocean Casino ~ Prime Status Travel Benefit

OFFER: Complimentary cruise for two, with Ocean View accommodations for up to 10 days anywhere MSC sails. *Excludes China itineraries

WHAT I PAID AKA WHAT THE FREE CRUISE REALLY COST

• $400 refundable deposit* required at booking + is given back as non-refundable OBC upon embarkation (*non-refundable within 90 days of departure) 
• Opted to pay $59 ($29.50/person) for the Fantastica experience as this was not the original itinerary I booked. This allowed for one free itinerary change as I had been eyeing this itinerary which only had suites available (and sold out the day after I booked!)
• Responsible for daily staff gratuities: €12/day €108 in total for this sailing 

_{Beautiful Tip: MSC does NOT charge a single passenger supplement but does require the full $400 deposit to book the stateroom (with both the Bella and Fantastica Experience. If you think that someone else might join you, it’s better to use a placeholder for the second party just in case as ships are limited by total passenger numbers.  Luckily the agent that booked this itinerary saw this potential issue as I likely would not have been able to add my friend later as the ship was not only sold out but at max capacity!}

CHECK IN/EMBARKMENT/WIFI

CHECK IN

• Opens 30 days before and closes a day before departure date (May 4) 
• Able to do check in thru the app + didn’t find it necessary to print out any of the paperwork besides luggage tags

EMBARKMENT 

• Embarkment time is pre-assigned by MSC: noon for me
• We had to wait in four separate lines prior to boarding and it made for a pretty long process. 1st and longest line was to drop off bags (wish I would have printed out luggage tags)/ 2nd line to get into cruise terminal/3rd line was a long wait to check in and 4th to pass thru security – I want to say maybe 1.5 hours in total?
• One of my friends I made aboard had a dramatically different experience embarking so follow her lead and here’s what she told me:  “We were scheduled for 1 PM and actually spent 20 mins if that in all of the lines.  I saw a MSC flag by a van at the train station and went to ask how to embark as it was a first for us, and they asked for our luggage. I did not have tags printed, he just filled out a paper and stapled it around the handles and sent us on our way. When we got to the ship, we were able to skip the large luggage drop off line because of that.” And once  inside the cruise terminal, she went to the priority check in line with my MSC gold status and was able to skip the long third line!!

WI-FI

• Pricing on this itinerary:
  • Browse package ~1 Device: $90 / 2:$162 / 3:$216 / 4: $25
  • Browse & stream package ~ 1 Device: $126 / 2:$243 / 3:$333 / 4: $414
• Note that these are PER INDIVIDUAL device – CANNOT switch (locked to specific device) on MSC as opposed to other lines that allow you to switch between laptop/phone, etc 
• But you are able to buy a multi device plan and share ie my friend bought the 2 device browse package so I was able to log in on my phone (using her info since she booked)
• iPhones are NOT able to use mobile spots per multiple FB groups/reddit but I forgot to test it out to verify/confirm
• Poesia Wi-FI was upgraded to Starlink recently

CABIN CONFIGURATION

STATEROOM TYPE: Oceanview – Partially Obstructed (by the life boats) 

STATEROOM # : 8102 – midship/starboard

STATEROOM SIZE/CONFIGURATION : 172 Square feet with king bed that can be converted into two single beds with two additional murphy/bunk beds on the walls.  Additionally the room has two nightstands, an armchair, desk/beverage station, TV and mini-fridge.

The closets were spacious with ample storage with both shelves and drawers in one closet and the other set up with hangers.  

BATHROOM SIZE/CONFIGURATION : 26.9 Square feet with shower: bathroom had a small vanity space with some storage space near the sink 

Beautiful Tips: BEWARE of the lack of outlets in the room and  plan accordingly.   Both outlets were located at the desk/beverage station.  BEWARE the quality (or lack of quality) for the shower products (only shampoo and body wash are provided) and plan accordingly by bringing your own.

MSC continues to offer twice daily housekeeping services with evening turndown service.

SERVICE EXPERIENCE

I had read and was told by some that the service on MSC would be European in style and that it wouldn’t be near the level that American lines had so I should adjust my expectations accordingly. That sounds bad but it just means that things would be more leisurely and that staff may not anticipate needs in the way we expect hospitality to be in the US. 

But that doesn’t mean that the service is bad. I had an issue with my $400 deposit not automatically showing up as on-board credit*. I waited a few days after we boarded and after checking with our dinner companions that theirs was showing, I went to guest services for assistance that evening.  They were not able to apply it while I was at the desk and had to send a request to the finance department. I was assured that it would be taken care of within the next day or so. The next morning I received a call from guest services, an email from the finance department and also ended up seeing the agents that helped me at the desk on our way out from the ship who let me know that the credit had been applied (which I had already seen reflected on my folio in the app!)

*I am now thinking that it wasn’t automatic due to the fact that I switched sailings and the OBC was tied to that original sailing/date – see photo under what I paid as this was a new confirmation for reflecting this new itinerary.

What really made the line feel European is that the cruise director spoke and made announcements in  English, German, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese and many of the crew were similarly multilingual. 

Overall, I found the service to be fairly good throughout the cruise.

RESTAURANTS/FOOD/DRINK

All dining except Specialty Dining is included with the cruise: however certain items on the menu incur an up-charge (and will be noted as such).  Drinks including alcoholic beverages, bottled water, fresh juice and soft drinks are NOT included and are available at menu pricing.

There are two main dining rooms (Il Palladio and Le Fontane) that are used for sit down dinners with 17:30 and 20:30 seating times. Table numbers and table mates are assigned for the duration of the cruise in addition to the time slot.  Menus change daily and include starters, mains, and desserts.  

We were pre-assigned the earlier time in Il Palladio and were not able to change pre-cruise. But it worked out since we were hilariously seated with two couples from NYC that were also on Ocean Casino comped cruises (and we happen to get on extremely well with them to boot)! The same two waiters served us for the duration of our sailing. 

Dinner is where MSC’s unabashedly European heritage can really be seen. The pacing of dinner may seem a bit too long for some but it’s more common to linger and enjoy meals in Europe aka where the leisurely and adjusting expectations comes into play. Similarly, the portions are smaller but you are able to order multiples if desired (sometimes I would get two starters or surprise, two desserts!) And lastly, you will be charged for water at dinner. 

Casual dining: Le Fontane is open for casual, open seating at breakfast and lunch. 

Buffet: Villa Pompeiana Buffet and L’Obelisco Buffet are both located on Deck 13 and in the same space. They are open for breakfast, lunch, dinner and light night snacks. Note that drip coffee and juice (the type from dispensers) are available for breakfast.

Specialty Restaurant: there is only one on the Poesia: Kaito Sushi Bar (see MSC Diamond Status for more)

The food was okay.  For me, the food on cruises is similar to mainstream, American, casual dining chain restaurants.  This isn’t meant to be an insult but simply acknowledges that the food is geared to be palatable to the greatest number of people. So overall it’s not bad but it’s also not great – it’s fine.  And like all places, there will be some things that do hit the spot and even some that are fire and also some misses – but simply doesn’t leave much of an impression.  Where MSC does do a great job is with desserts (trust me I was surprised here as well that I enjoyed the majority of what I tried) and the bread is really good. 

FITNESS/SPA/POOLS

A decently appointed gym (Deck 13) with more equipment than I was expecting (lol on my visit to take pictures as I never got a weights workout in).  Each morning, the staff offered walking, stretching, pilates and aerobics classes (some for a cost). 

There’s also an outdoor tennis/basketball court – it’s set up for both (Deck 16)

I did not get any services from the Aurea spa but did visit the thermal spa (Deck 13)

There are 3 swimming pools and 4 Jacuzzis located (Deck 13)

BARS/CLUBS/LOUNGES/CASINOS

Aboard the Poesia, you will find 16 bars, clubs and lounges

The Zebra Bar, Bar Smeraldo, Le Rendez-Vouz Bar, Giada Bar, and Bar dei Poeti offer Tropical/Exotic Drinks and Beers

ll Grapolo d’Oro is the wine bar 

Pirana Bar and Mojito Bar are the pool bars 

The Hitchcock Cigar Room

The Piagalle Lounge is where we spent most of our nights as it definitely was the most lively area in the evenings.  It hosted karaoke and Latin dancing: first there would be lessons for half an hour then normally a live band would play after and the dance floor would fill in. Or you could just enjoy a drink and the music (or in my case alternate between dancing and resting my knee!) 

The couple of times that I went to the Disco on Deck 14, there was no one there but the DJ.

Casino Royal (Deck 7) offers blackjack, craps, slots, roulette (with a separate room for Poker).

ACTIVITIES/ENTERTAINMENT/EXCURSIONS

We had one sea day in the itinerary and as I went to explore the ship, there were a lot of people participating in the free activities that were offered onboard ranging from arts + crafts projects to dance lessons to games. 

The cruise does attract a very international and specifically European crowd and it was cool to see a Bavarian beer themed event (including food and games) and have international songs played to appeal.

The entertainment crew did a good job in trying to get people to come up and dance and were engaging when I would see them around on the ship. 

There were shows every night in the Teatro Carlo Felice. These were quite varied and were not repeated on subsequent nights (there were at least two showings per evening to account for the two separate dinner seating times).  Lasting about 30 mins long, I saw acts as diverse as musical numbers covering diva’s hits to stripping juggling duo to contortionists to aerial acrobatics to opera arias to sand painting to pop based musicals to a mashup of things.  I found the entertainment to be pretty good overall but lol I was also the person bopping and singing along in my seat sooo that might explain a lot. 

One bummer was that there is a gigantic poolside cinema screen set up for outdoor movies but unfortunately none played while we were onboard! 

I did not book any excursions with MSC.

DIAMOND STATUS PERKS/EXPERIENCE 

This post does a deeper dive into the benefits and how I was able to get Diamond status.

The Spumante, macarons, and chocolate arrived on day 3 of the cruise. I had heard that MSC used to give out chocolate ships so it was a slight disappointment to get chocolate bars. But the macs were tasty as was the Spumante which we took to dinner to share with our dinner tablemates on our last night. No corkage fee and our waiters were gracious in offering the table more complimentary sparkling wine after that bottle was finished. 

We did go to the sushi restaurant ~ it was…..okay (surprising I know!)

HELPFUL HINTS/HIDDEN GEMS

One place to find up to date information on cruises/ships are the Facebook groups for the cruise lines, the ships in particular and your specific sailing (note that these are the “fans” not the official company groups). I have found loads of info about the ports, excursions, tricks, hidden gems, etc in these groups that I wouldn’t have located otherwise (or it would have taken so much longer to track down) and learned to take complaints and issues with a grain of salt….unless there were a lot of people in agreement, then it was something to keep in the back of my mind.

One thing I hadn’t seen covered in any groups that I find worth repeating here is to warn you re: the quality or really the lack of quality of the shampoo/body wash.  It’s horrible is an understatement. You will need to bring these along with conditioner and body lotion.  Maybe it’s common knowledge for cruisers that body lotion is not provided but I’m used to hotel amenities. Oh and pack Kleenex. 

I found this to be hilarious and more like a fun fact: there was an ashtray in our bathroom and opposite that was a bottle opener (and the ship was recently remodeled?)

Speaking of bathrooms, the coolest one due to it’s incredible view + floor to ceiling glass windows can be found off the pool deck (Deck 13)

If you’re cruising somewhere scenic enjoy your breakfast with a killer view at the L’Obelisco Restaurant (Deck 13 Aft) offering panoramic sea views. But the secret is enjoying it al fresco as I did cruising through a Swedish archipelago on our way into Stockholm as it offers a more serene setting than the madhouse inside.

OVERALL IMPRESSION

While I have only been on one other cruise prior to this one, because I have extensively traveled plus previous worked in hospitality, I think I can give a fair assessment. 

One of the problems that we encountered on our family cruise was that there was a dearth of seating/space (and we were sailing one of NCL’s newest ships, the Prima!). There were many places and times that there wasn’t any space available even if I was looking for something just for myself but definitely was impossible for our large group unless I planned ahead and staked out our spots extremely early. 

I did not find this to be a problem on the MSC Poesia even with the ship being at max capacity. Breakfast times at the buffets were the only time that I found that we needed to search out spots but would normally be able to snag a small table or we would then just ask to share a larger one. And even on the sea day, the boat never felt like it was sold out as all of the lounges and bar spaces had spots. 

Overall I found MSC to be a nice line to sail even without being a fan of the food ~ notwithstanding the bread and some of the desserts  (but then again I wasn’t impressed with the standard offerings from NCL either).  I thought that the number of free + fun activities that were offered on our sea day and entertainment at night were great. The crew was engaging (especially the entertainment) and the service was good. 

There were enough activities to keep one entertained or enough quiet spots to relax depending on what type of mood one was in which is exactly how holidays should go. 

Lastly, I did choose this sailing expressly for the itinerary (I know that for some, especially frequent cruisers, that ship matters the most or ranks high on the list ) but that played no part in my decision. I was pleasantly surprised and impressed by the MSC Poesia.