Old Moaner Travel
I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list
MSC Orchestra
Cruise Details: February 2018 11 day Mediterranean Cruise Genoa - Genoa
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MSC Orchestra was the second Musica class ship to be built for the MSC fleet, following a refit she can now accommodate 3,200 passengers.
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Like most MSC ships they do cram more passengers in per square foot, this class of ship carries 450 more passengers than similar size ships with other cruise lines. This does mean some of the facilities can get very crowded, especially the buffet and the experience is not helped by the Italian passengers failing to grasp the concept of queuing, which can lead to some confrontations. Sharp elbows are recommended.
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The passenger demographic is pan-European with shipboard announcements taking place in six languages.
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Sailing from Genoa the cost of the voyage included return flights from London, however because it is a bulk booking by the cruise line it is not possible to reserve your seats on the plane in advance. As most of the flight seemed to consist of MSC passengers it did mean many couples were allocated seats away from one another. OK it was only a short flight but annoying nonetheless.
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Embarkation in Genoa was a complete an utter shambles, completely disorganised and with people pushing in, which was a foretaste of life on board.
The cabin was adequate, not the largest at sea but good enough for our needs. the balcony wasn't huge but, again, somewhere to escape the crowds and soak up some rays. A welcoming tray of canapés, bottle of fizz and daily fruit bowl helped the enjoyment, at a cost, of course.
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As soon as you board the ship you are faced with the hard sell, drinks packages, spa packages, food upgrade packages, water packages, breathing packages - OK I made that last one up but it wouldn't surprise me if MSC did begin charging for the air that you breathe. They even charge €1 for a glass of tap water in the main dining room.
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The ship itself is fine and most of the crew friendly and helpful.
The food in the main dining room was good but not exceptional, the only exception was when we paid extra for a t-bone steak and lobster, both were exceptional. Perhaps that is their approach .... have moderate food as inclusive but charge extra for the better food - which should be the norm.
Shows were generally much of a muchness, all musical based because of the multi language policy on board - I somehow think a comedian telling a joke in six languages would not work. A couple of the shows were condensed operas which we enjoyed, although I appreciate that wouldn't be to everyone’s taste .... the theatre was noticeably quieter on those nights, perhaps it's a ploy to get people to spend more money in the bars.
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The shows were actually quite short as what was billed as a 45 minute show turned out to be 35 minutes because the six language introduction at the beginning took ten minutes out of the time - it was like Eurovision, only worse .... having said that the ability of the cruise director to switch between six languages seamlessly was impressive.
The dress code was only a code in name with most passengers ignoring it and dressing how they wanted, on the two gala nights I would suggest less than 25% of passengers made the effort to wear anything remotely half decent.
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As I mentioned in the introduction the buffet was the place to avoid, limited choice with the chances of actually getting a table to sit at negligible and fellow passengers being aspiring rugby players wanting to practice their ruck and maul techniques.
Like most MSC cruises the ship operates a "bus stop" service with passengers embarking and disembarking at most port stops.
Over the two sea days MCS had a collaboration with Masterchef to host Masterchef at Sea. The first day was a qualifying round for the finals, which was a food quiz. The quiz winners then had to perform on stage during the second sea day, producing a dish to impress the senior chef's onboard. I thought this was great fun but, then again, I may be biased as I was the only person to score 100% in the quiz and I then went on to win the competition to become the Masterchef At Sea.
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One really weird thing is they seem to be obsessive about cleaning balconies ...... on four of the days during the cruise we were told to be careful about opening our curtains because crew members may be cleaning the balconies. It also meant the doors between balconies were often left open, which theoretically meant anyone could walk along the balconies.