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GGC2006- MSC Opera Review
Well, I said I would get around to it in a few days, but I'm overtired
and can't sleep.... The GGC this year was on MSC Opera from 1/28/2006 through 2/4/2006, sailing from Fort Lauderdale, FL. This review is not meant to cover each and every little thing, just some overviews of what I saw or experienced. The ship - Absolutely beautiful! It is nearly new and shows it, and the constant cleaning that is going on keeps it in tip-top shape. She rides moderate seas quite well, which was a plus, as that is exactly what we were sailing for the first 2 days. A bit bumpy up in the forward part of the ship where my cabin was. But aft, things were pretty darn smooth. I didn't notice anyone getting seasick the entire time. MSC makes excellent use of the public space on this ship. The theater is well laid out with no blind spots. There are plenty of small bars throughout the ship, some no smoking for those that can't tolerate smoke. Overall an A+ for useage. The pool deck is very open, with two pools amidship with 2 hot tubs separating them. The first two days, the pools didn't see much use as the water was pretty darn cold. The hot tubs were all in use most of the time. The pizza and hot dog/hamburger buffets are just aft of the pools, and the regular buffet is aft of that. Cabins - smaller than most, but well laid out, imo. I had an inside cabin and never felt cramped. Plenty of storage, too! The shower is a bit smaller so you get 'caressed' by the shower curtain unless you are very small. But water pressure and temps were steady, much better than I had seen on any previous ship. Staff - I met more ship's crew on this line than on any previous. I found the staff to be very pleasant and willing to work to communicate. Lots of Italian staff, and many others from other foreign countries. To me, the language and accents was a big plus, it made you feel like you were on a European cruise ship, which is exactly what you were on. The 'Animation' or entertainment staff were great, lively and fun to be around. Heck, they even got my fat butt up to join in on some activities and I never do that! I was told that the Animation team also acted as dance hosts in the disco, but I don't do disco... Food - Dining room - Overall excellent quality, with the Italian dishes being the best. I really didn't find anything I tried to not be well prepared, even some things that I ended up not liking. The dining room was excellent, with a very competent, friendly staff. I have no complaints with the dining room at all. Buffet - Here things are a bit different. The quality of the food in the regular buffet was fine, selection wasn't as wide as on some, but was pretty good overall. The biggest problem with the buffet, in my opinion was time open. Even if I get up very early, I don't want breakfast until later in the morning. But the buffet is open for breakfast from 6AM to 9:30AM. After that, the only food available is from the very limited room service menu or Croissants and such. I think they need to extend the hours for that morning through lunch. I heard that same complaint many times including from the Europeans that were on the ship. I left that on my comment sheet for them, hopefully they will change that. Hot Dog/Hamburger buffet - I didn't care for the hamburgers at all. In my opinion the beef just had a different flavor that was not to my liking. From observations, that opinion was not shared by all. Pizza - Very good to excellent. Not Carnival quality for sure, but interesting combinations of ingredients and well cooked. Shows - OUTSTANDING! I saw one, a magician (and I don't even like magic acts), and it was great. And comments about the rest of the shows said the same thing. I heard exactly zero complaints about the shows. It was almost the only thing that I didn't hear someone complain about. Ports.... are ports. We went to San Juan, St. Marteen, La Romana and Cayo Levantado (actually Samana). San Juan and St. Marteen held no allure for me, so I'll skip over them. La Romana, Dominican Republic - Enjoyable port, but somewhat limited for those that are not tolerant of extremely poor countries. A group of us went to the town on a quest for Dominican Coffee (Excellent, btw!) and it was obvious that this is a poor country. 2nd poorest in the Caribbean I've been told, second only to Haiti, which shares this island. But the people are some of the friendliest in the Caribbean. This was my 3rd time in the DR, and I hope to go again soon. Twice on cruises and once for a week on the beach closer to Santo Domingo, the capital. I went to the evening show at the 'Art Colony', Kandela. It was basically a musical review of the various Caribbean songs and dances. It was energetic and absolutely worth seeing. How those entertainers could be that active and still be standing at the end of the show was amazing. A funny thing happened here, with the group of us on the great coffee quest. Finding coffee in the shops turned out to be no problem, but finding whole bean coffee was a problem. We finally were told to go to the Jumbo store, kind of like a super walmart of the caribbean. We loaded up on coffee and proceeded to the checkout. Well, couldn't check out as the computer was down, so we decided to wait for it to come up. An hour and a half later, we decided to hell with this and left. We walked across the street to the Internet shop, and lo and behold, they had bean coffee. Not enough, but they sent a runner to their other store to get the balance of what we needed. Made for a nice ending on a very nice day to do some walking. Cayo Levantado - is a small island of the shore of Samana. This was a beach day and the Opera and Lyrica were in and had rented the entire island. Those that went to the beach said it was very nice. But I went whale watching! Great fun! Saw plenty of whales, but getting pictures was a trick! The damn things would not pose or do their thing on schedule. I shot about 60 pictures, and maybe got 3 good ones. Others reported the same. But the neat part turned out to be when we left. I saw about 6 whales on the way out. Drinks - Cola cards are only available for the kids. I don't remember the price, but it seemed reasonable. Otherwise, soda was $2.15 with tip included Beer was $3.50 and $4.50 tip included Mixed Drinks $6.50 and up, tip included They don't separate the tips from the drink price, so you don't get those weird numbers on your invoice. Complaints - Yep, there are some. But keep in mind, I consider these extremely minor, but some might consider them to be real irritants. 1. Buffet times as I said. 2. Iced tea is ONLY available in the dining room during dining hours. You can't buy it or get it anywhere else on the ship. 3. Ice Cream - $3.50 for a softserve ice cream cone. Heck, I paid that for Hagen Daaz on Golden Princess. There is no other soft serve available, and regular ice cream is only available in the dining room. Or at least that is what I saw. Additionally, there is some confusion on the ship. The docs stated late seating at 8:45, but it was really at 8:15. Instructions on the last day said 2 copies of the invoice would be provided and that one was to be signed and taken to the purser's desk, but it wasn't really required. Those are just two examples, there were others. But realizing that this was an Italian ship and that confusion is nearly a national pastime in Italy made it just a quirk. Overall -- This is definitely NOT an American cruise line, and for that I am very grateful. The differences were enjoyable, funny and quirky. Truly a very different experience from any of the other lines I have sailed in. I read other reviews prior to going on this ship, and I can definitely see the reason for either loving it or hating it. If you decide to sail with MSC, you cannot expect, nor will you experience the same things as on an American company's ships. It just is not that at all. It is unique and if you go and expect it to be unique, you will most likely love it. But if you think it is just another Carnival, Princess, Celebrity, et al; you probably won't. Would I sail MSC again! Damn straight! Even if they don't change anything. Lloyd |
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GGC2006- MSC Opera Review
In article , Lloyd
Parsons wrote: Would I sail MSC again! Damn straight! Even if they don't change anything Well that was fast!!! Thank you for the review. I don't see anything in it that would preclude me from booking an MSC cruise. Hope some of other GGC2006 cruisers do reviews too. -- Charles |
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GGC2006- MSC Opera Review
Almost dittoG
I'm an early riser and was always on deck before breakfast was available, so I didn't have Lloyd's issue in that regard. There are other spans of time that there isn't much around to eat and that can be an issue for those who expect the 24/7 thing. I did go ashore at Cayo Levantado. Since I haven't been to any other lines "private island", I don't have anything to compare it with... but I can tell you that it was BEAUTIFUL! Soft clean sand... long curving beach. Plenty of chairs. Live music. Bar. I went early and left before lunch was served, but I know others from the group were there later so maybe they will comment. I never availed myself of anything from the hot dog/hamburger area, but I did notice that there was a third choice when I looked... once I saw chicken and another time steaks! And those were good sized steaks. I was quite surprised about that one. I DID have pizza a few times... once with bacon and spinach, another with tuna. I will miss that shower curtain... we had a definite relationship going onG. I wasn't in the disco at night, but danced with an entertainer earlier in the evening elsewhere. That hasn't changed and I hope it doesn't. More on the shows... it's difficult to do things that are language depend, so there are no tacky comics in the theater... it's more visual... so there are actually two magic acts (one somewhat comedic, the other strictly magic, with some drama thrown in) and two aerial acts along with vocalists and dancers. Most evenings there's a mixture. One show was designated as magic, but we saw him other times... for example one night he came out and played a grand piano... then he, the bench he was sitting on and the piano rose from the stage, THEN it all inverted, turning completing over and then back again with him playing the entire time. The only entertainers that I don't remember seeing more than once was a trio who did a strength and balance routine. I didn't see anyone eating an ice cream cone... there IS and ice cream bar open in the afternoon... they had fancy ice cream based drinks for $6.50 (I think) and sundaes topped with cookies for $3.50. People were eating them, so they much have been pretty good... but as Lloyd said, there was ice cream and sherbet in the dining room at lunch and dinner every day. There was a variety of tea bags around any time I looked, so if I had wanted iced tea I would have just made it. More of an issue is the fact that the drinking cups are small... so it's a good idea to bring one's own. There was a LARGE group aboard with us, 400 people who are very into polka. It was possible to be totally unaware that they were there as their actives were private. There were also several "baseball greats" and they had clinics and other activities that were open. Really nice men. I'm not particularly a fan (although I have a son who is) and I spent time chatting with most of them (even with some of their families). I have everyone's autograph on a group photo and a photo taken with each (all intended for that son). Marsha, seeking a hot tubG "Lloyd Parsons" wrote in message ... Well, I said I would get around to it in a few days, but I'm overtired and can't sleep.... The GGC this year was on MSC Opera from 1/28/2006 through 2/4/2006, sailing from Fort Lauderdale, FL. This review is not meant to cover each and every little thing, just some overviews of what I saw or experienced. The ship - Absolutely beautiful! It is nearly new and shows it, and the constant cleaning that is going on keeps it in tip-top shape. She rides moderate seas quite well, which was a plus, as that is exactly what we were sailing for the first 2 days. A bit bumpy up in the forward part of the ship where my cabin was. But aft, things were pretty darn smooth. I didn't notice anyone getting seasick the entire time. MSC makes excellent use of the public space on this ship. The theater is well laid out with no blind spots. There are plenty of small bars throughout the ship, some no smoking for those that can't tolerate smoke. Overall an A+ for useage. The pool deck is very open, with two pools amidship with 2 hot tubs separating them. The first two days, the pools didn't see much use as the water was pretty darn cold. The hot tubs were all in use most of the time. The pizza and hot dog/hamburger buffets are just aft of the pools, and the regular buffet is aft of that. Cabins - smaller than most, but well laid out, imo. I had an inside cabin and never felt cramped. Plenty of storage, too! The shower is a bit smaller so you get 'caressed' by the shower curtain unless you are very small. But water pressure and temps were steady, much better than I had seen on any previous ship. Staff - I met more ship's crew on this line than on any previous. I found the staff to be very pleasant and willing to work to communicate. Lots of Italian staff, and many others from other foreign countries. To me, the language and accents was a big plus, it made you feel like you were on a European cruise ship, which is exactly what you were on. The 'Animation' or entertainment staff were great, lively and fun to be around. Heck, they even got my fat butt up to join in on some activities and I never do that! I was told that the Animation team also acted as dance hosts in the disco, but I don't do disco... Food - Dining room - Overall excellent quality, with the Italian dishes being the best. I really didn't find anything I tried to not be well prepared, even some things that I ended up not liking. The dining room was excellent, with a very competent, friendly staff. I have no complaints with the dining room at all. Buffet - Here things are a bit different. The quality of the food in the regular buffet was fine, selection wasn't as wide as on some, but was pretty good overall. The biggest problem with the buffet, in my opinion was time open. Even if I get up very early, I don't want breakfast until later in the morning. But the buffet is open for breakfast from 6AM to 9:30AM. After that, the only food available is from the very limited room service menu or Croissants and such. I think they need to extend the hours for that morning through lunch. I heard that same complaint many times including from the Europeans that were on the ship. I left that on my comment sheet for them, hopefully they will change that. Hot Dog/Hamburger buffet - I didn't care for the hamburgers at all. In my opinion the beef just had a different flavor that was not to my liking. From observations, that opinion was not shared by all. Pizza - Very good to excellent. Not Carnival quality for sure, but interesting combinations of ingredients and well cooked. Shows - OUTSTANDING! I saw one, a magician (and I don't even like magic acts), and it was great. And comments about the rest of the shows said the same thing. I heard exactly zero complaints about the shows. It was almost the only thing that I didn't hear someone complain about. Ports.... are ports. We went to San Juan, St. Marteen, La Romana and Cayo Levantado (actually Samana). San Juan and St. Marteen held no allure for me, so I'll skip over them. La Romana, Dominican Republic - Enjoyable port, but somewhat limited for those that are not tolerant of extremely poor countries. A group of us went to the town on a quest for Dominican Coffee (Excellent, btw!) and it was obvious that this is a poor country. 2nd poorest in the Caribbean I've been told, second only to Haiti, which shares this island. But the people are some of the friendliest in the Caribbean. This was my 3rd time in the DR, and I hope to go again soon. Twice on cruises and once for a week on the beach closer to Santo Domingo, the capital. I went to the evening show at the 'Art Colony', Kandela. It was basically a musical review of the various Caribbean songs and dances. It was energetic and absolutely worth seeing. How those entertainers could be that active and still be standing at the end of the show was amazing. A funny thing happened here, with the group of us on the great coffee quest. Finding coffee in the shops turned out to be no problem, but finding whole bean coffee was a problem. We finally were told to go to the Jumbo store, kind of like a super walmart of the caribbean. We loaded up on coffee and proceeded to the checkout. Well, couldn't check out as the computer was down, so we decided to wait for it to come up. An hour and a half later, we decided to hell with this and left. We walked across the street to the Internet shop, and lo and behold, they had bean coffee. Not enough, but they sent a runner to their other store to get the balance of what we needed. Made for a nice ending on a very nice day to do some walking. Cayo Levantado - is a small island of the shore of Samana. This was a beach day and the Opera and Lyrica were in and had rented the entire island. Those that went to the beach said it was very nice. But I went whale watching! Great fun! Saw plenty of whales, but getting pictures was a trick! The damn things would not pose or do their thing on schedule. I shot about 60 pictures, and maybe got 3 good ones. Others reported the same. But the neat part turned out to be when we left. I saw about 6 whales on the way out. Drinks - Cola cards are only available for the kids. I don't remember the price, but it seemed reasonable. Otherwise, soda was $2.15 with tip included Beer was $3.50 and $4.50 tip included Mixed Drinks $6.50 and up, tip included They don't separate the tips from the drink price, so you don't get those weird numbers on your invoice. Complaints - Yep, there are some. But keep in mind, I consider these extremely minor, but some might consider them to be real irritants. 1. Buffet times as I said. 2. Iced tea is ONLY available in the dining room during dining hours. You can't buy it or get it anywhere else on the ship. 3. Ice Cream - $3.50 for a softserve ice cream cone. Heck, I paid that for Hagen Daaz on Golden Princess. There is no other soft serve available, and regular ice cream is only available in the dining room. Or at least that is what I saw. Additionally, there is some confusion on the ship. The docs stated late seating at 8:45, but it was really at 8:15. Instructions on the last day said 2 copies of the invoice would be provided and that one was to be signed and taken to the purser's desk, but it wasn't really required. Those are just two examples, there were others. But realizing that this was an Italian ship and that confusion is nearly a national pastime in Italy made it just a quirk. Overall -- This is definitely NOT an American cruise line, and for that I am very grateful. The differences were enjoyable, funny and quirky. Truly a very different experience from any of the other lines I have sailed in. I read other reviews prior to going on this ship, and I can definitely see the reason for either loving it or hating it. If you decide to sail with MSC, you cannot expect, nor will you experience the same things as on an American company's ships. It just is not that at all. It is unique and if you go and expect it to be unique, you will most likely love it. But if you think it is just another Carnival, Princess, Celebrity, et al; you probably won't. Would I sail MSC again! Damn straight! Even if they don't change anything. Lloyd |
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