Pure Poetry

By Theresa Russell

It had been several years since I had cruised with MSC because honestly, my experience then didn’t have me clamoring to get on another of MSC’s ships. That’s not to say that the experience was bad, but that there was nothing special about it that would move it to the top of my list.

Always willing to give something a second or even a third chance, I decided to sail from Fort Lauderdale on the MSC Poesia. Many things have changed, especially the service and quality of food on the ship. Other things remained the same – the classical entertainment, the cleanliness and appeal of the ship and the beautiful surrounds. Signora Aponte, the wife of the owner of the cruise line, has a hand in the decorating of the ship. I like her style. And I also like the way that MSC themes its ships. In the case of the Poesia, each deck has the name of a poet. Not being familiar with many of the names, I found searching on the internet to learn a bit more about them to be a good way to acquaint myself with these famous Italians.

The public spaces on this ship offer a place to get out of the mainstream of traffic on the ship. I find this much preferable to spaces on ships that seem to have been plopped in the middle of a main traffic route. Each public space has its own distinctive feel, yet never feels splashy or outlandish.

The food has improved greatly as has the service. I found Palladio, the main dining room a bit crowded. I definitely prefer more elbow room for dining. The Kaito Sushi restaurant fell off my radar because I don’t care for Sushi. Fortunately for me, there were several tasty non-sushi choices.

For anyone who prefers classical music, MSC offers plenty of it – opera, string quartets and more are heard daily throughout the ship and often playing to SRO crowds. Other entertainment is definitely European in style, not surprising for an Italian cruise line.

I had heard complaints about announcements being in five languages. Surely, there would be complaints if English were eliminated, but there were rarely any announcements. And as a lover of languages, I enjoyed listening on the few occasions that we heard announcements. And speaking of language, both the bus driver who drove to the port and the hotel who shuttled passengers from the hotel need to learn the names of the ships to which they transport passengers. It seems that it could be easy to miss the ride if you didn’t realize that the Portia was the Poesia or that there isn’t another ship named Portia. Italian is a beautiful language, so learn to pronounce the name of the ship that you are on. And while you’re at it, take a look at a deck plan and notice that each deck is named after an Italian poet. http://www.msccruisesusa.com/us_en/Ships/MSC-Poesia.aspx

http://www.lingvozone.com/main.jsp?action=translation&do=dictionary&language_id_from=10&language_id_to=23&word=poesia

If you haven’t sailed with MSC before, consider trying it out. If you have sailed with MSC before, you will be pleasantly surprised by the changes.

Have Fun.

Take a tour of the ship.

 

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