Previous to finding this 11 night cruise of the Persian Gulf, we weren't familiar with MSC. When I compared pricing, this itinerary featuring 7 ports of call was cheaper than 7 night cruises with only 4 of the same stops. We sailed on the MSC Lirica, an older ship that has been refurbished and is small by today's standards. MSC is an Italian line that is marketed primarily to Europeans. We were relieved to discover that English was the primary language spoken aboard, but all announcements were made in 7 different languages! On our particular sailing, Russians were the largest group of passengers, followed by Italians, and then Germans. There were also representatives from Spain, Portugal, France, and the USA. Apparently we were two of just 40 Canadians on the MSC Lirica. We felt that the cruise offered good value and that the ship had most amenities. We were thrilled with the itinerary and impressed with five of the seven ports of call. Food was in abundance and available 20 hours per day! We were satisfied with the quality of the meals served in the main dining room. Sorbet and ice-cream were our standing orders, but we also sampled several other desserts. (Pictured: cheesecake, pavlova, and Black Forest) There were three "elegant" nights and two theme nights (but we weren't told about the themes in advance so only crew and repeat passengers were dressed accordingly). The entertainment aboard the MSC Lirica was disappointing, especially the theatre shows. The theatre itself is poorly designed with bad sightlines and a small stage. The featured singers performed in heavily accented English, and didn't seem to know the English words they were singing. The choreography was basic. The performances lacked a storyline and were repetitive (ie. the same magic trick was performed on at least 3 nights, and the same fellow juggled the same way each night). One of the nice things about cruising is that it gives one the opportunity to spend time with fellow travelers. We were happy to have several breakfasts and lunches with Arthur and Phyllis from the Bay Area - an impressively accomplished couple with wonderful stories to tell. It was also great to have swapped travel tales with Susan and Gary from outside of Atlanta - these two know how to put together a vacation! Finally, I appreciated visiting over drinks with a family from Manchester on two of the theme nights. Additionally, crew member Trevor Lucky from South Africa was fun to chat with.
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