MSC
Poesia
"Poetry at Sea"
by Linda Coffman
Kid Stuff
With MSC
Cruises’ Kids Sail Free program (children 17 and under as the 3rd &
4th occupants in a stateroom), a cruise is a great value for
families and there were several multi-generation family groups on
board during our 5-night sailing. Good news for parents who want to
take advantage of a shore excursion without their children is that
the Kids Club is open on port days for most destinations.
"Doremi" Club Facilities for children and teens include
playrooms, outdoor play spaces, a kiddy-pool, and video arcade.
Activities for younger cruisers included games, arts & crafts,
sports (ping-pong, foosball, miniature golf), and even their
own talent show. Teens had pizza
parties and disco dancing on their schedules. Not surprising,
the most popular spots on board for kids and their parents during
our cruise were the miniature golf course and ping pong and foosball tables.
When we did see them, which was seldom, the kids were having a blast
with their staff counselors.
As a bonus, children who participate in
activities earn "Doremi" cents that are awarded throughout the
cruise and can be redeemed at the end for prizes.
Just For Adults
MSC
Poesia's Aurea Spa gets
high marks for one of the most tranquil settings at sea. In addition
to a full range of treatments that range from salon services to
relaxing Balinese massages and body treatments, there is acupuncture
to relieve anxiety and stress, pressure point therapy, treatments
designed specifically for men, and even a juice bar (pictured here). If you can't
tear yourself away from the pool, the massage therapists come to you—offering
poolside mini-massages.
Naturally, those services all come with a price, but there is a
complete fitness center (to
enter, you must wear gym shoes and that requirement is strictly
enforced), most exercise classes
are available at no charge
(there is a nominal charge for yoga sessions), and
the spa facilities feature a
complimentary thermal suite with saunas, steam rooms, and a hydromassage pool.
If all you want is to relax in the sun and
read a book, the loungers have a feature that was new to me—a
built-in cover that could be adjusted to keep your face shaded. In
addition to the pool deck, lounge chairs were located in a Solarium
deck and in several quiet areas fore and aft.
 |
| Cassovia Trio in the Atrium |
 |
Cooking with Rick Sasso,
CEO & President of MSC Cruises, USA |
Activities & Entertainment
As a ship in MSC Cruises' Musica-class, you’d naturally
expect to find music on board—and we did. From a raised platform in
the atrium lobby, where the musicians varied every evening from the
Latin sounds of Los Paraguayos to classical
presentations by the Cassovia Trio
(pictured here), to the late night R32 Disco,
the music seldom stopped.
Most daytime activities were scheduled poolside with early morning
aerobics, mid-day trivia, dance lessons, and crafts classes. Mixed in were silly pool games, mini-golf,
shuffleboard, and ping pong tournaments. A favorite during the
President's Cruise was a presentation of the president's culinary
skill as he assisted in the preparation of Vermicelli With Fresh
Seashells and Cherry Tomatoes.
Bingo is, of course, a cruise staple, as are art auctions, and
gaming in the casino. Fruit and vegetable carving and sushi making
demonstrations were also on the schedule, along with a California Wine Lecture
and cocktail demonstration. Italian language lessons are as
popular as the midnight buffets on week-long cruises.
As the sun began to set and everyone headed indoors, the activities
and entertainment didn’t stop. The Zebra Bar was the nightly
setting for dancing and themed parties where Mr. and Miss Poesia
were chosen and the 50s & 60s were celebrated with a “Grease” party.
Other lounges featured a piano bar, dance and easy listening music,
and karaoke.
We can't praise MSC Poesia's highly energetic Entertainment Team enough.
From early morning until the wee hours they led activities at a pace
that we could only dream of following.
By far, the highlight of every evening was a show in MSC Poesia’s
Carlo Felice Theater. Extremely talented dancers and singers performed nightly in
a journey through Atlantis, Italy, Las Vegas, and even a magical toy
box themed production
extravaganza.
And about that lasersport clay pigeon shooting mentioned in
Cruise Diva's Blog... unfortunately, it was cancelled due to
wind. Maybe we'll have another opportunity to test our skill
in the future.
Itineraries & More
With only one ship in the Caribbean for this season
and next, MSC Cruises is offering traditional eastern and western
one-week itineraries. Sailing from Fort Lauderdale's Port
Everglades, Eastern Caribbean itineraries call at St. Maarten,
San Juan, Tortola, and Nassau; Western Caribbean ports include Grand
Cayman, Jamaica, Playa del Carmen (Mexico), Key West, and Nassau.
While concentrating on traditional island ports, MSC Cruises will
bypass their "private" beach day at
Cayo Leventado for this season and next. However, there will
be no shortage of theme cruises celebrating baseball greats, comedy,
Italian culture and cuisine, and a variety of music styles.
In 2010, for the first time, MSC Poesia will offer a series of
Canada/New England fall foliages cruises between New York City and
Quebec (Canada) ranging from 7- to 10-nights before repositioning to
Fort Lauderdale for the Caribbean season.
Noteworthy
Some things deserve special mention and one of them in
the
Internet age is communication access. We travel with a personal laptop, which enables the
Cruise Diva Blog to be published "live from sea" during cruises, and
usually connect to the Internet utilizing ships' wireless systems.
Aboard MSC Poesia we were able to go online by using an ethernet
cable in our stateroom—a major
convenience and almost as fast as some broadband connections ashore.
Back to
Part One
Cruise Diva's "Live" Blogs
from MSC Poesia:
More MSC Cruises
Cruise Reviews
