MSC Lirica - Extra Tips...

We stayed one night prior to cruising...at the Ramada Inn Airport/Cruiseport. we paid $115 before tax and booked directly though the hotel. They had a free airport and cruiseport shuttle which we found to be great. The hotel was fine for one night. Old but clean. The room was very large. We had a room on the first floor in the back facing the parking lot...don't know how comfortable I would have felt in that location without my husband. If I were traveling with other women or children I would ask to be near the font desk. Has an ok pool area...but we didn't use it. We booked the cruise shuttle for 11am and it went smooth. Had free breakfast too.

On our return we stayed over one more night because we couldn't get flights late enough. I knew we would end up having the majority of Sunday left so I decided to find a nicer hotel that the Ramada. I played around on priceline and ended up with the Bahia Mar Yacht Hotel for $145 ($175 with taxes). Boy was I glad I did that. We hopped in a cab from the port (around $10 with tip) and pulled up to this beautiful location! A lovely way to end our trip...I think it would have been depressing to get off that beautiful ship and go to that old run down hotel for the day and night. We checked in and were upgraded to a balcony room. We ate, got settled and decided to take a water taxi ($12 each for all day with on and off privileges). It was only about 2 so we spent the day slowly riding the water taxi through the canals getting a tour of the huge private yachts and mega mansions. We stopped at Las Olas Blvd. and had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Hopped back on the water taxi and as we were headed back to the hotel we saw the Lirica all lit up...it was magical! We got back to our room just in time to see it from our balcony...slowly pulling out for it's next voyage. The room was great. huge bathroom, comfy beds, beautiful view. They offer a personal car service to the airport for $20 for up to 4 people. It was worth every penny!

Drinks: we aren't big drinkers but thought the prices were very good. My husband got the beer tickets and they lasted the whole trip.

Smoking: we are not smokers and I am very sensitive to the smell...I was concerned with this being a European line that there would be smoke everywhere but that wasn't the case. I learned to steer clear of the Lord Nelson Pub which was a smokers paradise. All of the other public areas were fine...no problems.

Captains welcome and farewell receptions: they were held in two locations...Lord nelson Pub and the Lirica Lounge...we didn't know where to go so we went to the pub...big mistake...Smokey and crowded...and the captain was at the other location...the farewell night we went to the Lirica Lounge early and waited outside the door...got very crowded but we were glad we went about 20 minutes early...got great seats.

Cruise Pictures: we took a bunch of pictures with the ships photographer (on formal nights) but only ended up buying 2. they were expensive (like on most ships) they also had a "your cruise in review" dvd that was great if you were involved with activities...they show it on the TV throughout your trip and you can see if you are in it.

Onboard shops: We found the main gift shop to have great prices on souvenirs. We bought heavy Lirica mugs for around $6...which anywhere else's could have easily been $12-15. They had specials on evening bags, pareos, hats, purses, jewelry, etc...different each day...kind of like a sidewalk sale.

Kids: there were some kids onboard and they seemed to be having a good time. I didn't check the kids club in detail. The kids mixed with the adults and it worked. We will bring ours next time.

Dress: there were three formal nights which we loved...we like dressing up. The other nights were listed as casual...there was a mix. Some women were more dressed in fun, billowy, colorful cruise wear...others were more conservative. Shorts and caps are not allowed in the dining room for dinner. I wore sundresses or light pants with pretty tops and felt totally comfortable. My husband wore kakis or cargo pants and camp shirts and looked good too. He didn't bring a tux...just a suit and a sportcoat.

Mailing: the front desk will mail your postcards...$1 each and charge it to your account.

Tipping: we choose to do the automatic tipping of $12pp a day. It seemed fair (even cheap) for the amount of service we received and for the amount of people it was being split by. We did give a little extra to our waiter and busboy as we really liked them and the went out of their way to be helpful. We also left a thank you note and a small additional tip (as well as a bottle of champagne we won) for our two room stewards.

Bingo: we love bingo but only played a couple of times...it was $10 for 3 boards. They had it two times a day. loved hearing them cal the numbers in all 5 languages!!

Calling home: We used our cell phones in Cozumel (scared to see the bill) because we forgot to do it in town. In Costa Rica we called from inside the cruise terminal...you buy a calling card...$5 for 15 minutes I think...it worked well. In Columbia we also called from the terminal...was just as cheap and they had small private cubicles.

Weather: Breezy and chilly in Ft. Lauderdale but great while on the ship. The ports were hot and muggy. I really wished I had brought a light cotton shirt with sleeves because after a day or so my shoulders had enough sun. I searched in port for a shirt but ended up wearing one of my husbands and rolling up the sleeves. I would recommend a pool cover-up with light sleeves. I don't ever burn (olive skin) and I ALWAYS wear sunscreen...but I did burn a bit on this trip. BRING and WEAR lots of SUNSCREEN!! and a hat!

Waterproof Carrier: at the hiking store we got a waterproof carrier that you wear around your neck for about $5 and used it at all the ports. it fit our money, cruise card and IDs...next time we will get one large enough to fit our passports as well. We ended up putting them in plastic baggies to protect them. It would have been nice to keep them with us even in the water.

whew...I think that's it.

MSC Lirica - Our only minor complaints: (none of which made our trip bad!!)

* we didn't care for the buffet...but I don't think we are really buffet people so you might not be able to go by us.
* limited room service menu
* The pool was very cold and the hot tub wasn't hot
* could have been more TV options
* the internet was very slow and expensive...ended up requesting it be removed from our bill...which they did.
* didn't automatically offer "friends of Bill W" meetings

Overall we loved or trip. I have been on several other ships and have become a fan of this line. We will definitely go again and will talk all of our friends and family into coming with us. We loved the international flavor...all of the languages and people from other countries. It was much more free...most men in Speedos most women of any age in bikinis...very European...and we enjoyed that. The ship was spotless and beautifully decorated. The crew were warm and friendly...we can't wait to go back!
The ports were interesting and new to us.

MSC Lirica - Our Ports of Call

Cosumel: We chose not to do a ship excursion. We had breakfast in the dining room and then walked into town. it was only 9am their time and most things were closed...which was nice. It was very quite and we liked watching the city wake up. We needed snorkels and bought some nice ones for $15 each. after a little while we grabbed a cab to Chakanaab Park ($9 plus $2 tip) it was an 8-10 minute ride. We paid $16 each to get into the park. It was a lot of fun...my first time snorkeling! The water was really clear. The waves were a little rough and the sun kept hiding behind the clouds so we didn't stay in long...there were lots of chairs under little huts. It wasn't crowded at all. We swam a bit, servers brought drinks, we walked through the botanical gardens, met the local iguanas. We took a cab back to town...walked around a bit. With our park ticket we were eligible to get a free drink at Carlos and Charlie's...so we stopped in there and it was a fun and festive atmosphere. Back on the ship we swam, watched pool games and were grateful we had the 2nd seating!

 

Costa Rica: Also choose not to do a ship excursion. Walked around town in the morning...not much to see. Shopped in the cruise terminal. Went back on the ship for lunch and planned on getting a cab to a nearby beach (Playa Bonita) after...at lunch overheard some other passengers complaining about a bad cab experience...not following through with what was agreed on. So we decided to find a tour operator near the boat...we ended up with David Carnegie of Caribbean Coastaricans...there were other passengers from our ship and we ended up getting a city tour with them. Then he took us for a tour of the Tortugerro Canal by boat which was very cool! We saw Camins, Sloth, lots of birds, bats, lizards, etc...We paid $5 each for the bus tour and $10 each for the boat tour...plus a tip...it was wonderful. I have his card if anyone wants more info. Turned out that Playa Bonita was too rough.

Panama: We chose the ships excursion for Portobello and Gatun Locks. Great choice! We had a fabulous driver and the bus was really comfortable. We went to the locks and saw a ship coming through...amazing! then we went to the town of Portobello and had an informative tour of that area...interesting forts...beautiful views. Worth it.

Columbia: we chose to do a ships excursion here too...we read so much about how most of the area is unsafe. We choose the city tour...and thought it was great. It moved quick (which was good for us) and you saw a lot. Loved the old city and the small gold museum...and the place of the Inquisition...very creepy. Felt it was a good value...saw many different parts of the city.

Cayo Leventado: my husband wanted to see a waterfall...so we chose the Salto Limon horseback riding ship excursion. While the outcome was good...I didn't care for this excursion for the most part. On the way over to the island by tender...it was pouring rain..they gave us all ponchos. The horseback riding was difficult and over muddy, large boulders...the waterfall was amazing and glorious. The hike down more muddy boulders after the scary horseback ride was not so fun. Then after swimming in the water you had to get dressed and hike back up to retrieve your horse and rise back to their base. It was cool that each of us had our own personal guide for the whole trip. If you choose this excursion be prepared to get wet and muddy and for some serious physical exertion. The waterfall was magnificent. We were supposed to do some shopping but everyone just wanted to get back.

MSC Lirica - Onboard

Poolside: games were fun to play or watch. They weren't intrusive...there were plenty of areas around the pool where it was quite. We loved the open expanse of the pool area...as opposed to separate areas. We always found a lounge chairs...even on busy at sea days. I really liked the lounge chairs...they had an individual shade canopy that would block the sun from your face. They also had plenty of seating in the sun or shade.
servers were always around but didn't bother you...very low key. There were options...lots of deck space and walking area around the perimeter of the pool...you could always get a seat to participate in the pool activities.

Entertainment/Shows: The shows in the showroom were fair...fun to watch but not great talent. Not polished...kind of what you would expect nowadays on a cruise ship. They were pretty to look at and we had fun. We went most nights and feel it added to our trip. Some of the specialty acts within the shows were really good. In particular...the juggler and his assistant and the acrobat team were really good...definitely worth seeing. The good thing is that they kept the show short 45 min. and you weren't missing anything else. We thought they were fun for what they were.

The cruise director and staff: Marco was our cruise director and he was great...very Italian with a quick wit. His crew...the "excellent entertainers" were terrific. They were young and sexy...full of life. They got everyone involved and made the trip fun. They each had such different personalities and blended really well. We were amazed at how easily the spoke in 5 languages effortlessly! We looked forward to seeing them.

Food: overall we really liked the food. Great selection and it was easy for me to find things to eat. There were maybe 2-3 dinners I didn't care for but when you figure out how many times they fed me during those 11 days...2-3 not so great meals isn't that bad. I don't eat pizza but everyone raved about the pizza grill. I loved that they had room service but found the menu limited...good club sandwich though. I personally didn't care for the buffet at all. We choose to eat the majority of our meals in the dining room and were really pleased...breakfast was good with lots of choices. Lunch was different and gave us the opportunity to try new things and dinner was good too. The grand buffet was a site to see...we had the 2nd seating though and couldn't even eat one more thing! It was very festive and fun to dance under the stars up by the pool. We did take photos to show our kids of the food sculptures. We ate in La Bussola dining room and really liked it.
We found eating in the dining room for breakfast was a nice calm way to start our day...we could look at the daily schedule and enjoy each other. Eating in the dining room for lunch was also really nice for us...if it was a sea day we welcomed getting a little cooled off...in from the sun. Re-collect ourselves and then venture out for the late day pool antics. We even chose to eat in the dining room for lunch on our port days.

Days at sea: We really enjoyed our sea days...there was lots to do...or you could do absolutely nothing. I loved that there weren't announcements every half hour...that you had to read your daily schedule to know what was going on.

MSC Lirica - Embarkation

Embarkation was smooth and quick. We arrived at the port about 11:45 and a half hour later we were through security, checked in and on the ship. We went to our cabin first and realized they needed to join the two beds for us. We went to the front desk and requested it and they said it would be taken care of while we were at dinner (which it was).

We thought our cabin was great (9174) ocean view. Great central location.
The window was very large and the storage was really well thought out. Our luggage arrived quickly. We didn't pack light and I still found a place for everything. I had read a lot of the packing suggestions on Cruise Critic and want to pass along some of the specific items we found really useful.

* over the door, plastic shoe holder...the kind with the little pockets. We got a clear one that folded really flat at Target for about $5...also the shelf kind of shoe rack...also Target $5...loved having these!! The shelf one went inside the closet and helped disguise the fact that I brought so many pairs of shoes...and the pocket one hung on the outside of the closet door...filled it up with sunglasses, sunscreen, flip flops, bug spray, etc...really helped keep us organized.
* small digital clock (Wal-Mart $5)
* power cord strip...used it everyday
* pop up mesh laundry basket (Wal-Mart $5)...loved having this. kept it in the closet.
* magnetic "fridge" frames with our kids and dog's photos...on the outside of the bathroom door.

After we got settled we went to check out our dining room seating...we needed to make a change and it was handled easily. The area was crowded with impatient people...some very rude...but we waited and all was handled.
Then after the first night we asked for another table change to sit with people we had met on the Cruise Critic's roll call...and they were very accommodating. We felt they had terrific follow through.

The MSC Lirica - March 2008

We LOVED the Lirica!

My husband and I just got off the beautiful Lirica after our 10 night journey to the western/deep Caribbean.
I really loved reading other reviews before I left so I took some notes while we were traveling to be able to write a review for others...might be a little long...take what you need and I welcome any questions! I just turned 40 and my husband is 47. This was to celebrate my 40th birthday and our 10th wedding anniversary. (both of which Lirica gave us cakes for on two separate nights!)