A Travel Seller’s Report: MSC Poesia – Now that’s Italian!

(Sherry Laskin, ACC is the owner of Florida-based Vacation Shoppe. She is a member of the CLIA Advisory Board and has been quoted in Travel and Leisure, Frommers.com and msnbc.today.com.)

In November, amid media hoopla and fanfare, the MSC Poesia arrived at Port Everglades from its home in Italy to begin its maiden Caribbean season.  Meaning “Poetry” in English, this beautiful ship will sail 3 to 10 night itineraries throughout the Caribbean including the Yucatan, Panama Canal and Bermuda during its first season in North America. Our sailing was a five-night cruise to Grand Cayman (where tendering is required) and Ocho Rios, Jamaica.

Called “The President’s Cruise,” this was the North America debut for the MSC Poesia and Suzanne Somers, the North American Godmother of the Poesia, was onboard for the sold-out sailing. (An at-capacity cruise makes for a good review because you get to see how well the crew manages with a full house.)

If you like anything European, from opera to art to language to cuisine, you might find a cruise aboard the Poesia like a mini-trip to Italy and beyond.

Carrying 2,550 passengers (based on double-occupancy), the Poesia is a medium-sized vessel by the mega-ship standards of today. But despite its slightly smaller size, there’s plenty to do and see onboard.

From the moment you enter the Ft. Lauderdale terminal, MSC oversees your embarkation with upper level staff that is friendly, knowledgeable and most important, quick. Embarkation and debarkation procedures both in Ft. Lauderdale, as well as in the Caribbean ports were always smooth and efficient.

As is the MSC tradition, as you step onboard the Poesia during embarkation you are greeted by a ready and waiting white-gloved attendant to assist with your carry-on bag and escort you to your stateroom.

All the staterooms I saw were well-appointed with plenty of room for storage. Of the 1,275 staterooms and suites, 80% are oceanview and 827 boast a private balcony. At no time did I hear any noise from my neighbors on either side of my cabin.

Wheelchair accessible staterooms are plentiful aboard the Poesia, with seventeen cabins on six different decks, both oceanview and inside. The beds, however, cannot be pushed together to form a king-sized bed.

The inside cabins at 151 sq. ft. are about average inside-size within the cruise industry, though the use of mirrors gives the illusion of a larger accommodation. The new flat-panel televisions allow you to use more space on the countertop than with the older bulky TV sets.

Read the rest of Sherry Laskin’s review of the MSC Poesia:

MSC Poesia – It Wouldn’t Be Italian Without Food

MSC Poesia – Now that’s Italian — Entertainment

MSC Poesia – Benvenuto Rick Sasso