Public Areas & Facilities

Public rooms are spacious and uniformly elegant with grand touches of marble, brass accents, and lots of wood. The refreshing lack of glitz is more than compensated for by the sparkle of glass and a mixture of primary and neutral colors. With most public areas on the lower two passenger decks, getting acclimated is a breeze. Conveniently located elevator and stairway lobbies make even vertical movement less challenging.

Space around the Lido pools feels particularly lavish, with two swimming pools and hot tubs.

Restaurants

Two formal restaurants serve Mediterranean and Italian-accented cuisine in traditional early and late assigned seatings. The Lido buffet, poolside grill, coffee bar, and pizzeria offer casual daytime options. Although there are no true alternative dining restaurants, La Pergola and Il Patio restaurants have outdoor tables protected from the elements.

What Works & What Doesn't

Oddly, only the forward and aft elevators and stairwells reach all decks; the central ones don't even go as high as the top deck of staterooms. However, this seeming design flaw results in an uninterrupted expanse of wide-open space on the pool deck, so perhaps it wasn't such a bad choice after all.

Encircling the Lido Deck from above is additional sunning space where well-placed glass screens cut the wind.

Accommodations

Layout: There are nearly a dozen stateroom price categories; however, they fall into three basic configurations: suite with balcony, ocean view, and inside.

Amenities: All cabins are comfortably decorated in primary colors and have a vanity-desk, side chair, television, small minibar refrigerator, personal safe, and a hair dryer. Bathrooms are supplied with MSC Cruises' own brand of shampoo, bath gel, and soaps, plus a handy sewing repair kit. Suites also have a computer connection.

Suites: Suites (which would be more accurately described as minisuites) have a sitting area and a bathroom with bathtub; all but two forward-facing suites on each ship.

Good to Know: Lirica has four interior cabins that are wheelchair-accessible.

Category	Size (square feet)
Suite with Balcony	247
Suite without Balcony	236
Ocean View with Balcony	140
Ocean View without Balcony	140
Inside	140

Favorites

Best Places to Get Away from It All: Head outside behind the disco, where there's an open deck furnished with covered tables and chairs. Because there are no aft-facing cabins, most passenger decks have a small covered area at the stern where you'll find lounge chairs. These are perfect spots for reading or watching the ships' wake disappear behind you, and many people don't discover them.

Best Splurge: Specialty coffees, cocktails, wine, and other alcoholic beverages are some of the most reasonably priced at sea.

Best Added Value: Midnight buffets of the kind rarely seen on cruise ships anymore are an extravaganza worthy of attending even if you aren't hungry. Be sure to bring a camera.

Our Favorite Spot for Nightcap: High above the stern, cozy seating areas create an intimate atmosphere in the discos, which don't really crank up into high gear (and volume) until quite late. If it's a bit noisy, there's that seating outside.