Mixed view of Lirica cruise

I took a Caribbean cruise aboard Mediterranean Shipping Company’s Lirica, Jan. 26-Feb. 6, ’04, and wish to give my impressions. My perspectives come from over 50 cruises, including canal and Atlantic crossings.

The Lirica left Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, for Montego Bay, Jamaica; Cartagena, Colombia; the San Blas Islands and Panama Canal; Puerto Limón, Costa Rica, and then back to Florida to Key West and Ft. Lauderdale. The fare was $1,995 for the first passenger and $700 for the second (special AARP rate).

Following are some good points:

• The cabin service was the best I have ever had. My cabin number was 10019 and the steward was Mario.

• There was plenty of storage space (closet, shelf and drawer) in both cabin and bathroom. However, the closet was deep rather than wide across (as the one in my friend’s inside cabin was), which made it difficult to reach clothes hung at the back.

• The ship was beautifully decorated, with nice, warm colors.

• Some parts of the shows (the juggler and contortionist) were good. I felt the male singer should be retired, however, and the tall girls added beauty but nothing else.

• This was a music-oriented cruise, and in the evenings many venues on board had music that was not intrusive. There were even good opera performances by video, with commentary by the assistant cruise director.

• This was a “quiet” cruise — no public announcements except for the emergency drill and disembarkations for shore excursions.

• Deck chairs were plentiful and of the best design I have seen.

Now we come to the negatives:

• The bedside lamps in the suites were fixed, making them difficult to use for in-bed reading. (Again, in my friend’s inside room the lamp arms moved — much better.)

• In my opinion, some of the food was good (especially the fish) and some not so good. I felt the pastas and risotto were sometimes tasty and sometimes not. The ship ran out of crackers for the cheeses plus Diet Coke, Sprite, prunes and cream.

• While we lucked into a good waiter and busboy, the closeness of tables to one another hampered service.

• The dress code in the dining room was not enforced. One young man came to lunch in his bathing suit and on a formal night showed up in a knit T-shirt.

• The in-cabin menu was the poorest I have ever seen, consisting only of Continental breakfast.

• Regarding shore excursions, we were supposed to dock at all ports but one, and the reverse was true.

• On most ships you can get playing cards for free or at least use them freely. Here we had to make a $10 deposit.

• Passengers sometimes smoked cigarettes in the halls near the elevators.

ROGER M. DALSHEIMER
Baltimore, MD

ITN sent a copy of the above letter to MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Cruises) Italian Cruises, 250 Moonachie Rd., Moonachie, NJ 07074. . . and to MSC Shipping Cruises Naples, Via A. Depretis, 31, Naples 80133, Italy, and received no replies.