MSC Cruises is not a new name in the shipping world, MSC stands for Mediterranean Shipping Company.  The company is actually the second largest container shipping company in the world and has been operating several older passenger ships for quite a few years. In past years their itineraries consisted mainly of longer duration  cruises in the Med, South America and the Caribbean, however this winter season their newest ship the m/v Opera, launched in spring of 2004, started offering seven night Caribbean cruises from Ft Lauderdale.

This is a cruise line to be watched as they have recently acquired two other quite new ships from the now defunct Festival Cruise Lines.  Utilizing these two ships they plan to offer numerous seven night cruises in the Mediterranean as well. Additionally the line has three more new ships on order. Obviously the owners are making a huge commitment to their cruise operations.

With this fast and quick growth came the need to quickly establish themselves in the US market as a serious player.  Hence the owners head-hunted some veteran cruise line people, Rick Sasso, formerly the head of Celebrity Cruise Line and one of the original names at Celebrity pre-RCCL merger days, was tapped to head up the cruise lines growth and transformation. Rick has brought in a team of seasoned pros many from Celebrity as well. The stated intention is make MSC a Premium class cruise line in the near future.

The Opera is a 878 cabin/1,756 passenger vessel making her one of the smallest new builds in recent years. There are four basic categories of cabins - inside, standard outside, balcony cabins and balcony suites. The standard outside cabins are a little small by today's standards, however the balcony cabins and suites are very well appointed and most are suitable for incentive groups. The color scheme is light and bright and very pleasant to the eye. These cabins come with stocked mini-bars, safes, TV, radio, hair dryers and convertible beds.

The vast majority of the public rooms are located on the three lower decks of the ship. The interior décor flows very well with soft pleasing colors that blend nicely from one room to the next. As one does a quick tour of the ship the first thing that hits you are the number of public rooms with dance floors and set-up for live music with six of the bars and lounges featuring live nightly entertainment. Additionally there is a late night disco located on the upper most deck of the ship that is huge for this size ship. The ship also has a two deck level theater with totally unobstructed sight lines.

With all of these public rooms having live entertainment it's no wonder that entertainment is currently the strongest and most positive aspect on the Opera. Keeping in mind that MSC has a strong existing Pan-European client base you will find entertainment that appeals to many nationalities. During our cruise there was total of 37 contracted entertainers from a Milan production company that handles all public room entertainment as well as the nightly shows. Additionally the ship carries a staff of 13 animators/cruise staff (more about them in minute).

The nightly shows are varied and do not rely on language to entertain you. There is a typical Las Vegas type review with international acts and pop music, one show is magic show and I would think that the magician must bring a 40 foot container of equipment to do his act with, a classic concert with piano, violin and a tenor and a Spanish show with flamenco and modern dancers. The shows were well done and very well received by the passengers.

The lounge acts are equally as varied as well. You will find performers who can go from French, to Italian, to Spanish and English in any given set. The piano bar's performer was extremely talented and keep the right mix of music and languages until the evening hours. There is something for everyone and maybe some thing new or unfamiliar for some passengers to enjoy. If live entertainment is something you enjoy you will love the Opera.

The animation/cruise staff team. At first glance when I heard the term animation team I thought it was going to be like a Club Med resort, however, the team is far from this! These people work day and night and keep the party going so to speak. Keeping in mind that the cruise attracts more adults than young people their offerings are geared to an age group of 40 to 60. To give an example, one of their pool games was called “I bet”. This consisted of 10 different items you bet yes or no on, with the winners getting a prize. The audience participates in each of the items being bet on such as; can a passenger drink a glass of beer in 60 seconds, failing to mention that you will be held upside down and have to drink it from a straw; or can we get 48 passengers to fit on a sheet, but not mentioning it would be a sheet for a twin bed. The games were fun and getting audience participation was not a problem.

You will also find these young people doing various games, dance classes and acts in some of the lounges in the evening. They also entertain as you enter the main show lounge each night with various gags - the old fashion sight gags. All in all very different than you will find on most cruise lines and a real asset.

Even with the varied mix of the passengers you happily you don't get continuous announcements in four different languages. In fact on our cruise there were actually only three announcements made during the entire week, nice. Another thing happily missing is having a bar waiter in your face every two minutes trying to sell you overpriced cocktails in "souvenir drink glasses".

There are two main dining rooms that are well laid out with the majority of tables being for 4 to 6. The buffet area is open for breakfast lunch and dinner and has a grill and a pizzeria that has extended hours. The Coffee bar is a very popular meeting place and has really great Italian coffees at give away prices.

According to MSC's office, dining is “work in process”. Waiters in the formal dining room are Italian and menus feature some Italian dishes, but far too few in my opinion. Currently dining is the weakest part of the cruise, however, again this is being worked on. There are discussions to add an alternative super club/restaurant as well as a sushi bar. Remember the guys at Celebrity originally brought fine dining to the cruise industry years ago, so I am confident that dining will be improving.

MSC is a cruise line to be seriously watched and considered. The size of their ships are unique in that they are smallish in today's world which make them a charter opportunity for many groups in the Caribbean and the Med. Their 7 night cruises in the Med operate from Genoa, Venice and Rome and hit some great ports. With more new ships coming, I am sure we will see some other interesting itineraries and areas of operation in the coming months.