MSC Preziosa review – A 7 day cruise in the Mediterranean for families

MSC Preziosa review – A 7 day cruise in the Mediterranean for families.

Our first cruise with MSC took us on board the Preziosa. A beautiful ship that started and ended our seven-day cruise in Genoa and visited Civitavecchia (Rome), Palermo (Sicily), Valletta (Malta), Mallorca (Spain), Valencia (Spain) and Marseille (France).

If you’re looking for MSC Preziosa reviews then read on for all the details you need.

About MSC Preziosa review – A 7 day cruise in the Mediterranean for families

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The Mediterranean is such a wonderful area to cruise around. We visited a number of cities we hadn’t been to before, as well as enjoyed our time hanging out on board.

This is our MSC Preziosa review.

MSC Preziosa review : our cabin

As a family of five we had to have two cabins on board Preziosa.

They do have some family rooms which sleep five but by the time we came to book on board these had sold out. The regular cabins sleep a maximum of four, so book early if you want to guarantee a family room.

We took two identical balcony cabins which had – A nicely sized, comfortable double bed.

And then a seating area with sofa which also had a minibar, television and small desk area.

At night, while we were at dinner this would then be transformed into a double bed.

Bathroom. -MSC Preziosa review

We also had two bathrooms that come with showers and non disposable products.

I was really pleased with the size of the shower and the water pressure.

Just outside the bathroom in the main cabin are three small wardrobes.

Balcony

We also had a balcony which came with two chairs and a footstool. And where we spent many mornings and sunny afternoons watching the Mediterranean pass by.

I particularly like that on Preziosa the balconies are not overlooked by any other. And they have a ceiling so nothing can be dropped on you from above which is something I have worried about before on other cruises.

It would have been nice to have had a kettle in the cabin but that’s more of a British thing I think.

There were plenty of places to get some tea and coffee but it’s nice to have the option in the room sometimes. So I think I will take a travel kettle when I travel with MSC next time.

We did like having the space of the cabin to order breakfast in some morning,s when we wanted to get going for a port stop early.

The food – MSC Preziosa review

The food on board Preziosa is good and very much in line with their motto of ‘The Mediterranean way of life”.

There are fixed times to dine for dinner. At either 6.30pm or 8.30pm at your allocated restaurant.

Or if you are on the Freedom Dining package you can choose anytime to dine from 6.30pm until 9.45pm.

We were in The Golden Lobster which is a large restaurant at the back of the boat and the service here was very good with the same waiter each night.

I’m vegetarian and was pleased to see a number of options on the menu each night. I dined on dishes like mushroom risotto and aubergine parmiagiana, and the fish eaters in the family enjoyed the swordfish and salmon.

I liked how at some of the ports they introduced food from that region into the menu, for example a traditional Genoese pesto or arincini rice balls.

The children had their own menu that changed slightly each night. It included dishes like pizza, fish fingers and cheese toasties but they could also order from the main adult menu.

Lunch was very similar in the L’Arabesque restaurant which was a walk-in restaurant.

And breakfast was also in L’Arabesque, I fell in love with the peach danishes here and the children loved the pancakes.

You could also order a number of hot options including Eggs Benedict, hash browns and waffles.

My only disappointment at breakfast was the fruit juice which was more like a squash.

If you don’t want to go down for a formal meal at lunchtime, dinner or breakfast there is always a large buffet. Here there are plenty of options nearly 24 hours a day with a fantastic array of pizzas that were delicious. There were also burgers, chips, a large salad bar, fruits and cake.

There are also a number of pay for restaurants including Eataly, Galaxy and the American Sports Bar. None of which we went in to.

Drinks on board Preziosa can be bought individually or you can buy a package. We had the Allegrissimo package which meant that we could have as many soft drinks as we liked and also lots of the alcoholic drinks too.

We loved being able to pick up a mojito before dinner and the children adored the mocktails.

The package also allowed us access to the brilliant ice cream stands on board. These were filled with delicious flavours and it was always nice to sit in the Egyptian bar when we’d got back on board from a port stop to cool off with some gelato.

The entertainment

Kids Clubs

First of all there’s the great kids club.

My daughter at age seven is the biggest fan of kids club and we have to drag her away from them.

On board Preziosa when we visited all of the ages of children were in the same club which worked for us as it meant our four year old wanted to go along sometimes with his sister (if he’d been on his own I don’t think he’d have gone).

They did lots of colouring and there were competitions to win small sets of Lego and cuddly toys which my children loved to try and win.

I thought it was great that they had a ‘photo with the Captain’ morning and also a chance to make gnocchi.

If you wanted to you could also let your child go and eat with kids club or stay on board with them while you travelled to the port stops. Neither option we did but would work for some families.

Pools

There are also some great swimming pools on board including those outdoor with hot tubs to enjoy too.

And also indoor ones for all the family.

There was also a brilliant fun water play area for kids on the upper decks which all three of my kids loved.

A water slide went out over the side of the ship and was see-through on those sections for a particularly hair-raising ride too.

Evening entertainment – MSC Preziosa review

Also there was a show twice an evening which had everything from acrobatics to full on dance routines.

The spa

The spa on board Preziosa was at the back of deck 14 and was a really large space that included a gymnasium and hairdresser salon.

The treatment options in the spa were extensive and Mr Globalmouse enjoyed a fantastic massage which he said felt like he’d been properly pummelled at (in a good way!).

I had a facial that was absolutely lovely. Really relaxing and one of the best I’ve had.

I like that there was a large central lounge to relax in afterwards and choose one of the herbal teas or juices on offer.

The shops

There were a really large number of shops on board Preziosa. Including those selling perfume, bags, clothes, toys, MSC branded goods, a swim shop and jewellery amongst others.

The toy shop had a great range of well-priced Lego (including an MSC ship made especially for the company by Lego).

And there was also a good selection of general goods like toothpaste and nappies as well as some medicines.

The services

I thought the internet provision on board Preziosa was really good.

You could sign up for various options that were really well priced. And the internet was also really fast and easy to log in from our cabin.

There were no guest washing machines available on board but you could get clothes washed, although this was a paid for service.

MSC Preziosa review – Mediterranean Cruise 7 nights: the port stops

This is our ship’s itinerary. We made our own way to Italy (but MSC can organise your flights for you if you prefer) and we met the ship in Genoa.

Genoa

Here you could enjoy guided trips to Genoa’s aquarium or to Milan for the day.

Civitavecchia, Italy

This port stop is for Rome where you could take a guided tour of the city or a trip to the Vatican. Or as we did ‘Rome on your own’ where MSC take you the hour and a half in to the centre of Rome and bring you back again to meet the ship.

Palermo, Sicily, Italy

This was probably one of my favourite port stops as I’ve wanted to visit Sicily for the longest time. Here you could take tours around Palermo. Or head in to the centre of the island to learn more about the Sicilian way of life.

Valletta, Malta – MSC Preziosa review

Valletta was an intriguing mix of Arabic and European design. It’s another place I would now like to return to explore more of.

There were tours of the city here and also specific trips to learn about the history of the island.

Palma, Mallorca, Spain

We were largely at sea on this day which was a welcome day to rest our feet.

We arrived into Mallorca at about 7.30pm and decided against the evening tours to see the city after dark and instead took the MSC shuttle bus to the centre of town.

Mallorca was a revelation as I had many misconceptions about this town. I found it to be full of Spanish charm with lots of lovely tapas restaurants lining the streets and palm trees swaying.

Valencia, Spain

We took an MSC guided tour around Valencia at this port stop. It was great loved hearing all about the arts and science park that is in the bed of Valencia’s river that had to be drained after flooding in the 1950s and killing over 400 residents.

We also had a great wander around the old town, stopping for churros along the way.

Marseilles, France – MSC Preziosa review

Marseille was also a bit of a revelation. I was expecting more of an industrial city but actually it was really picturesque. It was perfect for a wander along the waterfront with the children.

We picked up scented soaps and packets of herby biscuits. And sat for a lovely long lunch watching the boats bobbing about. Another on the list to revisit.

Genoa, Italy

And then we returned to Genoa to disembark.

This was a great cruise to get a taste of some wonderful Mediterranean ports. We had such a lovely time exploring them all, there wasn’t one we didn’t enjoy or wouldn’t want to return to.

MSC Preziosa review: Our verdict

We really enjoyed our time on MSC Preziosa and thought it was particularly interesting to be on board with a really international group. There were Brits, Italians, Germans, French, New Zealanders and Americans.

Announcements were made in a number of different languages and tours were grouped according to country. 

We loved the mix of port stops and our time on board was spent relaxing around the pools and eating lots of ice cream.

It was a wonderful week to relax, recharge and explore.

You can watch our short video of our time on board Preziosa and the port stops we visited here.

You can find out more about MSC Cruises at their website here.

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