MSC Poesia Day 1: First Impressions

I have just boarded the MSC Poesia out of Barcelona for 5 days. It was not my original intention since I board the Virgin Valiant Lady on Sunday October 16. That said the airfare was much cheaper on Columbus day. When i looked at hotel rooms in Barcelona, I just couldn't find anything close to the value of this MSC cruise. 

MSC was offering no solo supplement, a free balcony upgrade from the inside cabin, and $200 OBC. In addition, Vacationstogo threw in an additional $50 OBC. What I didn't anticipate was the value of a freebee that MSC threw in. I also get free mineral water, American coffee, and Tea in the dining room. So far, I have really been enjoying the mineral water and i am on target to hit my 3 liters for the day. I will be sure to get bottles to go.

The ship is lovely. The balcony room is large and in good condition. I am looking forward to a show later this evening which is called Born to Rock in the Theater where we did a muster drill in 5 languages in 15 minutes for everyone who boarded the ship today. 

Embarkation was incredibly simple and there were no lines when I arrived at 1pm. Why did I get here so late? I purchased a transfer from MSC for $25 between the airport and the ship. Unfortunately, they put 5 of us in a minivan but we all had to wait for each other. The last couple from Germany's flight was delayed.

The Barcelona airport has free wifi so it gave me a chance to make sure Google Fi was working properly before the transfer. All in all, I am very optimistic this will be a great cruise.