MSC Poesia World Cruise Palma de Mallorca 8 Jan 2024

Picture from a post to Facebook by another passenger

I woke up at 3am again this morning… hopefully I will get past this jet lag again. I forced myself to get out of bed at 7, showered, and headed for breakfast. I had breakfast with a man from Malaga who I had read about on Facebook. They lost his luggage between Malaga and Barcelona and he still doesn’t have it onboard. Poor guy might have to do a world cruise without anything but his carry on.

Today was a port with an included excursion. Since I booked an alternate excursion, I receive 65 euros towards a different excursion. I had already booked Caves of the Dragon (cuevas de drach) before the cruise so I chose to book an excursion tomorrow and apply my credit. 

Normally the tour visits a Pearl factory first (to use the restrooms) and then the cave, but since it is off season, there is only one cave show per day at 10:30. The excursion I booked is PMI02 from MSC. Here is the description:

If you love dramatic landscapes, don't miss an MSC Cruises excursion to the Dragon Caves, Mallorca's mysterious underground world. Forged from years of coastal erosion, this geological system boasts a number of highlights including four great chambers, the Baths of Diana, stalactites and stalagmites, and the impressive Lake Martel. Immerse yourself in this magnificent spectacle and listen to an amazing concert staged on small boats. Back aboveground, finish your cruise with a visit to the glimmering Pearl Factory, a real treat for jewellery lovers!

So we drove directly to the caves. We waited maybe 10 minutes in line and went in.

It was a very impressive cave complex with many stalactites and stalagmites. Caves are 20 degrees C or 70 degrees F year around. The ocean water was blue and tidal and everything was lit to make it spooky. I have no idea why they are named dragon.

Once we got to the bottom, there were bench seats. I took the front row at the far end. 

They turned off all the lights and a brightly lit rowboat with a string quartet played 5 classical pieces as they rowed by the crowd in the cave. It was simple but also very cool. The light made the musicians brilliantly illuminated while the stalactites cast shadows that danced as they rowed. Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed.

After the concert, I was in a great position to get in line for the rowboats once they turned the lights on. I secured a spot in the front a made a video of the ride across the lake to the 119 steps to the exit.

We had ample time to visit the rest rooms and then all headed to the Pearl factory.

In my opinion, the Pearl factory was a complete waste of time. We were given 30 minutes and 75 percent of the group was waiting for the bus at 20 minutes. Unfortunately, a few folks stayed for an extra 15 minutes. 

Once almost back to the ship, the bus stopped to let people off in town to shop before they could catch the free ship shuttle bus back. We dropped them off and returned at 1:50. This made us 20 minutes late for the restaurant lunch. 

I would do this excursion again as I loved the caves. However, the Pearl Factory was a massive anticlimax and the tour might be better rearranged with the Pearl Factory visit before the caves.

Unfortunately, I am less than impressed with the buffet. I was excited to finally find fajitas but they don’t have tortillas only pita bread. The guacamole was tasty and it was definitely the highlight of my meal.

I took a nap until it was time to get ready for dinner. 

I walked past shore excursions on the way to dinner and noticed a huge line. They had told some people that excursions were available in Gran Canary Island. I waited and booked an excursion. For some reason, the interesting excursion was no longer available.

It was a Spanish themed dinner and I had salad, seafood paella and a Swiss roll for dessert.

The portions are not large but I have never been hungry at the end of a meal.

I went back to my stateroom and there was a note to visit the shore excursions desk about Malaga. I returned and stood in line for 15 minutes for them to tell the couple in front of me that UK citizens are not allowed on the excursion because only EU passport holders can get back into the EU. I was told that also applied to US passport holders. This is bizarre since I went to Gibraltar in 2021 and had a great time.

I figured I might as well check out customer service which had no line and I waited as they analyzed my account to explain to me why I hadn’t received my full on board credit, as well as why they charged me for my excursion instead of offsetting it with the included excursion 65 euro credit. (It was added to refundable and non refundable gets used first)

The show was a ventriloquist and I didn’t bother to attend. I have an excursion at 10 tomorrow.

Happy Cruising!