MSC Poesia Cruise Review

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ABOVE: Passengers watch MSC Poesia's Bari departure from their cabin balconies on Deck 10.

Staterooms and suites

MSC Poesia has 1,275 staterooms, which break down as follows:

• 18 suites with balconies

• 809 outside cabins with balconies

• 173 outside cabins with windows

• 275 inside cabins

Beds in most cabins can be configured as twins or queens. Bathrooms are compact but efficiently designed, with plenty of storage space and good-size shower stalls. (Suites have bathtubs.)

Inside cabins are less claustrophic than you might expect, thanks to large mirrors and TV channels that show the ship's bow, the pool area, and various navigation and weather screens. (They're also cheaper than other cabins and are worth considering if you'll spend most of your time in public areas.)

Some of MSC Poesia's staterooms have one or two supplemental berths that fold up during the day, while others have sofa beds. These are popular with families, since children of 17 years or younger normally travel free when they're sharing a cabin with two adults. Thanks to MSC's organized activities for children and teenagers, parents can bunk with their kids and still have privacy when the need arises.

Connecting cabins are also available, and so are cabins for disabled guests. Most of the latter are inside cabins, but a small number of outside cabins, with or without balcony, are offered in several fare categories.

All cabins have minibars, dressers, night tables with drawers, and surprisingly generous storage closets. We tucked our suitcases and backpacks into a closet and still had more than enough room for our clothes.

We stayed in cabin 100075 on Deck 10 ("Carducci" Deck, after the Italian poet), which was located at a point where balcony cabins jog in above the lifeboats. Our location at the bend gave us a slightly larger-than-average balcony with a view of both the ocean and the side of the ship. (We took the photo at the top of this page from our angled balcony.)

Next page: Dining, bars

Inset images 1,3,4 copyright © MSC Crociere.

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