Just returned from a great holiday on board the lirica.I read all the reviews and was not expecting much, however I was totally taken aback at how much I enjoyed the food which was panned before but I could not agree with this the choice in the dinning room was great. I work in the catering industry at a 5 star level and I have also worked on cruise ships for10 years so I know the industry very well and also had Italian family with me and they thought the food was as good as it could be for the size of the ship. People forget that you are catering for a large no of people at the same time so it will never be as good as it being cooked for individual tables and a lot of my fellow British travellers expect the menu to be

catered for brits alone but this is a European style and if you don't like pasta and risotto and Mediterranean style food then don't book msc.The portions are not massive but you can have 4 or 5 courses that are smaller rather than one massive portion for a main meal, if you order an appetizer a soup or risotto a main meal and desert I promise you will be full and have a great meal the way they do in the med not our usual sit down, gub a meal and leave within 20 mins. staff in the bar and restaurant were

great very pleasant..(bar table service can take time at busy times).The buffet was not as great as was busy and my main complaint was food temperature which was way too low and the staff at the buffet were inconsistent but the pizza and burger station and fresh pasta station were quick and mostly hot.. Read more