Although I write regularly on Trip Advisor I rarely feel the need to pass comments on cruises I take, however, I make an exception here! We chose this cruise to try out the MSC brand (and as we found out, along with many other Brits who we sailed with on this cruise). Don't get me wrong, the ship is beautiful, the décor magnificent and the stateroom the most comfortable we've had, with a super-sized balcony at the stern of the ship. What let this down is the service and staff, the food, and the way things are done. 1. Service & Staff - on the whole, staff didn't seem to care or put themselves out for you. I observed photo shop staff holding hands behind the counter when they should've been working; I had to stop a cleaner vacuuming on disembarkation day as he was trailing the lead on the busy thoroughfares and at the top of the stairs with no thought for the obvious tripping hazard, especially with people of all ages milling around with luggage, walkers, pushchairs, children etc; no allowances made for disabled people, it took 4 days to get moved to a more accessible dinner table, passport checks in Eataly, no quick queue for disabled or infirm; not once did I see a low floor coach or bus during our stops and when I did enquire it seemed as though no allowances had been made for those in this situation, consequently I rarely got off the ship. We were told to ask about excursions whilst on the ship but nothing was available, and it seems a policy of the company to ask disabled passengers to provide fold-up wheelchairs/mobility and to climb coach steps, or you don't get an excursion or shuttle bus. I asked for a clinical waste bin to be placed in my stateroom, that didn't materialise. 2. Food. Oh my G**! Surely an Italian led cruiseline can supply decent food, including super pasta dishes? The food was atrocious, and I am no foodie! Everything seemed to be smothered in olive oil, the food combinations were weird, the portions were small. My partner wasn't asked how he wanted his steak cooked. Buffet area food stations were spread out - you had to move between stations to make a meal, eg: cold meats were miles away from the salads. None of it made sense! The puddings were on the whole full of cheap cream and tasteless. I had room service for breakfast as I only eat continental and not one day did the delivery match what I asked for. We tried a room service lunch, that was boring and the room service menu was basic and plain. On one breakfast I had cold coffee delivered, and delivery was often earlier than requested, including one an hour early because I hadn't ticked a time slot. Why not check what time the guest "normally" orders her breakfast? No, the waiter appeared most put-out and surly because I sent him away, then I'm sure delivered my breakfast an hour later with the same pot of coffee which was stone cold! There was no takeaway coffee in the coffee shop. We discovered that only the Brits on this cruise were supplied with kettles in their cabins! Good you may think but the tea bags were pitiful. We ended up drinking coffee the whole time. 3. The Way Things Are Done on MSC - well, what would you think about being called for a SOLAS drill halfway through your dinner? This happened regularly, for those who embarked during the week, this cruise was like the watery equivalent of a hop-on-hop-off bus. Everything was announced in 5/6 languages, so in the end you got fed up with listening. My partner smokes and the smoking areas weren't made clear - he had to find them himself, and found one fairly close by about a day before we were due to disembark. Painting/varnishing was done twice in a week. We had no choice of disembarkation time or method. Every Brit we spoke to said they wouldn't go back on MSC, us included which is a great shame because as I said, the ship's décor and staterooms are lovely, but the service and the "continental way" let the side down in a big way. What a waste. I hope MSC learn their lesson with the feedback emails they're going to receive.