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MSC Bellissima is a big, bold, boisterous ship with a lot going on morning, noon, and night. And it's all a lot of fun. It's also very much a family ship, with an outstanding kids club and programming, superb entertainment facilities, and a large number of cabins designed for family groups.
The ship carries just about 4,500 passengers at double occupancy, making it one of the largest in the world, both in terms of passenger numbers and size. It caters to everyone with a large number of drinking, dining, and entertainment options, four pools, a water park, a ropes course, and a large central promenade lined with shops, bars, and restaurants.
The ship also has a number of excellent speciality restaurants, including Japanese, Spanish, French, and a steakhouse.
In a first for the line, and indeed the industry, the ship boasts a personal assistant called Zoe powered by artificial intelligence in every cabin, which is programmed to answer a wide range of cruise-related questions. The line also has an excellent app MSC for Me, which lists your personal agenda and the ship's itinerary, as well as allows you to make bookings, chat on the app, and locate your kids.
MSC Bellissima can seem overwhelming at first -- it's designed for fun and most of the passengers hail from Southern Europe, so they know how to party -- but it never felt too crowded to us, even on a sea day. The public spaces are well designed, the multiple dining and theatre times mean there are rarely bottlenecks, and there is a huge amount of open deck space.
However, this may not be your ideal ship if quiet time is important to you. There are a handful of spots for an evening cocktail, including the for-fee Top 19 Club and the gorgeous Sky Lounge, but little else. Unless, that is, you can afford to book a suite in the ultra luxurious, suites-only enclave called the Yacht Club, which boasts its own private bar, restaurant, and sun deck. Here you will find an enclave of calm, exclusivity, and outstanding, intuitive service.
Our advice? Let yourself get swept up in the exuberance, and you'll soon be partying till midnight and beyond with the best of them.
Daytime: Casual, with shorts and tees most common inside the ship and bathing suits and cover-ups de rigueur on the pool deck.
Evening: Mostly casual, except on formal nights (twice per seven-night cruise) when men are asked to wear a suit but who'll often wear tuxedos; women go all-out with elegant dresses and jewels. On formal nights, you can dine in the buffet without dressing up.
Not permitted: Swimwear is not permitted in the main dining room and the speciality restaurants.
The London Theatre (Deck 6) hosts six shows a week, featuring energetic performances like "Pink" and "Solid Rock." Shows are free, but reservations are required. Showtimes are 7:45 p.m., 9:15 p.m., and 10:45 p.m.
Carousel Lounge (Deck 7) is a bespoke theatre designed by Cirque du Soleil, with a round stage and an LED wall for projections.
Daytime activities include stretch classes, dance lessons, quizzes, and pool games. You can also join a Behind the Scenes Tour (59.99€ per adult). A virtual reality arcade and two bowling lanes are available on Deck 16 (fees apply).
Bellissima is always lively, with music and dancing in various lounges. Late-night parties, karaoke, and dance lessons keep the fun going. The Dome, an 80-meter-long LED ceiling, offers impressive visual shows. The Imperial Casino offers gaming, with daily promotions.
Popular bars include Edge (Deck 6), Champagne Bar (Deck 6), Bellissima Bar (Deck 6), and Masters of the Sea (Deck 7). For quieter spots, head to the Sky Lounge (Deck 18) or the Horizon Bar (Deck 18).
Bellissima has four pools, including the Grand Canyon Pool (Deck 15) and Horizon Pool (Deck 16). Yacht Club guests have access to an exclusive pool on Deck 19. The Arizona Aquapark on Deck 19 features water slides and a ropes course.
Plenty of loungers are available on Deck 16, with two hot tubs. Deck 19 offers an exclusive sun deck for Aurea passengers.
Shops and the Photo Studio are on Deck 6. Guest services and shore excursions are on Deck 5. Wi-Fi is available for 39€ per day or 139€ for a full cruise package.
The Aurea Spa (Deck 7) offers treatments like Balinese massages and a fantastic Thermal Suite with 10 rooms. Day passes for the Thermal Suite are 40€ (60€ for two). The Jean Louis David Salon offers beauty treatments starting at 27€.
The fitness centre on Deck 16 is equipped with top-range equipment, though limited in size. Group classes (e.g., Pilates) cost 10€ per person. A jogging track is available on Deck 16, with laps measuring 200 yards (0.33 km).
The quality of dining onboard MSC's ships has been steadily improving since the launch of Meraviglia in 2017, and sister Bellissima is no exception. While there are just five speciality restaurants onboard, what Bellissima might lack in quantity, it makes up for in quality, offering high food and service standards across the board. It also helps that all the bread, pasta, pastries, and mozzarella are freshly made daily.
Food items are marked for allergies, and all waiters we encountered, without exception, asked unprompted at the start of every meal about any food intolerances. There is a kids' club menu available in all the main dining rooms.
Following the current trend of cruise ships not having a single main dining room (MDR), Bellissima has four, which all serve exactly the same meals, differing only in location and decor.
For breakfast and lunch, you are limited to the buffet or one of the four MDRs (Posidonia), unless you are a Yacht Club passenger and can eat in the Yacht Club Dining Room.
You need reservations for all of the speciality restaurants.
Posidonia is at the back of the ship but does not have aft views. Instead, it has porthole windows along the sides. The Lighthouse, which has a large picture window at the back for wake views, is the restaurant designated for passengers who have booked the Aurea Experience. There are three seatings (6 p.m., 8 p.m., and 9:30 p.m.), and you can choose whichever you want, but if you want to dine outside of these times, you can also call to reserve a table at whatever time you want. The remaining two restaurants are for people with set-time dining.
Posidonia is the only one of the four MDRs where you can get breakfast (served from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.) and lunch (noon to 1:30 p.m.).
You can opt for the "MSC Express," which consists of scrambled or fried eggs, sausages, bacon, and hash browns. Or you have the usual choice of breakfast items—eggs, omelettes, bacon and sausages, yoghurts, and cereals— as well as more European-style items, such as cold cuts, cheeses, and even grilled kippers, herrings, and smoked salmon.
Expect three starter choices, including a salad, soup, and fish dish. Mains will include a fish and a meat dish, as well as simpler options such as a burger or a club sandwich. There will always be a vegetarian dish, usually pasta, but sometimes noodles. There is a wide selection of desserts, including ice cream, cheeses, and fruit.
At all four main dining rooms, dinner is a three- or four-course affair, depending on if you opt for cheese and dessert. All starters and mains include a soup and a vegetarian option. Mains err on the heavy side with duck, beef, veal, and lamb all on offer, though you will always find a freshly made pasta dish and a fish dish. Always-available dishes are steamed fish fillet and grilled chicken breast. There is also a suggested Healthy Option menu, complete with calories, fat, carbs, and protein.
Twice during the cruise, there is a gala dinner, prepared by one of the line's celebrity chefs—Carlo Cracco or Harald Wolfhart. Overall, the food is of a high quality— the Gala Night herb-crusted tenderloin was exceptional— with service to match.
The wine list is extensive, with an emphasis on Italian wines, and at a reasonable price. If you have opted for a beverage package, you are not limited to a handful of wines, unlike on many cruise ships. We found the service exemplary, friendly, knowledgeable, and attentive.
Meals: B, L, D
The vast buffet, which takes up most of the back of Deck 15, is well-designed and easy to navigate. You can enter via the main entrance, or at various side entrances or from the main pool deck, thus avoiding bottlenecks. There are hand-washing stations at every entrance, and a diligent crew member squirting you at the main entrance. The centrepiece is the glass-fronted mozzarella-making area, where you can watch the cheese being made fresh.
Food is available at each side of the mozzarella-making area and all the way to the back of the buffet on twin lines, punctuated by tea, coffee, and water stations. At breakfast, you'll find omelette stations as well as an English Breakfast Corner serving British staples, such as English bacon and baked beans (though sadly no Marmite), and also a small Chinese section serving congee, rice, and noodles.
There is plenty of seating, including sit-up tables at the main entrance. (Our tip: Head toward the back where it is less crowded).
Dependent on the experience you have booked (Bella, Fantastica, Aurea, or Yacht Club), room service availability and charges vary.
The Jean-Philippe Chocolate & Cafe showcases French master chocolatier Jean-Philippe Maury's extraordinary talents, while Jean-Philippe Crepes & Gelato serves ice cream and snacks. HOLA! Tapas offers a selection of tapas, L'Atelier Bistrot features French classics, and Kaito Teppanyaki provides an exciting hibachi dining experience. Kaito Sushi serves top-notch sushi, Butcher's Cut is an American-style steakhouse, and Carousel Lounge hosts Cirque du Soleil shows with a three-course meal option.
Cabins have a modern, stylish design with a muted palette of greys, steels, and dark browns. They feature touch-activated bedside lights, USB sockets, and extra storage. All cabins have twin beds that can be made into doubles (except for Interior Studios and ocean views on Deck 8), with plenty of space to store luggage underneath.
A standard cabin includes a double closet with drawers, shelving, and a safe, as well as a desk with multiple sockets. Other amenities include a hairdryer, mini-fridge, footstool, interactive TV, and a phone. The cabins also feature Zoe, MSC’s AI personal assistant, though it’s not always reliable.
Standard cabins come with a shower room, shampoo, gel, a soap dispenser, and a rubbish bin. All cabins have air conditioning, with 175 interconnected cabins, plus specially designed Family cabins.
The Yacht Club is an exclusive, keycard-access-only suite complex with 94 cabins. All Yacht Club cabins come with 24-hour butler service, unlimited beverages, and access to the Thermal Suite.
