Planning a cruise aboard the MSC Poesia and wondering what’s on the menu? During our 7-night Alaska cruise, we collected several MSC Poesia main dining room menus, including breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, Gala Night, and drinks menus. We’ve put them all together here so you can take a closer look at the dining options before your cruise.
We enjoyed several meals at the Le Fontane Restaurant on Deck 5 and Il Palladio Restaurant on Deck 6. From traditional breakfast favourites to seafood, steaks, pasta, and desserts, there was plenty of variety throughout our sailing.
Below, you’ll find links to the actual MSC Poesia menus from our cruise, organized by day. All menus are available as PDFs, making them easy to view.
Please note that menus, selections, and dining availability can change depending on the sailing, itinerary, and ship operations. These PDFs reflect the menus available during our cruise.
🎥 Watch Our MSC Poesia Free Food Tour
If you’d like to see what the food actually looks like, we also put together a complete MSC Poesia food tour on our Northern Viking Explorer YouTube channel.
In the video, we explore the complimentary food available throughout the ship, starting at the Villa Pompeiana Buffet on Deck 13. We take a look at breakfast, lunch, dinner, desserts, complimentary beverages, and soft serve ice cream.
We then head down to the main dining rooms to show you some of the meals we enjoyed, including breakfast, Tour de Brunch, lunch, and dinner. Some of our highlights included filet mignon, lobster tail, prime rib, and Baked Alaska.
One thing we appreciated about dining on the MSC Poesia was the variety of food available throughout our cruise. The main dining room menus changed regularly, giving us opportunities to try different appetizers, main courses, and desserts.
We also enjoyed having the option of a sit-down breakfast or lunch at Le Fontane instead of always visiting the buffet. During our sailing, we had dinner at Il Palladio, where we were assigned a table for two.
Our Gala Night dinner was particularly memorable, with filet mignon, lobster tail, and Baked Alaska among the options we enjoyed.
Whether you’re planning your first MSC cruise or have already booked a sailing on the MSC Poesia, we hope these menus help give you an idea of what to expect onboard.
🚢 More MSC Poesia Cruise Videos & Information
If you’re researching the MSC Poesia, we’ve also shared several other videos and articles from our Alaska cruise.
We hope these MSC Poesia main dining room menus give you a helpful look at the breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner options available onboard. We certainly enjoyed trying the different dishes throughout our 7-night Alaska cruise!
For an even closer look at the complimentary food, be sure to check out our full MSC Poesia food tour.
Watch the Full MSC Poesia Food Tour:
Thanks for visiting Northern Viking Explorer, and happy cruising! 🚢
After our seven-night Alaska cruise from Seattle, we’re sharing our honest MSC Poesia review to help you plan your own sailing. We cover the ship’s layout and amenities, our aft balcony cabin 11250, the complimentary food and restaurants, and the entertainment and activities.
We had a wonderful week aboard MSC Poesia, but there were also a few things we wished were different. Here’s a quick overview, with the full discussion in our video below.
In this section of our MSC Poesia review, we explore the ship’s layout, pools, hot tubs, fitness centre, lounges, and outdoor viewing areas. We discuss how the different spaces connect, where to enjoy the scenery, and what amenities are available onboard. We also cover the pool and hot tub hours and the differences between public spaces and areas reserved for certain guests.
The outdoor pool deck aboard MSC Poesia, one of the areas we discuss in our review.
🛏️ Our Aft Balcony Cabin 11250
We take you inside our aft balcony cabin 11250 on Deck 11 of MSC Poesia. This section covers the room’s layout, bed, seating, storage, charging options, and bathroom. We also discuss the balcony, wake views, and what to expect when staying at the back of the ship.
A look inside our aft balcony cabin 11250 on Deck 11 of MSC Poesia.
🍽️ Free Food & Restaurants
Our MSC Poesia food review covers the complimentary dining options, including the Villa Pompeiana Buffet and the main dining rooms. We discuss breakfast, lunch, brunch, and dinner, with examples of the meals and desserts served throughout our cruise. This section also covers dining arrangements, requesting a table for two, and additional charges to be aware of.
Baked Alaska, one of the desserts served during our MSC Poesia cruise.
🎭 Entertainment & Activities
We cover the entertainment and activities available during our MSC Poesia Alaska cruise, from theatre productions to live music, comedy, and onboard games. This includes the two different Dirty Dancing performances, Big Band at Sea, naturalist presentations, and themed parties. We also discuss the activities offered throughout the ship and what families can expect from the onboard attractions.
The evening Dirty Dancing: The Celebration show aboard MSC Poesia.
Whether you’ve followed our Alaska cruise vlog series or are just starting to research MSC Poesia, we hope this review helps with your cruise planning. Watch the full video for our thoughts on each of these four areas, including what we liked and what we wished was different.
Day 7 of our MSC Poesia Alaska cruise brought an unforgettable day of whale spotting followed by an evening in Victoria, B.C., Canada. It was our last full day aboard the ship, and we enjoyed a relaxed morning before some of the most exciting wildlife encounters of the week.
Victoria is one of our favourite cruise ports, so we were looking forward to exploring its waterfront, gardens, and downtown on foot. Add in breaching humpbacks, orcas, and our favourite ice cream, and it made for a wonderful finish to our seven-night Alaska cruise from Seattle.
We started with breakfast before checking out the games and activities in the Zebra Bar. It was rainy and windy outside, so we also spent some time in the theatre, catching part of the naturalist’s Giants of the Pacific presentation.
With our return to Seattle coming the next morning, we attended the disembarkation talk. It was a useful opportunity to hear about luggage collection and leaving the ship, especially before heading out for our evening port visit.
Attending the disembarkation talk in the MSC Poesia theatre before returning to Seattle.
🐋 Orcas and Fully Breaching Humpbacks
The wildlife was a highlight of our MSC Poesia Alaska cruise, and Day 7 certainly delivered. We spotted orcas from the buffet area on our way to get ice cream. Then the naturalist announced that humpback whales were breaching close to the ship.
We hurried upstairs and were treated to an incredible show. Seeing humpbacks come completely out of the water beside the ship was fantastic, and we managed to capture some of the action on video.
This was our eighth Alaska cruise, and we felt it was the most whales we had ever seen up close without taking a whale watching tour.
An incredible humpback whale breach spotted from MSC Poesia on our final full day at sea.
🍁An Evening in Victoria, B.C., Canada
After the MSC Voyagers Club appreciation event and dinner, we arrived in Victoria for our final port visit. The weather had improved, which was a welcome change for our walk into town.
We headed first to Fisherman’s Wharf, where the colourful float homes are always a favourite. From there, we continued towards the Inner Harbour and downtown Victoria.
Welcome to Victoria, Canada! Our final port stop aboard MSC Poesia before returning to Seattle.
The British Columbia Parliament Buildings and their gardens were beautiful to explore. Later in the evening, seeing the buildings illuminated made the waterfront even more memorable.
Exploring the beautiful British Columbia Parliament Buildings during our MSC Poesia cruise stop in Victoria.
We also stopped by the Fairmont Empress Hotel, where the flowers and gardens were gorgeous. One of our favourite details was the orca display made from plants and shrubbery. After all the real whales we had seen, it was fun to find more right in downtown Victoria!
Beautiful orca topiary sculptures surrounded by colourful flowers near Victoria’s Fairmont Empress Hotel.
Ice Cream and a Walk Along the Breakwater 🍦
A visit to Victoria wouldn’t feel complete for us without a stop at Chocolats Favoris. We enjoyed their waffle cones before strolling along the waterfront and making our way back towards the cruise port.
Before returning to MSC Poesia, we walked along the Ogden Point Breakwater. It was getting dark, and the views of the ships made it a lovely way to finish our evening.
Back onboard, we reflected on a wonderful week of exploring Ketchikan, Icy Strait Point, Juneau, Endicott Arm, and Dawes Glacier. The whale encounters were especially memorable, and Victoria gave us a beautiful final evening before our return to Seattle.
Day 6 of our 7-night Alaska cruise on the MSC Poesia was a full sea day, giving us a chance to slow down a little while still enjoying plenty of activities, food, and entertainment around the ship. From a fascinating whale presentation and lunch at Le Fontaine to two completely different Dirty Dancing experiences and White Night, there was a lot happening onboard.
After several busy port days, we took advantage of the sea day and slept in a little before grabbing some coffee and heading to Teatro Carlo Felice. The morning included the Whales Alive naturalist presentation, which covered whale behavior, feeding, habitat, and some of the individual whales commonly seen around Alaska.
It was especially interesting hearing about whales we had actually encountered on previous Alaska trips. The presentation was a great addition to the itinerary and a nice way to learn more about the wildlife we had been seeing throughout the cruise.
Lunch at Le Fontaine Restaurant
Instead of heading to the buffet, we decided to have lunch at Le Fontaine Restaurant on Deck 5.
We started with a shared selection of meats, cheeses, vegetables, and focaccia, followed by fried seafood with calamari, shrimp, and white fish. For our main courses, we tried a calzone filled with spicy salami and mozzarella and a pan-fried sea bass with lemon caper butter.
Dessert included pistachio tiramisu and a rich chocolate cake with ice cream.
The food was very good, although lunch took quite a while. We were there for around an hour and a half, so this is definitely a better option when you have time to sit back and enjoy a slower meal.
Exploring MSC Poesia During the Afternoon
The afternoon gave us some time to wander around the MSC Poesia and enjoy the ship.
We checked out several of the onboard shops, including MSC merchandise, Alaska souvenirs, duty-free items, clothing, fragrances, toiletries, and travel essentials. There was actually quite a bit more shopping onboard than we initially expected.
We also headed outside after hearing announcements about whales being spotted from the ship. The forward decks provided some fantastic views, although it was extremely windy and we just missed one of the whale sightings.
Dirty Dancing in Concert
One of the most unusual entertainment options of the day was Dirty Dancing in Concert.
This wasn’t a traditional production show. The full Dirty Dancing movie played on the large screen in Teatro Carlo Felice while a live band performed the music and singers and dancers joined in during key moments.
The combination of the movie, live musicians, and performers made it feel completely different from anything else we had seen during the cruise. The performance runs for roughly the length of the movie, so it is a longer show, but you could easily come and go if you didn’t want to stay for the entire performance.
Dirty Dancing in Concert combined the movie with live musicians and performers in Teatro Carlo Felice.
Italian Night and White Night
That evening was both Italian Night and White Night aboard the MSC Poesia.
The dining room was decorated for Italian Night, and the crew wore red, white, and green accents. We enjoyed another dinner at Il Palladio Restaurant with dishes including grilled Alaskan salmon, chicken parmesan, calamari, salads, and several desserts.
One of the fun parts of the evening was seeing how many passengers participated in White Night. A large portion of the ship seemed to be dressed in white, making it a great evening for photos.
We even managed to be first in line for a group selfie with several of the MSC Poesia officers and crew in the atrium.
White Night aboard MSC Poesia included a group photo with several of the ship’s officers.
Dirty Dancing: The Celebration
After dinner, we returned to Teatro Carlo Felice for the second Dirty Dancing experience of the day, Dirty Dancing: The Celebration.
This show was completely different from the afternoon performance. Instead of watching the movie, this was a fast-paced live production featuring singers, dancers, a live band, colorful lighting, and music from Dirty Dancing.
The live musicians added a lot to the performance, especially the saxophone, and we thought the dancing was some of the strongest we had seen during the cruise.
Dirty Dancing: The Celebration featured live music, singing and energetic dancing aboard MSC Poesia.
The evening continued with the White Party in the Zebra Bar, where passengers could keep the celebration going later into the night.
Our Thoughts on Sea Day Aboard MSC Poesia
Day 6 ended up being a great example of what a sea day can look like aboard the MSC Poesia.
There was enough happening around the ship to stay busy, but we could still slow down, enjoy a long lunch, explore the shops, watch for whales, take in the entertainment, and enjoy White Night.
The two Dirty Dancing experiences were particularly interesting because they were completely different from one another. Dirty Dancing in Concert combined the movie with live music and performers, while Dirty Dancing: The Celebration felt much more like a traditional cruise ship production show.
If you’re planning an MSC Poesia Alaska cruise, White Night and the onboard entertainment are definitely worth keeping an eye out for in the daily schedule.
Day 5 of our 7-night Alaska cruise aboard the MSC Poesia was one of those days that felt like we packed two completely different Alaska adventures into one. We started the morning sailing through the dramatic scenery of Endicott Arm toward Dawes Glacier, then spent the afternoon in Juneau on a trolley excursion out to Mendenhall Glacier and Nugget Falls.
Watch our full Day 5 MSC Poesia Alaska cruise vlog here:
🧊 Sailing Endicott Arm to Dawes Glacier
We were up early as the MSC Poesia made its way through Endicott Arm. The morning started out cloudy and a little foggy, but the scenery was beautiful, with steep mountains dropping into turquoise water, waterfalls along the cliffs, and icebergs floating around the ship.
As we got closer to Dawes Glacier, we headed to some of the forward outdoor viewing areas and listened to the ship’s naturalist provide information about the glacier and the surrounding area. The weather changed constantly, with rain, clouds, and even some sunshine breaking through, but it almost added to the atmosphere.
We ended up getting to within roughly two and a half miles of Dawes Glacier, which was one of the closer views we’ve had during our visits to the area. Between the glacier, icebergs, waterfalls, seals, and towering mountains around us, it was an incredible way to start the day.
Our view of Dawes Glacier from aboard MSC Poesia as we sailed through Endicott Arm.
☕ Brunch & a Little Time Aboard MSC Poesia
After heading away from Dawes Glacier, we warmed up and went to Le Fontaine Restaurant for brunch. There was a special brunch menu that morning with a mix of breakfast and lunch choices, which was perfect after spending so much time outside.
We also checked out MasterChef at Sea in the theater before getting ready for our afternoon arrival in Juneau. By then, it really did feel like we had already experienced a full day, and we hadn’t even reached port yet.
🚋 Juneau Trolley to Mendenhall Glacier
When we arrived in Juneau, the MSC Poesia was tendering passengers ashore before moving to the dock later in the afternoon. It did take us quite a while to reach shore, so if you are booking a private excursion on a tender day, we would definitely recommend leaving plenty of extra time.
Our excursion for the afternoon was the Mendenhall Glacier Shuttle Tour with Juneau Tours. We met near the Goldbelt Tram and boarded one of their trolley-style buses for a narrated drive through Juneau and out toward Mendenhall Glacier.
Along the way, our guide pointed out some of Juneau’s well-known sights, surrounding mountains, and other interesting spots around the city while sharing information about the area. It was a fun way to see more of Juneau while making our way to the glacier.
Our Juneau Tours trolley took us through downtown Juneau and out to Mendenhall Glacier.
🏔️ Mendenhall Glacier & Nugget Falls
Once we arrived at Mendenhall Glacier, we had about two hours to explore. We started at the visitor center, where there are some fantastic views overlooking Mendenhall Lake and the glacier.
From there, we walked the trail out to Nugget Falls. The trail is fairly flat and easy to follow, and the waterfall at the end is impressive. Standing near the falls, you can really feel and hear the power of the water, with Mendenhall Lake and the glacier nearby.
On the way back, we stopped at some of the viewpoints closer to the visitor center for more views of Mendenhall Glacier before it was time to meet our trolley for the ride back to Juneau.
A beautiful view of Mendenhall Glacier and Mendenhall Lake during our afternoon excursion in Juneau.
🌅 Back Aboard the MSC Poesia
We made it back to the ship in time for a beautiful evening sail away from Juneau. Since we had missed our normal main dining room time, we grabbed a late dinner at the buffet and then enjoyed some of the evening entertainment, including the Silent Disco and comedy in Teatro Carlo Felice.
It was a long day, but a fantastic one. Seeing Dawes Glacier in the morning and Mendenhall Glacier in the afternoon made Day 5 feel especially memorable, and the trolley excursion gave us a fun way to see more of Juneau along the way.
If you’re planning an MSC Poesia Alaska cruise, visiting Dawes Glacier, or looking for a Mendenhall Glacier excursion in Juneau, we hope our experience helps with your own Alaska cruise planning.
Day 4 of our 7-night Alaska cruise aboard the MSC Poesia brought us to Icy Strait Point, Alaska, and this ended up being one of the most memorable days of the entire cruise. We had a relaxed morning aboard the ship before heading ashore, with plenty of time to explore since we weren’t due back onboard until later in the evening.
Arriving at Icy Strait Point, Alaska for Day 4 of our MSC Poesia cruise.
Exploring Icy Strait Point
We started by making our way toward the historic cannery area, stopping to explore the shops, displays, and old equipment along the way. Even if shopping isn’t your thing, the cannery is worth walking through. There is a lot of history here, along with information about Alaska, salmon fishing, and the area’s past.
The historic cannery area at Icy Strait Point is filled with shops, displays, and information about the area’s fishing history.
Then came the biggest surprise of the day. As we stepped outside near the cannery, we spotted a large group of humpback whales incredibly close to shore. Several surfaced together, and before long people were following them along the beach as they made their way toward the MSC Poesia. We weren’t expecting anything like this, and it quickly became one of the best whale experiences we’ve ever had in Alaska.
One of the highlights of our day was watching a group of humpback whales incredibly close to shore at Icy Strait Point.
Mini Doughnuts & the Hoonah Sea Walk
After all that excitement, we stopped at Lil’ Gen’s Mini-Doughnuts and tried the salted caramel and snickerdoodle flavours. They were served warm and fresh, and the proceeds help support the local community, which made the stop even better.
We stopped at Lil’ Gen’s Mini-Doughnuts for some freshly made treats while exploring Icy Strait Point.
From there, we headed out along the Hoonah Veterans Memorial Sea Walk. It’s a beautiful waterfront walk even if you don’t plan on continuing all the way into Hoonah. We spotted a family of deer and enjoyed the scenery, but somehow the whales weren’t finished with us yet. A little later, we saw what appeared to be the same group of humpbacks coming back in the opposite direction, which had us hurrying along the shoreline trying to catch another look.
Nature Trail & Transporter Gondola
Later in the afternoon, we explored some of the trails near the ship and made our way through the rainforest toward Wilderness Landing. There are signs throughout the nature trail with information about the local environment and wildlife, including plenty of reminders that this is bear country.
We eventually reached the other cruise landing area and took the free Transporter Gondola back toward Ocean Landing. It’s a fun and easy way to travel between the two sides of Icy Strait Point, and by later in the afternoon the line was quite short.
Back Aboard the MSC Poesia
Back aboard the MSC Poesia, we cleaned up and headed to dinner at Il Palladio Restaurant before finishing the evening with the Total Divas production show in Teatro Carlo Felice. The show featured familiar music, lots of singing and dancing, colourful costumes, and plenty of energy from the performers.
We finished the evening with the colorful Total Divas production show in Teatro Carlo Felice aboard MSC Poesia.
Looking back, Icy Strait Point was one of those days where everything seemed to come together. We enjoyed the cannery, waterfront, trails, gondola, wildlife, and of course the incredible humpback whales right from shore. We went into the day expecting a relaxing visit to one of our favourite Alaska ports and ended up with one of the biggest highlights of the cruise.
Tomorrow, we’ll sail through Endicott Arm to view Dawes Glacier before making our way to Juneau for the afternoon.
Day 3 of our 7-night Alaska cruise aboard the MSC Poesia brought us to our first port of call, Ketchikan, Alaska. Ketchikan is known for its rain, but we ended up with an absolutely beautiful sunny day, which made it perfect for exploring on foot.
After breakfast and coffee aboard the ship, we headed ashore and spent most of the day simply walking around town. Ketchikan is one of our favorite Alaska cruise ports, and if you choose not to do an excursion, there is still so much to see within walking distance of the cruise docks.
We were docked close to downtown, making it easy to start exploring almost immediately. Several other ships were in port that day, including Anthem of the Seas and Queen Elizabeth, so Ketchikan was definitely busy.
One of our first stops was the Knob Hill Overlook, located above the tunnel near Front Street. There are quite a few stairs to reach it, but the views over the harbor, downtown Ketchikan, and the cruise ships make it worth the climb.
A beautiful sunny view over downtown Ketchikan with Anthem of the Seas docked along the waterfront.
From there, we continued walking through some of the streets above downtown before making our way toward the salmon ladder and Married Man’s Trail.
🐟 Salmon Ladder & Married Man’s Trail
The Ketchikan Salmon Ladder is an easy stop to add while exploring the area, especially during salmon season. We could see plenty of fish in the creek during our visit.
The salmon ladder in Ketchikan is a beautiful short walk from the downtown area and Creek Street.
From the salmon ladder, we followed Married Man’s Trail toward Creek Street. The trail and surrounding boardwalks were very busy that day, but it is a scenic walk and a fun way to approach one of Ketchikan’s most famous areas.
🏘️ Walking Creek Street
We always enjoy visiting Creek Street, and this visit didn’t disappoint. We walked along the wooden boardwalk, browsed some of the shops, and spent plenty of time looking down into the creek.
Exploring the historic Creek Street boardwalk during our day in Ketchikan, Alaska.
One of the fun things about Creek Street is that you never really know what you might see. During our visit we spotted lots of salmon and even watched a seal swimming around looking for an easy meal. We also saw a bald eagle later in the day.
The funicular up to Cape Fox Lodge was closed for maintenance during our visit, but there was still plenty to explore around Creek Street and the surrounding waterfront.
🌊 Walking the Ketchikan Waterfront
After Creek Street, we continued toward Thomas Basin and the viewing platform, walked along the waterfront, and then made our way back through downtown Ketchikan.
There are lots of signs throughout town explaining the local history, salmon, boats, and other parts of life in Ketchikan, which makes simply walking around a lot more interesting.
Eventually, we made our way back toward the ship and the large eagle sculpture near the tunnel, which was right around the area where the MSC Poesia was docked.
The large eagle sculpture near the tunnel was just a short walk from where the MSC Poesia docked in Ketchikan.
After a late lunch aboard the ship, we actually headed back into town again for another walk. This time we tackled one of the very steep hills above downtown before taking a more gradual route back toward the waterfront. It was a good way to get some exercise after lunch and enjoy a little more of Ketchikan before leaving port.
🌅 Back Aboard MSC Poesia
Sail away from Ketchikan was beautiful. The sunshine continued as we left the dock and sailed past the mountains, trees, islands, and other ships making their way out of port.
That evening, we enjoyed dinner at Il Palladio Restaurant before heading to Teatro Carlo Felice for the Mother Nature production show. The show featured plenty of dancing and acrobatics, with the aerial performances and other acrobatic acts being some of the highlights for us.
The Mother Nature production show aboard MSC Poesia featured impressive acrobatics, aerial performances, dancing, and dramatic stage effects.
Ketchikan ended up being a fantastic first port day of our Alaska cruise. We had great weather, spotted some wildlife, walked a lot of the downtown area, and once again remembered why this is one of our favorite Alaska cruise ports.
Next up, the MSC Poesia takes us to Icy Strait Point, Alaska.
Day 2 of our 7-night Alaska cruise aboard the MSC Poesia was our first full sea day as we continued north toward Alaska.
The morning actually started out beautiful. We had sunshine, fairly calm seas, and some great views outside. As the day went on, though, the ocean started getting a little rougher. The pool water was sloshing back and forth, and we even noticed seasickness bags appearing near some of the stairways.
We had plenty planned for the day, including breakfast in the main dining room, Alaska enrichment talks, some time relaxing around the ship, and of course Gala Night aboard MSC Poesia.
Watch our full Day 2 MSC Poesia Alaska cruise vlog here:
☕ Breakfast at Le Fontaine Restaurant
There were two main breakfast options that morning. The Villa Pompeiana Buffet was open from 6:00 until 11:00, while sit-down breakfast was available at Le Fontaine Restaurant from 7:30 until 9:30.
We decided to give Le Fontaine a try and arrived right around 7:30. It was already fairly busy, and by the time we left around 8:30 there was a lineup of people waiting to get in.
We asked for a table for two and ended up with a nice spot beside the window.
Some of the breakfast items we tried included the smoothie bowl with yogurt, banana, kiwi, and pineapple, steel-cut oatmeal, an omelette, French toast with bacon, and the All American Breakfast with eggs, bacon, sausage, and hash browns.
There were also pastries and plenty of coffee, so it was a nice relaxed way to start our first full sea day.
🐋 Learning More About Alaska
After breakfast, we grabbed our coffee mugs and headed to Teatro Carlo Felice for the morning’s Alaska enrichment presentation.
The first talk was called North to Alaska and covered a little bit of everything we might experience during the cruise, including whales, wildlife, forests, fish, culture, and the different areas we would be visiting.
We especially enjoyed the information about the whales. One of the whales shown during the presentation appeared to be the same well-known whale we had seen on a previous Alaska whale-watching excursion, which was pretty neat to see again.
One of the Alaska enrichment presentations aboard MSC Poesia helped us learn more about the ports, wildlife, excursions, and things to see during our cruise.
Right after that was the Cruise and Travel Show, which went through the different ports and some of the excursions that were still available.
If you’re sailing on the MSC Poesia and are interested in the excursions, it may be worth showing up a little early because they also handed out raffle tickets and gave away an excursion for each port during the presentation.
There were more Alaska presentations happening later in the day as well, including one called Glaciers, Volcanoes, and Wildlife, so there were plenty of opportunities to learn more about Alaska while we were at sea.
🌮 Lunch at the Villa Pompeiana Buffet
By lunchtime, we were ready to head back to the Villa Pompeiana Buffet.
There was a good selection of the usual buffet options, including burgers, hot dogs, fries, breads, deli meats, cheeses, and salads. We also found a Mexican station that looked pretty good, so that ended up being part of our lunch.
The weather had changed again by this point. It had been sunny, then cloudy, and suddenly the sunshine was back, although the ship was still rocking quite a bit.
After lunch, we figured we should probably walk some of it off.
🚶 Walking Around Deck 14
Above the main pool area on Deck 14, there is space that MSC lists as a power walking track.
It isn’t really marked like a traditional running track, and parts of it can occasionally be obstructed, but it is still a great area to walk around, get some steps in, and enjoy the views.
We spent some time walking around before deciding that the rest of the afternoon was going to be a little more relaxing.
🛁 Hot Tubs, Our Aft Balcony & Ice Cream
There were lots of activities happening around the ship that afternoon, but we decided to take things a little slower.
We headed to the hot tubs and ended up sitting there for about an hour while chatting with some other passengers. The hot tubs aren’t particularly large, so they fill up pretty quickly, but it was a really nice way to spend part of the afternoon.
After that, we came back to our cabin and spent some time sitting on our aft balcony.
We were really enjoying having that view from the back of the ship. The sun was shining and it was a great place to sit and watch the ocean, even though the seas were getting fairly rocky.
By this point, the motion of the ship was definitely becoming more noticeable, so some seasickness medication came in handy.
We also spent some time walking around the main public decks and discovered the soft-serve ice cream station outside the buffet. They had chocolate, vanilla, and swirl, with either waffle cones or cups.
Needless to say, that was a pretty good discovery.
✨ Getting Ready for Gala Night
That evening was Gala Night aboard the MSC Poesia, so we headed back to the cabin, got dressed up, and made our way to Il Palladio Restaurant on Deck 6.
One thing we noticed was that there was a really wide range of clothing around the ship.
We saw some men in suits, others wearing shirts and ties or collared shirts, and plenty of people dressed more casually. We even spotted one tuxedo. There were also some beautiful formal dresses, but you definitely didn’t have to dress extremely formal to take part in Gala Night.
It was really a mix of everything.
🥩 Gala Night Dinner at Il Palladio
Because we had the same assigned table every evening, we didn’t need to wait for anyone to seat us. We could simply walk into the dining room and head straight to our table.
There were quite a few tempting choices on the Gala Night menu.
For starters, we tried the lobster bisque, Alaska smoked salmon dip, and Caesar salad.
For our main courses, we both ordered the filet mignon with truffle-flavoured whipped potatoes, asparagus, and mushroom demi-glace.
We also ordered the Duo of Broiled Lobster Tail and Jumbo Shrimp to share. It came with asparagus and risotto and gave us a chance to try both the steak and seafood options from the Gala Night menu.
We ordered the Duo of Broiled Lobster Tail and Jumbo Shrimp to share during Gala Night at Il Palladio Restaurant.
For dessert, we tried the Royal Cake, a rich dark chocolate mousse with crunchy praline and vanilla anglaise, along with the classic Baked Alaska.
It turned out to be a really enjoyable Gala Night dinner and one of the meals we had been looking forward to trying.
🎭 Club Disco at Teatro Carlo Felice
After dinner, we headed back to Teatro Carlo Felice for the evening production show.
The show was called Club Disco, but the evening started with the captain and senior officers presentation.
For roughly the first 15 minutes, the cruise director introduced the captain and some of the senior officers, along with a few interesting facts about what goes on behind the scenes aboard the ship.
Then the Club Disco production started.
The Club Disco production show brought colourful costumes, singing, dancing, and acrobatics to Teatro Carlo Felice during Gala Night.
The show had a fun 1970s theme with lots of singing, dancing, colourful costumes, and some acrobatics mixed in.
One of our favourite parts involved a performer using a large ring on stage. There were a few moments during the performance that definitely got a reaction from the audience.
The Club Disco portion lasted around half an hour and made for a fun way to finish off Gala Night.
🎺 Big Band at Sea
We weren’t quite finished with the entertainment yet.
After leaving the theater, we headed toward the lounge at the back of Deck 7 where Big Band at Sea was performing again.
We had seen some of the musicians the night before, but this time there was also a vocalist performing with them.
Between the brass instruments, vocals, and classic big-band style, it was a really nice place to sit and enjoy some live music before calling it a night.
There was plenty of other entertainment happening around the ship as well, including a saxophone player performing in the atrium.
🚢 Final Thoughts on Day 2
Our first full sea day aboard the MSC Poesia ended up having a little bit of everything.
We learned more about Alaska during the enrichment talks, tried breakfast at Le Fontaine, spent some time walking around the ship, relaxed in the hot tubs, enjoyed our aft balcony, found some afternoon ice cream, and finished everything off with Gala Night, dinner, a production show, and live music.
It was a great sea day, but we were especially excited about what was coming next.
Day 3 would take us to our first Alaska port of the cruise, Ketchikan.
Our next Alaska adventure begins aboard the MSC Poesia! Join us for Day 1 of our 7-night Alaska cruise as we board the ship in Seattle, explore some of the public spaces, check out our aft balcony cabin, enjoy sail away, and experience our first evening onboard.
This sailing takes us to Ketchikan, Icy Strait Point, Juneau, Victoria, and scenic cruising through Endicott Arm toward Dawes Glacier. But first, it was time to get settled in and start exploring the MSC Poesia.
After making our way through the Seattle cruise terminal, boarding went smoothly and we were excited to finally step aboard. We started exploring some of the ship’s public spaces, including the colorful atrium, Zebra Bar, theater, and upper decks.
One of our first stops was the Lido Deck pool area. There are two outdoor pools, several small elevated whirlpools, a kids splash area, a stage, and plenty of loungers. We had beautiful weather in Seattle, which made it a great place to start getting familiar with the ship.
Exploring the outdoor pools and elevated whirlpools on the MSC Poesia shortly after boarding in Seattle.
🍕 Lunch at the Villa Pompeiana Buffet
Once we had explored for a while, it was time for lunch at the Villa Pompeiana Buffet on Deck 13.
There was a wide selection to choose from, including pizza, pasta, roast beef, salads, curries, ramen, fruit, desserts, and plenty more. We also discovered outdoor seating at the back of the buffet with views over the aft of the ship.
That location turned out to be especially convenient because our cabin was only two decks below via the outdoor aft staircase.
🛏️ Our Aft Balcony Cabin 11250
Our home for the week was Aft Balcony Stateroom 11250 on Deck 11, located right at the back of the MSC Poesia. This was our first time staying in an aft-facing balcony cabin, so we were especially excited about the views we would get throughout our Alaska cruise.
The room itself was on the smaller side, but we found the layout comfortable and there was a good amount of storage throughout the cabin. It included a king-size bed that could be separated into twins, nightstands with drawers, a vanity with several charging options, a TV, mini bar, closet space, and a compact bathroom.
Of course, the highlight was the aft-facing balcony. It was angled and not particularly wide, but it gave us a completely different view from a traditional balcony on the side of the ship. We were really looking forward to sitting out there and watching the wake as we sailed toward Alaska.
Our aft balcony cabin, Stateroom 11250 on Deck 11, would be home for our 7-night Alaska cruise.
After settling into our cabin, it was time to head outside for sail away from Seattle. The weather was absolutely beautiful, with blue skies, sunshine, and great views as the MSC Poesia pulled away from the city and began the journey north toward Alaska.
The pool deck quickly came to life with music, dancing, and passengers gathering outside to celebrate the start of the cruise. Between the skyline views, the warm weather, and the energy around the ship, it was a fantastic way to begin our 7-night Alaska adventure.
The sail away party gets underway on the MSC Poesia as we begin our Alaska cruise from Seattle.
🍽️ Dinner at Il Palladio
For our first dinner onboard, we headed to Il Palladio Restaurant on Deck 6.
We were happy to have been assigned a table for two, and because we had the early 5:00 p.m. seating, the dining room was especially quiet that evening. It made for a relaxed start to the cruise before we headed out for the evening entertainment.
🎭 Welcome Aboard Show & Evening Entertainment
Our first night included the Welcome Aboard Show in the main theater. It was designed as a preview of the entertainment coming throughout the week, with singing, dancing, comedy, and other performances.
Afterward, we checked out Big Band at Sea, featuring a full live band with brass instruments and vocals. It was a relaxing way to finish a busy first day aboard the MSC Poesia.
The Welcome Aboard Show on MSC Poesia included a Big Band sampler, giving us a preview of some of the entertainment offered during the cruise.
⭐ A Great Start to Our MSC Poesia Alaska Cruise
Day 1 gave us a great introduction to the MSC Poesia. We explored the ship, enjoyed the pools and buffet, settled into our aft balcony cabin, experienced a beautiful sail away from Seattle, and finished the evening with dinner and live entertainment.
Next up is a full sea day as we continue north toward Alaska!
Planning a cruise on the MSC Poesia and wondering what to expect before you sail? We had plenty of questions before boarding our 7-night Alaska cruise, so we put together this video answering 10 of the things we wanted to know most.
From dropping off our bags and finding the right outlets to dining, pool hours, tendering in Juneau, Victoria, entertainment, and some surprisingly quiet viewing spots around the ship, here are a few of the things we learned during our sailing.
The MSC Poesia docked at Icy Strait Point, Alaska during our 7-night sailing from Seattle.
🧳 Could We Drop Off Our Bags in Our Cabin Right Away?
One of our first questions was whether we would need to carry our bags around until the cabins were officially ready. After boarding, we checked with Guest Services and were happy to learn that we could drop our bags off in the cabin and then leave again until the room was ready.
That made embarkation day much easier, especially when you want to start exploring the ship without carrying everything with you.
🔌 What Outlets Are in the MSC Poesia Cabins?
Our aft balcony cabin had a good selection of charging options, although almost all of them were concentrated around the vanity.
We had two North American outlets, European outlets, USB-A and USB-C charging ports. There were no dedicated outlets on both sides of the bed, which is something we always like to know before sailing.
Our MSC Poesia cabin included North American and European outlets along with USB-A and USB-C charging ports.
🍽️ What Complimentary Food Is Available?
For complimentary meals, we used the buffet and the main dining rooms. The buffet served breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late-night snacks, and we especially appreciated the 24-hour beverage station.
The main dining rooms were also included and offered breakfast, lunch, and dinner at different times throughout our sailing.
We had originally been assigned a 7:15 p.m. dinner at a group table. After speaking with the dining staff, we were fortunate to be moved to a 5:00 p.m. dining time with a table for two. Changes are based on availability, but it was definitely worth asking.
🏊 Pool & Hot Tub Hours
This one surprised us. On our sailing, the outdoor pools were open from 8:00 a.m. until 6:30 p.m., while the whirlpools were open from 8:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m.
Those were some of the earliest hot tub closing times we have experienced on a cruise, so it is worth checking the schedule if evening hot tubs are part of your cruise routine.
🚶 Is There a Walking Track?
Sort of!
There are outdoor areas where you can walk, including Deck 7, but you cannot walk completely around the ship there. Up on Deck 14, there is an area MSC identifies as a power walking track, although there were no painted track markings during our sailing and the area can sometimes be obstructed.
⚓ Our Juneau Tender Experience
We had a private excursion booked in Juneau and thought we had left plenty of time to get ashore. Unfortunately, the tender process took much longer than expected and we arrived onshore around 10 minutes after our excursion was scheduled to leave.
Thankfully, our excursion company was able to rearrange things for us, but others were dealing with the same problem. If your MSC Poesia sailing tenders in Juneau and you have a private excursion, we would definitely allow as much extra time as possible.
Is 4 Hours in Victoria Worth Getting Off the Ship?
For us, absolutely.
Our stop was scheduled from 7:00 p.m. until 11:00 p.m. Even with the limited time, we enjoyed walking toward Fisherman’s Wharf and downtown Victoria, seeing the Parliament Buildings and the Empress Hotel, and simply enjoying the beautiful city.
We would recommend getting in line early to leave the ship so you can make the most of those four hours.
Even with only four hours in Victoria, we were glad we got off the MSC Poesia and explored the city.
💃 What’s the Difference Between the Two Dirty Dancing Shows?
MSC Poesia offered two very different Dirty Dancing experiences during our sailing.
Dirty Dancing in Concert featured the full movie along with a live band and production performers appearing during the musical and dance portions.
Later, Dirty Dancing: The Celebration was more like a traditional cruise production show, with live music, singing, and dancing but without the movie playing behind it.
They were different enough that we were glad we experienced both.
🌊 Are There Any Hidden Viewing Spots on MSC Poesia?
This was one of our favorite discoveries.
At the front of the ship on Decks 9, 10, 11, and 14, you can walk past the cabins and through the doors at the end of the hallway to reach small forward-facing outdoor viewing areas. Some have seating or more overhead coverage than others, and they can be wonderfully quiet.
There are also outdoor staircases and viewing areas around the aft of the ship, including spaces near the back of the buffet. These became some of our favorite places to enjoy the scenery without the crowds.
One of the quieter forward viewing areas aboard MSC Poesia gave us incredible scenery during glacier day.
⭐ 10 MSC Poesia Questions Answered
These were some of the questions we had before sailing, and several of the answers genuinely surprised us. If you are already booked on the MSC Poesia or researching the ship before choosing your cruise, we hope our experience helps make your planning a little easier.
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