msc poesia dining Archives - Northern Viking Explorer

October 20, 2026October 20, 2026

MSC Poesia Main Dining Room Menus: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

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.

🍽️ MSC Poesia Main Dining Room Menus (PDF)

Day 7

Day 7 Breakfast MSC Poesia Download

Day 7 Lunch MSC Poesia Download

Day 7 Dinner MSC Poesia Download

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.

Watch the MSC Poesia FREE Food Tour here: https://youtu.be/Ah1j1BiMPT4

🍴 Our Experience Dining on the MSC Poesia

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.

Final Thoughts

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! 🚢

October 16, 2026October 16, 2026

The Truth About MSC Poesia: Our Likes & Wishes (MSC Poesia Review)

The Truth About the MSC Poesia Our Likes & Wishes (MSC Poesia Review)

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.

Watch our full MSC Poesia review:
https://youtu.be/VVnjmC4-jus

🚢 Layout & Amenities

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.

MSC Poesia pool deck with an outdoor swimming pool, raised hot tubs, and loungers. — 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.

MSC Poesia aft balcony cabin 11250 with a bed, seating area, and balcony doors. — 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.

Slice of Baked Alaska dessert with colourful layers and red sauce aboard MSC Poesia. — 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.

Singers, dancers, and live musicians perform Dirty Dancing: The Celebration aboard MSC Poesia. — 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.

Watch the full review:
https://youtu.be/VVnjmC4-jus

10 Questions Before Sailing MSC Poesia (Answered!) 🚢

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.

🎥 Watch the full video here:
https://youtu.be/S4vWBFd5_Sg

MSC Poesia docked at Icy Strait Point, Alaska during our 7-night Alaska cruise. — 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.

North American and European electrical outlets with USB-A and USB-C charging ports in an MSC Poesia cabin. — 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.

Welcome to Victoria Canada sign at the cruise terminal during our MSC Poesia Alaska cruise. — 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.

Scenic Alaska fjord and glacier views from a forward outdoor viewing area aboard MSC Poesia. — 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.

🎥 Watch 10 Questions Before Sailing MSC Poesia (Answered!)
https://youtu.be/S4vWBFd5_Sg

Tag: msc poesia dining