MSC Preziosa – Inside Cabin Photo Review – Space, Bathroom, Cleanliness and More

If you’re planning a cruise on MSC’s Preziosa (or MSC’s Divina, as she is identical), you may want to save money and book an inside cabin.

When I stayed onboard, I was upgraded to a balcony cabin. My parents recently took a cruise on the same ship, and they had a cheap inside cabin. This is a review of that cabin.

They took a seven-night cruise from Southampton, visiting Belgium, Holland, and Germany. Given the time of year (November) and itinerary they didn’t think the extra money to upgrade to a balcony was worth it.

In this post, we will look at the cabin layout, bathroom, storage, beds, and general comfort of the room.

Which Cabin Did They Stay in?

They booked a “Fantastica” grade inside cabin, which meant that they could have free breakfast room service delivery and could pick their dining time.

They were assigned cabin 5030. They picked the cabin’s grade but not the specific location. Not picking a specific location is usually a good way to save money.

The cabin was located close to the front of the ship, so great for the theatre, but a long way from the buffet at the back of deck 14. It’s a great way of getting in plenty of steps, though!

The cabin was suitable for up to four passengers, although it would have been very cramped. Two Pullman beds would have pulled down from the ceiling to accommodate the third and fourth passengers.

Was The Location Okay?

They didn’t have any problems with having the cabin at the far front of the ship. It was low down, and they never felt any movement when in the cabin – although they did feel some walking along the corridors. (They were sailing the North Sea in November.)

Many people say that if you get seasick, you should avoid booking a cabin at one end as the movement is felt more here.

My Dad sometimes gets seasick when he cruises, but given that the cruise was quite port-intensive, it seemed worth the risk.

We don’t go on cruises assuming that we will be seasick, but if we do get caught in a storm, it may happen. There are many ways to prevent and treat seasickness.

To find out more, check out this post:

13 Actionable Tips to Prevent and Treat Seasickness on a Cruise.

They didn’t experience any seasickness on this cruise and only occasionally felt the ship’s movement.

What Were Our First Impressions of The Cabin?

When they first found the cabin, they were met by the cabin steward, who introduced herself.

The cabin was serviced twice a day. The cleaning was done in the mornings, but she returned in the evening to turn down the cabin and leave any information and paperwork on the bed.

No bedtime chocolates or towel animals though. They did get various Diamond member loyalty perks and invites delivered to their cabin throughout the week.

The cabin was always clean, and the cabin steward was very helpful when they asked for more milk, coffee, etc.

The footprint of the cabin was pretty standard with a double bed at the far end and a bathroom to the right. They liked the design of this cabin, having stayed in many that are far more dated.

The use of mirrors in the room made the cabin feel more spacious, and it had everything they needed.

What Was In The Inside Cabin?

The amenities were fairly standard when it came to inside cabins.

The bed takes up the majority of the room. There is a desk and small seating area, with cleverly organised storage around the room.

• Queen-sized bed – which can be converted to twins.
• A desk, a chair and an oval table
• Bedside tables
• A TV with storage underneath
• A kettle
• A wardrobe
• Further storage
• Safe

How Big Was The Inside Cabin?

The average inside cabin size is 167 sq ft so this cabin was slightly on the larger side.

It was 16 square metres (172 sq ft), bigger than some other inside cabins onboard the ship.

The cabin didn’t feel particularly large or small – they had everything they needed.

To learn more about how big cabins usually are, and how they compare to hotel rooms, check out this post:

How Do Cruise Ship Cabins Compare to Hotel Rooms?

How Was The Bathroom?

The bathroom was a fair size. They’ve stayed on cruise ships with bigger and smaller bathrooms in the past.

They liked the way it was designed. It felt spacious despite being small. There was lots of storage under the sink and on the shelves on the right.

The light around the mirror made the room feel bright and it was always spotlessly clean.

There was a rack for towels on the back of the door, which is far better than some other cabins we’ve have stayed in, where they are above the toilet.

When you’re on a cruise if you would like fresh towels you leave your old towels in the bottom of the shower or on the floor, this signifies to the room steward that you’d like clean ones.

The shower was a good size, but not very powerful. The shower head was quite high, so I think the majority of people would be fine height-wise in the shower. There was always plenty of hot water.

There was plenty of storage for toiletries beside the basin.

The door to the shower opened both ways and didn’t leak water onto the bathroom floor.

The doors had a handy feature, if you folded them in over the shower enclosure area, it gave you more room when sitting on the toilet.

Which Toiletries Were in the Bathroom?

In the bathroom, liquid soap was on the side of the sink. Shampoo and body wash were in the shower.

If you’re taking a cruise and are curious about which toiletries a cruise line provides, check out this post, which includes a searchable table:

Do Cruises Provide Shampoo and Conditioner? – Cruise Line Guide

Find out about the smallest bathroom I have ever had on a cruise ship below. It was onboard the luxury ship Azamara Onward – and it really was tiny. Find out more here:

Were The Beds Comfortable?

The beds in the inside cabin were very comfortable. Each had two pillows, one soft and one firm.

At the edges, there were bedside tables. This was a great place to keep chargers/pyjamas, books, etc., and to put a drink.

The bed was made up with a duvet/quilt inside a white cover.

Was There A Kettle?

MSC Cruises provides kettles in all of their cabins when they sail from the UK.

The kettle was the perfect size and was accompanied by two mugs. MSC also provided tea bags, milk and sugar as standard. They asked for extra supplies from the cabin steward, and they were very accommodating.

If you drink another type of tea, like peppermint, for example, it’s worth checking the buffet for different tea bags.

They often had to ask for Decaf coffee sachets. There was no decaf available in the buffet, which they thought was disappointing. I don’t drink coffee, so that wouldn’t bother me…

How Many Plug Sockets Are In The Cabin?

The ship is older, so it had two European sockets by the desk, and two US sockets. They didn’t see any USB’s – but the ship was built in 2013, so that is to be expected.

If you ever need to know which sockets are in a cabin, check out our searchable table here:

Complete Cruise Ship Plug Socket Guide: Search by Ship

Did The Cabin Have a TV?

All cabins on MSC cruises have a TV, the size and age may vary depending on the age of the ship.

The TV worked ok, and they used it to watch the safety videos at the start of the cruise. As the cruise went on, it stopped working, so they had to ask for more batteries for the remote. It was then fine again.

There wasn’t a great choice of programmes, but they didn’t watch too much TV anyway. They did use it to look at the bow cam, to see what the weather was like.

Any Other Issues?

They intermittently had problems with the digital safe – again, it appeared to be a battery issue.

The batteries appeared to be rather loose, so you needed to wiggle them to get power.

They didn’t report it, as it took a long time for the TV remote batteries to be replaced once reported. They don’t keep replacement batteries at the reception, so you have to wait for the maintenance man.

Would They Recommend The Cabin?

They would definitely recommend an inside cabin if cruising on Preziosa. They wouldn’t recommend this particular cabin – for a reason they would never have considered.

They weren’t disturbed by the theatre at the front of the ship or the cabins around – but if you look at the deck plan, you can see a space behind the cabin.

This must be a crew area, and when the crew moved suitcases or trolleys, they could hear the noise directly behind their heads.

On an MSC cruise, passengers embark and disembark at every port. They were disturbed by noise in the early hours of the morning many times.

The cabin was clean, spacious and well-designed. Some of the fixtures and fittings were looking a little “tired” but that didn’t affect the enjoyment of the cruise.

They were very comfortable there for the week, but it was just a shame the location turned out to be noisy.

Was It Value For Money?

They paid around £400 for the week, including gratuities.

They feel that they did get value for money – and they took full advantage of the perks from their Diamond Membership Status too.

They were able to have a free speciality meal, a bottle of bubbly and macarons were delivered to the cabin.

Free drinks were available at the Diamond member’s party and the separate Latitudes welcome-back party. More free drinks were available at the Masters cocktail event on Gala that evening.

To find out how to match your loyalty status from other cruise lines with MSC, read this next:

MSC Status Match – What Is it And is it Worth Doing? A Step-by-Step Guide

Before You Go

Have a look at the junior and premium balcony cabins on MSC Preziosa here:

The Difference Between Junior and Premium Balcony Cabins (MSC Preziosa/MSC Divina)

Have a look at my top MSC tips to get the most for your money here:

19 Essential MSC Cruise Tips That I Use Everytime (Freebies, Money Saving & More)