Review of a cruise on Le Lirica (Greek islands, Egypt)

Hi everyone, A little feedback on our 12-day cruise in early November on the Lirica.





The Lirica is a human-sized ship with 2,500 passengers for an old-school cruise—no extra-charge themed restaurants or bars, but large lounge bars with plenty of seating. We had no trouble grabbing a drink. The meals are decent, the staff is always helpful, but the ship is starting to show its age, and the cabins aren’t exactly fresh anymore. The low point: the shows were the worst we’ve seen in eight cruises—barely up to camping standards.

Day 1 Boarding in Venice. Since the ship now departs from Marghera, there’s a transfer from the terminal to the ship by water shuttle. Day 2 At sea. Day 3 Katakolon We’ve already visited Olympia twice, so we did some shopping at the port and the only shopping street. Day 4 Heraklion Excursion with MSC to the Palace of Knossos and shopping. It’s a bit pricier than doing it on your own, but you get the guide’s explanations.





After visiting the palace, we explored Heraklion—a very lively city.

Day 5 Rhodes The ship docks just steps from the old town, a magnificent city surrounded by its ramparts.







Visit to the Palace of the Grand Masters.

Hello,

Ports of call visited on previous cruises except for Limassol and Heraklion. Worth seeing in 2026 since I already have two cruises planned for 2025. Thanks for sharing: Mum49

Day 6 Limassol We took the MSC shuttle since the city center is really far from the port. Not much to see—most restaurants were closed at the end of the season.





Day 7 Port Said Very early wake-up to head to Giza—3-hour bus ride for the MSC pyramids excursion. We picked up our passports when leaving the ship, along with the visa (we’d dropped them off at embarkation). Note that the visa was free. Travel was in a convoy of several buses, escorted by police cars, with an armed officer on our bus.







Late morning: cruise lunch on the Nile.





Folk entertainment during the meal.

In the afternoon, visit to a papyrus factory.



Then visit to the Mohammed Ali Mosque.





Got back to the ship late at night, exhausted—13-hour excursion!

Hi there,

Thanks for this account—it really lets us relive some of those stops!

Could you share a bit more about the embarkation in Venice? From what I understand, we need to go to the old cruise terminal, and the company transfers us by boat. How does it work with the luggage? When do we hand it over?

Thanks so much!

Claudine

Hello! Yes, absolutely—all the formalities are handled at the old terminal, including baggage drop-off.

Thanks again.

In a way, it’s simpler when you’ve already boarded several times in Venice.

For the cruise I booked for next October, departure is scheduled from Fusina. It might be different this time. So far, no information yet....