With every passing season, Italian cruise leader MSC has increasingly come into its own, making its mark in every area of the cruise experience. What many, however, find most memorable, is the typically Italian, warm and friendly yet attentive service they receive on board. Nothing is too much trouble for MSC Cruises, and that’s reflected in the changes it has made to dining on board from this summer.

The innovations the Italian family-owned company is rolling out across the fleet from the end of April are all designed to make an MSC cruise even more fun, more varied and more flexible than ever before.

Complementing the elegant dining experience of MSC’s waiter service and specialty restaurants, guests can now dip into lighter, casual dining at their leisure, with the buffet restaurants introducing an evening service with no fixed sitting times, so they can dine exactly as and when they please.

That could be the ideal spontaneous dining solution before or after a Spa treatment or visit to the ship’s theatre. Or following a day-long excursion. Or after irresistibly endless fun, games and sunbathing in the outstanding leisure facilities on board.

And of course it’s a dream come true for kids and teens, who generally prefer, short, informal feeds - preferably on impulse and as frequently as possible. They’ll be over the moon to discover that MSC’s buffet restaurants will be extending the wide choice available to include fresh pizza without charge and whenever they want, each and every evening of their cruise!

Meanwhile, their parents won’t just be relieved to hear these are wholesome, genuine Neapolitan pizzas, but as soon as they set eyes on them, they’ll want a slice, too. What’s more, guests will be able to ring the changes, since many of the ships in the MSC fleet will be complementing their pizzas with a choice of genuine kebabs - all also offered as a courtesy snack throughout the evening.

But that’s not all. MSC is in addition making it even easier for guests to slake their thirst as soon as it strikes, with complimentary American coffee, teas, iced water and ice available not just during breakfast and buffet dining, but 24 hours a day.

Taken altogether, these thoughtful innovations will make quite a difference to how cruise goers enjoy the immense variety that is typical of MSC, offering industry-leading choice, convenience and flexibility, so they can live every impulse to the full. Which is, of course, exactly what a modern cruise holiday should be all about.

All these culinary innovations are available on the 138,000 tonnes MSC Fantasia, flagship of the fleet, which is calling at Malta every Wednesday and will continue to do so up to 19 October 2011.