kernow

A quick google shows the Managing director for MSC Germany is Christian Hein, why not try emailing his office. As mentioned already it always works with the UK office for anything serious.

If you follow MSC on fb they sometimes appear when you are scrolling. There was a 10% one just before Christmas.

Yes, we're on Virtuosa the same week as last year, we got one of those 20% off codes on FB so didn't end up much more than last year.

Hi Terri, Look forward to following along. We were originally booked on Grandiosa next May but of course the Southampton cruises were changed to Virtuosa again so now similar to last year. Your cat is beautiful, very similar to our Lily except she has green eyes. Safe travels, Julie

Claims are also delayed in the UK. Never claimed before but currently have a claim in for our cruise in November (denied boarding for second leg as I tested positive for covid). Insurance company has said it will take at least 10 weeks and not to contact them until after that time. RCL have reimbursed us for the missed cruise but claiming for additional expenses as we were stuck in Australia.

The Fjord cruises in May depart on 12th or 19th, neither of those are likely to be main school holidays.

We did the Fjords on Virtuosa in May last year, going again this year the same week (May 12th). I did a live thread at the time which you will find if you search but to answer your questions, no pick ups apart from Southampton, ship less than half full (although expecting there to be more people this year) and most passengers British although announcements were also in Portuguese which YC director told us happens when there is more than 100 native speakers (in this case Brazilians). There were a couple of people from the US in the FB group and we heard a few Australian accents onboard too.

I love this, it's exactly what I want to say every time someone asks 'how does MSC compare to ......' but I wouldn't dare as I'm from the UK😁. I agree with all your thoughts on YC, it's special and somewhere to go for a real treat as we too like the big ship experience. Looking forward to being back (on Virtuosa) in May.

Following along, sounds like a great trip. We've sailed NYE twice but never on RCL (NCL and Costa) and never from the US. Have fun.

I'd take the video you mention with a pinch of salt and try it for yourself (lots of great YouTube UK reviews out there too). Pre covid we did a Middle East cruise on MSC and since have done 2 YC on Virtuosa with another one booked. YC is amazing as everyone says but even without we enjoyed MSC. Pretty much as already said, very European, (passengers, service and food), ships very stylish, different to RCL but still good and often great value for money. If you want anytime dining you will need to book Aurea which also comes with a few other benefits (the separate sundeck is good on a warm weather cruise because the sundecks can get crowded).

Pretty much what happened to us on the cruise a few weeks ago on Ovation. A 22 hour flight to Australia for a b2b, the first cruise ended up having 2 ports in 10 days with no compensation then I tested positive for covid and had to miss the second one. Disappointing, I'll admit there were a few moments that I felt gutted and just wanted to go home but we tried to make the best of it and ended up still enjoying the holiday. As you say it's a risk we take and sometimes that's just life and we have to go with it. We'll certainly always remember our first trip to Australia.

I don't think we went into Music Hall all cruise, not really a fan of the venue on the Quantum class ships. The impression we got on the whole cruise were that the senior staff were uninterested and largely absent. The cabin stewards, bar tenders, dining room staff were trying really hard in difficult (massively understaffed) circumstances without any back up from the officers. You probably saw that I tested positive for covid on the last full day and so had to miss the next cruise. They initially told me on the ship that I would only get a FCC but thanks to advice on CC I argued and they agreed to a full refund for the next cruise. The refund was paid into our bank account yesterday so pleased with that. No sign of any FCC for the day in isolation that was promised but I can't be bothered to battle with them anymore for that.

Totally agree, we were on the same sailing and it was very poor by RCL standards. DH and I said at the time that if this was happening on a ship sailing from the US it would have been completely different, we got no explanations and no compensation. I've never before given such low marks on the after cruise survey. We got the impression that because Australia is so far away from their main markets they really don't care that much.

Final update. We landed back at Heathrow yesterday morning. As we left the plane they announced it was minus 4 and to be careful leaving the plane as the jetty connecting to the walkway had ice on it. They had put blankets down on the floor but it could still be slippy. Welcome back to England❄️😁. Overall we had a great time on the trip even though things didn't go as planned. We feel like we made the best of it given the circumstances. I've added Sydney to my list of favourite cities, loved it there. The cruise bit of the holiday seems like a long time ago now, we loved the destination but even without me catching covid I don't think it was one of our best Royal cruises, there just seemed to be a lot lacking on the ship. Probably down to the whole covid situation, hopefully our next one will be back to normal. As for Australia, we'll be back, loved the people and the place. Not sure when exactly but on our list is a Trans-pacific or the round Australia cruise or even a South Pacific cruise on one of the small luxury ships (but we might have to win the lottery for that one😆). Thanks to everyone for following and for sticking with it even though it hasn't been so much about cruising. I've enjoyed having you along and greatful for your tips on Sydney. Until the next time, Happy Cruising🛳🌞🥂.

Some pics from the light shows last night, first of all we went to the Gardens by the Bay and then walked over to Spectra at Sands resort. We walked over 30,000 steps yesterday so just having a lazy day by the pool now, weather is still cloudy and a bit damp but it's so warm it doesn't really matter.

I think it was very much covid related. The problem is that Australia still has restrictions in place so staff are being tested, having to wear masks etc. We noticed that whereas people in the UK and US are now largely not very bothered about covid lots of Australians are still scared of it so people are still testing themselves and going to medical if they are positive. I don't think this is now happening so much elsewhere, we are just living with it. I also think the longer cruises don't help, more time for symptoms to appear while people are still on the ship, with 7 night cruises people are gone before they test positive. Anyway sounds like it's getting back to normal now so that is good.😀

Yes, we got off 2 weeks ago, the entertainment was dire, worst we've ever had on any cruise. Pixels Cabaret was showing although without any aerialists. The only production show was on the last night of our 10 night cruise but unfortunately I missed it as I was in isolation with covid by then. There was a comedian at the beginning of the cruise but we didn't go to that, also the Australian Beatles and another group who weren't very good (can't remember the name but I detailed it all in my live review). I think most of the problems are due to covid. Although they seem to be doing everything they can to keep it quiet the ship has a big problem with lots of staff and guests isolating every cruise as far as I can tell( from personal experience and what is being discussed in other forums). No sign of the Dream, I too wondered if entertainment is different on Australian cruises but was repeatedly told by the Australians onboard that it never used to be like this. Nearly everyone was complaining. Hopefully things will have improved by March.

Everything behind us in this picture did not exist last time we were here, it was all just sea. Tonight we're going down to the Gardens by the Bay to see the light show.

Hello from Singapore. We arrived late last night and have spent the day walking around getting our bearings. We've swapped blue skies and sunshine for cloudy and hot steamy weather. For anyone like me whose hair goes into a frizz at the slightest bit of moisture Sydney was happy hair city and Singapore is horrible hair city😁. While much of the city has not changed much since we were last here the whole Marina Bay area is quite different with reclaimed land where once there was just water.

We did both ports a couple of weeks ago on Ovation, first time for us so don't know what it was like before. In Vila we took a water taxi into town but there looked to be lots of vans touting for business too. In Noumea there is still the train from the tourist office as well as a couple of other options. We took the Hop on/off bus for $15pp from there. Didn't see any cars but didn't look sorry.

Sorry to hear about your hubby. It sounds similar to me last week, I think the ship hopes to avoid as many positive cases as possible (I've just seen it is level 2 the same as our cruise was). We both stayed in the cabin and were walked off together, also took our own luggage. Not sure that is what was supposed to happen but like you it was a bit disorganised. Your train trip sounds amazing, hope you are borh able to enjoy it. We're looking forward to Singapore, we were last there over 20 years ago so think we'll see some changes. We were also meant to go in Feb 2020 for a cruise on Quantum but that was the first cruise that RCL cancelled.

I think this one could almost be on a cruise ship.

So today should have been our last full day on Ovation, instead it is our last full day in Sydney. Tomorrow we fly to Singapore for 3 nights and then back to the cold in England. Even though the last 11 days have been different from what we planned we've really enjoyed Sydney and will definitely be back to experience more of Australia and hopefully next time New Zealand too. We have decided that we'll wait until testing for cruises has been dropped here like it has in Europe and the US before we book again though. Below are some pics from the last few days, including our first Christmas Dinner of the year, and some pics from our visit to the Art Gallery of NSW.

We were on Ovation last cruise, lots of things poor on the ship but food wasn't one of them. We didn't eat in Windjammer(rarely do) but MDR, Solarium Bistro, Cafe 270, Fish n Ships, Sorrentos were all good, I thought it was some of the best food we've had on RCL for years.

I was told the same thing when I asked for it on Ovation last cruise. Seems like they are stopping it fleetwide.