kernow

No one knows about Europa yet but on most MSC ships when they are sailing fairly full sunbeds are hard to come by so the private deck would be good. It probably depends on itinerary and time of year. Don't forget Aurea also includes access to the thermal area so if you are the sort of people who will use that it could also be worthwhile.

Do supermarkets sell wine or do we have to go to a special shop? Not looking for anything fancy, just a couple of reasonable bottles to drink on the balcony.

Enjoying your review as always. I agree that Quantum class feel similar to Solstice class, they are not really my favourite either (Radiance class is). I feel like the aft portion of the ship, with Jamie's Vintages, 270 etc feels disconnected from the rest of the ship. Not much outdoor space either although I do like the Solarium. It looks like Odyssey has the large dining room though which Anthem and Ovation don't.

As already mentioned all our cards in Europe are chip and pin now. We have a retail business with a card terminal for our customers to pay. When people present their card it asks them to enter their pin, occasionally we get a customer from the US, when they present their card it asks them to swipe it instead of a pin. I imagine MSC terminals will do the same.

Can't wait to hear all about it.

We've become fans of MSC recently, have done 4 with another one booked. Outside of YC the prices can be a bargain and the cruise is pretty good, YC is outstanding, IMHO much better than anything Royal offers. Definitely check out the MSC board, not so many die hard fans who won't accept anyone else's opinion over there. I always define the difference as MSC is more European, Royal is more American. We still sail Royal too as we like the variety, we've enjoyed Celebrity in the past but their prices seem expensive now and if we're paying that we'd rather do YC. Tried NCL once years ago, it was just OK and we've never been back.

The drink package that you mention with a limit of £13 is the Premium which is the most expensive. There is also the Easy and the Easy Plus both of which are cheaper, the Easy may be enough for you as it includes soda and juices and some (house brand)alcohol. The three cabin grades are as above but Aurea also has a few extras like Spa access, a private sun deck and a few other amenities in the cabin. There is also Yacht Club which is an all inclusive ship within a ship experience. There are the normal cruise type shows for free in the theatre, the pay extra ones are Cirque style shows, very enjoyable although agree that the drink is a bit of a waste of time. If you do decide on any extras make sure you pay pre cruise on the website or app, they always cost more once onboard. Feel free to ask for more detail if you need to.

Can't say specifically about Grandiosa but I know for certain that on Virtuosa this summer you can get off at all ports without any restrictions. Can't see why Grandiosa would be any different. most countries in Europe no longer have any Covid restrictions in place now.

You could always find an American on your next cruise who will swap with you, no exchange fees for either of you then.

Just keep it until next time you go to the US, that's what I always do with dollars (and euros for Europe). I never change any back.

Yes it works. We printed ours off so we had a paper copy to hand them at check in.

Thank you, that works. Just been reading through and there is some great information. There are a couple of points I'm not clear on. Are masks required in some circumstances on the ship? If we do an antigen test in the 24 hours before we board does it have to be certified (like it does for European cruises) or can we just bring our own test and sign to say it was negative? I realise that things may change by Nov but just trying to get a picture now in case it stays the same.

The link doesn't work for me, it comes up as unavailable. Yes, we are flying in and out of Sydney with the b2b from there.

Thanks. That is similar to what was happening in Europe last year although I think most countries over here have done away with isolation when you leave the ship now. Our rates seem to be rising again so it could come back. Even if Royal don't pay our insurance should cover us if the worst should happen so I think we will be OK.

We are coming to Sydney for a b2b on Ovation in Nov. We're British not American and know about sockets, currency, testing etc but can someone tell me how long we have to quarantine should we test positive and is it in a regular hotel or somewhere else? We do have covid insurance to cover costs if it should happen. Thanks.

Please do as much as you are happy with, I love your reviews and even though I'm not planning a similar trip I will read and enjoy☺️

We did a Fjord cruise on Virtuosa in May and have booked the same itinerary as you on Grandiosa for next May. It has 2 different ports from the one we did this year (Olden and Kristiansand). TBH we thought Norway was so beautiful that I think all the ports will be fab. MSC have beautiful ships which they keep immaculate so that would make no difference to me, Virtuosa this year was as pristine as when we were on her first 7 night cruise last year. One big difference that I would consider is the passengers onboard, from Southampton it's a largely British cruise whereas from Copenhagen I imagine it will be more of a mixed European crowd with multiple languages used. I don't know where you are from or if this will matter to you but I know some people don't like it. Currency onboard will be GBP from Southampton but Euros from Copenhagen. Probably a few other tweaks too.

When we were on Virtuosa in May pretty sure that we were told Euribia will be a sister ship to both Virtuosa and Grandiosa. The difference is that it will be powered by LNG. Googling seems to confirm this.

On Virtuosa in May we were told by the YC director that if there are 100 or more passengers who are a native speaker of any language then they have announcements in that language. It never bothers us and seems fair. The ship is Italian owned after all, imagine being an Italian onboard and find they only make announcements in English!

You can arrive anytime after that up until check in closes but don't forget they close around 90 minutes before sailaway. What time is the ship leaving?

Do they even have semi skimmed on RCL? I've asked for it in MDR and been told only skimmed or full fat, also never seen it in Windjammer.

Only this week saw someone post on the MSC board that they were top level on Princess and just got matched to Diamond so still available. Definitely worth doing if you are going to cruise with them. With MSC you just have to accept that their landside customer service can be poor but if you persevere you can usually get what you want. Fortunately once onboard we've always found them helpful.

Thanks, sounds like you'll be on not long before us again😀 I'll look forward to hearing what you think.

Crisp is what you call a potato chip, chips to us are what you call french fries😁. Very similar type of guest on MSC and RCL (just a bigger mix of nationalities), we've said for the last few years that MSC are targeting RCL's market more that anyone else's after conversations with senior staff onboard.

Outside of YC food is mdr and buffet, the big ships also have a poolside grill type snack bar. Some of the bars offer crisps/ nibbles complimentary with drinks. Of course there are also the for a fee Speciality restaurants and the pub/sports bars now do paid for food similar to RCL. On the ships we've been on guests are similar to RCL, not too loud, not too quiet. The Promenade has some fun parties but there are lots of more classy bars too, they offer some fab cocktails. I think the overall thing is that they are more European than American in all areas, if you think you'll be happy with that give them a try.