kernow

We've done both and I don't think you will go wrong with either. In 2010 we did a 14 night baltic which included St Petersburg, Stockholm, Helsinki, Tallin and some others (I can't remember) which was fab but we also love all the scenery on this itinerary.

It was in YC but I think some of the items are the same so maybe you will have it.

Just getting ready to sail away from Flam, looks like we are waiting for a late excursion. The weather today has been lovely, the odd cloudy but mostly sunny. We did the train last year and had no plans this time so decided to go for a walk to the main village a mile or so away. As we were walking we stopped to take a photo of a crashing waterfall, there was another couple from the ship doing the same. We chatted a bit to them and asked where they were from. They said Birmingham which is where my family are originally from. Long story short it turned out the lady is my second cousin that I have not seen since childhood. My grandad and her grandmother were brother and sister so we have spent the rest of the day reminiscing about relatives and childhood memories.Such a strange coincidence. Sorry with all of this I forgot to get much info on Flam😁.

On this ship it's only available after 6pm.

Finally back out in the open sea and internet is back. We've just had a lovely dinner in Butcher's Cut. It's 10.20 pm and still daylight.

Some pics from the bus tour.

Last night we went to see one of the shows in the Carousel lounge 'Ajedrez', we had pre paid before boarding £9 pp (£15 if you purchase onboard). We'd seen the other one last year and this one was equally enjoyable. Today we are in Olden. We woke up to beautiful views as we sailed in along the Fjord and were docked by 9am. It has been almost impossible to connect to the ships Internet all day so I'm writing this offline and will post later. The weather is better than was forecast, cloudy with the sun breaking through at times, about 12 degrees but it feels much warmer when the sun is out. I'm sitting out on the YC sun deck, the bar is open but the grill isn't (not been all cruise), it's a shame as there are quite a few people sitting out. This morning we got off the ship around 10.30. We hadn't booked anything but there were several options on the dock (see pic). We bought tickets for the open top glacier bus trip and thoroughly enjoyed it, 700 NOK for both of us and worth it for some nice views. The bus trip was about an hour and they drop you off in an area where there are a few local shops and it's just a short walk back to the ship. One or two people didn't want to walk and were taken back to the ship on the bus.

Probably, we facetimed our son on it today and no issues at all.

Don't get me wrong, we're still enjoying it but can see the difference to previous years. When we have paid for YC we have different expectations to just being in a standard cabin which we sometimes book too.There is still plenty to like all around the ship.

Mark said it was raspberry pannacotta, he liked it. I always think MSC do desserts well, much better than RCL.

Not sure if they still do that but you can see your bill on the TV, that does work for me!

Clouds are finally starting to break and there is some sun coming out.. Sitting on the balcony without a coat as I type.

Mark says he noticed a few taxis by the ship this morning.

We're back onboard after an hour or two walking around Haugesund. As we found last year it's a nice little town but hardly anything open on a Sunday. It's about a 15 minute walk into the town centre. There was a shuttle bus but I'm not sure if it was free or not. Also a land train and a hop on/ off bus which you can get as you leave the ship ( see pics). When we got back on we came up to the buffet to get some fabulous MSC pizza ( they never have it in YC). Peak lunch hour in the buffet and it's fine, plenty of tables and a good choice of food without queueing. Walk right to the back if it seems busy at the entrance. The mini éclair on the dessert plate was as good as one's from a French patisserie 😄

Currently on Virtuosa with 5000 onboard. I'm doing a live a couple of posts down from this one which you might want to read. We have the basic wifi and it's fine so far. Last year I remember we lost it briefly going into/ out of the Fjords.

Currently on Virtuosa in YC, last night was formal(they call it Elegant). At dinner men had everything from full dinner suits to polo shirts without a jacket. Don't worry about it too much. Other evenings it's mostly long or short sleeved shirts, no tie, as long as he looks tidyish he will be fine.

Sorry to hear about your friends, hope they have got everything sorted by now. TBH even in YC I don't think things are as good as they should be, nothing terrible but service slow at times, things not available ( no granola at breakfast this morning) etc. We did not even see our butler yesterday, the assistant one made up our room and we asked after him but she said he was covering another section. I get the impression they are short staffed. If it was our first time I don't think we'd book it again when you consider the cost. Hoping it will improve as the week goes on.

Dinner last night was excellent, could not fault anything we had. Shrimp cocktail (no pic), Beef Wellington and Cherries Jubilee for me, After Eight dessert for Mark. We've now arrived in Haugesund, still misty and overcast, we're just going for a walk around town to stretch our legs.

You can definitely get by without your phone. I'm currently onboard Virtuosa, also in YC and the app will not work on my phone at all. Everyone on the ship has tried and they tell me it is problem with their system which they can't fix. This same phone worked last year and DH's app is working??? I'm just using the daily planner with no problems😀 Good old MSC IT.

You can only book a single night once you are onboard. Even with the prepaid packages you cannot book the actual day until boarding. Make sure you do it straight away, we are on right now, we booked with the concierge around 2pm on boarding day and could not get our first choice of time and day. Actually going tomorrow night.

Sitting in L'Atelier people watching and have just discovered my new favourite cocktail, The Second Empire. This bar always has the best cocktails on the ship for me. Looking at the dress code I would say at least 50% dressed up to some extent and some really dressy, we've just seen a man in a kilt go by.

We're dressing up tonight as we usually do. Going out for a walk around the ship before dinner so I'll let you know, I suspect a bit of everything.

Atrium area and bars all around them were very busy, haven't actually been into the Sky Lounge this cruise but I did look up when we were doing laps and could see all the window seats were taken. I asked the concierge how many were onboard and he said around 5000.

Unfortunately the weather has remained foggy, windy and cold all day. We had lunch in the YC restaurant pics below, then went to watch 'Love Me' in the theatre.It's an adapted version of the opera La Traviata. I'm certainly no opera buff, I even had to Google the story😄, but the singers and dancers were very talented and we enjoyed it. We felt like we'd been couped up inside all day so we donned hats and coats( well I did, Mark is much hardier) and went out to walk a few laps of the track. Now back inside and about to get ready for Elegant night.

Only just made it this morning, with the clocks going forward we didn't wake until after 9 and YC restaurant closed at 9.30. Been for a walk around the ship this morning and outside of YC it's heaving, never seen it this busy before. I know what people mean now about no seating. We retreated back to Top Sail for a hot chocolate.