showingdiva

It appears to be some sort of custody dispute. The poor child in the car is only 4 year's old. Hopefully all will be resolved soon. Edit: It's just been confirmed it's over. Peacefully A quiet day is probably not a bad thing. It was raining when I was there three weeks ago, although thankfully did clear up in time to take photos of the Rathaus. Good to hear you're enjoying Euribia so far. I agree about some of the artwork, although I actually ended up really liking the picture in the cabin, which could only be described as the product of an octopus and a peacock having a love child.

I've just watched you turn round and sail down river. Enjoy

Have a great time. She's a beautiful ship. I've been watching her on the Erasmus Bridge webcam this evening. She's departed now, unceremoniously backwards, on her way to Southampton. If all well, she should pass the outbound Arcadia

Is it Friday you embark Euribia?

She's due in Le Havre on Thursday morning. Hopefully. Therein lies the problem of embarkation / disembarkation at each port. However, on the plus side, Captain Chris is at the helm. He comes across as a calm, safe pair of hands when the going gets touch. Which they may need. Relieved to hear Arcadia is staying put in Southampton, although she may need held by a tug at Mayflower. A bit exposed (and close to the container terminal) if things get bouncy.

Cruise ship schedule to the end of the year if anyone interested .. https://www.southamptonvts.co.uk/Live_Information/Shipping_Movements_and_Cruise_Ship_Schedule/Cruise_Ship_Schedule/

The next P&O ship isn't until the 11th - Iona MSC Euribia due on Friday from Rotterdam, then a bit of a break until the 8th (Queen Victoria)

So having a look from the first to last days, in the Carousel Lounge, there was a swing band, a disco, a rock symphony, a night club, , a daytime future cruise presentation, the magicians who were also part of the main theatre show, a DJ set, a club music night and some orchestral music

Beautiful ship. Attentive cabin steward. Room kept very clean. The parts that can be a bit manic on these ships, namely the Marketplace, pool bars etc weren't as bad as I feared. A couple of things I'm not keen on is the multiple port embarkation / disembarkation. Nothing happened, just a personal preference of everyone embarking in Southampton and disembarking in Southampton. And children. I'm well versed with Virtuosa and fully appreciate that these are family orientated ships. However, when the ship has two decks of great facilities for them, yet the chosen entertainment was to chase each other up and down stairs, along passenger decks etc, I get a bit riled. Not least because no-one pulls them up about it .. especially their parents. Food was consistently good in the MDR. Delighted that there's a Hola! on Euribia, which was absolutely on point, especially those fabulous warm tortilla chips and chipotle dip. Entertainment in the theatre was met with enthusiasm. There is a carousel lounge, like Virtuosa's, but it doesn't have the cirque du soleil shows, instead used for multiple purposes day and nijght.

Ah right. I'm just off Euribia, embarking in all ports (Southampton, Hamburg, Rotterdam, Zeebrugge and Le Havre). The ship is full.

Ship? Date?

Euribia has a few differences from Virtuosa. No robot bartender and no carousel shows. There is a carousel space, but was used for numerous forms of entertainment during the week. Butcher's Cut is called "Le Grill", but it and all the other specialty dining venues were the same, and I delighted they have an Hola!. Virtually everything else was the same as Virtuosa, other than Euribia having a more continental feel because of the multiple embarkations at each port. It was very obvious, very quickly now much feedback over the last couple of years has "Anglicized" Virtuosa. From a food perspective, there's a spaghetti aglio e olio, which is an "always available" at lunchtime, which was superb. Very simple in that it's fresh pasta, oil, garlic and red pepper flakes, but because MSC know how to do pasta, it was right there with one of the best pasta dishes I've ever eaten. Gala dinner highlights - the salmon en croute / wellington. Some late evening sorties to the Marketplace for some After Eight slice. And of course, those warm tortilla chips and chipotle dip in Hola!, washed down with a non-alcoholic mandarin Jarritos juice.

I may be Scottish, but porridge - no. Nor Irn Bru. Although never as bad as the thought of mushroom panna cotta. So wrong, on so many levels, not least that it contains the word "mushroom". The devil itself. I'll stick to the five flavours of dessert panna cotta I've just eaten my way through on Euribia.

MSC Virtuosa is doing a 7 night ex-Southampton to Skagen 9am - 5pm, Oslo 7am - 5pm, Copenhagen 10am - 7pm and Bruges 9am - 6pm 15th June 2024

My thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved in this incident. From the families and colleagues of the two ships involved in the collision, to those searching including the master and crew of Iona.

From the ship side, only waited 5 minutes for the bus. The bus park is undercover. From the city, again no. Walked out of nearby Starbucks and two buses arrived at the same time and got on the first after others had got off. In fairness, it had stopped raining by that point.

Just back from Euribia. It's 12 euros for a return trip. Drops off / picks up by the station. Takes about 25 minutes each way. Hamburg is like a giant construction site. There is nothing around the Steinwerder terminal, and even if there was, because so many embark / disembark in Hamburg, it's busy ... unlike the city. There is nothing doing on a Sunday (especially a wet one). Sorry if I'm not selling it, but if (and it's a big if) I went back, would do an excursion instead.

Yes, you will have plenty time to make that flight. Disembarkation on Virtuosa usually goes by deck, the lowest first (although would question whether it actually works that way in reality with that number of people). You could always self-disembark with your luggage, which is early. If you want / need to stay in a hotel - either Premier Inn West Quay, which is near the Horizon Terminal, or something near the airport. I do exactly the same journey, but by train. I've never had a problem with taxis in Southampton - I always seem to end up with a driver who has been to Edinburgh / knows someone who lives in Edinburgh.

I've found embarkation day a bit crazy once everyone is on board. A lot will never have been on the ship before - and she's a big ship - so stairs, lifts, corridors etc are busy due to people getting lost. After the first day, things are calmer. I've never seen lots in the plunge pool at the aft (the elephant one - those who have been on board before know what I mean). The outdoor pool at the pool bar and the indoor one can be busy. If you're hoping for uninterrupted lane-style actual swimming from end to end, you might get that opportunity very early morning, but otherwise probably not. Virtuosa has proven very popular since she unexpectedly ended up in the UK towards the end of the pandemic. She was originally for the Mediterranean and Dubai (hence the European and US plugs). Most cruises are very near to full.

I think it's just another MSC website gremlin. The above thought about TA holding being perfectly plausible, with any unsold then allocated to Bella. However, my favourite extended balcony cabin on Virtuosa never appears anywhere. It's like a door to Narnia. I've twice had to phone and ask for it.

I've worked on board Norwegian Dawn a couple of times this season as part of my home port hospitality team. She is a very casual ship. You don't mention if you just don't like tendering, but when you arrive in Edinburgh (Newhaven Harbour), we use our local excursion ship to help with tendering of the larger ships. She's a lot bigger than a ship's tender, and a very smooth journey. Forth Belle

I thought P&O were the champions of the non-disclosure agreement about virtually everything. Everything crossed the new passengers embark, Britannia leaves on time and they all have a lovely holiday.

Unfortunately, there will likely be some in that "chosen" group who cannot fly for one reason or the other. Which is, of course, the reason they (and I would have had to include myself in that number) cruise from the UK.

I love their posts. Very down to earth couple. They've been on Virtuosa a couple of times. In keeping with this being on a P&O thread, they've also reviewed Iona, Britannia and currently Arvia.

Haugesund was my least favourite Norwegian port - not helped by my visit there being on a Sunday (non-P&O cruise) The hop on / off bus stops right next to the ship. Otherwise, the walk into the town over the bridge isn't far