Heartgrove

Nor on the Preziosa.

We are on the Preziosa right now. It seems that plugged into the 110V socket it does not fully charge our devices. They do using the 220V with an adapter. ??? Never had this happen before.

Aboard the Preziosa now from Hamburg The terminal is very modern but situated across the Elbe from the city. The cab for three and bags from the Hauptbahnhof to Steinwerder was 35 Euro. We miss not being able use the MSC app on Preziosa like we did on Splendida. I just watch how many carbs I consume. Usually have the fish entree. Food is very good.

We normally sail on HAL and are 4* Mariners. Currently we are aboard the MSC Preziosa sailing from Hamburg to Scotland and Ireland. Last year we were in YC aboard the MSC Splendida but decided to try the Fantastica Experience this time. Our staterooms is on Deck 11 a bit forward of mid-ships. Deck 11 is a good choice as you are below the large overhang of 13 but above the lifeboats. Other than a long walk to the Buffet and L' Arabesque dining room (our assigned dining room) the ship is fine. We are a full ship with 3,400 passengers so busy but not overly crowded at times. Food is good with decent portion size. By the time you have the three courses you will be full. Maybe order the soup plus the appetizer depending on what the main is. Pizza in the Buffet is the best I have had on any cruise ship. I believe they have at least six different pizzas. My favorite is the Charcoal pizza. Service onboard is excellent! Our staterooms is serviced twice a day. The stateroom is a Deluxe and very good size. It is also an adjoing room as we are traveling with DSIL.

@smitty34877 Terry, our condolences on Lou's passing.

Thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Today we are in Stornoway. Somehow our excursion was not linked to our two staterooms so I had an 8:30 and Sue and DSIL had 11:30 for the Callinish Stones. It is a tender port for us and I believe we are still feeling the effects of the low tide in South Queenferry. Only three tenders were being used so I (along with other passengers) stood in line for over an hour to return. Once aboard I did notice that the other three were now in service. We have a full ship of 3,400 passengers. I feel a bit strange after achieving 4* on HAL but now sailing with a different cruise line. But we are Gold on MSC and should reach their highest tier next year. Japan and a Transpacific in 2025 on HAL though. Food is not quite as good as HAL (still better than Carnival) but pizza and deserts are deliscious! Food portions are correctly sized with a more Mediterranean flavor, and the Buffet choices are more plentiful. Staff is fantastic! We have two staterooms that are connected which are middle tier (Fantastica Experience) but individually larger than a HAL Verandah. Our staterooms are serviced twice a day without even requesting it. Tomorrow Greenock - with a pier! Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need! - Jack

Thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Hello from Kirkwall! We arrived an hour late as we left South Queensferry an hour late last night. Due to low tide conditions in the morning, some of the tenders had engine problems. I actually rode back to the Preziosa on one of the local tour boats which afforded me to take pictures from an outside deck. Bravo to MSC! We are a full ship with 3,400 passengers. This morning was bright and sunny. We had a full day here adjusted for an hour late arrival and one hour late departure. Our excursion was to the Ring of Brodnar, older than Stonehenge and the Pyramids of Egypt. The countryside is beautiful! After returning from the excursion we rode the port shuttle to Kirkwall proper but decided to just return to the ship as it was raining by then. A great day! Tomorrow is Stornoway - but the weather forecast is rain with temps between 9-12 C. It seems the local people are very happy to welcome cruise passengers! Stay Safe, and prayers for all in need! - Jack

She will love "the balcony! Verona is worth a long day. We stayed in Verona two nights in a hotel just off the Arena on our first trip to Italy. From there we spent three nights in Merano. Love the Sudtirol! Then down to Rome and Civitavecchia for a 20 night cruise on HAL. Use the SBB Swiss train site for planning, then book on the Trenitalia or Italo app. There is an excellent website "Seat 61" for train descriptions.. Feel free to ask again! - Jack Venecia S.M. Milano Centrale

We traveled on a Saturday so the train schedules are not the same as a weekday. I had planned for a train around 10:00 am as I wasn't sure how quickly we could get to Genova Piazza Principe. We did not have an option for an Intercity so rode two Regionale trains to Milan. One thing not to do is a train through Alessandria!! We had a service disruption with bus substitution for part of the journey on Trenitalia. For the trip to Venice, we used the Italo train. I use either the Freccerosa or Italo trains. There is an Italo Lounge in Milano Centrale which we used for a lunch break. Our arrival into Venice was approximately 5-5:30 pm. I can recommend the Filu Hotel by the Gulio bridge and vaporetto stop for the 4.1 and 4.2 vaporetto. Any other questions feel free to ask. We are currently cruising for another week so my response may be a bit delayed.

Thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Sitting in our stateroom reading the Daily after returning from our excursion to Edinburgh. Up at 6:30 for breakfast as our excursion left at 8:15. Rain with temps around 50 F but cleared early afternoon. Tomorrow's port is Kirkwall. I'm including a photo of the famous Firth of Forth bridge from our balcony. Stay Safe, and prayers for all in need of them! - Jack

Yes, each embarkation port of a cruise that has multiple embarkations is allocated certain staterooms. One time we wanted to sail from Civitavecchia but we didn't like the choice available. Instead we boarded in Genoa for a better located YC stateroom on the same deck as the Top Sail Lounge.

Yes, we were in Yacht Club on the Splendida last October. The night before we disembarked in Genoa, we mentioned to the YC Concierge that we would be traveling to Venice by train the next day. He offered to have our butler arrange for a bagged lunch to take with when we left. The butler had it for us when he escorted us off the ship.

Currently on the Preziosa. The Golden Lobster and L'Arabesque MDRs dining times are: 1st Seating 18:00 and 2nd Seating 20:30. Aurea Guests My Choice Dining is 18:00 - 21:45 in The Golden Lobster.

Thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Our first sea day on our way to Edinburgh. Very enjoyable time so far. I would guess that 90% of the passengers are German speaking but MSC does begin the general announcements in English so very easy to understand. When they are in French and Spanish, I practice my language skills. Food has been very good and of decent quality contrary to other CC forums's comments. The pizza is very good in the Buffet, especially the Charcoal pizza! Still learning the layout of the ship but for being 10 years old it is in excellent condition. This morning we needed to surrender our passports to the Republic of Ireland Control Officers onboard. There had been long delays for passport control on a previous cruise to Dublin so hopefully this eliminates that problem. Last time on MSC we were in Yacht Club but wanted spend less and have adjoining staterooms so are in the Fantastica Experience. Just as nice and quite spacious, just not as pampered. Looks like rain tomorrow at the South Queensferry tender port. Hope the wind and seas are not too bad Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need! - Jack DSIL, Sue, and Moi! The famous MSC orange towel animals. 😊 The North Sea

One thing I forgot to mention about our cruise. Just like a few weeks ago receiving a survey about the MSC booking process, this time I received an email from the captain, Captain Francesco Iacono, welcoming us onboard the MSC Preziosa. In his email he gave a short history of the ship and how happy the crew were to sail aboard her.

We love the YC on the Fantasia class. Last year we were on the Splendida and today boarded the Preziosa. Next year we have booked the Divina for the Fall 2024 Grand Voyage and trying to decide on the Fantasia, or Splendida again before returning to the US.

Good morning everyone and thank you for all being here! Travels to Hamburg were fairly good with both flights no turbulence! We should have studied our German more as it is not quite as bi-lingual as other areas we have visited. The region has has had very warm conditions of 85-90 F with no A/C and then rain in the mornings. But a very interesting city with Miniatur Wonderland and a ferry ride on the Elbe. Boarding was rather quick but did hold to assigned boarding time. Amazing that it has 1000 more passengers the a Pinnacle class but doesn't feel crowded. Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need! - Jack .

Make it extra special and cruise MSC from Italy (we prefer Genoa) to the Mediterranean.

Last October 2022, the Oosterdam docked at Gare Maritime do Rocha de Conde de Obidos. This is rather remote to central Lisbon so we used the HAL shuttle which ran all day.

Just use a cab to the ship then. Far easier as it is 45-60 minutes back to the airport depending on where you hotel is. Then that amount of time plus some by HAL transfer. The cruise terminal is a very small building so far easier to show up in a cab than a bus load of passengers.

Are you spending any days in Reykjavik before the cruise? The airport shuttle runs to the bus station and then a mini-bus to the hotel. Streets are tight in Reyjkavik. I can recommend Skuggi Hotel as it is near the mini-bus stop on the green line. Then only less than 10 minutes by cab to the pier.

When we sailed on the Legend in January we arrived at the terminal, after needing to be out of our hotel room at 11:00, about 11:30. We sat waiting to board for a short while but made it onboard early enough to have lunch at Blue Iguana Cantina.

Thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! We are packed and just need to add a few things to our bags for our flights tomorrow! Keeping an eye on the weather as the SAS flight on Thursday from Copenhagen was diverted to Newark due to afternoon storms . A bit later it then continued on to Washington. Hopefully the weather tomorrow is not as extreme. For our connecting flight to Hamburg, I chose the later flight which will allow us to freshen up in the SAS lounge at CPH. Stay Safe and prayers today for those that need them, especially Terry and Lou! - Jack

@smitty34877 Terry, we are so sorry to hear the news about Lou.

Thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Stay Safe and prayers today for those that need them, especially Baby Murphy's family.! - Jack