maehara

We were using the Dining Experience for both Le Grill & Kaito, so the limited menu - I think the Diamond offer also uses that, but not Diamond myself so don't quote me on that. We found the included items to still be plenty to choose from and didn't feel the need to stray into the extra-charge items.

That rings true with me - just back from Euribia, waaaay more people dressed up for White Night than Gala Night. For Gala night I went with a shirt & tie, but no jacket - when you're flying, that's a lot of space & weight to give up for something you'll only wear once.

Euribia and World Europa both have Aurea-specific MDRs (Il Campo and Les Dunes respectively) and Yacht Club. Seems to be more the newer ships that get them.

MDR dinner menus attached. There were 2 sea days on this cruise - Gala Night was on the first, Mediterranean Night on the second.. (For those still following along: I still have the daily planners to post. Coming in a few days once I get the time to scan them in.) MDR-Euribia-Dinner1.pdf MDR-Euribia-Dinner2.pdf MDR-Euribia-Dinner3.pdf MDR-Euribia-Mediterranean-Night.pdf

I posted the Euribia Le Grill menu a few days ago here: Very Butcher's Cut-esque, with a few of it's own things as well.

Aurea is also anytime dining.

MDR Breakfast & Lunch menus. Dining room for these was Aurora Borealis, with Aurora Borealae the 'overflow' when Borealis filled up (including for Aurea - the Aurea MDR, Il Campo, only opened for dinner). Breakfast menu is the same every day. MDR-Euribia-Lunch1.pdf MDR-Euribia-Lunch2.pdf MDR-Euribia-Lunch3.pdf MDR-Euribia-Lunch4.pdf MDR-Euribia-Breakfast-pg2.pdf

Yep, if you go for something out of your package you just pay the extra (plus 15% gratuity on the extra).

Couple of the drinks / bar menus. The 'default' bar & wines menus; and venue-specific menus for the buffet, L'Atelier, Master of the Sea and the Champagne Bar Euribia-Buffet-Bar.pdf Euribia-Champagne-Bar.pdf Euribia-Default-Bar.pdf Euribia-L'Atelier-Bar.pdf Euribia-Masters-Bar.pdf Euribia-Wine-List.pdf

We're just off Euribia, the Speciality Dining pre-book options were visible to us as soon as we'd made the booking (December 2022). So yep, sounds like a glitch with that they're showing you.

Menus for the other Speciality venues we tried out - Le Grill, Kaito Robatayaki, and the Jean Phillipe Cafe & Crepes / Gelato on the Galleria. Drinks packages work in the speciality restaurants, and it was always made clear to us at arrival what our package (Easy Plus) covered & what it didn't. Jean Phillipe is considered a 'Signature Venue', and doesn't accept drinks packages. Euribia-JeanPhilippe-Crepes-Gelato.pdf Euribia-JeanPhillipe-Cafe.pdf Euribia-Kaito-Robatayaki.pdf

Walk-in charge is €17.99 each for the all-you-can-eat, plus 15% gratuity. So pre-paying will save you the gratuity, but that’s all. Here’s the menu for reference (more of these to come when I get myself organised!). Euribia-Hola.pdf

Aaaand we’re done. Last day on board was mostly disorganised packing, but we also took time for dinner at Kaito Robatayaki (robata-style grill next to the Teppanyaki) - 7-course Dining Experience which was mostly lovely, but be advised that the grill “main course” comes cooked very much rare (you’re not asked preference), so if that’s not to your taste, beware. Rare-cooked tuna very much wasn’t to Mrs M’s taste, which spoilt the experience somewhat; but the rest of us enjoyed what we had. Out of cabin at 8, off the ship at 9:50, and that’s all, folks. General observations: Very much enjoyed the MSC experience - ship is kept spotless, staff are friendly and helpful, plenty to do on-board. MDR food during dinner was usually hot (warm at worst), menus were varied and most items were tasty. We had set dining, which meant a regular waiter, who got to know our usual drinks etc so these were on standby near the table when we arrived. MDR breakfast / lunch was a bit more hit-and-miss, particularly when it was busy - items would be forgotten, or you’d get given coffee whether you liked it or not. Specialty restaurants seemed to be trying to kill you by overeating, which given the costs seems fair. Worth the cost for the quality of the food and attentive service. Only thing we’d class as poor was the cabin steward - mostly covered in earlier posts; the soap dispenser never was refilled, and before leaving we found items of clothing left behind by previous guests scattered in corners of the room. Not great. But generally very happy - had a great trip, and looking forward to next year’s trip on World Europa.

Here’s the wording we were given at the Future Cruise desk last night. Note that it’s a refund in the form of OBC or an upgrade, and not a fare reduction… (And if you’re thinking of a price-match on anything other than a Future Cruise booking, my understanding is that that’s a “cancel & rebook at the lower rate” job.)

We’re currently docked up in Kiel, which is one of the 2 changeover ports on this trip, so lots of embarking / disembarking going on. We’re all absolutely knackered after the busy week so far, so there’s some debate as to whether we’ll bother getting off today - a debate for after lunch. Last night had the farewell variety show, Euribia Live!, in the Delphi (fun, and ended with a parade by the senior crew & reps of the various onboard departments, to get their thanks from the passengers), then we headed on to Masters of the Sea for 80s/90s night. Band was playing a good selection of classics and getting a good singalong reaction from the crowd there. Good fun. Took the kids to Jean Phillipe for sundaes; and got myself a premium hot choc while there (with vanilla vodka & Baileys Irish Cream). Very nice; and the girls’ sundaes were huge and beat them for size. Ended up at the Euribia Lounge later in the evening - one of the spots that’s usually hard to get a seat at, but by the time we got there it had cleared out and we were able to sit & enjoy the act there winding down. Usually a good selection of acts here, just a shame it’s so hard to get seated there. Oh, also dropped by Future Cruise to book our 2024 & 2025 trips. ::points at updated signature:: Debarkation for us at Copenhagen tomorrow. Booo.

According to our Cruise Director, Petra, there are over 100 nationalities on board. Native English-speakers would seem to be in the minority, with plenty of Dutch / Germans / Italians / Spanish / French on board; there are also sizeable tour groups from Israel, Turkey & China. So yes, very varied mix. Pub menu from Masters of the Seas attached - we were there just this evening for their 80s/90s act, which is just my era. 😅 QR_J_BAR-LIST-BRITISH-PUB-V1_OTHER_DAYX_EN_1692037126.pdf

The times we’ve been past the Champagne Bar, it’s been nearly deserted. Some overflow from the atrium, but definitely on the “undertaker” this trip.

And there I was thinking I was doing a wonderful job of keeping my usual potty mouth in check. Whoops. 😅 Sadly the edit timeout on that post is long past….

Past couple of days have been hectic, but we’re now on our 2nd & final sea day on the way to Kiel. Not going to talk too much about shore excursions, since we organised those ourselves - they weren’t through MSC. Been doing the rounds of the on-board venues, and L’Atelier du Voyagers is becoming our favourite spot - it’s comparatively quiet (even when there’s live music on there it’s not as loud as other venues get), and you can nearly always get seats there. And it’s at the other end of the Galleria from the Euribia Lounge, which is where most of the loud events happen. (Last night was White Night, which had a pretty much 100% turnout. Folks take White Night seriously!) We’ve also done specialty dining at Le Grill (very tasty food, huge portions - I was fit to go full Mr Creosote, if someone had just offered me a wafer-thin mint); and at Hola!, where the all-you-can-eat deal was taken advantage of. Busy night there, and the White Party was kicking off just outside, so maybe not the best night to go - service was slow, but the food was still tasty & plentiful. Drinks packages were accepted at both restaurants. Saw Illuminicity in the Delphi Theatre Wednesday night - show based around classic video gaming, you could maybe say it was Tron-inspired. Games and songs referenced tapped right into my childhood, so it worked really well for me; rest of the family doesn’t have those touch points, but still enjoyed the routines and light shows that went along with it. Only real complaint we’ve had so far is that we’ve drawn the short straw with our room steward - never seen them, couple of notes we left asking for small things (extra pillows for the kids, ice for the ice bucket) have been ignored, hand soap dispenser in the bathroom hasn’t been topped up and is now empty; so that’ll be a visit to guest services later. But overall we’re having a wonderful time & there’s likely to be a visit to the Future Cruise desk before we leave. Just Kiel to go, then back to Copenhagen & home on Sunday.

We’re collecting the daily planners - I’ll scan them in and post them once we’re home. For what it’s worth, though, there is absolutely no shortage of activities on board. If anything, we’re finding we can’t keep up… 😅

Browse & Stream package, 1 user, 4 devices. That was £221 pre-paid.

Yes, the Sea Walk is operating. There’s an advisory in the daily programme that tendering would be necessary if the water was too rough to allow the Sea Walk to be used, but the surface of the fjord is glass-like today.

Sailing up Geirangerfjord this morning. Between the scenery and the near-silence of the ship gliding past, it’s an almost ethereal experience. Last night: Circus 1920 in the Delphi, with a selection of old-style circus acts & intercut with song/dance acts (I’m tempted to say Greatest Showman-inspired), which was a lot of fun; and a Beatles tribute act at the Euribia Lounge. This is one venue which really doesn’t have the space for the acts that play there, but I suspect at least part of the intention there is to have the crowd spill out onto the Galleria and boost the party atmosphere there. It certainly worked this time. Finished the night at the Sky Lounge, where a jazz duo were playing. Apparently on other Meraviglia-class ships this is an 18+ venue; not so on Euribia, and there were quite a few kids around. All well-behaved, as far as we could tell. We’ve all at this point made use of the spa facilities in one way or another. For treatments, watch out for them recommending product of some description to take away with you. Never a chance for an upsell missed, although it’s never a hard sell - one “no thanks” is all it takes to dissuade the sales pitch. Speaking of sales pitches: gripe I’ve often seen about MSC is about their staff descending on you on boarding or along the Galleria to pitch drinks & dining packages. We’ve experienced none of that. We’re just tying up at Geiranger now. Buffet lunch, then we’ve a 2hr sailboat cruise booked for later this afternoon (not an MSC excursion). Then up the waterfall stairs if my feet haven’t given up by then. 😅

Apologies in advance for not tagging folks who asked questions when I’m giving answers, but the quote feature on mobile is… not helpful at times. Busyness of the ship: at particular events / locations, especially during the evenings, you can tell we’re busy. Some of the Delphi Theatre performances are fully-booked in advance, and the Galleria parties are heaving. But the locations we’ve been to so far we’ve always been able to get seats & service. (Bar service could be faster, but the process MSC have staff go through to take orders on their tablets seems a bit unintuitive). Daytime, even on today’s sea day, has been much quieter generally (apart from the buffet, which was absolute bloody mayhem and not to be recommended). Last night’s shows were Jukebox Live in the Delphi (singing & dancing act to classic 70/80/90s songs, good fun if that’s your era); and Big Band Disco in the Carousel Lounge - along with the band, who are pretty good, they had a Irish(?) lead singer who was belting out the songs. Good performer, good night out. Today, had our first session in the Aurea Spa thermal suite; sea day, so had to pre-book a time (not necessary on port days, we were told) and while in the open areas you could see it was quite busy in there and you wouldn’t feel you had the place to yourself, in the individual feature rooms there was always space. Wide range of saunas, steam rooms, experience showers, ice room, whirlpools, sensory rooms - we were there about an hour and probably got around half of what was available. Bring your own towels from your room, supplies in the spa itself seem to be in short supply, but otherwise no complaints. Gala Night tonight, so out with the shirt & tie instead of my usual jeans & polo shirt…

All settled on board and yes, buying the 4 device package for “one user” and splitting it between the four of us has worked just fine. Just needed to log the other family members on with my details.