nikoo.s

On 11/26/2022 at 9:11 AM, Eglesbrech said:

Could you report back about disembarkation please?  There have been reports of very long queues for passport checks at disembarkation but this may just have been teething issues for the first couple of cruises where Hamburg is the official embarkation. Thanks

From my recent experience on Virtuosa a couple of weeks ago, we had to queue for about 20 minutes a during the 2nd sea day for a face to face check. They called passengers to the sportsplex floor by floor to try and minimise queue time. When it came to disembarking in Southampton it was instant. We just had breakfast and then walked off the ship no issues at all. 

Can't speak for that particular class of ship or itinerary, however we just went on a northern europe late November cruise on Virtuosa (needless to say it was COLD, especially in Hamburg) and all pools were open as normal, even the outdoor ones, so you should be fine!

41 minutes ago, styles27 said:

Our first MSC cruise was a Mediterranean cruise from Civitavecchia (Rome)  

Everything on board was in English and Italian.

The cruise director would first speak in Italian and then repeat it in English.
We didn’t attend trivia as we were in port every day. Not even sure they offered it. 
Music at night was a mix of English and Italian. 

The tours we chose in all 3 countries (Italy, Spain and France) were in English. The only tour guide who struggled with English was on our tour to Avignon. Even though we chose the English tour she spoke mostly in French.

It wasn’t a huge deal as we had the option to use headphones so we ended up wandering off on our own and then meeting back up with the tour for the next stop. 
 

I never felt like an outsider at all. Most people on the ship could speak English even if it wasn’t their first language. 

 

Amazing! Thank you 🙂 nothing to worry about then it seems! 

14 minutes ago, SirWolf said:

Excursions are in multiple languages.

Sometimes “English only” tours and sometimes two languages on one tour.

We have been on “English only” , English/French and English/Spanish tours on Med cruises sailing from Barcelona and Genoa.

Great! So should be no issues with excursions then which is good to know!

Hopefully the crew will be able to do trivia etc in English as well 🙏 🤣

4 minutes ago, HipHipOnAShip said:

The main language will likely be Italian, with Spanish, French, German and English announcements.  Menus will be available in all languages.

 

Ahh ok. So things like trivia and guided tours won't be in English? 

Hello!

So we just got back from a cruise on Virtuosa which sailed from Southampton. This obviously meant a lot of English people on board, and the primary language for everything was in English. 

We had such a great time that we are booking more cruises. We have another Southampton one booked going to Norway on the same ship, but have found another great deal on the World Europa sailing from Barcelona. My question is that if we were to go on that one, would the main language on board still be English? (Mainly for things like trivia, excursion tours, activities etc). I have no issue with there being less English passengers but I really enjoyed the trivia and excursions and would love to still be able to take part! 

Also separate note, why doesn't the World Europa have the gorgeous crystal stairs other than in yacht club?! I loved them on Virtuosa haha! (Obviously not an actual problem!!) 🤣

Thank you!

56 minutes ago, mast3rn8 said:

Shirtless dinners sound exciting 😆

Haha well played 🤣 not exactly what I meant but that did make me laugh!

This is correct. You may need to book a time slot depending on how busy the cruise is. We usually just called the spa from our cabin 10 mins before we wanted to go to the spa to check. 

They had them every day in the champagne bar on my recent Virtuosa cruise. They were non hosted events though.

On 11/19/2022 at 6:14 PM, KayKayKay said:

Hello.  We’ve cruised Carnival and Royal Caribbean but never MSC.  I’m having a hard time finding information.

 

1.  Are there any dining room requirements when in comes to attire.  The other cruise lines say collared shirts, etc. but don’t actually enforce it.

 

2.  What do the extras cost like tge movie theater, bowling, etc.?  Should I buy the pass beforehand for my 14 year olds?  (And it sounds like the pass is just a discount rather than providing them unlimited access.  Is that correct?)

 

3.  What other big differences should we be prepared for?

 

thanks!

Just got back from a week on Virtuosa and can answer questions 1 and 2 for you!

1. Dress codes are very much a suggestion. If you don't want to wear a suit or shirt to dinner you don't have to. I never understood people who get a bee in their bonnet about what other people wear. If you want to dress fancy go for it, if you don't then don't. MSC are fine with your choice either way, as are 99% of the other passengers. For those who want forced elegance, go on cunard. I saw ripped jeans and sweaters in the main dining room. I also saw people dressed fancy. Just dress in what you feel comfortable in, and you'll fit in either way (just don't wear swimwear!) 🙂

2. Photo of "fun" activity prices attached. Have to say we loved the 4d cinema and did it 3 times! Fun pass does get you extra for what you pay. 

Makes sense. Thanks for your help!

Thank you! 

Based on those prices it makes more sense for us to get the whole cruise pass in advance then (which is £82 per person anyway) even if we only use it for one day out of the week.

Good to know about crowds being controlled. How does that work then? Will we be able to just walk in and use the spa whenever if we have the pass, or do we still need to book specific time slots? 🙂

Hello! New cruiser here going next week on our first of 2 currently booked 🙂

Quick question regarding the aurea spa. Online we only have the option to buy a pass for the entire cruise, but wondered if instead when on board we can purchase just a day pass for the 2 of us to use the thermal area, or even a pass for part of a day? And is this something we should go and book as a soon as we board?

Thank you!