Skipper Tim

Good morning from the King's Court buffet, midships on deck 7. I say 'morning' but most sensible people would consider a little after 4 a.m. still nighttime. I am sitting with Chung and daughter Marie who have already been playing ping-pong for an hour before coming to the buffet. I did hint at being a bunch of insomniacs yesterday. We are actually better described as 'early-morning people'. In our defence, I would just say my iPad is still on GMT and reports a more respectable 6:15 a.m. as I type this.

So I left you yesterday before the Planetarium in 'Illuminations'. It was entitled "Passport to the Universe" and mostly consisted of showing the scale difference between the Earth, our solar system, our galaxy and the Universe. My feeling is that it is a great novelty of a facility to have on a ship but I was a little underwhelmed by the show. Also perhaps instead of a narration by Tom Hanks they could have had someone who knew what they were talking about, e.g. Steven Hawkin or at the very least William Shatner :) (I ended with longing for the USS Enterprise to appear). Perhaps it could be used as an IMAX screen? The best effect was that of the movement of bows of the ship in the increasing seas. On MSC they call this '4D cinema' (3D plus movement). We all came out a little wobbly holding on to any fixed objects that fell to hand. It was an experience that I am not sure I would wish to repeat.

It was straight to afternoon tea at 3:30 in the Queens Room at the opposite end of the ship. We arrived a little early so continued to the neighbouring 'G32' which I understand is the 'late night and youth venue'. I am neither so it was a good opportunity and time to experience it. Being in the extreme stern, this was also moving somewhat.

We were relieved to return to the magnificent Queens room, past the line of white-gloved waiters bearing giant teapots on silver trays. When the string quartet struck the first note the white-jacketed army entered and began the tea service with military precision. Cups were swiftly filled followed by the serving of dainty, crustless quarter-sandwiches in a choice of six fillings. Then scones and clotted cream and finally cakes. The waiters remained in constant circulation repeating every service as the quartet moved on to Christmas Carols.

Afternoon tea is, of course, one of those other Cunard eccentricities. I understand P&O offer afternoon tea a couple of times per week at extra charge but otherwise it is a tradition at sea unique to Cunard. I cannot decide whether it is part of Cunard's 'British theme' or if it is simply mad. Certainly, dinner at 6pm after afternoon tea finishing at 4:30 was a daunting prospect. Had the maitre d' allowed us to change to second sitting for dinner, afternoon tea would have made more sense. However, we all thoroughly enjoyed it - with the exception of having to repeatedly shoe away the champagne salesman (more on this later).

So with heavy stomachs and light heads it was time to retire for half an hour or so before preparing for our first formal night.

Having gone to the trouble to change from a 4-table to an 8-table, it was disappointing that our four new fellow diners failed to show. Still, we agreed the location, on the highest level near the windows starboard-side, essentially directly above the 'Clarendon Art Gallery' corridor cleverly squeezed in between the lower and upper levels of the Britannia Restaurant, was vastly superior. Mother and I splashed out on a bottle of Tempranillo (at $30 + 15%, this is one of the very cheapest bottles on the current Cunard wine list). In the jollity and under the influence of Tempranillo, I neglected to take any photos other than of my cheese plate.

I will try harder tonight at our second formal and the Captain's cocktail party.

Now, to make a couple of cross-line comparisons. Over on the MSC forum there are frequent discussions about MSC service compared to other lines, especially US lines. The received wisdom is that MSC offer an old European style service which is primarily 'discreet'. One would say all but 'invisible' until needed when one catches the eye of a waiter standing a discrete distance away under the old rule that staff should never speak first. Judging by the discussions, many of our American cousins regard this as unfriendly at best and rude at worst.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, I would say the service from Royal Caribbean bar staff is downright harassing and the high-pressure, endless salesmanship really grates.

I am going to put Cunard between the two. Every time I have sat in a bar area, I have been approached and asked if I want anything. Some would regard this as 'good service'. Being an old fashioned European, I think this is over-stepping the mark. My instinct is "If I wanted something, I would look at you". This behaviour is obviously part of current Cunard training and may be more tailored to North American sensibilities and expectations than British. The repeated pushing of champagne at afternoon tea and at the 'sailaway' are other cases in point. It is not overly obtrusive as it is with Royal Caribbean but is highly noticeable and, to me, unwelcome salesmanship that I do not recall from the QE2.

The second comparison is bar prices. First, and I still have a bar menu to prove it the bar prices of the QE2 of nine years ago were surprisingly reasonable. They were typically on the low side compared to an ordinary Northern English pub. i.e. not one in London or a trendy fashion bar. In real terms, I would say QM2 bar prices are around 50%-70% higher now - more in line with mainstream U.S. cruise lines including Royal Caribbean whose prices were initially shocking to me. MSC bar prices are rising but are significantly lower and MSC also offer an all-inclusive drinks package for a reasonable €23/night. Fred Olsen, perhaps the most genuinely British of lines these days, is also known to have ordinary pub prices.

I have also observed very few tables at dinner with wine bottles on them. Nine years ago on the QE2, the opposite was the case - there was the odd table without wine and we assumed it was probably for health reasons. Cunard's wine used to be much more reasonably-priced and consequently they sold much more of it. I remember the young Scottish sommelier in our section was constantly rushed off his feet. Cunard may have priced themselves out of the wine market, given that this is part of a longer and very expensive cruise of the Caribbean over Christmas and New Year with wealthier guests to match.

Those are just a couple of observations so far. Discuss....

Here are a couple of photos illustrating the 'Christmasication' of the QM2 to end today's post on a seasonal note. The 'gingerbread village' and the tree in the atrium.

I will try to catch up with any questions and comments next time I connect.

Until tomorrow.

Good afternoon from the Chart Room, midships, deck 4 after lunch on our first full day. Ship's time is just approaching 1pm although it was the weirdest experience putting our watches back an hour before retiring while still in Southampton last night.

The Captain's midday address revealed the source of our delay. Apparently a drain in propulsion pod no. 4 had become blocked. It was unblocked by 8pm but took a further time to drain its innards and then there was a traffic restriction leaving due to the arrival of a large tanker. "We effectively cleared the quay a few minutes after midnight", he said. Nobody I have spoken to had any idea that we had left until they saw the sea this morning such was the gentleness of departure, initial flatness of the sea and the rock-steady sea-going properties of the QM2. In fact, we met someone in the lift on the way to ('first') breakfast who had no idea we had departed.

We left Bishop's Rock 9 miles on our starboard beam around 12:30pm and are proceeding at 22 knots against a force 5 from the West.

Insomniacs are cheered by the 4.a.m. start of continental breakfast buffet and even full cooked breakfast buffet from 6:30. So I had a little fruit and yoghurt at 6:00 and queued for the Britannia MDR for its 8 O'Clock opening.

My cooked breakfast was fine but took surprisingly long to arrive.

When we left the restaurant, the queue to get in was shockingly long. I am a little surprised by this queuing. My memory of the QE2 for breakfast and lunch is that one would enter from any of the doors and simply sit wherever we liked. The waiters would then come running with greetings and menus. There is a table allocation system for pen-sitting meals on MSC but rarely any queues to enter the MDRs. To be monitored.

All four of us did the guided tour of the ship this morning. This really only covered the main public spaces of decks 2 and 3 with those on higher decks mentioned in passing.

Here outside the multi-use 'Illuminations' venue (planetarium, cinema and lecture theatre).

Still the tour provided nuggets of information that we would probably not have gleaned otherwise and provided a good basic orientation. For example, we would have missed Homer Simpson in one of the four giant friezes depicting the four main continents that QM2 visits (deck 3 central passage).

My mother and I found the combined bookshop and library on our own where I left her to find the recommended Atlantic Room 3 decks above it. The latter was the venue of the Bridge Beginners class so it was not the heaven of peace I had hoped for at the time to write today's blog instalment. The QM2 library has no equal at sea. Libraries have always been a Cunard strength/eccentricity and could not contrast more starkly to the few dozen English books typically found on MSC ships.

All too soon it was time for a Bloody Mary before lunch and then lunch. We both opted for the light and healthy 'Canyon Ranch' set meal.

I have written may TripAdvisor reviews of Turkish hotels over the years and I am known for picking them up on poor cutlery and the unforgivable lack of soup spoons. I was therefore delighted to see both soup spoon and fish knife present and correct. Look a little closer however, and you will see three different cutlery patterns at my place setting. On the QE2, it was always the elegant Bead Pattern. Here we have a mix of Rattail, Old English and Dubary. The breakfast shot above also shows a mix of Old English and Rattail. Standards are slipping!

Tonight is our first formal and the Black & White Ball.

Before then we have tickets for the Planetarium.

Until tomorrow!

We are onboard!

The first glimpse of the ship.

Embarkation was very orderly but did involve around a 40 minute wait before we could join the queue to check-in. As we arrived we were given an ebola questionnaire to complete and blue boarding cards marked 'X'. The current sequence was 'N'. So, yes, we had to go through almost half the alphabet.

Security was tight, much like a UK airport these days, with all outer garments, belts, watches, laptops and tablets required to be removed. Everyone in front of us was also removing their shoes. I awaited instructions on this point as it is a long way down for me. The security guy looked at my shoes but did not ask me to remove them - even though they were my formal shoes which I am usually asked to remove a airports (only to go through security :)).

We took our own luggage to save waiting for and because we both only had relative small trolley cases (they pass for hand luggage on BA).

I took a photo of the cabin just as we arrived before we spoilt it with personal effects.

We have what Cunard call a 'sheltered' balcony, i.e. in-hull. This was the view of Southampton from it.

A note in our cabin told us that we were allocated to first sitting and table 11. Friends Chung and her daughter Marie are aboard and I soon received a phone call from Chung to confirm that we were at the same table.

The muster drill was painless apart from a rude middle-aged man who reserved the only free seat at our assembly point for his wife who failed to appear and consequently made my elderly mother stand next to the empty seat throughout.

In the Daily program we were led to believe that champagne would be complimentary at the sailaway party. Quoting, "Toast our departure with a glass of champagne from our bar staff as we set sail for New York". As we arrived at the venue (Terrace bar at outside section aft on deck 8), we were met by staff holding trays of sparkling wine as they do when it is complimentary. The clue was the word "champagne" - it was the real stuff and charged for. We had just purchased the soft drinks package so opted instead for a 'Virgin Mary' each.

Soon it was time for dinner at a very early 6pm. Our table was just for the 4 of us and nearest one of the two main entrances. It was very bus and quite drafty. We were all dissapointed not to be a larger table to meet new people - something we regard as part of the traditional cruise experience. We agreed to request a change which was surely granted and will be at an 8-table in a much better position from tomorrow.

I had baby shrimp & grapefruit salad, cod then the cheese plate to finish. All were very good and the service superb. Having got accustomed to MSC, it is a shock to see such a sparse menu - just 3 courses instead of 7 - and in only one language instead of 5.

There was a glitch trying to obtain an internet package until after dinner when finally our details were recognised. Finally, we managed to obtain bath robes by paging our cabin stewardess whose name is Leah.

All aboard was at 4pm for a supposed 5pm sailaway but, as I write this, it is after 9pm, we have not moved and there is no sign of activity on the dock. There was a brief announcement about a "technical problem" but no expected departure time was given. It does not look like we will be moving anytime soon. My mother says, "at least it is very calm".

Until tomorrow. I hope we have left Southampton by then.

Testing photo uploads.

Coventry by Tim Millea, on Flickr

Thanks for all the best wishes and suggestions.

Having just left Coventry, we are around half-way through our six hour train journey to Southampton.

Already we have been entertained by an independent financial adviser telling us he had nothing in common with the rest of his profession. He reads the guardian, plays chess and holidays in France while "they" are generally right wing, self-important and read the Telegraph, "or worse". "Actually", he added, "you can be forgiven for reading the Telegraph but not the Daily Mail or Express".

We required two connecting trains to get us to Manchester and the first of the day was cancelled. This was not a great start but we managed to make up time and are back on track with an ETA at the dock of 2pm.

Anticipation is running high ....

As for tipping, this is entirely cultural. The biggest tipping nations in the World are also the lowest wage payers. There are some parts of the the World where any offered tip would be taken with the gravest offence.

Britain has always been twixt Europe and the USA in this regard. We generally either leave the change or tip for service beyond the call of duty. Americans tip even if the service is terrible. Most Mediterraneans bribe when they arrive in order to obtain improved service. In the Far East, it is a grave insult to offer any extra money.

I get by with a mix of bribes and presents. I always travel with presents and decide in the late stages which is the most appropriate for whom.

As for automatic 'gratuities', they are simply illegal within the EU or for any cruise booking made within the EU. Consumer laws dictate that any contract has to clearly show the full cost before booking. Any extras must, by EU regulations, be 'opt-in' rather than 'opt-out'. These huge corporations flout laws and will be caught in due course.

My mother and I are in the final stages of packing before embarking on the QM2 on Monday for her Westbound crossing, Southampton-New York. We have a balcony cabin on deck 4 which should be very handy for making elegant entrances down the sweeping staircases of the Britannia Restaurant.

I will be with iPad and internet package so I thought I would start this thread ready for me to blog to once onboard. I will hopefully be including photos as I go too.

This is only my second Cunard voyage, the previous one being the same route on the QE2, three weeks short of nine years ago. That was the first leg of the QE2's World Cruise (photos below). Since then I have been unfaithful, sailing with Royal Caribbean and, latterly, MSC. None of these, however, has been a 'regular cruise', rather all were repositioning voyages all involving at least two continents.

It will be interesting to compare the lines. On the QE2, I had no idea that Cunard were trying to be 'British'. I found everything very 'American' - food, drinks, the language used in the menus and by the staff. I couldn't even get an egg cooked in the traditional English way - cooking just the top of the yolk without turning it over! Now that I know Cunard is something of a 'British theme park' for Americans, this particular Brit will have a very different perspective. I will have to see if I can discover that 'inner-Brit' within me. For the record, I am from Yorkshire but have lived all over England and in Spain, Italy, Greece and Turkey. I am comfortable with people from all cultures but that does not stop me enjoying making the cultural observations :).

So to start us off, I will begin with my previous Cunard encounter. This is the QE2 departing Southampton 3rd January 2006 on her World Cruise on a freezing, foggy evening with the Salvation Army Band playing us off from the quayside.

We took advantage of the blanket tucking-in service of the QE2 stewards.

The last time I saw the QE2 was 21st May, 2009 when The Legend of the Seas called in Dubai on her way from Singapore to Rome. This was the heart-wrenching scene of her in undignified, idle retirement as we were leaving.

Stay tuned for my all-new Cunard experience and my first time aboard the Queen Mary 2!

If there are any specific requests for information or photos while I am aboard, please post them here.

It is hard to imagine that nuclear weapons will not have been used within the next 100 years with all the ensuing consequences. Most of the human race will have been wiped out and global warming and Cunard will be a distant memory among a few very old survivors.

I think it's engrained in people's heads from the days when duty free in airports was very cheap compared to UK prices so people liked to save a few quid (which was actually a fair amount). But now the price differences are minimal, so to me it's just not worth the bother of carting the bottles (especially on a plane).

Yes, the savings in the airport 'duty free shop' used to be very significant. We travelled as a family of 4 to Ca'n Picafort, Majorca with in 1972 for £40 per adult and £20 per child including flights, transfers and a hotel on the beach with breakfast, evening meal and entertainment.

The one litre per adult duty-free allowance each way at the airports would recoup around 10%-15% of the total holiday cost compared to buying the spirits not duty free. It was an essential activity every holiday I can remember as a child.

Now, at what price would Cunard or airport duty free shops have to sell four litres of spirit to recoup 10% of the cost of the holidays of two adults and two children with airfare included? I will give a clue - it is hugely negative.

And here's one to the think about: You can't take your own liquids, or anything remotely sharp on to a plane for "security reasons", and yet you can buy a bottle of scotch from the airport's duty free shop and take that on board. So you can take a large glass bottle, full of liquid, on board. And then you could quite easily kill someone by either smashing it over their head or smashing it and using the broken bottle as a weapon. Funny how suddenly those "security reasons" don't apply any more. Anyone would think a large loss of revenue was involved.

My mother said something very similar going through security at Manchester recently and she was taken to one side and cautioned along the lines of "don't give people ideas".

Airport security is a farce. It is a very public, in-your-face farce and no doubt benefits the profits of the airport through dispensing with all those 'liquids' and 'pastes' that you then need to buy again, at the conveniently located shops just on the other side of security.

This type of airport security is designed to 1) reassure us that the Government is doing something about 'the terrorist threat' and 2) increase airport profits as part of the deal. Nothing more, or less.

I may have got grumpy in my old age.

Not all cards work everywhere.

There is nothing to be embarrassed about. It is not as if, there at the desk with your card, you are trying to steal money from the line and the staff are well-experienced in these issues. I know because I have a hierarchy of cards starting with the one that will earn me the most 'points'. For me this is Avios. I will try with the highest earning card and gradually work down the lower-earning cards, if I must, in order to get the best one that is accepted.

There are all sorts of reasons for cards not being accepted. Don't be embarrassed about the failures of the payment systems.

It is wise to have a few backup cards and access to the internet to make instant transfers between accounts if absolutely necessary.

Tax and duty free outlets in these 'captive' locations, like airports and cruise ships, ceased being competitive with the high street many years ago. I often look but, as I know the regular, tax-paid prices, I usually walk away appalled. Besides, in this connected age it only takes a few seconds to look up regular prices.

The Med does still provide some very reasonable shopping opportunities because many of those countries have such low alcohol and tobacco taxes.

The cheapest duty free I have found anywhere in the World was at Valetta, Malta where a litre of (imported!) Soberano Spanish brandy, my favourite, for example, was just 8 Euros. Other brand name spirits were similar prices. I would like to see Cunard compete with that.

Yes. Choice of 2 reds, 2 whites a Rose and sparkling.

 

Usually with the sparkling they have to open a new bottle and often just leave you the bottle rather than having to keep coming back if you want another glass, particularly if more than one of you is drinking it.

I have never managed to obtain sparkling wine in the MDRs. I suppose I only asked a couple of times but once told "only from the bars" twice by different waiters, I never tried again.

Then at the very least you would agree that the Cruisers Choice all time ratings, a tabulation of over 145,000 written reviews, is a valid indicator for how North Americans rate MSC service compared to other lines, right?

It is an indication but what it says and to what degree of confidence one can attribute to it are both very uncertain. It certainly does not say anything about MSC. There will be elements of the demographics of the English-speaking internet, cultural issues related to that demographic, motivational reasons for writing a review/giving a rating, penetration, experience and acceptance of foreign cultures and so on and so forth.

Is there something about North Americans that makes them "most likely to be set in their ways and not appreciative of change etc ?" Do you really want to make this argument?

I could make the argument that North American cruise passengers are on average more set in their ways than non North American cruise passengers. However, I do not have to make that argument. Most people are set in their ways to a degree regardless of nationality. No, the argument is that experienced North American cruisers are more likely to have had their ways set by U.S. lines rather than by an Italian one. Is this contested?

Skipper Tim, calm down. The citation to the results of the Cruise Critic Cruisers Choice ratings appears to have agitated you.

What irritates me if a misuse of data to make a false assertion - as politicians do professionally. The field of statistics is relatively small and really ought to be taught from an early age to help not just our ability to interpret evidence but to help democracy.

The first questions are:

1. Was the sample chosen randomly? If not stop (as in the case here).

2. Are there any systemic factors within the random sample to correct for?

3. How big is the sample? This determined the confidence that can be attributed.

Talk about disgruntled, axe-grinding. How do you know that those who wrote reviews and gave uniquely abysmal ratings for MSC's service were any more or less disgruntled or axe-grinding than those who submitted reviews of other lines? Or do you mean to say all Cruise Critic reviewers are disgruntled and axe-grinding, not just those writing reviews of MSC ? Hmmm.

Here is an exercise to aid understanding.

1. Pick a non-U.S. hotel at random

2. Find the corresponding reviews on Tripadvisor

3. Read a hundred or so in chronological order.

Now without knowing what hotel that is, I can tell you that the staff are rude and the service and food are poor. How did I do that?

Do any of you realize this thread is from Feb 2012?

I didn't. Lutece resurrected IT yesterday. Still, it is good fun :).

 

Especially as the alternative is a walk through a working dock, a gamut of very insistent taxi drivers and a main road with nothing substantial for a pavement/sidewalk.

 

From my ipad

Are you trying to tell me you didn't enjoy my excursion?

When many passengers rate service as much poorer on MSC than any other cruise line, it is likely that service on MSC is poorer than any other cruise line. Over 145,000 CruiseCritic members wrote reviews published on this site and rated service as part of their review. These cruisers (many experienced) rated service on MSC as the worst by far of any other cruise line. That is a very significant indicator and supports the OP´s own observations about the lack of good service from MSC personnel.

All twelve MSC ships included in the all time Cruisers Choice ratings finish in the bottom 15% of all ships included in the ratings. Every single MSC ship is rated lower than every single ship of its mass market competition, i.e HAL, Royal Carib, Norwegian, Carnival, Celebrity, Princess. See the all time ratings published at Cruisers Choice Awards:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberpoll_all.cfm?rating=Service&sort=Highest

To be able to draw any sort of inference about MSC one must start with a randomly selected sample of MSC guests. Cruise Critic is dominated by North Americans who are accustomed to American cruise lines. MSC is not an American cruise line and does many things differently to them. North Americans are a tiny minority of MSC guests yet dominate the CC reviews and ratings.

Further, 'seasoned' NA cruisers are likely to be the most critical simply because they are most likely to be set in their ways and not appreciative of change and 'foreign' ways of doing things.

So, just how can any conclusions be drawn from the opinions of the most disgruntled, axe-grinding, self-selected minority of a minority of MSC guests?

They cannot! They cannot.

I will be on the QM2 next week and I am sorely tempted to document my observations as 'a rude European' of this American line. However, there will be strengths and weaknesses as there are with any line or travel experience and I hope I never write such tosh, even in anger.

Cruising is no longer restricted to just the American way of cruising, thank heavens.

Rude European,

2)I booked cruise yesterday and lady from agency told me that I will receive on my e-mail all I need to board the ship, including tickets, instructions, etc... She also told me that they sometimes send those things relatively late (few days before day of cruise). Is this normal way of getting those things?

I have never booked MSC via an agency so I cannot be sure but my understanding from others' comments here was that the email went to the agent and they either printed it out for you or forwarded it to you. I have usually booked 'guarantee' cabins so my e-tickets have been some of the last to be emailed pending cabin allocation and this has been around 10-14 before departure.

Had you booked directly with MSC, it might have been posssible to register on their website and click a link to have them emailed to you. I say 'might' because it does not work for many people. With an agent, it won't.

2a) If I want to book drinking packages or other additional thing, MSC always asks for booking number, which I don't have at the moment. Can I buy those thing later or even on the ship or it must be done before?

Ask your agent for your MSC booking number then go to the MSC website, click on "Onboard Services" then "Book your onboard services". All the drinks packages, excursions and other extras available for your cruise will be there. By pre-booking you will save 15% on all drinks packages compared to buying on board. These are still paid for in the usual way at the end of the cruise.

3) I am going with my wife on this cruise and we are going alone. We are probably going on few excursions and will probably take official MSC excursions because as this is our first cruise and we don't want to be late back on ship or to take wrong private ones. I know that those official excursions are overpriced but do people at all goes on those excursions?

Do I have to book them earlier or on ship day before?

Again these are available to pre-book as above but with no discount for doing so. They are over-priced and there are private alternatives. Some of us just prefer to wander on our own two feet - especially if it is a port that is new to us. Second hand guidebooks can be a wise investment to give you a better grounding in what to see and do in a particular place than is available onboard from those trying to sell tours. Advance preparation is the key!

4)At Gala night (or whatever it is called) what is minimum acceptable dress code. We are at our late 20 (29 and 28), and I just don't feel like wearing suit on my vacation and packing it to take it with me. Same goes for my wife.

I am ok with semi-formal look but that would be top.

Dress on MSC varies hugely. There will be formal nights but in my experience only a minority dress in black tie. A smaller minority of men don't wear at least jackets.

The suggested dress code for the evening appears on the daily programme delivered under your cabin door during the night. If you don't want to dress up on formal nights and don't want to feel underdressed, there is always the buffet. However it is a shame to miss the first and last gala nights. There is also likely to be an 'Italian' night too.

I only wear suits on holiday! The queston for me, when usually travelling hand-luggage only, is one suit or two! To me it is the easiest thing to pack and wear and saves thinking about difficult choices. It can be dressed down with a T-shirt or polo shirt and dressed up with a formal shirt and tie or bow-tie and pocket square - but that is just me.

Minimal dress? It depends how uncomfortable you want to feel! If you are extremely casual on formal nights you may receve some disapproving looks but, as I say, on MSC the dress is very varied. MSC official policy is no shorts ever in the evenings but, like most MSC policies, even this is not enforced. The dress codes are only "suggested" and not policy. So really it is quite open. Do what makes you feel most comfortable.

I have some more questions but would leave them for later because I already wrote long post and nobody likes long posts to read.

 

P.S.

Please don't kill me if I am asking things that are answered million times before, but I just can't find all this in all kind of texts on internet.

Fire away. You will probably get plenty of differing opinions here.

Everyone enjoys their first cruise. I am sure you will have a great time.

After a very long time indeed, I recieved a marketing email from MSC this morning.

7-night cruises start from £449 per person and include flights with British Airways from London and overseas transfers. Plus, why not spoil yourself and upgrade to a balcony for as little as £200 per person.

 

For regional customers, MSC Cruises is offering flights to Gatwick plus an overnight airport hotel stay, or the chance to add car parking and a one-night hotel stay from £49pp.

It reminds me of the Spike Milligan sketch as a news reader. When he reaches the end of the ridiculous news items he says, "and here is the news again for the hard of hearing". He promptly gets out a megaphone and starts shouting at the viewer.

Besides the condescending language - "regional", so if we don't live in London we are 'regional'? - the fact that they dare to 'offer' a very poor hotel deal to "regional customers" to enable them to fly from London is downright ignorant and insulting. There are many other airports in the UK with direct flights to MSC embarkation points!

This is the principal reason why I never want to book a cruise with a flight included - that the organiser has far less idea about my travel preferences than I do and will never do as good a job at satisfying me.

Besides being on the 'wrong side' of London and therefore a pain to get to from most of the UK, Gatwick is a huge, disgusting airport with appalling levels of comfort and I simply don't want to go there as part of my holiday. I have a perfectly good airport less than an hour from my door and I have points, Avios etc. to use in order to obtain lounge access and travel in luxury and style.

MSC, thank you so much for giving the chance to people from the regions to fly from London. However, I would prefer it if you took the flight cost out of the fare, let your "customers" arrange their own travel exactly how they like and stop being so restrictive, condescending and patronising!

1) London is also a region.

2) Gatwick is disgusting and I don't want it as part of my holiday.

3) The UK has other airports.

4) I don't want MSC to make my travel arrangements.

5) Aeroplanes don't have balconies.

Hi Tim, I tried to get a few quotes from different US agents, they just simply refused to sell me. Last year I got mine from Vacation to go but now they refuse. Apparently they are not allowed by MSC to sell to Australian. I had to resort getting ours from here and the rest of the family members (non-AU citizens) from a US agent. Australian agent will even not match the US quote!!! Very disappointed.

I don't know how long this post will be allowed to remain but US agent 'cruises n more' have a special department just for non US bookers. I booked with them via Skype the first time. Since, email has been sufficient as they have most of my details on file.

Hahaha..Hope next trip we will be game enough to get the Balcony. Maybe we should avoid European summer. I like MSC itineraries, I just hope Tunisia is easy to do.

 

I did like the Divina, it was a full ship but didn't feel that crowded as people tend to spread out. The smoking near the pool area is bad though.

 

The main downside with MSC is that Australian prices are more expensive and being Australian resident we had to buy from Australian agents.

On MSC smoking, where permitted, is strictly on the port-side (left facing forwards) of the ship. Once you know, and if it offends you, you can always walk on the starboard side. There are very few areas now where people are allowed to smoke. I have never smoked but having smoking friends, I know where these areas are in order to socialise with them.

Despite MSC's antics, you are not tied to their Australian pricing. Travel agents the World over will take your business, as they should. There are all sorts of techniques but, if you have a particular cruise in mind, simply search for it by its description in "quotation marks". You will get results from all around the World at different prices.

I'm hoping so, Tim. I'd love to experience the "Americanised" way on MSC without having to travel stateside to do so :)

You make a very good point there. I am facing the imminent experience of what the North Americans consider a British cruise line - complete with fish and chips in the 'pub' of all places. On another thread I have suggested that Cunard might as well have a working man's club, sexist jokes and football hooliganism. Fish and chips in the 'pub' on a cruise ship? The mind boggles.

My patience will surely be tested. I hope you will follow the inevitable 'live blog' (link to follow in my signature soon).

I envy people like you, Tim, who can eat a wide variety of foods! Picky people aren't deliberately so. I've often checked out the Ethnic Corner in the hope that there'd be something I could eat just to have something spicy and different from the general MDR offerings. I've never managed to find anything that would appeal even though it all looks very tasty.

 

I miss out, too, on the wonderful pizza and pasta dishes on offer as I don't eat them, either.

 

I must say, though, that I find the menus in the MDR have improved a lot from when I first sailed with MSC three years ago. The choices may be limited but the meat offerings are better. i used to always end up with the fish (which I don't eat much of normally) whereas I find myself now ordering the fish dish as a starter as I want the meat dish as well :D

Even categorising dishes as 'meat' and 'fish' (and pizza and pasta) is a mistake. Why do you need to know what it is? If you were starving to death it wouldn't bother you. We should never eat for pleasure but for nutrition and interest! New experiences should always be relished and cherished - they get harder to find as time goes by.

Perhaps you can appreciate my attraction to MSC food now? :)

As noted, English is the official language on the ship so no problems there.

 

Marianne

The MSC Divina is somewhat of an oddity in the MSC fleet in being currently localised especially for the North American market and will remain so even when she returns to the Med next year. On the rest of the fleet, English is one of five to seven languages used and each is given equal status. From my experience, native English speakers have always been is a small minority. However, and has been pointed out, even not the Divina, on a Baltic itinerary the bulk of the guests will be Scandanavian and Northern Europeans who are likely to speak excellent English.

The degree to which MSC 'localise' is often under-estimated. There was one very pointed live review this year from a very experienced cruiser new to MSC who did a back2back on MSC from the U.S. with one in Europe. The first half was singing the praises. The second half was protestatation about having not having iced water provided, fellow guests not being able to queue, 'regular' menu items not being available etc. After all the praise he said he would never sail MSC again. It was the same line but managed for a different geographical market.

I loved, when I sailed from Brazil to Italy, that the Fantasia felt a fusion of Brazillian and Italian. there could barely have been 30 native English speakers aboard out of a couple of thousand.

I hope you'll love it. Be prepared for a different food experience, though. It seems to be an issue with those who've sailed with other companies. As I haven't got around to experiencing any others, I can't compare. I haven't been tempted away from MSC, yet. (Although I'm very tempted by one or two Celebrity itineraries!)

 

I was on Preziosa last May with a tour group of people from all over Ireland and the menus seemed to be the biggest area of complaint with them. Not being a foodie, myself, (Michelin star cooking would be wasted on me!) MSC food offerings are not a factor for me as I'm happy once I find something I can eat. I've never had a problem - especially in the buffet at lunch. The carvery is always my go to, plus the mashed spuds and maybe some fish for starters - very traditional. Their desserts are to die for. Some people rave about the Ethnic Corner at the back of the buffet.

The 'Ethnic Corner' is something to rave about! There are things totally different from a different part of the World every day. If one finds oneself needing to top up between meals in the buffet, Ethnic Corner simply removes the need to survey half a deck of the ship that the buffet is to see what there is - Ethnic Corner is always at least good and usually amazing.

The biggest MSC food issue I have observed and commented on many times is the difference between the ordered menu description and what actually arrives on the plate. Often the English translations are very poor and most people will stick to something they think they recognise and then be disapointed that it is not what they expected. They tie themselves in to disapointment right from the start.

My approach has been to always go for the most peculiar-sounding, alien choices on the menu and learn from them. There are always some completely incomprehensible choices to go for, every meal.

My least favourite dining conversation is "this is not" X! Disgust, I can't eat this etc. etc. followed by dramatic displays of leaving perfectly fine food and grumbles throughout the meal ... and cruise. I do not wish to sail with such ignorant people.

Any pre-conceived idea of food on MSC from the menu descriptions will betray. The food is great but almost certainly not as expected without prior experience of MSC menu descriptions. Even then, there is always a great element of surprise.

I have also been advised just to tell the regular dinner waiter always to choose for me and never even to give me a menu. I think that is very sound advice indeed.

Oh, and buy back the QE2! Make her the Cunard Museum and floating hotel. She would have to be based in one of her regular ports of call with local funding so as not to smack of, as the Queen Mary now does, blatent commercialism.

Cunard never ever should have let her go.