dst87
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Posts posted by dst87
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Were cruisin Divina Oct 22, On our ticket it says to pack for "White Night" and we thought it would say "Italian Night" but instead it says pack for "70s" night. It that like hippies, and bell bottoms, afros, Vietnam Vet protests and what else?
Seriously though, since we are in yacht club, will we be expected to get all dressed up more than like the people eating in the regular restaurants?
Can we wear a nice pair of shorts or nice jeans to eat it at the Lemuse restaurant? I like to dress nice for dinner on a cruise ship; but I am on a Carribean vacation.
Also I feel silly asking this but my wife insists, do they have regular 120volt outlets in the staterooms so we can charge our phones?
In my experience on Splendida (Divina out of the US might be different), theme nights aren't that well adhered to, and nobody will care much what you wear. Personally not a fan of shorts for dinner and I didn't see any while I was in YC (or anywhere else) for dinner, but it wasn't the Caribbean.
The staterooms have 2 x 110V US sockets and 2 x 220V European sockets, so you might want to take a couple of EU to US adapters depending on how many sockets you need.
Have a great cruise!
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One Last Thing…
For the viewing pleasure of anyone interested (maybe just Carol) here are some photos of the crystal staircase in both the Yacht Club (gold) and the atrium (colourless). Enjoy – they’re pretty bloody magnificent!
>Atrium Crystal
>Me
>Us
>Yacht Club Crystal
>Alex
>Us
Cross-posted from my blog.
Original post here. -
>Strudel
>LIMONCELLO!
Overall I’d say it’s the best meal we’ve had so far, and we haven’t had a bad meal yet! We decided to finish the meal with espresso and limoncello. The espresso was delicious and really smooth. The limoncello was limoncello-y – you can’t really go wrong! Overall, tonight was a great experience.
After Dinner Entertainment
We decided to try another bar after dinner, and ended up in the Aft Lounge. This is at the back of the ship (obviously) on deck seven and had some live music that started with a latin vibe and ended up in cheesy pop – there was Abba! They were all sung in a fairly easy-listening sort of way, perfect for a relaxing night in a lounge or for a slow-paced dance. The singing was reasonably good, and the drinks service was super fast again. The only complaint I have about this lounge is the seating. It’s simply not comfortable to me. They have a load of little stools, along with large curved sofas that are so deep inplaces you could lie down on them. I might sound like an old man, but I need some back support please! We didn’t stay too long before retreating to the Yacht Club lounge for a relaxing drink with views out towards Amsterdam (we’re docked until 9am tomorrow).
>The Aft Lounge
>A good size
>Live music
>Terrible seating
I’m ending this now, and I’m going to catch up on sleep tonight. Sea day tomorrow, and the alarms are cancelled!
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>Very nice!
The seats are as comfortable as you might expect from a theatre and they have nowhere for drinks. No little tables, and no cup holders in the arm. Celebrity do this well on Infinity with little cocktail tables, and most lines at least have the cup holders with little holes for wine glass stems.
Of course the lack of somewhere to put a drink isn’t too surprising when you realise there is no bar in the theatre. Further, the programme states that food and drink are not allowed in the theatre at all. This is very strange, though perhaps some manage to sneak in a cocktail?
The show itself was, frankly, awful. The space theme extended as far as the synth music, the glittery space props from a primary school classroom, and the terrible costumes (is anyone missing the hose from their washing machine, because I’m sure it’s wrapped around one of the dancers).
I say dancers, but the level of dancing that was asked of them in this show amounted to little more than some strange marching and arm waving. It’s a shame, because I’m sure they’re capable of much much more, and didn’t imagine their skills would be so abused!
The trapeze / cirque / aerial performers were far from the best I’ve seen anywhere, in fact probably the worst. There was a lack of energy from then as well as some slightly dodgy and wobbly manoeuvres.
This was without a doubt the worst production show I have seen. Frankly, my high school drama teacher would have been embarrassed to produce a show of this quality. It’s an affront to the theatre designer who has ensured Splendida has a very capable and attractive theatre. What a waste.
Anotehr niggle: the ship employs some excellent musicians and singers, yet none were utilised in the theatre production. A waste of talent!
At least they’re performing in the bars, which is precisely where I’ll enjoy entertainment for the remainder of the cruise.
Dinner at L’Olivo
Dinner in the restaurant tonight was excellent. We both started with a dim sum selection. The crispy ones were perfectly crisp, and the steamed ones were moist and delicious. Soy sauce was offered in addition to the sweet & sour plum dip that was served with them. Fabulous! Next, I enjoyed a shrimp risotto which was nice. The prawns were really succulent and juicy, and tasted really fresh. Alex had a potato lentil soup which wasn’t his cup of tea (I made him order something so I didn’t eat the risotto alone!) but I thought it was quite tasty and hearty. We both had the duck breast for our main course. This was so tender and moist. It was served with crispy little potato fries which were just delicious. We also finished with the apple strudel, which was nice, though the filling was a little over-cooked and mushy. The pastry was good though, and the whole thing had a lovely cinnamon flavour, which I love!
>Dim Sum
>Shrimp Risotto
>Soup
>Delicious Duck
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A Relaxing Afternoon
Back on the ship we decided to check out La Piazetta lounge for some sweet treats! I’ve heard that their milkshakes are to die for, and previous blogs from Splendida made me crave the chocolate dipped strawberries that are available here.
The lounge is in a main thoroughfare and great for people watching as a result. The décor involves more classical Italian style, but in a less offensive way than L’Olivo. There are fountains and tiled pillars and benches. I think the style they were going for is an outdoor café; the ceiling is dark with LEDs designed to look like stars. It’s a little tacky, but I quite liked it anyway!
The cake cabinet is filled with delicious and reasonably cheap sweet treats. There are strawberries, macarons, pastries, and more. I’ll definitely want to come back here for a coffee and cake later in the cruise (which I’m worried is going to be much too short!)
>Tiles galore!
>Starry sky?
>OMG SO DELICIOUS!
On this fine afternoon I decided to try the Nutella milkshake (who doesn’t love Nutella? Right… just leave now) and Alex and I shared some chocolate dipped strawberries. It was all delicious, and were it not for my annoying sensible brain telling me not to spoil my dinner I’d have sat there all day. Stupid brain.
After this we decided to check out the menu for tonight’s dinner in the Top Sail lounge. It looked fab, and while we were there we got ambushed by the canapé tray… my sensible brain didn’t stand a chance! As if by magic, a small plate of delicious canapés appeared with a strawberry daquari to enjoy in quiet contemplation of what a terrible, weak-willed person I am.
Smoking on Board
I’ve had a request to comment on the smoking situation on Splendida, so here’s what I’ve discovered and observed.
Smoking is not allowed in staterooms or on balconies. There is a smoking lounge (the cigar lounge) which allows smoking inside. Half of the casino is also designated as smoking. In fact when we boarded we noticed that the casino had quite a smoky smell, but this seems to be less intense now (or we’ve just got used to it).
The Top Sail lounge has a corner where smokers can enjoy their cigarettes, but cigars are not permitted. In fact none of the areas where smoking is permitted allow cigar smoking (except, I assume, the cigar lounge).
Everywhere that smoking is permitted, e-Cigarettes are also permitted. The signs specifically mention e-Cigs.
Showtime
We haven’t attended the theatre performances so far on this trip because none of them appealed to us. Last night was some sort of Spanish dance thing, and the night before was… something else we didn’t fancy (I can’t remember). We don’t typically like these sorts of shows, but have enjoyed having the freedom to do other things in the evening instead (like listen to the incredible amount of live music).
Tonight’s performance wasn’t descriptive enough to put us off, and had a title alluring enough to suck us in: Space Odyssy.
So before I talk about the show, let me tell you a bit about the theatre. First, it appears to be massive. I don’t know if this is just a trick, or if it really is larger than other theatres, but it feels like it could seat more people than the average ship’s theatre.
The theatre itself is modern and very attractive. It seems well designed for productions too, with various areas of the stage able to be raised and lowered, as well as a large turntable in the centre.
>A modern theatre
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>Grassy Duncan
>Grassy Alex
The walk had made us hungry, however, so our relaxation was eventually interrupted by a desire to eat. We found a lovely little place called Bagels and Beans which sells… well, bagels and coffee! It was delicious and just the fuel we needed to continue our sightseeing.
>Tuna Melt Bagel
>BLT Bagel
Given how close we were, we decided to check out the Van Gogh museum, which is the second most visited museum in the country, and one of the most visited in the world (ok… 31st).
Entry was pricy when you’re used to free museums and galleries in the UK. We paid €17 each, though at least under-18s are admitted for free so families aren’t too severely punished.
The museum was actually very interesting and put Van Gogh’s work (an extensive collection of which is displayed) in the context of their creation, with works he was inspired by, as well as work by his contemporaries, and those he inspired after his death.
It’s incredible to see the variety of styles and subjects he experimented with, and the enormous amount of pieces he created in his short 10-year career as a very troubled artist.
In addition to the regular collection there is also currently a special exhibition that details his illness and death, examining in a tasteful way the mental state of Van Gogh.
Of course photography wasn’t allowed inside the museum, but the outward view was rather nice!
I was very impressed and we spent quite a long time here. I can see why it’s popular, and would recommend it. The only downside (as with any popular art gallery) is that the volume of people make the experience worse. Text becomes harder to read, and crowds form around the more popular works. We weren’t even there at a busy time.
We had quite a lot of walking around today, so after the museum we decided to get an Uber back to the ship. It’s the lazy option, I know, but I’m on holiday… and I was able to write a bit of this blog while in the back of the rather comfortable Mercedes!
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After a late night yesterday, we had a bleary-eyed start to the day before exploring Amsterdam. We experienced our first theatre show on the ship, but otherwise had a fairly relaxing day!
We started the day with another breakfast in Top Sail, with me opting for a slightly healthier option of fruit! Just ignore the doughnut on the plate… I’m really not sure how that got there…
Amsterdam
We docked really close to the centre of Amsterdam, so it was a short walk from the cruise terminal past all of the river boats and then straight into the train station.
We didn’t want to do too much in Amsterdam. We’ve been before, so we fancied just exploring on foot and enjoying the lovely weather. I was amazed by all of the cheese shops (Amsterdam’s answer to Bruge’s chocolate epidemic?) and had to resist buying kilos of the stuff. I love cheese!
We ended up carving a path through Amsterdam to Vondelpark which is a lovely large park just Southwest of the city. It was a long walk, but worth it to relax on the grass in the sun. Ultimate relaxation!
>Amsterdam
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>Beef Fillet
>Sorbet
I realise I’m being quite critical of the food, but we both thoroughly enjoyed the meal. It’s so good when it’s good that the odd niggle really stands out. Comparing with Celebrity’s MDR food, I’d say that the very best of Celebrity’s food is a little better than what we’ve had on here, but we’ve had nothing as bad as the worst food on Celebrity.
Late Night Entertainment
After dinner we returned to the stateroom (with the butler bringing me an Irish coffee) and wrote up a bit of the blog while letting the food digest. When we arrived, we’d been left an absolutely delicious plate of petit fours to accompany the fruit bowl that’s always been in the stateroom. Nice touch, though it’s ruined any plans of letting the food digest!
After this, we thought we’d check out some of the evening music and other bars outside of Yacht Club. We ended up in the Purple Jazz Bar, and while the music wasn’t jazz, it was a lot of fun! It was completely cheesy and the venue was packed – we were really lucky to get a seat!
Bar service was almost unbelievably prompt and efficient, far far better than anything I’ve experienced on Celebrity. Given how packed the venue was I have no idea how the wait staff were able to get around people so quickly, nor how the bar staff can prepare the drinks so quickly. It’s an Italian miracle! They even managed to be super friendly at the same time.
The activities staff (I assume) were on hand to dance with people, and looked like they were having a ball. It was a fantastic venue with a fantastic vibe!
After our drunken evening we had to soak up some of the booze with a trip to the buffet, where we had some amazing pizza!
Goodnight folks… I’m sure we’ll be up in time for lunch in Amsterdam tomorrow!
>The singer in Purple Jazz Bar
>Alex looking splendidly drunk
>A super-sweet Purple Rain
Cross-posted from my blog.
Original post here. -
Anyway on to tonight’s choices. I had the red snapper ceviche, the salmon ravioli, the lobster, then the tiramisu. The ceviche was a bit disappointing, but mainly because Alex’s looked better. The plantain chips weren’t as crispy as I’d have liked. The ravioli was perfectly cooked and quite tasty, though I’d have liked the flavour to have been a little stronger. The lobster was wonderful, and served with a perfectly fluffy baked potato and some asparagus. The asparagus was a bit over-cooked and floppy, but the rest of it was delicious. My tiramisu was fantastic. All in all a tasty meal, if not perfect.
>Ceviche
>Salmon Ravioli
>Lobster
>Tiramisu
Alex opted for the foie gras which was really delicious (and made me jealous). He then had the beef consommé with pasta things in it (that’s the culinary term, I’m sure) which he said was a little boring but still OK. He then had beef fillet which he says is the best beef dish he’s had on any cruise. He finished with sorbet which was a bit disappointing and seemed freezer burned.
>Foie Gras
>Consommé
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From there we had another wander before I was distracted by fresh waffles with milk chocolate and cream. They just snuck up on me, honest! It was absolutely delicious!
Before heading back to the ship we popped over to the only brewery still brewing in the centre of Bruges, De Halve Maan (The Half Moon in English). The tour lasted 45 minutes and included a beer to taste at the end.
Our guide, Ignace, was absolutely wonderful. He was clearly enthusiastic about the brewery and gave a funny and informative guide as we saw the modern brewing equipment alongside some of the older (and more dangerous) methods used in the past.
I cannot say enough how enjoyable this was, though I had to be very brave as there were many steep and dangerous looming staircases up to rickety wooden platforms. But there you have it… me risking my life for beer and blogging! On a serious note though, this tour would not be suitable for those with mobility problems as there are many steep staircases to climb and descend. The upside is the outstanding views across Bruges!
It turns out that De Halve Maan has recently completed a 3km long beer pipeline to take the beer from the city centre brewery out to the bottling plant. Amazing! I wonder how long before some locals try to tap into the line…
>Our wonderful guide
>
>Underground beer pipeline
After the brewery, we had a little wander before meeting our taxi for the short drive back to the ship.
One thing that amazed us about Bruges is the number of chocolate shops. Of course Belgium is famous for chocolate, but there are chocolatiers everywhere and I just can’t work out the economics of it. How do they make enough money to stay open? I know there are a lot of tourists, but bloody hell…
The last time we were in Bruges the weather was against us, but today it was warm and mostly sunny. A beautiful day to be in a beautiful city, and one which I wouldn’t hesitate to come back to.
Back on board we decided to relax in the stateroom before getting ready for an earlier dinner (19:45). I was told by the concierge that the Yacht Club is almost entirely filled with German passengers, and apparently they like to eat early! 19:45 was the earliest we could get tonight!
Dinner in L’Olivo
Let me explain a bit more about how dinner in the Yacht Club restaurant works. When boarding, you are asked to specify a dinner time. This can be changed at any point, but it helps the restaurant prepare properly.
The menu consists of a total of five courses, but you don’t have to have all of them. These are appetiser, soup, pasta/rice, meat/fish, dessert. Each course has two choices, and there are some very safe always available options too. There is also a third main course for vegetarians. The courses are much more sensibly sized than those on US ships, so having four or five courses isn’t as gluttonous as it sounds.
In addition to the main courses, there is also a wide selection of freshly baked breads available daily, and the selection is listed in the menu. These are very good, and served with butter as well as olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I know they say “don’t fill up on bread” but in this case it’s bad advice, because the bread is wonderful!
Beverages are included in the restaurant. A glass of prosecco was offered on arrival, and throughout the meal you have a choice of red and white wine. There seems to be a default wine, but another choice is available. I believe they change the wines being served. Still and sparkling mineral water are also free-flowing. I understand you can have a digestif in the restaurant too (we saw plenty of limoncello go by) but we’d prefer to retire to the much more elegant surroundings of the Top Sail Lounge.
That brings me to the worst part of L’Olivo in my opinion: the décor! They’ve gone with dated curtains, fake plaster pillars, and badly done murals. It just looks incredibly old fashioned, like if you’d gone to a cheap Italian restaurant in the UK in the 80s or something. I’ll let the pictures to the talking. Some people may love it, but we both do not.
The thing is… it’s not offensively bad, it’s just a bit cheap and not at all in keeping with the other Yacht Club areas which are incredibly tasteful and modern. A strange choice, and a very minor niggle that wouldn’t stop us from booking again, but there it is!
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>Fun sights
>Pointless door?
>
>
>Swans on the bank
>The tour was narrated in a few different languages which occasionally made it difficult to identify the English sections. Even ignoring the commentary the views from the boat are lovely and it’s a relaxing way to spend 30 minutes.
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Today we docked in Zeebrugge where we visited Bruges for a boat trip and a brewery tour. Back on board, we enjoyed some live music and some more wonderful Yacht Club food!
Breakfast
The Yacht Club has three options for breakfast, and we’ll undoubtedly try all of them at some point. They have a full, table service breakfast in L’Olivo, an outdoor buffet on the One Pool Deck, and a continental buffet in the Top Sail Lounge. We opted for the latter.
I forgot to mention yesterday, but this is the first ship I’ve been on with excellent coffee. Not surprising given its country of origin. American coffee is still a small drink and lovely and strong. The standard coffee is espresso, so be sure to specify (though the staff seem to ask when the guest is obviously British or American). I don’t know what the inclusive coffee is like elsewhere on the ship, so your mileage may vary.
The buffet consisted of fish, meats & cheeses, delicious breads & pastries, and little doughnuts & sweet treats. In addition, there were several pre-cut fruit options, as well as a massive fruit bowl.
No complaints at all! It was busier in the Top Sail lounge than we saw it yesterday, but still plenty of seating. Sitting with a coffee and a pastry looking right out the front of the ship as it sails into port is just perfection.
>My Breakfast Choice
>Alex’s Breakfast Choice
>Sailing into Zeebrugge
Bruges, Belgium
We had a taxi booked with 6 others from Cruise Critic to take us from the port gates into Bruges itself. The trip was €100 return which was great value split 8 ways… MSC charge for a shuttle bus to Blankenberg where you can get a train to Bruges, but at €15 each for the shuttle bus, we had a better option. The port authority put on a free shuttle to the port gates (it’s only a minute or so drive).
We had a bit of worry as the ship was supposed to dock at 9am and our transfer was booked for 10am. Unfortunately, we didn’t dock until 10am (with a much later departure time) and I got a text from the organiser of the taxi saying he and his wife were unable to make the cruise. I finally got in touch with the other party who were booked, and we managed to get the taxi between the 6 of us. Still not a terrible deal, and very very convenient.
After having a wander around, we decided to take one of the famous Bruges boat tours. These aren’t too expensive and allow you to see the historic town from a slightly different perspective: the labyrinth of canals that Bruges is built on. The trip costs €8 per person (cash only) and the tour guide expects a tip at the end. There are multiple places to board these boats, and I believe that the tours are the same price and run to the same standard governed by the central tourist board regardless of where you board.
>Our boat awaits
>Waiting to board
Cross-posted from my blog.
Original post here. -
Dinner in L’Olivo
From here we went for for an aperitif (and some canapés… that’s the diet out the window) in the Top Sail lounge before heading for dinner. As it was our first night, we were escorted by our wonderful butler who came and found us with a drink in our hand in the lounge. This escort service is offered on the first night as L’Olivo is not within the Yacht Club area, and a complex path is carved through the ship by the butler to the dining room. It wasn’t that hard to find, honestly, but MSC presumably don’t want their Yacht Club guests to get lost!
The food on offer was going to be a concern, because it gets massively mixed reviews. I’m not going to give my opinion on the food yet as we’ve only had one meal. What I had tonight, however, was delicious. I started with a tortollini soup. The pasta in this was perfect, and the consomme had a delicate but delicious flavour. Next was a beef-filled canelloni. This was fairly subtly in flavour (almost bland; redeemed by the sauce) but the pasta was perfect. The meat filling was a little dry, but far from terrible. There’s no photo of this, because I forgot to take one! My main course was a turbot dish which was almost perfect. My first bite was a little dry, but the rest of it was moist, delicious, and flavoursome. For dessert I had a sponge with limoncello cream. I’d have liked the lemon cream to be a little more puncy, but the sponge was as light as a feather.
Alex also enjoyed his meal. I wont go into too many details, but his beef carpaccio was the best he’s had… and he’s enjoyed the dish on almost every cruise we’ve taken, including in Tuscan Grill on Celebrity. Take from that what you will.
>Soup
>Carpaccio
>Turbot
>Limoncello Sponge
After dinner I popped to Top Sail to get a hot chocolate (terrible) and limoncello (delicious) to take back to the stateroom for blog fuel. The butler there insisted on bringing it round. Perfect service. This was an early night, but we were up crazy early this morning and the clocks go forward tonight. Absolutely nackered! Until tomorrow, where the blog will hopefully be a little more concise!
Cross-posted from my blog.
Original post here. -
This is a little late - we boarded on 21st September, so still Live, but delayed.
Also, sorry for the split in posts. CruiseCritic apparently only allow 6 images per post. Not enough for me! Future blog entries may or may not appear depending on much I can be bothered to split the post according to this crazy rule!
Today we joined the beautiful MSC Splendida for our short cruise to Europe. We have our first impressions of the Yacht Club, as well as our first taste of the food on offer from MSC.
Our Trip So Far
We decided to break our trip up, as we often do, in Manchester. We stayed at a somewhat dated Premier Inn (we had a physical key), but it was fine for our purposes and meant we didn’t have to drive for 7+ hours all at once.
Our second night was spent in Winchester at a very modern Premier Inn there. This was excellent, with effective air conditioning and RFID room keys. We drove to meet some cruise forum friends (Jill and Plunky) where we had a wonderful evening of food and conversation!
All in all a pleasant pre-cruise experience with no delays. A great way to start our trip, and much less chaotic than having to fly anywhere.
Embarkation
We had an early start this morning, with excitement taking over and forcing us into the land of the living sooner than we’d have liked. As a result, we ended up leaving quite early for the short journey to Southampton. This, combined with the very pessimistic sat-nav estimate, meant we arrived at Southampton dock gate 10 just before 11:00.
In my typical obsessive way, I read a lot about Yacht Club embarkation. Mostly these reports were from Genoa. The Yacht Club experience in Southampton is not currently on the same level as that in Genoa and the other European ports. There is no Yacht Club tent, and no special lounge with drinks and snacks. That’s not to say embarkation was bad; if you hadn’t read about the experience elsewhere beforehand I don’t think you’d have too much complaint about the experience we had today.
Before sailing, I was initially concerned about the parking. Having sailed from Mayflower terminal previously, I am used to having a car parking ticket to display in the car with the registration and other details on it. My free parking voucher offered no such window pass, but I was assured that there would be no problem at the port. The first guy we spoke to driving in from gate 10 seemed confused by the paperwork, but let me into the car park anyway. There was no further confusion, so the MSC system works wonderfully.
We parked, and luggage was loaded into a van directly from the car, just like when sailing with Celebrity or Royal Caribbean from Mayflower.
Into the terminal, we walked straight through security as there was no queue at this time of day. On the other side of security, I was greeted by a Yacht Club butler who checked us off a list and asked us to take a seat, assuring us that we’d be called to check in when this opened. We were left waiting for about an hour with no further communication, but eventually were called to check in before everyone else waiting in the lounge.
Check in consisted of having someone check our passport details against the embarkation form and then put a big, green, very satisfying “OK” stamp onto the document. That was it! I’m glad we were OK, though a more enthusiastic rubber stamp would be preferred in future.
We were then escorted in a small group onboard the ship by the butler. At the gangway we had our embarkation forms scanned and photographs taken. An unusual place for this to happen, but not problematic. From there, the grand tour continued to the forward-most elevator bank and up to the Yacht Club.
In the Yacht Club, we had everything explained to us (again, as a group) and had dining time preference and newspaper preference taken. The list of newspapers was smaller than I’ve seen published elsewhere, as The Guardian was not on the list. In any case, we get news from digital sources these days, so the dead forest was not required nor requested.
You can activate your cruise card at one of the many terminals around the ship designed for this purpose. It’s a bit of a different way to operate, but it was quick and easy so I have no complaints.
Staterooms were ready when we boarded, and we were on the ship by about 12:30. I will not ‘do’ the stateroom review in this blog, as I’ve already written plenty and I feel squiffy and lazy. Plus I’d like a few days to get used to the room and discover all of its deepest, darkest secrets before spilling the beans.
First Impressions
We have had a wander round the entire ship, though this happened when the ship was empty and the venues were closed, so I only want to give a very brief overview here. We didn’t spend any time in any of the venues, as we ended up being quite busy in the Yacht Club areas and trying to get to grips with that first. I will visit some other non-YC venues as the cruise goes on though, so I’ll have a better idea later in the cruise.
Overall the ship looks nice. Lobbys and elevator banks looks very modern and classy. The crystal staircase in the main atrium is stunning… really stunning. It sparkles under the lighting perfectly and catches the eye. I thought this would be quite tacky in practice, but I actually quite liked it. Truth be told, I prefer the clear crystals in the main atrium over the golden ones in the Yacht Club.
The bars, of which there are many, have varied themes. Some of them are quite stunning, and everything is clean and well maintained, but they don’t come across as being as classy as those on Celebrity. They’re not tacky, just a little over the top for my tastes. I may change my mind as the cruise goes on.
More on the rest of the ship in a future blog.
The Yacht Club
The Yacht Club is gorgeous. The Top Sail lounge sits on deck 15 forward and has wonderful views out to the front of the ship. This is my favourite location for any lounge on any ship, and MSC have not disappointed in this respect. If I wasn’t sailing in Yacht Club I’d be very disappointed that there was no forward, high deck lounge for me, though the aft lounge on deck 8 would be an almost-acceptable alternative.
The Top Sail lounge has a constant supply of little snacks, and my experience so far is that it is a nice retreat from the very busy areas in the rest of the ship. We had some wonderful music this afternoon from a trio of musicians inclusing a pianist and a violinist. I suspect the third was on the viola. Whatever it was, we thoroughly enjoyed the instrumental music they played, and they easily rivalled any similar trio/quartet we’ve heard on any other ship. Absolutely divine, and I could easily chill out and listen to them for hours.
>Top Sail Lounge
>
>Some YC Snacks
>Olive & Shrimp
Table service in Top Sail is prompt & efficient, and far exceeds the experience I most recently had on Celebrity Eclipse. But then you’d expect that in a lounge for suite guests. We’ll see if they keep it up for the rest of the trip.
The snacks are phenomenal, and vary throughout the day. They’re all individually plated for extra hygine, and are almost all delicious. When we boarded there were sweet and savoury options, including pastries, filled croissants, and mini-sliders. These were really tasty! You can be sure to hear more about these in future.
Muster Drill
Muster was fine and, like on most ships, a necessary chore when boarding. The more and more I take part in these, the more I feel they achieve very little beyond forcing people to find out where their muster station is. It started about 30 minutes late, and was over very abruptly. Clearly SOLAS is an important safety protocol, but I feel that the implementation is little more than a tick-box exercise that imparts very little useful information. This is not a criticism of MSC any more than it is a criticism of most cruise lines. But we attended, and then it was over. Thankfully.
One Pool Deck
After muster, Alex and I ventured onto the Yacht Club pool deck for some hot tub relaxation before getting ready for our late dinner. We were the only ones there, and I don’t think they were far from closing, but we were welcomed nonetheless. We had bar service from within the hot tub, and this demonstrated another benefit of the gated Yacht Club environment. Everyone in there is a Yacht Club guest, and all Yacht Club guests have free drinks. This means waiters do not require cruise cards to serve drinks within YC areas. This is perfect for drinking beer in the hot tub!
Interestingly, the signs say that food and drinks in the hot tub is prohibited, but as the waiter actually took our order and served us beer while in the hot tub, the rule is clearly not enforced.
Cross-posted from my blog.
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If you wouldn't mind adding your parking experience to your blog, i'd be very greatful to you :D
You can be sure of it. I'll also be attempting to do a daily vlog but this won't be uploaded until after I get back.
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I will try and cross-post to the forum while away, but in case I have trouble you can also receive an email subscription on my actual blog. Just go to Duncan Writes – Adventures of a part-time traveller click the 'follow' button at the bottom right of the page, and enter your email address!
There will be a series of new posts on the blog for a week starting on Wednesday as Alex and I board MSC Splendida in Southampton for a week-long cruise. This post is a prelude to the main event so I can tell you a bit more and fill you in on our itinerary.
MSC Splendida
We booked this trip shortly after getting off our most recent cruise on Celebrity Eclipse in May. Alex and I were looking for a relatively relaxing holiday for later in the year, and we saw a fantastic deal in a Yacht Club stateroom on MSC Splendida with an itinerary that wouldn’t be too busy. I just had to go for it!
As many regular readers will know, MSC is not a cruise line I’ve sailed on before. I have certainly heard about them though. They’re a bit like Marmite; people seem to love them or loathe them! My take from this is that I have a cruising experience in store that will be entirely different from anything I’ve experienced previously. Sounds pretty exciting to me!
The Yacht Club is MSC’s ship-within-a-ship, an all-suite concept onboard some of their ships. It is similar in that respect to NCL’s Haven. This means that certain areas of the ship are reserved exclusively for Yacht Club guests, offering a quiet and spacious retreat. In MSC’s case, this consists of accommodation, a lounge, and a sun deck spread over the forward fifth(ish) of decks 15, 16, and 18 (there is no deck 17).
Although I say Yacht Club is an all-suite concept, the definition of suite might not pass muster to those accustomed to other cruise lines. All but 5 of the 71 suites within Yacht Club are the YC1 category which has a floor area of 26m² to 39m². Quite compact in comparison to some lines’ offerings.
Here is a deck plan of the Yacht Club area. Notice that the dedicated Yacht Club restaurant is not in the Yacht Club area, nor are the three, larger, YC2 staterooms which are located on Deck 12.
We will be in stateroom 15027 (highlighted in red on the above deck plan), which is one of the smaller YC1 staterooms. Most of the YC1 staterooms are this size, so I should be getting a pretty typical Yacht Club experience. Anyway, I won’t say too much more – stay tuned for the stateroom review and tour later in the week, along with more information about the Yacht Club experience.
Our Itinerary
Here is the itinerary for the cruise.
[b]Day Port Arrival Departure[/b] WED Southampton --:-- 18:00 THU Zeebrugge, Belgium 09:00 19:00 FRI Amsterdam, Netherlands 09:00 --:-- SAT Amsterdam, Netherlands --:-- 09:00 SUN Hamburg, Germany 07:00 18:30 MON SEA DAY --:-- --:-- TUE Le Havre, France 08:00 22:00 WED Southampton 08:00 --:--
I won’t go into what we have planned now, so stay tuned to see what we end up doing in each of the ports. Bear in mind I said it was planned as a relaxing trip, so don’t expect too much!
Roll on Wednesday. I’ll see you on board!
Cross-posted from my blog.
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Hi, just booked our grand med cruise for july next year. Went to the web check in site to put in our details cannot find anywhere that says anything regarding credit card details for your onboatd account.
Thanks
You don't provide credit card details during the online check-in, nor do you provide them at check-in at the pier.
MSC have little self-service machines where you activate your cruise card with a credit card at that point. Information about this is included in your cruise ticket pack which you'll be able to print off a few weeks before sailing.
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There are a few advantages to purchasing an air/cruise package with MSC. One, I've found the additional cost of an MSC arranged flight is generally less than if I booked it myself and took the cruise-only option. Two, the air/cruise package includes ground transportation from the airport to the port and return. Three, if the flight is delayed, MSC will one way or another get you to the ship even if they have to delay sailing or worst case, transfer you to the next port on the itinerary for embarkation. On the MSC flights there will be many other passengers heading to the ship so you won't be alone.
If it was cheaper, then that might be a benefit. Cunard often offer incredible prices on a Westbound transatlantic with included return flights from New York to London. You'd never price that cheaper separately.
But most of the time it seems to be more expensive and less flexible. Transfers and taxis aren't expensive, and the ability to land a few days early and spend some time in the embarkation port is nice.
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yeah--the first MSC we booked, we booked side by side cabins with two in each--and a week later those were reallocated and we were split halfway across the ship. It was a "maybe we can make the date work" bookins so we cancelled.
We probably only got the keep the larger cabin becuase there were three of us (and one is 17--so no little people!).
I hope the 2 person cabin is still nice, and that you will report back so DH and i know we can expect on a cruise4 just the two of us.
I just wish MSC would only sell those cabins to groups of three is that is who they are designed for. Bizarre!
And yes, I'll be doing a daily blog while I'm on board (on my personal blog - link in my signature) and then some videos will be uploaded when I get back to the land of decent internet. Daily vlog, as well as some one-off videos like stateroom review and Yacht Club tour (I haven't quite decided yet, it'll depend what I can be bothered doing!)
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I am not really one to take photos of food--sorry.
You are right that risotto doesn't realy present well (but it sure tastes good!).
The pastas and risottos were all good to us, similar to what we get in Italy or at the local Italian places whose owners are from near Naples.
I supose if someone is American and truly expects somethign like Olive Garden or jarred pasta sauce it might not go over well? But otherwise, yeah, either we got really lucky or the food is just yummy.
I forgot to mention on the blog (I'll go back to add) that the breads are billed as all freshly baked daily on board and they really were much better quality than on other lines. I live a 5 minute walk from 4 German bakeries, I am picky about bread, and i liked it :D
Don't worry - I wasn't expecting food photos. I've seen a few of them on another forum where a whole group were blogging from Splendida within the last couple of weeks.
I've heard the breads are fantastic, so I'm excited to try this.
The only thing that made my heart sink about your blog... you booked one of those wonderful, oversized YC1 staterooms and showed it off wonderfully in your blog.
I had booked one of those too, but had a call from my TA last week saying that it had been reallocated and that I was being moved to a 'normal' YC1. I'll still have an awesome cruise, but not a good first experience with MSC!
Anyway, thanks again and I look forward to reading more in due course.
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Let's hope this link to part 2 works properly!
http://hadleyswanderingsandramblings.blogspot.de/2016/09/msc-splendida-yacht-club-review-part-2.html
Wonderful! No problems for me with the link.
I'm getting excited about the YC food. Some photos make it looks not as nicely presented as some of the food I've had on Celebrity, but it can be difficult to make a plate of risotto look appetising! If the quality is there on their pastas and risottos I'm going to be very, very happy indeed!
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On Splendida last week there was one eleveator lable "priority service yacht club" which could only be called by putting in your YC card---but people ignored what it said (or did not understand--seemed about 50/50) and got on too and it stopped everywhere. You had to put in your card to get it to go to level 15 or 16 (YC only) but if someone pushed a button after you did it cancelled YOUR button out to and went to whereever they pushed and often then directly back down--it was actually harder to get an elevator to YC than any other place in the ship--a few of us commented on that while waiting and waiting and going back down together---would have been so much nicer to have just normal service.
Mocktails--yes, there were serveal in the YC. Mojito zeros were me favourite. My son prefered those and the forzen strawberry daquari zeros.
No reserved seating in the theatre on Splendida.
This is the most comprehensive explanation of the Yacht Club lift situation I've seen, so thank you for that!
I suspect that we, like you, will find the YC lift a bit awkward and not actually the benefit it's supposed to be. A shame if a 'normal' lift would be more efficient though!
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Hi Duncan,
like Jorrie just off Splendida today. We also had pre paid parking from MSC and went to dock gate 10 where the guy at the gate directed us to the first parking lot on the right hand side. My sister showed the printed slip from MSC and we were checked off on a computer link. Bags were then put into a van and we were directed to follow the red line over to the terminal. No car keys taken or mileage checked, so not sure why Jorrie's experience was different to ours. All very easy. Hope you enjoy your cruise--we had a fantastic time.
Thank you for the response. Again, very helpful.
I'll combat the parking situation when I see it. As long as I know that I won't have any arguments about the booking I'm happy. Hopefully, I'll be able to find the Yacht Club folks before my cases are swiftly carried off by the very eager and efficient porters at the dock!
Even if they do end up taking my case, I imagine it'll find its way to the room eventually, even if not with the same speed and efficiency as Yacht Club guests might normally experience. No big deal!
I'm glad you enjoyed your cruise. There was a spate of blogs from Splendida on another forum recently which have certainly whetted my appetite and made me really look forward to the experience!
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I can't specifically comment, but generally, I find it's much cheaper to arrange your own flights / hotel than rely on the options offered by the cruise line.
You could get your travel agent to package any flights and a hotel into what he's offering you, to ensure you don't make any mistakes... though it's really not that difficult.
The downside with arranging your own flights is leaving a buffer, especially at the start, to ensure you don't miss embarkation. But who doesn't want to spend a couple of nights in Barcelona? Win-win?
Galaxy Disco Restaurant on Preziosa
in MSC Cruises
Posted
I'm sailing on MSC Preziosa next month and I noticed on the website that they have speciality dining in the Galaxy Disco which is supposedly fusion sushi.
I've searched and searched online but I cannot find a single review of this. No photos, no menus, nothing!
Has anyone tried the sushi at the Galaxy Disco restaurant? Does anyone have a menu, pricing, or any feedback about the food at all? I love sushi so I'm very tempted by this, but we're in Yacht Club and have a pretty good standard of food anyway, so I wouldn't want to pay for something if the general consensus is that it's rubbish!