Royal Diamon tries MSC Yacht Club on MSC Preziosa and loved it

[Iluvcruising2]

The bus was crowded. If you watch the video, you will see that we just made it and were the last passengers to board the bus before it left. Otherwise, it would probably have been a 20 minute wait. After a 15 minute or so ride on the bus, we alighted at the port gates.

 

This is what the area immediately outside the port gate after we alight from the free bus looked like.

 

And we started our walk towards the old port. It would take us about 20 minutes of moderate paced walking.

 

Spotted this tiny car parked.

 

A short video taken only Rue de la Republicque, Marseilles.

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[Iluvcruising2]

It was a very bright and sunny day, though the temperature was not warm at all, probably in the low 10s (referring to degrees celsius). Spotted the petite train. We wanted to take that today.

 

They had many trams waiting. Wonder when we will depart. Anyway, we got our tickets (8Euros per adult and 4 Euros per child) and it was time to board the tram.

 

Here is a video of the tram ride to the parking lot of Notre-Dame de la Garde. It was a very scenic ride which took about 20 minutes. We got to see some parts of the shoreline from higher up. The long tram had to navigate narrow streets and that was quite cool to watch.

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[Iluvcruising2]

At the end of the ride, we were dropped off at the carpark, which looked like this. Come back here to take the tram back to the old town. The ticket covers both ways, so don't lose it!

 

As we headed to the cathedral, I spotted this sign. Yes, beware of pickpockets.

 

I saw a significant number of older looking tourists huffing and puffing as they scaled these steps. We didn't have to. I was wondering where they came from until I realised that most of them came from tour coaches. The tour coach stop is farther down hill (compared to the carpark where we alighted from), so the climb up was longer. Be prepared!

 

The views from up here were gorgeous. Look carefully and you can see somebody holding up a placard with the number 2. Cruise ship tour.

 

Climb all the way up to this lookout point for the best views of Marseilles.

 

In this video, you see some views of Marseilles from the look-out point, followed by scenes from inside the Cathedral.

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In this video, a longer run-through of the place as I walk around. You can see many more steps in this video. Watching again, I realised that this place wasn't disabled friendly. Plenty of steps to climb, so be prepared.

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[Iluvcruising2]

We spent about 45 minutes at the Cathedral and it was time to make our way back to the old port. When we got back to the carpark, the tram was about to leave. Just in time! Otherwise, we would have to wait for another 20 minutes.

 

The tram took a more direct route back to where we started, unlike the scenic route on the way up. The journey was faster, less than 15 minutes. Here is video of the tram ride going back to the old port.

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We were back to where we started. The tram looked to be very popular. More people buying tickets now.

 

Goodbye tram and have a good day!

 

I recall we did not do too much after that. It was very sunny and we don't really like hanging out in the sun. We did go to this sign to take a photo.

[Ashling]

Hi, do you happen remember what time you were able to get off the ship in Marseille. The reason I ask is that when we cruise in July in the Yacht Club, we start and end our cruise in Marseille. On the day we leave the ship we plan to travel to London via eurostar, the train leaves marseille at 3.22pm

 

Thanks in advance

[Iluvcruising2]

Hi, do you happen remember what time you were able to get off the ship in Marseille. The reason I ask is that when we cruise in July in the Yacht Club, we start and end our cruise in Marseille. On the day we leave the ship we plan to travel to London via eurostar, the train leaves marseille at 3.22pm

 

Thanks in advance

 

The ship arrived at 9am. We got off shortly after 9am.

[Ashling]

Thank you so much for your prompt reply. Looks like your schedule may be different to ours, as the ship is scheduled to dock in Marseille at 1.00pm.

 

Your review is amazing. If I had not already booked the MSC yacht club for July 2016, I would be very tempted based on your comprehensive review, photos and videos. Thank You soooo much.

[Iluvcruising2]

Thank you so much for your prompt reply. Looks like your schedule may be different to ours, as the ship is scheduled to dock in Marseille at 1.00pm.

 

Your review is amazing. If I had not already booked the MSC yacht club for July 2016, I would be very tempted based on your comprehensive review, photos and videos. Thank You soooo much.

 

Thank you for your comment and I am glad you enjoyed this review. Will your upcoming sailing be your first on MSC Yacht Club?

 

In recent years, I have started to do more comprehensive reviews (words, pictures, videos) because I do enjoy re-living my travels through these reviews and I'm glad that other cruise critic members find it useful too!

[Ashling]

Yes, this will be our first MSC cruise. We have previously cruised twice with NCL (Haven), 1 x silver seas & 7 x P & O cruises. So your review has been extremely helpful, a great insight in to what we can expect.

[Iluvcruising2]

Yes, this will be our first MSC cruise. We have previously cruised twice with NCL (Haven), 1 x silver seas & 7 x P & O cruises. So your review has been extremely helpful, a great insight in to what we can expect.

 

Have a great cruise!

[Iluvcruising2]

Since we had plenty of time, we decided to walk back to the pick-up point for the port shuttle to take the shuttle back. This was the sign outside the gate. Take note the days that the shuttle operated. Only Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Thursday.

 

It took a while for the bus to arrive. Meanwhile, the guard didn't let us into the waiting area and all of us were waiting outside. A crowd had formed.

 

The bus used was a long bendy-bus. So it was rather large. Still, it was full of passengers going back to the ship. Here is a picture of the crowd on board.

 

Another picture. Overall the ride was smooth. Well, it was free, so can't complain too much.

 

After we got off the bus, it was time to make the walk back to the ship.

[Iluvcruising2]

Well, take note that the MSC Preziosa has many passengers and when many pax want to return the ship at more or less the same time, long lines will form. So, patience is required.

 

People seemed fine with the lines. Common sight by now.

 

In this video, I show you more of the lines to get back on board the ship.

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Edited February 28, 2016 by Iluvcruising2

[Iluvcruising2]

Now let me show you the fun we had with the mini-bar in the cabin. In the Yacht Club, you get everything in the mini-bar complimentary, and also get water. This video shows you the details.

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The complimentary mini bar was definitely very useful. Kids helped themselves to the drinks. Adults too. Well, the Top Sail lounge was nearby so we didn't use the minibar much though the water was very useful. Now here is the fun. I shan't write more. Watch this video.

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I miss the Yacht Club already. :):)

[Iluvcruising2]

I went up to the pool deck to watch the sail away. Before that, I explored the water park for kids again and made this video. Notice one jacuzzi tub very near the aqua park. I think it was designed such that the adults can enjoy the jacuzzi while kids play at the water park.

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Some pictures.

 

Very nice water play area.

 

From another angle, the water park.

[Iluvcruising2]

I was beginning to feel sad and nostalgic because tomorrow we would disembark. Looking up, I saw the MSC logo.

 

It was a beautiful afternoon. Sea gulls were flying. Ship was making final preparations to leave. In this video, I am watching sea gulls fly, talking to myself and being ever so grateful that I have had the opportunity to cruise and bring my family for this cruise. Thank God!

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I must add that I saw a few passengers smoking. This was an issue mentioned previously in other posts. Well, it didn't bother me much. It was windy and I couldn't smell any smoke. (I am not a smoker)

 

If you look carefully, you can see that the lady is holding a cigarette.

[SuiteTraveler]

Delightful review! You have convinced me to try the MSC Yacht Club. I'll be finalizing our booking for the Divinia today! Everything looks really awesome. I cannot imagine that we will have less than a wonderful time!

[Iluvcruising2]

Delightful review! You have convinced me to try the MSC Yacht Club. I'll be finalizing our booking for the Divinia today! Everything looks really awesome. I cannot imagine that we will have less than a wonderful time!

 

Thanks for your feedback. Have a great cruise!

[Iluvcruising2]

Thereafter, I went to watch the sailaway. And I was not the only one. A good number of passengers had the same idea.

 

Some pictures of the ship as I waited for sailaway.

 

A couple of swimmers.

 

And the horn sounds! The sailaway had begun. And a song comes through the loudspeakers. Fun.

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I go back to my cabin. And this letter was waiting for me. Sob. Can I stay on?

[Norwegian Cruiser 73]

Thank you very much for making such a great review with lovely photos and nice videos. Very nice to see that you love the MSC Yacht Club, it's a great product at sea. Thanks for the tips regarding Notre Dame in Marseille. We have been there several times with MSC but have never been to the Notre Dame but we will go the next year when we visitt the city with the brand new MSC Meraviglia. Will you return to MSC and the Yacht Club?

 

Here are some photos from our sailaway in Marseille on the MSC Preziosa back in September 2013 when the ship was brand new:

 

 

 

 

Edited March 5, 2016 by Norwegian Cruiser 73

[Iluvcruising2]

Thank you very much for making such a great review with lovely photos and nice videos. Very nice to see that you love the MSC Yacht Club, it's a great product at sea. Thanks for the tips regarding Notre Dame in Marseille. We have been there several times with MSC but have never been to the Notre Dame but we will go the next year when we visitt the city with the brand new MSC Meraviglia. Will you return to MSC and the Yacht Club?

 

Here are some photos from our sailaway in Marseille on the MSC Preziosa back in September 2013 when the ship was brand new:

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Thanks for the photos!

 

Yes, we would return to MSC to sail the Yacht Club again. In fact, we have been checking out the itineraries, but so far haven't found anything suitable for our schedules.

 

Enjoy your cruise! :)

[Iluvcruising2]

Still in the cabin. I start to look at the brochures and Yacht Club handbook. The Preziosa was 139,400GT.

 

The ship had 1,751 cabins, with 69 in the Yacht Club.

 

Map of the YC decks.

 

Oh! They had room service breakfast. Well, it never occurred to us to order Room Service. We much preferred going to the Top Sail or restaurant to grab a bite.

 

But since I found the breakfast order pamphlet, I made a video of it so that you can see what is available. The choices are continental.

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[Iluvcruising2]

Soon it was time for dinner. It would be our very last dinner for this cruise. SOB! It had been a wonderful cruise and eating in the Yacht Club restaurant had been a wonderful treat. The sight that greeted us as we entered the restaurant.

 

We were early and we were ushered to our usual table and served by the same waiter who had served us wonderfully for 7 nights.

 

I am going to enjoy this wine this evening!

 

Here is the video I made of the dinner. I remember that it was a good dinner and I felt sad! Anyway, there is nothing to be sad about. Privileged that we could go on this cruise. Thank God for the opportunity and all honour and glory goes to Him!

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Some still pictures. This must have been the lamb.

 

And some dessert!

 

Later in the evening, after dinner, I went to the Top Sail lounge and got this. Last time for this cruise. Farewell MSC Preziosa!

[Iluvcruising2]

DISEMBARKATION DAY

 

Yes, today, we disembark. We spent 7 nights on the MSC Preziosa and had a wonderful time. We will miss the Yacht Club, for sure This morning, before breakfast, I lined up some of the Straits Times on the table for a goodbye photo.

 

We had a light breakfast at the Top Sail lounge.

 

After that, back to our cabin and doing some last minute packing before we leave. Out in the balcony, I watch some ferry reversing into port (at the ferry terminal).

 

I make a video while on the balcony. Time to say goodbye!

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Recall near the start of the review, I made an embarkation video. Now, I make a disembarkation video. We met our butler at a pre-arranged time at the Concierge so that he could lead us off the ship. There were a few other couples with us. This video shows us disembarking, collecting our luggage and then heading out to the terminal building taxi stand to take a taxi to the Genoa airport. We could fit the 4 of us plus our luggage into a standard taxi quite easily. The airport was nearby, at most 15 minutes. The cost of the ride was about 25 Euros. Goodbye MSC Preziosa!

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[Iluvcruising2]

Genoa Cristoforo Colombo Airport Italy Waiting for BA Flight to London. Genoa, Italy has is a relatively small international airport. Built on an artificial peninsular, the airport served about 1.2 million pax in 2014, according to wiki. On this day, I counted only 10 flights out of the airport, and I think these were all single aisle aircraft. The airport was near the cruise terminal, about a 15 to 20 minute taxi ride.

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We got to the airport early so we were the first in line for the only British Airways flight out of Genoa to London Gatwick that morning. I was very glad we were first because later on, a large tour bus arrived and there was a long line for check-in! For some reason, the check-in process was very slow. That said, nobody missed the flight. This picture was taken shortly after we arrived, when the airport was very empty.

 

These were the lines set up for entry into the restricted area. Nobody in line. After we checked in, we got through very quickly.

 

Some history of the airport on the second floor. There is an MSC lounge on the 2nd floor but there is really nothing in that lounge other than a few sofas. Not sure why MSC bothers with the lounge there. The MSC lounge was in the public area, not the restricted area.

 

In the waiting area, we had nothing much to do Thankfully, the airport provided free wifi so we could catch up with news and emails from home, using our personal devices. That kept us occupied for a bit. I got bored and picked up this airport magazine to read. Attractive advertisement. Looks like Alitalia was upping their game with a modern business class product.

[Iluvcruising2]

I made a short clip of this Alitalia advertisement - now in partnership with Etihad.

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The magazine had some flight schedules. Ryanair doesn't fly everyday to Genoa.

 

Patiently waiting for our flight. It turned out that our fight was full and from what I can tell, most of the passengers were from the cruise ship!

 

In the aerobridge, I took this photo.

 

And we board the aircraft. Time to get back to London where we will stay for a few nights before flying back to Singapore.