Msc Virtuosa Review 24 June

[trfccruiser]

Day 5 At Sea

I had booked a romantic sunrise package to be delivered to our cabin for breakfast as a surprise but sadly as it appeared on both our MSC for ME apps my OH knew all about it!  Nevertheless, it was lovely and arrived 5 minutes after agreed time. It cost £12 for a carafe of freshly squeezed orange juice fresh fruit platter- grapes, Galia Melon, Honeydew Melon, Watermelon, Pineapple ,Kiwi Fruit and pastries-Almond Croissant ,Plain Croissant, Cinnamon Swirl, Pain Au Chocolat and Lemon Muffin.

I thought it would be sharing but we had a platter of both each! It was delicious. Also included were 2 MSC champagne flutes to keep as souvenirs. Excellent value we thought ,really good quality and a nice keepsake.

The weather wasn’t that great so we decided to go to the covered pool. This is a lovely space and as well as a ground floor with bar, seating area, 2 jacuzzis and seating area it has a gallery with 2 jacuzzis that extend over the side of the ship, seating area, changing toilets and table tennis and table football.

We sat and read and had a swim and a jacuzzi and some more freshly squeezed orange juice , which we are really going to miss, it’s fantastic.

We decided to go to the MDR for a change for lunch and so glad we did. Though it was in the other MDR that was open , the first person we saw was the section head who had been so good last night! She recognised us and did the same great job.

Practically the first thing we noticed on the menu was that the suggested drink of the day was Asti which we love and enjoyed 2 glasses of.

I had Cassarecce Pasta with sea Bass and Apple Crumble with ice cream, Cappuccino to finish. Fantastic and I always like to eat at lunchtime at least once in the MDR.

We went back to the covered pool, lovely and relaxing and did the same things. All pools had a lifeguard and if it was busy they controlled the capacity.

My OH had a gin cocktail and I had a Strongbow we also had a drink in the cabin getting ready for evening meal.

Tonight we had booked Butcher’s Cut but did wonder whether we should have cancelled after the MDR experience improving so much .Curiosity got the better of me though.

The service was attentive, Butcher’s Cut is a small restaurant only about 8 tables with some more outside as there is a gallery above the Galeria Virtuosa where the Teppanyaki and Masters of the Sea pub also have tables outside.

A Bread sack arrived at first, a bit like a mini Santa sack with bread rolls and bread scones in. Really nice.

I had Smoked Tomato Soup with grilled cheese (Basically a cheese toastie!)Odd but it worked.

Then Filet Mignon with 1 side included and extra for others so we shared 1 extra .Had Chunky chips, creamed Spinach and Roasted Cauliflower. The steak was really good , but the sides were disappointing. I had banana ice cream which was nice enough but too much, Oh had Banana date cake which was basically sticky toffee pudding. I pinched a spoonful and it was lovely.

I’m pleased we tried it , but I’m not sure it’s worth the £43 a head surcharge. I did hear a lot of very positive reports about Indochine but we ran out of nights!

That’s the trouble about all cruises they have to come to an end.

We were very full so had a bit of a stroll but then watched the penalty shoot France v Switzerland in the cabin and settled down.

Next morning!

Always sad to leave, one last chance to eat way more than is good for me at buffet breakfast.

We had opted for self disembarkation particularly as it meant avoiding being bussed to the Convention Centre. Disembarkation was quick and smooth off by 9 home at 9.30!

Overall we had a fantastic time it was great to be on a ship once more. As a one off trip the lack of travel didn’t bother us and I’m sure that won’t last much longer. Other matters like mask wearing really doesn’t bother us that much.

MSC is a curate’s egg good in parts… I certainly wouldn’t necessarily rule out cruising with them again but I wouldn’t cruise on their big ships at proper capacity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Nunagoras]

Many thanks to the nice review!... Finally some signs of normalcy, even if from the new normalcy form at present!... Hope that cruising never stops again!...

 

TBHH: That romantic package seems top notch, and it could have been even better if they have added such a hot specialty coffee drink of your choice!... I've never thought on that, but your photos might to have purchased me on such a treat one day when I can cruise again!... Nice touch!...

 

Have a nice day!

 

Have a nice day!...

[tesni]

Glad you had a lovely time! Thanks for the reviews & photos, have really enjoyed them.

[wirral36]

13 hours ago, philhar said:

Day 5 At Sea

I had booked a romantic sunrise package to be delivered to our cabin for breakfast as a surprise but sadly as it appeared on both our MSC for ME apps my OH knew all about it!  Nevertheless, it was lovely and arrived 5 minutes after agreed time. It cost £12 for a carafe of freshly squeezed orange juice fresh fruit platter- grapes, Galia Melon, Honeydew Melon, Watermelon, Pineapple ,Kiwi Fruit and pastries-Almond Croissant ,Plain Croissant, Cinnamon Swirl, Pain Au Chocolat and Lemon Muffin.

I thought it would be sharing but we had a platter of both each! It was delicious. Also included were 2 MSC champagne flutes to keep as souvenirs. Excellent value we thought ,really good quality and a nice keepsake.

The weather wasn’t that great so we decided to go to the covered pool. This is a lovely space and as well as a ground floor with bar, seating area, 2 jacuzzis and seating area it has a gallery with 2 jacuzzis that extend over the side of the ship, seating area, changing toilets and table tennis and table football.

We sat and read and had a swim and a jacuzzi and some more freshly squeezed orange juice , which we are really going to miss, it’s fantastic.

We decided to go to the MDR for a change for lunch and so glad we did. Though it was in the other MDR that was open , the first person we saw was the section head who had been so good last night! She recognised us and did the same great job.

Practically the first thing we noticed on the menu was that the suggested drink of the day was Asti which we love and enjoyed 2 glasses of.

I had Cassarecce Pasta with sea Bass and Apple Crumble with ice cream, Cappuccino to finish. Fantastic and I always like to eat at lunchtime at least once in the MDR.

We went back to the covered pool, lovely and relaxing and did the same things. All pools had a lifeguard and if it was busy they controlled the capacity.

My OH had a gin cocktail and I had a Strongbow we also had a drink in the cabin getting ready for evening meal.

Tonight we had booked Butcher’s Cut but did wonder whether we should have cancelled after the MDR experience improving so much .Curiosity got the better of me though.

The service was attentive, Butcher’s Cut is a small restaurant only about 8 tables with some more outside as there is a gallery above the Galeria Virtuosa where the Teppanyaki and Masters of the Sea pub also have tables outside.

A Bread sack arrived at first, a bit like a mini Santa sack with bread rolls and bread scones in. Really nice.

I had Smoked Tomato Soup with grilled cheese (Basically a cheese toastie!)Odd but it worked.

Then Filet Mignon with 1 side included and extra for others so we shared 1 extra .Had Chunky chips, creamed Spinach and Roasted Cauliflower. The steak was really good , but the sides were disappointing. I had banana ice cream which was nice enough but too much, Oh had Banana date cake which was basically sticky toffee pudding. I pinched a spoonful and it was lovely.

I’m pleased we tried it , but I’m not sure it’s worth the £43 a head surcharge. I did hear a lot of very positive reports about Indochine but we ran out of nights!

That’s the trouble about all cruises they have to come to an end.

We were very full so had a bit of a stroll but then watched the penalty shoot France v Switzerland in the cabin and settled down.

Next morning!

Always sad to leave, one last chance to eat way more than is good for me at buffet breakfast.

We had opted for self disembarkation particularly as it meant avoiding being bussed to the Convention Centre. Disembarkation was quick and smooth off by 9 home at 9.30!

Overall we had a fantastic time it was great to be on a ship once more. As a one off trip the lack of travel didn’t bother us and I’m sure that won’t last much longer. Other matters like mask wearing really doesn’t bother us that much.

MSC is a curate’s egg good in parts… I certainly wouldn’t necessarily rule out cruising with them again but I wouldn’t cruise on their big ships at proper capacity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please can I ask why you wouldn’t want to sail on full capacity ? 

[trfccruiser]

5 minutes ago, wirral36 said:

Please can I ask why you wouldn’t want to sail on full capacity ? 

Hi for me some of the bars were pretty full with 1000 on board with 6000 I couldn't imagine what it would be like.

[rkacruiser]

An excellent report!  Thanks so very much.  

[peteukmcr]

We were on the same sailing but were one of the unfortunate people whose check process took nearly 3.5 hours from arriving at the Liverpool arena to setting foot on board. 

mscvirtuosaJune2021.pdf

[Plan B]

Thank you so much for your review 🙂

[ConnieTact]

On 7/5/2021 at 8:53 PM, JessM66 said:

Ha ha, yes we did the Portland tour a couple of weeks ago, on a different cruise line, we told about the prison, and that Garry Glitter is in there!!  What section of the MDR were you in, or more importantly what was the name of the assistant head waiter, we will try and ask to be seated in her section, as she sounds like she knows her stuff.

We were there last week on the ship and waved to Gary through the window! Told him he would have loved the staircases on the ship! 😂