Live Virtuosa 12/5/23 7 night Fjord cruise

[victory2020]

On 5/14/2023 at 12:57 AM, kernow said:

Dinner last night was excellent, could not fault anything we had. Shrimp cocktail (no pic), Beef Wellington and Cherries Jubilee for me, After Eight dessert for Mark.

 

We've now arrived in Haugesund, still misty and overcast, we're just going for a walk around town to stretch our legs.

OOOHHH. beef wellington! Was this in the main dining room?

[victory2020]

On 5/13/2023 at 9:07 AM, treesah said:

@kernow  Thank you for taking the time to post.  That's very generous of you.  I'll be sailing the Virtuosa in two weeks, solo, and I'm curious about the dress code.  Wishing you an improvement in the weather department.

Which cruise solo? I'm doing May 29,  I am from Los Angeles

[treesah]

4 minutes ago, victory2020 said:

Which cruise solo? I'm doing May 29,  I am from Los Angeles

I'll be on the June 3rd sailing.  We'll probably cross paths at the cruise terminal.  Wishing you blue skies and calm seas.

[kernow]

Just getting ready to sail away from Flam, looks like we are waiting for a late excursion.

 

The weather today has been lovely, the odd cloudy but mostly sunny. We did the train last year and had no plans this time so decided to go for a walk to the main village a mile or so away. As we were walking we stopped to take a photo of a crashing waterfall, there was another couple from the ship doing the same. We chatted a bit to them and asked where they were from. They said Birmingham which is where my family are originally from. Long story short it turned out the lady is my second cousin that I have not seen since childhood. My grandad and her grandmother were brother and sister so we have spent the rest of the day reminiscing about relatives and childhood memories.Such a strange coincidence.

 

Sorry with all of this I forgot to get much info on Flam😁.

[kernow]

22 minutes ago, victory2020 said:

OOOHHH. beef wellington! Was this in the main dining room?

It was in YC but I think some of the items are the same so maybe you will have it.

[heatherb1958]

I climbed to that waterfall last year , not for the faint hearted as lots of steep steps , the walk to the church is lovely following the river. Our friends have done the train today ,  very cold at the top but I am happy to see your photos with the blue skies.. x

Wow Julie , you could not make that up about meeting your second cousin , amazing. 

[showingdiva]

"As we were walking we stopped to take a photo of a crashing waterfall, there was another couple from the ship doing the same. We chatted a bit to them and asked where they were from. They said Birmingham which is where my family are originally from. Long story short it turned out the lady is my second cousin that I have not seen since childhood. My grandad and her grandmother were brother and sister so we have spent the rest of the day reminiscing about relatives and childhood memories.Such a strange coincidence."

 

If ever there was a piece of serendipity, that's it.

 

The odds of you choosing the same ship, at the same time let alone bumping into each other on a ship the size of Virtuosa, but on a walk in a small Norwegian village.

 

That story has brightened my day.

 

[Stockjock]

On 5/14/2023 at 4:40 AM, kernow said:

We're back onboard after an hour or two walking around Haugesund. As we found last year it's a nice little town but hardly anything open on a Sunday. It's about a 15 minute walk into the town centre. There was a shuttle bus but I'm not sure if it was free or not. Also a land train and a hop on/ off bus which you can get as you leave the ship ( see pics).

 

When we got back on we came up to the buffet to get some fabulous MSC pizza ( they never have it in YC). Peak lunch hour in the buffet and it's fine, plenty of tables and a good choice of food without queueing. Walk right to the back if it seems busy at the entrance. The mini éclair on the dessert plate was as good as one's from a French patisserie 😄

 

A couple of cruises I'm considering going forward are Norwegian Fjords or Baltic Sea.

I sense the Fjords would be very scenic, yet I also sense that there would be more to see and do on a Baltic cruise.  So I'll be interested in your impressions of this trip.

[kernow]

1 hour ago, Stockjock said:

A couple of cruises I'm considering going forward are Norwegian Fjords or Baltic Sea.

I sense the Fjords would be very scenic, yet I also sense that there would be more to see and do on a Baltic cruise.  So I'll be interested in your impressions of this trip.

We've done both and I don't think you will go wrong with either. In 2010 we did a 14 night baltic which included St Petersburg, Stockholm, Helsinki, Tallin and some others (I can't remember) which was fab but we also love all the scenery on this itinerary.

[kernow]

Just been warned by the captain that we are expecting rough seas overnight and tomorrow morning, I've taken a Bonine😀

[showingdiva]

1 hour ago, kernow said:

Just been warned by the captain that we are expecting rough seas overnight and tomorrow morning, I've taken a Bonine😀

 

Yuck!    Safe travels to all.    (I've packed the Sturgeron!)

[kernow]

We've woken to bright sunshine and beautiful seas with a few white tops this morning. 

We were up chatting and drinking until past 1am last night, by the time we went to bed the ship was rolling. We slept soundly and right now there is just a gentle movement. We are not due into Kristiansand until 2pm but according to Vesselfinder we may be much earlier. We're sailing along close to the coast at 20 knots. Beautiful views from the balcony.

[CruisingFox27]

14 hours ago, Stockjock said:

A couple of cruises I'm considering going forward are Norwegian Fjords or Baltic Sea.

I sense the Fjords would be very scenic, yet I also sense that there would be more to see and do on a Baltic cruise.  So I'll be interested in your impressions of this trip.

 

13 hours ago, kernow said:

We've done both and I don't think you will go wrong with either. In 2010 we did a 14 night baltic which included St Petersburg, Stockholm, Helsinki, Tallin and some others (I can't remember) which was fab but we also love all the scenery on this itinerary.

We've also done both, 11 night Baltics in 2018 and same duration to the Fjords in 2019. Two of my favourite cruises. The Baltic itinerary for us was pretty intense as we'd long day trips every day to maximise our time there. The scenery in the Fjords is stunning. 

 

Whichever you chose will be a fantastic choice. 

[heatherb1958]

Trying to work out if you are port or starboard ! Lorraine is port so if you  are too she will be happy to have some sun on the balcony , she won't mind me saying this if she see this but she certainly pays her dues to the sun god and worships from morn til sunset if allowed 😁 😎 🌞. 

 

With regards Baltic and Fjiord cruises we have done both, Baltics for me was once and done  but maybe because we had terrible weather  June 2009,  2 nice days  out of  12 .  I  had a fantastic trip to St.Catherines palace , obviously ships not going to St.Petersburg currently, and Peterhof gardens was toured in the rain sadly. It was still a fantastic cruise with friends . Having said that there are currently some great deals to the Baltics sans  St.Petersburg and we are going back this year TWICE 😆, first trip on 5th June on Silhouette after we have been on Virtuosa on 29th May  😎 

 

Edited May 17, 2023 by heatherb1958

[kernow]

45 minutes ago, heatherb1958 said:

Trying to work out if you are port or starboard ! Lorraine is port so if you  are too she will be happy to have some sun on the balcony , she won't mind me saying this if she see this but she certainly pays her dues to the sun god and worships from morn til sunset if allowed 😁 😎 🌞. 

 

With regards Baltic and Fjiord cruises we have done both, Baltics for me was once and done  but maybe because we had terrible weather  June 2009,  2 nice days  out of  12 .  I  had a fantastic trip to St.Catherines palace , obviously ships not going to St.Petersburg currently, and Peterhof gardens was toured in the rain sadly. It was still a fantastic cruise with friends . Having said that there are currently some great deals to the Baltics sans  St.Petersburg and we are going back this year TWICE 😆, first trip on 5th June on Silhouette after we have been on Virtuosa on 29th May  😎 

 

We're port, as we've come around the coast starboard currently has the sun.🌞

We've just been for a walk around the decks and lots of people (including my cousin😀)on sunbeds around the main pool where it is sheltered. Not quite bikini weather for me but very nice, Mark of course has his shorts on😅.

[kernow]

The YC opened for lunch today so we ate there before getting off for a walk around the town. It's National Day in Norway today so it's a public holiday with most things closed. It was nice to see all the locals out with their families, many dressed in national costume. It seemed like a nice town and we've had full sunshine all day. We came back and sat out on our balcony, I even needed sunscreen😀.

[CliveJ]

Pleasure to read this, good bits &...less good - thanks !

Embark Friday on same itinerary. As long as the weather's good, will put up with whatever isn't !

[kernow]

Forgot to say it's White night, we're starting off the evening at our favourite L'Atelier for some cocktails.

[heatherb1958]

Well you'll not be surprised when I say we have been there 😄. It is a lovely place to explore . I hiked on the peninsula right next to where the ship docks with great views from the Vestri Batteri. 

 

Good to see you had use of the YC outdoor grill, our favourite place in Jan on Grandiosa for breakfast and lunch , we were the only ones there ! Hardy  Brits 😆.  Did you know that the room service YC breakfast comes from there ? We would watch the butlers come and get the orders for their guests ...

Enjoy white night .. x

Edited May 17, 2023 by heatherb1958

[kernow]

14 minutes ago, heatherb1958 said:

Well you'll not be surprised when I say we have been there 😄. It is a lovely place to explore . I hiked on the peninsula right next to where the ship docks with great views from the Vestri Batteri. 

 

Good to see you had use of the YC outdoor grill, our favourite place in Jan on Grandiosa for breakfast and lunch , we were the only ones there ! Hardy  Brits 😆.  Did you know that the room service YC breakfast comes from there ? We would watch the butlers come and get the orders for their guests ...

That's interesting about the breakfasts. We were talking to some people today whose cabin is underneath the YC grill and they said there was noise early in the morning and they couldn't understand why.

[mackfam]

How are things outside the YC enclave? Are most of the passengers British? 

[kernow]

10 hours ago, mackfam said:

How are things outside the YC enclave? Are most of the passengers British? 

It's still really busy but I think if you keep it in perspective no need to let it spoil a cruise. Some people moaning but we've spoken to lots of people who are enjoying themselves(families, couples etc). We've been down in the Promenade area every evening and enjoyed the atmosphere, drink service can be a bit slow at times ( our cocktails took 20 minutes in L'Atelier last night versus maybe 5 in YC). Not too much of a problem for us but can see it getting annoying if it's every drink. We've seen lots of people ordering 2 drinks at a time which I don't suppose helps much either in the long run. All the staff  we've seen have been lovely and are working hard.

If they are going to fill the ship to this level I do think they need more staff. We were talking to a nice family last night who said they had been on last summer in school holidays when it was even busier but the staff seemed more experienced and so quicker. They thought there were lots of new staff who were still getting up to speed. 

Seats can be scarce at times but I think if you're a couple who are happy to share a table you will find some somewhere. Larger groups seem to have more of a problem.

 

I'd say around 90% British but we've spoken to American and German and heard people speaking Spanish too. 

 

 

Edited May 18, 2023 by kernow

[kernow]

Currently sitting in Top Sail lounge after dinner on our last night onboard. We've had a relaxing sea day onboard, weather has been hazy sunshine and calm seas but a bit chilly.

It was the diamond event this morning  then lunch on deck ( with a jacket on😀) and farewell drinks with friends we've made onboard.

Cases all packed and ready to go out.

 

I'll come back with some final thoughts in a day or so but overall it's been a great cruise once again.

[Stockjock]

15 hours ago, kernow said:

We've been down in the Promenade area every evening and enjoyed the atmosphere, drink service can be a bit slow at times ( our cocktails took 20 minutes in L'Atelier last night versus maybe 5 in YC). Not too much of a problem for us but can see it getting annoying if it's every drink. We've seen lots of people ordering 2 drinks at a time which I don't suppose helps much either in the long run. All the staff  we've seen have been lovely and are working hard.

 

 

 

When I visited L'Atelier, my drink package wasn't valid in the restaurant.  So I simply ordered 2 glasses of wine at the bar just outside the restaurant entrance and made them doubles.  I was served immediately and we each had 2 glasses of wine, since each glass was a double, to enjoy in the restaurant, even served in the same wine glasses used inside.

Edited May 18, 2023 by Stockjock

[FozzyBear85]

Thank you so much for posting about your trip. I’ve just boarded the MSC Virtuosa for the same cruise departing today. I am in a Fantastica Balcony Cabin so I am sure I will have a very different experience to your YC luxury!