MSC Virtuosa 22nd-29th June 2024

[Eddy2007]

Hi, wife and I are sailing on Virtuosa 22nd-29th June from Southampton (our first MSC cruise). After reading reviews and watching YouTube videos, I can see some people complain that the ship is too busy, full with children and more of a ‘booze cruise’. I assume this is mostly during school holidays when most cruises and holidays are at full capacity, but has anyone been at the end of June? Is it likely to be extremely busy?

 

I’m mostly concerned about long queues and space in the pools, but trying to keep an open mind. Have only been on a (much smaller) Thomson cruise previously.

 

Many thanks.

[FamilyCruiserUK]

Hiya 

 

I think most cruises bow are full or very busy tbh. Its become very popular. 

Your dates should be ok in regard to kids on board. There will be a few but not that many as its not school holiday dates. 

Again as with any cruise, people will drink excessively and we all have no idea when and where that will be.

 

We went on Virtuosa end of March last year. Was too cold to be outside in the pools but the pool deck are is massive and lots of sunbed space. In fact the pools on MSC are the best at sea IMO, we have just sailed on world europa and the pools on her were massive and deep.  The high ropes was fun as well. 

 

The only time the ship felt busy was in the buffet, just felt squished and packed most of the time TBH. 

 

 

[mcoler181]

I can't speak for Virtuosa, but we spent two weeks on Seascape in Feb, the ship was full both weeks but apart from peak times in the buffet and the pool deck on sea days it never felt crazy busy.

 

You can easily avoid the crowds if you play it smart.

 

Coincidently we are getting on Virtuosa the day you get off. 

[showingdiva]

No mistaking, she's a big ship with a lot of people.   The first evening is always a bit crazy, mainly because people are trying to orientate themselves, but can't help "misplacing" their cabin, restaurant, theatre etc.    But it settles, when they find their favourite bar, etc.   

 

There will always be quite a lot of children.   She's marketed as a family ship.   However, on these dates, English schools won't have broken up yet, and Scottish schools will only just be about to.   I would predict the cruise will be around 90-95% full, given some upper berths (bunks, fold out sofas etc) won't be occupied.   

 

Her size takes most aback to begin with, no matter how much they've cruised before.   But she's a beautiful ship.   Enjoy!

[Ottawa_Cruiser]

I'm sailing on her May 18th and can let you know how busy it is. 

[Huntingdon1701]

Virtuosa has several pools so people should be spread out between those - better than most other ships. The buffet is likely to be where you encounter most crowding. I've done a June cruise on her and it felt very spacious, but ships generally are much busier now so not a great comparison, I think.

[vwgolf2]

My wife and I are considering a cruise on the Virtuosa from Southampton in July. We're seasoned cruisers (27 and counting) but never with MSC. I've read some online reviews and they are, quite frankly, pretty bad so I'm wondering what differentiates MSC in general, and the Virtuosa in particular, from the other cruise lines we've been on: P&O, Marella and Royal Caribbean mostly. The food and deck space are he most important aspects to us on a cruise.

[notley-cruise]

If you are foodies then the food will likely disappoint.  Outside the Yacht club it's mass catering rather than prepared to order.  Even in YC it's four star hotel standard at best, rather than Michelin starred.

 

Virtuosa is a good ship, plenty of interior space, bars and restaurants, galleria full of shops and upsell venues, spa is great, ditto gym and inside pool, rear pool disappointing as metal bucket with no view, but plenty of deck space including Aurea and YC only areas.

[showingdiva]

2 hours ago, vwgolf2 said:

My wife and I are considering a cruise on the Virtuosa from Southampton in July. We're seasoned cruisers (27 and counting) but never with MSC. I've read some online reviews and they are, quite frankly, pretty bad so I'm wondering what differentiates MSC in general, and the Virtuosa in particular, from the other cruise lines we've been on: P&O, Marella and Royal Caribbean mostly. The food and deck space are he most important aspects to us on a cruise.

 

If I'm honest, and having done three Virtuosa cruises, plus one on almost identical sister Euribia (and three more booked over the next three summers), I struggle to understand some of the reviews of her.   I "defected" from P&O but still cruise with Cunard too.

 

Cruising on anything in July, there's going to be a lot of kids - all four nations' schools will have broken up by then.  

 

The food has a Mediterranean aspect to it, although over the last few summers she has been based out of Southampton, there have been "British" additions.   Put it this way, I've never gone hungry.   The Market Place buffet needs avoided at peak times 8-9am and 12-1pm.   A lot of cruise lines have put an emphasis on paid for specialty restaurants.  MSC is no different.   Hola! tacos at £18 a head all you can eat is great.

 

Plenty deck space (even more if you are in Yacht Club).

 

One of the main problems I see is that people are expecting champagne at lemonade prices.    The ship is beautiful and very clean and the crew work hard (twice a day room servicing if that's important to you).

[vwgolf2]

14 hours ago, notley-cruise said:

If you are foodies then the food will likely disappoint.  Outside the Yacht club it's mass catering rather than prepared to order.  Even in YC it's four star hotel standard at best, rather than Michelin starred.

 

Virtuosa is a good ship, plenty of interior space, bars and restaurants, galleria full of shops and upsell venues, spa is great, ditto gym and inside pool, rear pool disappointing as metal bucket with no view, but plenty of deck space including Aurea and YC only areas.

Thanks. I would never call myself a "foodie" - so long as there's a good variety of tasty meals that are served promptly then I'm happy! 

[vwgolf2]

14 hours ago, showingdiva said:

 

 

Cruising on anything in July, there's going to be a lot of kids - all four nations' schools will have broken up by then.  

 

The cruise we're looking at leaves Southampton on 6th July. Scottish schools will have finished by then but English schools, at least where I live, won't finish for summer until 25th July.

 

Thanks for your reply; I do agree with your point about people wanting champagne for the price of lemonade. We see this everywhere!

[showingdiva]

38 minutes ago, vwgolf2 said:

The cruise we're looking at leaves Southampton on 6th July. Scottish schools will have finished by then but English schools, at least where I live, won't finish for summer until 25th July.

 

Thanks for your reply; I do agree with your point about people wanting champagne for the price of lemonade. We see this everywhere!

 

Go for it and enjoy !

[notley-cruise]

3 hours ago, vwgolf2 said:

Thanks. I would never call myself a "foodie" - so long as there's a good variety of tasty meals that are served promptly then I'm happy! 

There's food available twenty two hours a day, so you'll need to pace yourself. 

Pizza and Buffet open for Breakfast, Brunch, Lunch, Afternoon snacks, Dinner and Midnight supper.

Restaurants open for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, and you can order multiple dishes.

 

Seasoning can be hit or miss, Veg and potatoes often undercooked, pasta a bit al dente. 

If you want consistency and individual preparation then book into Yacht Club or Aurea which have their own prep restaurants.

[amurray88]

11 hours ago, vwgolf2 said:

The cruise we're looking at leaves Southampton on 6th July. Scottish schools will have finished by then but English schools, at least where I live, won't finish for summer until 25th July.

 

Thanks for your reply; I do agree with your point about people wanting champagne for the price of lemonade. We see this everywhere!

They're just different....I like them BUT they're different and you need to understand that.

 

Last time round we had been allocated early dinner. We asked to change dining times and on most cruises they would say either no bother or let me see what I can do. On MSC they said "you want to change? You're only Bella experience, you can't change". Didn't check if there were tables free or anything like that, just a complete no.

 

As I say...I like them. But don't expect the same CS as other US based ships.

[notley-cruise]

11 hours ago, amurray88 said:

They're just different....I like them BUT they're different and you need to understand that.

 

Last time round we had been allocated early dinner. We asked to change dining times and on most cruises they would say either no bother or let me see what I can do. On MSC they said "you want to change? You're only Bella experience, you can't change". Didn't check if there were tables free or anything like that, just a complete no.

 

As I say...I like them. But don't expect the same CS as other US based ships.

 

We sailed Eastern Med last month on MSC, we had Aurea and other family members had Bella, Restaurant manager agreed to move them to any time dining with us.  YMMV

[FamilyCruiserUK]

On 5/15/2024 at 5:24 PM, vwgolf2 said:

My wife and I are considering a cruise on the Virtuosa from Southampton in July. We're seasoned cruisers (27 and counting) but never with MSC. I've read some online reviews and they are, quite frankly, pretty bad so I'm wondering what differentiates MSC in general, and the Virtuosa in particular, from the other cruise lines we've been on: P&O, Marella and Royal Caribbean mostly. The food and deck space are he most important aspects to us on a cruise.

That pic was taken during rhe winter so didnt put many sunbeds out but rhe main pool is huge. 

[ellie1145]

On 5/15/2024 at 5:24 PM, vwgolf2 said:

My wife and I are considering a cruise on the Virtuosa from Southampton in July. We're seasoned cruisers (27 and counting) but never with MSC. I've read some online reviews and they are, quite frankly, pretty bad so I'm wondering what differentiates MSC in general, and the Virtuosa in particular, from the other cruise lines we've been on: P&O, Marella and Royal Caribbean mostly. The food and deck space are he most important aspects to us on a cruise.

We have done 2 cruises on Virtuosa and our expectations were very low. We have done approx 80 cruises with a variety of cruise lines and each has their pros and cons. 

 

However, we were agreeably surprised. She’s a beautiful ship, there are plenty of lounges to escape to (eg the chocolate shop) and we thought the food and service in the MDR were excellent. 
 

It IS a busy ship, they pick up and drop off passengers at each port so many announcements in several languages. This can get a bit tedious. 
 

The embarkation area is ridiculously small and causes massive traffic jams. 
 

We liked the quirky elevators. Some people hate them. We found them efficient. 
 

Senior Management were active in the buffet making sure everything was working ok. They were continually inspecting the food and the staff. 
 

There is a big family area behind the dessert station. We used it a lot despite having no kids as surprisingly there were few families using it. 
 

The desserts were stunning in the Buffet. Far superior to RCI desserts on anthem which were same old, same old every day including the ubiquitous hot dessert, bread pudding. Same desserts they have been doing for 25 years! 

There was afternoon tea every day in the buffet with delicious scones (better than Cunard) with huge bowls of cream and jam and sandwiches and cakes. Most unexpected. 
 

Entertainment was suitable for any nationality so mostly music. We missed comedy shows. Difficult to cater for so many nationalities I guess. 
 

Cabin was lovely - we weren’t in the YC

 

Fantastic light display each night on the ceiling of the promenade. Stunning. 
 

Trivia poor and unimaginative but again, difficult with so many languages. 
 

We did one ship’s tour to the Normandy beaches. Very expensive but brilliant and well worth it. It was an amazing experience. 
 

All in all it was much better than expected. 
 

We embarked the ship at 10.00 am as they pick up and put down passengers at each port so no requirement to clear the ship before starting embarkation. Check in area was deserted and we were on the ship in minutes and went straight up to breakfast. 
 

Hope you enjoy it if you book it! 👍
 

 

 

[ellie1145]

On 5/15/2024 at 8:23 PM, showingdiva said:

 

If I'm honest, and having done three Virtuosa cruises, plus one on almost identical sister Euribia (and three more booked over the next three summers), I struggle to understand some of the reviews of her.   I "defected" from P&O but still cruise with Cunard too.

 

Cruising on anything in July, there's going to be a lot of kids - all four nations' schools will have broken up by then.  

 

The food has a Mediterranean aspect to it, although over the last few summers she has been based out of Southampton, there have been "British" additions.   Put it this way, I've never gone hungry.   The Market Place buffet needs avoided at peak times 8-9am and 12-1pm.   A lot of cruise lines have put an emphasis on paid for specialty restaurants.  MSC is no different.   Hola! tacos at £18 a head all you can eat is great.

 

Plenty deck space (even more if you are in Yacht Club).

 

One of the main problems I see is that people are expecting champagne at lemonade prices.    The ship is beautiful and very clean and the crew work hard (twice a day room servicing if that's important to you).

Very well said. 
 

Our 2 cruises on her were a real bargain. Under £500 for a week in a balcony! Extraordinary vslue

 

As for the food, well every ship we’ve been on it’s mass produced. Even Cunard. You can’t expect anything more.