Live on Board MSC Virtuosa European Cruise 27th July 2024

[alserrod]

On 8/1/2024 at 12:18 PM, DamianG said:

Wednesday 31st July 2024

 

Michelle and I followed the same breakfast routine in the buffet as yesterday and though it was a lot busier it was still easy to get what we wanted towards the aft end and there was still ample space to sit outside. Cadiz is our favourite port but views from the aft of “la Tacita de Plata” (the “little silver cup” as the city is locally known) were blocked by another ship, Aida Stella, which was docked at the far end parallel to Avenida del Puerto. In all our previous visits we’ve never seen a ship docked there, and it was also the first time that we’ve been on ship that docked on the more industrial eastern side of the cruise berths, rather than the western side nearest to Plaza de Espana (Norwegian Viva had that privilege). We quickly worked out that with a lot of industrial traffic on our side we would be made to catch a shuttle bus to the dock gates rather than walk, but there seemed to be plenty of buses and coaches on hand ready for the hordes.

 

We weren’t in any rush to get off since we had only planned a little shopping and tapas lunch. When we did finally debark, there was a reasonably large queue for shuttle buses but we waited less than five minutes before we were on our way. There was a large roster of buses and coaches waiting and the whole operation was extremely efficient. Michelle’s mum and dad had a slightly different experience with a longer wait, not helped by queue jumpers. When challenged, one person tried to justify queue jumping by saying that their companion had difficulty walking (ironic when so many in the queue, including Michelle’s mum, were using mobility aids). Anyway this person with difficulty walking suddenly turned into Usain Bolt when there was a call for the last two seats on a bus ready to depart. Typical isn’ it?

 

Once I’d worked out how to get Google maps to give me a walking route (rather than driving) we set off through the narrow streets and alleyways. A lot of it was familiar of course, and though we’d be unlikely to ever get completely lost in Cadiz, it’s still easy to take a wrong turn with all the alleyways and miss your intended destination. We found the shop that sells Kyle’s favourite collectibles within 10 minutes then set off again with a particular tapas cafe in mind. Sadly, though it appeared to not be open when we got there, one of the staff got quite cross with me for pulling out some chairs to sit on. He started stacking them again and was shouting “Not open!” I apologised and Michelle asked when will it be open. He then said 10 or 15 minutes so it felt like a bit of an overreaction on his part and put us right off. Naturally we decided to move on and find somewhere else.

 

Kyle really likes patatas bravas but try as we might nowhere seemed to offer them as a tapa. We walked and walked and by now he was getting quite grumpy, not helped by the hot midday sun. After what felt like an endless search we finally came across Taberna Lucio. They did not offer patatas bravas, but did suggest “Papas Aliñadas”, so we were happy to give it a go. The bar itself was very authentic, no “turistas” (apart from us), and had a good menu of tapas. There was no English menu, and the lady serving only had a smattering of English, but we got by with my bit of Spanish knowledge and that just made me like the place even more. We also ordered Tortilla de Patatas, Jamon Iberico, Chorizo Picante, and Gambas Cocidas (omelette, ham, sausage, and prawns). I was wracking my brains trying to remember what Boquerones en Vinegre would be and almost gambled and ordered them anyway. Fortunately, Google translate came to the rescue and saved us from a plate of anchovies, something that is just not to our taste. Kyle had a Coca Cola Zero and we had the usual “dos vasos de vino blanco” which were lovely. Though he is regularly a fussy eater Kyle tried everything and ate most of the jamon and chorizo along with more than his share of the prawns too. I ate most of the Papas Aliñadas, which turned out to be new potatoes in olive oil with diced onion and green peppers, and tinned tuna. New to me but it worked as far as I was concerned. I settled the bill which was only €28.30, and the hostess smiled when I said that it was “Bueno y barato!” (good and cheap). Kyle announced that he really liked the place and had enjoyed the food, which just made it even better, and the earlier fallouts were well and truly done with.

 

We strolled back to the port and were on a shuttle bus heading back in less than five minutes. There were three gangways and ship staff were directing passengers in different directions to try keep them all moving. We were directed to the one furthest aft and there was a bit of a hold up, so we switched to another just 20 metres away and got straight on. Kyle wanted to stay in the cabin so Michelle and I went to the Masters of the Sea pub and sat on the walkway seats overlooking la Galeria. The ship was pretty much deserted and the seats are not the comfiest, so once we got our drinks we moved on to (you guessed it) the Champagne Bar. It wasn’t open but we had the pick of the seats with the atrium area being extremely quiet. The Masters of the Seas has a limited menu of beers, two ciders, and a few cocktails. The cider I would have chosen was out of stock, so I ended up with a pint of Heineken which I didn’t really enjoy. The ship often feels extremely warm around the Champagne Bar in the evenings, but on this occasion the air conditioning was working really well, just the ticket after it was so hot ashore.

 

We returned to the cabin and I spent the rest of the afternoon reading on the balcony. We have a mid-aft balcony cabin and it is the last one on the part of the ship that sticks out (difficult to describe but the last cabin before the balconies are more inwards towards the central area of the ship than outwards towards the sea). This means that we only have balcony neighbours on one side and the lady from next door popped her head around to say hello. She wanted to warn us that somehow when they opened their balcony door that morning, they found that someone had been sick on it! It wasn’t any of their family and at first, they thought it was bird poo, before they went out and saw that it was definitely vomit. Lord knows how that happened, must have been either someone from a balcony above or possibly the top open deck. The mind boggles how it got there, maybe blown in by the wind? What a horrible thing to experience.

 

We went to dinner in the Blue Danube and had pre-prepared by viewing the menu on the ship app. I confused our waiter yet again by asking for four glasses of wine, two Riesling to go with our first course and two Pinot Noir for the mains. I explained that I thought it would be easier for him to get all the drinks in one go. He shot off without asking the in-laws what they wanted then when he returned, he gave us the Riesling and tried to give them the Pinot Noir. We explained it again and the penny dropped, and Michelle’s dad sent him scurrying off again for a beer.

 

He eventually returned to take our orders, and the first courses were served at 8pm, 45 minutes after we arrived. As Michelle said, we were not in a rush anyway and at least this time we had our drinks earlier. Michelle had Seafood and Vegetable Potsticker combo, which were like mini spring rolls and pastry parcels, and she enjoyed it. I had the Tuna Niçoise salad which I enjoyed, though I found the small deep dish it was served in a little tricky (I was slightly worried of being a bit clumsy and launching a tomato or olive across the restaurant!). Michelle’s mum had the same and requested “no anchovies” but inevitably they were in the dish. Every starter salad comes with a choice of the same eight dressings. I just stuck with a classic French dressing, and it was very good. Having a choice just lead to confusion for Michelle’s dad, but her mum ordered ranch dressing on his behalf (same as her) and they both liked it.

 

We both ordered Prime Roast Beef Sirloin for main (with roast potatoes, oven roasted root vegetables, Yorkshire pudding and merlot red wine sauce). Sounds delicious, doesn’t it? Sadly, it was anything but. We both asked for medium rare, Michelle’s was medium at best, mine was overcooked and tough and I left quite a bit of it (which is extremely unusual for me). The Yorkshire pudding was like a budget price supermarket frozen version, really disappointing, and the roasted veg was roughly chopped, not particularly tasty, and scattered on the plate. I did enjoy the potatoes! Considering the request for no anchovies on the salad being ignored, and neither of us getting medium rare beef, and the often lukewarm food, my suspicion is that some or all of these courses are just pre-plated waiting to be collected, rather than being cooked and prepared to order. Even allowing for the huge volume of covers and the requirements of mass production, it’s not been up to the standards of other ships we’ve experienced recently (and even then, we think that those have gone downhill in recent years, so the benchmark isn’t high at all).

 

When the plates were cleared Michelle’s mum complained about the food being cold, and the waiter apologised and said that he would pass on the feedback.

 

For dessert, Michelle chose warm apple strudel with vanilla custard. Her dad grumbled about the small amount of custard, so she swapped with him, though she hardly had much more herself. The strudel was indeed “warm”, shame that the custard wasn’t even that! I had Gateau Opera, which was delicious and the absolute highlight of the meal.

 

After dinner everywhere seemed busy so we ended up on the edge of l’Atelier Bar & Art. It was difficult getting five seats, not helped by some families allowing their kids to use up two seats with their feet on one! Anyway I was soon seated with everyone else but it wasn’t a great position and the table was too small for card games. It was super busy and took an age to get served, with Michelle’s mum eventually waving and shouting at a waiter who had missed us completely (and typically taken orders from others who arrived after us). Again, that’s not a criticism of the serving staff who are run off their feet. Talking of which, when we have been in l’Atelier Bar & Art, Hola!, and the Butchers Cut, there seems to be an endless array of suited managers who walk in and inspect things, then pull waiting staff aside to adjust things like a discarded chair not pushed back under a table, or glasses not cleared away, or a display item slightly out of place. I could be completely wrong of course, but it feels like middle managers trying to justify their status and/or jobs? Why not just quietly make those adjustments themselves? It all seems very officious just for the sake of it to me.

 

Around 9:45pm the whole Galeria area quietened down significantly, and we now had waiters available everywhere. We decided to try the Champagne bar and there were lots of spare tables and chairs, so we moved there and were immediately more comfortable. We’d brought our drinks with us so didn’t need anything, but our friendly waiter still came over and gave me a real fright by putting his hand on my shoulder (when I hadn’t noticed him approaching us)! “Good evening Mr Damian” followed by “Hello Sir Michael” to Michelle’s dad. He must have been knighted while we are on holiday with the official letter waiting for him at home! While everyone else played cards I looked at the daily activities and presumably everywhere had quietened down with passengers either going to the show or the outdoor party on deck 15.

 

I didn’t fancy sparkling wine, and Michelle wanted a pina colada, so I went down to the Starship Club on deck 6. Whilst waiting to be served I got chatting to a lovely couple (I think from Merseyside or thereabouts) about different wines and tomorrow’s plans in port. As ever, I’d happily chat to them again but it’s unlikely with circa 6k passengers onboard. The Starship Club is a brilliant bar, and the staff are fantastic, but when I went for the next round of drinks there was a huge queue, so I gave up and tried l’Atelier Bar & Art instead. I was quickly served but it took an age for the drinks to be delivered, and the rest of our party thought I’d been chatting again! I wish I had as it was over fifteen minutes waiting! I’m not sure why, it wasn’t that busy. Maybe they were missing something for Michelle and her mum’s pina coladas?

 

We decided to call it a day at 11:45pm. Kyle had already gone back to the cabin, so I suggested to Michelle that we go up to deck 15 just to see if the party was still in full swing. It wasn’t, but we did notice loads of passengers heading towards the Market Place buffet, which was a surprise as the app states that it closes at 9:30pm. It turns out that it is open for “late night snacks” from 11:30pm-1am, but it seems that they don’t want to advertise this. Clearly lots of passengers knew this as it was incredibly busy. We didn’t get anything for ourselves, but we did grab a slice of pizza marinara for Kyle, as he has often talked about trying the “midnight buffet”. It had ended up as another unintentional late night and this time the cabin TV wasn’t on for long at all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi

 

I would have ordered dressed potatoes

They are boiled potatoes (normally in boiling water but can also be baked) with a dressing ("aliño" in Spanish, hence the name) made from oil, parsley, salt and chopped onion.
I usually eat it with a little grated garlic which gives it a bit of a spicy flavour but I see that they don't make them in Cadiz.
Oh... and the best potatoes are the ones made on the barbecue. When you finish making a barbecue, with the ashes left before it cools, you put some potatoes in and they cook themselves while you collect the rest.

Potatoes bravas are half-fried potatoes (they are left very soft, not at all crunchy) that are accompanied with a spicy sauce and mayonnaise.

There is another variant which is "patatas al alioli". Alioli is a Catalan word which means "garlic and oil". It is, to put it simply, a slightly spicy mayonnaise. Same as bravas but with a different sauce.

However, they will never be offered to you as a tapa, but rather they usually accompany other dishes that you eat in larger quantities.

I wrote a "tapas guide" here

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2988317-customs-in-spain-money-and-cards-tips-telephone-languages-documentation-business-hours/page/2/#comment-67405492

[DamianG]

11 hours ago, alserrod said:

 

 

 

 

Hi

 

I would have ordered dressed potatoes

They are boiled potatoes (normally in boiling water but can also be baked) with a dressing ("aliño" in Spanish, hence the name) made from oil, parsley, salt and chopped onion.
I usually eat it with a little grated garlic which gives it a bit of a spicy flavour but I see that they don't make them in Cadiz.
Oh... and the best potatoes are the ones made on the barbecue. When you finish making a barbecue, with the ashes left before it cools, you put some potatoes in and they cook themselves while you collect the rest.

Potatoes bravas are half-fried potatoes (they are left very soft, not at all crunchy) that are accompanied with a spicy sauce and mayonnaise.

There is another variant which is "patatas al alioli". Alioli is a Catalan word which means "garlic and oil". It is, to put it simply, a slightly spicy mayonnaise. Same as bravas but with a different sauce.

However, they will never be offered to you as a tapa, but rather they usually accompany other dishes that you eat in larger quantities.

I wrote a "tapas guide" here

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2988317-customs-in-spain-money-and-cards-tips-telephone-languages-documentation-business-hours/page/2/#comment-67405492

Thanks, we are familiar with most of those though probably could not have described them in such great detail.
 

Another favourite of ours is “Papas Arrugadas” served in the Canary Islands. 

[DamianG]

Friday 2nd August 2024

 

I was rudely awoken at 3am with chest pains caused by indigestion so it was Gavascon to the rescue again. I blame the claggy risotto, Michelle says too much champagne. On reflection I think that we are both correct. I therefore decided on a lighter breakfast in the buffet and had muesli with fruit which was very good. Why are those I buy in the supermarket never as nice? I also had an omelette cooked to order for the first time ever on a cruise ship (Really? Yes, really). I’m not a big fan hence I’ve never bothered before but it was well cooked and quite tasty once I’d added some black pepper.

 

We had a day in Alicante last year so knew about playa del Postiguet (aka the beach) next to the cruise terminal shuttle bus drop off point. Michelle and I were neutral about going ashore but Kyle just wanted to stay on the ship so we were happy to do the same. Incidently, Michelle read a question on social media about whether it was okay to leave your kids on the ship and go ashore without them, and one responder said that they had done this twice already on this cruise. Without knowing all the details we were shocked at this suggestion; that can’t be right can it?

 

The open decks were quiet and we decided to give the water slides a try, or should I say that Michelle and Kyle did. On arrival at the upper decks we found Michelle’s dad looking lost so we had a bit of a hold up while she walked round with him trying to find her mum. Later her mum said that he’d been gone an hour but I’d hope that this was a bit of an exaggeration. Once we got to the water slides we had to sign waivers and got wristbands clearing us to use them. I was ready and willing even though it’s definitely not my cup of tea, but Kyle was happy to just go on with Michelle so I dodged it. Watching them come round the shutes I thought to myself it didn’t look that quick, but straight away Michele said “That was so fast!”

 

Kyle loves using hot tubs on cruise ships so that was next up and he and Michelle went in one whilst I went back to the cabin to get his swimming goggles. On my return I joined them and was told how hot it was, but was still suprised at the temperature when I got in. Another lady in there smiled at my reaction and said “We’ve all done that!” After a short while she got out with her two children which meant that there were us three and a small boy aged around 4 or 5. We thought he was with them but clearly he wasn’t and at his age should not have been in there unsupervised. He was quite rude, saying “Move! I want to swim!” Michelle told him that no swimming was allowed in the hot tub but that there was a swimming pool on the next tier down. Kyle then switched on the bubble jets and the boy shouted at him “You shouldn’t have done that! I don’t want the bubbles on!” He had a point in that Kyle should have known to ask everyone in the tub if it was okay (and he usually does), but even allowing for this child’s age it was a bad reaction. Eventually he got out grumbling. He kept returning every five minutes or so, presumably to see if he could have the hot tub to himself. At one time he returned with (presumably) his older brother who was much better mannered and also told him that if he wanted to swim he would go in the pool with him (and of course he didn’t want to).

 

Once we’d had enough of the hot tub we wandered around deck 15 and found Michelle’s parents. Kyle stayed a while then went back to the cabin whilst we stuck around for a drink and a chat. The main pool area was busy but sun beds were available in places. Michelle and I both picked up cheeseburgers from the Grab n’Go, but they weren’t good at all and she left hers. There was chilli con carne available and I would have tried it but the only option with it was chips rather than rice, and that put me off. I saw someone else with a bottle of Strongbow cider and it tempted me to try one as well. It wasn’t bad but I won’t be having another.

 

We spent another leisurely afternoon using our balcony, and reflected that it’s the most that we’ve ever used one on any of our cruises. Fortunately it was shaded as the temperature was 31 degrees according to the MSC app. Lots of shuttle buses kept picking up and dropping off passengers, which didn’t matter to us but was a bit of a surprise as Michelle’s mum had been told that they were for passengers with mobility issues only. I think that there was a misunderstanding on that, one way or another. There was also a small road train with an option to take passengers to “Centro Comercial” which is a big shopping plaza (centre/mall) that looks good online. I don’t know if there was a charge for this service (I’d guess that there would be) but again they seemed to be coming and going regularly. I’d definitely like to try that if we return here in future. There was quite a lot of small boat traffic on the other side of the sea wall opposite, with jet skis, dinghies with sails, parasailing, and boat powered sofa and banana inflatable rides (not sure how to describe them but I’m sure you can picture it).

 

Late afternoon I went to deck 15 to get us one drinks. I asked for Viognier and at first the bar tender didn’t understand me. Eventually he said “Ah yes, white wine!” then went looking in the fridge. He shook his head and as I was trying to shout “It doesn’t matter” he went running off to the store cupboard to find some. He then came back looking really pleased with himself, waving the bottle towards me and started to open it. As he poured the wine I saw the bottle and it was Tenuta Villanova, Sauvignon Isonzo del Friuli, aka the one I tried a few days ago and said I wouldn’t be having again! Of course I didn’t have the heart to tell him so I just accepted them with thanks and returned to the cabin. Michelle drank it but agreed that it was a little fruity and not dry enough for our taste. When I returned for more drinks later I kept it simple and just asked for rosé!

 

We went to dinner in Blue Danube and this time Rumkumala tried to give his assistant a little more responsibility. We didn’t catch his name, but he is a smiley, friendly chap though clearly very inexperienced. At one-point Rumkumala asked him to present a bottle of wine to the next table but just couldn’t make himself understood. Eventually, he just took the bottle himself then demonstrated how to present the label to the customer, open the bottle in their presence, and pour a taster.

 

Michelle and I had a starter of sautéed mussels marinara in white wine tomato sauce. I’d have preferred a little less tomato, but it was still nice. I had five mussel shells that hadn’t opened, and Michelle had four. Not disastrous but a fair percentage of those in the bowl. Michelle had tortiglioni pasta boscaiola with mushrooms, peas, cooked ham and creamy tomato sauce and said that she really liked it. I had nilgiri korma, aka vegetable curry, with basmati rice, naan bread, raita sauce. It was delicious, presented hot (even the plate was hot), not too spicy as you would expect with a korma, and not over creamy or sweet like those we get in the supermarkets at home. I thought that it was the best main course so far. Michelle’s mum later announced that it was the best meal of the week with no complaints, so I suppose that I’d better upgrade my opinion to fautless. For dessert we both had diplomatica cake which is a layered puff pastry with sponge and cream. It was fantastic but I really could have done with a fork as well as the standard spoon. What with that and the complete lack of teaspoons in the buffet, certain cutlery appears to be at a premium on this ship.

 

After dinner we spent some time in the Champagne Bar where Oliver was quickly on hand to take our order. For the umpteenth time Michelle’s dad asked for a Bacardi and coke, and for the umpteenth time was told by Michelle and her mum that they do not serve it in this bar. Oliver just smiled and said, “I’ll get you a beer instead.” We didn’t stay as long as usual with Kyle going back to the cabin and Michelle and I going up to the Tropical Night open deck party on 15. It was breezy as it always is out at sea but still warm enough to be outside without jackets or jumpers. Once again, the entertainments team and dancers were giving it everything and we enjoyed the music and not least seeing everyone dancing in sequence. “DJ Joan” and the dancers performed for 45 minutes, then another DJ took over. We stayed over an hour in total and really enjoyed it, getting back to the cabin just before midnight.

 

 

 

Edited August 3 by DamianG

[showingdiva]

Teaspoons - they have them in the buffet, just like to hide them, and make you ask for them.   They're at the dessert area in the middle that sits 90 degrees to the world cuisine.   The same dessert area that has my new favourite of pear and Oreo crumble and custard.

[amurray88]

2 hours ago, DamianG said:

Friday 2nd August 2024

 

I was rudely awoken at 3am with chest pains caused by indigestion so it was Gavascon to the rescue again. I blame the claggy risotto, Michelle says too much champagne. On reflection I think that we are both correct. I therefore decided on a lighter breakfast in the buffet and had muesli with fruit which was very good. Why are those I buy in the supermarket never as nice? I also had an omelette cooked to order for the first time ever on a cruise ship (Really? Yes, really). I’m not a big fan hence I’ve never bothered before but it was well cooked and quite tasty once I’d added some black pepper.

 

We had a day in Alicante last year so knew about playa del Postiguet (aka the beach) next to the cruise terminal shuttle bus drop off point. Michelle and I were neutral about going ashore but Kyle just wanted to stay on the ship so we were happy to do the same. Incidently, Michelle read a question on social media about whether it was okay to leave your kids on the ship and go ashore without them, and one responder said that they had done this twice already on this cruise. Without knowing all the details we were shocked at this suggestion; that can’t be right can it?

 

The open decks were quiet and we decided to give the water slides a try, or should I say that Michelle and Kyle did. On arrival at the upper decks we found Michelle’s dad looking lost so we had a bit of a hold up while she walked round with him trying to find her mum. Later her mum said that he’d been gone an hour but I’d hope that this was a bit of an exaggeration. Once we got to the water slides we had to sign waivers and got wristbands clearing us to use them. I was ready and willing even though it’s definitely not my cup of tea, but Kyle was happy to just go on with Michelle so I dodged it. Watching them come round the shutes I thought to myself it didn’t look that quick, but straight away Michele said “That was so fast!”

 

Kyle loves using hot tubs on cruise ships so that was next up and he and Michelle went in one whilst I went back to the cabin to get his swimming goggles. On my return I joined them and was told how hot it was, but was still suprised at the temperature when I got in. Another lady in there smiled at my reaction and said “We’ve all done that!” After a short while she got out with her two children which meant that there were us three and a small boy aged around 4 or 5. We thought he was with them but clearly he wasn’t and at his age should not have been in there unsupervised. He was quite rude, saying “Move! I want to swim!” Michelle told him that no swimming was allowed in the hot tub but that there was a swimming pool on the next tier down. Kyle then switched on the bubble jets and the boy shouted at him “You shouldn’t have done that! I don’t want the bubbles on!” He had a point in that Kyle should have known to ask everyone in the tub if it was okay (and he usually does), but even allowing for this child’s age it was a bad reaction. Eventually he got out grumbling. He kept returning every five minutes or so, presumably to see if he could have the hot tub to himself. At one time he returned with (presumably) his older brother who was much better mannered and also told him that if he wanted to swim he would go in the pool with him (and of course he didn’t want to).

 

Once we’d had enough of the hot tub we wandered around deck 15 and found Michelle’s parents. Kyle stayed a while then went back to the cabin whilst we stuck around for a drink and a chat. The main pool area was busy but sun beds were available in places. Michelle and I both picked up cheeseburgers from the Grab n’Go, but they weren’t good at all and she left hers. There was chilli con carne available and I would have tried it but the only option with it was chips rather than rice, and that put me off. I saw someone else with a bottle of Strongbow cider and it tempted me to try one as well. It wasn’t bad but I won’t be having another.

 

We spent another leisurely afternoon using our balcony, and reflected that it’s the most that we’ve ever used one on any of our cruises. Fortunately it was shaded as the temperature was 31 degrees according to the MSC app. Lots of shuttle buses kept picking up and dropping off passengers, which didn’t matter to us but was a bit of a surprise as Michelle’s mum had been told that they were for passengers with mobility issues only. I think that there was a misunderstanding on that, one way or another. There was also a small road train with an option to take passengers to “Centro Comercial” which is a big shopping plaza (centre/mall) that looks good online. I don’t know if there was a charge for this service (I’d guess that there would be) but again they seemed to be coming and going regularly. I’d definitely like to try that if we return here in future. There was quite a lot of small boat traffic on the other side of the sea wall opposite, with jet skis, dinghies with sails, parasailing, and boat powered sofa and banana inflatable rides (not sure how to describe them but I’m sure you can picture it).

 

Late afternoon I went to deck 15 to get us one drinks. I asked for Viognier and at first the bar tender didn’t understand me. Eventually he said “Ah yes, white wine!” then went looking in the fridge. He shook his head and as I was trying to shout “It doesn’t matter” he went running off to the store cupboard to find some. He then came back looking really pleased with himself, waving the bottle towards me and started to open it. As he poured the wine I saw the bottle and it was Tenuta Villanova, Sauvignon Isonzo del Friuli, aka the one I tried a few days ago and said I wouldn’t be having again! Of course I didn’t have the heart to tell him so I just accepted them with thanks and returned to the cabin. Michelle drank it but agreed that it was a little fruity and not dry enough for our taste. When I returned for more drinks later I kept it simple and just asked for rosé!

 

We went to dinner in Blue Danube and this time Rumkumala tried to give his assistant a little more responsibility. We didn’t catch his name, but he is a smiley, friendly chap though clearly very inexperienced. At one-point Rumkumala asked him to present a bottle of wine to the next table but just couldn’t make himself understood. Eventually, he just took the bottle himself then demonstrated how to present the label to the customer, open the bottle in their presence, and pour a taster.

 

Michelle and I had a starter of sautéed mussels marinara in white wine tomato sauce. I’d have preferred a little less tomato, but it was still nice. I had five mussel shells that hadn’t opened, and Michelle had four. Not disastrous but a fair percentage of those in the bowl. Michelle had tortiglioni pasta boscaiola with mushrooms, peas, cooked ham and creamy tomato sauce and said that she really liked it. I had nilgiri korma, aka vegetable curry, with basmati rice, naan bread, raita sauce. It was delicious, presented hot (even the plate was hot), not too spicy as you would expect with a korma, and not over creamy or sweet like those we get in the supermarkets at home. I thought that it was the best main course so far. Michelle’s mum later announced that it was the best meal of the week with no complaints, so I suppose that I’d better upgrade my opinion to fautless. For dessert we both had diplomatica cake which is a layered puff pastry with sponge and cream. It was fantastic but I really could have done with a fork as well as the standard spoon. What with that and the complete lack of teaspoons in the buffet, certain cutlery appears to be at a premium on this ship.

 

After dinner we spent some time in the Champagne Bar where Oliver was quickly on hand to take our order. For the umpteenth time Michelle’s dad asked for a Bacardi and coke, and for the umpteenth time was told by Michelle and her mum that they do not serve it in this bar. Oliver just smiled and said, “I’ll get you a beer instead.” We didn’t stay as long as usual with Kyle going back to the cabin and Michelle and I going up to the Tropical Night open deck party on 15. It was breezy as it always is out at sea but still warm enough to be outside without jackets or jumpers. Once again, the entertainments team and dancers were giving it everything and we enjoyed the music and not least seeing everyone dancing in sequence. “DJ Joan” and the dancers performed for 45 minutes, then another DJ took over. We stayed over an hour in total and really enjoyed it, getting back to the cabin just before midnight.

 

 

 

It looks like you were using a hot tub outside? They were cold a few weeks ago (not like a cold version of warm...I mean like cold water 😂) the only hot tubs with hot water for us were in the indoor pool area and in fairness they were boiling! We certainly got a surprise when we walked into the other ones and found out they were cold water

[po go]

good read tubs and slides sound good apart from the interloper are there any pro shows or just the parties with dancers ? is there a bar you can sit where senior sir can get his drink? 

[DamianG]

2 hours ago, amurray88 said:

It looks like you were using a hot tub outside? They were cold a few weeks ago (not like a cold version of warm...I mean like cold water 😂) the only hot tubs with hot water for us were in the indoor pool area and in fairness they were boiling! We certainly got a surprise when we walked into the other ones and found out they were cold water

 
32 degrees in Palma de Mallorca today. A “cold tub” would be most welcome! 🙂

[DamianG]

4 minutes ago, po go said:

good read tubs and slides sound good apart from the interloper are there any pro shows or just the parties with dancers ? is there a bar you can sit where senior sir can get his drink? 

My in-laws have a show booked so we’ll pass on their opinion in due course. We seem to default to the Champagne Bar after dinner as other venues always seem to be full. I think the Champagne Bar limited menu puts off a lot of passengers hence it is a little quieter and that suits us though I have asked if we can have a change for tonight so that I can stay off the fizz & see if it helps with the indigestion. 

[DamianG]

Talking of the Champagne Bar I forgot to mention that two nights running there have been large family groups (two different ones) in there with kids having food and drinks brought down from the buffet. Maybe I’m being a bit fussy but I find that inappropriate. What does anyone else think?

[Mommapadraig]

24 minutes ago, DamianG said:

Talking of the Champagne Bar I forgot to mention that two nights running there have been large family groups (two different ones) in there with kids having food and drinks brought down from the buffet. Maybe I’m being a bit fussy but I find that inappropriate. What does anyone else think?

I agree. 

[smokey01]

5 hours ago, DamianG said:

Kyle then switched on the bubble jets and the boy shouted at him “You shouldn’t have done that! I don’t want the bubbles on!” He had a point in that Kyle should have known to ask everyone in the tub if it was okay (and he usually does), but even allowing for this child’s age it was a bad reaction

I disagree, a hot tub/jacuzzi is for bubbles! I get mad if I enter a jacuzzi that does not have the bubbles on but as an adult I do ask if it is ok to turn them on and if the answer is no I seethe silently!

[smokey01]

5 hours ago, showingdiva said:

Teaspoons - they have them in the buffet, just like to hide them, and make you ask for them.   They're at the dessert area in the middle that sits 90 degrees to the world cuisine.   The same dessert area that has my new favourite of pear and Oreo crumble and custard.

I’ve made a note of that. As I’m a custard lover so if I book again I will know where to look.

 

 

Edited August 3 by smokey01

[amurray88]

1 hour ago, DamianG said:

 
32 degrees in Palma de Mallorca today. A “cold tub” would be most welcome! 🙂

😂...it was just a surprise for us. Then we realised why they were empty but suited us on the whole

[po go]

not an issue re food if doesn't charge for food in there but would have thought a champagne bar would be adults only 

[sverigecruiser]

5 hours ago, smokey01 said:

I disagree, a hot tub/jacuzzi is for bubbles! 

 

Exactly what I thought! I really see no reason to ask if I can turn on the bubbles. If you don't like bubbles, stay away from the tub/jacuzzi!

[sverigecruiser]

5 hours ago, DamianG said:

Talking of the Champagne Bar I forgot to mention that two nights running there have been large family groups (two different ones) in there with kids having food and drinks brought down from the buffet. Maybe I’m being a bit fussy but I find that inappropriate. What does anyone else think?

I agree with you about the food. It's not appropriate to bring food from a restaurant to any bar.

 

[DamianG]

Saturday 3rd August 2024

 

I was awake with indigestion again at 3am so I’m going to give the fizz a miss today and see if that helps. Who knew that you can have too much champagne? We were up early again for breakfast and again it was quiet despite a lot of early departure excursions. Virtuosa was docked directly opposite a huge ferry which was incredibly noisy where we sat outside aft, and we later found that it was even noisier on our starboard side balcony. We weren’t planning to go ashore until lunchtime, so we had a leisurely morning and watching the ferry loading process was fascinating. The driving skills of the lorry drivers were incredible with many backing on, and they squeezed in far more than we could have guessed. Thankfully the ferry finally departed late morning after which everything was much quieter.

 

MSC were offering shuttle bus tickets for £13 each (including Kyle) so rather than spending £39 we walked to the cruise terminal (11 minutes) then caught bus number 1 for €3 each. There was a big queue at the bus stop and another family quizzed us on our plans and options for themselves with two small children. The bus was packed, and we had to stand but luckily, we weren’t too squashed. A local man was stood near us and despite pressing the bell the bus didn’t stop for him. He swore in Spanish and when I laughed, he realised I’d understood so apologised to us all. When he finally was able to get off, he said goodbye to us all and when I said “Buena suerte!” he waved with a big smile. It was around a twenty-minute ride to our stop on Passeig Mallorca. From there we went to our favourite Spanish department store El Cortes Ingles where we checked out various departments. None of us bought anything and from there we walked to a shop which we hoped would stock Kyle’s collectibles but again no luck.

 

Our plan was to find the outdoor barbecue in a park that we’d been to in 2011 and we thought that it was in Sa Feixina. Unfortunately, there was no sign of it though it was pleasant walking through. It was roasting hot, and we were all ready for a break, so we changed to our back up plan of a tapas lunch in Bar La Tapita. We knew that this venue was nearby the market, Mercator de Santa Catalina, but hadn’t realised that it was actually inside it. Walking through the market was really interesting, but our chosen venue was very busy, and Kyle complained of being too hot in there. We had a look for somewhere else, but Michelle started to feel unwell, so we bailed out and waited for the bus back instead.

 

Once onboard we didn’t realise that the bus would not stop at the cruise terminal and we overshot our stop, as did the other family that we had spoken to earlier. We all ended up on a longer walk back than expected, but just under twenty minutes was less than it looked when we got off the bus on some kind of dual carriageway way past the port. We didn’t have any delays getting back onboard and I got some drinks and snacks for the cabin whilst Michelle and Kyle took turns in the shower. We then had another leisurely afternoon alternating between the cabin and balcony, with myself doing a few drink runs.

 

We had dinner in the Blue Danube as usual and I had Gobi Matar Gajar for my starter. According to the menu this consisted of cauliflower, green peas and carrots in an Indian gravy made with onion garlic, ginger, tomato, and spices. It was really tasty, and I’m sure that there were some potatoes thrown into the mixture as well. Michelle chose seafood cocktail and enjoyed it. For our mains we had butter chicken which was also very good, a little more spicy and less creamy than supermarket versions at home. I had chocolate duo cake “dark and white Bavarian cream on a Sacher biscuit.” It was exactly as described but a modest portion that didn’t go far. Michelle cherry clafoutis cream with baked custard and dark cherries. It didn’t look anything like we expected but she said that it tasted better than it looked. Overall, it was another good dining experience.

 

After dinner we managed to find seats in l’Atelier Bar & Art. I got chatting to a couple from Newcastle and they commented on the number of managers walking round the bars and restaurants inspecting things. Right on cue our Stanley Tucci lookalike bar manager walked through but to his credit he cleared a table himself rather than direct one of the waiting staff to do it. The Newcastle couple said that being used to Marella cruises on smaller ships they still had not really come to terms with the size of Virtuosa and especially the huge number of passengers. They did say that they’d been to see three theatre shows and enjoyed them all.

 

Kyle returned to the cabin, so we decided to finish the evening in the adult only Sky Lounge bar. We easily got some seats and had a prime view of the silent disco on deck 15, as well as the port lights, cathedral, airport etc. as we hadn’t yet departed. It really is a lovely venue to sit in. At 11:45pm Virtuosa started to slowly pull away from its berth 15 minutes earlier than scheduled. The Aida ship that had been in port all day was still docked nearby and the flashing lights on the central dome suggested that a deck party was in full swing. We stayed in the Sky Lounge until Virtuosa was clear of the port then we called it a day.

 

[marktwothousand]

@DamianG thanks so much for posting this report, I’m doing two weeks on board later this year and I’m pretty stressed about everything because I’m bringing someone on board who is new to MSC.
 

question, you said you were in one of the balconies that’s at the edge of one of the sticky-outie parts of she ship, I’m booked in one of those too. I booked it specifically because I like to play music on my balcony and prefer a little more privacy. Upon seeing outside photos of the ship however, the “wall” side of the balcony looks like it makes the balcony smaller and much colder. I was actually hoping for lots of sun, so I didn’t even think about it. Could you give me your impression of the feeling of the balcony, does it seem smaller than a usual balcony or do you like the extra privacy?

 

I’ll be on a deck 9 balcony like yours and wondering how much you can see the lighting below at night as I do like a bit of stargazing but it looks like the lifeboats are pretty brightly-lit unfortunately. 😞
 

any idea how much the 3 pack specialty is going for on board?

 

have you noticed any non-UK PAX on board? I’m coming from overseas and a little anxious about the culture clash. Are you finding the other PAX fairly polite or is there a bit of rowdiness about?

 

thanks so much for all this info. I’m following intently and already practising a brrrrrritish accent!

Edited August 5 by marktwothousand

[MyriamS]

A little note about politeness because I keep seeing things like "Europeans are rude" across many different threads. Europe is not a single amorphous mass. Every country/region has its own, sometimes very different, expectations regarding acceptable behaviour. I ran into issues because of this many times myself:

- I almost gave my German friend a heart attack when I went to kiss him on the cheeks. Totally normal greeting in France, invasion of personal space in Germany.

- I offended my British housemate when I asked her if she was alright because she looked unwell. I meant to express my worry about her health, she thought I was criticizing her looks! 

- My parents were a little hurt by my Finnish boyfriend being rather silent and unexpressive in their presence. I had to explain to them that Finnish people are naturally reserved, especially around people they do not know very well.

 

So please please when you are on holiday, do not expect everyone around you to follow you own cultural standards, then be outraged when they don't. To answer your question @marktwothousand if you are doing a Mediterranean itinerary from Southampton, I would expect the overwhelming majority of passengers to be Brits. It doesn't make much sense for continental Europeans to fly to London/Southampton then sail to the Mediterranean, when you can cruise directly from a Mediterranean port. 

 

[po go]

think there might be a difference between rowdiness from groups and rude, If you like a conversation over  a drink will probably  find many willing to talk about sport and cruises , there's always the maxim to avoid  religion and politics, most british like meeting other nationalities. oafish and ignorant attitude in individuals can come from anywhere

[DamianG]

Sunday 4th August 2024

 

Kyle had ordered his room service breakfast for delivery between 8-8:15am so it was a shock to get a knock on the door at 7:33am! On the plus side Michelle and I were forced to get up earlier so the buffet was quieter. Sat outside, it was already hot, and we noted that we were in the nearest berth to the port entrance that we can remember, though it was still a long way out and not really walkable under the circumstances.

 

We had pre-booked tickets for the aquarium with an entrance time between 11-11:30am. We knew that the drive to the World Trade Centre Park (where the shuttle bus drop-off point is) should take 10 minutes, but all the same we debarked at 10:30am to give ourselves ample time. It took a while to get off Virtuosa, then we were greeted with a huge queue for the port shuttle (cost €4.50 return) and no bus in sight. We didn’t want to miss our time slot at the aquarium, so I bit the bullet and paid for the MSC shuttle instead at a cost of £9 each. We originally thought that Kyle’s fare would be the full adult price (with the kid’s cut-off being 13 years old) but in the end he was charged £7. I guess that he was 13 when we originally got on board! I’m still annoyed about the cost now, but with the traffic we only got to the aquarium at 11:16am, and would not have made it if we’d waited for the port shuttle. It was a short walk along Rambla de Mar then we were able to cut through the shopping centre (mall) Maremagnum which was bright and airy with good air conditioning. At the aquarium we were quickly checked through with our prepaid tickets (€68 including a discount for booking in advance). It is a good aquarium, not the greatest but not the worst that we’ve visited. Unusually, there was a conveyor belt carrying customers through the glass tunnels (those where the fish swim above you) so that was something different. I don’t think that we saw anything new, and the highlight for us was the penguins.

 

We left around 12:45pm after the obligatory stop and purchase in the overpriced aquarium souvenir shop. Immediately outside there are some food outlets, and Kyle wanted a waffle. We couldn’t find anywhere to sit while he ate it, so we decided to head into the shopping centre where at least it was very cool. I marched off carrying the waffle, trying to get out of the sun and into the shade as quickly as possible. Michelle and Kyle were a little way behind me and were shouting at me, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying. A second later a huge seagull swooped over my head then flew away as I reacted. It had clearly been weighing up its chances of snatching the waffle and I had a narrow escape!

 

Inside the shopping centre we found somewhere to sit whilst Kyle ate his waffle. I had a bit of a browse around a few shops including the Barcelona FC store and the F1 store where everything seemed to cost a fortune (especially the latter where t-shirts started at €100). We found a store that sold Kyle’s collectibles, so he made another purchase, then we went back outside to a restaurant called Tapa Tapa for some drinks and tapas. We had three coca colas, patatas bravas, jamon Iberico, pan con tomato and langostinos, at a total cost of €46.85. A little more expensive than some of the suburban places we’ve been to before in Barcelona, but definitely cheaper than the main tourist hot spots in our opinion. It was a lovely place with lots of locals eating there so that is a tip in itself. Overall, we’d say that Rambla de Mar is an interesting place to visit with lots of shopping and dining options for anyone who fancies a change from La Rambla and the Gothic area, and doesn’t want to go too far from the shuttle bus drop off point.

 

Michelle and I have both got sore throats, along with a cough and cold; not sure if it’s because we’ve been spending too much time in the cabin to accommodate Kyle, or just coincidence. Once we were back on board, I felt really tired so decided to have a lay down for 5 minutes which turned into a two hour nap. Maybe it was down to all those late nights and early mornings. When I woke up it was nearly time to get ready for dinner and we went to the Blue Danube as usual. We arrived at 7:15pm but the doors weren’t open yet and there was a huge queue. We hung around the Atrium for a while then were allowed in at 7:21pm. Surprisingly the in-laws weren’t there yet, and they eventually turned up five minutes later. Everything seemed disrupted and our orders were taken at 7:40pm, which I suppose wasn’t too long to wait given the delayed arrivals.

 

I wanted to try soft Oriental roll and crispy calamari from the starters, so I ordered both. Michelle also ordered calamari and even Kyle decided to try some. The starters were eventually served at 8:05pm. The soft roll was described as filled with “crunchy vegetables”, but they may as well have said green beans because there wasn’t anything else in mine except for garlic and ginger. My second starter was held back and everyone thought that it had been forgotten, but it was delivered when my first plate was cleared away. The calamari was nice, but a little oily. I’d probably give both a score of 7/10 though Kyle really loved the calamari and asked if they would be on the menu again.

 

The main courses were served at 8:37pm. Michelle and I both chose chicken breast Oriental style (marinated in soy sauce and honey with five spice sauce). Sadly, it didn’t live up to its description and was served in the form of a dry, overcooked whole chicken breast. I thought that it may be carved and at least presented better than it was. I managed to finish mine, but Michelle left hers.

At 8:52pm, Michelle’s iWatch prompted her to stand up as she had not moved for 90 minutes! That gave us all a bit of a laugh, whilst also being an indication of how slow the dinner service had been. Desserts turned up at 9pm, and yet again were the highlight of the meal. Kyle had his usual chocolate cake, and the rest of us all had banoffee pie which was fantastic. We left the restaurant at 9:15pm and had to let ourselves out as the doors had been closed.

 

For the third (or was it fourth) night in a row during dinner service, a restaurant manager and bunch of waiters got together to sing happy birthday to a passenger. Before they do this, they get together and bang cutlery, plate covers, and anything else they can get hold of, to make a beat while they march through the restaurant. All well and good, and a bit of fun, but our poor waiter never gets the opportunity to join in as he is always run off his feet trying to serve all the tables in our corner. We’ve also noticed that as we enter the restaurant there is always a separate of queue of passengers waiting to be allocated tables. We do not know how this works, but we often seem to have new passengers sat at tables in our corner every evening. Maybe the Blue Danube acts as some kind of overflow restaurant for those wishing to divert from their allocated fixed dining arrangement? It just feels like our waiter is constantly rushing between tables trying to keep everyone happy, whereas when I look across at other areas there are waiters clearly under less pressure and stood having a chat with passengers.

 

After dinner, the in-laws were going to a show and Kyle just wanted to return to the cabin, so Michelle and I had free reign to do what we wanted. We had a good walk around various venues, including outdoors. The areas around the Atmosphere pool on deck 15 was already busy with most seats taken in anticipation of the “Star for a Night” karaoke event due at 10:45pm, and the Horizon bar aft seemed packed, mostly with teenagers. Eventually we settled for standing on deck 16 to watch the karaoke. The Oceanic band were accompanying the karaoke singers, and I particularly liked how the band singer helped by starting the songs if the passenger missed their cue, or added harmonies, or hit high notes that were difficult for non-professional singers. All the passenger singers were excellent, especially one young lady who sang solo with no assistance at all, until the final song where three teenagers had a go but were very flat. The band singer couldn’t help them out as they’d taken all the microphones, and it showed! Still, all credit to them for getting up on stage as I could not have done it. It was a quieter night overall, and not something we would usually watch, but we’d enjoyed it and finally retired at 12am.

 

 

[DamianG]

Monday 5th August 2024

 

For a change we didn’t book a room service breakfast for Kyle which meant that we had to drag him out of bed and got to the buffet a little later than usual. Of course, he did not want to sit outside, and it was a lot busier. Once again, we ended up sitting at a table where there was a lot of food debris on the floor, this time being a lot of dry cereal. Given that you have to add your milk at the same place as where the cereal is dispensed, how does that even happen? The whole experience wasn’t good, and we were glad to finish fairly quickly and leave as soon as possible.

 

We spent a little time on our balcony, and tried to get a feel for the shuttle bus arrangements. MSC were offering a shuttle bus service for £13 per passenger, from Virtuosa’s berth into the city. I did a little research and found that when a large cruise ship (which Virtuosa certainly is) has to use a berth some way out from the cruise terminal, the port is obliged to provide a free shuttle service, especially when passengers are not allowed to walk through the port on foot. Our berth certainly seemed to tick all those boxes, so I watched for a while to check out the shuttle bus service, and they seemed to be plentiful. It was very notable how many passengers stood in a taxi queue, then quickly diverted to the free shuttle-bus service when it turned up. Obviously MSC do want want passengers to know about the free shuttle service and many don’t.

 

At 12:30pm we easily disembarked and got straight onto a nice, air-conditioned coach being used for the shuttle-bus service. We were soon on our way, and it was less than 10 minutes to the actual cruise terminal, where we were dropped off nearby with no need to pass through the building itself. We strolled over the road and easily found the bus stop for service 95 which would take us the beach area. There was only us at the stop, but by the time the bus arrived 10 minutes later, there were quite a few waiting, including a German party from the Aida ship. I knew that they wanted to go to the city and were therefore on the wrong side of the road for the right bus service. I was weighing up wether too try help, but they were keeping their distance from the rest of us, and I couldn’t decide whether to interfere or not. The bus arrived anyway, and of course they all got on before they eventually made the driver understand where they wanted to go. Both parties seemed to have some difficulty understanding each other, and the driver ended up pointing over the road to the stop opposite saying “City, city!” Eventually they all got off and we were on our way. Our fare was only €1.50 each and it was just five stops to Platja del Cabanyal, aka the beach.

 

It was a short stroll from the bus stop to the beach, where we found a lovely promenade, and a good choice of sun loungers with umbrellas, each supported by a numbered kiosk. We chose hut 5, where we were quickly accommodated with two loungers and an umbrella for €27. Michelle and Kyle went straight into the sea, and I got us some bottles of agua sin gas (water) for €1.50 each. I had a relaxing time before it was my turn to go in the sea with Kyle. He told me that there were no stones or shells this time, the water was warm, and that the entry was flat meaning I would be able to go a long way out into the sea. I kept following him slowly, and eventually surprised my self by being up to my neck about 50 metres from the shore. I was pleased that he’d encouraged me to go so far out, hadn’t tried to trick me, and especially that I’d trusted him. I’m not particularly confident in deep water but felt safe throughout and really enjoyed it. We stayed in the sea around 25 minutes in total.

 

Back at the sun loungers I returned to the kiosk for some more water, a strawberry slushy, some crisps and a bocadillo de jamon y queso (ham and cheese baguette) for €14. They warmed up the baguette and it wasn’t bad at all. After that Michelle and Kyle went back in the sea and this time a random wave copped him and whisked away his new goggles. Although the sea wasn’t that lively overall, it was in that moment, and they were quickly gone forever despite his best efforts to go after them. When they got back out, he had another slushy, so we ended spending a fair bit of money overall, but it didn’t matter considering our low spends in some of the other ports. Overall, our daily Euro budget for each port is just about on track!

 

Around 4pm we decided we’d had enough of the beach so it was time clean up and pack up, always the worst part of days like this. Fortunately, there were some decent outdoor showers, and separate water taps for cleaning your feet, so it wasn’t too bad. We strolled back to the main road, crossed over and could see the 95 bus in the distance. It was still red hot so we didn’t really want to run and thought that we had no chance of making it. The bus remained parked so we kept going then finally broke out into a run over the last 20 metres and were able to unexpectedly get onboard. The bus still didn’t go anywhere and another family from Virtuosa who had been on the outbound journey just strolled up with all the time in the world and jumped on as well! Once they were on, we set off and were back at the port in no time. As we were walking to the shuttle-bus pick up point, the gates for a railway level crossing closed and a sign was flashing saying the pedestrians should not cross. We waited accordingly but of course some chose to ignore this and dodged the barriers anyway. I just figured that the bus couldn’t leave whilst the gates were closed so there was no point in taking risks. We waited at least 10 minutes with no sign of a train, and a car blasted his horn (not sure at who exactly). Finally, the barriers opened, and the traffic started moving so we crossed as well despite the “red man” do not cross sign still being illuminated. There was a bus waiting, and we were easily seated. A lady in front had two seats to herself, and her two children the same, so in total they were hogging six seats between three of them. As it was the bus pulled away anyway without being completely full, so I guess that it didn’t matter in the end.

 

Back in the cabin we all freshened up then I went to get Kyle some pizza marinara and some drinks for us. I went to the Starship Bar and asked for a pina colada for her and a Pims and lemonade for me. Yet again my order was lost in translation as I was served a pink gin and lemonade. I tried it but didn’t like it and Michelle ended up finishing it. I returned to deck 15 which was packed, and the bar queue was huge. Instead, I went to one of the pop-up bars and the only white wine choice was Chardonnay which would usually be my last choice, but I rolled with it anyway. It wasn’t too bad to be fair, but I wouldn’t have it again.

 

We went to the Blue Danube for dinner as usual and were in right on time at 7:15pm. Yet again there were new passenger groups in our corner, and our waiter appeared to be working solo yet again. There were the usual four tables with sixteen passengers including us, plus another new group of four. Our drinks orders were taken at 7:38pm, and our dinner menu choices at 7:46pm. Our starters were served at 8:03pm, and Michelle and I chose potato mozzarella croquettes, which I thought were okay but nothing special. The mains were delivered at 8:36pm, Michelle having half devilled rooster for her main, aka chicken and chips. She said it was nice and enjoyed it, but it looked like the sort of plate that a very average cook like myself could have served up at home. I chose the always available steak tagliata. I requested medium rare, and it was nothing like, but still okay and nicely presented. Desserts came out at 8:57pm, with us both having cheese and biscuits. Michelle’s mum had chosen coconut cream tropical fruit coulis, but didn’t like it. Eventually it was replaced with cheese and biscuits. We were the last table to leave the restaurant at 9:20pm.

 

After dinner we went to l’Atelier Bar and Art and yet again we could only get seats on the edge of the venue where it spills out onto la Galeria. Once her dad had finally managed to catch the attention of a waiter, Michelle asked for another pink gin and lemonade, and I asked for a “Penny Lee”, which is a rum cocktail. A short while later the waiter returned saying that they couldn’t do it and suggested a classic Cosmo instead. I just went along with it despite it being made with vodka rather than rum, and again it wasn’t too bad. We stayed for another round of drinks after that, and this time I played safe with a simple red wine. It was noticeable that the music had got louder and where we were there was a conflict between what was being played in the bar versus what was booming out in la Galeria. We didn’t stay too long and were back in the cabin for 11:30pm.

 

 

[DamianG]

Don’t grumble about Virtuosa or you’ll be transferred this other vessel in the fleet.

 

Edited August 6 by DamianG

[DamianG]

I don’t know what this grape had to smile about since it was destined for my tummy. 

[DamianG]

On 8/5/2024 at 2:24 AM, marktwothousand said:

@DamianG thanks so much for posting this report, I’m doing two weeks on board later this year and I’m pretty stressed about everything because I’m bringing someone on board who is new to MSC.
 

question, you said you were in one of the balconies that’s at the edge of one of the sticky-outie parts of she ship, I’m booked in one of those too. I booked it specifically because I like to play music on my balcony and prefer a little more privacy. Upon seeing outside photos of the ship however, the “wall” side of the balcony looks like it makes the balcony smaller and much colder. I was actually hoping for lots of sun, so I didn’t even think about it. Could you give me your impression of the feeling of the balcony, does it seem smaller than a usual balcony or do you like the extra privacy?

 

I’ll be on a deck 9 balcony like yours and wondering how much you can see the lighting below at night as I do like a bit of stargazing but it looks like the lifeboats are pretty brightly-lit unfortunately. 😞
 

any idea how much the 3 pack specialty is going for on board?

 

have you noticed any non-UK PAX on board? I’m coming from overseas and a little anxious about the culture clash. Are you finding the other PAX fairly polite or is there a bit of rowdiness about?

 

thanks so much for all this info. I’m following intently and already practising a brrrrrritish accent!

 

Hi @marktwothousand

 

I don’t think that our balcony is any bigger or smaller than next door. It is a smallish balcony but more than sufficient for two of us (our son hardly uses it). We are lucky with quiet neighbours on one side only and like it that there is no one on the other side. We also like to be nearer the sea (than the balconies more inwards). We have had plenty of sun starboard side and even in the shade it’s been warm enough to sit outside. 

 

There is no outside light on the balcony and we went out last night to check “light pollution” from below. Personally I found that the lighting on deck 8 is pleasant enough to provide some light for our balcony so that you are not sitting in total darkness. When I looked skywards initially I could not see any stars, but after a few minutes my eyes adjusted and eventually I counted 33 of them. They were very faint but definitely there.

 

There is a screenshot below of the specialty venue package prices.

 

The overwhelming majority of passengers are British, but of the languages that we recognise we have heard passengers speaking Italian and Spanish. We’d guess that there are quite a few Italian families onboard. We think that there are some Eastern European passengers and there are definitely Asian families onboard. Obviously we cannot guess from which specific countries.

 

We’ve certainly not witnessed any culture clash, and those passengers that we have spoken to are friendly and polite. From my perspective, if I met someone from a different country, discussing different cultures would be interesting rather than a negative.

 

If there is any rowdiness then again we’ve not seen it, and if we did then we’d just avoid it. If we were not comfortable with other’s behaviour in a specific venue then we’d just move on somewhere else. According to social media 24 passengers have been off boarded, but obviously we don’t know how accurate that is and where the information comes from.