A Brit Abroad - Live from YC Virtuosa 31st Aug - 7th September

[Corriegr]

Hi all

 

After such positive feedback after the review of our two week trip on Seascape back in June, thought it would be good to try some live blogging from Virtuosa on a week long trip to the Norwegian Fjords.

 

This will be our 3rd trip on Virtuosa YC, although our first time in one of their inside cabins which we understand is smaller than those on Seascape. Really looking forward to this as our first YC cruise was to the Fjords but with different ports this time. Really excited as it’s also my birthday (not quite another zero birthday that’s next year) on Tuesday and will also be making the most of it as it’s our last time on MSC until Oct 26, as we have a jam packed schedule next two years with a Caribbean cruise on Explora, transatlantic via Iceland and Canada with Princess, transatlantic New York to Southampton on QM2 and an Antarctica sail by in Celebrity Retreat; as well as a few land based trips to Zakyinthos, Malaysia and Dubai.

 

Anyhow that’s all in future, this week in between working for a living (well paying for these trips) Mrs C has had me working on packing military style, mainly her dresses. The cases are now fully loaded we are already to drive 250 miles south down to Southampton on Friday via an overnight stay near Newbury. Hoping some you might want follow this adventure and happy to answer any questions as we go long.

 

See you onboard!

Edited August 28 by Corriegr

[Corriegr]

Now in the terminal YC lounge waiting to board. The luggage drop off was somewhat chaotic so hopefully our bags will arrive in the cabin ok. Very quick check-in and now just waiting for the ship to clear.

 

Changed our travel plans slightly last night and ended up in Doubletree Hilton in Southampton which although on outskirts of city was ten mins door to port

 

Now let the fun begin….

 

 

Edited August 31 by Corriegr

[Corriegr]

Onboard and glass of something sparkling in hand by 10:34 although the lounge is extremely busy. Understand that the ship is pretty much at full occupancy….this is going to be interesting

[Mommapadraig]

2 hours ago, Corriegr said:

Now in the terminal YC lounge waiting to board. The luggage drop off was somewhat chaotic so hopefully our bags will arrive in the cabin ok. Very quick check-in and now just waiting for the ship to clear.

 

Changed our travel plans slightly last night and ended up in Doubletree Hilton in Southampton which although on outskirts of city was ten mins door to port

 

Now let the fun begin….

 

 

Thank you for taking us along again! Bon Voyage!

[Corriegr]

Very very busy,  so lunch on deck 18. Bit overcast but good food and great  as always.  Needed morning coffee earlier but made do with a most delicious Expresso Martini so good to know the bartenders are still on their game.

[morpheusofthesea]

3 hours ago, Corriegr said:

Now let the fun begin….

 

Attitude is everything........

[Corriegr]

Hedonism is my middle name … well at weekends anyway 

[morpheusofthesea]

11 minutes ago, Corriegr said:

Hedonism is my middle name … well at weekends anyway 

You're too modest.

P.S. "Nothing in the world is permanent, and we’re foolish when we ask anything to last, but surely we’re still more foolish not to take delight in it while we have it."

W. Somerset Maugham

Edited August 31 by morpheusofthesea

[Corriegr]

Had a great chat with YC Cruise Director Andrew setting the challenge after our Seascape experience in June where a certain Turkish gentleman has set a high bar. Also great to hear that Robbie the fantastic YC director on Virtuosa on our first MSC cruise two years ago has now been promoted and heads up the YC Director team. Can only bode well.

[Corriegr]

Well unfortunately the positive vibes melted away with an afternoon of chaos and calamity. 
 

Firstly the muster was carnage, very badly organised and ended with Mrs C, who walks with a stick due to arthritis, having to walk ten flights of stairs up and down as they wouldn’t or could not, due to over capacity let her use the elevators. To make matters worse and a follow up to the chaotic bag drop, my luggage went missing in action and required me to go with the butler to look in the lost luggage pile on deck six. After still no joy I remembered I had an air tag inside which showed it wasn’t actual onboard. After much panic and mayhem it was finally located and repatriated with a slightly frazzled owner just before sailaway. 
 

Anyway we are now unpacked and watching our majestic glide down the Solent  with a glass of something sparkling and French, before changing for a late dinner. 

 

[morpheusofthesea]

16 minutes ago, Corriegr said:

the muster was carnage, very badly organised and ended with Mrs C, who walks with a stick due to arthritis, having to walk ten flights of stairs up and down as they wouldn’t or could not, due to over capacity let her use the elevators

Doesn't MSC have a second muster the following day ? and just then use the elevators...

[Corriegr]

Good morning from a very windy North Sea where I have nearly the whole of Deck 19 to myself. The design on Virtuosa with wind shields means you can relax out of the wind although it’s a bit of a commando raid to get to the bar or food as the wind rushes through.

 

So after the travails of yesterday we were looking to enjoy our evening meal. Unfortunately there was no room at the inn at 8:30 with only a table that seats six left right in the entrance  and they seemed to think no tables would turn before 9. So not the best of experiences although the veal chop escalope was excellent and crimes could be permitted to get hold of the sticky toffee pudding recipe.

 

Anyway brand new day and Mrs C has been chatting to YC director so hope calmer waters are on the horizon…..

[jonnyenglish1]

Great report so far, many thanks for your updates. It does sound rather busy!

 

I read on another thread that the carousel shows on mergivillia are now complementary for Yacht Club Guests. Is that the same on your virtuosa journey? I am on the ship in 4 weeks time so debating whether to buy now or wait if they are complementary.

 

Many thanks

 

 

[Corriegr]

36 minutes ago, jonnyenglish1 said:

Great report so far, many thanks for your updates. It does sound rather busy!

 

I read on another thread that the carousel shows on mergivillia are now complementary for Yacht Club Guests. Is that the same on your virtuosa journey? I am on the ship in 4 weeks time so debating whether to buy now or wait if they are complementary.

 

Many thanks

 

 

Don’t know about other ships but doesn’t look like complimentary on Virtuosa. We did them on first trip and they are good shows though. 

[jonnyenglish1]

Thank you. Yes i have seen before, i will book again!

[Corriegr]

So anyhow starting to settle into life again on the good ship Virtuosa and after a very chilled morning decided to have lunch in YC restaurant and ended up having a celebration of English cuisine ( yes it does exist beyond Fish and Chips). Started with a leek and bacon soup follow by cottage pie which was just scrumptious and now on to apple crumble all washed down with an excellent Sauvignon Blanc.

 

Mrs C has also surprised me with an early birthday pressie by booking a two

part Behind the Scenes tour . First part is behind scenes in restaurant,  theatre, laundry etc then on Tues on the big day we get onto the bridge early in the morning. Cannot wait ….

[Corriegr]

Ok the hits just keep coming … apparently there is no hot water on the ship at the moment due to a fault and could take several hours to fix ……..watch this space 

[Corriegr]

The water was fixed

[lahlah57]

As an American looking forward to trying "new" foods like cottage pie and sticky pudding on our YC cruise the end of this month. 

Suitcases are down and ready for packing! 😁

[Corriegr]

Hello again from off the Norwegian coast.

 

Today has been a much more relaxed day so far and part one of the behind the scenes tour was amazing just to see Main Street Virtuosa on Deck 4 that runs the length of the ship and the hive of activity it is. I wish I could post pics on here but no phones were allowed. We visited the F&B stores, the laundry, behind the scenes in the theatre and the galley/kitchens which is mind blowing when you see the scale of the catering operation. 45000 eggs anyone.

 

Another myth exploded today was you can have a nice room service breakfast in a YC inside cabin on Virtuosa. Take one dressing table stool and a tray and you have a makeshift table for two.

 

Tomorrow is a port day in Alesund and now realise why Mrs C wouldn’t let me book an excursion as are going to look at the engine and visit the bridge tomorrow morning although we will venture into town for a spot of birthday lunch.

 

Beyond the BTS, life has settled down  and everything is now the dependable YC product we so enjoy. The food has been excellent and great friendly service. The company onboard  has also been good and other fellow voyagers have confirm I am not a suspected prima donna and all have had their tales of mishaps and not the expected YC product in the first couple of days. A big difference seems to be that after the first morning our YC director seems to be as elusive as a Norwegian Blue parrot although I think he is still alive. To be fair to him though we have been either on deck 19 or outside YC most of day.

 

I would say it’s a slightly older crowd on this voyage so gala night and the general dress code seems to be up a gear from our trip on Seascape. The evening entertainment in Top Sail has also been well received and @morpheusofthesea will be very pleased to know we have another great jazz trio on board playing sets in TopSail.

Edited September 2 by Corriegr

[NewWestwardbound]

Loving your review so far Very interested in your views on specific dishes in YC, and any speciality restaurants you visit ahead of our time on Virtuosa later this month. 
 

And if you have an occasional glass of wine with your food, very interested in your thoughts on the “by the glass” offerings in YC too. 

[Corriegr]

9 minutes ago, NewWestwardbound said:

Loving your review so far Very interested in your views on specific dishes in YC, and any speciality restaurants you visit ahead of our time on Virtuosa later this month. 
 

And if you have an occasional glass of wine with your food, very interested in your thoughts on the “by the glass” offerings in YC too. 

In general food is excellent but a big variation between Seascape and Virtuosa, simply because of the audiences. The Seascape portions are far larg…. Oops generous compared to Virtuosa. Many say this is because of European market but Virtuosa is catering mainly to a British market so lots of reference to British comfort food staples like yesterday’s Cottage Pie and today’s Trifle. All the regulars are still there though,  so last night was lobster follow by Cherries Jubilee which is an MSC favourite. The shrimp cocktail was disappointing in my view, but that was simply because it had Marie Rose sauce whilst I prefer the US cocktail sauce.

 

As far as wines go I’m not any kind of wine expert beyond champagne but tried two very drinkable Sauvignon Blancs so far and the Merlot on board is very quaffable. 

[NewWestwardbound]

Many thanks. Food sounds excellent, and a good variety of styles. I like a Sauvignon Blanc (especially if from Marlborough NZ) and Merlot so all good there as well. 

[Corriegr]

Not posted for a day or so as been celebrating my birthday . Everything has settled down and normal service has resumed.

 

Yesterday we had the engine room and bridge tour. As an aviation geek I found the navigation aspects fascinating, getting an understanding of how they manoeuvre these huge ships. If you haven’t done it, I would highly recommend the behind the scenes tour. 
 

In the afternoon we ventured out into Ålesund a very pretty Nordic city and then last night celebrated my birthday with a fantastic meal

in YC. Amazing lamb as always and a butter chicken to take hostages for. Yes I was embarrassed with a birthday cake!
 

Afterwards one of this week’s main theatre marquee performers, a violinist, Christopher Watkins gave a concert in YC lounge. Maybe not quite my cup of tea and would have preferred his normal show where he performs his take on rock standards, this was more genteel for an older audience performing  Broadway and classical pieces, which was very well received. 
 

Today so far has been all about Flam and a highlight of trip. Most people head for the train which we did last time. This time we book independently for a 90 min round trip to Stagastein Viewpoint . A third of the MSC price and absolutely worth it. The weather today has been grey and showery but that has just added to the mystic beauty of the Fjords.

 

The only downside today, and yesterday really has been lack of priority embarkation. Not so much a problem yesterday, but today outside in a downpour to get back on was not much fun .

[Corriegr]

Hello from what has been a very hot and sunny day in Norway.

 

First back to last night and we took our Diamond complimentary dinner at a speciality restaurant last night and went to Butcher’s Cut. Having dined at the same venue on Seascape early in the summer, it was good to be able to do a comparison. Seascape has a superior product, that’s not to say Virtuosa is bad, just not as good. The shrimp cocktail starter was not quite on the money with shrimps just not being the same class as those had across the pond. Mrs C’s New York Sirloin was perfectly cooked and a very generous 14oz where’s as my lamb chops were much more on the metre size and definitely were nowhere near the 14oz advertised, However it’s not the food that’s the problem but the space which is tiny compared to it’s stateside cousin and when it’s busy some diners unfortunately have to have a table on the walkway on deck 7. We were offered a table there when we first arrived last night but politely refused. It will be interesting to see what US clientele think when Virtuosa’s twin sister Grandiosa starts sailings from Port Canaveral.

 

Today has been a bit of a hang over from the majesty of the Flam sunset sailaway which was just off the scale beautiful. I think most people had the same idea as ourselves and stayed on the ship all day as Haugesund whilst a pretty little Norwegian town really doesn’t have much to offer compared to Alesund and Flam. With a very warm late summer’s day, this meant the pool deck was packed all day and we have never seen a YC area so busy with pretty much every sunbed occupied.

 

Really though how can you compete with this …..