Sharonmunich Posted July 23, 2008 #1 Share Posted July 23, 2008 Has anybody done the transatlantic cruise from Venice to Brazil? There will be a party of 6 Brits cruising on MSC Musica in November. I would be grateful for any feedback at all on this particular cruise or MSC Musica in general. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scruffts2007 Posted July 23, 2008 #2 Share Posted July 23, 2008 with us add another 2 english speaking as well..there was a roll call earlier this year but has since disappeared...about another 4 from memory that said they were going asked msc earlier this week and they said there was little availabilty left on the trip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmoMondo Posted July 24, 2008 #3 Share Posted July 24, 2008 No one will have done this before as you will be on the Musica's first voyage to Brazil, There are quite alot of posts and reviews on here on the Musica in Europe and from my experinece of MSC there are not that many difference on the ships when they leave Europe Food will be Italian 9with their pizza, pasta and ice cream very good). There are some alternatives to the Ityalian food. Personally i find the food better in the main ding rooms than in the buffets and its more relaxed and peacefyul there plus you dont have the hassle of trying to find a table. There will be no entertainment only in English. MSC cater for 5 or 6 languages on all their ships, so the shows are mainly the type that dont require language - music, dancing, magicians, gymnasts and other Cirque du soliel style acts. They will also have live music in various bars/lounges and some of this will include classical music( trio/quartetes of musicians accompanied by soprano and/or tenor). They also have various quizzes, games, bingo etc but these will be in numerous languages. They often to Italian classes daily on the crossings and if they do anu lectures or shopping/shore excusrion talks, there may be ones exclusively in English (but this will depend on the number of English speakers onboard - often these are the minority) I've done a couple of crossings with MSC albeit the caribbean rather than Brazil (although I'm doing the eastbound journey on the Opera next spring). I'd be happy to try to answer any specific questions that you have about MSC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MMDown Under Posted July 24, 2008 #4 Share Posted July 24, 2008 Venice to Brazil - just the names sound exotic. You must be really excited planning this TA. I like that MSC does different TA routes and visits unique ports of call, at an affordable cost (as one has to factor in the high costs of airfares to different ports of departure and arrival). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharonmunich Posted July 25, 2008 Author #5 Share Posted July 25, 2008 Many thanks for the useful information. Any idea what to expect from the weather when crossing the Atlantic in November? Will sea sickness tablets be a necessity?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharonmunich Posted July 25, 2008 Author #6 Share Posted July 25, 2008 At least there'll be a dozen English speakers on board! We'll make the most of it whatever. You never know, we'll probably be speaking Italian at the end of it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scruffts2007 Posted July 25, 2008 #7 Share Posted July 25, 2008 we went on ncl gem last year in winter on its first translatlantic trip to boston...very smooth no more disturbance than the odd shake as for the brazil trip as its their summer I would suppose the seas should be calmer I have checked that uk passport holders dont need a visa (do u agree) but someone going to s america with another line says you need a yellow fever inj?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharonmunich Posted July 25, 2008 Author #8 Share Posted July 25, 2008 Regarding visas and jabs, to be honest, I haven't thought that far ahead yet. I'll make some enquiries and post a message. Good to hear crossing the Atlantic was smooth last winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharonmunich Posted July 25, 2008 Author #9 Share Posted July 25, 2008 Just looked up the visa and yellow fever requirements. British nationals can enter Brazil without a visa as tourists for up to 90 days. A yellow fever certificate to enter Brazil is required if you have recently visited a country known to have an outbreak of Yellow Fever. The Yellow Fever outbreak in Brazil will not affect the areas we are visiting so I don't think the vaccination is necessary for this trip. I'll make further enquires nearer the time though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmoMondo Posted July 25, 2008 #10 Share Posted July 25, 2008 Just looked up the visa and yellow fever requirements. British nationals can enter Brazil without a visa as tourists for up to 90 days. A yellow fever certificate to enter Brazil is required if you have recently visited a country known to have an outbreak of Yellow Fever. The Yellow Fever outbreak in Brazil will not affect the areas we are visiting so I don't think the vaccination is necessary for this trip. I'll make further enquires nearer the time though. Thanks for that info. I knew I didn't need a visa for my Brazil to Dover trip but was wondering about vaccinations Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharonmunich Posted July 28, 2008 Author #11 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Will there still be only 2 formal nights on an 18 day transatlantic crossing? I take it that all the other nights on board are smart casual? I'm assuming the weather won't be that warm until we're well on our way to South America. It's hard to visualise what to expect weather-wise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scruffts2007 Posted July 28, 2008 #12 Share Posted July 28, 2008 well last year people were still sunbathing until about 2 days before we got boston...when we got there we had 6 inches of snow in two hours..so I suppose heading south cannot believe it will that cold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmoMondo Posted July 28, 2008 #13 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Will there still be only 2 formal nights on an 18 day transatlantic crossing? I take it that all the other nights on board are smart casual? I'm assuming the weather won't be that warm until we're well on our way to South America. It's hard to visualise what to expect weather-wise. I've done a 19 night TA (which included New Year) and it had 5 formal nights and also a 17 night this year which had 4, so i doubt yours will have only 2 (that's what they have on just a 7 night). They just seem to do casual and formal now as we didn't have informal this year and other posters seem to be saying the same. Are MSC providing you with a hotel stay in Santos? if so, do you know which hotel they use? We are having 2 nights in santos before doing the reverse crossing and are wondering what hotel they will give us Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharonmunich Posted July 29, 2008 Author #14 Share Posted July 29, 2008 Thanks for the replies regarding the formal nights and weather conditions. We are flying straight back to Gatwick after the cruise ends and are not overnighting in Santos so I'm afraid I can't help out with hotel suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scruffts2007 Posted July 29, 2008 #15 Share Posted July 29, 2008 we are flying straight back as well but its lufthansa via munich...are you getting off there sharon? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmoMondo Posted July 29, 2008 #16 Share Posted July 29, 2008 Thanks Sharon and Scruffts. I'll just have to be patient and wait and see where they send us. Our flights are LHR to Sao Paolo direct with TAM but you probably got the better deal with Lufthansa eeven although you have to change. be sure to post on here when you get back because I'll be very interested to hear what you thought of the brazilian ports of call and any tips you may have Mairi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharonmunich Posted July 30, 2008 Author #17 Share Posted July 30, 2008 I don't know what flight we're on - all I know is we fly into Gatwick. My sister did the booking and she's on holiday at the moment. That Lufthansa flight would have been ideal for me but I've now booked my Munich return flight to England. I'll give the MSC office a call today to satisfy my curiosity regarding our return flight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruising babe Posted August 5, 2008 #18 Share Posted August 5, 2008 There seems to be a growing number of English speaking passengers now travelling on this voyage, perhaps we could arrange to all meet up on the first or second day. We have cruised with MSC a few times, and have done one TA crossing on the Lirica which was excellent, on that cruise there were four formal nights. Reading various messages we all seem to be on different flights, we are booked to Venice on BA from Gatwick. This is an early morning departure which will get us into Venice before lunch. Does anyone know if we will have the opportunity to check in at the cruise terminal, and be able to spend a little time in Venice before the ship sails in the evening? We return back to the UK on a direct flight from Sao Paolo to Heathrow. We are really looking forward to this cruise and if it is as good as our previous MSC experiences on the Lirica and Opera we should all be in for a truly wonderful time. We look forward to meeting you on board. Irene & Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharonmunich Posted August 6, 2008 Author #19 Share Posted August 6, 2008 I've checked out our flight details and we're flying from Heathrow to Venice landing at 14.20 which won't leave us much (or any!) time to explore Venice. We have a transfer from the airport to the port included. We return to Gatwick via Lisbon with Air Portugal. So indeed we all do seem to be on different flight combinations. In response to Irene and Roger's suggestion to meet up on board with Scruffts and any other interested English speakers, we're more than happy to do just that. My party consists of my sister and her husband, my brother and another couple (friends). I'd suggest we choose a bar and a time (either the first evening, the next morning (before Bari) or on the Tuesday when we've got a day at sea. We're on the late dinner sitting. Looking forward to hearing from you with rendez-vous suggestions. The more the merrier! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scruffts2007 Posted August 6, 2008 #20 Share Posted August 6, 2008 wish I could swap return planes with you...getting off at lisbon would have been great for us and munich ideal for you must telephone msc to recheck my facts never been on the musica before so will defer to someones greater knowledge of where to meet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharonmunich Posted August 7, 2008 Author #21 Share Posted August 7, 2008 Hi Scruffts. It's ironic that you're on the Munich flight and I'm on the Lisbon flight but don't think I can do much about changing mine now. I've posted a message about meeting up on board on the Roll Call as well to catch as many people as possible. Just looked up the names of the bars on the Musica and there are 2 smaller bars called Blue Velvet Bar (possibly Deck 6)and Bar Della Cascata (possibly Deck 5). Looking forward to it now as it's getting closer (and everyone else is going off on their summer holidays!). You probably feel as if you're on a permanent holiday living in Portugal anyway! It's the hottest day of the year in Munich today (32°C). Sharon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scruffts2007 Posted August 7, 2008 #22 Share Posted August 7, 2008 tried today to speak to msc but it seems all airline bookings are now made, anyway if you fly into lisbon you will see the "golden gate bridge" like the one in san francisco and the statue of christ as per rio I asked if the ship was full and was told there are still 40 cabins left and although they gave us a cabin number its not certain until you get your final docs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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