kernow

I've only ever seen the late departure offered on certain European itineraries, don't know if they do it on US cruises at all. Strangely enough on cruises outside of the US we've never really had any lines and even in US ports don't think we've ever waited hours, perhaps we've been lucky. We usually just sit in a lounge somewhere and wait until the crowds have gone down a bit.

Look forward to following. We'll be on Virtuosa in May for the third time, love the ship. I'm sure you'll have a great time especially as you are travelling in YC which can be a nice relaxing escape when the ship is very busy.

Thanks for your review, I enjoyed it. Looking forward to our cruise in May.

That's the one we always go for, we pack it up and bring it home as we don't mind getting our drinks from the bar.

List from last year on Virtuosa, don't know if it has changed recently but imagine something similar.

Thanks for another great live, they always keep me going as I'm counting down to our next trip.

I was just about to ask you if MSC are still doing twice a day cabin service then I saw your comment.😁 Apparently RCL have recently switched to once a day too( as well as increasing gratuities). Pleased to hear this is not the case on MSC, hope they keep it this way.

I actually think they would make more money if they changed. I quite often like the sound of one of the signature cocktails priced at 1 euro/ pound above the package limit. If I only had to pay the difference I'd try it but as I have to pay the whole price I just stick with something included in the package. I think a lot of people would do the same.

My favourite night😁.

Thanks for the info, hopefully for the summer sailings from Southampton things will change with the limit upping to £14 and we'll be able to just pay the difference for anything more expensive.

Finally caught up and looks like you are having a great time. It's nice to know that the ship is still enjoyable even without YC. I'm another one who is also interested if they have changed the drink package and now we will only pay the difference for a more expensive drink, back on again in May.

I'm enjoying your review so far, we're going on Virtuosa again in May also in YC. This 'cruise' you have booked looks great, we're big F1 fans. I've just been on to the MSC website to read the details and love the look of the packages. We're already booked for a Panama canal cruise in Nov this year but hoping they repeat this next year as DH has a big birthday and the hospitality package sounds amazing. We did the Abu Dhabi GP on a Celebrity cruise a few years ago and it was brilliant.

Look forward to hearing what you think, I keep seeing the bargain last minute deals on Virtuosa but a bit put off in case we would be forever comparing to YC. I know it's stupid as we happily switch between suites and balconies on RCL but somehow non YC on the same ship makes me nervous😀.

MSC booking number is 8 digits, all numbers. You need to go back to the TA and ask for the MSC number and then you will be able to log in to the website and app. Drink packages and other things are available to see and purchase on there, also you will be able to check in. Everything is more expensive to purchase onboard so make sure you get anything you want before(I think pre purchases close 2 days before the cruise). Any menus you find in pounds will be last years prices so may increase slightly this season. If you search 'Virtuosa ' in this forum topic you will find lots of threads, I myself have done live threads for the last 2 years and others have too so there is plenty of info. Things will not have changed much when you go.

It depends when your cruise is as to the currency onboard. It is currently Euros as the 'home port' is Hamburg at the moment. When the home port switches to Southampton in April the currency will switch to pounds for the summer season. Drink package is always cheapest to buy when you first book, most expensive when you are onboard. Sterling onboard prices have not gone up per drink for at least 18 months, there is speculation they are about to as the packages just went up (although the dearer Easy package will include a better selection of beers) From a pub menu I have from last year draught beers start at £6.50 a pint.

It depends what you and your 9 year old like. Med at that time of year will be hot and ports busy but you can mix up sightseeing with a couple of beach days for a more relaxed feel. Northern Europe will probably be a bit cooler but you can still find lots of child friendly things to do in all the ports. There will be plenty of different nationalities onboard wherever you go and lots of families with children.

We are from the UK not US but did the trip last Nov/Dec. Our trip did not go to plan (caught covid midway through) and ended up spending a lot of extra time in Sydney but we absolutely loved the city and saw lots of things we'd never planned. Can't wait to return. It took me over a week to fully adjust to the time difference so allow yourself plenty of time. My top tip would be to head over to the Australian board on CC where there are lots of very helpful locals who can answer all your questions.

The Kids clubs are exactly the same as in the Caribbean.

July/August is European school holidays so there will be lots of kids onboard. Med cruise will be very different to Iceland /Baltic, like comparing Carribean to Alaska, Europe is a big place😁. Although Americans see Med as port intensive to us this side of the pond it's like our Caribbean so all the ports can be beach stops if you want them to be, it's what you make it. When our son was younger we cruised all the Europe itineraries and he always had a great time. Most Southern Europeans cruise in family groups and love children so not usually hostile to them.

Yes, I think so.

Aren't they still requiring testing for all cruises from Australia? That is where the OP is from.

As you are from the UK you may want to try Antonio.Paradiso@msccruises.co.uk. Antonio is the managing director of the UK office, we've met him a couple of times on Virtuosa (where he regularly sails incognito) and he always seems very open to genuine problems.

That was it yes, certainly for UK cruisers I think it would be a popular choice but from the responses obviously not for US guests.

In the UK Indian food is very popular, there are lots of upscale Indian restaurants. P and O ships which have predominantly British passengers have Sindhu Indian speciality restaurants onboard, not your typical 'curry house' much more upscale. I'm sure something like that would be very popular especially with cruisers from outside the US. I'm not sure if I'm remembering this correctly but I think there was a time a few years ago where one of the speciality restaurants got changed to Indian when the ship was sailing from Southampton, can anyone else remember this?

You can choose Butcher's Cut, Indochine or Kaito Sushi (not the teppanyaki) for the diamond meal. You get the set price menu included. I think the cocktail for the show was vodka based, we didn't think it was very good (the drink not the show). If you have a drink package you're probably better to get one from a nearby bar before you go in, the Carousel bar itself was not open when we went. We're also on the 12th May, think bookings will open soon, our final payment is in the next couple of weeks so maybe after that. You make the general booking online but choose the day and time once onboard, they have multiple show times.