Ketut

Pool Areas

There are 3 pools on board, main outdoor, indoor and an adult only infinity pool and 8 jacuzzi hot pools. There are 2 bars near the main pool and one bar inside by the indoor pool. There is also the Garden Bar which is located next to the infinity pool at the rear of the ship. Waiter service is provided round all these areas. Although these main areas do get very crowded, there were always areas on the upper decks with plenty of sunbeds and a little more peaceful.

We much prefered the garden bar and adult pool and the staircases here lead directly into the rear of the Buffet Restaurant.

Would love to attach pictures - but tried without success

Just returned from a 17 day cruise on board preziosa and had a fabulous time. We chose this trip because of the itinerary. We have cruised with several companies and once previously with MSC. We are an active couple in our 60's. The trip was booked as a fly/cruise with transfers included.

We had a good flight from Heathrow to Barcelona and were picked up by taxi transfer to the port arriving at 9.30 a.m. We knew the ship would not arrive from Genoa until 1 p.m. Unfortunately, what we didn't think of was that no MSC staff would be at the port, so no embarkation numbers could be given. The waiting room soon filled up. When the ship did dock all the passengers who wished to disembark had to do so first and walk through this already crowded area. When MSC staff did set up the embarkation desks they only opened 5 desks 1 Yacht Club, 2 Priority Boarding and 2 other. No announcements were made and unruley queues soon began to form which 2 of the entertainment staff tried to control. Mayhem to say the least. We eventually boarded at 3.30 p.m.

Once onboard and security picture taken we were quickly in our cabin, luggage already outside and cruise cards on the bed. Great, quick unpack and up to the buffet for drinks and snacks, but NO. Cruise card was incorrect and did not show our all inclusive package. So to reception to join yet another queue to have our card changed - which was done quickly when we eventually got to the front. So drinks ..........NO PA announcement for the safety drill. Oh well. Just time to change for 1st sitting dinner.

The Cabin

We had an inside cabin on deck 10 which was very spacious, nicely decorated with a comfortable bed, chair and coffee table. There was plenty of storage space - 2 bedside tables with 2 small drawers each, dressing table with large mirror and 2 drawers, one contained the hair dryer (2 electric sockets) and a double wardrobe - one with full handing space the other with shelves and drawers. The safe is in the wardrobe (tip - take extra hangers for a longer cruise). The bathroom had ample room with a large shower with glass doors which folded in to give more space in the bathroom.

Our room was at the front of the ship - given the layout of the ship and the areas we used most I would prefer a room just rear of midship.

A couple on our cruise had brought floppy chefs hats with pizzas on top! That got laughs and plenty of attention all round. Not many people bothered to dress up on theme nights. This was a grand voyage with an older clientele.

Hi Janet&Carl, good to hear from you as the roll call is v quiet. We have a walking tour of Cadiz which we plan to do ourselves, first time in Lisbon so will tour round the main sites using tram and foot, been to Madiera so will have a quiet day mooching around Funchal, Santa Cruz we plan on taking the tram to old Town of La Laguna and Salvador taking the Lacerda Elevator to the old Town of Pelourinho. As you and beamafar say, don't carry valuables and be aware of what is going on around you. We need to hope for good weather now.:cool:

Good to know. Do you have any useful tips for the ports of call. Time is so short in Rio we decided to take the ships excursion. Apart from that everything looks easy for independent exploration.

Thanks for the info Beamafar, that means we can get straight on to the metro at Apolonia station. Enjoy your cruise, can't wait for ours its getting close now

Hi, I understand that there are a number of docks at Lisbon and I wondered if anyone knew which dock MSC uses so I can plan my sightseeing route.

Thanks.

We sailed on Sinfonia Genoa to Durban in 2016. I enjoy the smaller ships and thought Sinfonia was a lovely ship. If the itinerary is what you want and you are not sure on the food quality in the main dining areas with MSC the extra 1400 would buy you plenty of food in the speciality restaurants!

Hi, did you manage to arrange a transfer from Santos port to the airport. We booked a package through a TA which includes a local private transfer but I have heard people say that the transfer did not turn up, so I am looking at fall back plans. Our TA booked the transfer because they said MSC do not offer a transfer service at Santos.

Going back to an earlier posting on this thread about cards in room, last time we embarked MSC your picture was taken for the card which matched up on security when leaving entering the ship. How do they get the pictures now or are they no longer required. Could someone clarify the embarkation requirements now. Thanks

We have booked a grand voyage Barcelona to Santos this November booked through Planet Cruise which includes flights and transfers. They have arranged a private transfer from ship to airport picking us up at 10 am for a 5 pm flight. I want to make sure that we will be off the ship early for the pick up. I read somewhere that you can elect to disembarking yourself as long as you are able to carry off your own luggage. We are not in a cabin which allows for early disembarkation.

Does anyone know if it is possible to arrange an early disembarkation time. Would we be stopped from leaving the ship if we needed to leave earlier than the appointed time for our cabin.

We're sailing on Preziosa

We are cruising on Preziosa to South America on 1st November 2017 and the port of Buzios is by tender. That's a lot of people to get to shore. How is this managed and once ashore can you get back at any time? I have just joined the roll call for this cruise but it seems to have gone quiet.