RosieMac8

Yes there is a library but there are few books. Very poor exchange. No where near the quality of HAL. Love HAL- but it has been a while. I saw families playing cards but did not go into the area they were playing. I cannot say about games. There are hot water dispensers in the lido(buffet) area and in the Aurea spa. Also some bars have coffee by the counter so probably good for tea there- but I do not actually know from experience since I do not drink coffee and only stepped to one or two bars. I went to lido a lot for water and tea. Have fun!

thank you @Best Cat Mom. We hate the major push off the ship on disembarkation mornings. We like to eat our breakfast and then gather our last few items and head off. This information is helpful. We will be disembarking and heading out to catch a local train. No pre-booked tickets so no urgency and the city will be less than 1 hour train ride. Also there are multiple trains per day so no pressure to catch a specific train. But like you our hotel probably does not allow early check in.

Thank you @patrice1 and @skipsaur. Truly excited about this cruise. I have never been to any of these ports and there is soooo much to see and do. First MSC cruise and trying to go in with open mind. I have messaged tour company and they have indicated they will monitor the ship's arrival time. Thanks again.

Thank you @patrice1. I will be sailing Orchestra this summer. I am glad to hear such positive comments about the ship and her food. Did not expect the muster drill on the third day- I assumed we would be doing this on the embarkation day. Thank you for mentioning this. I had posted questions earlier this week and have received a few comments. If you are able to add to them please do. 1. We will be embarking on a ship that does multiple port embarkation. Does this cause any delays getting off for shore excursions? Are there separate gang areas for shore excursion versus debarkation? 2. Multiple reviews have talked about either MSC being late to port or disembarking for the port excursions LATE. One review talked about 2 hours late, others talked about 30 to 45 minutes. Is this fairly common or rare occurrence? How do you handle non-ship excursions with such delays? We have some tours booked with www.SpainDayTours.com that we really hope to make but they are listed to start 30 minutes after stated ship docking times. Thanks again!

Cruisernat-that makes sense. Thank you. I would have asked on the person's review but the review was from some time ago and I was thinking my question might get lost in the lapse of time.

Thank you mnpurple. I think I saw the same vlog. I mentioned this issue to my husband so he is already on it. We are staying pretty close to port except for the tours we have scheduled with www.SpainDayTours. I have told my husband we need to try foods in the different areas. Looking forward to tapas in Malaga, and need to try some paella (I have never had this 😞 ) and will definitely put Focaccia in Genoa on the list. So much to experience - so little time.

Hello. DH and I are taking the dip into the MSC pool. We have 30+ cruises under our belts and decided to try a MSC cruise this summer (~3 weeks away). After reading and watching various reviews, I am getting a little nervous. Looking for you all to calm my nerves and give me guidance. 1. We will be embarking on a ship that does multiple port embarkation. Does this cause any delays getting off for shore excursions? Are there separate gang areas for shore excursion versus debarkation? 2. I read somewhere about getting a ticket the night before a port. Is this for tendering or is there some other ticketing process going on? 3. Multiple reviews have talked about either MSC being late to port or disembarking for the port excursions LATE. One review talked about 2 hours late, others talked about 30 to 45 minutes. Is this fairly common or rare occurrence? How do you handle non-ship excursions with such delays? We have some tours booked with www.SpainDayTours.com that we really hope to make but they are listed to start 30 minutes after stated ship docking times. 4. I have read about the Carousel shows and understand these are usually really good shows. I have read there is a fee charge for these. Can someone advise normal price 25 euros or 100 euros? What can I expect? Thank you in advance and any suggestions you can give to make our trip special would be great. We have never been to any of these ports and the planning of this trip has been challenging. Malaga, Lisbon, Alicante, Cadiz, Mahon, Olbia, Genoa, Marseille. Lori

Thank you Dronnygirl. My husband and I have never been to this region and are so excited about the trip. I have looked at some youtube videos and decided to just wander around Mahon as you mention. I did not know about the gin factory. I am just worried about FOMO. lol

Thank you Emmas Gran. I have posted in the roll call. But there was not a roll call until I created one earlier this month and no one has posted on it. Sadly roll calls are not as active as they once were. My husband and I have never been to any of the ports on this cruise and have never been on MSC. Arriving in Olbia at 10a is limiting options. I had seen a snorkeling tour that sounded great but our arrival time is too late for this.

Currently no plans in Mahon, Olbia, and Genoa. Any suggestions? We currently have tours planned in Cadiz, Lisbon and Alicante with www.SpainDayTours.com. MSC lists the following tours in Olbia- but there are no descriptions- PANORAMIC TOUR OF COSTA SMERALDA (Code: OLB02)- THE ARCHIPELAGO OF MADDALENA (Code: OLB01)- short video but no description - we love the idea of a historical tour but time in port listed 10a-6p limits what we can do outside a personal tour. Trying to finish up our plans. We leave in about 3 weeks. Thank you in advance.

Currently no plans in Mahon, Olbia, and Genoa. Any suggestions? We currently have tours planned in Cadiz, Lisbon and Alicante with www.SpainDayTours.com. MSC lists the following tours in Olbia- but there are no descriptions- PANORAMIC TOUR OF COSTA SMERALDA (Code: OLB02)- THE ARCHIPELAGO OF MADDALENA (Code: OLB01)- short video but no description - we love the idea of a historical tour but time in port listed 10a-6p limits what we can do outside a personal tour. Trying to finish up our plans. We leave in about 3 weeks. Thank you in advance.

I am scheduled for July cruise to British Isles (Royal-JOS 07/23) and was hoping for other's suggestions. We have been to Inverness and went around the town and did the Loch Lomond trip to find Nessie in 2019(she eluded us). I read that the ship docks in Invergordon. What are some things we can do locally and not too time intensive-(not too interested in touring castles)? A <5km hike(easy) would be nice. I have been researching this trip since October and have not pieced it together yet. We are doing a land based trip(France/Netherlands) followed by cruise and I am starting to get overwhelmed. What did you do and really love in Holyhead(Wales)? I am not too excited by ship excursions. Ship has not posted excursions for Belfast yet- suggestions? Suggestions for Cork? any must sees- Dover- thinking about doing the Canterbury church - would love to see Dover cliffs- Will cruise ship pass the cliffs as part of the cruise? Also the times listed for the ship in port making long excursions a challenge 04:40am-3:45pm. Thank you in advance for any suggestions.