amurray88

9 hours ago, beckyboo1986 said:

I've not heard about it being suspended. We're onboard from this Saturday so I can try and find out of you like.

 

I barely use this site so if you wish, pop me a message on instagram explorewithethan2021 and I'll let you know.

Thank you! I have a feeling they still have a live page possibly from Covid that I stumbled upon.

I hoped that would be the case.

20 hours ago, ElizaPink26 said:

What time approximately are the cabins ready on the MSC Virtuosa. Our boarding time is 10am.

Thanks

 

Wow, that's early!

38 minutes ago, showingdiva said:

 

A non-alcoholic drink package on a UK 7 night cruise is £147, so essentially £21 a day.    Which equates to roughly a mocktail, a hot chocolate and 4 cans of fizzy to break even (and of course, as much soft serve ice cream from Atmosphere as you can eat).   Personally, I wouldn't want to be checking my account, or calculating how much I've spent, as I know I would if I was buying it per drink.

 

A coffee in Europe (€1), plus a few cans of juice brought on with us and we save around £300 😉

34 minutes ago, showingdiva said:

 

Most of the commonly consumed wines and spirits on that menu are about the same price as they are where I am, and definitely the non-alcoholic ones.   I would expect to go to a bar / restaurant and pay around £4 for a half pint of Coke / Sprite etc.  Probably why the majority of people will have a drink package.

Last time I was on MSC I got the drinks package for $99.... Not this time. I'm just a cheapskate, there's no way I'd be giving them £3.50 (~£4.20 after gratuities) for a can of coke.

Wow that is pricey!

7 hours ago, wgeddings said:

Apparently “we” have also lost our ability to have people with a different opinion and avoid berating them for it.  I do not recall anyone seeking a debate on the ethics of bringing things onboard but if one starts, I’ll be sure to let you know.  Till then if you wish to debate such things perhaps you can start a thread for that?

I'm with you 👍 and the people who say they choose to follow the rules, really mean they choose to follow the rules that they choose to follow......

We all choose to follow the vast majority of rules I would presume - and we all break rules. Some of us are just aware we break rules and put our hands up - others tell everyone that they don't break rules.......and of course, we all believe them 😜

8 minutes ago, alserrod said:

 

 

I was really wondering that point.

 

My family and me just come to make online checkin. We barely waited some time after that 30ys delay to have checkin.

I have noticed "Fast track" is written in the boarding information in the app.

 

We are not in YC

We do not have Diamond status, nor other kind of status

 

I do not know if it was random, a mistake, a bonus because doing checkin so early or just ALL passengers are ina "fast track" queue

We're sailing with an 11 month old if that helps ...

I would agree....and MSC also say that you have to check in online so are 6,000 passengers going to be in the fast track queue? If so, I'd rather stick to the normal queue....

Hello,

Does anyone know what Fast Track embarkation means? I have it on my boarding pass, just wondering.

Thanks!

2 hours ago, MonsterJoe said:

Some people care about others following the rules as a matter of principal.  Others care only to the extent that it negatively impacts the experience of others (that's how I feel)...and still others just plain don't care.

I think as far as the drinks thing goes - it's not a safety issue, so it's of no impact to anyone. It has to get through security and if security lets it through, I'm assuming the company doesn't care either, so it's not negatively impacting them.

[edit to add]

and just to be clear - when security confiscated our various tequilas in Mexico - we were expecting it, not trying to sneak them through. We were happy to not have to babysit them for the rest of our cruise and had purchased them specifically to bring them home.


...and just for fun...this was our suitcase full of tequila when we landed back in Boston.  Amazingly - all the bottles were still present and intact.

I think that's a great point... 

Although on their website MSC say Flip flops should be worn in pool areas, are they really going to stop you when you don't wear them? Of course not.

Although you shouldn't light a cigarette in the dining room, will they stop you? I believe they would.

It's up to MSC to 1. Make rules and 2. Decide which ones actually matter in practice. 

All I'm saying is - it is very unfair that some people say "oh it's shocking not following the rules" to the rules that they don't break, whilst they break other rules.

As long as it's within reason and not having an impact on others I'm quite happy for others to do it. What "within reason" means is different for anyone I guess

2 minutes ago, MonsterJoe said:

I'd recommend wearing flip flops by the pool for straight-up safety, if no other reason. My wife just about passed out walking barefoot across the deck of the bamboo pool after exiting the hot tub. It had been baking in the sun so long that you could have fried an egg on it.

Yep, definitely some decks are lethal for it! Not had it on MSC before but had it on RCL and it was a shocker

1 minute ago, PTC DAWG said:

I will admit, I’m much more of a rule follower than not..I also think karma is real.  
 

is there a Rule about wearing flip flops by the pool?  I have missed that one if true.   🙂

I agree with you - and I'm the same. I follow just about every rule, would always be polite and would always try to help others. I'm happy to bring my own drink - within reason - to try and save a bit of money. 

I also don't wear flip flops by the pool often. 

Sometimes we know rules too and decide not to follow them - if everyone knew the flip flops rules it would still be seen as a bit daft so most of us would still not follow it all the time.

13 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

I follow rules when it comes to the welfare of people and companies..bringing drinks on board affects sales on the ship..govern yourself accordingly. 

 

Not sure what flip flops has to do with anything..

Their rules are pretty clear... 

The problem is - some of say "we will bring a bottle of wine with us" and some people say oh that's shocking, you should follow the rules.

Then you show them the rules and they say ahhh but that doesn't apply to me, ahhh but that's different.

Stones and glass houses...

9 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

I follow rules when it comes to the welfare of people and companies..bringing drinks on board affects sales on the ship..govern yourself accordingly. 

 

Not sure what flip flops has to do with anything..

🤣 You mean, you follow rules that suit you to follow and that you're happy to follow.

9 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

I am a rule abider to the point it makes all of my friends and loved ones crazy. I remember the first time I went to Toronto and stood on a street corner with about two dozen other people who all patiently waited for the light to change to cross the street. I thought to myself "these are my people!"

I understand that ..but people say they follow every rule. They don't mean that. They mean they follow the rules that suit them on the whole. 

In the nicest way, you don't/won't follow EVERY rule. Most rules? Yep, not every rule.

I also follow rules, but I pick certain rules to not follow. Nothing major, not to hurt anyone. I'm not sure I believe anyone who would say they follow every rule.

1 minute ago, Sharon_and_TC said:

I am amazed at the number of people who will willingly say "the heck with the rules" to save a buck or two (or hundred).

 

It shows what we have devolved to as a society.

 

Maybe it's my upbringing and ingrained fear of the punishment should I get caught breaking the rules.  Maybe it's my long military career where it was our lifestyle to follow the rules.  But whatever it is, I just choose to follow the rules.  

We break rules all the time. Please don't tell me you've never walked on the pool deck without flip flops on.

Just now, morpheusofthesea said:

We are "those people". We do converse at our table for two. We find it rude if we converse only with ourselves, ignoring others at the same table. So we clam up, eat and run, sometimes skipping dessert.

Very concerning that you skip dessert.

8 hours ago, Eglesbrech said:

Day 2 at sea

 

We went for breakfast at 8am and encountered some very unhappy cruisers. Apparently my very positive experience of embarkation, luggage delivery etc was not how it worked out for them and they felt the need to share in great detail with everyone around them. Later in the day there had apparently been long queues, “queue jumpers”  and luggage had gone to cabins quite late in the afternoon / evening. 

 

Breakfast was perfectly pleasant if not as hot as it could be, the quality of the actual produce was good. We ate in Minueto and had a nice sea view. After breakfast off for a stroll, a proper coffee (the one thing I would really fault at breakfast was the tasteless coffee, like slightly frightened hot water) and then the quiz. The coffee from the bars is much nicer.

 

We sat up on our balcony in the sun and the dolphins decided to put on a show for us! Just lovely and they played around the ship for ages, they are quite common in these waters.

 

Having enjoyed the choice on offer at the buffet on day 1 we went up there again at noon but it was absolutely heaving - very loud and crowded so we left. We waited until the restaurant was open and while it was also busy at least the food came to me and I didn’t have to queue for it. Again like breakfast the food was tepid, not hot and the service a little slow. As we were in no rush we just sat and chatted between courses. It amazes me the number of couples who never break breathe to each other through an entire meal. The most the lady next to us said the whole meal was “thank you” and that was to me for passing the butter - not a word to her husband.

 

There are few physical menus on offer and at the door staff were encouraging you to snap the QR code to get the menu. From the point of view of hygiene and less waste of paper this is fine as long as they keep menus for those without a smart phone who need them (which they do). QR codes are used for bar menus and food. 

 

A paper copy of the daily programme is no longer issued to the cabin either (which it was on our last cruise). Information is all on the app or you can get a paper copy from reception (I know this because someone in the lunch queue was being quite nippy to the staff member about how other cruise lines manage to have proper menus and still deliver daily programmes each evening to the cabin. 

 

The afternoon was sunny so we went up to the open decks and left again quickly as the place was mobbed with people. Thank the Lord for a quiet balcony to hide away on. Sea days are the same on most cruise ships.

 

We went for a pre show drink and found seats easily. There are times when the ship is actually very quiet and others when if feels mobbed. The trick is finding your way around the peak times where possible.

 

The evening show was a fiddler with a large helping of quirky style and very enjoyable. There are a lot of rude people on here at the moment coming into a show halfway through or leaving at random times.

 

Dinner was very nice but I’m finding everything is just warm and not piping hot the way I would normally eat. It’s not so cold you would return it  but a few degrees hotter would be nice. The aubergine Parmazan was excellent, and my veal pasta lovely. OH enjoyed his food but looked enviously at mine, I always find the Italian choices are amongst the best. Love the fresh bread provided at every meal as well.

 

Another enjoyable day.

Gutted about the daily planners...will make sure to pick them up each day at reception. It's sad...but I keep them. When friends come round and ask about cruises - "stuck on a boat all day", "nothing to do" ...or even "what do you do during the day", I bring these out...

4 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

 

We empathetize with the "no talkers". Cruisers today are. apprehensive, cautious, hesitant, leery, careful and wary of starting up conversations with strangers in close proximity. Having been forced to 6 feet rules and been told about viral loads being transmitted through the air and to keep conversations down to less than 15 minutes to reduce possible transmission of viral loads, what is a cruiser to do but eat and run ? My DW would have Clorox wiped the butter and prayed no one would sit down at our table until we finished.

I think they were saying that the couple didn't talk to each other.

I can partially get it - I'm a quiet guy but will still always talk to my wife during a meal. 😅

1 hour ago, Stockjock said:

Not a direct answer to your question, but based on what I've read from others, it seems to me that Bella GUAR cabins are upgraded at least 60% of the time.  But obviously, any time one books a guarantee, they have to be prepared to accept the worst cabin in the category that they booked.

Unfortunately no GUAR cabins when I booked... had to go for a normal inside. Presumably no chance of an upgrade. Raging! .... just joking 🙂

1 hour ago, NewWestwardbound said:

We live about 80 mins north of Southampton and travel to just south of Glasgow (East Kilbride) regularly to visit my wife’s mother. Returning from EK we usually stop at Tebay Services and then Stafford North. 

I've heard great things about Tebay 🤣

1 hour ago, Eglesbrech said:

Well we are off on the long journey south from Scotland, at least the weather looks good for the drive. As ever we will stay over and stop off on the journey to see or do something of interest.

 

The plan is to get to Southampton mid day on Sunday as there is a Take That concert on later in the day and the roads and town are likely to be busy. A quiet day before embarking the ship on Monday.

 

We are sailing to the Canary Islands, Madeira etc and have visited all the ports many times before so know them well and what we plan to do. This cruise is a departure for us. We have only ever travelled on MSC in the Yacht Club but as this was a last minute booking (to add onto another cruise in June and make the long journey worthwhile) we are trying the Aurea experience for the first time.

 

We have travelled on Virtuosa several times so know the ship really well. As we have always stayed in the YC area in the evenings other than to visit the theatre so it will be interesting to experience something different. 

 

We are all organised for check in which was easy enough except for taking the photo. Up a bit, down a bit, chin up, chin down, closer, further away ad nasium then when it did eventually take a picture it’s was particularly ugly!

 

The weather for the ports looks good which is always a bonus (particularly if you live in what is probably the worlds wettest country, stunningly beautiful but mainly wet).

 

 

Embarkation Day 1

 

Very smooth embarkation, 15 minutes from car park to the ship.

 

We booked our speciality dining whenever we boarded and I’m glad we did as the queues for this later in the day were massive. We also booked our evening theatre shows.

 

Headed to the buffet at noon, before the crowds descended and enjoyed a really good selection of curry, pakora etc.. I’m not a fan of buffets and only went to look but the curry looked (and was) really good. We sat outside to enjoy the food and the view.

 

We have never eaten at the main buffet before and the choice is really extensive. Much better than some other lines. I also liked the “call” buttons for drinks orders.

 

We tried a couple of cocktails while waiting for our room to be ready and I have a new favourite. The Queens which is ginger based and would be good for seasickness, that’s my excuse to have one in the afternoon!. The  drinks menus are the normal ones (after the short menus for mini cruises) but not everything is available in all of the bars even if it is on the menu. There is however a decent choice so all good.

 

Our cases were at the cabin once it was ready. Cabin is fine, the wardrobe is a bit on the small side but perfectly adequate.

 

We enjoyed the theatre show, though we have seen it before. The cast have good vocals and the dancers are energetic.

 

Dinner was perfectly acceptable as well. A hot chocolate followed, then off to bed .

 

The “Good Ship Murder” is filming onboard at the moment and they are looking for extras from current cruisers. Shirley Balis and Eddie the Eagle are joining the cruise later in the week as well.

Thanks! We're travelling from Glasgow in a few weeks time!

Where did you stop off? We were thinking ~Penrith and ~Warwick before an overnight with friends in Abingdon. This would leave us with an hour's drive on the morning of the cruise.

Did you book your shows on the app when you got on the ship? 

We've never been on Virtuosa before - done Seaview a few years ago so if you have top tips please let us know 👌

Hello, Any thoughts on this?

Hi all,

I went to find out info on the Baby club for upcoming Virtuosa. MSC says baby club is temporarily suspended, is that correct? If so, is there a restart date?

If it is running...how do you go about booking it?

Thanks!