ConnieTact

Hi @Stockjock Looks like you’re both enjoying Barcelona. We board world Europa in two weeks time so will follow along with interest! I hope your boarding is smooth.

You can’t book before you board. Wait until you are on the ship, book a speciality restaurant and say you want to use your diamond meal credit and they’ll tell you what you can order from the menu. which ship are you going on?

Thanks Maria63 that’s good information. I think we may give Hola Tacos a try. I’m fed up with Butchers Cut. I don’t eat much meat and the salmon is the only fish offering (without paying extra). TBH this may end up being another perk we don’t end up using as YC food is too good to miss! If we find that Hola Tacos is available for a lunch we could just try for a change! Thanks again and Happy Christmas!

Again, I too, hope your husband has recovered. This sounded like an awful thing to happen. if only I knew about this, when we were on the ship, I would have asked onboard (we were there 1-8 Dec.) As you said, they are really helpful onboard but less so when dealing with Customer services when off the ship. I wonder if anyone onboard now, could talk to customer services to investigate what happened to your stuff? They would know what they would have done with it and may even remember you. Just a thought and ‘putting out there’ for any helpful person sailing on Euribia now.

I’ll do a live report in January, with lots of food pictures. We’re in YC and the food is always great in there. We only ‘eat out’ at a lunch time for the complimentary speciality dine (mostly Butchers Cut but last time it was in Il Campo on Euribia). We also enjoy the pizzas we get from Room service (also included in YC price). We really like Italian food so always the pasta options too.

I agree that it’s best to buy in advance. It is for wash and fold service (but not ironing). It’s great on a longer break or if travelling light, but now I just it wash when I get home!

That’s exactly what I wanted! Thank you @maehara I look forward to trying this new restaurant. The food on offer looks exciting. I’ll post back here any photos of food we have! Thanks again.

We will be in this ship in three weeks time and we have a complimentary dine as diamond members. We are used to taking them in Butchers Cut but, with this new offering we are thinking if a change! Does anyone have a menu for the restaurant? I looked online and can’t find anything. has anyone dined there and if so, can you me know what you thought of it. MrCT not keen on fish, so I’m wondering what he may find. Thanks in advance!

I do yes! He is a star. It’s workers like him that make the experience so good. Glad you enjoyed his service too.

That’s sounds great! You obviously love it in there as much as we did. Happy Christmas to you too!

I had three sides but don’t think they’d stretch to three starters. Enjoy every minute! Let us know how you get along. I don’t think diamond be will be going anywhere soon. I think they’ll add more levels with even more treats! Have a great Christmas cruise!

I like them both! We’ve been on Virtuosa five times so it was refreshing to have a few changes. There is no doubt the Carousel on Euribia get extremely busy so getting there early is a much if you want to sit down. We only went along a couple of times but depending on the type of music played, I enjoyed it. I loved the Big Band disco party! There’s a lot on offer onboard with this addition because if not your thing, there are still parties in the atrium and other music offerings around the ship. As I don’t eat much meat, I do struggle with Butchers Cut and Le Grill offering with the package. It worked out well for me to choose three side dishes as my main. Virtuosa charged me for this but Euribia didn’t. We always go at lunchtime and it’s always quiet in these Venus on both ships. Thanks for your kind words re the photos. Happy cruise planning!

Looking back on my week on Euribia, we really enjoyed it. This was a bargain cruise that was booked at the last minute and I am so glad we went. I hope you have enjoyed the report as much as I have writing it. I do really enjoy a large and new ship and Euribia fits the bill. Our next cruise lined up is on the larger World Europa. Look out for another report coming soon! I really recommend a Christmas market cruise. It was very cold but with the right clothes this was fine. We were particularly fortunate to have snow at the market as this really added to the seasonal atmosphere. We truly felt we were walking in a winter wonderland! The ship seems to be adding more and more Christmas decorations as the moth progresses. We feel fortunate to have been so well looked after on the ship and we certainly felt merry on more than one occasion! Thanks MSC Euribia you really made it a December to remember! Now, I have somebody who needs me to make up for being away! 😻🐾

Eventually, we went back to the suite for our last nights sleep. In fact it was our third cabin in as many nights! We had experience some noise in the night in our original room and assumed it was to do with the ship while moving. When we still had it and the ship was docked, we reported it. Immediately, we were offered the room next door. We could still hear the noise, although a little less loud, so the last night we were moved five cabins away and it was silent! I would encourage anyone to speak up if there’s an issue as the fast response to make things right, was excellent.

We went to the late Big Band Disco show and we were blown away by the party. The band and the choice of music was hip and groovy! 😂 IMG_4755.mov We joined in with the dancing and thoroughly enjoyed it. We even scored a table and two chairs as people were leaving as it was late. Again, this venue is being used very well by the ship. Another thing I like about MSC is they listen, and change what isn’t working. The same lounge on Virtuosa is only used for paid for speciality shows and not exploited to its full potential like this.

Next we gave out the remaining ducks I had brought along. Instead of hiding them I staged it so that children would find them either by placing them beside them or nodding to their parents and placing them down so they could discover them. Everyone seemed pleased and we witnessed some delighted squeals of excitement and little ones immediately adopting their ducks and playing with them. It was heartwarming and I will continue to do this as I get a kick out of it myself!

There was actually YC escort at the security line in Le Havre. No tent or anything but just one of the butlers holding a YC key card up! I noticed him and asked for escort and he obliged and took us to the front of the queue.Mr CT did say to me afterwards you did well to notice him because he hasn’t either. I was looking out for it because I was told by our butler to expect it only in France. Southampton and Hamburg and Zeebrugge do not allow the butlers to offer escort through their securities. They do have a good resource with the security at Le Havre so this is why it is present there. i told him, I learned something because unlike other countries, this special service is not offered for transiting guests only those who are embarking for the first time.

After dinner we saw a set by Roberto and then again, later to finish our evening enjoying his last set. Roberto has an amazing ‘Chris Rea type’ voice and he’s an asset to the company. He sang some Bryan Adam’s at MrCTs request. We have enjoyed him in three different MSC ships now over the years and hope this continues.

We went for our last dinner in the yacht club restaurant and said our thank yous and goodbyes. The restaurant is well run and the staff seem happy. One waiter stood out for us and gave us personal and friendly attention whenever he spotted us. He was Onet from Philippines, and had strong previous training working for a world renowned chef in Saudi. MSC are fortunate to have him and he would be extremely suitable for the role of head waiter, so I hope he will be given the chance in the near future. Food was excellent. I enjoyed the way the sea bass was cooked.

…..and we’re home! So here’s the missing report in our fabulous last night onboard Euribia. The final evening onboard Euribia was really enjoyable. We saw the theatre show, Luminicity in the well guarded yacht club section. There were less late comers, so whether they were turned away for a later show or if they were being directed to seats behind us, I don’t know! Happily, it meant a more enjoyable, uninterrupted, experience. The show really is top level. Again, not a topic I am familiar with, it was based around computer gaming. Maybe this would help engage a younger audience but I thoroughly enjoyed it too! The lights were fantastic and the choreography interesting as the dancers were impersonating characters in various games. I don’t know who was behind the show but it really had a wow factor and such quality shows place MSC at a much higher level than they used to be. If they continue to invest in this kind of entertainment, I think they’ll be winning the game! I mentioned before that NCL is cutting back on their entertainment budget but, it appears MSC will soon take their place in the performance leaderboard! IMG_4715.mov

Leisurely breakfast then stopped for another or of tea before being helped by our fabulous butler Ivis with our bags. Easily got taxi as most people had disembarked or left for excursions. Now sitting at station waiting for our train. It’s due in 20 minutes.

Home again! I’ll report about our fabulous last night later. We’ve been told UK immigration wants everyone disembarked by 11am latest. Those remaining onboard need to be seen by them too.

Thanks for the posts- I’ll catch up tomorrow- for now- I’m enjoy a fab last nite and making the best of the extra hour!

Le Grill replaces the Butchers Cut on Virtuosa and is located in the French bar L’Atelier du Voyageur. Another difference is that Robbie the robot bar tender and his bar has been replaced by Helios Wine Maker. The manager showed us around and explained the concept of the wine tasting venue at an add on cost. There are fancy screens offering information on a wide variety of wines and regions of winemaking.

Hola! Was unexpectedly closed this lunch time so our booking was. Moved to Le Grill. i knew I wouldn’t want a marinas I don’t eat steak. I asked about the diver sole but that wasn’t included with our package and would have cost an extra €17.50 and I didn’t think it was worth that for me. So, I asked for three side dishes instead. They didn’t charge extra for this (as only one included). I chose a jacket potato with two veg dishes. The menu did not indicate the pan roasted Brussels were cooked with bacon, so would be a strange discovery if one is vegetarian. the asparagus side was over salted with sea salt but the replacement was tasty, crunchy and serve hot. MrCT enjoyed his NY strip steak and we both enjoyed the desserts. Service was fine but if the place was busy I think they’d struggle. There were only five tables taken while we were there.