Live from the Musica, Venice to Rio, daily report & any questions?

[Skipper Tim]

My mother Mollie, our friend Angela and I are three solo travellers leaving for Venice in under 48 hours and will be staying on the Lido for three nights before transferring to the MSC Musica for her repositioning cruise via Valetta, Barcelona, Casablanca, Tenerife, Salvador to Rio de Janeiro over 16 nights.

 

My mother and I booked guarantee cat 1 insides and are delighted to have been allocated cat 5 outsides on deck 8. Angela has a physical handicap and was very pleased to be given a disability cabin on deck 12.

 

I will be equipped with iPad and be writing daily updates which I will post to this thread whenever I can access free or cheap wi-fi, e.g. in cruise terminals of our ports of call. Given our itinerary, this will be at most every two days.

 

If you have any questions before or as we go along please feel free to post them here. I hope to write a more collected full review upon our return. This is the 'live interactive version'.

 

Fire away!

 

Regards,

 

Tim.

[wilson2579]

Hope you all have a great time. Lucky you to receive an upgrade. Enjoy.:)

[KirkNC]

Look forward to your live updates.

[MuddyPuddles]

I really look forward to your updates. Will be going in the opposite direction in February (on the Orchestra) and I'm particularly interested in what you find to fill the sea days (besides lazing around and eating, or is that just me?!). Thank you for doing this.

[marc1255boats]

I hear Venice is underwater so stay dry. We were just on the Musica a few weeks ago and had a wonderful time

[AmoMondo]

Have a great time.

 

I'm looking forward to hearing all about it

[Skipper Tim]

After months of waiting, we are finally on our way. There was a minor hiccup with wheelchair assistance at the train station and so were upgraded to first class in compensation. There was not a great deal of difference on Transpenine Express but the seats were larger (2+1 across) and we got a cup of coffee thrown in. Not a bad start to the journey.

 

Security at Manchester Terminal 2 was a major hassle, considerably more intrusive and rude than at our regular Terminal 1, despite the almost total absence of passengers - or rather paying customers.

 

Now we are in the relaxed confines of the Escape Lounge courtesy of my mother's new American Express card for her and a 2-4-1 (£10 each) with a free 30 day trial Taste Card for Angela and I. The lounge is quite a dinky affair but there is everything we could possibly want and more besides. Unlike the Escape Lounge in Terminal 1, this has self-service drinks so we should be fully watered and fed before boarding.

 

Next stop Venice!

Edited November 15, 2012 by Skipper Tim

[Skipper Tim]

We transferred from our Lido hotel to the Musica by Aliliguna vaporetto direct yesterday, arriving around a little after 11:00. It was a fair walk from the water bus 'cruise terminal' stop to the cruise terminal building but once there, MSC did well to get us through the various stages of checkin: luggage drop off, cruise card issue and credit card authorisation, security and finally boarding.

 

All the time there was the usual ambience of Italian chaos around us. While many nationalities are capable of reading instructions in advance and following the prescribed system with the briefest of questions and exchange of pleasantries, other nationalities, Italians among them, exist in a swarm of endless confusion, non-stop questions and every possible attempt to circumvent the system. The party immediately in front of us were all waving their arms and shouting at passport control. Apparently they believed that being Europeans, they had no need of passports - even to go to Morocco and Brazil. Eventually security escorted out of the building and this is one cruise that they would miss.

 

The information sheets we were given indicated that our cabins would be ready at 1pm so we made our way straight to the Gli Archi buffet on deck 13 for an hour. The Maitre D would also make himself available from 1pm in the Sala Viola for table assignments. As we were in three separate cabins on two bookings and our table(s) had not been allocated, we were keen to ensure our dining arrangements were as we wished - second sitting on a table for eight and preferably in Le Maxims MDR on deck 6 (due to comments shared on this forum). The Maitre D was poe-faced and rather self-important with his minions appearing terrified of him. He granted our requests without eye contact and with the minimum number of words. We had been first in the queue and now we were being dealt with, the minions were struggling to hold back some crazy latino women hell-bent on being served next. One particularly determined woman had to be dragged back twice. It felt more like crazy fans desperate for the autograph of a retired Italian pop star they were smitten with in their youth.

 

Next the three of us all went to find each of our cabins in turn. Angela has a disability cabin on deck 12. It is a very generous size and she was broadly pleased with it. She was surprised to see two shower stools. It was because the UK MSC office said there were no shower stools on board that they suggested she had a disability cabin.

 

My mother and I had both been allocated category 5 "obscured view" outside cabins on deck on our guarantee category 1 bookings. Unfortunately in my mother's case the view really is obscured, even standing on her bed she can only see the orange of the lifeboat outside. Still, she will know when it is light or dark outside and there is a little more space than an inside cabin. I was luckier being forward on deck 8 where they have two smaller lifeboats and I have an almost unobscured view. It is interesting to note that the MSC deck plans regarding the positioning of the lifeboats in relation to cabin numbers appears perfectly accurate in this regard.

 

Most people found the muster drill irritating and many let their feelings show. We were shown and told how to fasten our life vests in excruciating detail in six different languages (in order): English, Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese and German. I would have thought that something so obviously visual would suffice in one or two languages.

 

Despite having checked in at 11:30, our luggage did not arrive until almost 18:30. If we had been on the first sitting at dinner we would have spent the first day without our luggage. I can only understand that they must load the luggage on to the ship in a gigantic pile and because we were early on, our luggage was at the bottom of the pile. It was also very cold in both our cabins despite setting the heating to maximum and we really could have done with some extra layers to keep warm. I have also noted that the heating appears to go off completely whenever I leave my cabin rather than switch to 'maintenance' levels and consequently is cold when I return. I imagine we will have the opposite problem as we head south from the Canaries.

 

Now I will have to reserve judgement on dining until I have had more experience other than to say on the first night, other than the company, it was a disaster. There was a mad scrum to get in when they opened the doors around 20:50. There had been many attempted incursions before then, skilfully seen off by attendant staff. We waited until the way was clear and were seated shortly after 9pm. At 9:30pm, we were still waiting for the first drop of wine. No food was sighted until after 10pm and this was just a sliced tomato with a spoonful of mozzarella. When there were only two starters to choose from, not having these ready and wine ready to go when we arrived is inexcusable.

 

Looking around Le Maxim's, there were very few waiting staff for the dense (and exceptionally loud) volume of guests and as a consequence service levels were were below acceptable - you simply couldn't find a waiter. An an hour and forty minutes with little prospect of main courses arriving anytime soon, I made my excuses to the table and went straight to bed.

 

Breakfast in L'Oleandro this morning could not have been a bigger contrast. It was peaceful, relaxed and well-staffed. I had freshly-squeezed orange juice, a tastefully presented fruit compote followed by a slither of smoked salmon with capers and onion. The coffee was free-flowing and staff always available if and when required.

 

I succumbed to the onboard wifi offering. Prices are: €10 for 60 mins, €15 for 100 mins, €50 for 8 hours or €120 for 24 hours.

 

Also the Allegrissimo drinks package has been made available with a 15% 'Grand Voyage' discount, bring the price per night including service charge down to €23, a little less than the £20 we paid by pre-booking and pre-paying.

 

It is gala night tonight and we are dearly hoping for a better dining experience than last.

[dogandchief]

My mother Mollie, our friend Angela and I are three solo travellers leaving for Venice in under 48 hours and will be staying on the Lido for three nights before transferring to the MSC Musica for her repositioning cruise via Valetta, Barcelona, Casablanca, Tenerife, Salvador to Rio de Janeiro over 16 nights.

 

My mother and I booked guarantee cat 1 insides and are delighted to have been allocated cat 5 outsides on deck 8. Angela has a physical handicap and was very pleased to be given a disability cabin on deck 12.

 

I will be equipped with iPad and be writing daily updates which I will post to this thread whenever I can access free or cheap wi-fi, e.g. in cruise terminals of our ports of call. Given our itinerary, this will be at most every two days.

 

If you have any questions before or as we go along please feel free to post them here. I hope to write a more collected full review upon our return. This is the 'live interactive version'.

 

Fire away!

 

Regards,

 

Tim.

 

Hi Tim,

 

I'm very much enjoying your 'live' update - I will follow this thread until the end.

 

I just wondered if you've managed to find out about the FREE SHUTTLE BUS between Venice Cruise terminal and Piazzale Roma? I remember you were asking about this before you left. Was this service operated?

Edited November 19, 2012 by dogandchief

[Lindagop]

I am enjoying your postings greatly. Plse keep reporting. Will you be posting pics as well?

Thanks L.Goepfert

[Skipper Tim]

Hi Tim,

 

I'm very much enjoying your 'live' update - I will follow this thread until the end.

 

I just wondered if you've managed to find out about the FREE SHUTTLE BUS between Venice Cruise terminal and Piazzale Roma? I remember you were asking about this before you left. Was this service operated?

 

In the end we took the direct Alilaguna water bus direct from the Lido to the cruise terminal so we didn't't pass through Piazala Roma and therefore did not have chance to investigate in person. However the reports suggest that the People Mover has replaced it and I certainly did not see any shuttle busses approach the cruise terminal while we were walking to it.

 

Thanks for the kind comments. I'll keep posting.

[Skipper Tim]

I am enjoying your postings greatly. Plse keep reporting. Will you be posting pics as well?

Thanks L.Goepfert

 

Thanks. I will post a small collection of photos part way through. Unless you know better, there is no straightforward way to post to cruise critics. If there is, please explain it.

[Skipper Tim]

This is coming 'live' from the Laguna Bar in the middle of the pool deck (13) while docked at Valetta. It is the first time it has been warm enough to use the outside areas and sure enough the staff were putting out the tables, chairs and lounges from early this morning. But first a step back to yesterday.

 

After a peaceful and enjoyable breakfast I returned to my cabin to find it fully serviced and with the beds separated as I had requested the night before. To me this makes so much sense with an ocean view cabin and especially so with MSC as they tend to have one or two pull-down bunks on the wall either side of double bed arrangement interfering with the space above. Separated, one can walk all the way up to the window to look through it and the daylight shines over the floor instead of being on the the bedspread. My cabin immediately felt more spacious and light.

 

Yesterday was a sea day and the weather very windy and moderately rough. Consequently, the interior public spaces all felt busy and congested. I am sure it was a good day for the numerous onboard shops. People seemed to be buying all sorts of useless tat just for something to do.

 

We expected lunchtime at Oleandro to be busy and opted to wait until an hour and a quarter after opening to allow the initial rush to start to leave. We were right about the business - it was chaotic - but wrong about people starting to leave. It was a challenge to find any sort of table and the crowds kept on coming in right through to the 14:00 closing time. Once installed they were not going to leave. This was clearly their intended resting place until they were forcibly moved on.

 

They drank, ordered more drinks, another desert, more drinks, more deserts etc.. The waiters were literally rushed off their feet and their tempers visibly fraying at the edges. We only ordered two courses - I had a simple but tasty salad followed by an excellent fillet of salmon - but we had to wait an hour between courses and I didn't dare ask for tartar sauce in the stressed environment. It was clear to see that the tardy service was not the fault of the waiting staff, there were simply not enough staff to cope with the numbers of guests and the way they behaved. Open verdict no. 2.

 

After lunch I retreaded alone to the main pool bar all the way forward of the pool deck to find some shelter from the wind, escape from the crowds and to de-stress after lunch! It worked and I slept well afterwards.

 

Angela, my mother and I met in our finest in the Tucano bar, immediately aft of the main level of the theatre around 18:30. The staff were clearing away the residue of the 'welcome cocktails' event which, had we not been on the Allegrissimo package, we would have attended if only for some sickly sweet free alcohol. As it was, normal bar service was suspended for that hour and we had to recover from lunch and mentally prepare ourselves for whatever the first gala dinner would entail.

 

As is usual on formal nights, the staff were smarter-dressed than the majority of the guests. I thought the proportion of men wearing dinner (tuxedo) suits was to lowest I had experienced on my three cruises to date. I know most men don't like dressing up but it does improve the atmosphere and the experience when everyone has made the effort. I keep suggesting to my family that we have one or two formal nights at home but they have never taken me seriously, so far.

 

We avoided the captain's photo queue but caught the 'presentation' of the senior officers and staff in the theatre. Angela and my mother stayed for the show immediately after while I went to collect my thoughts in the wine bar - the most pleasant evening space I have thus far discovered. Although primarily a venue to drink bottles of expensive wine from around the World along with nibbles, snacks and entire meals to suit, they also serve the Allegrissimo choice of wines by the glass. The furnishings are leather and wood, the lighting is in atmospheric, ambient pools, the music last night was trad jazz classics at a easy talking volume until a classical pianist took over, the service perfect and they knew what temperature to serve even included wines. Each to their own but this is mine.

 

At dinner, the final vacant seat on our table for 8 was filled by a professional tour guide who is aboard with his flock of 150. I got the impression he was relieved not to be seated among them. It was a very lively and jolly discussion and we were the last table to leave the dining room. The staff jokingly flashed the lights to give us the hint. However and more importantly for anyone reading this, I can happily report that the dining experience last night was as good as any gala/formal night on a cruise ship I have experienced except for the slightly longer waits and slightly less personal service.

 

If it is only 'slightly' worse in some narrow regards and better in others - e.g. the appearance and design of the ship - that makes this cruise and perhaps, by implication, MSC a good bargain. Or it could do, if I can optimise ways to deal with the crowds at certain times in certain places. But that is getting ahead of myself.

 

We docked in Valetta around 08:00 this morning and were off shortly after 09:00. We were directed by MSC staff on an unnecessarily long route out of the port despite Angela's walking difficulties. We then climbed to the 'summit' of Valetta - the plateau around St. John's Cathedral - via a couple of hundred steps. We should have taken the first taxi offer of €10 but by the time we thought about it the rates increased to €15 and they continued to increase as the drivers passed signals to each other down the line as we approached. Taxi drivers Worldwide have a certain reputation.

 

We sampled more of Valetta during the climb and appreciated more views than we would have done otherwise. There is no doubt about it, Valetta is a stunningly beautiful, medieval 'city on a hill'. However we had been spoilt somewhat by our time in Venice immediately prior. We sensibly took a taxi back and were happy to pay the €15 to be taken all the way to the ship instead of the port gate.

 

Lunch in Oleandro's while the crowds were ashore was sublime. We had a four-table by the window with views of Valetta and a practically private staff of six in attendance. When they are not rushed, it is possible to exchange a few humorous and enlightening words with each of them. I enjoyed a vegetable and bean soup, Turkey escallop and sugar-free, ever-so-creamy strawberry ice-cream. Both the service and presentation were magnificent. If only it could be like this always! I can see that I will never miss lunch on a port day.

 

I will finish with a few random observations. 1) There appear to be no soup spoons on board. Soup is invariably delivered (or offered) with desert spoons.

2) The Allegrissimo package is even better value than imagined. It is not just the price of the drinks to take into account but the number and diversity of the venues. Hotels designed, built and managed to be all-inclusive have far fewer for the number of guests than the Musica. Had the Musica being designed to be all inclusive, guests would almost certainly have had fewer bars, less bar service, had more restrictive opening times and had to walk further. I have long noted that the best all-inclusive hotels are those who have guests on other board bases. 3) There is a generous multitude of live music in the evenings but during the day none at all. Royal Caribbean always has at least one live venue through the sea days even on their smallest ships. Cunard, of course, have their sorely-missed 'enrichment' lectures. I feel MSC could spread their musician talent around a little more effectively - but I am enjoying it all the same.

 

That's all for now. The next stop is Barcelona in two day's time. Stay tuned!

[wilson2579]

Glad you are having a good time. We found our All inc. on Divina a few weeks ago was well worth it. Our final bill, which was zeroed, was 4 x the amount we had paid for the package.

[AmoMondo]

Really enjoying your live review Tim. I always try to be back for lunch in the MDR on port days. It is such a pleasant experience. Sea days you need to go shortly after it opens. It's is so much quieter then and you're guaranteed to get a table. Really only the elderly and Germans that are there prompt. All the Latin types wander in half way through or towards the end and then take up residence as you found. It should improve as the weather improves. Soon as it's warmer more folk spend all day on the pool deck and head to the buffet.

[Skipper Tim]

Good morning from the pool deck of the Musica. This is our second sea day and, according to the Daily Program, we will be passing the island of Toro, South West of Sardinia around 14:00 today, en route to Barcelona.

 

The weather has much improved since leaving Venice. The sun is out in a clear blue sky, the sea calm and there is much activity on deck: the walkers on the jogging track above me, fat ladies in the jacuzzis, fat men playing ping-pong, smokers on the tables by the bar and even a few people laid out on the sun beds, albeit fully-clothed. I am sipping a frothy cappuccino between typing this on my iPad. All this is set to a soundtrack of nostalgic, international piped pop (currently Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge over Troubled Water).

 

Last night was our second 'casual' dinner and things continue to improve. Our regular waiter now manages to keep our glasses from going dry, timings are slicker and generally the service machine is operating much more smoothly. There is the regular British irritation of hot food being served lukewarm on lukewarm plates, but that is just us. We were asked by one of the head waiters at the end of dinner if everything had been alright. It had been and said as much. We expressed our reservations about the long waits on the first night and he admitted that this was due to a lot of staff being new to the ship and to each other on that night.

 

I fear our table is becoming so jolly that we can no longer hear the latinos around us - the same ones that we found deafening on the first night. In fact, trying to avoid being the last out of the dining room again, I looked around to find that we had already frightened them away before we had finished our cheese (blue, by request and superb). Somewhere, probably on a Spanish or Italian cruise blog site somewhere, there will complaints about the noisy English on the Musica. We are actually English, Swiss and Dutch but we speak English at the table, when we are not laughing that is. The Swiss couple admitted that they requested not to be seated with fellow Swiss but with British for because they preferred "the British sense of humour". As I recall from last night their tearful faces and their attempts to hold on to themselves in some vein attempt to stop their bodies from laughing, I believe they may have got what they bargained for.

 

I can't remember how many Baileys we had in L'Enoteca ('my bar') before bed but it was enough to see me sleep right through until 7 - just time to get up for first breakfast at L'Oleandro's. I think I could become accustomed to this lifestyle.

 

After breakfast, we took the lift to deck 13 to investigate the buffet breakfast in Gli Archi. In particular, the ladies wanted to know what, if any, extra choices are available and I wanted to see how busy it was. I think this was 'the grass is always greener' syndrome on their part - yes there were baked beans, fried mushrooms, baked apples and pancakes at the buffet but not found on the L'Oleandro menu but there were no herrings or smoked salmon, no service of course and it was very busy. Even at 8 a.m., there were on two free tables - though we neglected to survey the aft 'Il Giardino' section which joins the buffet during the day. They may convince me to try a buffet breakfast one morning but it will have to be at 7 when they first open. At breakfast, I value peace more than baked apples and pancakes.

 

Today's activities are again a little thin for a sea day. At 11:00 there is a "Culinary demonstration: pacchero funghi porcino gorgonzola" followed by "Dance lesson: Bolero". I assume the latter is the Torville and Dean routine where one tosses oneself on the floor at the end. That should impress my friends. At 15:00 there is "Afrodisiac cocktail demonstration". Coupled with my Bolero and new culinary skills, I will in a single day have acquired all the tools I need to 'pull'. I hope they teach the Torville and Dean 'Barnum' routine on another sea day - it is always useful to have a back-up if the first fails to do the trick.

 

Dress tonight is "Elegant". That may prove a challenge too far for some of my fellow guests. I shall rise to the occasion in my lounge suit, white shirt and silk bow tie and matching pocket square.

 

Until the next time....

[MuddyPuddles]

Really enjoying this - thanks!

[wantocruisemore]

Very much enjoying the review. It also gives me an idea of what to expect with MSC, although we will be on the Divina.

 

Thanks for the info about not seeing a shuttle bus from P. Roma to port. We leaving from Venice as well and will likely either take the People Mover or catch a taxi, depending on our luggage.

 

How far was the ship from the exit of the People Mover? I know Venice is a large port, but am guessing that MSC ships usually dock about the same place?

[Skipper Tim]

Very much enjoying the review. It also gives me an idea of what to expect with MSC, although we will be on the Divina.

 

Thanks for the info about not seeing a shuttle bus from P. Roma to port. We leaving from Venice as well and will likely either take the People Mover or catch a taxi, depending on our luggage.

 

How far was the ship from the exit of the People Mover? I know Venice is a large port, but am guessing that MSC ships usually dock about the same place?

 

I didn't actually see the People Mover but I understand it takes you to just outside the port gates. You can find a plan of the port along with the berth of every ship scheduled to dock at the ports website:

 

http://www.vtp.it/

[AmoMondo]

Another great post Tim. I feel like I'm reliving my repositioning voyage all over again.

[Skipper Tim]

Good morning from Barcelona!

 

We are docked at the new ferry terminal, built since my mother last visited here by ship. On that occasion it was on the QE2 and Cunard provided courtesy shuttle busses to the start of La Rambla - pedestrianised heart of Barcelona. This is not Cunard and the shuttle bus tickets have been heavily promoted in advance at €8 return available only onboard. I was naturally suspicious of this and when I saw dozens of crew being released for some time ashore making a bee-line for the "T3 Port Bus" alongside cruise guests my suspicions were confirmed. A mere scratch of the net reveals that it is possible to buy tickets on the bus for €3.50 return.

 

The ladies have been dispatched to look at handbags or whatever they do, while I have elected to remain on board and appreciate a beautiful and now quiet ship. It is so much enjoyable without the constant prattling and pushing of twelve-hundred Argentinian grandmothers. My apologies to Argentinian grandmothers everywhere. Let me just say that the peace just now is sublime.

 

My priority of the day is to have a civilised lunch at L'Oleandro's. This will have to commence as they open at 12:00 because the masses will surely start to return in dribs and drabs at first then like a torrent, flooding the restaurant. I will then slip out into Barcelona for a wander.

 

I thought I should cover some practical information in these posts. I will begin with my cabin. This, as you may recall is an outside 'partially obstructed view', category 5 cabin on deck 8.

 

Storage is mostly provided by the wardrobe at the entrance. This has four equal-sized doors the first two of which are the hanging space with life jackets stowed on the shelf above. The next door conceals shelves and the last a shelf, the safe with drawers beneath.

 

The safe has the simplest operation I have ever come across. When it is unlocked you key in any number followed by enter and it locks. You have to key in the same (and enter) to open it. If you wished, you could have a different code each time you use it! The downside to this simple operation, as I discovered yesterday, is the possibility of mis-keying when closing the safe. The safe is then locked with an unknown code. It is a simple matter to call reception and request someone to open it - but it is embaressing all the same.

 

The shower rooms are a little larger, as indeed are the cabins, than the equivalent grades on Royal Caribbean ships. Mixer taps and shower valves throughout the ship are made by Grohe. There is liquid soap on a push-dispenser at the wash basin and shampoo and shower gel in wall dispensers in the shower. There are no other toiletries other than tissues and toilet paper. There are two wire shelves and a small cupboard housing a bin but no other bathroom storage. I actually love modern cruise ship shower rooms as examples of optimum use of space and usability. Consequently they do tend to be near identical.

 

There is a hairdryer concealed in one of the two dressing table drawers.

 

The flat screen TV is fixed above the minibar and receives CNN and Euronews in English. There is a wide range of other 'intelligent' functions' including the ability to order room service (at extra cost). These extra functions reside in another menu system which is poorly designed and responds very slowly so I haven't bothered with it.

 

Bedding is poly cotton sheets with woollen blankets and bedspreads which were removed and folded after the first night. The fold-down bunks feature their own ceiling-mounted individually switchable reading lights.

 

I reported earlier about the operation of the heating/cooling system. I can confirm it goes off completely shortly after the keycard is removed from its slot. Royal Caribbean cabin heating reverted to 'maintenance' temperature which was far preferable considering that you may return after an evening out to either a freezing or roasting cabin before bed.

 

Lunchtime - more tomorrow!

[Lindagop]

Tim I am enjoying your daily reports. Very creative and entertaining -thank you. I am on the Poesia Christmas sailing and would appreciate knowing whether bathrobes are supplied in all cabins.

Linda

[Skipper Tim]

Good morning from the MSC Musica, now sailing near the Spanish coast at just shy of 20 knots. According to the Daily Programme, we passed the Greenwich Meridian at around six this morning and will pass Gibraltar around 9:30 tonight. Shortly after, the ship will leave the Mediterranean not to return this year.

 

The weather is currently calm and sunny but the deck is a little busier than usual for the time of day because, we suspect, many people were not aware that we had the first of our many scheduled time changes last night - putting the clocks one hour back. Breakfast was also unusually busy and we managed to catch sight of several watches giving rise to our theory. It doesn't really matter and they will quickly realise when they go to dinner or the show one hour early.

 

The dress code for dinner last night was again listed as 'elegant' in the Daily Programme. We discovered from our fellow diners who receive the news sheet in other languages that this is a mis-translation of "informal" which MSC's version of the code between the formal 'gala' code and 'casual'. There are a fair number of translation errors causing minor issues, not least on the menus.

 

Angela had an issue with her first course at lunch yesterday. It arrived lacking the listed tomatoes and she reasonably assumed she had received the wrong dish as there was little else in the description to hold on to. However it may just be that when that item was first put on the menu it included tomatoes but tomatoes are not an intrinsic part of the dish and have since been substituted. We will never know.

 

I do know however, that we were not in Corfu and did not depart at 9 a.m. as printed in the Daily Program yesterday. When one reads in Barcelona, "The last shuttle bus from the city center to the port will depart at 4:30 pm. You can use the same ticket as many times as you wish during our stay in Corfu", it does make English-speakers worry about the accuracy of the other information too.

 

As far as the menu descriptions are concerned, I have learned to take them merely as indicative. It is better to associate the names of dishes against what actually arrives rather than rely on the descriptions. It is a new language to learn but a very useful one.

 

As we are on the second sitting (9pm), our show time is before dinner (7:15pm). Last night we were treated to highlights from la Boheme with two female and two male opera singers accompanied by a pianist. It started a little painfully with one of the male singers consistently failing to hit middle and higher notes and one of the female singers being overly shrill. After 15 minutes or so, things had improved and I was able to enjoy the show to the end.

 

Other than pianists, I don't believe there are any classical musicians aboard. The mainstream music venues - the Tucano Lounge on deck 6

and the Crystal Lounge aft on deck 7 - are host to pop bands playing music for dancing. Two other venues - La Cascatta by reception on deck 5, L'Enoteca Wine Bar on deck 7 feature pianists who seem to take very long breaks. Finally the Blue Velvet bar in the middle of the ship in the middle of the three public interior decks (deck 6) is appropriately very middle of the road with a duo singing old international pop.

 

We picked up some new guests in Barcelona but did not drop anyone off so the ship may be that bit busier from now on. It wasn't noticeable at dinner which is now operating smoothly. Our waiter "Johnny" has become accustomed to our ways. He is now fast to pour our wine, mine in to the larger water glass, and obtains special cheeses for us to finish with. Last night he managed to find in the depths of the ship's fridge a delicious smoked, soft cheese which helped finish the montepulciano wonderfully.

 

We have also introduced the 'never in the same place twice' rule to keep us constantly shuffled at the table. It works well on a table for 8 as it is just possible for one person to be heard by the whole table and yet it also permits several simultaneous conversations between immediate neighbours. The regular rotation therefore adds an extra dynamic to the company at the table.

 

The night finished once again with a nightcap in L'Enoteca where we discovered that we had already drunk the bar dry of montepulciano. We are desperately hoping for a substitute. The merlot is rather thin and there is a long way to go....

[Skipper Tim]

Tim I am enjoying your daily reports. Very creative and entertaining -thank you. I am on the Poesia Christmas sailing and would appreciate knowing whether bathrobes are supplied in all cabins.

Linda

 

They are not provided for insides or outsides, categories 1-5. I know the top categories have them. Perhaps Amomondo could jump in here?

[msclover]

They are not provided for insides or outsides, categories 1-5. I know the top categories have them. Perhaps Amomondo could jump in here?

 

Well, it depends...MSC Club members can ask for those items in the Reception if they are not on top categories, like I did once while staying on an inside cabin and successfully got it.

 

"Regular" passengers receive bathrobes only in Balcony cabins (6) or higher categories.

 

You can always try to ask the Reception and see what you get, if they are not already in your cabin :)