MSC Splendida

[fair]

Brand new member, and first time cruiser. Excited and nervous!

My husband and I are going on the MSC Splendida with another couple in January. Ports of call - Barcelona, Marseille, Genoa, Civitavecchia, Palermo, La Goulette.

No idea what we should be doing at the ports. Do the ship do excursions (my travel agent is not very helpful at all). Should I book private taxi's in advance? Or wait until we get there and get a taxi then? I saw it mentioned somewhere to find more people to get a taxi with and it would be even cheaper?

My husband and I don't drink alcohol, is there any way to buy a "children's" drink voucher for an adult? Any body know prices of drinks on board?

Any idea how much we should expect to pay for excursions?

I'm sorry, I know I must seem stingy, but we booked this cruise before we fell into some financial debt. I still want to be able to enjoy myself though!

Thanks :)

[sidari]

Barcelona ... If it is a dry day go on the hop on, hop off bus tour which stops just outside the port and across from the Column of Christopher Columbus, it is certainly worth the money.

[BRACEWELL]

We have recently returned from a cruise on the Fantasia a sister ship to Splendida, I think you will be very impressed with the ship and the MSC cruise experience. I understand that MSC will not sell the children's no-alcohol all inclusive drinks package to adults but it is worth buying the drinks vouchers. You should find on the MSC website a range of options the 14 soft drinks and 14 litre bottles of water are worth getting. If you order on the website you get them without the 15% surcharge and the cost is added onto your onboard account. Onboard the soft drink prices such as non-alcoholic cocktails are about 3.50E and a Cappuccino 2.40E with an Americano at 1.40E (Hotel rather than pub prices).

Excursions: All cruise ship excursions are costly and the best thing to do is spend time studying the ports of call section of this website and trip advisor. You will find lots of great advice. We have used the train to Rome from the port several times and found this very easy, as has already been said Barcelona has lots of options with the hop on/off bus being a good way of orientating yourself. In Tunisia you may find people wary of taxis or DIY options, but Carthage is really worth seeing in my view. Watch out for MSC port transfers they can add up and you will often find a taxi cheaper, especially if you are a group of four. Search online for toms port guides, these are comprehensive cruise ship port guides worth investigating. Research and planning will help you save money and get the best out of your cruise.

[AmoMondo]

Hi Fair, welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

Have a look at the ports of Call section on here to get an idea of what there is to do in each port and how to do it. Your choices in some places are walking/public transport, Hop on Hop Off buses, taxis/taxi tours, private tours.

 

If you can give an idea of what interests you, we can give some advice on how to go about it.

 

You can't buy an all inclusive kid's drinks package but you may break even or even save a little as non drinkers with Sllegrissimo. St €23 per day, coffees, smoothies, vitamin juices, water, coffees, soft drinks and ice cream all add up. Prebooking saves 15% service charge added to all bar purchases onboard.

 

Failing that there are water packages, non alcholic cocktails/smoothies, and soft drink packages that can be bought onboard. You typically pay for 10 drinks and get 12. So you save a little this way as long as you use up all the vouchers.

[glittergal1]

Hi I am sailing solo on Splendida in February Im looking for something to do instead of going to Rome when docked in Civitavecchia any ideas?

[Babyeddiedog]

Hi I am sailing solo on Splendida in February Im looking for something to do instead of going to Rome when docked in Civitavecchia any ideas?

 

You could try Ostia Antica, the ancient harbour of Rome. It's around 1/2 to 3/4 hour from Civitavecchia and has some great ruins. Not sure if the ship will do excursions, but you can get private guides if you're interested.

[glittergal1]

Hi thank you Im researching options , Im travelling solo so I need to join a group for a tour as its too expensive for a guide just for myself