Cruise Review 4th November

[NightWoman]

This was our 3rd cruise with MSC. In the past this was not a cruise line we would have sailed with but when cruising resumed in 2021 this line embarked passengers in Greenock so we took the opportunity to sail on Virtuosa. Truthfully, last year we were not impressed not the fault of MSC more the passenger demographic and what I mean by this is a lot of the passengers had never been on a ship and treated it as a booze cruise, leaving children unsupervised and left to their own devices and not treating the staff well. However it wasn't a typical cruise so we decided to give MSC another chance and cruised around the UAE in March of this year and enjoyed it far better.

 

We decided to do a last minute cruise and booked for the Northern Pearls cruise leaving on the 4th November from Southampton, this was an 8 night cruise.

 

Our previous 2 MSC cruises were in a Fantastica Balcony cabin, this time we decided to book a Yacht Club Suite to see what the difference was.

From the time we checked in a the YC tent about 10:15am the service was amazing, we were escorted past the queues to a seperate security area and taken to the YC area where we were warmly welcomed by Chris the YC director, our butler Glen also introduced himself and offered us champagne Unfortunately the MSC systems were being updated from GBP to Euros on board so there was a slight delay in embarking however it wasn't an issue as we were well looked after. Check-in is also done in this area for YC guests.

We were escorted by our butler onto the ship and taken to the YC Top Deck Lounge on deck 16 where we were welcomed on board by the Top Sail Lounge staff who were all friendly, helpful and impecabley dressed, we were offered more champagne then shortly after our butler escorted us to our suite.

Our suite was on deck 15, it was large and well appointed, a large comfortable bed and pillows, plenty of wardrobe and drawer space, bathrobes and slippers.coffee machine and a kettle, there was also a mini bar. The bathroom was a great size with a large walk-in shower and lovely towels.

Canapes were delivered late afternoon as well as ice for drinks. Our cabin steward Tojo was friendly unobtrusive and was there if we needed him.

 

The outside grill wasn't open everyday due to the weather but this would a great area when the ship is sailing in a warmer climate.

 

The Top Sail Lounge was great in the evening, quiet with a nice atmosphere as there were only about 50 guests, the entertainment at night could have been better, there was a violinist and pianist played before dinner and after there was piona player/singer on after who was excellent.

Our waiter Jayson and his assistant were great, very attentive and gave excellent service but the food in YC was a disappointment, we expected better options however it seemed to be the same menu as the MDR's and we had the same menu repeated after 4 days, so we weren't impressed.

The butler always escorted us to the theatre shows where there was an area set aside for YC guests so we were always guaranteed a good seat. The shows were worth seeing, good singers and dancers, storyline sometimes a bit random but entertaining for 35mins. We also went to one of the paid shows in the Carousel Lounge, Adjerez that was excellent.

 

We spent a lot of our time enjoying the YC Top Sail Lounge but we also enjoyed the Champagne Bar after the theatre and during the day Masters of The Sea Pub. The Market Place Buffet was also good, when we went there was no shortgage of seating and there were plenty of food choices to suit everyone.

 

The parties in the Galleria didn't interest us so can't comment on what they were like.

 

The ship was kept spotlessly clean and all the staff were friendly, helpful and work very hard to ensure everyone had a good experience on board.

 

There was only one formal night out of the eight which was disappointing and it was nice to see some guests had made the effort to dress elegantly.

 

As we had visited the ports before we didn't get off the ship.

 

The reason for the 4* was due to absolute fiasco on the day of disembarkation. Border Force were undertaking face to face checks for everyone on board. We were asked to go the YC Lounge at 8am, we turned up thinking this would be where we would be checked however this wasn't the case. The butler collected us and took us down to deck 6 when we came out of the lift the queue was from the theatre all the way to Carousel Lounge, many people were taking off their own luggage so this was causing an obstruction as well as people coming out of the lifts with large cases. Being YC we were taken to the front of the queue but had to endure the angry and agressive people shouting and commenting on the fact that we had priority.

The face to face check took 10 seconds, then we had to get a sticker to prove we had been checked.

On returning to the YC Lounge we waited until it was time for leaving and again the butler escorted us to deck 6, this time it was even worse as the queue snaked again from the theatre to the reception and back again. The butler and ourselves were again shouted at, abused and intimdated by fellow passengers because we had priority, it was highly unpleasant and quite frightning being in such an unpleasant crowd.

 

We've had face to face checks by immigration before whilst on a ship but never on disembarkation day, Border Force usually come on the ship the day before (in this instance they could have embarked in Le Havre) and arrange the checks by deck and passengers given a time to attend but this was very badly organised and from a safety point of view it was also dangerous as the area was far too congestated, there were 2600 passengers on board and I dread to think what this would have been like with a full ship. I hope MSC and Border Force get this better organised in the future as it was unaccpatable.

 

Apart from disembarkation we enjoyed ourselves.

 

This was our first experience of the YC and we get what they mean when they say YC is a ship within a ship, food aside, the ambience, service and the suites were much better than what some 5* cruise lines offer. We've been spoilt and we would cruise with MSC again but only if it's in the Yacht Club.

Edited November 16, 2022 by NightWoman

[Ryan82]

Great review and good to hear your experiences. I've not sailed on the Virtuosa but would love to. I did the same / similar itinerary in the Preziosa.

 

Might be an idea to update the title to include ship name and destination to make it easier for other people to find it.

[NightWoman]

11 minutes ago, Ryan82 said:

Great review and good to hear your experiences. I've not sailed on the Virtuosa but would love to. I did the same / similar itinerary in the Preziosa.

 

Might be an idea to update the title to include ship name and destination to make it easier for other people to find it.

Thank-you.

Tried to edit the title but wasn't able to.

[Ryan82]

Ahh sorry.

 

How busy was the virtuosa on your cruise? 

[Cruiseforever11]

I like to know if any other northern pearl cruises since the beginning of November have had this face to face with boarder force/immigration or if this was just a one off check. I'm on this ship again in less than 30days and done my last 5 cruises on msc from Southampton and not encountered this before.

I've encountered it before on NCL many years ago round the Caribbean but never on MSC. If this is now the new normal it will be what it will be but let's hope MSC sort themselves out regarding the queues.

I don't understand why they couldn't put a boarderforce person in YC to do people in yc there. I'll find out I guess when I'm next on board.

 

[NightWoman]

50 minutes ago, Ryan82 said:

Ahh sorry.

 

How busy was the virtuosa on your cruise? 

It varied due to passengers embarking and disembarking at various ports but between 2200 - 2600. A lot of people embarked in Hamburg as this was the home port. 

[BertieRulesOK]

40 minutes ago, Ryan82 said:

How busy was the virtuosa on your cruise? 

I was on the same cruise.  It was around 2000 ish from Southampton, starting the new Northern Europe itinery.  More then got on when we stopped in France, Germany and Belgium, but not massive amounts.  English was the main nationality.  Lots of Chinese too.

 

The boat, food and staff were fabulous.  10/10.  I wasn't Yacht Club and not sure it would have enhanced my trip.  There was lots of space everywhere to sit.  Sky Lounge was wonderful and peaceful at any time of the day and evening entertainment was good (sounds like the same as in the YC, likely just switching night).

 

Yes, the food wasn't comparable to that I'd had on Disney ship, but for an MSC cruise which was 25% of the cost, i did not expect that.  It was hot, tasty and I didn't have to cook it.  Lots of fish and seafood if you are that way inclined.  The one night with a main I didn't like, I was secretly delighted for an excuse to go to the buffet and have pizza afterwards.  The pizza is very good.

 

I love the pools - it was possible to swim a decent length and actually have some exercise.  Outdoor pool was heated to a good temperature for swimming (warm but cool enough to swim) and I mostly had it to myself.  The on deck Jacuzzis were very warm and I enjoyed sitting there whilst we sailed out of port.

 

The thermal area in the spa is very, very good.  I was stunned there were so many different steam rooms, saunas, experience showers, bubble pools and relaxation areas on a cruise ship (outshines chamoneys).  Like a section of the aqua sana at centre parks.  So if you are into spa stuff, definately invest in the week pass.

 

Disembarkation at Southampton was a complete and utter shambles.  Badly mismanaged by both Border Force and MSC.  I queued for near 2 hours for immigration check (only two members of Border Force doing the checks). There were serious issues with ppl (non-YC) trying to talk their way into a queue jumping.  People were getting very stressed.  I'm honestly not surprised that issues were encountered for anyone trying to queue jump.  By 2hrs in we had bonded with those around us in the queue and British rules of queuing and fair play were in full force. 

 

I was shocked MSC was not actively managing the queue.  There was a complete lack of adequate communication.  The same disaster had happened only 8 days prior when we boarded (the real reason boarding was late, not "technical reasons" excuse laddy above was fed and swallowed), so they knew it was coming.  8 days to plan a better system.  Complete fail by ship operations. 

 

Where was the live music to entertain the queue, maybe a drinks trolley?  Where was the support of those who were physically unable to queue for 2 hours?  Honestly, a book of raffle tickets to number the queue and send everyone away to queue "virtually" would have been an easy and bare minimum effort.  But no... there was nothing.  It was a very sour note to end what had been a fabulous cruise.

 

Sort yourself out MSC and shame on all queue jumping!  Nuff said.

[perakcruiser]

6 minutes ago, Cruiseforever11 said:

I don't understand why they couldn't put a boarderforce person in YC to do people in yc there. I'll find out I guess when I'm next on board.

The whole process is ridiculous and I don´t want to offend anyone, but what the British are doing here is absolutely not understandable. I don´t think there is a second cruise port in the world that causes such chaos and it probably would be easier for the cruise lines to stop at North Korea. 

 

I am not sure how many borderforce people come on board to do these face to face checks but I would not be surprised if the answer is 2. One for Schengen/UK, one for rest of the world. 

 

And the "funny" thing is that they mostly hurt their own people disembarking in Southampton. They are the ones, who miss their trains, busses or flights home. 

[BertieRulesOK]

16 minutes ago, Cruiseforever11 said:

I don't understand why they couldn't put a boarderforce person in YC to do people in yc there. I'll find out I guess when I'm next on board.

Well, I think it might have been a bit rich to give 1 of the only 2 members of Border Force doing passport checks to the Yacht Club to deal with only 50 passengers as opposed to 2000?  I get YC ppl are paying for entitlement, but there are limits...

[perakcruiser]

4 minutes ago, BertieRulesOK said:

Lots of Chinese too.

All speaking Cantonese and not Mandarin and probably zero Chinese passports 😄

 

6 minutes ago, BertieRulesOK said:

Sort yourself out MSC and shame on all queue jumping!  Nuff said.

I am not willing to blame MSC for this. I was told that it was the same with other cruise lines and I hope all cruise lines could work together in not accepting this treatment by British immigration. If Southampton is not able to handle a cruise ship then the cruise ships should not stop at Southampton (yes, I know, the British market is way too important for such a decision). 

 

12 minutes ago, BertieRulesOK said:

The boat, food and staff were fabulous.  10/10. 

 

I am happy to agree, what a pleasant surprise this was! 

About the queue jumping you are right, but on the other hand I can understand people panic because they will miss their flights or trains and maybe have to work the next day and cannot stay in Southampton. We just relaxed because we were not in a hurry and ignored everything. Only after lunchtime (!) the situation got better. 

[Cruiseforever11]

17 minutes ago, BertieRulesOK said:

Well, I think it might have been a bit rich to give 1 of the only 2 members of Border Force doing passport checks to the Yacht Club to deal with only 50 passengers as opposed to 2000?  I get YC ppl are paying for entitlement, but there are limits...

Ok I wasn't on this cruise so I don't know how many people were on board in yc or in total and I didn't know only 2 border force people were doing the whole ship which is ridiculous if was that was the case. I was just speaking in general as surprised by the whole thing and actually thought more border staff would of been onboard given the size of the ship and the time it would taken to do the checks. I wasn't out to offend anyone by my comments.

Edited November 16, 2022 by Cruiseforever11

[ChristopherTracy]

So is this border force thing a new thing or only applicable to cruises where lots of people get on and off at different ports as opposed to all being checked on and off again at Southampton?

[Cruiseforever11]

4 minutes ago, ChristopherTracy said:

So is this border force thing a new thing or only applicable to cruises where lots of people get on and off at different ports as opposed to all being checked on and off again at Southampton?

I have rung msc this afternoon as I wanted to know if this was a thing that was going to happen everytime moving forward as wanted to be prepared for my cruise in Dec meaning have a plan b in place if I can't get off early because i really dont want to be escorted to the front of the queue by a butler if the butler, me and my daughter are going to get shouted at and abuse because we are in yc. Basically i would rather stand in the queue and allow the time with everyone else then be subject to that. The girl said they are adhoc checks so its not all the time. 

[perakcruiser]

1 hour ago, ChristopherTracy said:

So is this border force thing a new thing or only applicable to cruises where lots of people get on and off at different ports as opposed to all being checked on and off again at Southampton?

I was told that these face to face checks have been already mandatory before Brexit. Sometimes it works well with borderforce coming on board already the evening before (even if the port before Southampton is abroad). Sometimes it ends in chaos, because they come in Southampton, come late and with very limited personnel. 

 

While I can understand that the UK wants to protect its border, it would be nice to know how many illegal immigrants ever entered their country on a cruise ship with a UK/Schengen/Commonwealth passport. Probably in all the years less than borderforce officers checking the 2600 passengers. 

Edited November 16, 2022 by perakcruiser

[ChristopherTracy]

Yes but I think this is surely only applicable to these cruises that allow multiple boarding ports - otherwise the ships security teams count everyone on and off the ship in each port so there isnt a consideration for BorderForce. There was certainly no suggestion of it on a P&O Norwegian cruise to and from Southampton over the summer.

[NightWoman]

On 11/16/2022 at 3:50 PM, Cruiseforever11 said:

Ok I wasn't on this cruise so I don't know how many people were on board in yc or in total and I didn't know only 2 border force people were doing the whole ship which is ridiculous if was that was the case. I was just speaking in general as surprised by the whole thing and actually thought more border staff would of been onboard given the size of the ship and the time it would taken to do the checks. I wasn't out to offend anyone by my comments.

Hi Cruiseforever11,

Approx 50 guests in YC from the UK, France, Germany and Belgium.

From a selfish point of view it would have been a much smoother process for us if they had an officer in the YC and what I mean by that we wouldn't have had to walk by all the angry passengers to get our passports checked.

There were more than 2 border force officers in the area but only 2 people checking passports they were very disorganised and they were not particularly pleasant, shouting at passengers and the MSC crew.

[PTC DAWG]

Note to self, avoid disembarking at Southampton. 

[Cruiseforever11]

1 hour ago, NightWoman said:

Hi Cruiseforever11,

Approx 50 guests in YC from the UK, France, Germany and Belgium.

From a selfish point of view it would have been a much smoother process for us if they had an officer in the YC and what I mean by that we wouldn't have had to walk by all the angry passengers to get our passports checked.

There were more than 2 border force officers in the area but only 2 people checking passports they were very disorganised and they were not particularly pleasant, shouting at passengers and the MSC crew.

Hi thank you I'm in yc myself with my daughter in Dec and I was surprised they hadn't done yc separately but as people have explain there wasn't enough of the staff to check the passports. 

I know border force/immigration have to do these things but why they couldn't do this in the terminal I have no idea. Anyway what will be will be. If we get checked on our cruise I will just wait and just change plans getting off the ship early. (I understand its not easy for those who have booked flights trains etc and I would rather give my slot to someone who needs to get off early for that reason)