Live from MSC Grandiosa Yacht Club on January 13-20th 2023 Spain, France. Italy & Malta.

[ConnieTact]

We are looking forward to our cruise on MSC Grandiosa in a couple of weeks time. We have sailed on her when she was new, in February 2020, just before Covid struck and cruises came to an abrupt halt! 
I will report on the food, service, the ship, entertainment and ports. Please feel free to let me know if you want me to find anything out for you while I’m aboard and I’ll do my best! 

[heatherb1958]

Will be following with interest as we will be joining Grandiosa on 27th Jan . not long after you,  also sailing in YC . 

We cruised on Grandiosa December 2019 and loved the ship. 

Thank you for taking the time to do a live report 👍

[claireruth]

Excited to follow along!  We're on the Grandiosa for spring break in March.  Would you mind posting drink menus?  We're trying to decide which alcohol package to get.  Since we won't be on the ship a ton we aren't sure if it's worth the top package or the bottom or middle would be sufficient.

[ConnieTact]

On 1/1/2023 at 12:09 AM, claireruth said:Would you mind posting drink menus?  We're trying to decide which alcohol package to get.  Since we won't be on the ship a ton we aren't sure if it's worth the top package or the bottom or middle would be sufficient.

Thanks Claire

Yes, I will post the drinks menus for you. We’ll be in YC but I’m sure we will be out and about in the rest of the ship too! 
It’s always hard to know what to do regarding drinks as sometimes we haven’t broken even! Is there anything you particularly like to drink? 

[ConnieTact]

A busy day packing today! We are actually travelling without big cases so we can avoid checking in luggage and make our travel more smooth. 
We managed to do this for a 2 and a half weeks on our last cruise but we weren’t in YC for that cruise!
I was inspired by another YC guest who just travelled everywhere with a small case and decided to give it a go! It went well and did mean we avoided risking losing luggage and was a lot lighter for us to handle. 
Only trouble is -there’s someone who wants to sneak in as an extra bit of luggage……!!! 😻🧳

[Ljdoc]

Hi,

 

Like both of you I was on the ship pre covid in December 2019 for NYE and did the same this year and just got off on Friday past. Was a great cruise, very lively with 5 to 5600 on board and didn’t have many complaints bar a few that could have been avoided myself.  
 

I had the top package for drinks and have to say it was great being able to choose almost any drink from every menu and enjoyed several of the cocktails though have to admit 95% of our drinks would have been on the basic package as MSC do a great packages from basic to top level. 
 

Just be wary of the Wi-Fi package as we had the browse and it was very poor the whole time and a waste of money, not sure if the steam is better but it is expensive and was the worst Wi-Fi I have had on a cruise.  
 

Have a great cruise, I’m sure you will all have a great one. 

[ConnieTact]

5 minutes ago, Ljdoc said:

Hi,

 

Like both of you I was on the ship pre covid in December 2019 for NYE and did the same this year and just got off on Friday past. Was a great cruise, very lively…..

Just be wary of the Wi-Fi package as we had the browse and it was very poor the whole time and a waste of money, not sure if the steam is better but it is expensive and was the worst Wi-Fi I have had on a cruise.  
 

Have a great cruise, I’m sure you will all have a great one. 

Thanks Ljdoc 

Really glad you enjoyed the cruise even though at full capacity.

I agree MSC drinks packages are good compared to other cruise lines.

I’m not sure how the poor WiFi will impact on my report! Hopefully, I can upload when off the ship, if I do have issues. It’s such a port intensive cruise with only one sea day that at least that should be often!

Can you remember what night was Gala night? It may help me with my planning! 
Thanks again. Hope you’re busy booking the next cruise now! 😜

[Ljdoc]

10 minutes ago, ConnieTact said:

Thanks Ljdoc 

Really glad you enjoyed the cruise even though at full capacity.

I agree MSC drinks packages are good compared to other cruise lines.

I’m not sure how the poor WiFi will impact on my report! Hopefully, I can upload when off the ship, if I do have issues. It’s such a port intensive cruise with only one sea day that at least that should be often!

Can you remember what night was Gala night? It may help me with my planning! 
Thanks again. Hope you’re busy booking the next cruise now! 😜

Hi Connie,

 

It was hard to believe it was near full capacity. I was on the Virtuosa on one of the start up cruises after Covid with 1200 people and that felt busier!!! On the Med it is far more diverse and people naturally spread over different venues and dining times on the ship and had no issues getting a seat or drink at any time, even on NYE.  
 

Each time in port there was no issue with data signal so wish I hadn’t have bothered the Wi-Fi package. I could barely get a web page to load but texting worked fine. 
 

I think you may be boarding in Barcelona as I did and Gala night was the second night after leaving Marseille and with speaking with the waiters it is the same night every week. The sea day is Mediterranean menu with the 60’s and 70’s dress code. As you are probably aware, dress code was loosely adhered to, we had everything from ball gowns and tuxedos to very casual but was a great night. 
 

Any other questions, just shout. 
 

I have my next cruise booked already for July on Arvia!!

[ConnieTact]

9 hours ago, Ljdoc said:

Hi Connie,

 

It was hard to believe it was near full capacity. I was on the Virtuosa on one of the start up cruises after Covid with 1200 people and that felt busier!!! 
 

Each time in port there was no issue with data signal so wish I hadn’t have bothered the Wi-Fi package. I could barely get a web page to load but texting worked fine. 
 

I think you may be boarding in Barcelona as I did and Gala night was the second night after leaving Marseille…..
 

Any other questions, just shout. 
 

I have my next cruise booked already for July on Arvia!!

Hi Ljdoc

 

Thanks for the info! Good news that the 60s/70s nite is on a sea day as that means we can relax during the day and build our energy to dance the night away! 💃🏽🕺🏼 I love that theme as they basically play my record collection of that era! 

 

We sailed Virtuosa in the early days too but got a yacht club upgrade, it wasn’t busy and we were spoiled, and have stuck to it ever since! 
 

I seem to remember experiencing the same with the WiFi on Virtuosa and have a package included in my fare so will be interested to find out how well it works this time!

I won’t hold out too much hope! 
 

Glad you have another cruise booked. I haven’t looked at the Arvia  sailings yet but must take a look! We could be following in your footsteps again! 
 

Did you do any MSC organised excursions? We have three booked.
 

 

[kernow]

Hi Terri,

 

Look forward to following along. We were originally booked on Grandiosa next May but of course the Southampton cruises were changed to Virtuosa again so now similar to last year.

 

Your cat is beautiful, very similar to our Lily except she has green eyes.

 

Safe travels,

 

Julie

[ConnieTact]

38 minutes ago, kernow said:

Hi Terri,

 

Look forward to following along. We were originally booked on Grandiosa next May but of course the Southampton cruises were changed to Virtuosa again so now similar to last year.

 

Your cat is beautiful, very similar to our Lily except she has green eyes.

 

Safe travels,

 

Julie

Great to hear from you Julie!

 

I’d love  to see a picture of Lily- perhaps email me one?

 

Are you going on Virtuosa this year then? It is a beautiful ship.

 

Thanks for following along!

 

[Ljdoc]

2 hours ago, ConnieTact said:

Hi Ljdoc

 

Thanks for the info! Good news that the 60s/70s nite is on a sea day as that means we can relax during the day and build our energy to dance the night away! 💃🏽🕺🏼 I love that theme as they basically play my record collection of that era! 

 

We sailed Virtuosa in the early days too but got a yacht club upgrade, it wasn’t busy and we were spoiled, and have stuck to it ever since! 
 

I seem to remember experiencing the same with the WiFi on Virtuosa and have a package included in my fare so will be interested to find out how well it works this time!

I won’t hold out too much hope! 
 

Glad you have another cruise booked. I haven’t looked at the Arvia  sailings yet but must take a look! We could be following in your footsteps again! 
 

Did you do any MSC organised excursions? We have three booked.
 

 

You’ll need plenty of energy as it was lively when we went to bed which was early enough!! Although I’m fairness every night was pretty lively. 

 

Also some of the sail always from the Horizon bar were great, especially from Malta but get there early to get a seat. 

 

As we did the route before and we have a 7 year old and they are quite long we didn’t do any of the planned excursions. We got off an all stops and we averaged about 6 miles walking each day and did a few of the trolley tours. The Marseille one was very good but the Palermo one wasn’t great. 
 

I did notice the behind the scenes tours are back and always would like to do this but don’t think they are available to pre book. I didn’t notice until it was too late as it’s limited numbers but if interested in this you would need to book as soon as you got on. I think it costs about €80 and is 3 hours on the sea day. 

[Morgsmom]

Oh, hopping on here as we are on the Grandiosa out of BCN in February. PS @ConnieTact your cat is JUST gorgeous!!!! 

[ConnieTact]

2 hours ago, Ljdoc said:

You’ll need plenty of energy as it was lively when we went to bed which was early enough!! Although I’m fairness every night was pretty lively…..

 

As we did the route before and we have a 7 year old and they are quite long we didn’t do any of the planned excursions. We got off an all stops and we averaged about 6 miles walking each day and did a few of the trolley tours. The Marseille one was very good but the Palermo one wasn’t great. 
 

I did notice the behind the scenes tours are back and always would like to do this but don’t think they are available to pre book…..

Thanks Ljdoc

 

I remember a lot of the parties start quite late on MSC and we have often only just caught them before bed! Especially hard if there’s an early start in the morning. I think they plan it this way so everyone gets the chance to see the shows in the theatre beforehand. 
 

We have booked a few excursions because we feel we have exhausted most of the port opportunities on previous cruises and want to look further afield. So I’m looking forward to it more because of that. Hope they’re good though!

 

I’ve done behind the scenes on NCL a few times as we get them free due to our status. They are interesting but usually as long as that! Again, with NCL tickets go like hot cakes! 
 

I’m hoping to escape from the U.K. rain but one can never be sure in the med in January!  🤞

[ConnieTact]

1 hour ago, Morgsmom said:

Oh, hopping on here as we are on the Grandiosa out of BCN in February. PS @ConnieTact your cat is JUST gorgeous!!!! 

Thanks Morgsmum

 

You're welcome along! Just let me know if you have any particular interests as we go that may help you prepare for February.

 

We think cat Ziggy is gorgeous too. He gives us pleasure everyday and has a huge Instagram following too! 😂😻❤️

[claireruth]

16 hours ago, ConnieTact said:

Thanks Claire

Yes, I will post the drinks menus for you. We’ll be in YC but I’m sure we will be out and about in the rest of the ship too! 
It’s always hard to know what to do regarding drinks as sometimes we haven’t broken even! Is there anything you particularly like to drink? 

I know, and since we'll be off the ship most days and there's just one sea day that makes it hard to decide which to get.  We like wine and cocktails generally, so I'm mostly curious about prices of those to determine which drink package would be best.  We also have a total of $400 onboard credit, so we could also use that towards drinks instead of buying a package.

[kernow]

4 hours ago, ConnieTact said:

Great to hear from you Julie!

 

I’d love  to see a picture of Lily- perhaps email me one?

 

Are you going on Virtuosa this year then? It is a beautiful ship.

 

Thanks for following along!

 

Yes, we're on Virtuosa the same week as last year, we got one of those 20% off codes on FB so didn't end up much more than last year.

[ConnieTact]

12 minutes ago, kernow said:

Yes, we're on Virtuosa the same week as last year, we got one of those 20% off codes on FB so didn't end up much more than last year.

I didn’t know about the Facebook codes! Sounds like a good deal! 

[kernow]

6 minutes ago, ConnieTact said:

I didn’t know about the Facebook codes! Sounds like a good deal! 

If you follow MSC on fb they sometimes appear when you are scrolling. There was a 10% one just before Christmas.

[ConnieTact]

59 minutes ago, claireruth said:

I know, and since we'll be off the ship most days and there's just one sea day that makes it hard to decide which to get.  We like wine and cocktails generally, so I'm mostly curious about prices of those to determine which drink package would be best.  We also have a total of $400 onboard credit, so we could also use that towards drinks instead of buying a package.

I’m not sure how much the easy package is but we’ve been happy with that before and we are mostly wine drinkers. I particularly like it that it includes mineral water as the NCL drinks package does not. 
You could try an online drinks calculator like this one:

https://www.cruzely.com/cruise-line-drink-package-calculator/

[ConnieTact]

1 minute ago, kernow said:

If you follow MSC on fb they sometimes appear when you are scrolling. There was a 10% one just before Christmas.

I’ll do that now. I’ve only just got an account back (just for cruise news) after many years of resisting the book of Faces! 

[ConnieTact]

Arrived in Barcelona last night. We are staying right on La Ramblas in a hotel called Arc La Rambla. Hotel staff very friendly but our initial Junior suite proved hard to heat. And we were freezing last night. Coupled with dodgy deals going on all night in the lane below us and very loud people doing them we had a disturbed sleep!

New room allocated today but just a downgraded one that looks out onto the road. Is much smaller so should be better to heat and less noisy too!

here’s our new view.

[ConnieTact]

First we went to MOCO Museum full of amazing contemporary art. We both loved it! Some parts were interactive and great fun. I highly recommend going there as it’s not too huge but not at all like some more stuffy art exhibitions. It had works from Warhol, Yakoi Kusama, Banksy & Hirst to name but a few.

[heatherb1958]

Happy to see you have arrived safely in BCN. We will also be staying on Las Ramblas,  2 weeks today we will be leaving the hotel to join Grandiosa. 

We usually stay in the Gothic quarter just off the Ramblas as it is quieter and a bit cheaper but saw a deal for a room with a roof terrace at the Ramblas Hotel..

We are currently sitting on our balcony of P&O Azura in Tenerife watching the stores being loaded for next voyage, ship overnights here and boards passengers on both days , we leave tomorrow.  We have enjoyed our time onboard but cannot wait to be on Grandiosa. 

Edited January 13, 2023 by heatherb1958

[ConnieTact]

38 minutes ago, heatherb1958 said:

Happy to see you have arrived safely in BCN. We will also be staying on Las Ramblas,  2 weeks today we will be leaving the hotel to join Grandiosa. 

We usually stay in the Gothic quarter just off the Ramblas as it is quieter and a bit cheaper but saw a deal for a room with a roof terrace at the Ramblas Hotel..

We are currently sitting on our balcony of P&O Azura in Tenerife watching the stores being loaded for next voyage, ship overnights here and boards passengers on both days , we leave tomorrow.  We have enjoyed our time onboard but cannot wait to be on Grandiosa. 

That sounds great Heather! We were much happier in our different room which actually git warm! I thought going for a junior suite was a good idea but it proved too large to heat adequately. I heard another guest complaining this morning about his air con not working. The staff at Arc La Ramblas were lovely but air con/heating was not! 😅

Enjoy Tenerife! We love it there! Probably warmer than here! We have sun today & have basked in it outside but with jumpers on! 😀