heatherb1958

We did New year 2023 on Azura , 14 nights. The ship served a purpose as we like to go away either over Christmas or New year. I wouldn't go back on Azura though we like sister ship Ventura, been on her 3 times and back again in December. We are not flying anymore and always do the coach down to Southampton from Bolton. No stress, someone else doing the driving, once your cases go on the bus you don't touch them again and next see them outside your cabin door. We had a family with a baby on our New year Iona cruise. You don't have to worry about the size of your car boot snd can have 3 cases per person. We have been on Virtuosa 3 times but we love MSC anyway and go on all their ships, last one was Euribia in March. Been on 9 ships eith MSC. We are a lot older than yourself 😆 🤣. Our grandson is 17 ! Will do anything for an easy life 😆.

We have been on Symphony, Seaview , sister ship to Seaside and Virtuosa. If travelling with a baby I would go for the cruise without flights and no limit on luggage . No pizzeria??? MSC have the best pizza at sea and is available in the buffet from lunchtime to the small hours . Love MSC pizza. Symphony has the best theatre shows though Virtuosa's are short and sweet in the main theatre, ideal if you have a small child with a short attention span plus there are 2 shows for an extra small fee in the Carousel lounge, if you pre book in your planner it is half price. Virtuosa has a Galleria similar to Royal promenade but there are no free snack places on it like Cafe promenade , all speciality restaurants and bars but we love it.

We had cabin 8204 on Virtuosa , the teeniest Ocean View cabin we have ever had on any cruiseline even the bed was a small double. Worst cabin for comfort but a great location. 👍.

I am in the UK and just watched the video, wow, looked just like a pack of cards bridge collapsing. What is the next nearest port to off load cruise passengers if needed ? Hope the casualty figure is low 😔.

When we have an inside cabin we always have twins , rather have more space between the 2 singles than squeeze between the bed and the wall. Same for an OV if the bed is under the window, much easier to look out of the window sitting on a single bed with the floor space in the middle than clamber over the pillows to look out. For all other cabins we have a queen bed .

It is usually available to upgrade a drinks package online through your booking and cheaper to do so before the cruise .

Love the carousel lounge on Euribia. Don't miss disco night.

I know this is a resurrected thread but will answer anyway. With MSC they still have traditional dining and will seat same , more or less, nationalities together . We just got off Euribia and had booked through the same travel agent as another couple who were put on same dining table.. As luck would have it we knew the couple from 5 years ago when we met on Meraviglia! That was a bonus . The waiters have a manifest in the dining room of who is entitled to complimentary bottled water/tea/coffee , we were told by our waiters this info.

9 ships so far..... 15 cruises . First one Splendida 2017, last one Euribia last week with Magnifica, Preziosa, Seaview , Meraviglia, Bellissima, Grandiosa and Virtuosa in-between, not necessarily in that order 😆. We enjoyed every single one of them .

Enjoy Euribia , we disembarked on 8th March , our 15th MSC cruise , been on all the sister ships plus others . Don't miss the Carousel lounge big band experience , absolutely fantastic new use of the space compared to her sisters. There is singing , dancing and of course the big band playing different genres. Check the planner . We ate in the Le Grill. Fab meal. Disappointingly on Euribia the Sky lounge is not adults only like her sisters so consequently there were screaming kids at night in there on our trip.... love the free chocolate in there though so that made up for it 😆. Look forward to the rest of your report .

We had what they call a Junior Ocean view on deck 8 on Virtuosa , same as Meraviglia more or less . We chose the cabin , It was one of the smallest cabins we have ever had , even the bed was small . Never going to book one of those again . The inside cabin we had on Meraviglia was bigger !

It was at the Salford branch. Walkden is our nearest one but you don't walk past the currency exchange booth at that one to exit the store . The sign was big enough so hope you have it at yours tomorrow .

We were told by guest services that all those 1 and 2 dollar tips that we give out with each drink soon come back to them when the crew change them for larger notes.

Casino or Guest services, either one will do. You say you are not American , are you from the UK? We saw something in one of our local Tescos last week at their currency exchange booth never ever seen before . It was a sign that said " ask us about our $1 tip packs " !!

With regards the interporting , people getting on and off at each port, we think it is absolutely fantastic , every port is like a B2B day. You don't have a full ship trying to get on and off at once when it is your embarking/disembarking day. You can stay on the ship for as long as you want on disembarking day if you have a later flight and have lunch onboard too. We know when we hear Charlie Charlie that the crew are getting ready for drill for the new arrivals and so get a drink quick if we need one before the bars close for the period of the drill. The announcements are always done in English first so once we hear the English one we switch off to the others . Our only bug bear with the interporting itineraries is if we are in our room the announcements come into the cabin , solution to that problem is go and find somewhere cosy/comfortable to sit on the ship and wait until drill is over or take a shower 😆. There were some procedures we thought strange on our first MSC trip on Splendida but at the end of the 14 nights we thought everything that was strange we wished other cruiselines did .