MSC Sinfonia Cape Town to Venice 2017

We are thinking of doing this cruise in May 2017 and I'm wondering if anyone reading this has been on this itinerary? Starts at Cape Town then Walvis Bay, Dakar, Tangiers, etc. It's a very exciting itinerary to me and if love to hear from anyone who's done it.

We are thinking of doing this cruise in May 2017 and I'm wondering if anyone reading this has been on this itinerary? Starts at Cape Town then Walvis Bay, Dakar, Tangiers, etc. It's a very exciting itinerary to me and if love to hear from anyone who's done it.

Yes but it was the other way around from Europe down to Cape Town and then on to Durban. It was also on the Sinfonia.

It has a lot of sea days and you lose TV signal and wifi for some parts of the route which means you completely chill out and escape the mad pace for a while.

Nambimian was amazing, not just for scenery and things like that but because of the most amazing local people..

We are thinking of doing this cruise in May 2017 and I'm wondering if anyone reading this has been on this itinerary? Starts at Cape Town then Walvis Bay, Dakar, Tangiers, etc. It's a very exciting itinerary to me and if love to hear from anyone who's done it.

Yes I have completed the north bound sailing on Sinfonia in 2014. Great cruise. Very different ambience on board from my other MSC cruises.

I agree with Amo, my favourite POC was Walvis Bay.

There was an issue on board that they were low in stock of certain wines. Once they ran out, you had to drink the other labels.

Any questions ask and I'll try and answer.

Annie

Thank you for your replies Amo and Annie. I have never sailed MSC so I have some more questions. On your trip what kind of music was there? We love classical music and I'm hoping there will be some. Also, were there enrichment lectures at all? We are not that interested in evening entertainment or glitzy shows. Thanks for your help, we are almost salivating at the thought of this trip!

Other questions. What was the weather like? We are planning on getting a balcony cabin. Would you recommend port or starboard? Why?

Thank you for your replies Amo and Annie. I have never sailed MSC so I have some more questions. On your trip what kind of music was there? We love classical music and I'm hoping there will be some. Also, were there enrichment lectures at all? We are not that interested in evening entertainment or glitzy shows. Thanks for your help, we are almost salivating at the thought of this trip!

Classical music, absolutely. We had a series of 8 classical concerts throughout the cruise. They ended up being so popular, I had to stand for twhe duration of the final one. They normally have 2 operatic performers on every cruise, we had 3 (tenor, baritone and soprano) and a musical quartet. The tenor was so good, I'd have willingly bought tickets to see him perform.

If you're going to avoid the evening shows, then you will miss out on these classical performances. You don't have to go to them all. The Daily Programme will let you know what the show is (it's a bit vague, but you can tell the classical performances from the others).

The piraña (martini Bar) is the main venue for the classical quartet to perform in the evening if they are not performing in the evening show.

No enrichment programmes, I'm afraid. The ship was just over half full on our voyage and with no one prominent language spoken, generally entertainment that relies on the spoken word can't work as it excludes more than it would include.

You may get a talk in English by the Sommelier 1 or 2 times. They always have a series of basic language lessons during stretches of sea days (usually Italian). They do a grand quiz that last at least 5 days. You may get a small group talk on the ship by an officer (sometimes the engineer).

Some of the repositioning cruises have a theme. I think the one I did to Durban was a chess or bridge one. I've also seen dance ones too.

Mostly though day time entertainment are games and stuff by the pool including a Neptune ceremony, dance lessons and not a lot more. I can't really recall all they did, as I'm happiest being left in peace with my own music or my kindle.

Other questions. What was the weather like? We are planning on getting a balcony cabin. Would you recommend port or starboard? Why?

I can only speak of the northbound sailing which had a sailing date from Cape Town mid March.

Weather as far as Dakar was very warm/hot and then it started to cool rapidly.

On the approach to Corsica beginning April, the storms were horrendous.

I had balcony 1069 pre Sinfonia stretching which was great especially for the sailaway from CapeTown and the approach to ports. I appreciated the large bathroom with bath. I suspect the additional balcony cabins will not be as large.

There could be a noise issue in the early morning as the pool deck was being prepared.

Annie

Other questions. What was the weather like? We are planning on getting a balcony cabin. Would you recommend port or starboard? Why?

I was southbound late October. Weather wasn't greta at the start in Europe but fine except for the day before and after the equator crossing, when it was a bit squally with rougher seas and a few showers. Otherwise the further South we got the warmer it got.

I agree with Annoe, best go for the suites. They are not true suites with seperate bedroom area but worth it ofr the bigger bathroom and cabin and the much bigger walkin wardrobe area. Just avoid the forward facing ones as they are unusable when you're at sea because of the wind. (Made that mistake once on one of the Sinfonia's sister ships)