MSC 'Virgins' - Our review of Splendida October 2016. WOW

We sailed for the first time on MSC on board Splendida departing Southampton on 5th October.

 

Our itinerary was as follows:-

 

Day 1 - Southampton,United Kingdom

Day 2 - At Sea

Day 3 - La Coruna, Spain

Day 4 - Lisbon, Portugal

Day 5 - Gibraltar, Gibraltar

Day 6 - At Sea

Day 7 - Barcelona, Spain

Day 8 - Genoa, Italy

 

My review will be split into several sections, so bear with me as I work through them. As it was our first MSC sailing, I’ll be providing a summary of what we perceive as the pros and cons compared to our 12 years predominately on RCI (19 cruises), Celebrity, NCL and Carnival (1 each).

Our cruise documents advised a 3pm check in at the City Cruise terminal.

 

However, the Southampton port website stated she would be docked at the QE2 Terminal.

 

MSC confirmed to our friends via email that she would be docked at City Terminal. As they would arrive on the day of embarkation they could have walked from the central railway station if she was at City, but would need a cab if at QE2.

 

We stayed overnight in Southampton at the Holiday Inn with a view of City Terminal and awoke to the sight of Saga Pearl docked at City and sure enough Splendida was at QE2 as we found out as we went out for breakfast. We advised our friends accordingly and knew we’d need a cab too as we had envisaged walking to City as well.

 

Anyway, our friends headed straight for the terminal and as we were due to check out of our hotel at 12 midday, they advised that check in had been brought forward and boarding had commenced. So we headed for the terminal, checked in and was on board within 30 minutes!

 

Cabins would not be available until 2pm and your room keys are in the room which is a new process for us.

 

We boarded on deck 6 into the main atrium and handed over our boarding docs that had been stamped at check in, and so then our security photos were taken.

 

We were then directed towards La Piazzetta where staff were selling the various beverage packages. We had the Allegrissimo beverage package included in our cruise fare, but decided to upgrade to the Premium package at a cost of €18 pppd + 15% gratuity. As we are Black Voyager club members thanks to the MSC status match program, the wonderful lady who processed the upgrade insisted we wait whilst she got new stateroom keys showing the premium package. She did advise that the ones in our cabin would no longer work and so to keep them as souvenirs!

 

After a short wait, with our new cards in hand we headed for lunch to the buffet. We knew from info on CC to head towards the back of the buffet to the Pago Pago section for plenty of available seating, although all signs advised that lunch was available in the front Bora Bora part of the buffet.

 

There was a great selection available and staff were wonderful checking immediately and promptly serving our requested beers – Peroni of course, we were aboard an Italian cruise line!

 

After lunch we explored the ship after I had validated my form of payment at one of the self-service stations near the atrium. Again a new process for me, but super easy and completed in seconds.

 

At 2 pm promptly there was an announcement that the cabins were available for new guests and so we headed off to 13103. Our bags were already outside and my pre ordered Prosecco arrived. We already had the fresh fruit in the cabin and were really impressed by the space in the cabin, although the storage was slightly less than we are used to, but not a problem. The bed was large as I could stretch out without my feet hanging off the end, which I have experienced on other lines.

 

Later we had to attend compulsory muster in the L’Enoteca wine bar on deck 7, where we had to carry our life vests and had to demonstrate we knew how to put them on. It seemed a little informal compared to the strict control of other lines, but was over soon, despite announcements being in several languages.

 

We sailed at 6pm and we watched from deck 14 and then returned to change for pre-dinner cocktails with our friends as we had second seating at 8:30 pm.

 

We had been assigned to the Villa Verde dining room on deck 6 which initially took a little finding as we found it best to go down to deck 7 and then walk through the wine bar, photo gallery and Tex Mex restaurant (more later) towards the Aft Lounge and then down to deck 6.

 

We had been assigned to a table for 6, although only 2 of our table mates took dinner that evening.

 

Service was excellent and the food good and we enjoyed our first evening on board.

 

Afterwards we explored the numerous bars on decks 6 & 7 (L’Aperitvo for molecular cocktails, The Aft Lounge, The Purple Jazz Bar and once again L’Enoteca wine bar.

A few photos from our first few hours on board.

 

Aft Lounge

 

 

Santa Fe Tex Mex

 

 

Pago Pago buffet

 

 

L'Enoteca wine bar

 

 

Atrium and Swarovski crystal stairs

 

 

 

 

 

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Following. Pete, glad you had a good time, we are looking forward very much to our first experience in Feb. We do not have any drinks packages included in our fare. We are doing a B2B and will do PAYG first cruise and see how we go on.

Thank you... Following along, as are looking at doing a Med cruise on this ship next year.

I awoke and went off to get coffee and tea to get us moving as we sailed across a calm Bay of Biscay. I asked at L’Expresso Coffee bar if they did take out, but they don’t so I went to the buffet to get 2 mugs for our morning refreshment. After showering we went to the buffet for breakfast finding a wide selection of food available.

 

The rest of the day was spent exploring the ship in more detail, lunch at the Buffet and making reservations at the Tex Mex as I had pre purchased a dinner package that gave us 2 dinners at Santa Fe (1 Tex Mex experience and 1 Steak experience), it also said we could have a snack from the Sports Bar, but this never opened for food until 5pm, so we never used that portion of the package, nor the Pizza stateroom delivery option.

 

We made reservations for days 3 & 4. As we are Black Voyager club members due to status match, we also had 2 vouchers (1 each) for a complimentary lunch or dinner from a special Voyagers Club menu which is basically a cut down menu. This allows for a choice of 2 starters and 2 mains and 1 dessert. We used 1 coupon for lunch later in the cruise and it was very good and could easily be satisfactory for an informal dinner IMHO.

 

We also returned to the cabin to find a complementary bottle of Prosecco (for Black members) and chocolate covered fruits!

 

 

This was also Gala night so we donned our tuxes and headed off to meet our friends for pre dinner cocktails.

 

Dinner was good and afterwards we changed out of our tuxes and explored the ships bars again! Next day we had an early arrival into La Coruna at 8 am and we had a tour booked, so it wasn’t too late an evening for us.

Edited October 17, 2016 by peteukmcr

More photos from day 2 exploring

 

L'Espresso coffee bar

 

 

Purple Jazz Bar

 

 

La Prua piano bar

 

 

Strand Theatre

 

 

Liquid Disco

 

 

Sports Bar

 

 

 

 

That's it for today folks. More tomorrow

 

 

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I awoke and went off to get coffee and tea to get us moving as we sailed across a calm Bay of Biscay. I asked at L’Expresso Coffee bar if they did take out, but they don’t so I went to the buffet to get 2 mugs for our morning refreshment. After showering we went to the buffet for breakfast finding a wide selection of food available.

 

The rest of the day was spent exploring the ship in more detail, lunch at the Buffet and making reservations at the Tex Mex as I had pre purchased a dinner package that gave us 2 dinners at Santa Fe (1 Tex Mex experience and 1 Steak experience), it also said we could have a snack from the Sports Bar, but this never opened for food until 5pm, so we never used that portion of the package, nor the Pizza stateroom delivery option.

 

We made reservations for days 3 & 4. As we are Black Voyager club members due to status match, we also had 2 vouchers (1 each) for a complimentary lunch or dinner from a special Voyagers Club menu which is basically a cut down menu. This allows for a choice of 2 starters and 2 mains and 1 dessert. We used 1 coupon for lunch later in the cruise and it was very good and could easily be satisfactory for an informal dinner IMHO.

 

We also returned to the cabin to find a complementary bottle of Prosecco (for Black members) and chocolate covered fruits!

 

 

This was also Gala night so we donned our tuxes and headed off to meet our friends for pre dinner cocktails.

 

Dinner was good and afterwards we changed out of our tuxes and explored the ships bars again! Next day we had an early arrival into La Coruna at 8 am and we had a tour booked, so it wasn’t too late an evening for us.

 

Great Review! We will be doing our first MSC cruise on the new Seaview.

 

I got a chuckle out of the Tex-Mex place named Santa Fe. You could drive all over Santa Fe and never find a Tex-Mex restaurant. In New Mexico, Tex-Mex is sacrilege.

 

Looking forward to more!

Kel:)

Great review with great photos Peter,

Shame we never found each other on the ship. ;)

 

I am amazed that you pre-paid for a bottle of Prosecco and two meals in the Tex Mex as you get exactly that for free as a Black Card Holder.

 

Pete

Edited October 17, 2016 by Skier52

Thanks for the GREAT review so far! Hopefully there will be some food shots forthcoming. I also have a question about the status match - I've heard mixed messages regarding if it is a "one-time" or "permanent" match. Could you clarify what you got, and from which membership you matched?

Great review with great photos Peter,

Shame we never found each other on the ship. ;)

 

I am amazed that you pre-paid for a bottle of Prosecco and two meals in the Tex Mex as you get exactly that for free as a Black Card Holder.

 

Pete

We always have a bottle for sail away and as MSC do not allow you to take any on board, unlike other lines at embarkation, I wanted it for sail away and was not willing to take a chance of getting one on the day of sailing. As for the 2 meals, I am willing to pay for the choice from the full menu, not the limited choice for free, and you must agree, the free choices are extremely limited, with no choice of dessert. As I said, I consider the free meal suitable for lunch, but not for dinner, so again the pre paid was worth it to me.

Thanks for the GREAT review so far! Hopefully there will be some food shots forthcoming. I also have a question about the status match - I've heard mixed messages regarding if it is a "one-time" or "permanent" match. Could you clarify what you got, and from which membership you matched?

Thanks for your feedback.

Unfortunately there will be very few food shots, I don't do those in general. Some snacks maybe, but not of the main dining room or buffet food, sorry.

 

As for status match, I understand it is valid for 3 years according to my membership details, unless I do not cruise with MSC within that period (which we will be doing, next Dubai in 2017) it will expire in 2019. We got Black membership from being Diamond Plus off Royal Caribbean.

Thanks for the review and photos.

Thanks for the review Peteukmcr,

 

We'll be on it on December. Can't wait to "ear" more!

Thanks for your feedback.

Unfortunately there will be very few food shots, I don't do those in general. Some snacks maybe, but not of the main dining room or buffet food, sorry.

 

As for status match, I understand it is valid for 3 years according to my membership details, unless I do not cruise with MSC within that period (which we will be doing, next Dubai in 2017) it will expire in 2019. We got Black membership from being Diamond Plus off Royal Caribbean.

 

Thanks! No problem on the food. I was more hoping for a full buffet shot, just to see what kind of quality and variety was on offer, rather than a dish-by-dish food porn extravaganza (though those can be fun, sometimes, too ;) ).

 

How did the overall variety and quality of offerings (both buffet and dining room) compare to the other lines you have experienced? (unfortunately, overcooked eggs are par for the course almost everywhere, so that doesn't really count... :D)

 

If I go for a status match, I'll probably be coming from a hotel program, so the terms may vary, but thanks for the information!

Edited October 18, 2016 by WoodyWindy

Thanks! No problem on the food. I was more hoping for a full buffet shot, just to see what kind of quality and variety was on offer, rather than a dish-by-dish food porn extravaganza (though those can be fun, sometimes, too ;) ).

 

How did the overall variety and quality of offerings (both buffet and dining room) compare to the other lines you have experienced? (unfortunately, overcooked eggs are par for the course almost everywhere, so that doesn't really count... :D)

 

If I go for a status match, I'll probably be coming from a hotel program, so the terms may vary, but thanks for the information!

I believe I have some shots of the buffet, but may not be in great detail. I'll check later when home (have to come back to work to pay for the next one!)

 

Variety and quality varied during the cruise, plenty of choice in the buffet but never hot, which is a very Mediterranean thing I think.

 

Gala evenings in the MDR were good, others so so, but we didn't starve. To be fair to MSC, when of our table mates complained about one the mains, the head waiter was over immediately to see if he could offer anything else.

 

Overall I don't think the quality is any worse than other mass market lines, although I wouldn't rely on the buffet for dinner as according to our friends. To be honest we've only ate at a buffet for dinner once in 12 years of cruising!

 

The late night options are limited but at least there is something available if you've got the 'munchies' after a few drinks :D

Edited October 18, 2016 by peteukmcr

Following your thread as we too are doing our first MSC cruise next year from Southampton.

We were due to dock at 8 am and leave at 3 pm and was reminded in the daily cruise newsletter to put our clocks and watches +1 hour.

 

 

 

Breakfast was in the buffet and we discovered the stations with pancakes and waffles for the first time, so add those to the excellent pastries offered each day, you couldn’t starve! I was impressed with the quality of the regular coffee offered, although you could get your 'real' coffee from the bars in the buffet.

 

 

 

We prepared ourselves for a trip ashore after having a great cappuccino from L’Espresso and then made our way off the ship to meet our tour guide/group for a 10:30 am start.

 

 

 

We spent a couple of hours being shown the sites of La Coruna but unfortunately it was a public holiday, so not much shopping would be available for those who wanted to stop in town before boarding the ship for our departure.

 

 

 

Once back on board we ate lunch in the buffet and although the desserts in there are excellent compared to some other lines we’ve cruised with, we wondered off to La Piazzetta for a piece of the excellent Sour Cherry Cake and a Latte.

 

 

 

 

We explored the ship to find the F1 simulator and 4D cinema which was a little difficult to find but is located through the Virtual World arcade on deck 16, entrance for which is at the back of the Liquid Disco.

 

 

 

 

 

Ready for sail away we returned to our cabin only to witness a family who were screaming and running to the port entrance as Splendida glided away from the dock. The officials let them through and the family we gesticulating at their watches, so we can only assume that they had not put the hour on and thought it was 2pm, when in fact it was 3pm! Splendida continued on her way and it didn't look as though the family would be spending the night on board, but working out how to catch up with us in Lisbon tomorrow.

 

 

 

That evening we ate in Santa Fe and were joined by our friends after pre dinner drinks in the aft lounge. Nacho chips are provided with salsa and we then had very good starters, fajitas as main and a dessert as part of the 'Tex Mex Experience'.

 

 

 

Afterwards we sampled various cocktails (maybe too many!) from the L’Aperitivo bar, including what became one of my favourites, the Molecular Daiquiri and then later made our way to the Liquid Disco for a few more and a bit of dancing!

 

 

 

 

Due to the typical ‘munchies’ after a few drinks we headed to the buffet for a snack, then to bed!

Edited October 18, 2016 by peteukmcr

As we were not due to arrive into Lisbon until 1pm, we decided to try the main dining room for breakfast on condition we could get a table for 2 (we’re not that social in the morning!). So we headed to La Reggia on deck 5 and were promptly shown to a table for 2 without hesitation! Our orders were taken fairly promptly and breakfast was a good alternative to trawling the buffet in search for a table and then food!

 

As usual afterwards we headed to L'Espresso for a 'real' coffee.

 

 

Afterwards we headed onto deck 14 to watch us travel down the Targus river towards Lisbon and to pass the Belem Tower and under the 25 de Abril bridge with the statue of Christ the King in the distance. We had an early 'light' lunch in the buffet and prepared ourselves for our next shore excursion.

 

 

 

 

 

Once docked, and as the first few guests started to disembark, we saw the family left behind in La Coruna climbing the gangplank back on board!

 

We joined an excellent 4 hour tour of Lisbon that took in Belem area, the Monument to the Discoveries (unfortunately surrounded by scaffolding due to restoration), Belem Tower and various sites around the city ending high up narrow streets where trams still navigate the area.

 

Once back on board we returned to our cabin to find MSC baseball bats which joined the chocolate ships provided the previous day.

 

 

Again we enjoyed pre dinner cocktails in La Prua lounge bar (It’s great to be served a drink together with small snacks of olives and nibbles) and then another from Bar Del Riccio on deck 14 to experience sail away from Lisbon at 8 pm. Then had our 2nd dinner in Sante Fe for the ‘Steak’ experience. The starters are still from the Mexican options, but then there is a good choice of steaks available.

 

After dinner we explored more of the ship sampling the Aft Lounge and the Purple Jazz Bar.

 

After quite an energetic day we retired earlier than the previous evening!

Edited October 18, 2016 by peteukmcr

A few more shots from Lisbon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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That's it for today, until tomorrow when we arrive at a small part of the UK at one if the southernmost point of Spain, the Rock of Gibraltar. A late arrival though of 3 pm and it was a Sunday, so very few of the British shops would be open.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Edited October 18, 2016 by peteukmcr

Ready for sail away we returned to our cabin only to witness a family who were screaming and running to the port entrance as Splendida glided away from the dock. The officials let them through and the family we gesticulating at their watches, so we can only assume that they had not put the hour on and thought it was 2pm, when in fact it was 3pm! Splendida continued on her way and it didn't look as though the family would be spending the night on board, but working out how to catch up with us in Lisbon tomorrow

 

They were in fact 5 English Students who had missed the fact that the hour had changed.

 

They also had difficulty finding anyone who spoke English to help them but eventually did and caught a train to Lisbon and reboarded there.

 

I was given that information by a senior guest relations person.

 

 

We watched them, and heard the shouts of "Wait for Us", from our balcony, having a quiet chuckle to ourselves.

it's the fourth time we've witnessed people "missing the boat" , literally.

 

Pete

Edited October 18, 2016 by Skier52

Excellent review with brilliant photos

 

I'm really enjoying it.

 

Pete

Edited October 18, 2016 by Skier52

Do you happen to know what time first seating is on the Splendida?

 

Thanks

Lois

Do you happen to know what time first seating is on the Splendida?

 

Thanks

Lois

 

It was 18:00 on our cruise from Southampton to Genoa