Just got back from the MSC Euribia cruise from Hamberg to Zeebrugge, Rotterdam, Le Havre, and Southampton. Was a wonderful cruise ship was very nice and new enjoyed it a lot. Was my families first MSC cruise and we would for sure do it again and would recommend this ship to anyone.
Some details, my 17th cruise, mostly with RCCL but wifes 7th mix of Carnival/RCCL/Princess and son 4.5yo second cruise.
The weather was colder with rain almost everyday except Southampton so that played a role in full port enjoyment, but you cannot predict or control the weather. Taking weather out each stop was very nice and all had their uniqueness that was different from the rest. As for what we did on the trip/excursions was mostly on our own with one ship excursion in Southampton to London via ship provided excursion. Starting off in Zeebrugge we took a shuttle provided by cruise-express, just outside the port 25euro/adult, kids under 9 free, they drive you to a bus dropoff point just outside Brugge (all busses even ship excursions drop same location) and then do pickups every 30 mins starting at 1330p until ship departure. Was easy and best way we found to get into town and walk the streets and explore. Next in Rotterdam we took the train/subway to Amsterdam, total trip time one way is 1hour-1.5hours depending on train you take and timing. This cost us 18euro/adult each way on the fast direct train from Rotterdam->Amsterdam kids ride for 2.5euro all day. Had plenty of time to walk around Amsterdam check out the city do sightseeing, shopping etc before heading back on the train to ship in Rotterdam. It is very doable there are many trains, like every 10 mins going between cities, use the NS international app or website to plan (NS is the Netherlands national train company). Then in Le Havre we planned to use Bee Le Havre to go to Honfluer but it was pouring rain. So we changed mind, took a taxi downtown for 10euro one way for the three of us and walked around and explored town, then taxi back. If the weather was good is an easy walk to town about 20mins and you can jump off from there. Lastly our stop in Southampton we did a ship excursion to London with about 2 hours of free time there to explore Covent Garden on our own. Was good but a long day in the bus and traffic on a Friday is not great, so if you plan to do this stop to London on your own use caution as you can get stuck in the city, we were last bus back just about all-aboard. Now I was not concerned since on ship excursion but if I was on my own like normal I would have been a nervous wreck.
On the excursions I am attaching the ship provided excursions list as this was different than what was provided before we left. That is the one thing I disliked about this cruise was MSC pre-boarding information is spotty at best and sometimes you get different information. Some of the excursions provided you could not prebook or shown on the website which to me is very odd. Second we pre-booked "A Day in London" and when we got on the ship the price was lower, that is not right, and they wouldnt offer refund unless we cancelled. We were going to change later but the London on your own was a lot cheaper but was sold out so we had to stick with what we had booked, but the price was lower on ship. I learned that when visiting big cities on MSC it might be best to wait until you board to book as price may be cheaper than beforehand and they can accommodate more people so tend to sell out less, just food for thought.
Also attaching our daily planners as I didnt see much of them out there.
Lastly we booked a inside guarantee, and received a deluxe balcony with partial view. Seemed this was happening to many people on the ship so if you are in a shoulder season you chances of getting upgraded may be high. We booked this 3.5 weeks before departure and were surprised but extremely happy to have a balcony even though it rained almost everyday and couldnt use much.
If you have any questions ask away and I will do my best to try and answer.
Nov 12 - Hamburg.PDF
Nov 13 - Sea Day.PDF
Nov 14 - Zeebrugge.PDF
Nov 15 - Rotterdam.PDF
Nov 16 - Le Havre.PDF
Nov 17 - Southampton.PDF
Nov 18 - Sea Day.PDF
Tour Guide - Excursions.PDF
