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According to Marine Traffic tracks, actual arrival to

Napoli 11/06/2018: Arround 12:00 (official time 13:00) - Departing 19:30 = official time.

Messina 12/06/2018: Arround 06:30 (official time 08:00)

I don't know if they let you exit the ship the usual 30 minutes after arrival or they wait longer.

Thank you for your review

Regarding credit cards and cash in Europe, you can pay with credit card almost everywhere. I went to Norway some years ago without any cash at all and I didn't need it. In Denmark there were even discussions on abolishing cash, to also enforce tax payment (not that they are great tax evaders anyway)... In european countries were they have no Euros, and are full of tourists, they will always let you pay with cards so that they don't lose any income

In southern Europe you can pay with credit cards almost everywhere also. No great need to have cash, or big amounts of it anyway. Maybe for some places like street markets, or remote businesses like beach bars, small kiosks, ice cream parlors etc...

I had the pleasure to be onboard for the christening. You will find my first photos here. A full ship review will follow during the next days. But first I have to check almost 1,500 photos :').

 

 

I missed the fireworks as everything was late and we were still at dinner. We went out just in time for the Zucchero concert.

 

 

steamboats

Thank you, and have a nice trip!

Looks like the Seaview will dock at Napoli arround 12:00h today, well ahead the scheduled 13:30h

Please don't take this for granted, but last year MSC Meraviglia had the exact same itineray and it was reported that she always arrived to Napoli well before 13:00h. But we won't know for sure until June and we can start tracking what MSC Seaview actual schedules really are.

MSC does this on a regular basis, stating an official time and arriving way earlier. My parents were in a cruise this last week, and I have tracked it every day. Always there one hour before on average. Of course this way you buy more excursions with them, because the scheduled time in port is more limited than the real time and you might tend to believe the only way to go safely are cruise excursions.

That being said it's enterely up to them to be there at 13:00 or before, and let you in only when they consider. Also, they have this buffer time for emergencies or whatever, so there is no guarantee of being there earlier.

We'll be in Seaview this october not embarking from Napoli, for that day my bet is having 2 more extra hours in port than stated. But again, we won't risk it and go far from the city, instead we'll focus on the city center, archeological museum and that castle on the hill, the more time in port, stress free, the better.

Cruising 4 days in Norway (that's what you get in 7 days Norway cruises) it's very nice, but might not be enough.

I'll try to explain in detail, in the MSC 7 day cruises you tipically get two Fjords days: Geiranger and Flam (Sognefjord), plus you can make it another one in Stavanger by visiting the Lysefjord with an excursion (totally recommended). The other port day usually is Bergen which is also very nice and scenic. I did that 3 years ago an it was just amazing. However, it was only 4 port days, so it might not be enough to have the Norway feel that you are looking for.

In order to maximize the experience I woke up at 4:00 am the day of Geiranger and Flam because sailing the Fjords just has to be seen and it you wake up at a normal time you miss part of the experience. At 4 am it's already dawn in June. Of course you sail the way out in the afternoon, but trust me it's worth it waking up early as well!

Have never done the 11 days one, so can't really comment, but you get only 2 more port days I think, and you also have 2 more sea days (that can be cold up there). To me, experiencing midnight sun was not a priority, i think the best part are the landscapes. But I understand it might be important for you.

Here are two alternatives you might consider:

Hurtigruten: much more expensive and not a proper cruise, but you depart from Bergen and can go up to Kirkenes in a week (or the other way round). Navigation is much closer to the coast than proper cruises, the time in port however is limited. We want to do this someday, but 5.000€ for a week in an ugly ferry style oceanview cabin is not good enough value for us at this moment, still young with loans to pay back.

Another option is Pullmantur, their 7 days itinerary is much more port intensive because again you only go up or down. It's Malmo (Sweden but connected to Copehnaguen / Denmark with a bridge, so can fly there) to Trondheim. I've never been to Pullmantur, it's an spanish brand. A full spanish audience cruise ship doesn't sound appealing to me at all, though, and I'm spanish. I prefer not dealing with loud people when travelling. On the other hand their value is good and drinks are included.

So there are not perfect options to me! But you will sure have a nice time whatever you decide.

We sailed with MSC Orchestra, nice eonough but without a covered swiming pool. I would focus more on itinerary than ships in this case.

Hope this helps

Wow, you went to the beach now? Is it that hot in Palma? Could you swim as well? :confused:We are going in mid May I was sure it will be too cold for beach... I am really confused now what to do in Valencia .My plan was to take a cab to DT and do some shopping ,I hope taxi situation will be better in May. :o

Really glad MSC started to kick out kids with diapers from pool now.

You could swim in Mallorca around mid May, if it has been warm enough the previous days and you don't mind cold water... it will be cold, but some years it is doable. Many people swim in May, and I usually start swiming around that time of the year actually. It's not perfect temperature until early to mid June though.

Food in MSC is not that bad. I've sailed two times with them and enjoyed it both times.

Being european, and having lived in Italy, I enjoyed the quality of food overall and specially italian delights such as real pasta, pizza, rissottos, and other mediterranean dishes. I guess that for some people, their idea of pasta is Mac'n'cheese or some other perversion such as fluffly americanized not thin&crusty pizza. MSC is italian, they will just give you the real deal. Plus Italian food is just betther for your health, you can cruise withouth having to put on weight and pushing your cholesterol levels to the limits while enjoying the food.

Also, the cocktails / milkshakes / virgin cocktails / gelattos / non free coffee... are very good, and freshly made. You never have to wait too much for the drinks in the bars. Gelattos (again, expect to pay a little) are so much better than the crappy icecream other cruiselines offer

Desserts were very good as well. Many European dessert recipes, I just love them.

So, to me, the main problem with MSC food situation would be

- Free coffee is very bad, as in many cruiselines. They offered free Nescafe though. It's worth it to pay and go for excellent coffee.

- Meat options were better in Royal Caribbean. Didn't find it to be bad, just nothing to write home about. In our next Seaview cruise we'll go to the meat speciality restaurant for this reason

- The buffet was way too crowded in MSC Fantasia and MSC Orchestra many times for breakfast and lunch, food quality was good enough though. This does not seem to be an issue in the newer ships, I guess there is more buffet seating capacity.

- No flexibility or my time dining unless you pay a fortune. Don't see the point in paying so much more just to eat alone when you want to... This is really the worst thing MSC does, in my opinion. Be prepared to share tables unless you are a big enough group. I got a table for two on the last two cruises, but there was a waiting list... and the first night had to share. I will try this next time, and insist a bit with Metre d'or.

So, just be open minded. And remember that worst case scenario you can use the specialty dining packages, which are good value.

All this was subjective and based on my previous experiences :-)