ConnieTact

Thanks for this live report. We are onboard in 25 days, also in YC, so I’m keen to see how things are.

Virtuosa YC lunch menu -boarding day 27/10/23

See original post. The poster booked Fantasia. Obviously made a good offer on the upgrade and got rewarded. Well done MSC. We think even more highly of them since we have had great upgrades too.

It’s not you! It sucks! I’m getting the 500:errors too. Cleared cache history etc but nothing. drives me mad. The worst thing about MSC is the prior to boarding website experience. Once onboard all fine and I find great help with OT stuff. I think I’ll wait til I’m in YC next week and ask them to help me check-in for next months! 😅😂

Your report was great. The pictures are stunning. Do you take them with your phone or a camera? I was interested in the conversation about music as I am sensitive to loud music and would need peace n quiet on occasions too! The food also looked very good. Thanks for sharing your trip.

They’ll have a little less after our visits! 😜

Hi nikoo I just booked the MSC tour to Gouda this AM. It looks good value and again, we haven’t been there but have ‘done’ Amsterdam many times. I also like shorted excursions as I hate missing out on the ships offerings! if you book, I hope you enjoy it! We’re not going until December.

Good idea! I totally get it if it were Australia or New Zealand, with their strict rules about flowers and food. We cruise the Med and Europe a lot and it’s never been an issue, but I will look carefully at the list before we go. As you said, may be worth giving it a try with an arrangement- maybe that I have already enjoyed for a few days pre-cruise! Thanks Bird! 💐 I’m enjoying your report by the way!

Oh no! I’m sorry to hear that. My habit is to take a fresh bouquet onboard every cruise to brighten the stateroom. Sadly, when I board the Bliss in May, it will be my first time without! Fancy putting flowers in the same category as weapons?! 🤔😬 Thanks for the info- I would have been astounded at the port of they banned my flowers!

The tour covers each of the Beatles homes that they grew up in, with commentary from both Robbie and every so often recordings and blasts of Beatles hits. I’ll always remember the excitement of hearing ‘Penny Lane’ as we drove toward it. The last time I was there, I was seven years old and it was number one in the charts! It was a double A side with ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’. As we were driven to Strawberry fields the woman who shared our tour with us told me excitedly that she had been looking forward to this moment all her life, she had come from Australia especially for the tour. Her daughter had done the tour and now this was her turn at last! Imagine our dismay when Robbie pulled up outside the gates of the venue and declared, “We won’t be getting out as we need to get going to the port for these people now, so they won’t be late! You can take pictures from the car!” I told him this was not enough and insisted we got out, even if we were a little late to the port as this was a once in a lifetime experience! I was trying to keep things as light as possible, not to ruin the magic of the moment for the woman. We got out, and I offered to take photos of them with their phone. I did this and got back in the car as they had a few more minutes enjoying the site. As I got in I explained to Robbie how important it was to her. I later realised I hadn’t taken any photos of my own, so I took a photo of her camera so at least I had one!

As we were dropped off to the ship by the Beats tour car and then I posted about the checking in process, I didn’t get the chance to report on the Beats Tour. Here are a few pictures. The car was amazing and the tour itself is similar to others one can buy at half the price with a private taxi tour. For us, it was worth spending the extra as this was a tour to remember. Robbie the tour hide and owner was great at the actual tour but as I reported we did have a mix up and although he did his best to fix it. He arranged for us to tour the next day, changing it to earlier and dropping us off in the port. At the end when MrCT gave him a tip and asked him how long he’d been doing the tour, he grumbled “too long!” I do recommend the tour as something more special but if you’re not bothered with the car experience, a taxi tour would be fine too. Here’s the car outside the Hard Days Night Hotel and in the street where John was born and on the famous Penny Lane. Robbie diligently offered to take photos of us at various points.

Not glamorous maybe but very interesting! i don’t like fake grass anywhere really…especially not good for gardens and the environment. I must say though, it is all new and has not been spoiled since the ship sailed in May this year. I guess time will tell if Ambassador doesn’t keep it in, ‘tip top and Bristol fashion!’ ( reference there from my home ‘town’! 😀).

Thanks for your encouraging feedback. Interesting question about Astroturf and made me think back! I was going to say, not that I noticed but looked back on some photos and found three areas of use. there are strips on the pool deck either side to make cosy areas with comfy seating. Next it is in the outside area of the buffet. Lastly I noticed a small area at the top of the ship where there are games. The majority of the ship is ordinary hard decking and the carpets inside are spotlessly clean like new. The jogging/walking track is smooth and great as is the decking on the sides of the ship. Do you particularly like or dislike astroturf? I’ve seen it on the newer MSC ships and I think on an Oasis of the Seas but thinking about it, it does seem strange to have artificial grass on a ship! 😅

If you don’t like cats…skip the next bit! 😀🐾 We’ve arrived back and I got the best welcome ever! Zumi was a rescue cat. His last owners split up and he was sent to Cats Protection League. Our other cat had not long lost his brother, who died a day before his second birthday. So the two cats get along so well. I honestly think Zumi must wonder if we are ever coming back when we go away, and is so relieved when we return, that he almost collapses in my arms and relaxes this way until I choose to end the cuddle!

We went to the Cavern and, exactly on our disembarkation time of 12.40, we were asked to form a queue to be led down to the the awaiting shuttle bus. We walked down a fairly steep gangway and straight onto the coach. We reached the cruise terminal in a few minutes and we got off, easily identified our luggage and went straight to taxi rank. We were asked where we were going, and helped with bags. Only as we were driving out the port did the driver ask, “Have you been told the price?” I said that we hadn’t, and when he told me it would be £40 I told him an Uber was £21, nearly half the price! I went on to say let us off, and he phoned his manager as we slowly headed to the port’s exit. His manager answered, “What?” “She’s not happy with the price!” The voice on the other end paused, then said, ”Well, how much IS she happy with?” He turned and asked me. I had a quote from Uber on my phone, showed him, and said “£25 that’s the Uber rate just now!” “Up to you” said the manager, ending call and leaving it to the driver to decide! ”I’ll do it for £30!” He bargained. I told him as we would have given him a fiver tip anyway, it was a deal. I must admit I didn’t relish the thought of getting bags out the back and waiting for an Uber anyway! 😅

😂

Thanks Portofrome - it’s always good to share information.

Goodbye Ambition! On shuttle now on way to terminal.

I guess you could ‘rescue’ some food from the buffet and eat it when you’re ready. For example we’ve been outside the buffet but have a plate of food here even though all was packed up at 10 today and now it’s 11.30. Just an idea! Thanks for your kind words and for following along.

The free internet has made all the difference in helping keep this live report truly live. We have been so grateful for the generosity of Ambassador to allow us to trial it for free. I did have an issue last night and went to Guest Services. I was assisted by Jasmine who was tenacious in helping me and eventually we got there! She was reluctant to have a photo taken and insisted she was just doing her job. She made my day through her helping me get back online and I want to acknowledge that. Here she is!

We loved the cruise and if Ambassador do another Bootleg Beatles one- we will book again for sure! As the coaches arrive and people prepare to disembark we are still enjoying the sun in the buffet outdoor area. This has to be up there as one of the most leisurely disembarkations. All this helps us want to return.

Next we went to cabin to pack and put cases out. We had arranged to meet our friends in the Cavern after we had both done this. It was an Abba party and we just caught the end but stayed on and danced to the DJ til 2am. The DJ took requests, and most of the songs were ones in my record collection it was great!

During the performance we had an unexpected ’shout out’! Our best friend John had sent a special request for this even though he was not on the ship! Imagine our surprise as they said our names and John Lennon said “from one John to another John” and asked for everyone to clap!

I took a couple of sneaky videos and will load them to my YouTube another time. The whole theatre was so thrilled with the professional performance and sang along loudly when invited. We clapped along and rose to our feet for an encore! They did the Fab Four proud and our ‘new’ cruise director graced the stage and was pulled in by the band and he joined in a song. “Not bad for my second day in the job! I’ve joined the Beatles!” He exclaimed excitedly afterwards.