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MSC Splendida Dubai March 2018 Review


CruisingFox27
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After many months of anticipation our sailing date had arrived, unfortunately so had Storm Emma across the UK and Ireland. As a result Dublin airport closed on Thursday and our flight was cancelled. After a pretty intense 24 hours of rescheduling and rebooking arrangements we flew to Dubai on Saturday evening and transferred ourselves to Abu Dhabi on Sunday where we were able to board the ship. Phew!

 

 

Embarkation

 

Embarkation was very quick and easy as we were the only people there. Abu Dhabi is an embarkation port for the sailing but I assume everyone had arrived in the morning and we arrived early afternoon. Our cabin was obviously ready immediately as we were expected the previous day and our luggage was delivered very promptly.

 

 

We set off to explore the ship, beautiful and spotlessly clean.

 

 

 

Cabin

We had chosen a balcony cabin on deck 13 with Aurea experience, our cabin as with the ship was spotlessly clean and we had ample storage for our needs. I couldn’t tell if the carpets and furniture were all new from the refit but were all in excellent condition. Our room as initially set up as a twin but a quick phone call to guest services and this was remedied along with an exchange of bathrobes. Our last sailing was in YC so we did initially find the bathroom small, the shower had a curtain and not a glass door which DH did struggle a bit with as he kept getting attached to it. I had no issues but I am less ‘well proportioned’ than DH! The Supplied toiletries are shower gel and shampoo, both of which are adequate but not great. We didn’t spend that much time in the cabin, a factor when choosing the experience level and although a smaller cabin than previouly we were perfectly happy with our cabin selection. My only cabin gripe, and it’s MSC wide is the in room water not being complimentary. We had the standard drinks package so I could obtain unlimited bottles from the bar and put them in the fridge but not drink the identical bottle already there. Not difficult to work around but I find it frustrating. We didn’t use room service but breakfast was delivered very efficiently every morning. We didn’t see much of our cabin steward but she was very present in terms of service and cleaning.

 

Ship

The ship has undergone a refit, I don’t know which fixtures and fittings were replaced but can say the ship was to the same immaculate standard we've experienced of an MSC ship. All of the signs now have English and Chinese displayed. There is now an Oriental and Butchers Cut restaurant, and a Dim Sum bar. We didn’t try any of these so can’t comment. We were surprised to find the Aft pool and Top 18 solarium were not adult only but both were quiet so it wasn’t an issue. The Top 18 was busiest on our sea day. I’d looked at our sailing just a few weeks prior and it said sold out so we were concerned how busy the ship would be, particularly after our recent tranquil experience in YC. We had no reason for concern, nowhere was ever very busy (except the front of the buffet) always seats and loungers available. We didn’t find there to be any queues in port to disembark or embark. The passenger mix was very varied, a lot of Asian and European with very few British passengers. I was delighted to find that nearly everyone made an effort to dress nicely for dinner, especially on Formal Evening. We were much happier with the passenger demographic than on our last Divina Caribbean sailing. The occasional lift pusher and buffet bumper but on the whole far more reserved. Our last 3 sailings have been on Divina so our only issue was getting the names of all of the venues incorrect, I’m having to look them up for my review! The MSC For Me app was not yet operational, still coming soon for Splendida.

 

Spa

We used the spa for our included massage which was very good but didn’t use any of the other areas. All very well maintained in the areas we saw and again not busy. No-one in the gym when we visited.

 

Bars and Entertainment.

I’ll preface this with the fact that we are not people who like to be entertained, so we didn’t take part in any of the activities, or parties, we didn’t go to Aft Lounge as the entertainment is more interactive. We didn’t even make it to any of the Theatre shows this time. The Splendida bar had a low key musical trio which we enjoyed with pre dinner drinks and usually we went to La Prua Piano Bar post dinner where they had a duo. We had coffee and gelato in La Piazetta, L’Expresso and Sports Bar. All of which served complimentary food and snacks at certain times. We found the service and staff to be quick and attentive. Any drinks requested were available and promptly replenished. We were happy enough with the selection available with the standard package, one tip if you prefer prosecco to sparkling wine, the prosecco cocktails are included but not prosecco alone. A Kir Royale is a favourite so I was very happy.

 

Ports of Call

Dubai – Missed

Abu Dhabi – Missed

Sir Banis Yas Island – Very disappointed, after a very efficient tender off ship there was a very long walk to the Aurea area. There are wooden sun loungers which are probably some of the most uncomfortable we’ve ever experienced and a very limited supply of parasols. We gave up after an hour or so and walked back to the buffet area for lunch, the BBQ was adequate but very limited in selection. We headed back to the ship. We’d planned this as a nice relaxing beach day, which became much needed after the trials of our departure, it wasn’t.

Bahrain – Modern and Ancient City Tour, very enjoyable tour of the Grand Prix circuit and tour of the City.

Doha – Jeep Safari and Beach. The jeep safari in the desert was excellent but not for the faint hearted and six people are a little cosy in one jeep. The afternoon at the beach was very good, facilities excellent. Everything Bani Yas should’ve been! The sunset skyline at sail away is beautiful.

Dubai – We were quite relaxed about our time as we had another 6 days post cruise so we did one of the HOHO bus routes. Post cruise we loved Dubai, high tea at the Burj Khalif and a meal overlooking the fountains are highly recommended.

 

Restaurants and Food

Obviously food is subjective and I read some negative reviews pre cruise. Our experience was very good. We were MCD in La Reggia, the service was excellent and all of our food was delicious and hot. Our waiters were very attentive with drinks and we ordered a variety of courses, mixing and matching options as we wished. We found there to be a good variety of choice. We had the standard drinks package but on the first night we were offered more than 2 red wine choices, liked one and were given that every night after. Not the best wine I’ve ever had but passable. We had coffee in the dining room after our meal each evening, which was no issue. I was undecided on desert one evening, so much to my embarrassment I received all 3, fortunately it was only gelato, fruit and cheese but I’m still sure everyone looked at me for being greedy!

 

 

We did however speak to four fellow passengers who were assigned to Villa Verde and they were not impressed with the food, one couple had been eating at Butcher Cut instead, which they said was excellent. No-one had actually discussed their unhappiness with the Maitre’D, which could’ve helped their experience. No-one we spoke to assigned to La Reggia had any complaints.

We didn’t have any issue with the food quality but there was no noticeable difference in selection on Formal/Gala evening.

We had lunch in the buffet and the food choices were excellent and again we had no issues with cold food. As ever the pizza was superb. The only area of the ship we saw busy, as expected at lunchtime.

 

 

Disembarkation

It was quiet on the last evening as many passengers are disembarking early morning, we did not find it to be uncomfortably so. No different to when a ship is in port for an evening.

We were assigned to meet at 8.30am in the Theatre, we arrived at 8.35am and by 8.43am we were dockside with our luggage. Very efficient. Many people are disembarking in the early hours, we didn’t experience any noise from this due to our cabin location.

 

We were very much looking forward to this cruise, I had a few apprehensions, how would we find Aurea after YC and the food/drink reviews gave me cause for concern. After a couple of days we were fully immersed in our cruise and busy with excursions so agreed we wouldn’t have had time to enjoy YC and as the ship wasn’t busy we didn’t need to escape to YC tranquillity. We had no issues with food or service so didn’t miss out there either. As we missed one and a half days of the cruise it did go very quickly but to be honest we were grateful to have made the sailing at all so made the most of our time.

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Thanks for the wonderful review, CF.

 

While YC is terrific, we've enjoyed our cruises in Fantastica balcony cabins, too. As you've said, on port-intensive itineraries you don't spend as much time onboard to enjoy the YC facilities. We've only been in YC on cruises where we've been to the ports numerous times before and love having the YC to ourselves on port days.

 

A couple of your comments I found interesting; having more than 2 choices of red wine and the fact that coffee was served in the MDR.

 

Oh ........... I can see you've posted about the asian menu. I'll have to submit this post to go check it out! ;)

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Bea, Menu for Sea Pavillion Oriental Restaurant. This was the only one on display.

 

Thank you so much, CF. You're a gem. I hadn't seen it posted anywhere else. I reckon we'll be trying it out - the prices seem very reasonable - €9 for Seabass!!! (Our Black Card comped meal will be enjoyed in Butcher's Cut).

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No problem, DH was most amused at me sneaking in as everywhere was closed to source a menu 'because I've promised Bea' :D

 

The disco area is very orange but the restaurant area did look nice. We were tempted to try it along with BC but as we were happy with the MDR and didn't feel we had enough nights.

 

 

We did start with a little YC envy but it quickly disappated as the ship didn't feel crowded and we didn't experience any of the issues from Divina last when out of YC - for example walking around the ship in the evening was a pleasure rather than an ordeal. On a shorter, port intensive cruise we were very happy with Aurea.

 

 

DH ordered coffee as he usually does after a meal and it was promptly delivered. It only occurred to me afterwards it had been mentioned here this was often not available.

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No problem, DH was most amused at me sneaking in as everywhere was closed to source a menu 'because I've promised Bea' clear.png?emoji-grin-1677 [/Quote]

 

LOL .... We've already chosen our apps and mains for when we do try SP out.

 

I'm thrilled that there are 2 speciality restaurants onboard with menus that have so many items for me to choose from (I'm such a picky eater, my choices are usually very limited!) Especially glad that Tex-Mex was replaced with Butcher's Cut, seeing as we can only use the Black Card perk there.

 

I don't know what I was expecting, but I'd imagined there would be more additions/changes, because of the way MSC talked up the refurbishment plan for Splendida for her inaugural season in Asia. I haven't gotten any sense from reports that there have been any significant changes. For example, did they install USB points in the cabin? Another poster commented on the dated TV - I had expected that more modern TVs would be installed.

 

Not too long to go, now, before we'll be onboard and see how much Splendida has changed since the last time we were on 4 years ago. :)

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I tried to compare to the online photo's and video's we'd viewed but it's difficult to compare when you've not sailed a ship before and there is always a lot to see. You'll probably see things we didn't. The downside of a 7, well 6 nights for us, port intensive cruise is not spending a lot of time actually enjoying the ship itself.

 

They have indeed installed usb ports, 2 USA sockets, 1 EU and 2 usb ports.

I used the TV on the last night to check our account but other than that I didn't use it and can't actually remember what it was like.

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DH will notice the differences more so than me. Most of the ships look the same to me LOL

 

That's great to know about the USB ports! More information that you've provided that hasn't been before! :cool:

 

We rarely (if ever) switch the TV on - regardless of how long we're on a ship, so I probably wouldn't even notice if they were upgraded, or not. I just thought that they'd install new ones for when the MSC for Me app is functioning. Looks like that won't be in operation 'til the ship begins it's Asia itinerary, anyway, which is a bit disappointing.

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I'd planned to take more ship photo's for comparison on our first couple of relaxing days but as these didn't happen I didn't then get round to it.

We have a 6 usb port plug, a godsend but it was still usefull having the usb ports.

The app allowed me in further than before departure, asking me to connect to the free wifi but I was connected to our purchased wifi and this seemed to cause the app confusion.

We had the surfer package and found it to be reasonably quick and more than enough for our needs, email & web browsing.

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Yeah .... I have a 4 USB port travel plug with 2 of the points being 2amp. The ones in the cabin will still come in handy if/when we want to put everything on charge together when we're in the cabin. (I don't like stuff on charge at night and won't leave anything plugged in when not in the cabin).

 

I'm hoping to get an internet package, too. I just don't know what will be on offer for our cruise length.

 

I keep checking on the app, but, now that I have a Meraviglia booking, that's the only thing I can see on it.

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(..)

Cabin

We had chosen a balcony cabin on deck 13 with Aurea experience, our cabin as with the ship was spotlessly clean and we had ample storage for our needs. I couldn’t tell if the carpets and furniture were all new from the refit but were all in excellent condition. Our room as initially set up as a twin but a quick phone call to guest services and this was remedied along with an exchange of bathrobes.

 

(..)

 

 

Great to get to get to know so much about the ship and the cruise! Thank you so much!!!

 

We prebooked a balcony on deck 13, too. We chose the starbord side, because we had negative experiences on other cruises with a landside cabin - very noisy in the morning!

I checked the situation in the ports of call last year: Fanatsia was always portside at the quay. So starbord should be the right choice for us.

 

But as it is known from MSC, sometimes they switch cabins, and they did with us :-(

 

So now we are portside on deck 12 - every morning not listening to waves but to noisy loading traffic. Every evening not having a sundowner on the balcony but grey port buildings in view :-(

 

I was happy to read about the bathrobes - I thought they wouldn't be provided in Aurea cabins! No I can leave mine at home. Great!

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That's a shame when you'd specifically wanted a starboard side cabin. We were in a portside cabin, I didn't notice any outside noise in the morning but I'm not a light sleeper and I don't really go on the balcony as I'm not good with heights. We used the Garden Bar at the aft for afternoon and sail away drinks. Sunset and the City lighting up from here was an absolute delight in Doha. We gave up in Bahrain as we were late departing, waiting on passengers who I think we left behind!

 

Aurea experience receive a bathrobe and slippers. The bathrobe will be removed from your cabin on the last evening. The mini bar was locked at 1pm on the last day unless you request otherwise.

 

One additional cabin note I've just recalled, the large wall mirror at the end of the bed was an oriental tapestry. Nice but not as useful as a full length mirror.

 

We did leave things on charge when not in the cabin, interestingly the cabin steward unplugged the usb plug but not the usb port or computer.

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We did leave things on charge when not in the cabin, interestingly the cabin steward unplugged the usb plug but not the usb port or computer.

 

Maybe he needed that one for the vaccum cleaner?

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One additional cabin note I've just recalled, the large wall mirror at the end of the bed was an oriental tapestry. Nice but not as useful as a full length mirror.
CF ... are you saying that they've replaced the mirror that faced the bed with a tapestry?

 

Speaking of cabin allocations and situations. When I rang MSC to find out what cabins were available, I couldn't believe that the only 2 were the very desirable square YC1s - one on port side, the other starboard. We opted for the starboard as we'll be (mainly) travelling in an easterly direction. It was a deciding factor for us booking it. However, I spent the next months constantly checking the booking to see if we'd been moved. We were delighted when we got our tickets and saw that we still had the cabin we'd booked.:p

Edited by Beamafar
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Indeed Bea, in our cabin the mirror was no more and it was a picture or print. Perhaps there is a cultural reason for it, although I should've asked other passengers if their cabin was the same. We didn't have a magnifying mirror in the bathroom either.

 

Great news, especially for the duration of your cruise :D

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When I read your post, I thought it must be for cultural reasons, too. So, no full-length mirror now? Crumbs! :rolleyes: They always had the effect of 'doubling' the space between the wall and the bed. Even more of a plus that we have the square cabin, now.

 

I'm open to correction, but I think they only have magnifying mirrors in YC cabin bathrooms.

 

You've been a veritable font of knowledge, CF!

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Thank you so much CF27, much anticipated and a great insight to Splendida. A shame the beginning was cut short but glad you managed to have a good time.

 

You've made me chew over the YC question though - it is a short, port intensive cruise - but my overriding reason for picking the YC would be better food. I could have done with the YC on the cruise I was just on but that had 4 sea days. Interesting that you were able to compare 'downgrading' from YC to Aurea and found it not too sharp a shock.

 

Having said that, at the moment the price differential for a sailing we are interested in is less than £300 p.p. for the YC so would still be well worth it.

 

I find the itinerary a strange one with the night in port in Dubai at the end - we would be planning on visiting Dubai before the cruise, but can see how it would make more sense to visit afterwards instead. Lots of food for thought - many thanks again! :D

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The mirror above the vanity unit remains but the wall mirror certainly added a sense of space, especially in a smaller cabin.

Delighted to be able to reciprocate information :D I'm sure DH thought we were on a reconnaissance mission rather than a holiday ;p

 

Thanks Captain. We were happy with Aurea on this sailing and hope to be on our next (although it's Orchestra. Gulp)! I'd pick Aurea again in the future but carefully based on itinerary and schedule. Our main concern was after the different experience between Aurea and YC on Divina. The issue there though was the itinerary and outside of YC was a major shock! It was an experience and we know not to ever sail from Miami in the future.

 

I wouldn't disuade anyone from YC, it is a delightful experience.

 

The ship ports overnight as the majority of flights are early morning. We certainly felt the benefit of an extra few days. Although you could look as the cruise as down time after a busy few city days and have the last day on board as you've seen the city.

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... at the moment the price differential for a sailing we are interested in is less than £300 p.p. for the YC so would still be well worth it.

 

That's not a lot for the opportunity of trying out the YC, CJ. I take CF's point about not being on the ship much during the day on a port-intensive cruise and, if the difference in price were much greater, I would agree. But for that little bit more, you'll get higher-end drinks (deluxe package) as well as the dedicated restaurant and the Top Sail Lounge - which is a haven in the evenings to unwind in. TBH, you feel extra-special in YC - not in a snobby, superior way, but you do sense it's a 5-star experience. If it doesn't stretch your budget and you're comfortable with paying the extra, I'd go for it. The way YC prices are going, you may regret not taking the chance.

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CF ... is the Dim Sum bar where the wine bar used to be? I've a vague memory of reading that, elsewhere. It's a shame, if true (though I can see why MSC would make that change). L'Enotica was always a lovely spot for an after-dinner hang-out while waiting for the show.

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It is, it still looks very similar, possibly a change in decor colour but the layout is still the same from just looking at the photo of L'Enoteca on the ship plan. They had music in the evening when we walked by and a previous review, if I recall said they had a good selection of specialty wines still. It seems as though its a mix of wine bar still but also a Dim Sum bar. I didn't look at the menu's I'm afraid.

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