Picture heavy fun review - MSC Armonia - Canary Isles and Madeira - incl. DIY trips

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Hurray--another great review from Stef. I have been looking forward to yours and Tanya's adventures.........you cheer me up :):).

 

Thanks for posting

 

:)Hey, welcome back.

 

...hope it's nothing too serious that you need cheering up for. But I'll do my very best.

 

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

A tour through the bars

 

The San Marco Café

 

The day wouldn’t be perfect on the Armonia without an early cappuccino in the San Marco Café.

This is a wonderfully light and inviting coffee bar on deck 6 wrapped around the open area of the centrum. It’s conveniently located next to the theatre as well, so a perfect spot to get a drink to take along into the evening show.

But although this is a full bar (I’ll show you the menus in the next post), this was our designated morning or afternoon coffee spot.

Lol – okay, I admit a sparkling wine for a brunch like morning on a seaday was very delightful as well.

I loved the looks and feel of those chairs.

There was hardly anybody around whenever we settled in here.

The only thing that would have made it even better would have been an actual person playing on that piano once in a while… never happened. Too bad. But I loved the looks of the piano and the Siluette of the Piazza San Marco just as well. Not easy to achieve an actual outdoor café feeling inside a ship … but I think they did a pretty good job.

Lol , one thing was a bit odd though … hold on…

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

See the guest reception desk one story further down from this bar?

This is a bit indecent, if you ask me. Tanja and I had the idea of connecting a string to an umbrella and start fishing for that blue cash box …. Just kidding.

But seriously, the privacy of your issues is not really granted here. Look:

You can almost read the computer screen and the papers of the passengers …. I don’t know … I’m not the biggest defender of data security, but a wee bit more than shown here couldn’t hurt.

But we didn’t mind too much, lol --- or at all to be honest, since we didn’t have a reason to approach that desk except one time – and that was a minor mere question promptly answered. However, I can imagine that some people might be bothered by this.

Anyway, here is the menu for the San Marco café:

Edited March 24, 2015 by Kreuzfahrtneuling

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

next up: the white lion pub

 

 

stay tuned!

 

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

:eek::(:eek:Gulp! Just heard on the news that a Germanwings plane on its way to Düsseldorf from Barcelona has crashed in the French Alps ... all 150 people dead. Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!

 

not even three weeks ago we were on a flight just like that. I feel so sorry for everyone dead or mourning --, but I must admit -- right now I am basically ecstatic to be alive myself.

 

Stef

[bcnvcanada]

Our thoughts go out to all who have lost their lives in germanwings plane.

May the rest in peace.

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

The White Lion Pub

It pains me to write about this “could be” favorite drinking spot of ours.

Why only could be?

Sigh. Although there was the Cigar Room right next to it, completely embedded in glass, so the smoke inside wouldn’t bother anybody outside of it (so we thought), the pub next to it -- as a whole was an official smoker’s paradise.

It was so intensely used as such, that you felt like walking through greyish-white fog, just to get to the actual bar. The smell was really bad and my eyes started hurting right away. I felt reminded of the days decades ago -- before the smoking bans, when you went to a bar with friends on saturday nights, where the smoke was so intense you felt like you could cut it with a knife. Usually on the mornings after such visits, one’s eyes felt like sandpaper and the laundry smelled like cold ashtrays --- without having smoked personally. Well, we had no intention of carrying this smell into our cabin onboard, so we steered clear of this bar after two attempts.

This is really too bad, since they have live music here and I just love the cosy interior. Lot’s of wood, fake fireplaces and a Scottish pattern on the carpet. A really lovely pub if it weren’t for the overwhelming amount of smokers.

The odd thing is that the cigar room – cosy as well, is not smoky or stinky at all. We thought about getting a drink and retreating to this little - secluded by glass, room --- but then again we felt a little odd as non smokers to have to use the “smokers” cabin to say clear of the smoke. Crazy world.

They have little snacks which they offer in the pub … sound really yummy …. But we didn’t try for the obvious reasons. Bohoo, and this is the only place you can get different beers on tap than Heineken…. This would have been the perfect spot for an evening chess game with music in the background, snacks and a beer on tap …. Bohoooo. Okay, I’m done whining now.

some pictures:

The pub:

the cigar room:

In the next post I’ve got the menu of the pub incl. the ones showing the snacks for ya.

Stef

[Juddernaut]

Amazing to see they still allow smoking on cruise ships (I believe it is a problem on most cruise lines). In a lot of countries, employers would be compelled to ban it for fear of legal action in regard to the health problems caused by passive smoking. We just had a week skiing in Austria, where the bars were no go zones due to cigarette smog but I hear they are introducing no smoking laws next year - thank God

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[denisey]

Oh that is too bad about the smoking! That did look and sound like a great place to hang out!

[Crabmanstyle]

I'm a recreational smoker these days so loved this place. To be able to have a cigarette with a pint indoors was a real blast from the past but only when the place was quiet. Even as a smoker it got overwhelming in the evenings.

I definitely think that this place is off limits to non-smokers and it's not fair.

 

That said, it was a super bar and I had many a curious conversation in the evenings there!

 

I tried a few of the snacks during the week and was impressed enough.

 

I remember the barman-Mario, a really nice happy guy. :)

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

... did I mention that the snacks would all have been complimentary? Yup!

 

 

 

next up: Il Duomo bar

 

 

 

 

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Bar del Duomo

This is the place to go if:

-- from 9:00 to 17:00 this is the place to go get stuff for playing minigolf, tabletennis, basketball, boardgames, cards … anything. The entertainment team awaits you here.

I thought it was a little annoying, that you had to officially rent out whatever you were planning on doing with swiping your cruise card. Hardly anybody played this way … just sticking the according stuff a windproof shed next to the places of their use would have made more sense to me and would have tempted a few people into a spontaneous match I believe. We knew this easy kind of handling from Royal Caribbean and liked that a lot better. This way however, the sportscourt as well as the minigolf course or the shuffleboard fields were deserted at all times.

-- maximum fun with the entertainment team in the evenings – this place rocked every night! If you’re looking for tranquil sundowners …. Stay away from this place after 17:00. The place gets decorated with the daily mottos : white party, Italian night, Spanish night, 60’s and 70’s, carnival … those are the ones I remember. As the entertainment team was really good at their job, the crowd went wild with them on a regular basis. We didn’t really attend any of their sessions, but saw the party in full swing after dinner (We sadly got placed in the second seating --- so dinner was never over until an incredible 23:30 ! ).

-- perfectly mixed cocktails with a tendency of including a wee bit more alcohol than in other bars ( lol just a personal impression after trying out my favorite cocktail, the BBC in every possible bar)

-- smart, charming and efficient waitresses, even more so than in all other bars (lol – again: personal impression)

-- live music pretty regularly

-- comfy sofas with grand views of the ports or the sea (that’s Funchal in the picture)

Sorry – I know it’s a lousy picture, but it’s the only one I took of the Duomo bar:

All in all: a quiet place with great drinks until 17:00 – after that it slowly starts to vibrate and develop a life of it’s own to the point it is a bustling bubble of dancing bodies, squeeking laughs (entertainment team and participating passengers alike), wild music and polonaises through the tightly packed bar.

One more (the last) set of drinks-menu pictures coming up

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

next up: the disco and the Armonia lounge

 

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

The disco.

All the nighttime action took place in the duomo bar … the disco was completely deserted. When we strolled over there after our first dinner (which lasted almost till midnight), we were literally the only passengers. The two bartenders seemed happy to at least have something to do. The DJ started to play some music …

oh my, just because

we

entered?

Odd feeling.

It does feel strange to have a full disco with lights and sound and everything all to yourselves. Two other couples strolled in after a while, but didn’t stay. We gave it another shot on two more nights … but it was dead everytime.

Too bad. I liked the black and white design fair enough and the tables with the shiny centers were a cool idea.

This could be a fabulous party location … if only people would attend. Maybe it’s different during school holidays.

The disco’s bar is only open at night time. Which also is a shame, since this place during daylight hours is really spectacular. It has the best seaviews of any bar and is flooded with daylight.

We saw quite a few people here watching the diminishing shoreline during sailaways or playing cards or boardgames on seadays. If there would have been a bar service, I’m sure that bar would prosper at those times … definitely more so than at night, when no one is around.

The disco is the closest the Armonia has to offer in regards to lounging next to panoramic windows in comfortable seats… still the fact that there’s no bar service during the day as well as there is still no direct, unblocked sea view because of the walkway outside are a big minus in comparison to our beloved l’Ametista lounge on the Magnifica.

The Armonia lounge and add-on library

This place was newly inserted together with the stretching. It basically consists of a couple of tan colored chairs, a dance floor and a little dead end road on one side, which represents the library.

The main shelves of the new library are locked behind glass doors. I guess here, again as well as for the board games down on deck 5 one would have to swipe ones card whenever a member of the entertainment team would hang around here. Mhh, not my cup of tea.

A couple of open shelves housed wonderfully rebellious self serve books in many languages. I guess this shelf was for private books, which passengers just left onboard for others to read. This was well used by the people we saw. Tanja even borrowed two books in English (the German ones were boring), of which she ended up reading one on our seaday. Needless to say we returned them both for the next passengers …

I loved this free access, self controlled and counting on the passenger’s honor method much more than the reglemented and locked shelves. But then again – who knows what kind of bad experiences with idiot passengers they had in the past.

If I ever happen to travel on the Armonia again I’ll make sure to bring a book to add to this “free” section of the library.

Again this point goes to the Magnifica with its wonderfully decorated, spacey, comfy and inviting library. Considering the fact they have just added this “new” library on the Armonia, I must say was a bit disappointed.

The Armonia lounge itself is kinda dull as well. No bar service as far as I recall. We were here only once for a tango lesson. Yes, I successfully (and miraculously) made Tanja join me. It was a partially fun and partially awkward experience. Since we took this class together I had to join the men, so we could end up dancing as a couple. To reach the point of understanding of the instructors, who at first gave their best to convince me that I was on the wrong side and had to join the ladies side, was a struggle. But once they accepted the fact I wouldn’t be moved, it went very well. Lol, I even got to practice with the (very attractive) female instructor … Joy, joy, joy.

Sigh, Tanja and I on the other hand somehow have lost our ability to dance together. I don’t know what it is …. But we truly suck at dancing as a couple. It didn’t improve the situation, that Tanja didn’t want to dance in the first place and constantly asked me during the lesson if we could please quit now … argh, I love her but I need to dance with someone else. Man, woman … I don’t care … I’ll learn any part … if we’re ever on a cruise together and one of you likes to dance … I’m fair game…bring it on! Don’t worry, Tanja wouldn’t be mad at all …. Actually quite on the contrary - she’d be relieved that she is off the hook.

See? -- She

does

like to dance! --- just not couple-wise with rules.

Coming up: more bars

Stef

[jlajr]

Once again, I find myself enjoying one of your reviews. Thank you for taking the time to write it.

 

I also am a proud Panda owner. I'm on my second, actually. Why did I replace the first?, you ask. To get one with a sunroof, of course. Seriously.

Edited March 27, 2015 by jlajr

[denisey]

Well, if not dancing as a couple is the most serious problem you have, then I say things are good!

 

But that brings me to a very serious question I have had through all 4 of your reviews!

 

How do you pronounce Tanja's name???????

 

In my head I say it like the American Tanya (Tan that rhymes with Don, and ya like the first part of Yahoo!)

 

I think I have how to pronounce Stef....

 

Thanks!

[suekay]

In my head Tan rhymes with Dan, but the ja rhymes with a

[Pluto_fan]

Reallly enjoying the review, Stef! Thank you for posting all the photos of bar menus and everything. Love how Tanja's pants match the chairs in that last photo! :)

Edited March 28, 2015 by Pluto_fan

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Hi guys,

 

sorry, not much time today. Emergency call weekend and it was a rough night. New review posts on monday.

 

But I can't let go about the Tanja question .... very fun stuff. I never thought about how to explain to an English speaking person how to pronounce that correctly, but it is a fun task and I want to try right away.

 

Okay ... both A's in TANJA sound exactly the same and have the exact same pressure to it.

 

The best fitting sound I found is the very fist A-sound in "Aaamerica, the beautiful":D song.

 

the T and the n souldn't be any different from what you're used to and the j .... mhhh, let's see. Yahoo doesn't quite do it for me ....the y here sounds too much like eeeaaaaa. I think "yikes" works better for me .... the sound is sharper and is formed more like a german j a little more to the front of your mouth.

 

:rolleyes:Lol ... I can just picture you trying out weird "tanja" variations now, sitting in front of your screens .... having loads of fun imagining that .... thanks .... I needed that after last night. See you all on monday!

 

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Once again, I find myself enjoying one of your reviews. Thank you for taking the time to write it.

 

I also am a proud Panda owner. I'm on my second, actually. Why did I replace the first?, you ask. To get one with a sunroof, of course. Seriously.

 

you're very welcome!

 

 

:cool::D:cool:Lol -- pandas rule!

 

Ohhh ---- a sunroof:p:p:p ... sigh, a girl can dream.

 

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Reallly enjoying the review, Stef! Thank you for posting all the photos of bar menus and everything. Love how Tanja's pants match the chairs in that last photo! :)

 

 

you're welcome, my pleasure ... but this was the last bar list I got for you all this time ... but I do have all the dinner menus again later on.

 

 

:D:):Dthat is too funny, you're so right! I didn't even notice the color similarities. Thank you!!!

 

Stef

[denisey]

Hi guys,

 

sorry, not much time today. Emergency call weekend and it was a rough night. New review posts on monday.

 

But I can't let go about the Tanja question .... very fun stuff. I never thought about how to explain to an English speaking person how to pronounce that correctly, but it is a fun task and I want to try right away.

 

Okay ... both A's in TANJA sound exactly the same and have the exact same pressure to it.

 

The best fitting sound I found is the very fist A-sound in "Aaamerica, the beautiful":D song.

 

the T and the n souldn't be any different from what you're used to and the j .... mhhh, let's see. Yahoo doesn't quite do it for me ....the y here sounds too much like eeeaaaaa. I think "yikes" works better for me .... the sound is sharper and is formed more like a german j a little more to the front of your mouth.

 

:rolleyes:Lol ... I can just picture you trying out weird "tanja" variations now, sitting in front of your screens .... having loads of fun imagining that .... thanks .... I needed that after last night. See you all on monday!

 

Stef

 

Okay, I think I have it...as long as Tanja won't be offended by my American accent when someday we meet up on a cruise!

 

Too bad about the tough day at work. Relax the rest of the weekend and we'll see you on Monday!

[suekay]

 

 

 

:rolleyes:Lol ... I can just picture you trying out weird "tanja" variations now, sitting in front of your screens .... having loads of fun imagining that .... thanks .... I needed that after last night. See you all on monday!

 

Stef

 

How did you guess?:D

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Okay, I think I have it...as long as Tanja won't be offended by my American accent when someday we meet up on a cruise!

 

Too bad about the tough day at work. Relax the rest of the weekend and we'll see you on Monday!

 

 

 

Lol -- don't you worry, we have encountered all variations from foreign tongues already. Tanja listens to the American "Tanya" just as well as to her original pronounciation. And that's just her first name ... lol, what you guys create out of our last name is much more creative and bizarre. Lol -- and my sceenname is yet unmastered by any of you non-German-speakers:cool::D:cool:.

 

We'd be honored to meet you on a cruise one day, lol -- but you'll have to say hello to us, since we have no clue what you look like:o.

 

 

The night was quiet, no more emergencies... let's see what the remaining day and night will be like. But a night full of sleep sure makes a difference, I feel a lot better.

Edited March 29, 2015 by Kreuzfahrtneuling