kerryincork Posted July 4, 2015 #1 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Well I haven't seen too much v about the Sinfonia before my cruise so I thought I would tell you all about it. If anyone has any questions I will try and answer you. I'm doing these posts from my phone so not sure how often I will be able to update. Anyway I arrived in Copenhagen airport on Friday after my Ryanair flight from Dublin. Once in arrivals there are loads of ticket machines for train/metro l got a metro ticket for 36Dk. The airport is the last stop on subway system so you get the first train that comes along will take you to the city. I got off at Norreport. There are two flights of escalators and then steps to street level. There is also a lift. My hotel was close to Tivoli gardens so I just walked to my hotel. I've never been in a major city before that had so little traffic☺ That night we went to see Jamie Callum in concert at the Tivoli. They have lots of famous people playing there during the summer. This morning I was up at 07.30 it's very hot here so I went for a walk around Copenhagen. It's an interesting city to look at and this early in the morning only a few people were out and about. Back at the hotel now and I am getting ready for boarding MSC Sinfonia. I will update you again later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pluto_fan Posted July 4, 2015 #2 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Have a wonderful cruise! I'll be following along. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Beamafar Posted July 4, 2015 #3 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Looking forward to your review as I've just booked a cruise on Sinfonia so will be really interested in your experiences onboard. Especially the "Irish Pub - Sheelagh's" LOL! I've seen some YouTube videos showing ashtrays on the tables in the pub - is smoking allowed in there, I wonder? Not a real Irish pub if it is...haha. There are almost no indoor areas of MSC ships where smoking is allowed apart from cigar lounges on some ships, the casinos on ships in the Med and the Top Sail Lounge in YC (in the Med - don't know about the Caribbean). Anyway ................ hope you have a wonderful cruise :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmoMondo Posted July 4, 2015 #4 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Glad you're having greta weather in Copenhagen. The Tivoli Gardens are great fun - something to suit everyone. Enjoy the Sinfonai. She's a nice ship. Love the thermal area, it's is the nicest in the fleet. So if you're unlucky one day and get cold dreary weather, head there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Beamafar Posted July 4, 2015 #5 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Enjoy the Sinfonia. She's a nice ship. Love the thermal area, it's is the nicest in the fleet. I'm really glad to hear that as I've booked an Aurea Suite so will have unlimited access. It wouldn't normally be my 'thing' but I got the cabin for the same price that one of the newer, smaller, balcony cabins would have cost with an Allegrissimo package added. I certainly won't be refusing the included massage, LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerryincork Posted July 5, 2015 Author #6 Share Posted July 5, 2015 Well my first night is done. It was only a 15 min journey to ship from hotel (near Tivoli) so arrived at ship at 12.15. Quickest boarding we have ever had as we were sitting in the restaurant by 12.45 ☺ The busiest time seems to be between 4-5 as I was in the cafe above where you enter the ship having a cuppachino :-) it was mayhem. You also have to authorise your credit card when on board using the little machines dotted around. They are easy to use, don't go to reception desk as they send you away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerryincork Posted July 5, 2015 Author #7 Share Posted July 5, 2015 We got the all inclusive drinks package includes ice-cream, milk shakes, smoothies, coffees and water. Water is charged for here and only free from cabin taps and buffet. Not sure if this was a good move or not as there are coffee and cocktail packages on board that combined would have been less expensive! Soft drinks are about €2.50, cocktail €6.95, coffee €2.50, smoothies/milkshake €4.00. If I had, had that info before I might not have gotten the package so I hope that is helpful. Also bottle beer is not included in the package. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerryincork Posted July 5, 2015 Author #8 Share Posted July 5, 2015 I've been on NCL most recently so the regimented dinning times is hard to get used to. The buffet also runs on a schedule as we were up here several times and it was closed. Anyway there seems to be plenty if deck space. Yesterday after wine and cocktails I thought it would be a good to do an half hour dance class followed by another half hour aerobics class. Well I certainly burned of the alcohol there 😥 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerryincork Posted July 5, 2015 Author #9 Share Posted July 5, 2015 About smoking my DA and I haven't really noticed any smoke, neither of us smoke so we haven't been looking out for smoking areas. The bar where we were yesterday night didn't have any ash trays set out and I didn't notice any in the cafe either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Beamafar Posted July 5, 2015 #10 Share Posted July 5, 2015 About smoking my DA and I haven't really noticed any smoke, neither of us smoke so we haven't been looking out for smoking areas. The bar where we were yesterday night didn't have any ash trays set out and I didn't notice any in the cafe either. Thanks for that .............. I would have been very surprised if smoking were allowed. My DH is well used to seeking out the limited smoking areas and it's not an issue. I agree with you re the dining times. We had a couple (Irish, too) at our table for four last December who'd cruised with NCL. They were none too happy either and didn't show up for dinner most nights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerryincork Posted July 5, 2015 Author #11 Share Posted July 5, 2015 We found the smoking area this morning near the theatre deck 5 on the right ☺ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pluto_fan Posted July 5, 2015 #12 Share Posted July 5, 2015 We got the all inclusive drinks package includes ice-cream, milk shakes, smoothies, coffees and water. Water is charged for here and only free from cabin taps and buffet. Not sure if this was a good move or not as there are coffee and cocktail packages on board that combined would have been less expensive! Soft drinks are about €2.50, cocktail €6.95, coffee €2.50, smoothies/milkshake €4.00. If I had, had that info before I might not have gotten the package so I hope that is helpful. Also bottle beer is not included in the package. Thank you for all the helpful details! If you're looking at the wine list at dinner, would you mind checking to see if the 1/2 liter carafe of wine is still available? I seem to remember it being rather hidden at the end. A few years ago it was around €8 and was a good value for us. For our upcoming cruise, the all-inclusive package would be over €1200 :eek: (2 adults, 3 children, 14 nights) so we're going to forego that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerryincork Posted July 5, 2015 Author #13 Share Posted July 5, 2015 There are five dinner courses to choose from. You can have all or 1 it's up to you. I'm not a big eater so I only had 2 courses. We prefer to have dessert at the coffee bar. After dinner they had the emergency drill. This is held on deck where the lifeboats are. You put on your life jacket and line up in front your lifeboat. Which is a better way of doing things than NCL, which have you meet in a bar etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerryincork Posted July 5, 2015 Author #14 Share Posted July 5, 2015 After dinner we had a walk around the ship. The disco area is a nice quiet place to sit and look out as the bar doesn't open till 23.00 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Beamafar Posted July 5, 2015 #15 Share Posted July 5, 2015 We found the smoking area this morning near the theatre deck 5 on the right ☺ Great, thanks! I think that may be the Cigar Lounge. DH will be delighted. We were on Preziosa which doesn't have a dedicated smokers room - it's not pleasant outdoors for smokers if it's windy, which it often is, especially at sea! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Beamafar Posted July 5, 2015 #16 Share Posted July 5, 2015 Thank you for all the helpful details! If you're looking at the wine list at dinner, would you mind checking to see if the 1/2 liter carafe of wine is still available? I seem to remember it being rather hidden at the end. A few years ago it was around €8 and was a good value for us. For our upcoming cruise, the all-inclusive package would be over €1200 :eek: (2 adults, 3 children, 14 nights) so we're going to forego that. I haven't noticed carafes on tables on recent cruises, PF and had forgotten about them! (In our case, we do go with the Allegrissimo - no 3 children in tow which would require a small mortgage by the time the final bill arrived LOL!). The carafes are great value - hopefully they'll still be available for your cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skier52 Posted July 5, 2015 #17 Share Posted July 5, 2015 (edited) There are five dinner courses to choose from. You can have all or 1 it's up to you. I'm not a big eater so I only had 2 courses. We prefer to have dessert at the coffee bar. After dinner they had the emergency drill. This is held on deck where the lifeboats are. You put on your life jacket and line up in front your lifeboat. Which is a better way of doing things than NCL, which have you meet in a bar etc. Did they give you RED emergency drill cards (see image below) , or, did they scan your seapass card. Pete Edited July 5, 2015 by Skier52 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerryincork Posted July 5, 2015 Author #18 Share Posted July 5, 2015 They scanned everyone sea pass card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerryincork Posted July 7, 2015 Author #19 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Someone asked about 1/2 carafe of wine. I checked the wine list last night and didn't see it listed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pluto_fan Posted July 7, 2015 #20 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Someone asked about 1/2 carafe of wine. I checked the wine list last night and didn't see it listed. Darn. Thanks for checking! Guess we will have to increase our budget for onboard spending. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerryincork Posted July 7, 2015 Author #21 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Warnemunde was very hot the day we were there. Just as well as DA loves to swim in the sea. We walked down to the beach which took about 15 min. The beach was pretty dirty. I saw broken glass and bottle tops. We were Ok as we wore our shoe. The beach was huge! Just as well as it was packed. DA got to swim & I got wet twice ;-) we went back to the ship for lunch then stayed by the pool. I thought it was much to far from Berlin to contemplate a visit. On deck were some games (I won) and dance class, which we joined. It was fun and I thought the instructor was good. She also teaches lessons at night too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Beamafar Posted July 7, 2015 #22 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Darn. Thanks for checking! Guess we will have to increase our budget for onboard spending. You can't always depend on the info on the menus. Just because they're not on there, doesn't mean they're not available. The best time to ask about the carafes is at dinner in the MDR. Your waiter will either have the knowledge or he'll find it out for you. Lunch in the MDR is a different matter as the crew vary each day and are often inexperienced. I had an issue on many days at lunch in the MDR about the wine I ordered being available on the drinks package I had. Each time I had to convince the waiter that, yes, the wine I was ordering WAS included with the code on my card. So, my advice is: always ask if you can't see what you're looking for. And always check around with others as you just may have asked the wrong person at first LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Beamafar Posted July 7, 2015 #23 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Warnemunde was very hot the day we were there. Enjoy the great weather, KIC .............I'm sure you've heard how rotten is here at the moment. Sounds like you're really getting into the swing of things onboard. Hope you're enjoying it all. How do you like the ship? The info about the machines dotted about to authorise your credit card is interesting. I haven't come across that before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pluto_fan Posted July 7, 2015 #24 Share Posted July 7, 2015 You can't always depend on the info on the menus. Just because they're not on there, doesn't mean they're not available. The best time to ask about the carafes is at dinner in the MDR. Your waiter will either have the knowledge or he'll find it out for you. Lunch in the MDR is a different matter as the crew vary each day and are often inexperienced. I had an issue on many days at lunch in the MDR about the wine I ordered being available on the drinks package I had. Each time I had to convince the waiter that, yes, the wine I was ordering WAS included with the code on my card. So, my advice is: always ask if you can't see what you're looking for. And always check around with others as you just may have asked the wrong person at first LOL! Excellent point, thanks! :) We had a wonderful waiter on the Opera...hope we have another on the Splendida. We will definitely ask about the carafe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerryincork Posted July 7, 2015 Author #25 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Yes I have been getting weather updates from AP they are on holiday in Clare 😊 We all have the drinks package on our table so waiter doesn't always puts out wine list for us. They have introduced booking for the theatre now due to the ship expansion (600 more guests) so they have 3 show times. You wave your card under the scanner and choose the time you want to go. They do fill up as a couple at our table reported they were unable to get in ! It's pretty easy to do, but so far it's only for the show that's on that night. I read in the daily planner that you are meant to be able to do it using your smartphone? Another thing I read on daily planner is that they don't recommend tipping individual staff due the service charge already in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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