1fifthavenue Posted October 28, 2016 #1 Share Posted October 28, 2016 This was our third cruise on MSC Splendida and our seventh MSC cruise in total, having been twice on her sister ship MSC Fantasia and also on the Lirica and Armonia. The cruise departed Southampton on 5 October, heading towards Genoa via La Coruna, Lisbon, Gibraltar and Barcelona, having set off from Hamburg two days prior. The cruise was booked via the MSC Voyagers Club Selection, which is their reward scheme. We got an incredible deal and packaged the cruise with a stay in Lake Garda and Milan before flying home. Embarkation at Southampton was quick and efficient. Our boarding time was 3pm but we were onboard by about 12:30, despite my other half having put the cruise paperwork in the main luggage and this being sent to the ship before we’d checked in! Splendida is an absolutely beautiful ship, there is no doubt about that. As we boarded the ship we were ushered in to the main atrium area, which is just absolutely stunning. There are bars on three levels, deck 5, where there is a grand piano and seating area, deck 6 where there is the mixology bar, serving all the usual drinks plus expertly crafted cocktails and deck 7 where there is the coffee bar. All of these decks are linked by two sweeping Swarovski crystal staircases, which apparently costs €5000 per step! We headed to our cabin to collect our cruise cards and found a tray of chocolate covered strawberries and a bowl of fruit in the cabin from MSC. Our balcony cabin, on deck 10 (cabin 10114) was of the usual MSC standard, with a large double bed, plenty of wardrobe and drawer space, shower room and sofa. The beds are high enough of the ground to allow you to store your suitcase underneath which is a bonus, we have been on cruises or at hotels where this hasn’t been possible. Having picked up our cruise cards we went to the buffet for a spot of lunch and were immediately greeted by a beaming smile and hello from the waiter who had looked after us at Christmas on MSC Fantasia. When you consider how many guests he must see over the year it’s quite something to be remembered. Following lunch we headed down to the piazza area on deck 6 for a glass of champagne, no surprises that the crew in there recognised us too and made a fuss of us being back. Whenever we step foot on an MSC ship, my partner and I look at each other and think ‘we’re home’. The piazza is a great area for people watching. It’s set out like a small town square with a couple of shops around the outside and iron tables and chairs on a tiled floor, with some tiled benches for extra seating. There are excellent cakes and ice creams available here (at an extra cost, depending on your drinks package) and we often skip dessert at lunch and come here for a cake and a glass of champagne for afternoon tea. Following the muster station drill it was time to change for dinner. We were on the first sitting in the La Reggia restaurant. Although we had requested a table for two we were on a table of eight, six of us English and an Australian couple, they were a great crowd therefore we didn’t look to move to a table of two, had there been one available. Every night we were nearly the last table out of the restaurant as the conversation just kept flowing between us, with plenty of laughs and discussion thrown in. Your dinner guests really can make a holiday in that respect. A lot of people seem to complain about the food on MSC. What I would say to them is don’t go with the expectation that you’re going to have steak and chips every night. MSC is an Italian cruise line, the Italians like to take their time over dinner and have up to seven courses, with an appetizer – perhaps prawn cocktail, smoked salmon or something like that, then a salad course, then soup, then pasta or risotto, an entrée, dessert and cheese. You don’t have to have every course. My advice would be to try a bit of everything though! With so much choice on the menu I do find it hard to believe that people can’t find something they like. Food is very subjective, but my favourite entrées are duck breast with sour cherry sauce or the roast prime rib of beef. Breakfast and lunch in the restaurant has altered since we first started cruising with MSC, there is now a ‘bistro’ concept in the MDR, which consists of a buffet area in addition to the a la carte options. You can order from the menu and help yourself from the buffet selections. The advantage of this is that the deck 14 buffet gets incredibly busy at peak times and it can be difficult to find a seat. In the MDR you are shown to a table and have waiter service, much more civilised. There are also items on the menu that you wouldn’t get in the buffet such as smoked salmon, eggs benedict etc. The evening entertainment was varied, and some of the theatre shows very impressive. On one night the lead singer in the show ‘Amour’ which is an opera gala was ill so this was cancelled and another show put on in it’s place. Amour was then shown in the afternoon of our final day at sea, I’m so glad we made time to go and see it; the show was really good with an amazing sound, backed by a pair of violinists and a pianist. As Splendida has so many bars and defined areas, there are so many different acts you can see. The Purple Bar was a great spot to watch Irena, a European singer who sang both English and German songs. We got to know her over the week and on our final night she actually changed her line up and sang a song from her other set that we’d told her was our favourite! The Inoteca wine bar has another grand piano, the pianist in there played a mix of songs from musicals, classical and old favourites. This is a great spot to sit and they have some wonderful wines available and will bring you some tapas to go with your wine. The service in here was excellent, with the two waiters Ivan and Ivan working well together and always with a smile on their faces. The Aft Lounge is a bit of a party venue, with a dance floor and a proper band playing the usual party type music, and the animation team having fun and encouraging people to party. In terms of the ports visited, they were all very nice with plenty to see and do. La Coruna is a very pretty town, however it turns out we visited on a local holiday day and a lot of the town was shut, with the exception of churches, museums etc. We didn’t go to the Hercules tower, although we sailed out past it and got a few good photographs from the top deck. Sailing in to Lisbon was a wonderful experience, going underneath the bridge – I was on the top deck and wondered whether we would make it underneath, there can’t have been much more than ten feet between the very top of the ship and the bottom of the bridge, or at least it seemed that way! I was sad to leave the ship as we had such a wonderful time, with no problems whatsoever. We did encounter a few English people who had decided it wasn't for them as they were used to Cruise and Maritime - MSC is a world away from CMV's offering, so I can understand why they didn't enjoy it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love2Cruz2015 Posted October 28, 2016 #2 Share Posted October 28, 2016 Nice review....makes it even more exciting to be sailing her in a few months!:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riclop Posted October 28, 2016 #3 Share Posted October 28, 2016 Thanks for the review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesah Posted October 28, 2016 #4 Share Posted October 28, 2016 Thank you for the short and sweet review. We'll be cruising on the Splendida next year and hopefully we'll share a table with other English speaking passengers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easyboy Posted October 29, 2016 #5 Share Posted October 29, 2016 Very nice review. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteukmcr Posted October 29, 2016 #6 Share Posted October 29, 2016 Thanks for your review (nice and succinct , not like my ramblings!:D). We were also concerned about sharing a table in the MDR as we are so used to 'freedom' dining on other lines that we haven't shared a table in years, other than with friends and family. Anyway it turned out OK. Well, we can say MSC is good for us and can't wait until Fantasia in 126 days :D and looking at maybe Seaside for 2018 out of Miami (we do need to get back to Florida, so many cruising friends there!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capricruiser Posted October 29, 2016 #7 Share Posted October 29, 2016 If you haven't done so, please post your review in the "member cruise reviews" section for the Splendida rather than just the forum where it will get buried after a few weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1fifthavenue Posted October 29, 2016 Author #8 Share Posted October 29, 2016 I've posted it in the reviews section too, thought I'd put it on here as well :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovetoholiday Posted October 31, 2016 #9 Share Posted October 31, 2016 Thanks for your review. I was on the same cruise and also thoroughly enjoyed it. It was my first with MSC and was a bit concerned about bad reviews, but enjoyed every minute of it. Looking forward now to my next one in February. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seaniemac7 Posted November 2, 2016 #10 Share Posted November 2, 2016 Great Review......My wife and I are sailing out of Barcelona on January 27, 2017 on our First Ever Cruise and we sail on the Splendida. Really looking forward to it and maybe it will be the first of many cruises to come... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuart2468 Posted November 2, 2016 #11 Share Posted November 2, 2016 Great review. As i mentioned before i looked at this sailing but couldn't convince the other half. However i will be boarding Preziosa next week and has really got me excited for it. First cruise on my own also. Exciting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svnet Posted November 3, 2016 #12 Share Posted November 3, 2016 Thanks for your review 1fifthavenue. 29 days can't seem to go by fast enough... Then when I'm on the cruise I won't want to leave! My son is only five, but he has been on three cruises so far and he already has "the bug":o I'm really needing this tome off... But I can tell you that here in the south of Europe the weather's been pretty amazing! (but rain is on the horizon...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandi07054 Posted November 3, 2016 #13 Share Posted November 3, 2016 Wondering whether there is a charge for espresso and cappuccino on Splendida to mediterraean. My travel agent seems to think it is free. Not sure if I need an all inclusive drink package or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skier52 Posted November 4, 2016 #14 Share Posted November 4, 2016 Wondering whether there is a charge for espresso and cappuccino on Splendida to mediterraean. My travel agent seems to think it is free. Not sure if I need an all inclusive drink package or not. Espresso €1.40 Cappuccino €2.20 +15% service charge Check out this thread where I posted the bar list http://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2413060 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svnet Posted November 4, 2016 #15 Share Posted November 4, 2016 If its only coffee you want, you have the coffee cudle package that is very Good money and you avoid paying the service charge. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandi07054 Posted November 4, 2016 #16 Share Posted November 4, 2016 Thanks Skier52 For some odd reason I can't open up the bar list under that link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skier52 Posted November 4, 2016 #17 Share Posted November 4, 2016 (edited) Thanks Skier52For some odd reason I can't open up the bar list under that link The Photobucket web site is down . I checked with a wae site checker and this was the reply It's not just you! http://photobucket.com looks down from here. Pete Edited November 4, 2016 by Skier52 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarea Posted November 4, 2016 #18 Share Posted November 4, 2016 Thanks for the report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mummy_gib Posted November 5, 2016 #19 Share Posted November 5, 2016 Nice review Going next month. Not seen anything regarding the kids clubs.. Got 2 boys (10 & 15) hope they are going to be entertained as they usually spend all their time in the clubs mixing with all the other kids. Any one comment ? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1fifthavenue Posted November 10, 2016 Author #20 Share Posted November 10, 2016 Just had an email from CC that my review has been picked as one of their reviews of the week and they will send me a prize :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Beamafar Posted November 10, 2016 #21 Share Posted November 10, 2016 Just had an email from CC that my review has been picked as one of their reviews of the week and they will send me a prize :) Congrats, Tim :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomvet Posted November 12, 2016 #22 Share Posted November 12, 2016 What was the prize? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoupleUK Posted November 24, 2016 #23 Share Posted November 24, 2016 Can you answer a real concern I have please........ Is it correct that smoking is permitted in many of the bars ? We are due to set sale on Splendida in December and have a few more MSC cruises booked (tempted by the Status Match and vanishing service levels on Royal). If widespread smoking is permitted, I can see us cancelling some bookings. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1fifthavenue Posted November 24, 2016 Author #24 Share Posted November 24, 2016 Can you answer a real concern I have please........ Is it correct that smoking is permitted in many of the bars ? We are due to set sale on Splendida in December and have a few more MSC cruises booked (tempted by the Status Match and vanishing service levels on Royal). If widespread smoking is permitted, I can see us cancelling some bookings. Thanks Hi both Smoking is permitted in half of the casino (it's the full width of the deck, and the extractors do a great job), the cigar room (as you'd expect! but this is enclosed with doors) and an area of the Top Sail Lounge which is the Yacht Club guest only bar. No other internal bars allow smoking. On deck, one of the pool bars on deck 14 allows smoking, and there is a smoking area on deck 15 aft in the Playa Del Sol part, although not at the actual bar. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoupleUK Posted November 24, 2016 #25 Share Posted November 24, 2016 Thank You Tim That has reassured me. It was this on the MSC website which concerned me... Smoking is permitted in several bars on each ship, and on one side (indicated by signage) of the principal outdoor pool deck areas, where ashtrays are provided. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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