MSC Splendida - Italy, Spain & France - 1st January 2017 - YC

[SwissLe]

Hi Guys,

 

Sorry I am late to the party, I did intend to do this semi-live but I had such a good time that everything just flew by without me having time to blog.

 

The last few years NCL has been my cruise line of choice, especially loving their Haven and fun-filled ship atmosphere. I am one of the seeming minority that really likes where Del Rio is taking the line, the ships are better, cleaner and the food is better. These things are really important to me. However when NCL took all their newer ships back to the US for the winter I looked for an alternative.

 

I spent 3 weeks last January in Europe with NCL onboard Epic in their Haven, so this will be a direct comparison. The Haven vs. Yacht club world-domination-super-smackdown. Please add your own fire and dramatically deep American voice to the last sentence for effect.

 

My review won't be photo or media heavy, I'll be using words as I took very few pictures. Also another disclaimer; those of you who have read my previous reports will know I am a terrible tourist. I now cruise for the ship, service and relaxation. There will be no getting up at 5am to take a coach half way up a mountain to return back to the ship at 5minutes before rope off.

 

Please feel free to ask any questions, I have half of the ship on Facebook now so can probably find out anything you need.

 

Come with me let's go ... oh wait that's NCL .. I mean PREGO!

 

DAY 0 - THE JOURNEY

 

This year I spent Christmas in Ireland, in the North and what a beautiful location this was. A full week of touring around in car and seeing some of the most beautiful scenery in my entire life, you can easily see how Game of Thrones and Star Wars producers fell in love with this place.

 

The journey to the cruise began with a, slightly tired from the 4am finish the night before, 4hr drive back to Dublin airport on the 31st Dec, handing in a rental car before an uneventful Ryanair flight to Gatwick. Two large suitcases at around 24kgs each were accepted by the automated baggage machines without a blink of an eye. Once in Gatwick I bedded down in the Hilton TIP: ask for a room in the 'new' glass wing, the older rooms can be a little on the tatty side. The big plus to the hotel is the fact that it's connected to the terminal; no shuttle bus needed.

 

The new year was rung in whilst I slept soundly in my bed, Happy 2017.

 

DAY 1 - GENOA & EMBARKATION

 

A 6am alarm call for the 8am British Airways flight and back to the terminal. The guy checking in started giggling and announced that I was the only passenger in Club Europe today and only 50 people in total on the whole plane - the majority with MSC tags. This was going to be a great, but short, flight.

 

A quick coffee in the temporary BA lounge (they are in the process of moving terminals and building new lounges at London Gatwick). Then off onto the plane. Sure enough we boarded in around 10mins and were on our way to Genoa. A decent enough cooked breakfast and two mini bottles of champagne I was ready for dancing and embarkation.

 

For those who haven't had the 'pleasure' of Geonva. The airport is above the same size as some Las Vegas suites, and feels slightly untouched since 1980. However being small you can grab your luggage and be out in a couple of minutes. Obviously being an Italian airport priority baggage doesn't exist and mine came off last.

 

I dodged an MSC rep in the arrivals hall and made my way to the taxi rank just outside the door. The official taxis are fixed fare to the port, they are all white with the fares clearly displayed in the cabin. 20minutes later we are pulling into the port on a clear, but cold embarkation day.

 

The cars and taxis pull up to an area where ports take your luggage off, if you are Yacht Club ensure you tell your driver and he will take you to the white tent just in front. Here you will dispose of 25EURO plus 2EURO per bag to the taxi driver and your luggage to a YC butler.

 

Here I met Luc for the first time, such a nice guy from Madagascar. Despite it being 14oC he was dressed for the arctic with a hat and huge coat over using usual YC tails. We waited a couple of minutes for another family to find their luggage and off we went into the terminal. Don't worry too much about tagging your bags if you're YC as they took the ones I put on at home off and replaced them at the tent.

 

As a YC passenger you get zipped past lines, through tensa barriers, pushed to the front of escalators and eventually into a small room containing more butlers, a spread of refreshments and a check in desk. As they check your documents and passport you can get your first taste of prosecco and some chocolate.

 

Almost too quickly you are being guided onwards once again, through the sea bridge and onto level 6 in the centrum. Once they've pushed you to the front of the security queue you're photographed using a handheld device and the led through the ship and up to the Yacht Club. Mission complete, time for another prosecco.

 

Once here the Conceirge will introduce themselves, asking what time you'd like dinner and a few of the features of the YC. I picked a daily newspaper, not that I ever read one on land. I think this was actually peer pressure from all the other members waiting knowing exactly what publication they require instantly.

 

Then a butler then took me to my suite, explaining the key card and the fact you have to have it in the slot for the room to have power. He then went through everything; from the TV to shower explaining how it worked. Clearly they must have a good selection of people who've never been outside before. The explanation of a complimentary mini bar did focus my attention for the brief moment after when a balcony door was being slid open and closed, right before a button on the hairdryer was pressed, TIP: bring your own dryer if you have hair, I am male and it took me 5-7mins to dry my hair with it. I am being a little mean here as he was courteous and so willing to please; a theme throughout the week from all butlers.

 

As he was demonstrating the wardrobe door to me, a knock at the door and my butler, Rai, introduced himself. He was very chuffed, I felt it too, with the fruit bowl, chocolate fruit and sparkling wine display. I thanked them both and cracked open a beer from the fridge.

 

Just after I finished the beer on the balcony I realised it had been around 1hr onboard and I hadn't had a six course meal. I walked out the room to be greeted by another butler, Dani, who introduced himself and insisted on walking me to L'Olivio - the dedicated Yacht Club restaurant for breakfast lunch and dinner - as 'it's so complicated for new passengers'. We had a chat as he took me down to level 7, right along the ship through the public areas, and ending up at the aft elevators where only the middle two go all the way to 16 where L'Olivio is located.

 

I was sat at my table by no less than four people. The maître d pulling my chair out, Dani rearranging the table so I could look out onto the pool/deck area and two waiters - one to pour water and one to take a napkin out of it's fanned ring set status whilst placing a menu in my hands.

 

The waiter was from Ukraine, and turned out to be my waiter for the entire week, he took a little warming up but by the last night was akin to Paul Blart in terms of humour. My favourite part of his repertoire was when I ordered a well done steak he would override my mistake and get me a medium.

 

Today began seven days and nights of fantastic dining. I didn't have one poor dish - at breakfast lunch or dinner. Each night there were multiple items on the menu that I would eat, and I am one fussy pup.

 

Lunch began with a beef carpaccio, followed by a beautiful beef cannelloni and a beef filet served with roast potato and vegetables. Those of you who've never cruised before with MSC and are used to British/America lines will notice how many courses I ordered, it's not because I wish to test drive my medical insurance but because MSC gives much more normal portion sizes. I didn't once come out of dinner feel overtly full or, like on some cruise lines with a 32oz steak, ready to burst.

 

All this beautifully served food was accompanied by a selection of 4 wines, a prosecco sparkling, white and rose. I stuck to the prosecco and it was fantastic. I didn't hear anyone with a bad word to say about the free flowing and complimentary wines. Unlike in the downstairs main dining rooms, still or sparkling bottled water is unlimited and included also. There is also a vast - paid for - wine list should the included not float your ship.

 

I decided to take a stroll around the ship. It's fantastically well kept, everything sparkling and clean. I would say it's really not my taste, and feels very dated compared to RCI and NCL's new/refreshed ships. It's your typical cruise ship interior design, which I think is starting to be ditched in favour of hotel luxe by the main lines. I can't wait to see what they come up with on the new ships, as that's really only a fair comparison.

 

The pool areas are beautiful, there has really been some thought and attention to the design. The tiling and fountains also make the areas feel high end, something that some mega ships miss out on. The indoor pool area was well used on this cruise, with the roof remaining closed for the cruise duration.

 

I ended up in the Yacht Club 'One Pool' area. This is a huge deck, with amazing views of the bow of the ship. Two hot tubs and a pool, with a huge amount of seating/lounging areas. An orange towel sits on each lounger, with a table to collect as many as you need - no towel vouchers required here.

 

The bar area was open each day of the cruise, and served an almost endless number of complimentary drinks. I sat in the hot tub drinking a pina colada wondering if life could any better. A butler regularly came by to check on my happiness level, this was a moment for the feels.

 

Next to the bar is a small buffet area; breads salads and four dishes of the day. If you want a dish of the day you ask behind the counter and they'll bring it out within a couple of minutes. I assume there is a mad dash to a restaurant somewhere to fulfil the order.

 

After feeling like a lobster, and having my private deck and hot tub disturbed by a whole other couple I decided to duck down into the cabin for a shower and to change for dinner.

 

At this stage I realised it was just before the lifeboat drill. I ducked into my cabin and grabbed my life jacket. Yes, MSC still make you go through the process of putting the life jacket on. I think it's so they can sell the photos of you in one. I arrived down and scanned my card, I was instructed to put the jacket on and sat there for around 20mins before the event started. The event was oddly instructions on how to put the jacket on. Cart before the horse if you ask me but I sit quietly and toe the line - they have to do this twice a week. As per usual with so many languages it's a waste of time, but at least people know where their muster station is in the event of something horrific happening.

 

My cabin 16031 is just opposite from the stairs to the One Pool Deck, and so ideally located to do a towel dash.

 

The cabin is on the small side if compared to other lines suites. It's just a standard size of a balcony cabin. The bathroom does have a tub, which if you are not a tub person (I'm 6ft 3 so very rarely fit in them without having my knees around my chin) is actually a disadvantage. My head touched the ceiling and the shower head didn't go high enough for me. That's where the negatives end though. The pink marble is a really nice touch and the water pressure/temperature was fantastic all week. The quality of towels is fantastic, the best I've had at sea. They were fluffy, large and smelt wonderful, sometimes a hard ask for the harsh washing done on a ship. All the linens and towels have the yacht club logo embroidered, a nice little touch.

 

Outside of the bathroom there is a small shelf area, great for keys and dumping other items when you come in through the door. Next along is a walk in wardrobe with safe. Plenty of hangers and storage space. If you're after more just opposite the wardrobe is a skinny cupboard with shelves. Easily enough for the week or two week rotations this ship specialises in.

 

Next you'll come to the bed, again with beautiful linens. Next to the bed is the sofa area with coffee table facing the vanity/minibar area. On the shelves above the minibar is a small interactive TV. Those who speak anything other than Italian will find the channel selection wanting, and the sound quality is awful on all of the channels. The interactive selection is fast and great for checking your cruise account. The movie selection is not a patch on NCL and each one comes with a price tag of 8EURO - they are free on NCL and a huge selection of new movies. We didn't come here to watch TV though right?

 

Out onto the balcony and this is a standard size in this cabin. Two upright chairs and a small footrest/table complete this area. The glass and rail was kept impeccably clean throughout the cruise.

 

After a hot shower and another beer from the fridge. I wandered down to the lounge. This is located at the front of deck 15. A huge panoramic window makes this the best place to sit on the ship. A huge bar area, complete with buffet and two seating areas leads to a huge range of booths and sofas looking over the bow.

 

In here you can eat/drink as much as you want from 5am to 2am without ever a swipe of your cruise card. There is a huge range of included spirits, beers, cocktails and soft drinks. If it's not on the menu, ask nicely and it will come. There is also a premium section, but I found they always worked around it. Fancy a Kir Royale? Swap the champagne for sparking wine and it's free. The butlers in here are probably the most consistent and willing to please group of guys/gals I've ever come across.

 

The buffet area starts the day with continental breakfast, then changes to snacks at 11.30, before moving to high tea at 2.30 and then canapés until dinner. Once 9pm comes it's sweet treats until close. It's always beautifully presented and well stocked.

 

After a few prosecco served in ice cold glasses my butler Ravi arrived to again escort me to dinner. It wasn't an option to go it alone, despite doing to the journey a matter of hours earlier.

 

We battle through the crowds in the photo gallery on deck 7, and past 'The Purple' with another classic cruise song being murdered by the duo there. Up to L'Olivio for another warm welcome.

 

'Buonasera SwissLe' from nearly every waiter I pass. Knowing my name from just one meal? This is beyond impressive. Very rarely have I seen such attention to personal service outside of the Jumeirah hotel chain.

 

Free flowing prosecco and water throughout the five courses I elected for. A beautiful arribiata for the pasta course, a dumpling soup and an excellent rack of lamb delighted me at every plate tonight. Finishing with a liberal portion of Venchi (for those Florence lovers, the best ice cream shop in the world) chocolate gelato.

 

I spent the rest of the night, until 1am in the lounge chatting to the butlers and bar staff. I spent most of my life growing up at sea so know lots of tricks and they love sharing them. I'll share a video of one of Beni the bartender's finest ones later.

 

Tune in soon for day 2, apologies for the length of this one. I like information!

[Skier52]

The cabin is on the small side if compared to other lines suites. It's just a standard size of a balcony cabin.

 

 

 

The YC suites are in fact bigger than an ordinary balcony cabin being 236 sq. ft. with a balcony of 61 sq. ft. as against a balcony cabin being 207 sq. ft. with a balcony of 42 sq.ft.

 

 

Pete

[SwissLe]

The YC suites are in fact bigger than an ordinary balcony cabin being 236 sq. ft. with a balcony of 61 sq. ft. as against a balcony cabin being 207 sq. ft. with a balcony of 42 sq.ft.

 

 

Pete

 

Unless you take your laser measure with you on holiday then you'd be hard pressed to notice that. They look like a balcony cabin on any other ship.

[plucasana]

Loving your review, cannot wait for more.

Thank you!!!

[Darcy15]

Very entertaining review, thank you :)

 

Can't wait to hear more :D

[Ashling]

Hi

 

Fab insight to your cruise, really looking forward to the rest of the review.

 

We are doing a similar itinerary to you this summer. Our last stop is Malta, followed by a day at sea and we then depart in Barcelona. Can you remember what time the ship reached Barcelona, as we are considering getting a 9:25am train from Barcelona to Paris, instead of flying.

We previously did this when we sailed with NCL, we were in a haven suite so were ablle to depart at 8.00am. We are in the YC so I know we can get off as soon as the ship docks and clears customs. Not sure if we are cutting it too fine.

Any information you could provide would be greatly appreciated

[SwissLe]

Hi

 

Fab insight to your cruise, really looking forward to the rest of the review.

 

We are doing a similar itinerary to you this summer. Our last stop is Malta, followed by a day at sea and we then depart in Barcelona. Can you remember what time the ship reached Barcelona, as we are considering getting a 9:25am train from Barcelona to Paris, instead of flying.

We previously did this when we sailed with NCL, we were in a haven suite so were ablle to depart at 8.00am. We are in the YC so I know we can get off as soon as the ship docks and clears customs. Not sure if we are cutting it too fine.

Any information you could provide would be greatly appreciated

 

 

We had a bad crossing from Valletta to Barcelona. We arrived in Barcelona port at just after 9am, but weren't cleared until 9.30am. This had a knock on effect with our tour and the YC butlers had to battle to get us off in front of the long queues. I think even the official time was 9am arrival in the daily, but I will check tomorrow.

 

 

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[Rossco01]

Excellent review, really enjoyed part 1