Live from MSC Grandiosa, Genoa, September 6-13, 2020

[petra75]

Hallo everybody from Naples. On board Grandiosa life's good!

 

Another change about health I have not mention yet are menus. There are no more paper menus in bars and restaurants, but qrcode to scan while your device is connected to Grandiosa Hotspot free WiFi so you can download and read them on them. I saw someone in MDR reading a printed copy of the menu, so of course if you can't-will not use personal devices your are able to order your dìnner still!:-). I haven't seen any paper menu in bars but I believe will be easy enough to order something with the help of waiters there!

 

 

 

Some other picture from buffet, maybe they show the flow better:

 

 

 

After the narrow part where you are close but the line going the other direction of buffet line is for walking only, the exit doors are different than the entrance ones

 

 

 

[petra75]

Yesterday we went to the teather for the first time. We read it was mandatory to reserve a seat beforehand and reach the theater at least 5 minutes before the show started and so we did, but it was not necessary at all: we were not asked anything when getting in and people entered at any time during the show. Certainly it was not necessary to be strict yesterday evening since, even if only half of the seats are available for the usual matter of social distancing, not even half of them were occupied. Anyway we always noticed that the average MSC and Costa passenger don't like theather shows that much, you almost always find a seat even if you are late there, thing we cannot say for american cruise line, where we almost always stand because we arrive just in time for the show!

To us is not a matter of quality of the shows, of course we only can compare singing and dancing ones since for the problem of languages on MSC and Costa there are just that kind of shows, even the yesterday was a nice one, Grande Amore, needless to say it was about italians songs and dance!

 

 

Yesterday was white night as well, there was a well attended party on pool deck, with live music and the entertainment team. If you forget you're wearing a masks looks almost like a regular cruise, almost...

 

[denatravels]

Wishing you the best!


Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[rikitikitavii]

Petra,

Thank you for the pictures and the reviews.  Awesome.  Now if the CDC in the US would just wake up and let the cruise l;ines here begin operations with similar protocols as MSC.

Enjoy your trip!!

 

Rick

 

[petra75]

14 hours ago, dritan said:

We had heard there were big discounts on excursions, something like 3 excursions for 100 euros.  From what you are saying these may be restricted to walking tours or panoramic bus tours?  I'm also surprised to see some of the regular excursions in there as I thought there would be limited options - good to see. 

Hallo Dritan,

 

yes, for a cost of 100 euros more than the cruise price you can buy beforehanf three escursions, I believe as well they could be a bit basic, but I've asked here at the excursion office and been told that, paying the difference if any, you can change and choose the escursions you like when on board.

[petra75]

4 hours ago, hamrag said:

Got it in one, it is a process seamless to those not embarking or disembarking at a particular port and it does not affect the cruise experience one iota!

I agreee!

[petra75]

On 9/7/2020 at 9:44 AM, Trixie21 said:

If possible could you find out how they deal with someone with celiac disease (gluten allergy) - this is one of the factors which stops me booking with other cruise lines - the risk that my wife might have difficulty finding something to eat.

I suspect a lot of the protocols they have in place for these cruises will be pretty much replicated by the other cruise lines as they begin to start up again.

 

Hi Trixie,

 

as somebody has already told you I advice you to warn MSC about your wife's dietary needs when booking, but it is not a problem to find something to eat, expecially in MDR where there are always no gluten dishes.

[petra75]

22 hours ago, sidari said:

I think that would put me off for the time being, just as well we cannot cruise due to Government advice.

I'm sure MSC will be ready to start again with cruises from UK as soon as you government gives permission, they have a soft spot for you Britons!

[lienf]

6 hours ago, little britain said:

People board and disembark at each port. It works very well; it means you can board at the port which suits you most, and it means that thousands of people are not all boarding on the same day. 

Are they doing that on this cruise?

[little britain]

1 hour ago, lienf said:

Are they doing that on this cruise?

As far as I know, yes at all ports apart from one (Palermo?)

[mafig]

Thanks again.

Enjoying your review.

The processes for the buffet, theater and muster are  all those that I think we could live with.

[cvg42]

1 hour ago, petra75 said:

We read it was mandatory to reserve a seat beforehand and reach the theater at least 5 minutes before the show started and so we did, but it was not necessary at all: we were not asked anything when getting in and people entered at any time during the show.

No offense Petra, you are doing a great job with this post but...I really want people to try to come to the theatre on time. It is so bothering for the people who are already following the show to have people trespass during the show and in my humble opinion entering during the show is not showing a lot of respect to the performers who are bringing the show when people still arrive when the show has already started. Normally there are more performances per night so even what diner time one has, you can always pick a show that fits your dinner seating. Like I said, no offense to you at all!

Enjoy the rest of your cruise! Cheers!

[riredsox]

4 hours ago, EllieinNJ said:

Wow!  I haven't heard that name here in the US for 30 years.

Lol my friend Lynne was Little Miss Woolworths in Rhode Island!  Her mom worked in the Wakefield branch.   Way back when...

[zencruisers]

Petra,

Thank you for taking the time to share. 

[FLCruise7]

Petra,

Thanks for taking time during your cruise for the pictures and information.  May give us some ideas as to what cruising will look like when they start up again here in the US.  I have to admit - just a bit jealous that we can't cruise right now. 

 

One question - if you get a chance, could you talk a little about what they're doing in the casino?

 

Thanks & enjoy your trip! 

[KennyFla]

Thank you for posting these.  If you get a chance can you post some pictures of how the buffet works now?

[FionaMG]

Thanks so much for all your information Petra and for taking time out of your cruise to post here.

I was interested by the photo of the theatre. It looks like every other seat is blocked off, so how does that work for couples and families who want to sit together?

 

[sfaaa]

Where there's a will, there's a way. MSC is the proof.

[delliemd]

On 9/6/2020 at 10:42 AM, petra75 said:

Hallo everybody,

 

we boarder MSC Grandiosa today!!!

Honestly, didn't think it would be possible so soon just a few weeks ago, but life's full of surprise so here we are!

 

A bit about us: we are Italians and live in Italy, I'm in my middle 40s (the number in my screenname is no for accident:-)) and my fiance, Darko, in his 30s. This is our 21^st cruise, 5^th on MSC, other companies we cruised on are Princess, Costa, HAL, Carnival and NCL.

 

We are happy to share our experience on a cruise during the Covid19 pandemic and answer you questions.

Just a note: we have no Internet package, so we'll connect only when in port.

 

Grandiosa itinerary:

9/6 Genoa dep. 7:30pm

9/7 Civitavecchia (Rome) 8am-7pm

9/8 Naples 8am-6pm

9/9 Palermo 8am-7pm

9/10 at sea

9/11 La Valletta (Malta) 8am-6pm

9/12 at sea

9/13 Genoa arr. 8Am

 

In every port except Malta people embark and debark.

 

Since we have already been several times in every port beside Palermo we have booked just a four hours walking tour in there, of course with MSC since, as many of you might already know, we are not allowed to get off the ship by ourselves.

 

 

 

Thanks

 

[cellfree]

Petra75, thank you for all of your updates. We were to sail on the Grandiosa in October 2020 and then COVID changed our cruise/itinerary/flights/etc. but very happy for you. We are really hoping MSC will start up by 2021 out of Miami. Is Captain Marco Massa your Captain? We met him several times on various cruises in the US and knew he was being moved to the Grandiosa. A truly wonderful Captain!

[rkacruiser]

OP, a "picky" personal question:

 

On Grandiosa, in the Theater, are there hand rails along the steps leading from the back of the Theater down to its front?

 

On Meraviglia, there were none and I saw several guests having difficulty with the steps without the handrails.  A few fell that I saw.  

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Any understanding of what capacity (more or less) these ships are sailing at?

[BSR]

@petra75  Thanks for the report.   Enjoy your cruise.

[Porky55]

OP, a "picky" personal question:
 
On Grandiosa, in the Theater, are there hand rails along the steps leading from the back of the Theater down to its front?
 
On Meraviglia, there were none and I saw several guests having difficulty with the steps without the handrails.  A few fell that I saw.  

Doesn’t look like there are hand rails.

[Roger88]

Dear Petra, thank you so much for the photos. It makes me feel so confident about my future cruise. Its like me being there with you going to places on board the ship. Photos are very nice. Did you take them on the phone? (which one?). Cant wait to get on board and make a little overview myself and post photos here on the forum