MSC Virtuosa Chaos

[danielwje1]

Currently onboard Virtuosa and it’s absolute chaos. First time MSC cruisers but went with an open mind having previously cruised with RCL, Celebrity and Princess.

 

We are really very disappointed. The ship is rammed full. the buffet seems to be a war zone daily. 
 

Today, this was the line to board. Took 90 minutes. 

 

 

[Eglesbrech]

Any explanation as to why?

[ferretktf]

It’s docked in NordFjordEid which has a floating pontoon with some serious number restrictions for safety.

the pontoon is actually closed more often than open …the slightest bit of wind (rocky) or rain (slippy) means that tender boats have to be used ( I went there on Virtuosa in May and was tendered off and on)

 

the sheer number of people on virtuosa this week (~5600) coupled with the number restrictions on the pontoon has led to long delays both getting off the ship, and getting back on.

 

essentially, this port cannot handle these numbers unfortunately 

 

[danielwje1]

I understand, it would have been nice if there was some communication or warning about this. There was nothing. If it’s a frequent occurrence then MSC must have known it would happen.
 

 If we had known, we could have planned to get onboard sooner. 
 

 

[morpheusofthesea]

28 minutes ago, danielwje1 said:

Today, this was the line to board. Took 90 minutes.

It could have been raining.

[ferretktf]

6 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

It could have been raining.

It was when I was queuing to get back via the tender in May !!!

[77red96]

Such a shame, sorry to hear that, how is the rest of the cruise going? That's a lot of guests on one ship.

[danielwje1]

7 hours ago, 77red96 said:

Such a shame, sorry to hear that, how is the rest of the cruise going? That's a lot of guests on one ship.

The ship appears really badly designed to handle such crowds of people (5,500+ guests). I’ve been on Oasis class before and they seem way better designed. 
 

The crew are trying their best appear overworked and stressed. 
 

Had to send cold food back twice in the dining room, so far. 
 

Yesterday they disembarked by deck number the the cruise Director forgot to announce deck 14. 
 

The theatre seems tiny considering there’s 5,500 guests onboard. 
 

But, we’re on holiday and got to enjoy it. Probably wouldn’t choose MSC again based on this. 

[Eglesbrech]

1 hour ago, danielwje1 said:

The ship appears really badly designed to handle such crowds of people (5,500+ guests). I’ve been on Oasis class before and they seem way better designed. 
 

The crew are trying their best appear overworked and stressed. 
 

Had to send cold food back twice in the dining room, so far. 
 

Yesterday they disembarked by deck number the the cruise Director forgot to announce deck 14. 
 

The theatre seems tiny considering there’s 5,500 guests onboard. 
 

But, we’re on holiday and got to enjoy it. Probably wouldn’t choose MSC again based on this. 

Have the other ports been any better for getting off /back onboard?

 

Hope you can make the best and enjoy the goods bits and tolerate the bad.

[kernow]

I'm on a Virtuosa forum on another site and I know that there have been a lot of complaints about crowds on the last few cruises (also others saying they are enjoying themselves). I think the problem is that it is UK summer school holidays, every year we see the same sort of thing on all the cruise ships sailing from Southampton in August. Not saying that it is not an issue, just that you will see similar posts about Anthem and the P and O ships also, not just an MSC problem.

[danielwje1]

12 minutes ago, kernow said:

I'm on a Virtuosa forum on another site and I know that there have been a lot of complaints about crowds on the last few cruises (also others saying they are enjoying themselves). I think the problem is that it is UK summer school holidays, every year we see the same sort of thing on all the cruise ships sailing from Southampton in August. Not saying that it is not an issue, just that you will see similar posts about Anthem and the P and O ships also, not just an MSC problem.

They just issued £50 onboard credit per room for the issues at the port yesterday. 

[kernow]

29 minutes ago, danielwje1 said:

They just issued £50 onboard credit per room for the issues at the port yesterday. 

Glad that they have acknowledged the problem and are doing something about it. Hope the rest of your cruise is better.

[styles27]

I hope things get better. I seem to remember similar posts around this time last year.

I love to see these mega ships but I’m not a fan of cruising with the number of passengers they hold for the reasons you list. 
 

 

[danielwje1]

To be fair, boarding today was better and the destination is stunning.

 

Maybe the lesson is to avoid school holidays 

 

 

[77red96]

2 hours ago, danielwje1 said:

To be fair, boarding today was better and the destination is stunning.

 

Maybe the lesson is to avoid school holidays 

 

 

Aww glad to hear that it's better today, I've booked Grandiosa out of Southampton next August!

[BARNET]

3 hours ago, 77red96 said:

Aww glad to hear that it's better today, I've booked Grandiosa out of Southampton next August!

Hope you are aware the Grandiose is no longer sailing from Southampton next year UK and Ireland M managing Director announced a few days ago that Virtuosa will be staying in UK instead

[77red96]

On 8/30/2022 at 10:38 PM, BARNET said:

Hope you are aware the Grandiose is no longer sailing from Southampton next year UK and Ireland M managing Director announced a few days ago that Virtuosa will be staying in UK instead

I had no idea... Pretty much the exact same ship, so should hopefully be fine.

[showingdiva]

90 minutes is a long time to stand waiting to embark.   At least MSC have acknowledged there was a problem.

 

Anyone (rightly) thinking 90 minutes is long, I would suggest never booking any cruise going to Guernsey.   On any size of cruise ship.    Ever.

[Nunagoras]

1 hour ago, 77red96 said:

I had no idea... Pretty much the exact same ship, so should hopefully be fine.

Same ship class, exactly. Actually Virtuosa has some more cabins than Grandiosa, no worries.

[StillStrength]

On 9/3/2022 at 9:15 PM, showingdiva said:

Anyone (rightly) thinking 90 minutes is long, I would suggest never booking any cruise going to Guernsey.   On any size of cruise ship.    Ever.

Can I ask why?

[showingdiva]

48 minutes ago, StillStrength said:

Can I ask why?

 

Guernsey is a lovely little place.  It's a tender port, the ships have to anchor a fair bit off shore (20 minutes or so), and as ships are getting bigger and bigger, actually getting on a tender can be a really long process.   Queuing for a couple of hours isn't unheard of.

Edited October 2, 2022 by showingdiva

[StillStrength]

15 hours ago, showingdiva said:

 

Guernsey is a lovely little place.  It's a tender port, the ships have to anchor a fair bit off shore (20 minutes or so), and as ships are getting bigger and bigger, actually getting on a tender can be a really long process.   Queuing for a couple of hours isn't unheard of.

 

Thank you for this. I have a friend who lives there, so it sounds like catching a ferry might be quicker and easier. The idea of tendering in a lifeboat-sized craft doesn't quite inspire me with confidence! Thanks again.