MSC Virtuosa - European metropolis tour - 19/27 March

[SweetsugarNL]

Please be carefull. Got noro last week and have read we where not alone. Also someone on facebook is treated for food poisening/ noro today on the ship.

 

We used handsanitizer all the time.

 

Have a great cruise, the ship is so nice!

[LiquidWu]

Once we arrived at the terminal, everything went very quickly. The only remarkable thing was the separate passport control by the British authorities. An effect of the Brexit.
Without a valid passport you would not have been allowed on the ship, even if you do not want to leave it in Southampton.

 

@BoundForSea The nuts are back, even in three varieties. Let's see if they are also available in the minibar.

It is not even 10 o'clock and I am already on the ship and have ordered the first glass of champagne. Wow, so it can go on

 

Edited March 20, 2023 by LiquidWu

[LiquidWu]

Oh dear, I had planned everything in advance. But I was shopping and now it comes but differently :-o

In Le Havre I had me on the beautiful walk (see post above). On the other hand, I was offered here for this day the tour of the bridge and the engine room. In these safety-relevant areas you do not come so often at MSC.
But no one on board can tell me what time these two events take place. Can I book them one after the other or do they overlap?
I've been to the front desk, the excursion desk, and the YC concierge....

But worst of all, I've already booked another cruise. Crazy!
You surely know Formula 1. England is the home of motorsports anyway and in the USA this racing series is also becoming more and more popular.
I will be on board the Virtuosa in Abu Dhabi for 5 days in November and visit the race there. The Virtuosa is anchored within sight of the race track. Tickets to the race track are included in the cruise fare. Super interesting. The stay has more the character of a hotel ship than a cruise.  

 

[LiquidWu]

17 hours ago, lucas34 said:

Any spanish or finnish newspapers? 😉

Good morning Lucas,

unfortunately there are no Finnish newspapers on board. But there are Spanish ones.

SPAIN La Vanguardia
SPAIN Mundo Deportivo
SPAIN Diario As
SPAIN Muy Interesante

SPAIN El Pais
SPAIN El Pais Sport

There are also newspapers from countries with languages similar to Spanish, such as Mexico or Portugal.

 

For those who are familiar with structured data in JSON format, I have attached the complete list.

presse.json

[lucas34]

6 minutes ago, LiquidWu said:

Good morning Lucas,

unfortunately there are no Finnish newspapers on board. But there are Spanish ones.

SPAIN La Vanguardia
SPAIN Mundo Deportivo
SPAIN Diario As
SPAIN Muy Interesante

SPAIN El Pais
SPAIN El Pais Sport

There are also newspapers from countries with languages similar to Spanish, such as Mexico or Portugal.

 

For those who are familiar with structured data in JSON format, I have attached the complete list.

presse.json 42.57 kB · 0 downloads

Hi and thank you so much for this onformation. I really like Muy Intresante. These are free of charge or with fee? How I can have them once on board?

Do you know which is the main turn-around port for MSC during this cruise (as they change pax at every port)? How many gaala nights you have during this one week cruise?

[Saab4444]

2 hours ago, lucas34 said:

Hi and thank you so much for this onformation. I really like Muy Intresante. These are free of charge or with fee? How I can have them once on board?

Do you know which is the main turn-around port for MSC during this cruise (as they change pax at every port)? How many gaala nights you have during this one week cruise?

Home port is Hamburg and one gala night on Mondays.

[Saab4444]

4 hours ago, LiquidWu said:

Once we arrived at the terminal, everything went very quickly. The only remarkable thing was the separate passport control by the British authorities. An effect of the Brexit.
Without a valid passport you would not have been allowed on the ship, even if you do not want to leave it in Southampton.

 

@BoundForSea The nuts are back, even in three varieties. Let's see if they are also available in the minibar.

It is not even 10 o'clock and I am already on the ship and have ordered the first glass of champagne. Wow, so it can go on

 

Where did you have Passport control by British authorities in Hamburg? 

[LiquidWu]

28 minutes ago, Saab4444 said:

Where did you have Passport control by British authorities in Hamburg? 

They came directly to the YC waiting area with mobile devices.

[Saab4444]

13 minutes ago, LiquidWu said:

They came directly to the YC waiting area with mobile devices.

Very nice! There was no one in the regular check-in area. Trust this is YC service only and all others have to stand in line in Southampton…

[LiquidWu]

I am OK 😀😅😍

QR_N_CHAMPAGNE-BAR_OTHER_DAYX_EN_1679314713.pdf

Edited March 20, 2023 by LiquidWu

[FamilyCruiserUK]

6 hours ago, LiquidWu said:

Oh dear, I had planned everything in advance. But I was shopping and now it comes but differently 😮

In Le Havre I had me on the beautiful walk (see post above). On the other hand, I was offered here for this day the tour of the bridge and the engine room. In these safety-relevant areas you do not come so often at MSC.
But no one on board can tell me what time these two events take place. Can I book them one after the other or do they overlap?
I've been to the front desk, the excursion desk, and the YC concierge....

But worst of all, I've already booked another cruise. Crazy!
You surely know Formula 1. England is the home of motorsports anyway and in the USA this racing series is also becoming more and more popular.
I will be on board the Virtuosa in Abu Dhabi for 5 days in November and visit the race there. The Virtuosa is anchored within sight of the race track. Tickets to the race track are included in the cruise fare. Super interesting. The stay has more the character of a hotel ship than a cruise.  

 

 

I have been to that race. Its epic. Also next door is Ferrari world which is good to go too. Cars and one of the fastest rollercoaster in the world. You have to wear eye goggles!! 

[LiquidWu]

6 minutes ago, FamilyCruiserUK said:

I have been to that race. Its epic. Also next door is Ferrari world which is good to go too. Cars and one of the fastest rollercoaster in the world. You have to wear eye goggles!! 

Thanks for your experience 🙂 I'm more the Mercedes guy, but you're right, i will not miss Ferrari World. 

[LiquidWu]

17 hours ago, SweetsugarNL said:

Please be carefull. Got noro last week and have read we where not alone. Also someone on facebook is treated for food poisening/ noro today on the ship.

 

We used handsanitizer all the time.

 

Have a great cruise, the ship is so nice!

Oh I'm sorry to hear that. I hope you are completely healthy again?
The ship is really super clean and disinfectant is offered everywhere. But you can't completely prevent such an infection.
I try to deal with it pragmatically e.g. by not using handrails and only touching door handles with a paper towel.
 

[LiquidWu]

I just realized that I forgot to upload the promised menus last night.
Better late than never.

 

 

 

The "special" dessert is a cruise tradition for me. An espresso, a scoop of whipped cream and a Grand Marnier

[LiquidWu]

I would have been full in the lounge too 🙂
The drink menu of the lounge I also attach. Just download the PDF.

 

QR_V_YC-BAR-LIST_OTHER_DAYX_EN_1679216014.pdf

[LiquidWu]

Before I forget it again today directly the menu. It's gala night and of course I had to order the lobstertail. The taste was OK, but the presentation was excellent 

[LiquidWu]

All about beer

 

 

[Saab4444]

The itinerary has just been changed to a second stop in Zeebruege instead of Le Havre, strange..

[defbref]

2 minutes ago, Saab4444 said:

The itinerary has just been changed to a second stop in Zeebruege instead of Le Havre, strange..

Its due to general strikes in France, the port isn't able to open AIUI.

[LiquidWu]

Does not look spectacular, but tastes great 
An Indochina Martini

QR_AC_ATELIER-BAR-ART_OTHER_DAYX_EN_1679342270.pdf

[Beamafar]

3 minutes ago, Saab4444 said:

The itinerary has just been changed to a second stop in Zeebruege instead of Le Havre, strange..

Protests in France, probably the reason. 

[LiquidWu]

Oh, in my martini mood I overlooked the news about Le Havre. Thanks for that. I have exchanged my shore excursion there for the AllAccess Tour. As if I would have known. 🙂

 

Apropos Martini mood: An Aviation Martini

[defbref]

Enjoying this live report, I shall be on Virtuosa in YC on 14th April.

 

4th time yacht club, 3rd time YC on Vrituosa.

 

Its making me wish I was going tomorrow.

 

Have they fixed that window in the Topsail Lounge yet ? Over to the starboard side?

[Captain-John]

Thanks very much for sharing your experience so far.

 

I see in one of your pictures a printed menu of YC wine selections. Is this presented to you in the YC restaurant along with the lunch/dinner menu?

 

I remember the limited wine selection in the restaurant being a bit of an issue for me on previous cruises, but it was never written down and often I just specified 'red' and was expected to drink whatever I was given!

 

 

 

 

[SweetsugarNL]

30 minutes ago, Saab4444 said:

The itinerary has just been changed to a second stop in Zeebruege instead of Le Havre, strange..

Ah i think strikes in france again.

you can use the second day to Visit Gent or take the kusttram to Oostende.