From Yacht Club back to Bella! Is there any going back?! Live review MSC Virtuosa 17-24th March.

[ConnieTact]

Just pulled into Temple Meads station the largest in Bristol. There were lots of dressed up people waiting to go to Cheltenham horse Race. Even spotted some green outfits for St Patrick’s day! 
not sure I could face a beer at this time of day but would love a cup of tea! There’s no service on such a small train and I forgot to pick up my travel mug (full of Lady Grey tea!) on my rush out of the door! 😅

[ConnieTact]

Got an Uber from station - only took 4 minutes to drive to port. Bags dropped off immediately! Also immediate check in!

Then in seats and gives a packed lunch- so we don’t have to fight for it onboard! I’m amazed! Feels like luxury already! 
they just announced boarding has started!

[Beamafar]

Following, CT.  Bon Voyage. 

[ConnieTact]

11 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

Following, CT.  Bon Voyage. 

Thank you! We just boarded and in champagne bar!

It was very easy getting on. Not crowded and very quiet in the bar- so in comparison to YC- I think it’s fine! 
Cheers! 

[Beamafar]

My favourite bar on the newer ships. 🥂.  I’ll sorely miss the PremiumPlus drinks package.  We enjoyed many a glass of Veuve Cliquot there.
Have you been assigned to the Aurea dining room?

[ConnieTact]

1 hour ago, Beamafar said:

My favourite bar on the newer ships. 🥂.  I’ll sorely miss the PremiumPlus drinks package.  We enjoyed many a glass of Veuve Cliquot there.
Have you been assigned to the Aurea dining room?

Just found out- no! We are in Blue Danube on a table of 8! I requested they looked into a change and await to see outcome! Another major difference re YC and Bella! 😅

[ConnieTact]

 

Had good service and a pleasant chat with a staff member from South Africa in the Champagne bar.

All similar to YC lounge.

 

Then went to sit on loungers by the pool. The main difference was lack of drinks service (not that we needed it!) and no cushions on the loungers. The other guests were quiet and even one small family checking their kids were not too loud ‘for people to relax’. Once before we had a very loud child in YC and his parents let him be as loud as he liked! 😅

 

[ConnieTact]

The ship didn’t dock until 12 noon so I am guessing we will leave late. We saw people getting off for MSC excursions so the ship would need to wait for them.

Off to see the room & then the dreaded muster drill! 😂

[Beamafar]

Just now, ConnieTact said:

Just found out- no! We are in Blue Danube on a table of 8! I requested they looked into a change and await to see outcome! Another major difference re YC and Bella! 😅

Have to say I’m surprised at that.  Maybe it’s different on these newer ships (ones that came after Fantasia class) or things have changed since the time we were upgraded.  We’ve booked Bella (first time) for our October sailing on Musica.  Figured it was worth taking a risk (for once).  

[hamrag]

33 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

.....We’ve booked Bella (first time) for our October sailing on Musica.  Figured it was worth taking a risk (for once).  

Say it ain't so....

[Beamafar]

1 minute ago, hamrag said:

Say it ain't so....

Aurea next week, Bella in October and YC1 in May ‘24.  Really mixing it up. 🤪🤣

[ConnieTact]

Unpacked and very happy with the cabin. Better than a YC inside, but obviously not better than a suite or duplex on YC!

Our luggage was here and packing cubes are in drawers!

 

[ConnieTact]

4 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

Aurea next week, Bella in October and YC1 in May ‘24.  Really mixing it up. 🤪🤣

I like your style! 😃

[ConnieTact]

All the latitudes perks seem to have been delivered all at once! macaroons went down well! Glad to have a kettle so got a couple of Lady Greys in! 

[ConnieTact]

There’s a bit of a damp smell in the bathroom. In comparison with YC, once, we checked into a YC1 and it smelled awful! It was a room fragrancer that must have dropped into the air con unit! We were swiftly moved cabin and all was fine.

it will be interesting to see how quickly they respond to this musty smell in this class of room. I’ll post back!

[Beamafar]

I wonder if that’s the Aurea welcome onboard pack.  The Diamond bubbly doesn’t usually appear until some time during the cruise.  I really hope I’m not steering you wrong again (was gonna use the colloquial, but there are some on here who like to report me for using offensive terms).  I can see that the chocolate indicates it’s Diamond gift, though. 

Edited March 17, 2023 by Beamafar

[Beamafar]

7 minutes ago, ConnieTact said:

Unpacked and very happy with the cabin. Better than a YC inside, but obviously not better than a suite or duplex on YC!

Our luggage was here and packing cubes are in drawers!

 

 

 

Wow, you’re ultra efficient.   Packing cases are terrific, though.  Just bung ‘em in the drawers and on the shelves.  

[ConnieTact]

5 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

I wonder if that’s the Aurea welcome onboard pack.  The Diamond bubbly doesn’t usually appear until some time during the cruise.  I really hope I’m not steering you wrong again (was gonna use the colloquial, but there are some on here who like to report me for using offensive terms).  I can see that the chocolate indicates it’s Diamond gift, though. 

That’s what I thought- usual diamond stuff. I prefer champagne by the glass anyway so Prosecco a bit wasted - unless I take it home! At least no flight! 
 

[Beamafar]

I always felt that it was a shame that they stopped having the Diamond bubbly awaiting your arrival in the cabin on embarkation day (and, now, the YC welcome bottle is no more 🥴).  So, even if it is the Diamond perk, it’s a nice touch. 👍

[Beamafar]

5 minutes ago, ConnieTact said:

That’s what I thought- usual diamond stuff. I prefer champagne by the glass anyway so Prosecco a bit wasted - unless I take it home! At least no flight! 
 

Was that champagne you had in the Champagne Bar?  If so, what were they serving?  (Can’t remember if you said you have a drinks package). 

[showingdiva]

1 hour ago, ConnieTact said:

The ship didn’t dock until 12 noon so I am guessing we will leave late. We saw people getting off for MSC excursions so the ship would need to wait for them.

 

VTS has Virtuosa departing at 20:00.

Shouldn't be anything inbound or outbound to delay her.

[ConnieTact]

2 hours ago, Beamafar said:

Was that champagne you had in the Champagne Bar?  If so, what were they serving?  (Can’t remember if you said you have a drinks package). 

Yes! It was Landon black label- top of the list - I’ll work my way through! Had some at meal tonight and now getting a glass in Masters of sea!

I took a photo of all I am entitled to on drinks package!  

[ConnieTact]

1 hour ago, showingdiva said:

 

VTS has Virtuosa departing at 20:00.

Shouldn't be anything inbound or outbound to delay her.

Hmmmm! Makes no difference to me but I wonder if those people will get short changed on their excursions? 🤔

[Beamafar]

Thanks for the list.  Haven’t tried that one - maybe they’ll have it on Europa. 
 

How are you enjoying the ship, so far?   How was dinner?

Edited March 17, 2023 by Beamafar

[ConnieTact]

Had early supper in Blue Danube! What did I miss? 🤔

Petite four!!! I love those in YC! 
they weren’t forthcoming with tea offers after the meal either but guess they have two more sitting to entertain.

One bonus was we sat with one other couple from South Wales and we had easy and interesting conversation. If we were on a table for two we would have missed out on that! 
the food was every bit as good as YC and service very good too.