Something inbetween balcony cabin and yacht club plus good for kids ?

[mikeblahblah]

Hello All

 

Thinking of booking Virtuoza but haven't booked yet and could even consider another cruise line. Booked that one as it looks good for kids and we've got a 7 year old.

 

For reference the only cruise I've ever been on before was believe it or not the Concordia. Enjoyed it but was in November east-med so might have been quieter than usual don't know. Plus it didn't sink then which was a bonus.  8-)

 

However, whilst busy busy is ok I've read in some posts/blogs tales of spending an hour to find a single seat in a single bar. Is that really true? If it is I can't see how anybody could enjoy themselves. I mean finding all bars half or 3/4 full with a couple of spare tables would be fine but literally walking from bar to bar just to find somewhere to sit down and get a drink or snack does not sounds like a holiday to me.

 

Can it really be that bad and are there any other ships or lines departing from UK that are just as good for kids? It seems a balcony cabin in June is about 2.5K or 3K with the drinks package. Yacht club is 6.3K which is more than double and the "standard" suite rooms don't seem much bigger. Also we might be too embarrassed to make full use of the butler/consierge bits.

 

I did look at Disney but the ship seem quite a bit older and no water slides plus around 5.5K and at that price the Yacht club would seem good value.

 

Any thoughts, constructive, random or otherwise gratefully received.

 

Thanks!

 

 

[Essiesmom]

There are lots of cruise lines sailing from the UK in June.  Just about every P&O ship is sailing from Southampton, as well as Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, NCL…. Go to cruisetimetables.com and choose the ‘Cruises from’ tab and select whatever UK port pleases you.  Click on your month.  It will tell you who is sailing and their itineraries.  EM

[Two Wheels Only]

It does not take an hour to get a drink. People tend to exaggerate wait times. What does happen is that people "hang out" at the bar after getting their drink and people passing by think that the waiting line is long.

 

MSC has "experiences" that are basically levels of what you get and to where you have access. Yacht Club is the highest but Aurea has some nice benefits, too. On Virtuosa, you would get an exclusive sundeck with hot tubs if booking Aurea as well as spa access. This is a good option to avoid crowds without all of the bells and whistles of Yacht Club. Children can use the sundeck but not the Spa.

[peder]

Premium Suite Aurea on the Virtuosa is great with kids because of the bunk area that's almost like its own room. Still much more affordable than a typical YC cabin with great balconies in the aft of the ship.