MSC was not a cruise line I would ordinarily have considered, but the arrival of the new MSC Virtuosa was a temptation, especially with the added incentive of NHS discount, tips included, drinks package (for a host of reasons, I think in hindsight MSC will look back with regret on that one) and onboard credit.
The cruise - I loved it. It was a much needed holiday. And a cruise ...
We sailed on the 15 night repositioning cruise from Liverpool to Genoa. I have sailed with MSC several times previously including on the Grandiosa during the Covid Pandemic so I had an I deal what to expect and up until this cruise it was one of my favourite cruise lines.
During the cruise there were 2 stops in Southampton and we were prepared for the several thousand British boarding for a ...
This is my 9th cruise and I genuinely believe if it had been mt 1st it would definitely have been my last. Apart from my wife and I being alerted on the NHS track and trace app and are now subsequently been tested positive for Covid-19 I must stress this has no bearing on how dreadful the cruise was.
I believe the four main things that are most important about cruising are:-
Service, Food, ...
Experienced cruisers with 21 so far, we booked having done a 3 day Disney which was fabulous and safe. This cruise was anything but.
I should have known when we had to stand in a queue for an hour for a test, it wasn’t going to end well! Another hour and a half later we were in the ship.
The ship itself is stunning, glitzy, huge, although no spaces for entertainment apart from two ...
We chose to do a last minute U.K. cruise this summer rather than risk travelling abroad during covid. And MSc were offering a great deal for nhs workers. Ship was beautiful and cabins spacious. However major teething problems (I hope they are only teething problems and will be rectified, and hard to know how much is due to covid and how much is typically MSC).
We are a family of 5 (2 adults 3 ...
We wanted a break as birthday present. This was reported on TV as modified to meet the British Market and looked clean with modern fittings. Offers around British Isles only at time of booking due to Covid+19.
It was in fact too open plan with plenty of activities and spaces for children when open but only a Sky Lounge for adults. (Not open till 5pm and if it was embarkation day or drill ...
We have been on MSC before and always loved it. The entertainment has never been great but there has always been enough to keep us occupied.
This time we embarked at Liverpool, which was amazing, and the embarkation process was smooth. The cabin was fine and all the staff we met were wonderful. We had read that the food wasn’t good on previous staycation cruises but we found it to be more than ...
Check in Liverpool
We arrived at 10:30 for an 11:00 check in at the Liverpool exhibition centre , Lots of documents needed and verified for my party of 10 before we received our lateral flow test then coached to the cruise terminal and boarded the beautiful MSC Virtuosa.
We were welcomed aboard and directed towards the lifts to find our cabins.
We had an inside cabin, spacious yet ...
Once MSC announced that their flagship Virtuosa was going to have her inaugural season in U.K. waters, making several sailings around the country for British residents, we wanted to sail on her.
Even more attractive to us was that Virtuosa would be departing from Liverpool for selected sailings.
For us this was a great opportunity to just travel for about an hour, driving 35 miles from home ...
Review of seacation on MSC Virtuosa 8 june for 7 nights
Having done lots of other cruise lines but this being the first MSC came with an open mind Only 1000 UK guests on board and the crew outnumbered the guests.
Everyone appeared to be adhering to wearing masks when moving about and removing them when seated , eating or drinking. Everyone has a second lateral flow test 72 hours before ...