After an uneventful flight, we arrived in Venice and sought our MSC sign in the Arrivals Hall. There was every other cruise line and other companies but no sign of MSC. Eventually, we found our contact and she was behind the others but the sign was down as she was checking names off her list. We were directed down the hall, past the coffee stand and out to the MSC office outside. After checking in there, we waited 20 minutes or so before we were led to the bus in the car park, not an easy trek with a trolley. The coach had no room for hand luggage overhead larger than a handbag. The trip to the port was quick and we were dropped at the end of a queue for bag drop. This was a long queue but in 20 minutes or so we dropped our bags at the door and proceeded upstairs to check in area. This was crowded and the first thing was to get our silly cruise photo taken. This was humorous and kept us smiling while waiting to check in. Check in was smooth enough and then we had to wait for number 15 to be called. This entailed a long wait and there was juice and water available. We had arrived at about 12.30 and we boarded at 2.15pm. We were told our staterooms would not be ready until 2.30 but we sneaked up and it was ready so we dropped off our bags.

First Impressions

Ship is beautiful and shiny. A lot of reflective surfaces, mirrored elevators and, of course, the famous Swarovski stairs. This was a favourite area for photographs all week. Our stateroom was a balcony, B2, port side, quite forward. There is an overhang from the top deck but it only causes shadow from about noon to 2.00pm on the sea day. The view down was towards deck 7 and lifeboats. View forward was restricted by the hump. Stateroom was very comfortable and spacious enough. Plenty of room under the bed for cases. Hairdryer in drawer was surprising good, I am told. Ice bucket provided but never filled, nor did we seek it to be filled. Met steward a couple of times, by accident. The room was kept very well. One towel animal and a note wishing us an enjoyable cruise. The balcony door slid open and stayed open as it is heavy. The aircon seemed to stay on even when the balcony door was open. The lock for the door is a button which was quite stiff so we did not bother locking it. Read more