I embarked the MSC Splendida in Marseille on Jan 28, which was also the Chinese New Year’s day and so there was a sizeable contingency of Chinese passengers. It was actually the last night of the itinerary when I embarked, as the majority of guests had embarked in Genoa, so on my embarkation day I enjoyed the gala dinner and the show ended with the crew parade chanting ‘time to say goodbye’.

Indeed this was the third time I cruised on this ship, similar itinerary, same class of cabin. One main reason was that I think MSC’s Yacht Club is among the best cruise experience I have had, the other was that there was not much of a choice of a European cruise in January, and I needed a cruise (now that I cruise virtually every month).

Yacht Club was great because I like big ship facilities and activities, while within this ‘ship within ship’ I also enjoy a high-end service environment. The dinner tonight, the Gala, I had Foie Gras and lobster, and it was good to start the cruise this way if in a somewhat reverse order. Read more