Taking advantage of the generous 50% discount for Health workers that MSC offered.We thats my husband and I boarded at Southampton for a 7 nights around the British Isles. This is not a cruise pre Covid we would have been interested in, but 18 months of no cruises this became very interesting. We had never sailed with MSC and never sailed in the ship within a ship type product on any cruise we were excited to be in the Yacht Club .( YC) We missed the lady holding the YC sign and joined the large line that went around the building and dropped our luggage. I then saw the sign and spoke to the lady who guided us straight into the terminal building. Our documents were checked and and then off for a Covid test , a few tense minutes waiting for the result and we were escorted on to the ship by our butler Bogdan.

The ship is beautiful with a dome ceiling light show, Swarovski Crystal inlaid stairs and that new ship feel. We were guided to our stateroom 15006 at the front of the ship below the bridge. It was large and well equipped having a mini bar ,Nespresso machine, great comfortable bed, sitting area and the large bathroom. The balcony was huge and had some wind protection. We dropped our hand luggage and went off to explore. The YC has a bar where you can also have afternoon tea or a little snack or just eat chocolates or take something back to the room . But mostly we used it for pre and post dinner drinks. The bar staff were excellent as were all the staff in the YC. The concierge desk was on the same deck as the bar and up one floor in the restaurant. ( stairs also Swarovski Crystal from the bar into the restaurant above. ) Both rooms have floor to ceiling windows ,reminiscent of the observation deck on NCL. On the top floor was the outside area with comfortable seating, bed, small pool, hot tub, bar and grill. We had lunch here most days and breakfast too. They served freshly grilled fish and meat. Salads and bread ( really good bread ) and a selection of deserts and fruit.

We went a Rock legends tribute band show and a show similar to Cirque du Soleil which was an extra charge but excellent. We did go to the casino and strolled around the rest of the ship but spent most of our time was spent in the calm elegance of the YC. After day 2 it just felt like coming home when we left the noisy overcrowded rest of the ship and relax. Read more