Fantastic Return to Cruising
MSC Virtuosa Cruise Review to Europe - Northern Europe
Contributor Level:
First Mate
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 15
Helpful Votes: 569
14 Night Northern Europe (Copenhagen Roundtrip)
Sail date: July 04, 2021
Ship: MSC Virtuosa
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 12049
Traveled as: Family (older children)
Reviewed: 3 years ago
Review summary
Overall, this was an amazing cruise and a wonderful way to return to cruising after 18 months. The ship is huge, filled with great facilities and beautifully designed. The itinerary was good, 7 days from Southampton, calling at Portland, Liverpool and Belfast (ignore the one listed - the app/cruiseline.com didn't update to reflect the UK itineraries), given the circumstances and Covid-19 restrictions. The crew were all excellent and friendly, there was so much to do and it was just fantastic to be back on a ship!Embarkation
Embarkation was excellent: fast, efficient and organised. We were the first to use the brand new Horizon cruise terminal in Southampton. After security, we had Covid-19 antigen tests, followed by check-in and documents checks, after which we were immediately called to board the ship. The entire process (even with the additional Covid-19 measures) took no more than 15-20 minutes curb to ship!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Overall, the food and variety on offer was very good. The buffet had a great selection and tasty food. Menus in the main dining room changed every day, with new selections, but always a wide variety of good food. We ate in the Indochine and Butcher''''s Cut speciality restaurants - Indochine was a wonderful, new experience, with some really nice (and interesting) Vietnamese dishes. Butcher''''s Cut, as always, did not disappoint with its offerings and quality. Finally, the crepes and ice cream from Jean Philippe were delicious (albeit a little expensive)!
Onboard Activities
This ship is jam-packed with activities for everyone. It has amazing facilities, from the gym to the spa and the waterslides to the ropes course. The F1 simulators, Hologate VR and XD Cinema were all great fun too.
Entertainment
There was a wide variety of great entertainment every day and night, with the extra charge ''''Ajedrez'''' show in the carousel lounge being the highlight - this was an amazing performance with spectacular tech. Otherwise, there were many main theatre shows which were all excellent. The comedian/singer onboard, had many shows, including two in the main theatre and on most nights in the Carousel lounge. Personally, I did not find his acts to be particularly impressive and his shows did not seem especially well attended - I think more shows with the main cast or other variety acts would have been preferable. There was also always plenty of live music around the ship - especially in the atrium and Virtuosa lounge. As always on MSC there were many theme nights/parties, which were fun, with the entertainment team dancing in the main Galleria, however, unlike other cruises, there seemed to be little guest participation which was slightly disappointing, but not really MSC''''s fault.
Service and Staff
The staff on this cruise were truly fantastic and some of the best we have experienced with MSC. They were all so friendly, attentive and helpful. Due to the low numbers of guests onboard (Covid-19 capacity restrictions), the service was always excellent - there were many crew around. Particular mention must go to Evelyn (bar services), Nuvia (bar services) and Thabile Carol (dining services), for being so friendly and kind.
Ship Quality
This is a beautiful new ship. It was fantastic to be able to get on MSC''''s latest flagship from Southampton, it is looked after and maintained meticulously to a very high standard and is not hard to get around. There was ample space for everyone (albeit we were sailing at a significantly reduced capacity) and the Galleria is a great area, making it very easy to navigate and access the main parts of the ship. A more fulsome promenade deck/area close to the sea would have been nice, however this is largely made up by the great open deck space at the top of the ship.
The ship was constantly being cleaned to a very high standard, particularly given Covid-19. We never came across a dirty table or unvacuumed carpet! The crew were always on hand to sanitise anything and everything between guests, along with proper deep cleaning of the larger areas (such as pools) on a regular basis. Overall, the Covid-19 safety protocols were adhered to very well. Social distancing was never difficult, as mentioned everything was kept spotlessly clean and adherence to the mask mandate was good - certainly much better than many places on land. People generally understood the importance of the rules and obeyed them well. We also undertook an additional antigen test halfway through the cruise, which was well organised and simple.
Cabin / Stateroom
We had a balcony cabin, on deck 12 at the front of the ship. Its location was excellent, with easy access to the main decks and activities above and below. It was well laid out and a good size, but quite narrow, with a big sofa and sufficient storage space. There was a large sofa and the beds were good, albeit a little too hard - mattress quality wasn''''t as good as we''''ve experienced on other ships. The bathroom was well designed with shelves, large sink and a shower with a door. Our cabin steward was excellent, always keeping the cabin very clean and never disturbing us.
Disembarkation
Disembarkation was easy and simple. We were in no rush to debark so requested the latest group which left the ship at 09:30. We appreciate how MSC give you until 1am the night before to have bags outside your cabin. Once in terminal everything was very efficient and the entire process took only around 20 minutes.
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