This is very interesting
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Lets talk cruises
- Thread starter area51_for_psx
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Went on Brittania 2 years ago. 1st cruise so couldn't compare with any other ships. Thought it did everything very well.
Ventura in Amsterdam, definitely a little tired and dated but overall did the job well.
Arvia in November and really looking forward to what this can bring to the table.
Associate
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Already got the 4th in April next year as well, Miami to Barcelona transatlantic!
Caporegime
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Be interested to hear more about that experience when you get back, i've never done a transatlantic before.
Associate
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Did one with Marella a few years back. Different vibe overall, with the hefty amount of sea days. Usual trundle around Med and surrounding ports, but stacks of activities onboard that ran across nearly three weeks.
Mrs W did a ship’s choir that had regular rehearsals, I mostly read in a little hidden library! Weather was perfect on the main crossing, although choppy AF coming through Bay of Biscay (ship stabilisers on full)… quite a few people having a right old chunder!
I reckon the Virgin experience onboard for that length of time will be a bit different, less “Brits on the lash” at times (gotta nail that all inclusive drinks, you know) but more classy food and a couple of decent drinks etc
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The transatlantic crossings always struck me as being ideal for pineapple trips... plenty of alcohol on tap and lots of time to get to meet other people (and almost always child-free).
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Pineapple shirts packed away. I had no clue!
Soldato
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Loose a lot of days and half the time the day trips aren’t even the full day.
Better off just traveling IMO
Better off just traveling IMO
I did the Atlantic crossing with P&O brittania last year to the carribean, I think its ok as long as you have a balcony cabin but I probably wouldn't do it again. 
Only bad thing about it was the food was awful. The breakfast was literally the same every day and they would only have one station open so it was packed no matter what time you went. The evening meals including the restaurants it was pretty clear P&O sacked their chefs and replaced them with "cooks" because everything was placed in a water bath and plonked on a plate. Fish and meats were rubbery as hell. Staff seemed unhappy didn't want to engage with anyone. So hopefully they have improved their standards this year.
I just came back from a med cruise with Cunards and happy to say the food was amazing, actually it was whole better experience and will deffo book with them again.
Only bad thing about it was the food was awful. The breakfast was literally the same every day and they would only have one station open so it was packed no matter what time you went. The evening meals including the restaurants it was pretty clear P&O sacked their chefs and replaced them with "cooks" because everything was placed in a water bath and plonked on a plate. Fish and meats were rubbery as hell. Staff seemed unhappy didn't want to engage with anyone. So hopefully they have improved their standards this year.
I just came back from a med cruise with Cunards and happy to say the food was amazing, actually it was whole better experience and will deffo book with them again.
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Dam been rumbled!
Yeah trans Atlantic crossing for me seems a waste of seeing places imo. When I did my 1st cruise I really struggled with the sea days ( think there was 3 of them ).
68 days until the next one
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Well finally booked Spain, France and Italy on the Arvia in mid April.. Something to look forward to 
Soldato
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ah 2027.. I thought we depart on the 12th not the 11th next year.. Phew
Associate
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About to finish NYC to Quebec City on Virgin Voyages on Friday morning... Just booked the September Rekyavik to NYC for next year, still got the Miami to Barcelona for next April sailing as well... This is addictive!
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Hey all update on 1st Cruise. Long read that I did for the MSC Reddit
Must admit I was a little apprehensive as I have an irrational fear of big boats and deep seas We booked last year and our sailing was fro Tarragona on the 12th of Sept stopping at Valencia, Livorno, Genoa, Civitavecchia and Marseille.
Given it was our first cruise we wanted to ensure it was as stress free as possible and no nasty surprises at the end of the cruise etc. We initially booked a Fantasia Stateroom with Balcony + Premium Drinks Package. We then auctioned to get upgraded to Aurea class.
Boarding:
As stress free as you could possibly imagine. Our boarding time was 13.00 but was at the port for 11.15 like two giddy teenagers. Paperwork, photo’s, collecting passes and dropping luggage off took less than 15 minutes. First impressions were this was a pretty big ship !! We had a wander round just to look at the ship. Our key was ready for 12.00 and luggage was dropped off while we had lunch. Overall, very very impressed.
Life on Board:
As a first time cruiser, we found our first day to be exciting and overwhelming in equal measure. Safety briefings, Party here, eat there. It took us a few days to get a rhythm of going round the ship to make the most of the entertainment, as well as getting time in to enjoy the excellent weather.
Our room was always cleaned to an extremely high standard twice daily and this was reflected all the way through the ship.
Having paid for the upgrade to Aurea, this was a real good choice. The pool area was quite often busy but not too capacity. As a suana lover, being able to get a Sauna a Steam then a little more space was good value for money for us.
Most night were a relaxed affair. Full sea day was Captains night where it was good to see majority of folks getting dressed up to the 9’s then there was ‘White Night’ themed night.
Meal Time:
Breakfast was usually in Bora Bora buffet and at times this was hectic and chaotic as people waited for the premium coffees and drinks. Food choice for breakfast was as expected e.g. Cereals, cooked, Mediterranean , breads and sweet treats. All very well cooked and quite a good choice
La Reggia was our usual evening restaurant and there was always a wide choice of Meat, Fish and vegetarian starters, mains and deserts. Presentation of the dishes was excellent. No long wait times despite the restaurant being relatively full.
Butchers Cut. This was probably our worst meal and by saying that I am probably doing it a dis-service. The steak was good but nothing special.
Staff:
Very very impressed with the staff on board MSC Splendida. You get the impression that the vast majority take pride in their work and also working for MSC. Our dining was in La Reggia restaurant. The three servers took a genuine interest in us and our back ground what we was looking forward to, what drinks we liked and made some excellent recommendations on the wine.
Another example of their good service. On our second to last day, my wife had an issue with her pass as we was going to her excursion. He barcode was smudged which meant she could not be scanned out. The security lady was pretty abrupt saying she could not leave the ship as her card did not work and if she did was unlikely to get back on. (Basically doing her job albeit very direct). The senior MSC lady stepped in and said, don’t worry, go to the bus, we will sort. Coming back to the ship we went straight to guest services where her replacement pass was ready for her. In the evening, we got a knock on our cabin door. A bag was left for us with two polo shirts and a note to say sorry about the experience this morning, please accept this is a token. A really unexpected, (undeserved) gesture.
Excursions: We took three excursions during the cruise, Valencia Half Day, Livorno (Pisa and Florence) Full Day and Marseille Half day. All really good.
Closing thoughts:
Initially we had a few reservations, we heard some of the horror stories about poor quality food, Endless announcements in many different languages, photographers constantly in your face. Don’t know if we fell lucky because of the time of year but we had no such issues. Given the ship is one of the older ones in the fleet, there was a couple of minor scuffs here and there but that is to be expected. Staff and Service were of the highest quality. More experienced cruisers may well have had worse experiences than us or better quality of food on other lines etc. However can only call it how we experienced it.
Every day offered a brand new wow moment be that an interaction with a member of staff, a glorious sunset or catching a fantastic sunrise.
Second cruise booked for next year to the Greek Isles on MSC Divina
EDIT Second and third cruise booked for next year
Must admit I was a little apprehensive as I have an irrational fear of big boats and deep seas
We booked last year and our sailing was fro Tarragona on the 12th of Sept stopping at Valencia, Livorno, Genoa, Civitavecchia and Marseille.Given it was our first cruise we wanted to ensure it was as stress free as possible and no nasty surprises at the end of the cruise etc. We initially booked a Fantasia Stateroom with Balcony + Premium Drinks Package. We then auctioned to get upgraded to Aurea class.
Boarding:
As stress free as you could possibly imagine. Our boarding time was 13.00 but was at the port for 11.15 like two giddy teenagers. Paperwork, photo’s, collecting passes and dropping luggage off took less than 15 minutes. First impressions were this was a pretty big ship !! We had a wander round just to look at the ship. Our key was ready for 12.00 and luggage was dropped off while we had lunch. Overall, very very impressed.
Life on Board:
As a first time cruiser, we found our first day to be exciting and overwhelming in equal measure. Safety briefings, Party here, eat there. It took us a few days to get a rhythm of going round the ship to make the most of the entertainment, as well as getting time in to enjoy the excellent weather.
Our room was always cleaned to an extremely high standard twice daily and this was reflected all the way through the ship.
Having paid for the upgrade to Aurea, this was a real good choice. The pool area was quite often busy but not too capacity. As a suana lover, being able to get a Sauna a Steam then a little more space was good value for money for us.
Most night were a relaxed affair. Full sea day was Captains night where it was good to see majority of folks getting dressed up to the 9’s then there was ‘White Night’ themed night.
Meal Time:
Breakfast was usually in Bora Bora buffet and at times this was hectic and chaotic as people waited for the premium coffees and drinks. Food choice for breakfast was as expected e.g. Cereals, cooked, Mediterranean , breads and sweet treats. All very well cooked and quite a good choice
La Reggia was our usual evening restaurant and there was always a wide choice of Meat, Fish and vegetarian starters, mains and deserts. Presentation of the dishes was excellent. No long wait times despite the restaurant being relatively full.
Butchers Cut. This was probably our worst meal and by saying that I am probably doing it a dis-service. The steak was good but nothing special.
Staff:
Very very impressed with the staff on board MSC Splendida. You get the impression that the vast majority take pride in their work and also working for MSC. Our dining was in La Reggia restaurant. The three servers took a genuine interest in us and our back ground what we was looking forward to, what drinks we liked and made some excellent recommendations on the wine.
Another example of their good service. On our second to last day, my wife had an issue with her pass as we was going to her excursion. He barcode was smudged which meant she could not be scanned out. The security lady was pretty abrupt saying she could not leave the ship as her card did not work and if she did was unlikely to get back on. (Basically doing her job albeit very direct). The senior MSC lady stepped in and said, don’t worry, go to the bus, we will sort. Coming back to the ship we went straight to guest services where her replacement pass was ready for her. In the evening, we got a knock on our cabin door. A bag was left for us with two polo shirts and a note to say sorry about the experience this morning, please accept this is a token. A really unexpected, (undeserved) gesture.
Excursions: We took three excursions during the cruise, Valencia Half Day, Livorno (Pisa and Florence) Full Day and Marseille Half day. All really good.
Closing thoughts:
Initially we had a few reservations, we heard some of the horror stories about poor quality food, Endless announcements in many different languages, photographers constantly in your face. Don’t know if we fell lucky because of the time of year but we had no such issues. Given the ship is one of the older ones in the fleet, there was a couple of minor scuffs here and there but that is to be expected. Staff and Service were of the highest quality. More experienced cruisers may well have had worse experiences than us or better quality of food on other lines etc. However can only call it how we experienced it.
Every day offered a brand new wow moment be that an interaction with a member of staff, a glorious sunset or catching a fantastic sunrise.
Second cruise booked for next year to the Greek Isles on MSC Divina
EDIT Second and third cruise booked for next year
Have some interest in maybe doing a cruise, the only one we previously did was around the carribean on Carnival triumph maybe 20 years ago.
Scanned the last 5 or 6 pages and see loads of people confirming they've booked a cruise or in fact multiple. Is there some etiquette that says no one ever says what they paid for the cruise ? as I saw none reported. Plenty of reports on how much drinks packages or individual drinks costs, but nothing on the cost of a any of the cruises.
Would help someone like me set a reasonable expectation for the required budget
Scanned the last 5 or 6 pages and see loads of people confirming they've booked a cruise or in fact multiple. Is there some etiquette that says no one ever says what they paid for the cruise ? as I saw none reported. Plenty of reports on how much drinks packages or individual drinks costs, but nothing on the cost of a any of the cruises.
Would help someone like me set a reasonable expectation for the required budget
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Associate
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i don't think anyone wants to hear they got ripped off and could have got it for half price by doing whatever