Reviews
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Just returned from a great cruise to the Norwegian fjords. Paid for negative lateral flow test required within 48 hours prior to boarding and the usual requirement for COVID travel cover and proof of vaccination on boarding. Given an early boarding time of 10 - 11am and no delay on boarding. We travelled as a group with two other couples and each had the Premium Drink Package included and were in balcony cabins on deck 9, a good choice. The shows in the theatre had to be booked, either via the MSC app (which worked very well) or via on board screens, and were excellent. Two shows a night and very professional cast, great singers and dancers with a huge repertoire from popular music and dancing, classic opera songs and even a ballet production! Also had a group of Irish-dancers on one show.
The food was excellent in the main dining room and the servers were great. A good choice of wines and the drink package included some good quality lagers and spirits. We enjoyed a lovely steak meal in the Butchers Cut restaurant, free by virtue of our MSC Voyagers Club membership, but would have been happy to eat all meals in the main restaurant or even the buffet where the food was of a high standard. Would happily sail again on the Virtuosa, which was in excellent condition. Just to say that there was no compulsory mask wearing for guests, but the staff all wore masks, so it was a return almost to pre-COVID cruising but with only about 2000 guests, so a very pleasant experience.
Reviews
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Embarkation day was a shambles. We arrive at the dock at 11am and queued for 45mins at bag drop. we then queued for a further 31/2hrs to get as far as security. there was further 45mins queueing to check in. We queued again to climb the many corridors of the ramp to board ship. There were no facilities to get any food or something to drink and nowhere to sit until after security. Eventually once on board, we managed to get to the cafeteria for a drink. Again long queues for the food service of 40mins.
We opted for a cabin with a window {we normally have a balcony cabin} we were pleasantly surprised at the space and facility. Our dining was second sitting at 8.30pm and we arrived on time to find more queues, we were shown to our table at 9.10pm. Our starter came quite quickly however the main course took a lot longer but only 3 in our party of 4 were served. The restaurant manager ask how our food was and was stunned that we were still waiting for the other meal. He spoke to the waiter who hurried out to the kitchen, 10mins later the food arrived at 10.10pm. The waiter proceeded to clear the table without waiting for that plate to be eaten. The next morning I made a complaint at the customer service desk and was assured that the matter would be reviewed and move us to an earlier sitting. that evening everything was rectified to our satisfaction.
On the morning we arrived in Guernsey we booked tickets for the tender to take us ashore but when our time was called and we went to the landing stage the queues again were the length of the corridor. After 45mins with no tender arriving and the queue not moving at all several people from the front of the queue gave up and opted not to go, after a further 15mins we also decided that we had spent long enough queuing and went to spend the day beside the pool instead.
On disembarkation we even had queues to get off of the ship and were sent back to customer service to sort out a bill they said we owed. I was told it had been rectified and we didn't owe anything. I was refused disembarkation again. I went back to customer service and this time they agreed nothing was owed and it was their error. At last I was allowed to get off.
I FEEL THAT THE WHOLE WEEKEND WAS A WASTE OF MONEY AND TIME. WE SPENT MOST OF THE WEEKEND QUEUING AND DIDN'T EVEN GET TO VISIT GUERNSEY.
Reviews
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Embarked and Disembarked really quickly. Lovely ship with a big promenade.
Stunning scenery at the Fjords. Sailed into Haugesund on a Sunday and everything was closed which was disappointing.
The staff were excellent always happy and charming and simply can’t do enough for you.
Had to pay for two shows which were fantastic
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An absolute nightmare. Despite being assured that there would only be 2000 passengers onboard because of Covid, when we left Greenock with this number, on arrival at Southampton there were 6000 onboard. I was so scared as there was absolutely no social distancing onboard
in restaurants and the inevitable happened- I caught covid - was so horribly unwell.
My husband was recovering from a near fatal stroke and I'd been so careful throughout the pandemic to keep him safe. At least he was ok - the worst cruise we've ever had
Greedy, greedy lying MSC cruise company in flagrant breach of maritime law of safety of life at sea. Am still feeling the post covid effects.
Reviews
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I sailed second time on MSC Virtuosa in 6 months. Food quality have improved a lot, very good value for money. I didnt get drinks package, which they are offering to new bookings, mine was booked over a year ago, so I missed out on that.
We had to have antigen test before checking in, as well as on board the ship, before going to the ship, which doesnt make sense.
Over all very good experience, would definitely go back with them.
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Not value for money everything on board was extra apart from market buffet and main dining room
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Embarking was a nightmare as the terminal had a chemical spill but then they just let everyone try to get through the terminal together, it took us 4 hours to embark, the food was good, the ship was very good, the staff in the restaurant were lovely the entertainment was quite good we all had a good time the night parties were very lively
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Not enough seating even tho ship half full. Entertainment poor compared to other cruises.
Fab ship and service got a lot better in dining room as cruise went on .
Music far too loud in pool area .
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Fabulous. Met some lovely singles on their own too.
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Felt the only interest that this company had was to see how much more money they could get out of you and the actual cruise compared to other cruises I’ve been on lacked those little personal touches
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This was a weekend mini cruise. The ship was magnificent but the service seemed very slow compared to other lines I have cruised with. Lots of unnecessary queuing. Getting into the restaurants was like leaving Wembley after the cup final. We gave up after queuing for over an hour for the tender to take us ashore. On the plus side the entertainment, food and drink were great. Also some amazing facilities on this ship. Would I travel with MSc again? Probably not.
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Fab new exceptionally clean. Mirrored. Glittery. Touch control. Lovely crew.
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We boarded Virtuosa in Dubai into Yacht Club. We were met by our butler. This was the best cruise experience ever. Separate dining, pool area and lounge were exceptional as was the service.
Food and drinks amazing too. Great that there was a singer, pianist or violinist performing in lounge each night. We have done over 60 cruises with different cruise lines but this Yacht club experience was the best at a very good price.
Reviews
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A covid cruise that would have been better if the ship had been staffed better - long queues outside the Yacht Club. We were a bit fortunate in that we made a minimum bid for a Yacht Club cabin and were upgraded and indeed it was money well spent. Very good food and a nice cabin, didn't really need the butler that came with it but he escorted us to shows and the specialty restaurants. For a new ship it was disappointing you could not book the restaurants in advance and had to do it onboard as we ended up with some poor dining times - not very technically advanced for a new ship !
We were spoilt in the Yacht Club but outside there seemed to be a lack of seating in the bars - for a quiz or drink. I had seem reviews of their entertainment as being a bit hit or miss but I felt the four shows we saw in the main theatre were very good. It was a shame we had to pay to see two other shows - £9 each I think - but they were also very good. We only had three ports of call and had to go on MSC excursions if we wanted to get off, but I didn't think they were too expensive and we got to see somewhere new.
Reviews
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Love MSC and in fact have booked same ship out of Southampton on 30/5/22
