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*~ Cruising (travel by Waterways) megathread ~*
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Booked our cruise for end of June, Med with MSC Splendia, nervous now about this reading all different posts on cruise critic etc etc.
bringing the kids, 12 and 9 so hoping they enjoy it also.
all the usual worries, what to bring, what to wear, tours off the boat, sleeping and sea sickness.
got cruise for good deal but the flights to Barcelona really upped the price. so watch out for that when booking
any tips greatly appreciated
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Booked our cruise for end of June, Med with MSC Splendia, nervous now about this reading all different posts on cruise critic etc etc.
bringing the kids, 12 and 9 so hoping they enjoy it also.
all the usual worries, what to bring, what to wear, tours off the boat, sleeping and sea sickness.
got cruise for good deal but the flights to Barcelona really upped the price. so watch out for that when booking
any tips greatly appreciated
We did a Med one with MSC last Summer with our kids, 13 and 10. We had a great time. Didn't bother with any of the tours when at port. Just got a taxi into the cities and explored for a bit of the day.
If sea sickness or any illness occurs the medic on board is great.
Get the drinks package also, it's around €500 for the week for 2 adults and 2 kids.
You don't need to overpack as you can wash clothes yourself and dry them on the balcony.0 -
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Booked our cruise for end of June, Med with MSC Splendia, nervous now about this reading all different posts on cruise critic etc etc.
bringing the kids, 12 and 9 so hoping they enjoy it also.
all the usual worries, what to bring, what to wear, tours off the boat, sleeping and sea sickness.
got cruise for good deal but the flights to Barcelona really upped the price. so watch out for that when booking
any tips greatly appreciated
Keep an eye on the weather forecast for the places you'll be visiting on websites like www.foreca.com or www.accuweather.com and remember that any forecast that's more than 10 days out is pure guesswork. If you have a smartphone, install the Accuweather app and store the places you'll be visiting in the order that you'll be visiting them, that way you can watch the forecasts as the week progresses and you can plan on what to wear the next day, especially if going ashore.
For the end of June in the Med. it's likely to be warm/hot and dry for most places you'll be visiting so chances are you'll need warm summer clothes and one light weatherproof top per person.
Don't worry about posts in cruise critic etc., these tend to be people who had some minor problem unresolved, they stew on it, let it ruin their holiday and when they get home they decide to 'get at' the cruise line by posting a negative review, just like what happens with hotels and B&Bs on Tripadvisor. Cruise lines rely big time on repeat business and recommendation by word of mouth, they wouldn't last long if the service or (especially) the food was substandard.
Was on a cruise last week on MSC Fantasia which is a sister ship (same size) as the Splendia, it was full of kids having fun thanks to the Easter holidays but I found it depressing to see people drinking beer and cocktails at 11 a.m. - don't buy a drinks package is my advice. It was by no means a 'booze cruise', there was zero pubic drunkenness or raucous sing-songs but it occurred to me that there was definitely a few people who felt the need to drink all day, pity them.
Service in the bars is relatively slow and relaxed, in most cases you can only get a beer by sitting down away from the bar counter and ordering from a waiter/ess. There is a large selection of wines in the range of 20-30 euro per bottle in the restaurant for dinner. For me they are the two reasons why I wouldn't buy a drinks package, it is not an environment for a heavy drinker (probably deliberately so) and you cannot bring booze onboard. Last week was my second MSC cruise and if I was going again next week I wouldn't buy a drinks package.
Unless you get motion sickness in an elevator or on a moving walkway in airports, you have nothing to worry about in regard to seasickness. The ships have stabilisers so there is no roll whatsoever and the length of the ship (Splendia is 333m long) means no pitching either. You will sometimes feel gentle bumps from gusts of wind and rough seas but nothing that would keep you from walking about or otherwise enjoying yourself.0 -
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Hi all,
We are thinking of going on a cruise this summer, however I will be almost 5 months pregnant by then. Can anyone tell me is a cruise a good holiday option for someone if they are pregnant?
Also, what is the food like? I am coeliac & must have gluten free food, do they cater well for dietary requirements?
Thank you in advance,
mimi
Yes, yes and yes. Warning - I just got back on Saturday, and am already making plans for another.
The cruise can be as hectic or as calm as you want. There are usually gyms if you want to be super active, there are pools, jacuzzis, etc that might help if your back is starting to get sore. They're air conditioned, so no worries about over-heating.
They cater very well for special diets. Someone I was dining with is coeliac, and each night the waiter would bring them a menu to pick from for the following day, so that their food could be prepared specially and safely in advance. You will probably still be offered bread rolls every 30 seconds until they learn not to, but you can always say no
As long as you don't have any unusual medical requirements during the pregnancy, I'd go for it. Can you bring me with you?0 -
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Hi all - I got back last week from my MSC Med cruise with my wife and 2 kids (4 1/2 years old and 1 year old).
We had a ball - really enjoyed it. The food was great and a really good selection of drinks.
Here's what the buffet area was laid out like :
The excursions were pretty expensive, so we just went on 1 that was a "special offer" for 79 Euro for the whole family to go to the aquarium in Genoa.
For hopping on and off the boat here's some details
Marseilles : The port is quite a bit out from the city so you need ot get a taxi (MSC have a shuttle bus you can book but it's more expensive than a taxi if there are a few people)
Genoa : We got the excursion so there was a small boat to bring us directly to the aquarium. I don't think it was too far from the city
Naples : Port is right beside the city so you can easily walk into the city. We did this and went for a coffee and some light lunch. Quite a busy city
Messina : Port is right beside the city - very nice city and not as busy as Naples. We got off and walked around and wen to the cathedral which is pretty cool - it has a sort of show at midday (moving statues - not like Ballinspittle though and music)
La Goulette : A good bit out from Tunis, but they have built a "village" in the port with shops, camel rides etc, so it's easy to get off here and just wander around if you don't want go through passport control and into Tunis.
Daily program and specials
Each evening you'll get a flyer into your bedroom with the itinerary for the next day.
I scanned one in from one of our days and you can take a look at it here : Click Here for PDF
(sorry for the first page being there twice, but I was too lazy to scan it all again)
Also - each night you get the "specials" for the next day on the ship.
Again - here's a scan : Click here for PDF
Internet on board
Internet on board was the other thing that might be of interest to people. It's very expensive - 16.90 per hour
We got away with 2 hours for the whole week (including out facebook updates etc).
You need to be diciplined - basically post all your facebook updates and messages offline (I can do this on Android mobile) and then when you connect to the internet the will all get pushed and you can download you messages - then go offline immediately.
The log on interface is actually set up for this - you can start the session and then stop the session - here's a screenshot :
Here's the prices for all options :
That's it really - hope this info helps some people out !!0 -
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Drink package details here:
http://www.msccruises.ie/ie_en/Already-Booked/Allegrissimo_package.aspx
The excursions usually leave around 8 or 9am (depending on what they are), or about an hour after the ship docks (depending on which is earlier). If you're at a port for a full day (say 7am to 6pm) some of the excursions might be in the afternoon- it varies cruise to cruise.
Formal nights depend on the length of the cruise. On a 7 night sailing there's usually 2 formal nights. If you don't want to bother dressing up, you can skip the main dining room, and eat somewhere else those nights.
Speciality restaurants were between €20- €40 per person iirc, mostly around the €20-€30 mark I think.
God they're early starts :eek: Is it a big rush in the restaurants for breakfast then?
Those prices aren't bad then if we fancy a change for one or two nights. Would the drinks package cover the wine with those meals?
I cannot wait to book it in the morning
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We were on the Splendida in June, did the drinks package, well worth it.
We not big drinkers but loved the cocktails.
Had a bottle of wine with our dinner every night and the husband had his beer.
Balcony cabin a must, lovely to bring up your drink to your room and sit peacefully:)
Husband brought a suit and tie, wore it one night and didn't bother after that. Most people were in shirt and slacks, some even came into restaurant in their 3/4 lengths. Was a mixture of dress going on.
We always had breakfast in the buffet, so much choice.
Excursions were in morning mostly but you could do your own thing, we either got taxi or walked into the town . the boat excursions are pricey and you can do them cheaper yourself.
it was fantastic, we really enjoyed it, any other questions feel free to ask 0 -
God they're early starts :eek: Is it a big rush in the restaurants for breakfast then?
Those prices aren't bad then if we fancy a change for one or two nights. Would the drinks package cover the wine with those meals?
I cannot wait to book it in the morning
Once you've booked the cruise you can see the details of the tours, along with their start times (they only turn up a few months before sailing sometimes, so don't worry if you can't see them immediately).
There are plenty of places to eat on board - you can order room service, eat in the main dining room, go to the self service or a few other places, so don't worry about breakfast. Some times are obviously a bit busier than others, but you'll get fed
If your package includes wine, then you can have wine at dinner.0 -
We're going on Royal Caribbean in October (Greek islands out of Venice for seven days). We went with a premium coffee, fresh juice, soda and bottled water package, as we're not really big drinkers and wouldn't get value for the prices RCI were charging. We can buy drinks as and when we'd like one. We're not going on any boat organised tours and have made our own budget arrangements in each port.
I did the same - I wouldn't drink enough to make the Royal Caribbean drink packages worthwhile, but the MSC ones are more reasonably priced.carolinespring wrote: »`We are heading on Royal Caribbean's independence of the seas 12 night Canary island cruise in October and cannot wait. Thinking of giving MSC a go April/May next year.
Anyone cruised on both Royal Caribbean and MSC? What did you think?
I've been on a few of the Royal Caribbean's, and the MSC Poesia last year. This year I was on the Independence of the Seas and loved it.
People spend a lot of time talking about one being better than the other in both directions. Both lines are great. The ships are all impressive, the food is all nice, the staff are all helpful
The main differences between RCI and MSC is that MSC is far more international - announcements are made in multiple languages, and the entertainment tends to steer away from language dependant things. MSC had a lot of light opera type shows (which I enjoyed), while Royal have more variety in terms of comedians/dancers/that kind of thing. Though, to be fair, the MSC I was on ran in to some terrible weather, so some of the more acrobatic stuff MSC had planned had to be cancelled, and they ended up replacing it with what they had on hand - which was light opera
I had stuck with RCI for my first few years as that's what I knew, and was wary of trying other lines. Having tried MSC, I've come to the conclusion that realistically they're all probably nice enough, and I'm looking at Princess for next year (based on itinerary).0 -
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