Experience a Masterpiece at Sea

This year saw the maiden voyage of MSC's new ship, Virtuosa. The name comes from the word "Virtuoso," which is a person highly skilled in music or another artistic pursuit. Each deck on Virtuosa is named after a famous composer, hence the tagline, "Masterpiece at Sea." I was fortunate to discover for myself this summer that Virtuosa lives up to that tagline very successfully.

Introduction In another year affected by the pandemic, UK residents turned to the many staycation cruises offered by major cruise lines. The first to set sail in May 2021 was MSC Cruises, with their new ship, Virtuosa, around the British Isles. My family and I booked a cruise in August to coincide with school holidays and our anniversary. Our itinerary was as follows: Liverpool | Greenock | Belfast | At Sea | Southampton | Isle of Portland | At Sea | Liverpool Embarkation We boarded at Liverpool and although there are now added embarkation procedures in line with health and safety protocols, it was a very streamlined and efficient process. We are double vaccinated, so proof of vaccination was required (NHS certificate/vaccination card for the devolved nations who don't have the certificate). Our children aren't yet vaccinated, so they required a Covid test within 72-24 hours prior to departure (tests done on the day of departure are not accepted). MSC will accept the government issues rapid antigen tests, providing you register the result online and print out the confirmation email. We were given an embarkation time, which was actually the time at which we had to arrive at Liverpool Arena for testing and check-in. We parked with CPS in the car park nextdoor. It was a two-minute walk to the arena. At the entrance to the arena, our cases were loaded onto a lorry and were taken to the ship, which was docked further downstream on the River Mersey. After entering the arena, we were given the opportunity for a final toilet stop (essential with young children) our insurance documents were checked, then we went to the check-in desk, where our e-tickets and health declarations were checked. From there, we moved onto a desk to get the paperwork for testing. We were then directed to an available testing booth, where a trained person carried out the rapid antigen test. After that, we moved on to a seated waiting area. Once the test results were through, we were taken to a coach and transferred to the ship. We had a final security check at the cruise terminal, where we were given our cruise cards and tracking wristbands, before boarding Virtuosa around 70 minutes after parking the car.

Health and Safety In addition to the testing before embarkation, MSC are very strict with ensuring that they keep guests and crew as safe as possible. Temperature checks happen when boarding, before entering any restaurant or kids club, on exiting kids club, and when dismbarking the ship (for excursions and at the end of the cruise). Hand sanitiser is everywhere. There are sinks at the entrance to the buffet restaurant and toilets with sinks at the entrance to all restaurants, lounges and major amenities, such as the casino and theatre. Screens around the ship, TV's and ship-wide announcements are constantly reminding guests to wash their hands, sanitise their hands, wear masks unless seated eating or seated drinking, and to maintain social distance from guests outside of their bubble. Theatres and lounges have seats with "not in use" signs to assist with social distancing and guests are encouraged to remind other guest to respect that space. In addition, there is also another Covid test midway through the cruise for any guests who are not double vaccinated. All of these procedures make the ship feel much safer than being at home, where we visit shops and other public places without having many of these health and safety procedures. We found it very reassuring and ensured that for our safety and that of other guests, and whilst not everyone did, we respected the rules set out by our hosts.

Crew I feel that it is only right that the crew get a mention early on. The work incredibly hard to ensure that you have the holiday you deserve. It is so easy to give praise to the likes of the room host/ess, restaurant servers, bar staff, lifeguards, entertainers and all the other "faces" of MSC (and they do deserve that praise, but there are just as many - if not more - unseen crew, working behind the scenes, often in rooms without any natural light, to ensure that we have a good time. Crew are not allowed off this ship, so they haven't seen their families for many months. Some have children they have never met and parents they never got to say goodbye to. They all come with a real life story, so take the time to get to know them. There is no doubt that this is an Italian owned cruise line, as the Italian family-friendly ethose shines through. Children are welcomed and made a fuss of. The collective contributions of all MSC Virtuosa crew are what makes this ship the amazing place that it is. They are the real masterpieces at sea! Staterooms We opted for a balcony cabin sleeping four, on the Fantastica experience. The location was important to us, as I get bad motion sickness, so higher up and midship work best for me. We booked early and had much of the ship to choose from, so selected cabin 14125, a port side midship cabin on deck 14, specifically four cabins back from the panoramic elevator. This was also important to us, as I am disabled, so being close to a lift was very helpful. The cabin was also close to the main aft elevators, around 8 cabins further back from our location. Our cabin is shown highlighted in yellow on this deckplan, with port side being the top of the plan, starboard at the bottom, aft to the left and forward to the right.

The images below show what the cabin was like. The things that are harder to see are: - Switches to alert the room host/ess to make up the room or do not disturb. - A map showing the route from the cabin to your muster station (L - the casino - for this cabin). - Four coat hooks. - A step up into the shower room (I found this tricky but not unmanageable). - Drying line in the shower. - Adjustable height, temperature, water flow, and jet type on the shower. - Outward opening shower door. - Spacious shower cubicle. - Shower gel and shampoo (no conditioner) in the shower. - Shelf in the shower cubicle. - Shaving point above the shower room mirror. - Cupboard under the shower room sink. - Safe in the wardrobe. - Shelves, drawers and hanging rails in the wardrobe. - Sanitised remote control in an envelope. - Spare face masks in an envelope. - Daily planners. - Very large king-size (we thought super-king) main bed, which was firm but very comfortable. - Plenty of storage for cases under the bed. - Touch controlled bedside lights, with built in USB charging points. - Drawers under the vanity desk (one containing a hairdryer). - Full length mirror down the side of the wardrobe. - Minibar. - Kettle with tea bags, coffee, sugar. - A recycling bin (paper, plastic & food). - Two wall shelves next to the vanity mirror. - European and American wall sockets. - A stool, which stacks under a side table, which stacks under the vanity table. - Sliding doors onto the balcony, featuring child safety lock. - Spacious balcony with glass balustrade, two comfortable deck chairs and a matching table that can also be used as a stool/footstool. - Plenty of space for a family of four to move around and store belongings.

Food All food from the Marketplace Buffet, the Main Dining Restaurants (MDR's), and the snack bars by the pools is incuded in the cruise price. Food is available around 20 hours per day, so nobody goes hungry. And there is always the back up plan of room service (which will be payable in most cases). The photos below show some examples of the foods we ate in our MDR, which was Blue Danube.

If you chose something that you didn't enjoy, staff were happy to change it for you. You had free choice of eating in the buffet or your allocated MDR. For breakfast and lunch, there were no set times, as long as you turned up within the opening times of the restaurant. For dinner, guests on Bella and Fantastica experience were allocated a MDR and a sitting time. Ours was early sitting at 6pm. Late sitting was at 8.30pm. You were given 15 minutes in which to arrive, before the dining room was closed. Service in our MDR was exceptional. Staff were incredibly attentive, and having the same staff all week meant that they got to know your preferences and preempted what you might require. Aurea guests are allocated their own restaurant on "My Choice" dining, so they can dine at any time within the restaurant's opening hours. Yacht Club guests also have their own dining room and flexible sittings. The images below show typical menus from the MDR's.

It was our anniversary during our cruise, so we had pre-booked an anniversary package before sailing, at a cost of £24. From the photo, it appeared that we would get a small slice of cake. We also expected that it would be delivered to our cabin. After the main course at dinner on our anniversary, the waiting team (not just ours, but those from surrounding tables too) brought out a large cake and bottle of fizz! They were clapping and singing and other guests joined in too, which made it a very special and memorable experience. We shared the cake with our waiting team and had the fizz delivered back to our cabin to enjoy after dinner. It was such a special touch.

For those who like speciality dining, there is the option to pre-book a duo dining experience (two restaurants), a trio dining experience (three restaurants), or a quad dining experience (four restaurants). It is cheaper to pre-book these dining experiences, rather than booking onboard. However, if you only want to try one of the restaurants, it would have to be booked onboard. We didn't go to any of the speciality restaurants, as I felt it would be a waste to essentially pay for food twice. The speciality restaurants comprise of: Butcher's Cut - American-style steak restaurant Indochine - French-Vietnamese restaurant, Kaito Teppanyaki - An Asian show cooking restaurant Kaito Sushi - Japanese restaurant. In addition, there is a Latam/Mexican tapas restaurant - Hola! - where you can get special fixed price menus. This image shows the prices onboard MSC Virtuosa, but as an example, the Duo package is £69 if pre-booked before sailing.

The other payable food outlets are the crepes and gelato shop and the chocolate shop. Our children did order a gelato each, but they weren't particularly impressed and preferred the inclusive ice cream from the snack bar by the main pool. Drinks On the British Isles cruises, MSC has included a drinks package for all guests. This allows each guest to order any drink upto and including the value of £10. If you want a drink priced at more than £10, you pay in full for that drink. It costs around £13 per person per day to upgrade to the Premium Plus package if you pre-book it. This then gives you any drink from the menu included in your package, plus the mini bar. We studied the drinks menus in advance and there wasn't anything over £10 that we would have ordered, so we stuck with the Premium drinks package.

In reality, the drinks prices are highly inflated. I had a 125ml glass of Chardonnay and it was priced at £10. I wouldn't pay that for a glass of wine (I'm from Yorkshire, so for £10 I would expect the full bottle and change!) and other drinks were similarly over-priced. I suspect this is to encourage people to purchase the drinks packages, as our daily bills (for drinks only) were often several hundred pounds (although this balance clears before the end of your cruise, and you are left with a bill for chargeable items only).

Hot drinks are also included in the drinks package, as are bottles of water. It is a good idea to ensure that you stock up on a few bottles of water when retiring to your cabin for the evening and also when heading off the ship on an excursion. Not included are the drinks made to order by Rob, the robotic bartender. He is situated on Deck 6 at the Starship Club, just off the main atrium. If you do buy a drink from Rob, it's worth noting that the glass is included, so don't had it back or leave it on a table!

Entertainment The daytime entertainment programme was always very full. We prefer to chill out and relax so we didn't try any of it, but what we saw listed and witnessed happening was far better than the entertainment we had with other cruise lines this summer. On an evening, there were shows to choose from. Several shows were free of charge and were very good. They were on several times each evening in Le Grand Theatre on Deck 6, so that people on different dinner sittings get to experience them. Out of the free shows on offer, we saw The Big Apple, Cappricco, and Abracadabra. Cappricco was by far the best of the three. It was an Italian show with operatic songs and the two main singers had beautiful voices. There are also two paid for shows - Arkymea and Ajedrez. They are £9 per person if pre-booked and £15 per person if booked onboard. The price included a cocktail, as drinks weren't otherwise allowed into the Carousel Lounge on Deck 7. Both shows were outstanding and unmissable. Arkymea is one of the best shows I have ever seen, either at sea or on land. Both shoes are well worth the additional cost. All shows last around 40 -50 minutes.

The LED dome displays different images throughout the day, but several times per day, there is a Dome Show, where you get to see moving images. They are short and sweet, lasting only 3-5 minutes, but well worth stopping off for.

Activities Children can benefit from time in the Doremiland Kids Club. There are five clubs in total, aimed at different age groups. The Baby Club is for children upto the age of 3 years old. Next is Mini Club for the 3-6 year olds. For 7-11 year olds there is Junior Club. The Young Club is available for 12-14 year olds. Finally the Teen Club is for 15-17 year olds. Each of the areas has equipment that is suitable for the age group it caters for and staff who are trained for the appropriate age groups too. Whilst we were onboard, kids club was open from 9am-12noon, 3pm-6pm and 9pm-2am. Children could have one session on a morning or afternoon, plus one session on an evening. After 11pm, there was a charge, as it was classed as a child-minding service.

The games arcade onboard MSC Virtuosa features many attractions, including a bowling alley, F1 simulators, XD cinema, arcade games and outside there is also a Himalayan Bridge (high ropes course) and a waterpark. You can pre-purchase a fun pass at a cost of £72, and MSC increase the credit to £140. This pass can be shared by all occupants of a cabin. We purchased a fun pass with the intention of booking bowling and the cinema. However, we waited in lengthy queues every day to book a time slot, only to be told each time that the only available time slot was the following evening during our dinner sitting. The same was true of the waterpark. As a result, we didn't use our fun pass and never got into the waterpark, which featured the splash park with small children's slides and the big water slides.

There are plenty of pools onboard, with Yacht Club having their own designated space. If the weather is too cold - or indeed too hot - you can make use of the Tropical pool indoors on Deck 15. This area was constantly busy and there were never any spare seats. The Atmosphere pool on Deck 15 is outdoors and is the largest pool onboard. It has a fun, lively atmosphere, with trivia quizzes, bingo, line dancing and other things happening around the pool. There is a shaded seating area and a huge number of sunbeds. However, it does get busy. At the aft of the ship on Deck 16 is the Horizon pool. This is a small pool and is always busy, but it has a quieter and more relaxed atmosphere. It is surrounded by amphitheatre style seating, with sunbeds and tables, and a bar, which serves snacks for convenience. It is worth noting that only the Atmosphere pool has a shallow area (in the middle, between two deeper pools) and all pools are at least 4ft 3in in depth, with the deepest point of any pool being around 6ft 5in. In addition, all pools are saltwater, so goggles are advisable, particularly for children.

Excursions MSC Virtuosa has operated shore excursions since its maiden voyage in May 2021. However, at the time of writing, they are only allowing people to go ashore on one of MSC's organised excursions. Currently, excursions are running in all ports of call. We did excursions in three ports. Excursions are cheaper if they are pre-booked. They run am and pm, but you can't choose your excursion time. MSC will allocate you to an excursion. You will receive your tickets in your cabin on the evening before the excursion. It is worth checking them. They will tell you where to meet and at what time. Typical meeting points include lounges and the theatres. You will also be given a numbered sticker, corresponding to the coach number on your ticket. Once in your meeting point, you will be offered a bottle of water to take with you and a rain poncho. Each coach number will be called to leave one at a time. As you disembark, your temperature will be checked. Tickets will be checked at the coach and you will be asked to sanitise your hands as you board the coach. You will also be asked to avoid the seats with the "Keep Empty" signs for social distancing reasons. Coaches are also fitted with seatbelts for extra safety and air conditioning for extra comfort. The first excursion for us was a Belfast city tour. It lasted around 4 hours. We were driven past Harland and Wolff, the slipway where the Titanic was launched, the only tender boat still in existence, the Titanic Museum, and we then moved on to the more central part of the city. Various important buildings were pointed out and we had our first stop at City Hall. There was time given for photos and also time to view the Titanic Memorial. We then moved on through the city to Queen's University, where we had a toilet stop. We then moved on through the areas where the "Troubles" were. Our final stop was at Stormont, where we had time for photos and another toilet stop before returning to the ship, where we were ID and temperature checked before boarding. Our second excursion was a New Forest Scenic Drive. This was around 3 hours duration. We left Southampton on the short drive to the capital of the New Forest, Lyndhurst. We got off the coach and walked into the New Forest in search of the ponies. It wasn't long before we came across a fair number of them, and after a short photo stop, we walked back into Lyndhurst and had a toilet stop before getting back on the coach. We continued our drive through the forest to Beaulieu, where we got off the coach and walked through the village again for various photo stops. After getting back onto the coach, we headed to Hythe Marina, which overlooks Southampton Water. We had a magnificent view of five ships docked at Southampton - Sky Princess, P&O Ions, Celebrity Silhouette, MSC Virtuosa and Regal Princess. We had a bit of free time at the marina before heading back to Virtuosa. Our final excursion was to Weymouth and the Isle of Portland. We headed straight to Weymouth, where we walked along the promenade, and then along the harbour. The coach then took us to the Isle of Portland, passing Chessil Beach, and stopped at the famous lighthouse, Portland Bill. There were toilets here and we had some free time to look around, before getting back on the coach to our final stop, the Olympic Rings. From here, we had an excellent view of Chessil Beach and Weymouth Bay. After taking photos, we headed back to the ship. The excursions were all well planned and well managed to ensure our health and safety remained a priority. It was a shame that we couldn't have more freedom, but given the fact that less than 6 months earlier we were living in lockdown, even these restricted excursions gave us a real appreciation for our freedom and the opportunity to see new places once more.

Overall, this was a fabulous cruise holiday. I would recommend MSC Virtuosa for anyone. It is suitable for singles, couples and families of all ages. I am still taking bookings for Virtuosa, and there are a limited number of cabins left on British Isles cruises. However, if you would like to book onto the repositional cruise to the Mediterranean, or to the Middle East for the winter, and then for Dubai, where MSC Virtuosa will be based, I would be delighted to book that for you, so that you also can experience this Masterpiece at Sea. All bookings are made with a cruise specialist, who is a CLIA member, you will also have ABTA protection, and any flight inclusive bookings (e.g. cruises from Dubai) will also be ATOL protected. Please drop me a message via the website contact page, What'sApp message to 07473 651376 or email julie@explorertravelholidays.co.uk Created by Julie at Worldwide Explorer Travel Holidays, August 2021.