Travel Tuesday: MSC Med Cruise Review

Gabrielle Hammond

gabsbitesizeblogs@gmail.com

MSC Med Cruise Review

Hello all, I am back from holibobs and here to give you a review of our cruise on MSC Virtuosa around Spain, Gibraltar and Portugal. It won’t be completely thorough with every section of the boat (e.g. food, entertainment etc.) because I have already done this on a previous blog (see my Travel Tuesday’s before). I even did a blog where I compared MSC and P&O if that interests you too.

This blog will be concerned with the overall experience of the holiday; the cruise and the destinations but also will be blogging about each individual port in the future Travel Tuesday’s. Buckle in travel lot…

Overall, it was a marvellous holiday- cruising never fails to disappoint (even if there are a few minor issues sometimes) as when you look at it on the whole of what you are getting out of that holiday- you just can’t beat it. We visited eight ports in our fourteen night cruise; I am now going to sum them up with a sentence or less (again, plug for the future of Travel Tuesday’s these individual ports will be in more detail soon)...

1st Stop- La Coruna

Pretty windows and views but not much to do there.

2nd Stop- Cadiz

Beautiful gardens and buildings.

3rd Stop- Malaga

Really enjoyed this stop- visited the Picasso museum and lots of architecture around the area to look at.

4th Stop- Alicante

We didn’t venture too much with Alicante but there wasn’t anything around that stood out- a typical Spanish touristy place.

5th Stop- Ibiza

Incredibly hot. Lots of independent shops and a long way away from the cruise terminal!

6th Stop- Tarragona

We went to a Water Park here but the area driving there is so lovely! Lots to do.

7th Stop- Gibraltar

My favourite stop of the cruise- we climbed The Rock and so much history and lots of dodgy paintings of John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

8th Stop- Lisbon

We have visited before and done a sight-seeing tour so we ventured into the beautiful town- great place.

Now, let’s talk about the ship itself… MSC Virtuosa. This was my fourth time on this beautiful ship and it really is amazing every time. However, when you do go on the same ship each year it can feel very same-y. I enjoy that in some ways; you know your way around and it really is a home away from home. In other ways, yes a change may be nice which is why next summer a new ship will be coming to Southampton! Exciting.

There were a few minor things I felt was a bit disappointing, but, it did not affect the enjoyment of the holiday- the juices at the buffet were never filled up for a good week on board (and especially when we had stopped at ports you would think they would fill up), the theatre is one of my fav things about cruising but when you come each year with the same few shows gets a bit boring (ABBA, Michael Jackson, Dirty Dancing)... yes they are good but maybe change it up a bit too. Also, the restaurants seem to be lacking the buzz we had the first few cruises and the last night party was non-existent. Anyways, enough moaning- like I said, it didn’t affect our holiday just a few things that are worth noting.

We really appreciated the new way of the safety drill… not all going to the same points at the same time felt so much less chaotic.

Me and Jude had a drinks package this time which was brilliant and great value for money. I tried a lot of different drinks because why not? And, the bar staff work so hard and you could always get a drink without having to wait too long.

The food was also yummy this cruise and in the main restaurant, on the whole, there was a variety of choice. The food was always served hot and beautifully presented as well as tasting nice too (the main concern!). The restaurant staff work super hard cooking/serving around 72000 meals a day.

The pools and hot tubs are always a hit and while the ship is busy, there are places you can find in quiet points of the day or places you just find yourself that aren’t the hot spots.

It was a great holiday, lots of memories made and cruising really is the best…