MSC Splendida Postcard #3 – A Sea Day

The groups first proper get together took place in the Purple Jazz Lounge at 7:00 last night and although I didn’t get to actually speak to everyone I can certainly now recognise them. It was a nice little social event organised by our hosts and the drinks were very plentiful and well received. Also present were two of MCS UK’s marketing team who mingled and chatted with us all and curious to know how we were getting on with everything.

At 8:30 we split into two groups for dinner, one half going to the Yacht  Club Restaurant and the others which included ourselves going to the Tex Mex Restaurant. Both being arranged by our hosts and on the third night we will swap over so we all get to sample both dining venues.

So, the Tex Mex Restaurant is on deck 7 and as you would imagine is a Mexican style menu. It comes with a small cover charge of depending on how many courses you want. For example the starter course which they call the El Sombrero selection which is a choice of six taco based dishes and costs €4. The second course is called Santa Fe with a choice of 4 dishes. This course is priced at €8 but there is also the option to have a steak instead with prices ranging from €14 – €22. The dessert is then another level of payment with just three options for €4.

I opted for Quesadillas to start which with its light salsa sauce was very nice.

I followed this with a Chilli Con Carne which I had hoped would have been better. One of our table mates had Fajitas which looked to me to be the better option.

I finished off with a Blueberry Cheesecake with Chocolate Sauce which was very nice and light. Although our group consisted of around 20 people we had to dine in groups of four because they were unable to group the tables together as there were bolted to the floor. A shame as it would have been nice to have a bigger group but it was nice to get to know our table mates Pippa, Kernow and her husband a little better. Super company and fun to dine with. I know a few of the others stayed up much later into the evening but after our early start we retired for the evening.

Up at 7:00 this morning and took breakfast in the buffet which was relatively quiet as it’s a sea day, the reason for our early rise was because our hosts had arranged a behind the scenes tour of the theatre, the Yatch Club area and also the galley area. It was really interesting to see areas normally off limits to the general public.

The highlight of the tour for me was viewing the galley area and seeing the places where everything is stored, prepared and cooked. Really fascinating and made all the more fun by having to dress up in protective clothing to make sure we didn’t contaminate any thing.

The afternoon was ours to do as we pleased and tonight is Gala evening so we will be getting dressed up. The plan is also to do a show in the theatre before dinner.

MSC Splendida Postcard #2 – Hamburg & Embarkation

An early morning alarm call at 4:00 started our day. From there it was just a case of getting up and checking out before making the short walk to the terminal. By 5:20 we had cleared security and were sitting in Giraffe, our favoured breakfast venue.

The flight was uneventful and we arrived 5 minutes ahead of schedule. While we were waiting in the baggage reclaim area, members of our party started to become known to us and then with our hosts issuing out special cruise.co.uk lanyards with our names on we were all pretty much aware of who was who by the time we had left the baggage reclaim area.

Transport was laid on to take us to the port which took just over 50 minutes. When we arrived we were given priority boarding which had us on board in less than 20 minutes. Obligatory photos taken with no seemingly way of escaping it either.

A few minor observations at this point, no health questionnaire and no hand sanitiser when first boarding. Very strange not to be offered the latter this day and age.

We were told cabins would not be available until 2:30 but found ours ready so dropped the bags off and went off to explore the ship.

The cabin is really nice and seems to have all the required elements you could need. One question that is puzzling me, why a wall mounted bottle opener in the bathroom???
The ship is very bright and spacious and I think once we get our bearings it will be easier to navigate. There are lots of public areas and plenty of places to sit. The buffet was as you would expect very busy on day one and on first impressions having lots of varied things to eat. However none of the items are labeled with allergen information,  Nicole is on a gluten free diet and not having these details displayed or readily available made her selections limited/difficult.  Everyone kept sending us down to deck 5 to the Splendida bar which is listed as a gluten free bar. There is a bar tariff there which lists safe drink items and there are 4 packets of gluten free snacks available but don’t come as part of the package. On a positive note the bar manager noticed our interest and came forward to offer help and assistance with our choice.

We spent the afternoon just wandering and exploring the ship while waiting for our cases to arrive.

Muster is at 5:15 and all aboard at 6:30 and we have our first proper get together of everyone at 7:30 with drinks at the bar at the back of the ship (the name escapes me at the moment but I know where it is!)  After that we all go to dinner at 8:30 splitting into two groups to sample different venues.

The Wi-Fi is proving to be a little testing at the moment with virtually no coverage in the cabin so I need to visit the public areas to make any posts.

We have had a good day and a met up with a great crowd. This cruise is going to be fun.

MSC Splendida Postcard #1 – The journey to Heathrow

I thought a few quick lines about our journey to the airport would make an excellent start so here goes with a quick diary of our day.

Because our start and finish points are not the same, the official start point being Heathrow Airport and finish being the  port of Southampton a little planning was required before hand.  After a bit of research we decided to drive the car to Southampton Airport, park there and then catch the train from Southampton Airport Parkway to Heathrow. The parking cost £30 for the four days and the train was £76 for the pair of us. Fortunately I have a company car so any motoring expenses have already been taken care of.

The last leg of the journey involved a coach trip from Woking to Heathrow which today was over 35 minutes late due to traffic on the M25, luckily for us it didn’t rain while we waited as there wasn’t really anywhere to shelter.  After eventually reaching Heathrow it was just a short walk to our overnight accommodation which was the Sofitel Hotel right next to Terminal 5 and connected by its own walkway directly from the terminal building. I managed to book this using some Avios points so it ended up costing us nothing.

Our room for the evening is really cosy and looks out onto a small courtyard. We haven’t stayed here before but from first impressions I think we will again if flying early from T5. It’s really clean, the bed is really comfortable and also very quiet considering you are right next to the runway.

After a quick drink we decided to go off and do a quick circuit of the hotel and then around the departures hall before going back to the hotel for a bite to eat. There are some really nice sculptures in the hotel and there are more  to be found in the T5 Fine Art Gallery.
We dined early in one of the two hotel restaurants which is called Vivre. Tasty food and good service made the dining experience really pleasurable and then it was back to the room for an early night to prepare for an early start tomorrow.

MSC Splendida Cruise Preamble

Its not often you get something for nothing but occasionally you get lucky and this is just happens to be one of those occasions. Let me explain a little to put you in the picture, I have been a member of Cruise.co.uk Forum since 27th October 2009 and have been a regular visitor over the years making the odd post every now and again. I do confess to having been more active earlier in my membership and this actually resulted in being invited to the Celebrity Eclipse naming ceremony by the forum in 2010. Unfortunately I had to turn it down because of all things I was on a cruise. The forum owners have continued over the years to invite their members to various ship visits and given away free cruises in return for them giving something back to the forum such as writing blogs and reviews.
In May I noticed a forum topic entitled Competition for 14 free balcony cabins! Exclusively for our Forum members and was immediately curious to see what it was all about. In short the forum were offering the chance for 14 members to take a 3 night cruise on the MSC Splendida in return for writing a blog for the forum. Flights to Hamburg and transfers to the ship were all included and the only expenses being the cost of getting to Heathrow Airport and from Southampton back home along with any onboard spend which included gratuities, on the plus side the internet would be provided by cruise.co.uk. Yours truly saw this as a chance not to missed and I duly sent off an e-mail to see if I could be one of the lucky ones. You could almost call it a busman’s holiday for me.

Well on the 26 May I received an e-mail from Rachael at Cruise.co.uk informing me I been selected which was a great surprise and totally unexpected.

So knowing I would be sailing MSC again I decided to take up the option to upgrade us in the MSC loyalty scheme as they are currently offering a status match programme whereby if you are already in possession of a privilege card from a mainstream leisure travel programme, you will be able to join the MSC Voyagers Club, receiving a matching status card from either our Classic, Silver, Gold and Black tiers.
Because of our Elite status on Celebrity I have successfully upgraded to MSC Black Voyager Club, it was simply a case of filling an online form along with an attachment in the form of a screen shot from my Captains Club page as proof. It’s got to be worth 5 minutes to get a few little extra perks if you have a higher status elsewhere.

We were also given the option to fly out the day before to provide a little time in Hamburg before the cruise but we made the decision to go on the day due to having to make use of public transport to get us to Heathrow; I really can’t take any more days off this year!!!.

DATE LOCATION ARRIVAL DEPARTURE
Sunday, September 4, 2016 Hamburg, Germany 06:30 PM
Monday, September 5, 2016 At Sea
Tuesday, September 6, 2016 Le Havre, France 08:00 AM 10:00 PM
Wednesday, September 7, 2016 Southampton, England 08:00 AM

When we first logged on to the MSC website with our booking number it advised us that we had a guaranteed cabin so we had to wait a few weeks to find out which cabin we had been allocated. When details were finally released we found ourselves in cabin 13024 which is an Aurea experience balcony cabin, under normal conditions it is linked to a dedicated spa package but for us we will just be getting the Fantastica experience which doesn’t include the spa perks. As you will see from the illustration below the cabin is situated directly below the spa and is at the front of the ship. Its not a location we would chosen for ourselves so we are curious to see how much difference it makes for us being at the front of the ship.

There is a whole host of things lined up for the lucky 14 and their travel companions over the 3 nights and were surprised 2 weeks out to discover we had all been treated to the Allegrissimo all inclusive drinks package. This gives us unlimited alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, including a wide range of drinks and cocktails from the bar list, a dedicated selection of wines by the glass, draught beer, an extensive selection of sodas, fruit juices and classic hot beverages (coffee espresso, cappuccino…) as well as takeaway ice cream in a cone or cup. Very nice indeed and very welcome!

So now its just a case of getting to Hamburg and then onboard to make the most of this wonderful opportunity.

 

Celebrity Eclipse Postcard #15 – Southampton & Disembarking

Yesterday afternoon and evening was quite busy for us, after using up the last of our vouchers we said our goodbyes to the bar staff that had looked after us for the last two weeks and headed down to the theatre where we were entertained by Jon Courtenay who goes under the banner of the “The funniest Bald Guy With A Piano”. Very funny 40 minutes interspersed with some excellent piano playing. I’m sure I’ve seen him before so will have to have a look back through my daily’s at some point. From there it was on to the atrium where we were entertained by The Celebrity Eclipse Choir which was made up from fellow passengers and I have to say they were mighty impressive and sounded amazing in the atrium. Well done to all involved.

From there it was straight into dinner where we enjoyed our last evening meal onboard and at the end of the night once again saying our thank you and goodbyes to our super waiting staff.

A quick walk up round the open decks after putting the cases out before finally hitting the sack.

We had an extra hour in bed due to a time change in our favour and awoke this morning to find ourselves back where we started.

Our last morning ritual on Celebrity is to take breakfast in the dining room which is what we did and before we knew it our disembarkation number had been called and we were soon making our way off the ship.

Just a couple of quick photos of the ship before getting into the car for the journey to Eastbourne then home……….

We have had a fantastic two weeks and can now start thinking towards the next one which for us is just a mere 20 days away.

Celebrity Eclipse Postcard #14 – A Sea Day

The Evening Chic Night dress code in the daily programme suggests that it is less dressy than formal and women should feel comfortable wearing a cocktail dress, skirt or trousers with an elegant top. Men should feel comfortable wearing trousers with a dress shirt, button down shirt or sweater. A sport coat or blazer is optional. Since Evening Chic was brought in late last year we have been on two Celebrity cruises, one from Miami and this one from Southampton and there has been notably more gents wearing dinner suites on this cruise. It’s very difficult to put a percentage figure on it but I would say at least 20-25%. Overall it’s still a great atmosphere and nice to see everyone putting something smart on whatever it be.

Beef Wellington and Lobster Tails were on the menu last night and Oscar provided them on the same plate unlike our waiter in January. I can tell you that they were both delicious. No Baked Alaska parade now on Celebrity but it was still on the menu last night, consequently the presentation of this dessert is now much better.

After dinner I found myself escorting Nicole to see one of the ships production shows called Topper. This was a second time for us and I didn’t really want to go but being as the less sprightly weren’t going then how could I let my good lady go on her own. It’s not a hideously bad show but not one I’m going to see for a third time that’s for sure.

Back to today and our last full day onboard the ship, we took breakfast for the last time in the Tuscan Grille and then quickly made our way to the theatre for a talk on navigation by the Captain which was really interesting, informative and very well attended.

Back to the cabin to start the packing process which Nicole did with her own fine tuned efficiency. Less than an hour and apart from a few odd things everything is good to go.

Lunch was taken in the main dining room giving us just a couple of hours to digest the food before we attended the Elegant Tea for Elite members (and above) in the Tuscan Grille (again). Not exactly what I would call elegant but nice to sit down and enjoy some tea and cakes with a great sea view.

We also noticed that Bistro on 5 had been temporarily converted into Café El Bacio 2 which we think is an excellent idea and long overdue.

So all that remains now is to see the night out, say all our goodbyes to the staff who have looked after us so well over the last 2 weeks.

Time permitting we will go and see Jon Courtenay in the theatre later but that is by no means certain.

Celebrity Eclipse Postcard #13 – A Sea Day

Dinner in the Tuscan Grille was every bit as good as we were anticipating. I started my  meal with Fritto di Calamari which was followed by a pasta dish called Pappardelle Alfredo con Aragosta (pictured below) and it was totally delicious. My main course was the Filet Mignon which was just beautiful.

It was once again along night which resulted in us missing the show in the theatre for a second time while dining in a specialty restaurant.
Last night’s act was a comedian called Paul Eastwood and we haven’t seen him before so hopefully he will do the rounds and we will get another opportunity at some point.
With just two days left which are both sea days we had hoped for some decent weather as we headed south but alas day one was not to be. We have been seeing news headlines and weather predictions about a heatwave back home in the UK and had hoped to be sailing into it.

Our weather today has been rain and quite a bit of it. All the top decks have been deserted and all the eateries busy. We skipped breakfast but ate lunch in the dining room which as previously mentioned was much busier.
Getting a table in Café El Bacio would be akin to winning the lottery. Once seats had been occupied the custodian was there for the long haul.

When the weather isn’t too good there really isn’t too much to occupy us on this type of ship and is one of the main reasons we tend to head for sunnier climate’s. There is all the usual dross which I just cannot understand people actually getting excited about, for example there was the final of the egg drop challenge which involves dropping an egg from deck 5 to 3 in the Grand Foyer. That actually made front page of the daily programme!
Then there is the European Charm Bracelet sale, table tennis with guests versus officers, a talk on back pain, bunions and bothered knees along with 5 steps to a flawless skin and not forgetting Port versus Starboard bowling challenge! I really kept expecting to bump into Sid James, Kenneth Williams and Esma Cannon today. Not what I consider cruising at its best.

It does surprise me actually how little there is going on during the day that we find interesting and actually wonder how we would cope on a longer and cooler climate cruise with lots of sea days so I think we will stick with what we like.
As a result the afternoon was spent in the cabin having a snooze before our daily little early evening soirée. Tonight is also the third and final Evening Chic Night so at the end of the evening for us it will mean putting the glad rags away again until the next cruise.

Celebrity Eclipse Postcard #12 – Copenhagen, Denmark

After spending the afternoon snoozing in the cabin, we made our way to the Senior Officers Party which was held in the Sky Lounge. It only lasts for 45 minutes but does provide a free bar. You are introduced to all the senior officers one by one then followed by a short speech by the Captain. I think the timing is so that both fixed diners are able to attend although it did make us 10 minutes late at the table.

Last nights show in the theatre, Jayne Curry we again found very entertaining but not a great deal of new material so most of what she did we had seen before. Still very watchable and good fun.
Strange arrival time of 11:00am into Copenhagen this morning and it was a port where we had nothing planned and were going to wing it. Due to the arrival time it allowed us time to go for breakfast in the Tuscan Grille which is also where we will be eating tonight. It was again nice to have a bit of a lie in too although we will have two more days like that following this one.

Once clearance to go ashore was granted the mad stampede began with what seemed like the whole ship wanting to get off at the same time. We just opted to use the ships shuttle which dropped us off in the centre of town where it was just a short walk to Nyhavn where we took a canal boat trip round the waterways of Copenhagen. It cost 80DKK per person and we were given a live guided talk all the way round. It was an excellent way to spend just over an hour and even the sun came out to play.

Part of the tour includes a view of everyone having their photo taken with the Little Mermaid.

Once back we had a spot of lunch along the quayside which was absolutely delicious, between us we sampled herring, moulds, frites & mayo along with potatoes and bacon. Not the cheapest lunch but really tasty.

To walk it off we took a stroll to Rosenberg Slot before making our way back to the shuttle and then the ship. After parting company with the less sprightly, we made the short walk up the Little Mermaid to get a photo from the front.

Back to the ship to unwind with a few drinks before dinner in Tuscan Grille tonight.
We have had a really nice day for our last port of call. All of a sudden the cruise seems to have gone really quickly.

Celebrity Eclipse Postcard #11 – A Sea Day

Captain’s Club Elite members and above along with all Suite guests were invited onto the helipad for the sailaway from Stockholm. We attended but were some 10 minutes late so when we arrived it was already quite crowded. All the perimeter spots had been taken so we had to make do with the middle of the helipad itself and it in fact allowed us to mingle with a few of the officers who were very chatty. We stayed for about an hour and enjoyed a glass of champagne while listening to Abba being played a loud speaker ( what else when sailing out of Stockholm!!). I certainly hadn’t anticipated the amount of people that would be there and eventually most drifted away leaving just a few and some better spots to view the sail out.

We weren’t overly impressed with Gareth Oliver the ventriloquist, funny in places but certainly not the polished act Celebrity portrayed him to be. Apparently he was on the same Britain’s Got Talent as Susan Boyle.

A sea day today and the chance to have a well earned lie in. The weather was again very windy last night but the sea was no where near as choppy as the night before.
It was my turn for coffee duty this morning so at 9:00am I made my way to the buffet to get it and on the return leg there was an announcement over the tannoy which said – Crew only, Star Code, Star Code, Star Code, deck 4, Moonlight Sonata which we later discovered had been a medical emergency. At 9:40 the Captain announced there would be an emergency evacuation due to a passenger being taken ill and all forward open decks would be closed until after the helicopter had left. Sad news for someone and I hope not too serious.

We watched the helicopter arrive and were able to monitor events via the TV while it sat on the helipad. It sat there for a good 35 minutes before finally taking off with the unfortunate person onboard. Last time we witnessed a medical evacuation the ship came to halt while it took place but today we maintained speed and the helicopter just sat on the helipad with its rotor blades spinning.

Not the best of days to be out on deck or even on the balcony due to the strong northerly winds so after lunch which was taken in the dinning room we went back to the cabin to chill.
Tonight is the Senior Officers Cocktail Party which we will attend in the Sky Lounge, there are no vouchers issued for today as there is an open bar for 45 minutes.
Tonight the entertainment comes in the form of Jayne Curry who we enjoyed immensely on the Eclipse back in January.

Last port tomorrow before 2 sea days before arrival back at Southampton.

Celebrity Eclipse Postcard #10 – Stockholm, Sweden

After sailaway I popped up to the Sky Lounge for a spot of socialising and couple of drinks while the ladies got themselves ready for our second Evening Chic Night of the cruise.
Around 7:00pm the winds picked up and the seas followed suit and it stayed like that all night. A little bit of rocking and rolling and nothing too serious but enough to stop me having the best of nights sleep.

We had a clock change too last night in our favour so that was a bit of a bonus. I came too about 5:30 and we had already started the sail in to Stockholm which then woke me completely as it is a truly amazing sight and on the odd occasion when the sun broke through it was even more picturesque. Just beautiful!
With an early breakfast in the Tuscan Grille again we were off the ship about 10 minutes after being given clearance by the local port authorities. With the destination of the Vasamuseet in mind we decided to go the HoHo bus route on the way there and the HoHo boat on the way back. There are two company’s operating this service in Stockholm with little if no difference in price, we decided to go with City sightseeing again at €25 per person (or 850 kr).
To be totally honest the Stockholm HoHo bus route is a very tedious and windy route which seemed to take forever. Although we passed a few of the more popular landmarks along the way, we weren’t impressed with the time it took or the route taken. We were all glad to eventually get off the bus.

When we arrived at the Vasamuseet we found a lengthy queue which did move quite quickly and we were at the ticket booth in around 15 minutes.
The venue and it’s contents was every bit as good as I was anticipating it to be and I’m so glad we made the effort. Entry admission was 130 kr per person and I consider it money very well spent.
Just amazing to see how well preserved the ship is and just fascinating to look round all the other items on display that have been recovered. The ship itself is  actually much larger then I would have imagined and I can appreciate why the museum is so popular.

Quite haunting to look into the eyes of some of the facial reconstructions that have been done on some of the skulls.

Once out the sprightly and the un-sprightly returned back to port using the HoHo boat which was included in the same bus ticket price and only 3 stops away from the port where we were berthed and a great deal quicker than by road. I wish we had the insight to have used it on the way there and there would have been a chance to see the changing of the guard outside the Royal Palace which takes place at 12:15. One for another day perhaps.
Back on board, a quick lunch and then a quick nap for all as we were all feeling the after effects of last night’s weather and ship motion.
Tonight we have the sailaway from the helipad to look forward to with dinner then theatre where tonight’s turn is a ventriloquist called Gareth Oliver of whom we have heard lots of good things about.