MSC. Not quite as Splendida as some of the other cruise liners

Yesterday I was lucky enough to go on s ship visit on board Msc splendida. What was included was the grand tour of the ship and then lunch and drinks. The best part is that is was free. Would I have been disappointing to have paid? Yes maybe slightly. I have put an honest review of the ship with all the pro’s and con’s and you can make up your own mind.

l live in sunny Southampton and this was were the ship was docked so it was very easy for me to embark on board. We were taken to the main lobby area where we were offered free drinks and pastries. This was a nice touch. I must admit was pretty peckish.

Next was a tour of the ship. The first thing that struck me as we were walking around was the Swarovski staircases they have. This is obviously one of the main focus points. With a cost of 1.5 million pound this was money well spend as they were stunning and definitely a talking point.

Spa: We headed to the Aurea spa and fitness center and we were lucky enough to see one of the spa rooms done up. This Is somewhere I would be heading to get rid of any tension I had. The gym had state of the are equipment to help you work off them extra pounds you may have put on after all the food. If you book the wellness package, you can download an app before you get on board this will devise a personal training programme for you. It is then up to you if you stick to it or not.

Kids club: This area looked great for all ages. With kids entertainment and arcades. There was more enough there to keep your children happy including a 3D cinema and F1 simulator. It is next door to the nightclub too so you could dance the night away, safe in the knowledge that they are being looked after. You can put money on to a card so the kids can use the arcades without having to disturb you.

Bars: There are two bars that appealed to me. One was the Purple Jazz bar. This looked very quirky and just something a bit different. The other was the sports bar. Anything that they would normally play on sky sports you can catch it here. You could also play a bit of bowling here at a small cost supplement.

Gratuities: The average cost for Gratuities on board is $9 per person for Europe and $12 for the Caribbean. I found this very reasonable

Cabins:We managed to have a look at an inside and a balcony cabin. They both looks spacious enough. Sometimes they offer a free upgrade to a balcony so always worth asking.

Swimming: There a couple of swimming pools and 4 Jacuzzi on top deck, This is were I like to spend my time.

Drinks package: I would highly recommend pre booking the Alegrissimo drinks package before you sail. This is £20 per person per day. You will definitely spend this on board. You can the drinks package on whilst on board however yo will pay a 15% service charge on top.

Downside: Ok so it all sounds pretty good so far right? There were  couple of downsides. The food in the buffet restaurant we ate in wasn’t the best food ive had on a ship. It was okay but I wouldn’t rave about it and would probably be worth booking some specialty restaurants. The other thing that put me off slightly was the amount of areas you could smoke. You can actually smell the smoke in quote a few of the area. Great if your a smoker.

Summary: This was a lovely ship well kept and great staff. I would like to sail on her and some of the prices are fantastic. There are just a few things I would change to make it a great experience rather than just a good one.