Haworth, thoughts from MSC Grandiosa

[Haworth, Wokingham]

Ourselves and the Wansborough’s left the hotel around 12.30 and after an interesting drive by a lesser known Schumacher we arrived at the ship, both couples are diamond and we were on board very quickly, slight variation to the normal MSC procedure as were given our room key cards there and then.

Found our cabin, dropped off our bags and decided to head to the restaurant for lunch, kudos to the Maitre D, we arrived at 13.40 and service was scheduled to finish at 13.30, we were promptly welcomed and seated, water poured, wine orders taken and menus offered.

Cobb salad followed by salmon for one and smoked marlin followed by pakoras for myself.

The ship is squeaky clean as expected and we did manage to meet briefly either Tim or Andy who were escorting a group round the ship.

No luggage as yet, but we do have free wi fi and our diamond card meal at butchers cut is booked for Monday night.

John

[Haworth, Wokingham]

Welcome gift 1FB1F182-CBFC-41FD-AEA9-3F80BE5870EF.jpeg

[cymrucruiser]

Reading along. Have fun x

[Mrs M]

Reading along. Have fun x

Ditto..................

[Issyalex, Glasgow]

Ditto..................

3 ditto. 😀

[cruisinpat, Cornwall]

4 ditto

[Lawnmowerman, Tain]

Sorry to be missing out but really looking forward to the reviews. I can sense the anticipation amongst my fellow forumites - tense doesn't come close!

Bill

[Haworth, Wokingham]

I won’t repeat Wansborough musing from Sunday and Monday as it very much encapsulates our experience, where we will diverge is that we had our diamond card meal in the Butchers Cut, you get the basic meal as part of the perks, we both had Fillet steak, medium rare with asparagus and fries, served with a selection of sauces, it was excellent, we were sat outside overlooking the promenade and had a great view for the light show and people watching, Starter was heart of palm salad and we shared a desert, this experience put a more positive spin on a slightly underwhelming experience overall, pros and cons and a summary to follow

[Haworth, Wokingham]

MSC Grandiosa, summary

Pro's

The ship feels spacious, well layed out and nice to look at
Plenty of choice for food and drink but many are chargeable
Standard balcony cabin was very comfortable, lovely bed and bedding and a well designed bathroom with a large shower
Easy embarkation, on board early and in time for lunch on day 1 and disembarkation, we were out of our cabin at 08.30 and in the car by 08.40.
Decent food in the MDR, lunch was probably better than the one evening meal we had.
Large well layed out buffet with lots of choice and plenty of staff on hand.
LIfs work really well, when you press the call button the letter of the next lift to arrive is shown.

Con's

Lack of seating in the bar areas at night, exacerbated on the first night by no theatre show
Basic drinks package was OK for a glass of wine or two, coffee, etc but an upgrade to premium at 9Euro pppn would be our choice on a longer cruise
Some lounges closed for private functions, making the seating situation worse

Summary:

We would be happy to take another short cruise on this class of ship but our preference lies with the Fantasia class, the size, mix of bars, lounges and entertainment suits us better.

John

[carol, welwyn garden city]

MSC Grandiosa, summary

Pro's

The ship feels spacious, well layed out and nice to look at
Plenty of choice for food and drink but many are chargeable
Standard balcony cabin was very comfortable, lovely bed and bedding and a well designed bathroom with a large shower
Easy embarkation, on board early and in time for lunch on day 1 and disembarkation, we were out of our cabin at 08.30 and in the car by 08.40.
Decent food in the MDR, lunch was probably better than the one evening meal we had.
Large well layed out buffet with lots of choice and plenty of staff on hand.
LIfs work really well, when you press the call button the letter of the next lift to arrive is shown.

Con's

Lack of seating in the bar areas at night, exacerbated on the first night by no theatre show
Basic drinks package was OK for a glass of wine or two, coffee, etc but an upgrade to premium at 9Euro pppn would be our choice on a longer cruise
Some lounges closed for private functions, making the seating situation worse

Summary:

We would be happy to take another short cruise on this class of ship but our preference lies with the Fantasia class, the size, mix of bars, lounges and entertainment suits us better.

John

I know it was only a couple of nights, but I was wondering if they would have quizzes, or classes on a longer cruise, with so many people, would that be feasible? .......................................Carol

[Haworth, Wokingham]

I believe they had trivia on the Monday, sea day, around 17.00 I think, we did not take too much notice.

They did have a dance class in one bar on the Sunday evening when we trying to find somewhere for the 6 of us to have an after dinner drink!

John

[annie, Glasgow]

I know it was only a couple of nights, but I was wondering if they would have quizzes, or classes on a longer cruise, with so many people, would that be feasible? .......................................Carol

Good question Carol but with a passenger list of 6500, I don't know it they have a large enough space if even 10% of the passenger list turns up for the activities.

I know mega ships and myself are NOT a good fit, but just an observation of the ships I have sailed with a passenger list of 3000+, all cruise lines appear to struggle to supply sufficient indoor seating and seating in bars in inclement weather. Worst example in my experience is NCL Epic. Another example is Solstice class ships and their Café Al Bacio.

Annie

[carol, welwyn garden city]

Good question Carol but with a passenger list of 6500, I don't know it they have a large enough space if even 10% of the passenger list turns up for the activities.

I know mega ships and myself are NOT a good fit, but just an observation of the ships I have sailed with a passenger list of 3000+, all cruise lines appear to struggle to supply sufficient indoor seating and seating in bars in inclement weather. Worst example in my experience is NCL Epic. Another example is Solstice class ships and their Café Al Bacio.

Annie

Hi Annie. We're trying Iona next year with 5200 passengers, so I shall find out Better make sure I've got a couple of good books. There's only so much eating and drinking one can do in a day! .................................................. ............Carol

[annie, Glasgow]

Hi Annie. We're trying Iona next year with 5200 passengers, so I shall find out Better make sure I've got a couple of good books. There's only so much eating and drinking one can do in a day! .................................................. ............Carol

Enjoy Carol

Just another observation, it is those ships with the most extra charge eateries which appear to have the least available indoor seating.

Annie

[Haworth, Wokingham]

On the Sunday Nigh the L'Atelier Bistrot was almost empty and the six of us went in and sat down, after trying to order we were old our packages weren't valid, the place was empty!

The next night they had a sign at the bottom of the menu "Premium Package Welcome Here"

That said in fairness we wee provided wine as part of our package at Butchers Cut despite that being precluded in the specific T&C's for the voucher!