MSC Virtuosa Reviews

Balcony Cabin on deck 8 Great. No noise from entertainment - Buffett food lovely plenty of choice - all few are hardworking and helpful Plenty of sun beds Disembarkation well organised

The ship is amazing and all the crew go above and beyond to help you. MSC do everything to make sure your stay with them is perfect. The on board fertility are amazing and all the trips of the ship that are arranged by MSC are look after by MSC and are brilliant

Embarkation was brilliant, superb and very slick! Disembarkation not so due to excessive queuing. There was no system, no signposting and no staff to ask until virtually outside / off the ship. Access to toilets on the ship during the disembarkation process was closed. Adverse weather conditions disrupted our itinerary and because we visited only 1 out of the advertised 3 ports this was extremely disappointing. When we eventually got off the ship at La Rochelle, the free transport into the city was amazing. The system in place to get back on board the ship was horrendous. Again, no access to toilets and a poor, long queuing system for the amount of passengers involved.

A fabulous ship with amazing staff, love everything about it

Nice ship but lack of seating eg atrium for live music, long queues and lack of tea, milk and cups!

This was our first-ever cruise, although we have a longer cruise booked for next summer. We wanted to get a taste of the cruising life, and this cruise seemed like a good option. We didn't realise at the time of booking that people commonly refer to these 3-day trips as "booze cruises". Although there were at least five hen parties and a couple of stag parties aboard (along with several people celebrating milestone birthdays), the atmosphere wasn't wild and crazy. It was, however, quite crowded at times, especially around the buffet. In future, I would stick with longer cruises on smaller ships! I would also avoid ships that allow smoking in the casino, as I enjoy a bit of light gambling, but the stench of stale cigarettes was very off-putting. Our balcony cabin was lovely; a good size and very clean and tidy. The bed was very comfy, but I'll bring my own pillow next time. We really enjoyed the entertainment shows, like the ABBA tribute and the Cirque du Soleil-style performances. We also enjoyed the quizzes and games in the pub, when we could get a seat. But again, very crowded and if you didn't get there 30 minutes before the start, you had no chance of finding two seats together. Ah well. All-in-all it was a successful information-gathering exercise. Now I know to pay attention to the space/crew-to-passengers ratio so I won't feel so crowded and left out!

Atmosphere: modern. Lots of glass and mirrors. Service generally excellent, attentive, but not too much. Theatre entertainment: Excellent. Except the sound, which was too loud and, worse still, distorted. Cold draught blows on your feet. Itinerary: good, though 12 days to the Canaries in October, that's what you expect. Room: clean and tidy. Except there was no rubbish bin, just a paper/plastic/food bin. What? Are fingernail clippings food? Snotty tissues, paper? Condoms plastic? Mattress protector was bobbly, you could feel it through the sheet. Not a decent cup of tea anywhere. Buffet: Lots of choices, but it's a big place, and sometimes you have to get things from lots of different servers, so your food is cold by the time you get to a seat. Disorganised: rice not next to curry, one tray of poppadoms, in a corner, also distant from the one bowl of mango chutney. Six serveries of bread, one of butter, sometimes empty. The plastic plates are warm, briefly, and take the chill off your salad. Main restaurant: Nice choices, though fish was generally best. Service excellent. Food seems to have come from a long way away, wasn't properly hot, ever. Some food was bland, especially lasagne and canelloni. Menu on the app, but bring your glasses because the reader isn't very good. Always some sort of ceiling show under the arch, just as the theatre empties (photo), AND once, a flash dance, too! Lots of things to buy: the acrobatics show £8, steak house £85 for two, sushi bar, shops with few prices marked. Chocolate shop looked great, didn't try it, though, I'm not made of money. A nice-looking Italian-themed restaurant that you just can't go in unless you bought the Aureal (expensive) cruise tickets. Use the app, "to save paper", they say, just ignore all the paper spam that comes to your room every day. Nowhere to sit and read, apart from the "please do not stay for more than 45 minutes" buffet, we're not all sunbathers and there's maybe 1000 recliners for 6,000 people. Somebody parked their disability buggy on the staircase on Deck 9. Every day. There was more that I enjoyed and more that could have been done better, but I'm running out of steam.

Parking wasn't an issue for us as we had pre booked. We arrived at the port to a very organised queuing system. It moved very quickly and once we'd cleared security, checking in was a breeze. The ship was massive and all the crew were very friendly and helpful. The buffet had a good selection on it each day.

Impressive looking. Nice and new, lots for kids to do and lots of shops. A good number of pools. Very busy, food ok, drink options good. Due to numbers, have to book for evening theatre shows, which were good. Staff really helpful and easy embarkation/disembarkation. More of a party atmosphere than a relaxing break. I'd go again for a short break from UK but for me, not longer.

Due to bad weather and cancellation of ports, the service on board was dreadful. long ques and lack of facilities for the passengers on board