View from our cabin. Copyright Gretta schifano
The thing about cruising on a vast ship like the MSC Preziosa is that it offers something for everyone. I’m on board the Preziosa right now with my fifteen year-old daughter. After she finished her GCSEs last week we wanted to go on a relaxing trip somewhere warm. Neither of us had been on a cruise before but a seven-day MSC cruise of the Eastern Mediterranean sounded ideal for us. (Before we left I asked some other bloggers who are experienced cruisers for their advice – here are their tips). We’re travelling as guests of MSC and now that we’ve got the hang of life on board I think that this trip is perfect for us.
Finding our way around
Launched in 2013 the MSC Preziosa is enormous. I’m sure it’s bigger than Monte Carlo. It has 18 decks, four swimming pools and 22 bars and is one of the largest cruise ships in the world. The Preziosa can carry up to 4251 passengers and is full for our cruise with more than 40 different nationalities on board. There are also 1,301 crew members and they’re from all over the place. As the ship is so big it took me a while to find my way around although my daughter got her bearings pretty quickly. The ship is 38 metres wide and 333 metres long but you can’t walk from one end to the other because it’s divided into sections so that each part can be isolated if there’s a fire. This means that you sometimes have to go up a level and then down again in order to walk to where you want to go. I’m getting quite good at this now and am consulting the maps at every lift and stairwell less and less often.
Choosing the right cabin
We have a lovely balcony cabin with twin beds which feels like home already. It’s much more comfortable and roomy than I’d expected and reminds me of a good, compact hotel room with the bonus of a fabulous and ever-changing view. Between the beds and the balcony are a sofa, a low table, a fridge, an interactive TV which we’ve not watched at all and a desk which has a hairdryer in one of its drawers. Floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors open on to the balcony where there are a couple of chairs and a table. The balcony front is clear glass below a wooden railing giving uninterrupted views of the sea or the port. The furniture is of a dark wood colour, the sofa and carpet a deep red, the walls beige and the curtains black and red. As you come in to the cabin there’s a wardrobe on one side with hanging space, drawers and a safe. Opposite the wardrobe is a compact, white bathroom with a shower, loo and sink with storage underneath and a mirror and shelves above. The cabin is cleaned and preened twice a day by our lovely cabin steward and it’s relaxing spending time there. There are some family cabins with sofa beds or bunk beds available on the ship and you can also book cots for babies. If there were more than two of us sharing a cabin though I don’t think it would be great: I’d prefer interconnecting rooms if we came on a cruise as a family. Nor would I like a cabin with no balcony.
Our cabin. Copyright Gretta Schifano
Enjoying life on board
There are so many things to do on board the ship that you couldn’t experience everything in a week if you tried. From Italian classes to bingo to dance lessons to World Cup table football to disco nights there’s always loads happening if you want to get involved. There are clubs for teens and for kids from three years old. There’s a 4D cinema, F1 simulator, bowling and a brilliant kids’ pool with slides and mini water cannons to play with as well as a 120 metre long water slide that we’ve not braved. There’s a different show with singers, dancers and acrobats on every night at the vast theatre (1603 seats) and those we’ve seen have been very good. If you just want to relax the spa is wonderful (we loved our facials and massages there) and there’s a sun deck where kids aren’t allowed. The only thing missing (I’m thinking of my son here) is a space for kids to run around and play games like football.
The endless food
The food is good, varied and plentiful and you can choose to eat in a restaurant, at the buffet or from the room service menu. Everyone’s given a time slot of either 6.30pm or 9.00pm for dinner and a specific restaurant and table to eat at. This all takes a bit of getting used to but I guess that with thousands of people eating at the same time there has to be some smart planning and organisation. We were given a dinner slot of 9.00 pm but we soon changed to the earlier sitting at 6.30 pm. The buffet is open 20 hours a day so you can always eat there if you prefer to.
Garden pool, MSC Preziosa. Copyright Gretta Schifano
Going on shore
Our cruise stops at a different port every day, apart from one day at sea sailing from Istanbul to Dubrovnik. If you want to go ashore you can pay to go on excursions organised by MSC to places like the Grand Bazar in Istanbul or ancient Olympia in Greece or you can explore independently. We’ve done a bit of both and opted to stay on board and relax for one day in port. My favourite day of the cruise so far was the one we spent on an MSC tour of the marvellous city of Istanbul and I’ll be writing about that separately. My daughter’s favourite day was when we stayed on board when the ship docked at Izmir.
The verdict
Before the cruise I was pretty certain that I’d be seasick and that we’d annoy each other sharing a cabin for a week. I was completely wrong. I haven’t taken a travel sickness tablet since we boarded in Venice and sharing a cabin with my girl has been lovely. I also thought I may feel a little claustrophobic on board and stifled by spending a week in close proximity to thousands of people. Wrong again. It does get busy sometimes but the ship is so big that there are always quiet, empty places to go to and our balcony is a real haven. I’m really enjoying the experience of being on a ship and I love watching the sea and land and thinking about our journey as we travel. I’m definitely a cruising convert.
Family travel lowdown
The price for this seven night MSC cruise staying in a balcony cabin from Venice to Bari, Katakolon, Izmir, Istanbul and Dubrovnik is from £1059 per person including return flights from London. There are additional charges for the excursions, spa treatments, 4D cinema, bowling and F1 simulator.
I have wanted to go on a cruise for a long time and i hope that we can soon. Those cabins are so lovely, you kind of expect them to be tiny x
Keri-Anne recently posted…Let’s have an adventure X
Lovely post. You know you’ve already sold me on the idea of cruising, especially with my not-driving issue which often makes travel difficult! Now .,.. where to go??
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Wow this looks and sounds amazing!! Great pictures! xx
I would always be nervous that I would get sea sick and a little cabin fever but this sounds like a treat. I love Dubrovnik so probably would have stopped off there for a wander. Great tips. x
Lori recently posted…THE ETHICUREAN
I have never been on a cruise! I really fancy trying it though I have to admit 🙂 x
Sarah Bailey recently posted…Join in the PetShopBowl Celebration.
This looks great – I think your cabin looks really lovely and I’m really pleased you enjoyed it – we loved our first cruise we recently went on…it’s a great way to travel isn’t it?
Globalmouse recently posted…TGI Friday’s Summer Menu – 2014
It really is, I think it’s a good option for families who want to travel to different places.
We’d love to do this, just the two of us when the kids are older 🙂
Shell Louise recently posted…How does your garden grow? June 26th
I love cruising although haven’t been with the kids yet – it’s the idea of waking up somewhere new every day x x
Cass@frugalfamily recently posted…Cooking with kids – the easiest and scrummiest pudding ever….
I would love to go on a cruise but Mark doesn’t like the sea very much… even a short boat ride to Europe makes him feel uneasy 🙁
Can you still feel the waves on such a big cruiser?
agatapokutycka recently posted…What’s Cooking – Chocolate Chip Cookies
I was aware of the ship moving sometimes but not often. I usually get seasick on cross channel ferries and the time I went whale watching it took me a day to recover. I didn’t feel seasick once on this cruise.
Have never been on a cruise, but would love to go one day. I guess there is that part of me that worries about the seasickness, as I spend ferry crossings in the loos!! Glad to read that you had similar fears and that they were actually alayed!
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Great tips, we love cruising and this will definitely help a newbie
Zena’s Suitcase recently posted…Cantaloop Nursing Bra Review
Wow your ship is HUGE!
We went on a cruise a couple of years ago with Thomson- the ship was smaller and we had an inside cabin.Like you I thought I’d get seasick, because I always do on ferries with the slightest of swell. I didn’t. The inside cabin was a dreary, but the price meant we could do more excursions on a smaller budget.
We loved the cruise- the entertainment, the food, meeting interesting people, waking up in a different port each morning. It was fun!
Monika recently posted…A postcard… with love: Le Bec-Hellouin, Normandy
Would love to go on a cruise…maybe one day! (When I can afford it!)
Foz recently posted…Why we look forward to Ramadan
Oooh it sounds lovely. I’d like to go cruising but when the children are older x
Kirsty Hijacked By Twins recently posted…Point + Shoot 21st – 22nd June 2014
Oh this looks lovely, I especially like the look of the pool x
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It’s interesting to know that you weren’t seasick as my middle two suffer really badly with travel sickness and the more posts I read about cruises the more I want to go.
never been cruising, one day i hope our children will afford it so that they can pay for us)
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Sounds fantastic! Hope you have a brilliant time. Someday, I hope to embark on my first cruise too.
VaiChin @Rambling Through Parenthood recently posted…7 Toddler Activities for a Sunny Day
I would love to go on a cruise but hubby isn’t keen. Think I will show him this post and see if i can work on him
Do, and feel free to ask me any questions about it.
I’ve actually just started looking into cruising. With a young baby I think it’ll be the easiest and most child friendly way to travel. So thanks for writing this post, I’ll have a look at these liners, but have been recommended to check out P&O as well.
Donna
x
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I have been wanting to go on a cruise for sometime now but I have this awful fear of water and not sure how I’d get on stuck out at sea, it’s not even the sea sickness (great you didn’t suffer) just the general fear of being out at sea and unable to get away from it! x
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I know what you mean. We had a safety drill before the ship set off from Venice and I found that reassuring. We had to take our life vests (from our cabins) to our designated muster point and then practice putting them on correctly. Apparently the crew have their own full safety drill every week too.
aw i so wish i could go on a cruise, not feeling wise with 7 little ones though ad be worried too much
Sounds like you had a nice time. Our daughter is still a little bit to young but would love to take a mum and daughter cruise one day.
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