My First Ever Cruise! | Join me aboard the MSC Virtuosa | Travel Day | Embarkation Day |

#msc #msc2023 #virtuosa #travelday #ship #cruise #cruiseship
Join me for my first ever cruise aboard The MSC Virtuosa from Southampton to Belgium and back with one other stop at Portland.

[@jporritt]

I did the cruise just before this one and thoroughly enjoyed it. Glad you had a good first cruise, it was nice to see you experience things for the first time.

[@ADoubleGymAndTonic]

Yes it was good fun and as you say maybe a different liner would bring more enjoyment 🙌

[@TravelwithUsLynnePaul]

Love watching vlogs from first time cruisers - subscribing to watch the rest of your cruise 😀

[@ADoubleGymAndTonic]

Ah thank you! 🙏🏻

[@ADoubleGymAndTonic]

Subscribed right back at ya 🙌

[@TravelwithUsLynnePaul]

@@ADoubleGymAndTonic thank you 😁

[@Ladioz]

Great vlog! The first drink on the first day of the cruise is the best, embarkation day is my favorite day of the entire cruise. As soon as im done walking around and finishing my drink, I head to the cabin as you did, settle up.. leave the cabin... head to the pool bar for a burger and fries, and have another cocktail! Looking forward to your next vlog pal

[@ADoubleGymAndTonic]

Cheers 👋🏻 thanks for watching 🙏🏻 yes the next one will be at the weekend or just before bud.

[@Ladioz]

@@ADoubleGymAndTonic Im going on Virtuosa in December. I genuinely cannot wait to experience it

[@ADoubleGymAndTonic]

You will love it!

[@mim3097]

FYI you can load cash on your cruise card instead and avoid the 250 hold.

[@ADoubleGymAndTonic]

That’s handy cheers! 👍🏻

[@cafsixtieslover]

We were on the Virtuosa in April to Le Havre and Guernsey. Beautiful ship and food was fine but 6,000 odd people make a lot of noise in the restaurant and public areas and we found it unbearable in the evenings. Also we had an accessible cabin with what were essentially camp beds which slid across the floor if you sat on them so not much good for a disabled person. Don't think we will sail on it again. Our total onboard spend was about £25.00 if I remember rightly.

[@ADoubleGymAndTonic]

Yeah it was rammed when we were on, we did a short cruise which tends out of season to attract groups and not so much families which was obvious. Our room was lovely I can’t complain and if you went to the rear of the dining area or had the eat any time dining in the Minueto restaurant it was quite nice

[@pauldupre8894]

We were the same last June, I spent less because we couldn’t get served in the bars as everywhere was crowded, very noisy, I wouldn’t like to be onboard in an emergency 😢. Never again

[@liamnortheast6664]

Great insight thankyou . We are going in a few weeks . Any idea what the currency is in the casino please? Prefer to use cash so I know for sure what I'm spending lol

[@ADoubleGymAndTonic]

Thanks for watching 👍🏻 The cash is UK notes or you can charge your room using your cruise card in the machine 👌

[@Steffielaa87]

Hiya, just happened to xome across your video and discovered we are staying in that exact cabin 14048!! So that was lucky. Would you recommend it or advise to change?! X

[@ADoubleGymAndTonic]

Hey that’s amazing 🤣 Wherever you stay will be below the main sun deck which can be a bit noisy in the morning to be fair It’s a great view and sheltered so not all bad Hope you have a great time! Where are you heading?

[@Steffielaa87]

Thanks for the reply. We're doing the med 2 week cruise in july24. Looking forward to it. Was a little worried that cabin may not get any sunshine, or see the sky at night due to the hangover cover at the top? Can you see the sea underneath as well?? Wrt the noise, we'll be up early with our toddler anyway and like to make the most of the day so unless it's ridiculously loud I think we'll be okay. :)

[@ADoubleGymAndTonic]

@@Steffielaa87 yes you can see for miles and the lower part of the ship which is a long way down 😱🤣🤣 You will love it! There are 4 usb points too so don’t worry too much about them either

[@Steffielaa87]

Thank you😅😅

[@user-bx3ys6bf9f]

Hi, I'm due to cruise the Virtuosa in March of next year, we have also opted for the dine anytime option, but I was wondering does this also mean you can dine in any of the main restaurants or do you get allocated a restaurant and then you can't use any other main restaurant. This is my first cruise too and I'm trying to get an idea of the rules, your video's are very helpful. :)

[@ADoubleGymAndTonic]

Yes you are allocated a restaurant but you can walk past the huge queues and just get seated immediately 👌 it’s well worth it to be honest. Hope you have a great time! Thanks for the kind comments 🫶🏻

[@headbutt92]

You have anymore coming up for this trip? We were on the same one and found drink service a nightmare.

[@ADoubleGymAndTonic]

Funny you should say that! Yes I have some more lined up and completely agree! It so let the whole experience down. The Minuetto restaurant had amazing service, the rest was terrible as you say the bars the worst!

[@headbutt92]

@@ADoubleGymAndTonic we've only been on 5 cruises before with tui/marella and they've all been flawless for us. First and last time we'd ever use MSC again. The ship was nice and wouldn't complain about quality of food and drink but never had such pedantic and rude service before. I'll wait to see what you've got coming up.

[@ADoubleGymAndTonic]

@@headbutt92 I hear you buddy! Ditto my first and last with MSC sadly

[@Ladioz]

@@headbutt92 Avoid MSC during July/August/September. The ship is full of people and staff are under stress. I went on MSC Grandiosa during November of 2022 and it was absolutely fantastic. The ship wasn't as full... the pool are wasn't as busy. Service was spot on. The waiters treated me like they were my butler, never queuing for drinks either. Maybe only in the casino in the busy hours of the night, after 10pm. I know you might think, who the hell cruises in the winter? i want to enjoy the hot sun by the pool, etc etc. It was very very good weather. We went on a Mediterrenean voyage with MSC for 6 nights and it was lucky weather, mostly calm sea and soft sunshine

[@user-gp4yw5us9s]

Is there a baggage allowance? 😊

[@ADoubleGymAndTonic]

We don’t think there is! Crazy I know but no 👌

[@user-gp4yw5us9s]

Thank you for replying 😊 Also is it £250 per person as deposit ?

[@ADoubleGymAndTonic]

@@user-gp4yw5us9s it’s 250 per room with the bank card or credit card logged to each room

[@Ladioz]

Hello, you mentioned someone about 250 pounds pending credit card? What is that? Are you meaning that you didnt have a pre-purchased drinks package?

[@ADoubleGymAndTonic]

Hiya yes we didn’t get any drinks packages and bought the ones we wanted as we are not big drinkers so would have been a waste of money. So when we did purchase any drinks it was taken from our room credit or debit of the pre registered card on the account Thanks for watching 👍🏻

[@Ladioz]

@@ADoubleGymAndTonic Ok because I have paid for a easy plus package for my cabin, and I was really confused about this 250 pounds credit card thing. I assume that it applies only to people who pay as they go

[@ADoubleGymAndTonic]

@@Ladioz yeah that drinks package is a good one and you won’t need to buy any drinks. MSC do however put a charge on credit cards of £250 which is preauthorised and not actually taken to cover any expenses you incur on board, this is released a few weeks after the cruise

[@donutmoron]

Did you have drinks package, mate?

[@ADoubleGymAndTonic]

No we are not big drinkers so went without and just bought the odd one We took in illegal bottles of soft drinks and this was no issue. I did buy a few pints and as it takes so long to get served was ample

[@donutmoron]

@@ADoubleGymAndTonic so the £250 card debit applies to EVERYONE? Even those with a drinks package?

[@ADoubleGymAndTonic]

@@donutmoron yeah sadly it’s to ensure that any credit racked up on your crushing card is covered as this is what is used for most purchases

[@Matrix2021]

Thanks for the great info and insight. At the 16:00 mark you managed to get a seat, what is this bar/area called, and do you recommend anywhere else that maybe a bit quieter or unknown to the other 78,000 people onboard? 🙈🫣. Cheers!

[@ADoubleGymAndTonic]

Hey thanks for watching 🙏🏻 It’s actually the main bar area which at the time of going in the afternoon had loads of seats at night the seats are harder to get due to volume. The best place to go to the bar is the swimming pool bar every time we went there getting served was easy and quick 👍🏻

[@Matrix2021]

@@ADoubleGymAndTonic Brilliant. Thanks again for the info 👍🏼