MSC Opera, my day out in Southampton

So yesterday I went with some colleagues to Southampton to visit MSC Opera.

Now over the last few months MSC has had some bad press with this ship breaking down in the Baltic, and some of the reviews on our website have not been too complementary. So I went with an open mind  looking forward to making my own opinion of what was on offer.


OK, the ship does not offend at all, very clean and pleasant to look at - the theme is a little pink and purple - there are plenty of public bars and spaces all gave a homely vibe.

It may not be the biggest of ships and only have a smaller number of balcony cruise cabins, but the promenade deck is open and wide and there is loads of space on the pool deck, not cluttered by dividers or tables and chairs.

The food has taken a bashing, I found it OK, the soup was cold, but it should have been and the main course was warm and appetising. The waiter was courteous, although he did clear the table before everyone had finished, but is this such a massive issue?

The prices are really competitive and the fact that children travel for free, just paying the port taxes really does makes this MSC cruise excellent value for money.

So what do I think, excellent value for money and I know that the reviews and comments are a personal reflection but they don't match what I experienced on Monday.

Sunny Fjords...... do you want to go?

The summer European sailings are now well underway and having written about a few Caribbean ports of call earlier this year I thought I'd write about a few closer to home.

So for part 1, Bergen, Norway's second city.

Bergen is the second largest city in Norway and the most popular gateway to the fjords of West Norway. The city is renowned for its beautiful nature and offers excellent hiking opportunities in its immediate surroundings.

Founded around 1070 AD, Bergen quickly evolved into one of the most important cities in Norway. It was the country's administrative capital from the early 1200s until 1299, and the largest city in Scandinavia. Bergen was one of the most important bureau cities of the Hanseatic League, interconnecting continental Europe with the northern and coastal parts of Norway, thus becoming a central spot for the vending of fish and the commercial hot spot in Norway. It was the largest city in Norway until the 1830's and has a long maritime history in shipping and finance.

The city still has relics of its Hanseatic heyday, most notably the old harbor of Bryggen, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Bergen has been ravaged by several fires; the most recent major fire took place in 1917, a fire which destroyed most of the buildings in what is today the central parts of the city center, centered around the large square Torgallmenningen.

So after the history bit, what do you do.  Well for me its up the Floibanen funicular railway to get some awesome scenic views of Bergen, and the day that we did it it was a shorts and tee shirts day.....beautiful.

But how goes there? Well, cruises from Southampton you can find various P&O ships, Princess or Cunard ships which visit the Fjords.

Watch out for more snippets of European ports.

European Health Insurance Card

Over the last few weeks there has been much comment about travel insurance, and I have written a blog on the same subject, follow this link. If you go back a few years you used to be able to get an E111 card if travelling in Europe to get access to state provided health care, and that was replaced in 2006 with the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) which allows you to access state-provided health care in all European Economic Area (EEA) countries and Switzerland at a reduced cost or sometimes free of charge.


Everyone who is resident in the UK should have the EHIC and carry it with them when they travel abroad. Please remember to check your EHIC is still valid before you travel. Applying for the card directly from the NHS is free and it is valid for up to five years.

Now I've heard that some of the travel insurance providers are expecting people to use this first in Europe before they make a claim, but more worryingly it is the fact that most people aren't aware that the cards have an expiry date!

I missed that when I ordered mine and as I am off to Europe in the next few weeks I am glad I checked yesterday as my card expired on the 1st January this year! It is easy to renew on the NHS website, so the moral of the story is to make sure you have applied and that you remember to renew when its due!

New Build or Renovation.... what should the cruise lines do

There has been a lot of talk over the last week about P&O's announcement of the launch of a new ship way off in 2015.

 

But if you look at the various lists that you can find on the webc the pace of new orders has fallen, so what are the cruise lines going to do?
So is now the time of the refurbishment/refit to keep the old ships looking new, without investing the hundreds of millions of dollars needed for a new-build.

All ships head into dry-dock every few years for the "routine scrape of the barnacles" (minor cosmetic and engineering updates). But it is the more major overhauls that can give a ship which is tiring a new look or feel and keep passengers sailing.

I have covered the work that Celebrity have done or are douing the the 'Solsticise' the Millenium class ships in a previous blog, follow the link.  But what else has or will happen over the next few months?

Royal Caribbean has recently had both Liberty of the Seas and Freedom of the Seas refurbished in the Bahamas, both  gained Oasis-class features, including 3D movie capabilities, an outdoor cinema, a cupcake shop, the DreamWorks experience and new kids' facilities.

In addition Royal Caribbean will be refurbishing Radiance of the Seas and Splendour of the Seas later this year and they will get several new eateries, including Allure imports Samba Grill (Brazilian steakhouse), Izumi (Japanese), Rita's Cantina (Mexican) and the Boardwalk Dog House. Other upgrades include the addition of a Royal Babies and Tots Nursery and interactive flat-screen TV's in all cabins.

The Grand Princess had a major refit in APril and early may and is now cruising from Southampton, the iconic, top-ship Skywalkers Nightclub, which gave Grand Princess its signature profile (and its "shopping cart" nickname), was removed. A club, One5, added. Princess' now-standard Piazza replacing the atrium together with a new pizzeria and the Crown Grill, the line's steak and chops eatery. 

P&O are also having a major refit on Oriana later this year, and in addition to adding some new cabins the ship will become Adult only when finished.

It's always nice to have the smell of fresh paint, be it a new car, a decorated room at home or a new ship. So a great refurbishment refreshes the ship and gives it the air of something new, so come on cruise lines lets have more.

To Russia with love on Hurtigruten, well nearly!

Hurtigruten embarkation in Bergen, Norway

So as the story goes, when in Rome do as the Romans do, so does this mean when in Norway do as the Norwegians do, Hurtigruten certainly hopes so!

Some of you will say well what is Hurtigruten, other will already know, but in essence it a small fleet of about 14 cruise ships which operate in the main around the coastal waters and fjords of Norway. In addition to be being cruise ships they operate as local ferries taking the locals, their animals and cars on their day to day business.

So you can get the 12 day Classic Round Voyage from Bergen to Kirkenes, see the map below which is virtually in Russia and then back, with trips and scenery on the way.

In fact its possible on some days to get off in 1 port, do their excursion and rejoin the ship later that day when its visited maybe another 1 or 2 ports on the way!

 

Now I have seen the fjords, but the majority of modern cruise ships sail up the fjord to the port then back to open sea before going onto the next port, not here most of the time you will be moving up through the labyrinth of coastal waterways.

Something very different, and just added to my list of things I want to do.