Somehow I’d managed to find a very good cruise deal. And then I contacted Kerry at Cruise.co.uk and she managed to get me an even better deal. £363 per person for a balcony cabin on an eight-day cruise. With food and energy costs it was almost cheaper to go on this holiday than it was to stay at home.
Southampton is a fun port to cruise from and, if ever you do depart from here, I heartily recommend spending at least one night in the city before boarding. I’ve even extolled its virtues for a popular US cruise magazine. There’s plenty to see as you sail away, such as the dock from where Titanic sailed, the edge of the New Forest, and the massive Fawley refinery. I was mostly looking to see if MSC Preziosa had been connected to Southampton’s shoreside power, so that it wouldn’t be running its highly-polluting engine. Happily I saw that, yes, there was the connection.
Some time, during that first night, we sailed far into the Solent and out beyond the English Channel into the high waves of the North Sea. The first full day was a sea day. Preziosa powered through the water while smaller ships (without cruise ship stabiliser systems) endured waves crashing over their decks. This was a good opportunity to get some writing done, on a cabin sofa that was stained, and marked with cigarette burns. In the ship bars there were children everywhere. There was a ‘library’, but this consisted of a single shelf, bare except for about a dozen dog-eared books.
For relaxation there was a choice of indoor hot tubs, filled with children, or outdoor hot tubs, which can’t have been above the 37°C the signs claimed them to be. Considering that’s body temperature it wasn’t the most relaxing of experiences, but kinda fun in the rain.
Rain turned to snow in Hamburg, but luckily we enjoyed most of that port day without any precipitation. It was when we were in the truly amazing Miniatur Wunderland that the snow hit. The return walk along the river, through the Old Elbe Tunnel and the dull warehouses beyond was made all the prettier by blanket of white.
MSC is an Italian cruise line but the food on board is severely lacking in that Italian flair. There’s a huge buffet area on the 14th deck (not so good when the ship’s rocking) and a main restaurant on the 5th and 6th decks, which has much the same quality of food but served by always-friendly wait staff. Nevertheless, there was always something OK to eat, the curries in the “Ethnic Foods” section being by far the best.
Zeebrugge is sold as the port for Bruges, just a short transfer away. Having already been to Bruges a couple of times we prioritised taking the Coastal Tram, second longest tram journey in the world, which stretched 42 miles from Knokke (near the Dutch border) to De Panne (near the French border; Belgium isn’t a huge country). I had fairly high expectations about this route, which were very much exceeded when it passes just metres from the huge beaches along this coast. Brief visits were made to pretty De Haan, ugly Ostend and -because we had a few hours to spare afterwards – the chocaholic’s heaven of Bruges.
For some reason the route doubled back on itself to Rotterdam. I like Rotterdam. I’ve written appreciatively about Rotterdam. Everyone I spoke with on the ship about this city had only good things to say about it. Cruise here, whether on the ocean or the Maas (aka Rhine) River and you’ll be docked smack bang in the centre.
Rotterdam also offers shoreside power but Preziosa did not connect to it, instead engine fumes filled our cabin to the extent that I could not bear to stay in it. MSC fail badly when it comes to environmental responsibility, as evidenced by their D+ grade on the Friend’s of the Earth’s Cruise Ship Report Card. I’m almost entirely certain that, despite us not wanting them to be, our towels were replaced twice a day every day. The cruise line didn’t respond to me when I asked why the ship hadn’t hooked up to shoreside power in Rotterdam.
Another wave-tastic sea day before arrival into Le Havre. Having once worked as a marketer in the cruise industry I know that this port is described thusly on itineraries: “Paris (Le Havre)”. Paris is, in fact at least a three hour transfer away, one way. We had a generous 12 hours in Le Havre, which would have meant that anyone that did take this excursion would have had less than six hours in the capital city. We chose, instead, to visit charming Honfleur, a 45-minute bus ride south.
OK, so, we were paying less than £50/day for this cruise. I wasn’t expecting anything special, but MSC could have paid just a little more attention to food prep in the main dining rooms. It could have designated at least one bar for adults only. I was amazed that most of the hand sanitiser dispensers were empty. How quickly the pandemic has been forgotten, and how quickly norovirus could spread.
There were a couple of nights with excellent acrobatic entertainment. I don’t begrudge the indoor pool and hot tub area being inundated with children. The staff was wonderful. Considering the price, it wasn’t terrible value for money. But it was hard not to think of MSC as a Ryanair cruise line with Wetherspoon’s food.
A Plan To Go 