MSC cruise brochure 2012/2013 - Online

You all know I'm a fan of MSC, cheap cruises, great staff and service, free kids places for anyone under 18, free carparking in the UK, so I thought it might help today if I showed you why. You can click here to see my review of the MSC Opera or below you will find their complete brochure for 2012/2013 which I've just uploaded for you all.

Happy cruising

Surprise new ship for MSC

Normally we get loads of notice of a new ship. There's loads of hype, loads of teasers for details onboard and most of all a huge fanfare.
And then sometimes you just get a small notification email from the cruise line........

MSC Opera - I'm in love with Italian style cruising!

In case you didn't already know I spent all of Tuesday just gone down in Southampton visiting the MSC Opera. As is the case every time I visit a new cruise ship I've put together a bit of a virtual 'pictorial' tour of the ship for you. Before you have a look at them however let me tell you a bit about my impressions of her.

I was so impressed!

If I'm going to be quite honest with you I was a little apprehensive traveling down to Southampton. Whilst I have spoken to plenty of people who have loved sailing on her I was also aware she wasn't to everyones taste. She is after all an Italian cruise ship and the Italians have a unique way of doing things which not everyone will enjoy. I also knew there were bigger, newer, 'better' MSC ships in the fleet like the Fantasia.

Well all I have to say to that now is lets have three cheers for the Italian way of doing things and if there are better MSC ships out there I for one can't wait to see them!

Have you ever cruised in a staff cabin?

One of the questions I get asked a lot about cruising is 'where do the crew sleep at night?'
On one memorable occasion I remember one person asked me if the crew went home at night!
The easy answer is that staff and crew cabins tend to be below the water line at the bottom of the ship; well out of the way of the guests.
The staff quarters tend to be a lot smaller and more crammed in than guests cabins but can be quite nice still.
A lot of guests sometimes show an interest in crew cabins and want to see them but they're normally told that the cruise line won't allow this.
However after a phone call to a cruise line this morning I've found out not only can you view some crew cabins you could book a cruise in one if you wanted!

Will the British market say no?

Unless you're a dedicated cruiser until a couple of years ago you probably hadn't ever heard of MSC. They're an Italian cruise line that have grown very large over the last few years. Currently they're trying to break into the UK market by offering cruises from Southampton onboard the MSC Opera.

Should I book a cruise with MSC?

We've had a lot of fantastic deals with MSC recently, with a range of free flights, onboard credit and cheap cruise prices, so as you can imagine I've been recommending MSC lately to a lot of people. The problem is that MSC has somehow gotten itself a bit of a bad name with the British public so that a lot of people weren't too happy with the idea of cruising with them.
But why is that?

Cheap Cruises for the Over 55s.....

You may all remember a promotion I wrote about that MSC were running earlier this month regarding OBC for the over 55's. Judging from the amount of people who have read it it's proved to be quite popular with you. For anyone who missed it you can check out the deal by clicking here.
I've just found out today that they will also be offering discounts off the price of the cruise for those of you aged over 55, although it's important to note that the two offers aren't combinable, you need to pick which one you want at the time of booking.

On Board Credit for the over 55's

A lot of my colleagues have found this quite funny but I think it's a really cool offer and I'm interested in hearing back about what some of my silver haired readers think of it.

Death at Sea

An investigation is being launched into an incident where a MSC Cruises passenger was killed and a man injured when the ship’s gangway collapsed. Reports say that 60-year-old Fausto del Charro and 62-year-old Maria Mercedes Bonastre were boarding the MSC Splendida when the metal walkway that attaches to the ship collapsed and plunged into over 30 feet of water.

Checkmate at Sea

Following on from my blog reporting that next year Holland America will be introducing a crossword themed cruise, I have just learnt that fresh for 2011 MSC will be offering several chess themed cruises for those looking for a slightly more cerebral experience whilst onboard.

Their press release reads:

Number 17, Unlucky for some

I was just trying to book a cabin on the MSC ship Splendida when I noticed that neither she nor the Fantasia had a deck 17. A quick survey through the deck plans showed that none of the other ships had a deck seventeen or even a room number seventeen.

Interestingly in Italy the number seventeen has the same connotations for bad luck as the number 13 does over here, with Friday the 17th being considered very unlucky.
The reason for this is that in Roman numerals the number 17 is spelt XVII which can be anagrammatically re-arranged to spell out VIXI which translates as ‘I have Lived’, implying in the perfect tense "My life is over’
Most Buildings in Italy won’t have a floor number 17 or any rooms by that number either.

Strange but true.

This might not be for everyone, but.......

Ever fancied a cruise but thought the price was just too much out of your reach. Have you ever considered a Re-Positioning cruise?
These are when a cruise line has been sailing in one area for a season, say the Caribbean, and re-position the ship in another area, say the Mediterranean. You can book passage on the ship as it sails from the one location to the next, and because there won’t be lots of destinations you usually get massive discounts.
As an example I have just booked a client on the MSC Melody sailing from Cape Town South Africa to Genoa Italy in March 2011. The cruise is 18 days long calling in at Walvis Bay in Namibia, Jamestown in St. Helena, Dakar in Senegal, Arrecife De Lanzarote in Spain, Barcelona in Spain, and then Genoa Italy along the way.
The Price for this unbelievable 18 day cruise was only £350!!!
Yes £350!!!
Even after I had added flights, MSC could do London to Cape Town and then Genoa back to London for just £630. That’s a total of £980! Only £54 per day, with all your food and entertainment thrown in.
If this cruise is of interest to you or you just want to have a chat about any other Re-Positioning cruises give me a call on 0800 408 6142.

Happy Cruising