MSC Virtuosa is a large cruise ship with a maximum capacity of 6,334 passengers. In December 2023 we embarked on a 7 night cruise over the New Year period. Destinations to include; Hamburg, Zeebrugge, Rotterdam and Le Harve We had a fantastic time, some highlights of our adventure below...
Day 1 / 2
The first 2 days would be at sea and with the ship departing Southampton on the 30th December 2022 this would include a New Years Eve party.
We celebrated in style somewhere in the North Sea, with unlimited drinks it could get messy...
Day 3 - Hamburg
Hamburg was a great place to start on New Years Day 2023. We walked from the dock to the city centre, taking a route through the Elbe River Tunnel, which as you will see on the video was a pretty cool experience. We walked along the river promenade and into the town centre seeing some lively Christmas decorations.
Day 4 At Sea
Some time onboard this floating hotel & leisure complex with a sea day, giving us chance to explore and see what she has to keep us entertained.
Day 5 Zeebrugge Belgium
It was my birthday and in the land of Chocolate... Brugge turned out to be the perfect birthday destination and the weather was fine. We explored the medieval old town with its many canals and bridges as well as De Markt (Market Square).
After Brugge, we decided to walk the extra 10,000 steps to Blankenberge for a view down the beach, walked along the boardwalk and checked out the St George Monument, which commemorates the WWII naval raids here in April 1918
Day 6 Rotterdam, Netherlands
After a dull and rainy start we headed out for a walk around Rotterdam. From the cruise port we crossed the Erasmus Bridge and followed the Nieuwe Maas to the Oude Haven. We found the fascinating Cube Houses, designed by Piet Blom and crossed over to the Markt Binnenrotte Centrum. Our route back took us over The Willemsbrug bridge and eventually back to our ship.
Day 7 Le Havre France
We've visited Brittany and Normandy many times in the motorhome but never stopped here so we headed out for a run and covered about 12k to pull in some of the main landmarks. We reckon that skinny house would do us just fine although not sure it would stand up to the wind in Whinnyfold.
Arrival back in Southampton
Our arrival in Southampton was met with a colourful sunrise as a fitting end to out new year trip.
For those of you who cruise and are wondering about MSC, we enjoyed the Northern European itinerary and cruising into 2023 proved to be lots of fun. The ship was modern, clean and glitzy with lots of things to keep all ages busy when onboard. Entertainment was okay although we didn't do the best shows as you had to buy a ticket for them! Never known that with any other cruise line. Food was varied and tasty on the whole but sadly the formal dining service and presentation was a disappointment. Might be due to staffing and not enough waiters to cope with the ship at full capacity. With three formal dinner sittings to cope with every night they were working their socks off. Bar service was also very slow so anyone with a drinks package would do well to make full use of it. Finishing on a good positive note though, it was good value for money and we probably would cruise with them again.