Mediterranean classic

Vacation on a cruise ship

You can see the prices and rating of cruises on the website cruisecritic .

The luxury of the interiors is the main shock of the first hours of the cruise. All these Swarovski grand pianos, Swarovski steps, elevators, reflections, the diversity of bar interiors... I advise you to take a map of the liner at the reception or in the cabin and spend time navigating the rough Swarovski terrain. This will definitely come in handy in the future. Accommodation. We had a cabin with a balcony on deck 9 (price category 7). Don't be surprised, category and deck number don't match. Those who took the 13th deck (11th category of price) I feel a little sorry for. The fact is that the 14th deck seriously hangs over the 13th, forming, as it were, a long visor, skillfully covering the sky. Therefore, I still consider that we were very lucky with the deck level and number.

Nutrition. Well, everything is simple. If you want culinary troubles and lose weight - a la carte restaurants are your choice. If you want something simple and Swedish: you are on the 14th deck in the huge Boro-Boro. By the way, many do not go deep, but in vain. Behind Boro, there is a Pago Pago restaurant, it is absolutely the same as Boro, only you can sit on the stern and look at the outgoing sea from the 14th deck. I don't know about the rest, but we both had breakfast and lunch in Boro and Pago because of the amazing panoramic views that floor-to-ceiling windows form. Meeting the sunrise at breakfast is something! For dinner, everyone goes according to the places that are written in the map.The dinner menu is, um, very interesting. During the whole week of sailing, we had a strong feeling that the length of the name is inversely proportional to the number on the plate. The name of one dish can take three lines, and when it is brought, the Russian guy needs five times as much to eat. But no one bothers if you order the same thing again. The menu is varied, you can fantasize and experiment. All food is really free. With the exception of individual paid desserts on the menu.

    The drinks. Here. As promised: this is a separate issue. ALL water brought by waiters - only paid. Even if at breakfast you suddenly took a glass of juice that was brought to you, and you poured another one for yourself from the cooler yourself, you will have to pay for the one that you brought. Therefore, advice - we go for water and juice ourselves)). This does not apply to tea and coffee brought to you - they are free in any case. Alcoholic drinks are paid. Price level (rounded up) a liter bottle of water 2 euros, wine 15-20 euros, a cocktail - 13-15 euros, etc. At dinner, there is no way to bring anything anywhere, so you have to buy drinks.

Tours. We corresponded with local guides, and, if inexpensive, took a tour from them in Russian. (I can advise Inna Revenchuk in Palermo - the perfect guide, inpirro@gmail.com) Prices for excursions on the ship in English are from 40 to 80 euros per person. Russian groups charge even more. Therefore, we did not bother: when going ashore, we took a taxi (15-20 euros) to the center and walked using maps downloaded from the Internet.

    The list of sights was taken from there (Google will help us all). Perhaps we did not know the specific year of construction of some temple, but we were free and did not bathe in buses, waiting for latecomers. Excursions organized by the MSC itself cause a lot of criticism. At least ours, who traveled, were terribly unhappy. The overall feeling of the cruise is a fairy tale. Everything is absolute. From the sea view from the balcony to enjoying the pianist playing the piano in the atrium. The perfect ship. The ideal cabin. Perfect vacation. Memories for a lifetime. If there was an opportunity to experience it again - we would go without hesitation!