5-Day Tour Around the UK Cruise aboard MSC PREZIOSA

We’ve just returned from our second cruise aboard MSC Preziosa, sailing from 30th October to 6th November 2026, and what a fantastic week we’ve had.

We’ve been fortunate enough to cruise on a number of different ships, both with MSC and other cruise lines, but MSC has become our favourite cruise line and Preziosa remains our favourite ship. There’s just something about her that we love. She’s a beautiful ship, well maintained, has a lovely atmosphere and always feels welcoming.

This was our first time experiencing Yacht Club on Preziosa, and I can safely say it won’t be our last.

The whole Yacht Club team were absolutely brilliant. I genuinely cannot think of a single member of staff who didn’t go above and beyond to make our holiday special. From the concierge and restaurant teams to the bar staff, housekeeping and management, everyone was friendly, professional and couldn’t do enough for us.

However, there is one person I really want to give a special mention to, and that’s our butler, Sanjay.

What an absolutely lovely man!

I really cannot praise Sanjay enough. From the moment we arrived until the moment we left, he was nothing short of exceptional. He was always friendly, attentive, professional and genuinely seemed to care about making sure we had the best possible holiday.

Nothing was ever too much trouble for him, and he always seemed to be one step ahead of us. He managed to provide such a high level of service while still being incredibly down to earth and approachable.

We’ve experienced some excellent service on cruises over the years, but Sanjay really was something else.

What stood out most was how consistent he was throughout the entire week. Even on our final evening, when everything was winding down and we were preparing to leave the following morning, his level of care didn’t drop in the slightest.

On disembarkation day, he personally escorted us off the ship, and right up until the very last moment he was just as attentive and friendly as he’d been when we first arrived.

It might sound like a small thing, but it really meant a lot to us. There was never any feeling that we were just another cabin or that his job was finished because we were leaving.

Sanjay was everything we could have hoped for in a Yacht Club butler and more. He’s a genuinely wonderful person and an absolute credit to MSC.

In fact, his service was one of the main reasons we’ve already booked another Yacht Club cruise, this time aboard MSC Meraviglia. I know crew contracts and ship assignments change, but I would absolutely love to have the opportunity to sail with him again.

I really hope MSC management see this review and make sure he gets the recognition he deserves. People like Sanjay are the reason guests return to a cruise line, and I honestly cannot thank him enough for everything he did for us.

I also want to mention something that happened on Wednesday, because I think it shows just how good the Yacht Club team are.

We noticed that the water coming from all the taps in our cabin had turned a reddish-pink colour. We were obviously a bit confused, so we rang the concierge to report it.

Within no time at all, Sanjay was at our cabin looking into it. Shortly afterwards, the Yacht Club Director was personally going around the cabins trying to establish what was happening.

Everyone was incredibly apologetic, but to be fair, we didn’t think they needed to be. We’re on a huge cruise ship with its own water systems, and occasionally things are going to go wrong.

What impressed us was how seriously they took it and how quickly they responded. The issue was resolved very quickly, and at no point did we feel that our concerns were being dismissed.

For me, that says a lot about the quality of the team. Things don’t always go perfectly, and that’s understandable. It’s how problems are dealt with that matters, and on this occasion they couldn’t have handled it better.

I do have one small disappointment, although I want to stress that it didn’t spoil our holiday in any way.

I’m an MSC Voyagers Club Silver member, and one of the things I’ve always liked about MSC is that they seem to genuinely value returning customers.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t invited to the Voyagers Club event that took place during our sailing, and I also didn’t receive the Silver milestone rewards I had been expecting.

It was a little disappointing, particularly as MSC has always been very good at recognising loyalty in my previous experience. When you regularly choose the same cruise line, it’s nice to feel that loyalty is acknowledged.

It’s certainly not something that would put me off cruising with MSC, but I do hope they look at making sure these benefits are delivered consistently.

That aside, I honestly cannot fault our holiday.

MSC Preziosa is still our favourite ship, and after this experience, MSC remains firmly our favourite cruise line.

The Yacht Club experience was fantastic, but it was the people who made it what it was. Every member of the team deserves praise, and I hope the Yacht Club Director knows what a brilliant team they have.

And finally, Sanjay, if you ever get to read this, thank you so much.

You really did make our holiday special. Your kindness, professionalism and genuine care meant more to us than you probably realise. We couldn’t have asked for a better butler, and I hope MSC appreciates just how good you are at what you do.

We’re already looking forward to our next MSC cruise, and hopefully one day we’ll have the pleasure of seeing you again.

An absolutely fantastic holiday, and one we’ll remember for a long time.

The captain has done an amazing job. The seas have been horrendous and he has kept us all safe. We diddnt get to Hamburg, but I got to see another port Bremerhaven instead. (Germany closes shops Sundays everywhere). However we enjoyed day at climate change museum and walked along marina. It was manic at the port but we were not supposed to be there. They did put free buses on for inconveniences but the whole cruise was trying to get on buses. We just walked into the town approx 30 mins walk.

Due to a tui crash trying to leave port, we had to stay over night in port. However the captain was back on schedule and got us to Belgium as planned. I’ve really been enjoying the food, plenty of it, the drinks package was worth it for us. If one bar is busier we just went to a quieter bar. Only used dining room a couple of times but lots of choice. Enjoyed the outdoor hot tubs, really warm, again enjoyed at quieter times. Entertainment is great, fantastic singers and good don’t have to book, just turn up. Thanks for lovely week and can I take the room cleaner home. Really kept our cabin clean for us.

The cruise is generally overcrowded. The buffet is poor quality, plastic glasses and plates, sharing tables. The food is slightly above school dinner levels.

The restaurant food is similar standard to the buffet, but with long waits service. Not the staff’s fault.

There are no paper menus, so guests are expected to scan a QR code to see what is available. This means that at most dinner tables, lots of people are on their phones.

We previously used the P&O main restaurants, which I found to be very good. Night and day compared to MSC.

We didn’t get to dock at Hamburg because of the weather, which is fair enough. Unfortunately, we stopped at Bremmerhaven, a place with nothing to see or do - plus largely closed on a Sunday.

The organisation was shambolic getting on and off the boat. This was being managed by MSC staff - but they took zero responsibility for the chaos. 1 hour to get on the boat and 1 hour to get back on, plus Yacht Club guests were allowed to queue jump, which added to our frustration.

We’ve previously sailed with P&O and NCL, which were far superior to MSC.

MSC = avoid at all costs. I’m really sorry if you’ve already booked. Hopefully, half term was particularly bad. If you are thinking of booking, please avoid.