MSC VIRTUOSA Reviews

Good points

Ship very clean, had a balcony cabin nice clean seems decent balcony cabin

Food was ok in MDR but a bit repetitive, service excellent in MDR, but very slow between food courses, buffet absolutely chaotic, buffet food very repetitive same dishes every day, struggle to find seats in buffet.

Not so good points

Not enough seats in any bar,

Loads of people just left to hover looking for seats

Over 6000 passengers and really only facilities for half that amount of passengers

No encouragement to sanitise any where

Theatre holds only 700ish people so you really struggle to book a seat for the shows

The app constantly crashes so booking anything can be a problem.

Very very loud ship, no quiet relaxing areas

Ok this was in school holidays but there was at times no control of children running almost ferrel, would I go again, unsure might be nice to see the ship not so busy.

An autistic passenger’s perspective: A sensory nightmare and "Butlins at sea. Review:

I have just returned from a cruise on the MSC Virtuosa. Being on the autistic spectrum, I tend to look for holidays with moments of peace, calm, and predictable spaces. Unfortunately, this ship was the exact opposite: it was a complete sensory nightmare, and the best way to describe it is "Butlins at sea."Complete Lack of Quiet Retreats

The biggest failure of the Virtuosa is that it offers absolutely nowhere to escape the noise. Every single bar, lounge, and public room was constantly jam-packed, incredibly loud, and had a very "lairy" atmosphere. There were no designated quiet zones or low-sensory lounges where you could sit peacefully, read, or decompress. The overcrowding was constant, and the rowdy nature of the crowd made public areas completely overwhelming. Getting a seat in the buffet area on Deck 15 was nearly impossible most mornings; the only days when it was slightly better were when the ship was docked at the ports, as people had got off the ship to see these places. The ship's capacity says it was 6000, but it felt like it was much closer to 16000, as you could not find a quiet space anywhere because everywhere was noisy and jam-packed, and it had me yearning for the days when cruises attracted a wealthier class of people, as they seem to now be targeting the chav market.

If you are neurodivergent or struggle with sensory overload, I would strongly advise you to avoid this ship at all costs, but especially during half-term time.

The Only Sanctuary:

Because the public spaces were so chaotic and loud, the only place I could find any peace and quiet was by retreating to my cabin and locking the door. A holiday should not require you to hide away in your room just to cope with the environment, but that was my only option on this cruise ship. The waiters and the cabin stewards were brilliant and did a brilliant job, and worked very hard to try and make it as comfortable as they could. The food would often run out at the buffet, and they would be working really fast to replenish it, as there were, as I said, there were a lot of people down there in the buffet, and some very greedy ones too, and so sometimes they would struggle to keep up, but that was not at all their fault, and I just feel that with less than half of the people on board, this could have been a much more pleasant trip. Final Verdict

While the ship is physically impressive, it is managed like a high-capacity holiday camp with zero consideration for passengers who need a calmer environment. It was stressful, loud, and not peaceful at all. I will definitely not be sailing with MSC again, especially not during school holidays, and I would urge anyone else on the autism spectrum or with sensory difficulties to look at smaller, more traditional adult-focused lines instead.

Just back from a nice 7 night cruise , two of our ports were cancelled , one changed to another Spanish port and we were a day late departing Southampton but that is no fault of MSC .

Big shout out to Jonas our fantastic room steward who always had a smile , nothing too much trouble and done a fantastic job at keeping our cabin sparkling clean.

Always plenty of food at the buffet , quality not as good as other liners I’ve been on . The Mexican was very nice , really worth a visit and if you are a chocolate lover , try the lava cake at the chocolate shop . Lovely ice cream too all at an extra charge of course .

What let this beautiful ship down was the sheer amount of people , it was half term week and the ship was full but it just felt too overcrowded, we could never find anywhere to sit , shows fully booked by 8:15am so we missed out on a few , wait times at main dining room were crazy so only ate in there twice .

The shows were good but in my opinion not up to the standard of P&O, Disney and RC . ABBA was FANTASTIC tho and the hypnotist was very entertaining . Comedian was 10/10 and entertained the whole family .

The wait to get a drink was insane at any bar , I’m glad I’m not a drinker . It was almost always quicker to go to the buffet for a juice .

The cold juices at the ports were a nice touch and not something I’ve seen on other cruise liners .

Servers in the MDR not as helpful as other liners - I wonder if this is due to gratuities being included

MSC VIRTUOSA - More like MSC DILETTANTE

If I could say anything I’d say STAY AWAY from MSC VIRTUOSA!

We booked MSC Virtuosa Southampton to Zebrugge, Roterdam and Cherbourg celebrate a 60th birthday and this birthday will always be remembered for ALL the wrong reasons (a large family decided to put their young children on the table nearest our birthday celebrations whilst they got on with getting drunk - the MSC just watched on & not a word said. Ruined our birthday plans and the speciality dinning experience).

Being on this ship for any longer than a couple of hours is already too long.

First and foremost, the dining situation is an absolute shambles. The food is consistently served cold, and frankly, I imagine food from MacDonalds would be better. There are virtually no healthy choices of food available and the salad had seen better days. The hygiene and training standards are equally shocking: the staff push washing your hands however when I witnessed a pile of plates crash onto the floor, a senior officer casually picked them up and piled them onto the clean pile.

Kids are left to run riot in most locations including the speciality dinners areas. The non alcoholic drinks package is an absolute joke - the main filling station is located up on Deck 15, making it an incredibly inconvenient trek just to get a simple refill.

Furthermore, if you are looking for a quiet place to eat, there is nowhere - the limited quiet places (spa, sky lounge) are crowded so not really quiet.

The entertainment and activities offer no relief, the shows are more like karaoke, there’s never enough space to actually join in on the quizzes, and the ship’s bizarre rules mean you aren't even allowed to take your drinks into the theatre. The ladies toilets regularly run out of toilet roll

The staff look utterly miserable, but then again, having no relief from this ship would make me wanna walk the plank!

Save your hard-earned money and book with a different cruise line.

The bad:

A complete horror show when it comes to overcrowding. There were only 4 in our group but at one point we roamed every venue on board for over an hour and could not find a single place where we could sit together.

Sub standard food. By far the worst I've ever had on a ship. Breakfast buffet was a disaster of empty juice machines, waiting for plates, waiting for glasses and mugs, and lukewarm hot foods. And wow the sausages looked like they had been boiled for a week. Impossible to get a seat because of the dozens of tables stacked high with leftovers.

Woeful cruise app. Impossible to plan your onboard activities as MSC keep everything secret until the same day.

Very poor sea keeping given how large she is.

Not enough staff onboard. All completely overworked.

The good:

Ship is stylish.

Staff are friendly despite being clearly overworked.

Standard balcony state rooms are tiny but very well maintained.

Embarkation was smooth.

Conclusion:

Won't be sailing with MSC again. One and done for our family.

Yacht Club Review

How good it feels to be loved

It started with our embarkation, or even a couple of weeks before the cruise itself. We received a pre-cruise survey asking if we were happy with our booking and were ready for our cruise. I pointed out some issues or areas for concern and the fact that our original booking was cancelled.

This eventually led to A goodwill gesture of on board credit, this was a great start to what

I already felt it was going to be a fantastic cruise.

It started at embarkation. This was an anniversary surprise for my lovely wife. She thought we were in the normal general population and started towards the back of the queue. I at the last minute decided to put on our yacht club luggage tags and guided her towards the yacht club tent.

Once we arrived, she was overwhelmed with excitement. It was made all the more special by the Yacht club staff. Who seemed so genuinely happy for us that we were going to experience the yacht club. One of the things that I perhaps didn't realise was that the Butler would be shared. In the marketing it appeared like the butler was going to be personal. However, being shared is perfectly understandable. And I don't think it took away from our wonderful experience.

Looking at the long long line, we certainly felt very special to be taken past all the lines straight to security and straight into the yacht club waiting area where we were given champagne and the snack of our choice, while they merely looked at our passports and our embarkation tickets before we waited for the rest of the yacht club guests or at least a large enough group for the Butler to his school on board.

The Butler took us straight to the muster station and to the top sail lounge, which we've heard so many wonderful things about. We sat and waited and then there was a big announcement to all the newcomers, and people who have experienced it before about what was going to happen.

Then someone came around, took our phones and immediately set us up on the internet very quickly and smoothly. I was a bit concerned about having to do this myself. But having it done for me made things much easier.

We were able to have lunch on the 1st day.

In the yacht club restaurant, just upstairs from the topsail lounge. One of the things I was concerned about was, would I be able to get a good quality burger in the yacht club restaurant? My concerns were immediately distinguished or eradicated by seeing a burger in the always available section of the menu. They asked me if I wanted it rare, medium, medium well etc.

I then knew that this was going to be a quality burger. If nothing else, this was already going to make for a wonderful cruise.

One of the things I also noticed is that everybody in the yacht club seems so happy. When you are experiencing such luxury, such attentiveness and such inclusions

It is very difficult to be sad.

The mood from everyone was so upbeat and positive because everyone was being made to feel so special and important.

We were then told that our cabin was ready. We originally wanted a duplex suite at wow my wonderful wife, however, our Deluxe aft balcony suite was fantastic because it was very spacious and had enough space for a lounger.

I have never had so much space in a cabin or suite before. With all our drinks, all our snacks. Our Butler was available to escort us to anything we needed. Whether it was the shops or events or restaurants or the theatre, there was also the option of not having the Butler. If you wanted to do things yourself.

One of the things that is very special about the yacht club is being escorted past all the queues and all the lines back of the ship after we had visited our ports of core. Just that feeling of you are special and it makes us feel very important and looked after. By the way, the concierge was always available and the maximum wait was perhaps one person in front of us, whenever we wanted something 24 hours a day, and even if our Butler was busy with another guest, the concierge was always available.

I needed a bowling slot for myself and my friend. My concierge was able to call the bowling attendant and get me a slot that was not scheduled at very short notice and escorted us to the bowling alley to make sure we were looked after our names were put on the screen and we were ready to bowl.

For this cruise, we used the tepanyaki for our diamond free speciality. Meal, I must say the performance was good.

But the food was nothing special. The flavours and the taste didn't seem that interesting. We will probably revert back to you Butchers cut on our next cruise in a few weeks time with the whole family.

The yacht club has a different menu every night, which makes us genuinely look forward to going to dinner to see what will be on the menu this time. We didn't even try out the pool deck because we were so busy enjoying the other amenities or our ports of core. Next time, we will book a longer cruise or a cruise with more sea days, so we can chill out on the pool deck and enjoy the buffet, the service, the burgers. And relax with our premium drinks package.

One of the things that did amaze me was the dilemma I had on the final night.

The restaurant was soon to close and also the future cruise desk was due to close at the same time. I couldn't be in 2 places at the same time. However, the concierge called the future cruise desk and arranged for a member of staff to come to the yacht club. Sit in the restaurant lounge area and sort out my future clues personally,

I don't think I've ever felt so important in my life also. Enjoying the shopping experience after buying items in the shop. I didn't really want to carry those items around with me for the rest of the evening nor did I want to travel all the way back to the cabin. To my surprise every time I bought an item, the shop assistant asked me if I wanted my Butler to collect the shopping for me. I definitely chose to use this service. So I was now free holding nothing, to enjoy the rest of my evening.

Room service was also incredible. I got all the food I wanted. All included drinks, sat on the balcony and had it all brought to me at no extra charge.

Outstanding service and fantastic food with the yacht club. I can say we were literally made to feel like a king or a Queen. There are so many inclusions with the yacht club. That is not available with other cruise line, sweet products.

What a wonderful experience. However, the tepanyaki wasn't that great, but it was free with my diamond privilege, so no harm done.

And the marketing of the Butler suggests you have your own Butler when the Butler is actually shared. This is not a problem at all. However, the marketing should be adjusted slightly to make this clearer. Definitely, maximum marks for the yacht club and MSC for a wonderful and fantastic experience.

I'd like to also mention that I am an expert reviewer, with both Google and TripAdvisor so this is not the ramblings of an emotionally excited guest, but someone who's experienced in reviewing cruises, hotels and restaurants. This is certainly a maximum 5 star experience which I will recommend to anyone.

Virtuosa has some good points and bad.

The ship is wonderful and plenty to do day and evening, shows we're good but only on for about 30mins, cabin were clean , all staff were friendly and helpful.

Getting onboard at the start of the cruise took 1hour 30mins, beds were double and not single as asked for, our group of 10 were not sitting together in main dinning room, as asked. Food was tasteless and cold, in both main dinning and buffet. You are not aloud to take wine glasses out of main dinning if you had not finished your drink, rushed to eat your meal because they wanted to set up for next sitting. Slow waiter service in adult only bar. Not easy to find seating in the bars. Area's in the buffet was shut sometimes so made it extra busy to not only get food but to find a seat.

I have been on Iona and Athem of the Seas, the service was not only good, the food was hot and lovely could not fault both ships in anyway.

Two people in our group it was there first Cruise and it has put them off going on another Cruise.

first time cruise with MSC (27th cruise with other cruise lines). upon booking, we chose Aurea suite on deck 8 on the stern which accomodated up to 6 people, but we cruised as a couple. We specifically asked if gluten free food was available (I am a coeliac) and Hays travel contacted MSC and we were assured it was available. Just before our sail date, having read reviews, we checked again with MSC, who told us we had to contact them through our booking agent! So, Hays travel rang MSC and again asked about gluten free meals. we were then told that none of the speciality restaurants (included in our booking grade) catered for coeliacs, and neither did the Buffet / Lido. Only one restaurant to which we were allocated, actually catered for my needs! Too late to cancel!

However, Fransiscus, our head waiter, had my meals made up in a segregated area free from contaminates such as wheat flour, which was acceptable and the food was good.

Breakfast? No chance! Nothing gluten free!

On the whole, the ship was clean, modern and had something for everyone; gym, spa, sports deck - even a formula 1 simulator

This ship is a disaster. The menus are when I say bad I mean exceptionally bad. The choices are rubbish and when you do find something eat the food is cold and they don’t seem to care. The buffet is terrible and like school meals (bad school meals). The reception staff don’t care or understand a complaint. I had pre booked for a speciality show and then it was made complimentary so I was given a non refundable on board credit. If I don’t spend it the I have lost it. The reception staff could not under non refundable credit is not the same as paying back the money they should not have taken. I am currently onboard and cannot wait to get off at the end of the cruise in Southampton. I hope someone from MSC read this whilst I am still on board and do something about this ship.

Where to begin?

Our balcony room was the smallest we have ever experienced. No room to swing a dead mouse let alone a cat!

The food in the main dining room was barely edible. Food in the buffet never seemed to change.

You could hardly find a seat in any of the bars in the evening, and if you did, the waiter service was a joke!

No announcements were made [including safety ones when you embarked], the Captain hardly spoke English and the Offices were no where to be seen.

Sunbeds on the open decks were at a premium and as usual on all cruise ships these days, towels were left to reserve beds for hours on end and the Crew NEVER attempted to remove them.

We went to one evening show [music of ABBA]. It was more like a karaoke performance as no musicians were present. The cast just sang and danced along to a backing track.

A couple of positives? Well, both embarkation and disembarkation were brilliant. We were on board within minutes of arriving and were off the ship before 7 in the morning.

In summary then, I can only advise that you give MSC and in particular the Virtuosa, a very wide berth [pun intended!] and leave it to those who have low expectations and even lower standards!