Day 1 Southampton

 13th October 2023

Today we join the MSC Euribia for a one week cruise to the North of Europe.

For no obvious reason we have been given a strict boarding time of 3pm, dire warnings that anyone arriving outside their designated time will be left standing outside the terminal to wait, come rain or shine.

Despite our exalted loyalty level offering priority boarding we dutifully arrived on time, parked the car and took the short walk to the (new) Horizon Terminal, dropped our bags and went through check-in and security, all very quick, no-one in the terminal waiting area (seems a bit of a waste providing lots of seating if no-one is allowed to use it).

Boarded the ship without any delay, first priority was to find our cabin to check it out.  Very smart, plenty of room and a very nice settee, looks very comfy and spacious.

No bags yet so spent a few minutes watching the safety video and making bookings for the theatre tonight and for the Mexican Restaurant, The Hola, for tomorrow.

And so it’s off for a first orientation walk round to find where everything is.  Up to the pools and buffet and down to the Galleria and Theatre.  Looks like the interior designers for MSC decided that everything should be either mirrored or embedded with Swarovski crystals.  Staircase treads 30,000 euros each, soon adds up to an awful lot of money.  Bling, bling, bling.

Found time for a cocktail, drinks package included! “start as you mean to go on”. Along to the theatre to get cards zapped to confirm we have complied with the safety requirements, ie watched the video about donning lifejackets and the abandon ship routine!

Usual first day tiredness kicking in, don’t know why but it’s always the same.  So back to cabin for a rest, bags have arrived so made a start on unpacking before a short break.

Today’s unexpected spell of fine weather soon broke down and reverted to rain, here’s hoping for better to come.

This evening it’s off to the theatre for tonight’s performance.  Pre-booking essential, theatre completely full, nowhere near enough seats for all the passengers, despite multiple performances a night.

Sailaway whilst waiting for the start, just felt the propeller vibrating.

Today it’s a spectacular, 6 singers, 8 dancers plus acrobats, performing Rock Hits through the years, from the Rolling Stones to Queen and everything in between, very loud and energetic - and that was just the audience.

Needed a slight detour to get out of the theatre as the area just outside packed with people waiting for the Galleria light show.

Up to the Marketplace (the buffet) for a little dinner, all sorts on offer.  Then back to cabin for an early (fairly) night.  Couldn’t see much from the ship, just a few lights, but it’s a real pleasure to feel and hear the sea.