Mediterranean Cruise on the MSC Grandiosa. Life on Board.
What the cruise ship looked like from the outside and inside, how many restaurants it had, how big the water park was, and which celebrity is the godparent of this particular ship—read about this and other interesting facts in this travelogue about Marseille and the MSC Grandiosa, part of the travelogue series “With Kids on the French Riviera + Mediterranean Cruise + Amalfi Coast”
SEE THE ITINERARY, SCHEDULE, AND COSTS FOR THE ENTIRE TRIP HERE.
TO THE PREVIOUS TRAVELOGUE IN THIS SERIES: HERE
the cabin
Our cabin was located on Deck 13 and was number 13245. When we opened the door, we were all “impressed” by its relatively small size. Inside, there was a large king-size bed, a sofa that converted into a bunk bed for the kids, a closet, a TV, a private bathroom, and a balcony! The cabin was definitely cramped for us, if only because there was nowhere to put our suitcases, but the view from the balcony made up for the inconvenience to some extent.
MSC Grandiosa Ship
So, what was MSC Cruises’ Grandiosa like, and what did the ship offer its passengers? Let’s start with some technical details.
– Number of passengers: 6334
– Number of crew: 1700
– year of launch: 2019
– Useful volume: 177100
– Width: 43
– Length: 331
– Speed: 23
– Number of decks: 19
– Sophia Loren was the ship's godmother. The ship sails under the flag of Malta.
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The ship features:
– 4 pools (indoor and outdoor) + 9 hot tubs
– 11 dining venues
– 21 bars (5 outdoor and 16 indoor)
– a fitness center (with a machine for making orthopedic insoles)
– the massive Wild Forest Aquapark (one of the largest water parks on the water, featuring 2 high-speed water slides and 1 slower one, as well as children’s pools and water attractions. One of the slides even extends slightly beyond the ship
– a rope climbing park
– a mini-soccer/basketball/volleyball court
– a kids’ club for children’s entertainment, divided into different age groups
– a 3D movie theater, 2 bowling lanes, and a Formula 1 simulator
– a huge theater for stage performances
– entertainment from early morning until late at night, which included gymnastics, physical exercises, dancing, cooking classes, games, competitions, and more.
Galleria Grandiosa - one of the longest water promenades with an LED ceiling is right here - exactly 101 meters! This is an indoor driveway where the main place is for entertainment, music, DJ parties! Also here along the promenade are the specialized restaurants, some of the bars, boutiques and the most delicious chocolate and ice cream desserts.
There were many photographers on board who prepared different decor every night and voraciously offered their services. I took pictures a lot and at the end of the cruise I could choose which photos to pay for. The options were either to get the photos on paper, the price was around 15-20 euros/photo (respectively, for more photos there was a discount in the price) or to get all the shots in digital format via a download link for about 200 euros. At the end of the cruise, I took 5 photos on paper for about 60 euros.
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The main restaurants (included in the price) were Purple Crab, La Perla Grigia, Yacht Club Grill & Bar, and Yacht Club Restaurant. We chose Purple Crab for our second meal at 7:45 p.m.
The following were available for an additional fee:
– an American restaurant (Butcher’s Cut),
– a Spanish restaurant (0 HOLA! Tapas Bar by Ramón Freixa),
– a Japanese restaurant and sushi bar (Kaito Teppanyaki Restaurant & Sushi Bar)
– a French restaurant (l’Atelier Bistrot)
The buffet (Marketplace Buffet) was open for 20 daily.
Service
On the front 2 cruises we've been to (Mediterranean with MSC Lirica (see here) and transatlantic with Costa Favolosa (see here) We were always pleased with the staff who served us - both in the cabin and in the restaurant. However, this time we were left quite disappointed with the service. What do I mean? Well, for example, very late cleaning of the room (towards 15-16, delivering a huge delay or total failure to deliver pre-ordered room service and included in the price of the room service. Insufficient consumables such as toilet paper. Separately, we had serious remarks about cleaning the cabin. We had a base for Comparison and things here weren't ok. It also made a bad impression on me that a whole day the water park was not working due to prevention. Is this maintenance not possible in the evening? We were on the ship for 5 nights minus 1 day closed water park = 20% loss. The fact that I booked this particular ship for the water park will explain my reaction...
In the restaurant, we didn't like the waiter who served us either. In front of us, he was supposedly very kind and smiling, but we actually noticed that he was offering some interesting things to other passengers, but not to us. Or we were ordering something, and he was bringing us something completely different.
gratuities
That’s why I decided I didn’t want to pay the “almost mandatory” tips, which would have cost us nearly 250 euros more (for a total of 6 days for the four of us), so I went to the front desk to decline them. There’s a subtle point here: if you’ve booked through a European website, you’re 100% required to pay these tips—whether they’re included in the cruise price or paid at the end of your stay on board doesn’t matter. They’re mandatory. However, if someone booked through an American website, then they have the right to decide whether or not to pay the tips. I booked through orbit.com (an American website), so when I went down to the information desk, I briefly explained why I was dissatisfied with the service, and my refusal was accepted.
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SHIP'S ATMOSPHERE
The buffet situation during breakfast was disastrous! That's the softest word I can use. On our first morning on board, we took the elevators to the buffet. Everything was calm, but coming out of the elevators, we entered a crazy survival race. It was like a rush, a herd of sheep pushing left and right, elbowing back and forth and feeling lost and hungry...and yes, we literally got lost. I clearly went in one direction, and my husband and children - in another, and all the time we couldn't find each other. In an offer of an hour we were looking for each other and finally found ourselves in the cabin of silence 🙂 This was the situation every morning. That's why on two of our days we ordered breakfast in the cabin, which never came... At lunch it was calmer, because many of the people at that time were at the shore and only returning to the ship at dusk. The evening is also calm at the buffet, because then a large number of people prefer to dine in the more formal restaurants.
There was a wide variety of all kinds of food on the buffet - salads, desserts, meat, pasta, snacks, bread, fruit, etc. Pizza was a corner, maybe because it was disappearing instantly 🙂 It lacked risotto, shrimp, squid and other fish specialties that were widely offered on previous cruises.
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Unlike the previous two cruises, where adult passengers 65+ prevailed, there were quite a few young families and middle-aged couples here.
The theatrical performances included in the price were nothing special, even at times they were a bit sinister. It was very annoying that due to the crowd of people, a mandatory placement reservation for the free performances was required. If you forget to make such a reservation through one of the machines on the ship, you will stand upright or you will simply not be allowed into the hall. Otherwise, I really liked the MasterChef competition, in which everyone could participate by answering questions, and the three with the most points demonstrated their culinary abilities live.
In short—the ship is huge and interesting, but not for so many people at once. Everything just felt like an assembly line, and there wasn't a shred of personal attention given to the customer. I don't think the experience was worth the price I paid.
TO THE NEXT TRAVELOGUE IN THE SERIES —> BARCELONA
