Our Mini Cruise Onboard MSC Virtuosa Trip Report
Hello and welcome to our trip report for our 2024 mini cruise onboard the cruise ship Virtuosa, owned and operated by MSC.
Ports of Call: Zeebrugge (Belgium), Cherbourg (France)
Arrival Port: Southampton (Horizon Terminal)
Sea Days: 0
Date: May 2024
Length: 3 Nights
Line: MSC
Ship: Virtuosa
In May 2024 we took both our first ever cruise with the MSC cruise line and our first ever mini cruise on a cruise ship.
We had enjoyed several mini cruises on cruise ferries, including from Hull to Zeebrugge which was the first ports of call that we would visit on this journey.
We would normally go to Bruges from there but this time we simply jumped on the tram and went to Blankenberge.
Our second port was Cherbourg in France, which is somewhere we had never visited but due to its links to the Titanic, it was somewhere I always had an interest in visiting.
So just how did our experience onboard MSC go and what did we make of a mini cruise? Read this trip report to find out!
We would set sail from the port of Southampton and from the Horizon Terminal to be more precise, which is a port and terminal we had used before.
As had been the case on our other cruises leaving the port and the terminal, the check in process was straight forward and from parking at the car park to going through security and checking in, it only took around 10 minutes.
After a short wait, we would board the ship nice and early and have plenty of time to walk around, explore and get to know the ship.
One thing we always appreciate, and can never understand lines who don’t allow it, is when you can head straight to your room and drop off your carry on luggage.
Thankfully, MSC is one line that does allow that, so our first stop was at our cabin, right at the very front of the ship on deck 11.
As a mini cruise, we would only have 2 ports of call on this itinerary, with one been in Belgium and one been in France.
Our first day was spent exploring the seaside resort of Blankenberge from the port of Zeebrugge, although the port is promoted as either Bruges or Brussels by the lines and it was to those destinations that most would head.
For those who haven’t been to Zeebrugge, you must get a bus shuttle to the main terminal building at the ports entrance but from there, it is just a short walk to the famous coastal tram that runs from the French border to the Dutch border along the whole of the Belgian coastline.
Along the route you can visit places such as Knokke, Ostend, De Panne and Blankenberge and it was to the seaside resort just to the west of Zeebrugge that we would visit.
We chose to head down the coast rather to the nearby Bruges as we had been there a few times before but if you have never visited Bruges, we would highly recommend it.
Blankenberge itself is a nice enough place to stroll around but in truth there is not too much there and that is the same for Zeebrugge, which is solely a port town and anyone visiting there will likely need to book an excursion or use public transport to head elsewhere.
Our 2nd port of call was the historic port city of Cherbourg, or Cherbourg-en-Cotentin to give its full title, on the Normandy coast of France.
The city is known for its important role in getting people, supplies and vehicles to France in the days after the Normandy landings, for its maritime past and for been one of the stops on the Titanic’s maiden voyage.
That history can be experienced as soon as you step off your ship as you exit through the city’s former baggage hall, which was used by passengers getting on and off the Titanic, before walking out through the La Cite de la Mer, a naval museum with an interest in underwater vessels and where you can see the historic Redoubtable, a French ballistic missile submarine.
We would walk around the free section of the museum after exploring the city which offers pleasant walk around, a nice main square with plenty of cafes and a small but beautiful garden.
Due to the nature of our trip, which was full of hen and stags do’s and big groups celebrating birthdays, the ship itself almost acted as a port with many taking advantage of the great weather to simply relax around the pool instead of heading ashore.
After 3 nights of bobbing around the Channel, we would end our adventure where it all started at the Horizon Terminal in Southampton.
I will only write our brief thoughts on the ship here as we have already done an in-depth review of the Virtuosa which can be viewed via the link below.
We had heard some good things and some bad things about MSC so were wary of booking a full cruise with them, especially when we have other lines that we knew we would enjoy.
We were sent an incredible offer to get a sail away rate of just £176 for a mini cruise that would fall in line with our wedding anniversary, so it seemed a great opportunity to not just only try the MSC line but also to try one of the biggest and newest cruse ships to sail out of the UK.
It was a decision that we were glad to have made as we enjoyed our time on the ship.
Whilst she certainly has some quirks and we would have to sail on her for a ‘regular’ cruise to get a full picture of what it was like to take a cruise holiday on her, the fact that we would be perfectly happy to do so should give you an insight into our views on her.
There was plenty to like about the ship, including the promenade deck and lots to hate including the lack of seating areas but on the whole it was a pleasurable experience.
We booked a Bella Experience cabin, or a sail away inside if you prefer, so we could have been placed anywhere on the ship and could have only been a given a few hours’ notice.
With worries of getting the worst placement on the ship, maybe above a late-night venue for example, we were pleasantly surprised to not only get a pretty decent location, but we were even told far in advance.
Our cabin number was 11013, which as anybody who has cruised before or stayed in hotel will have likely have already worked out was on deck 11.
It was located right at the very front of the ship, which we wouldn’t usually go for as we prefer a more central location but with cabins above and below, it was a nice quiet spot.
For an inside cabin, it was a decent size and had everything you could want including a large shower with a glass door and a comfortable bed but there was not seating area and a lack of storage, especially in the wardrobe.
Our overall thoughts on our trip are incredibly positive, we enjoyed the ship, enjoyed the destinations we visited and even got to see some family members on the south coast that we hadn’t seen for some time.
A mini cruise is all about recharging your batteries and getting an insight into a ship and that is exactly what we did achieve.
With little to no downsides, it is something that we would certainly consider doing again if the chance to experience a new ship, line or destinations came up again.
