Durban - With apologies to the Beach Boys for borrowing the title of one of their later hit songs and with heartfelt thanks to MSC Cruises and The Star Travel Club we were given the opportunity, as two golden oldies, to “go cruisin’ after all these years.”
As the January winners of the MSC Opera four-night cruise prize from Cape Town to Durban, my wife and I were looking forward to our first cruise together, especially as we had both recently retired and would love to take every opportunity to live up to our billing as the Travelling Pensioners, as we refer to ourselves on our website.
After an efficient checking-in and boarding procedure we were in time for lunch on the upper deck (11th floor, or should that be deck?) and tucked into our first meal on board, where we opted for a couple of slices of delicious pizza (available 24 hours a day). Others were surveying the rather large buffet spread and already tucking in with gusto. It must be the sea air, because the ship was still five hours from leaving port!
This gave us ample time to wander about the decks and familiarise ourselves with many of the shipboard delights that were in store: cocktail lounges, casino, theatre, gym, disco lounge, Allegro coffee bar and other little distractions.
There was still time for a little bit of unpacking before being called to muster at our emergency station for the compulsory safety drill. You are given a security card at check-in which you must hand over to your controller as you stand around adjusting your life jacket during the security briefing. Whilst this procedure is being carefully explained you can’t but dreamily recall the last time you watched the Titanic movie... Concentrate on matters at hand!
Formalities over, we had one last duty to organise – dinner at 6pm or 8pm? Decisions, decisions... We opted for the early dining experience but doesn’t the boat leave at 6pm and everyone is encouraged to be present on deck for this event? Yes it does, but you must choose. “Dinner early or later” our rather burly, surly Italian maitre-de explained. You have to choose a time and be allocated a table that becomes your table for the duration of the cruise. Only at that time. No changes!
Thinking we were missing a major event, we dressed for dinner but it rained and drizzled persistently while the boat pulled away. We kind of watched all this with feelings of schadenfraude through a misty, rain-swept window but Table Mountain was nowhere to be seen anyway.
No mixed emotions, however, about dinner, which was rather enjoyable and set the tone for three other dinner evenings to follow – including the Gala Dinner and the Italian evening themes. Several courses are on offer on an elaborate and large menu and the helpings aren’t large. It’s delicious and once you’ve munched your way (if that’s the right word) through several choices of starter, soup, pasta, main course (entrée), dessert and/or cheese platter, you are pleasantly full.
Each evening has a new and different menu on offer and all of it soooo good and served efficiently and elegantly and with style. First class dining and well worth dressing up for.
At this point, I should mention that all expenses on board are in US dollars. So read the MSC website before you leave home to be familiar with all the options available. We opted to link our credit card to the minimum $150 amount (about R1700), which is transferred to your Cruise Card, and then used for ALL payment options on board. It works rather well and is convenient, though a little expensive.
Of course you can nit pick and find fault if you want to. Drinks are expensive but you can minimise the damage by nearly a dollar a cocktail if you purchase a book of 18 tickets, which we chose to do.
On reflection, we should have chosen the coffee booklet as well, but these and other drinks we paid for with our cruise card as we went along. One criticism was the bar service wasn’t always as slick as the restaurant service – but what’s the hurry? We are slow cruising after all.
We soon settled into a routine aboard the ship. Up early each morning for a walk around the upper decks or a gym workout. After a shower, a full breakfast is followed by more strolling about and maybe taking a few photos or even viewing the photo gallery and the professional shipboard photographs (they were rather good – $48 a set), window shopping (prices a little steep, though), relaxing in one of the many lounges playing cards, reading a book or the Daily Programme and watching or participating in the many activities created by the `Dream Team (the onboard organising crew). We played bingo and joined in quizzes but generally observed the behaviour of the guests.
Before you know it, lunch is served and you may dine in style in the restaurant or more casually on the upper deck for the buffet variety – your choice, as is breakfast. The afternoons passed just as quickly (in-between, the odd nap) and then, dressed up for dinner, we eased into one of the cocktail lounges and relaxed to the soothing harmony of one of the three singing duos while sipping our cocktail of choice.
After dinner there was time for the coffee lounge before making our way to the Teatro for that evening’s entertainment. The shows were bright and breezy with costumed dancers, singers, agile acrobats and jugglers all performing to the theme of the evening, be it Italian operetta, Greek mythology or Bollywood.
On the final day there was a matinee show and an extra evening show with a rather funny Scottish comedian and mimic, who had the audience rolling along with him while he performed impersonations of famous singers.
Our cabin gave us an Ocean View – no more poky little portholes, this was a large viewing window, which was nice although we didn’t see very much through it. What was the old adage? Port Out, Starboard Home (POSH). We must have got it the other way round...
No matter: we hardly used our comfortably furnished and compact cabin with its modern bathroom, shower and hairdryer. Everything you require is on hand including plenty of wardrobe and packing space, a TV (which we hardly even switched on), a bar fridge with goodies (which we never even used). The cabin was there mainly to sleep, wash and change, despite the disappointing cruise weather we experienced. There are more than enough below-deck activities to keep you occupied or generally relaxed.
Before the trip, my wife was recalling her last cruise event on one of the old mailships that plied the South African coastline in those good ol’ days – bunk beds, shared toilets, rough seas and lots of seasickness.
No more, thank goodness – these modern-day cruise liners have large stabilisers and wonderful shipboard facilities. Not much movement of the ship, just a few vibrations.
Good Vibrations, just like that other Beach Boys song...
Saturday Star Travel reader Gary Pickering