All Aboard the MSC Virtuosa.
I've spoken about the process leading up to my Staycation Cruise, but now to tell you more about the cruise itself! Read on to see all the fab features of this fun family cruising adventure
Cruises are notorious for their small cramped cabins, and I did worry about how the heck to fit 4 of us and 9 days worth of belongings into one. Thankfully the Yacht Club suite was perfectly proportioned - even with my equally notorious over-packing! We just about squeezed our clothes into the wardrobe and drawers, and we stored our extras under the beds - it is Britain after all, can't travel here without clothing for all four seasons!
The boys had been left a fun dessert plate with their names inscribed in chocolate, leaving them feeling like royalty. I can't blame them there, we felt the same way.
We had so many choices of what to do that first day that it took us a while to choose. In the end we settled on something water based, unsurprisingly in our family! We grabbed our swimwear and headed to the cute, safari themed waterpark. Given this was Liverpool and not the Caribbean, we were one of a mere handful of families brave enough to venture there, and even I questioned our sanity at times, with the piercing breeze cutting through, but the boys were coming alive with excitement for the first time in a long time, and jesus, I had missed those beaming smiles of theirs.
We had lunch in the private pool deck for Yacht Club guests and the team there couldn't do enough for us or the boys. Carter happily taste-tested most of their afternoon tea biscuit offerings - how I know he truly is mama's boy.
As a family of water-babies, we spent that first day in and out of the pool, bubbling away in the hot tubs, and grazing our way through the extensive, delicious food and drink offerings.
That's pretty much how we spent most of our days on board the amazing MSC Virtuosa: swimming, eating, cocktail sampling, eating some more and just enjoying sharing these new experiences with the boys. Except the cocktails, they were strictly for me.
Carter visited the Lego Kids Club daily for a short session and loved using all the brand-new toys and taking part in the activities on offer. Cole also tried out the teens club, which had a brilliant range of 'older' kids activities and video games. His favourite activity was building a robot using Lego Mindstorms.
The kids' club on board gave us the freedom to sneak away for some adult time, either to lounge by the pool with a drink, or to head to the adults-only bar to work through the menu. After all it's our time to relax too, right? It was nice to just talk to my husband, without an interruption from the boys with their tenth snack request of the day.
It was easy to forget that we were simply sailing around the UK, with so much to do, we really could've been anywhere in the world. Cruises always seem to have a sort of "no man's land" feel to them, don't they? With VR gaming options, west-end style theatre shows, and so much more to keep us entertained, we truly felt spoiled and pampered. After lockdown, having so much freedom and choices over what to do, we appreciated it so much more.
The highlight for Colin and me was the Yacht Club experience. Let's face it, who doesn't love to be spoiled on holiday and indulge in gorgeous food and drinks? Nothing was ever too much bother for the team and their attention to detail was flawless. The boys loved the free room service offerings, late night pizza was such a treat for them and the little chocolates and goodnight notes left on our beds as part of turndown service were a lovely touch.
We were in our little world full of uninterrupted, quality family time, and for the first time in so long, we felt like life had almost gone back to normal.
So, whilst it wasn't the most glamorous cruise itinerary in the world, it was the perfect cruise for us. We would recommend doing a 'staycation' cruise to any family craving a week of luxury with their loved ones and we cannot wait to board another MSC ship shortly to set sail on our next adventure but for now, we will make do with the 'Med by MSC' room spray that we were kindly gifted - a smell that immediately takes us back to the plush bedding, delicious food and fabulous memories we made on board the MSC Virtuosa's Summer Staycation Cruise.
Until next time, bon voyage sailors.
