---

July 1, 2024

Earlier this year in April MSC Euribia started her second Summer season in Northern Europe. The ships makes weekly round-trips from Kiel / Copenhagen to Norway. After a ship visit in Zeebrugge in November 2023 we decided to book us a cruise on board MSC Euribia and one week later the countdown was running.

After having visited multiple ships of MSC Cruises in the past during a port call in Zeebrugge I was more than exited to fully experience the product of MSC Cruises. We did not have a large cruising experience ( our first cruise was in 2023 with another cruise line ) but as I’m following the cruise world since 2011 I’m not a rookie.

MSC Euribia is one of the newest cruise ships of MSC Cruises and focuses on sustainability. The ship is a member of the Meraviglia Plus class and is a sistership of the MSC Grandiosa and MSC Virtuosa. The ship uses LNG ( Liquefied Natural Gas ) for the entire duration of the cruise and thereby increases her green footprint.

To start our cruise we’ve decided to embark in the German port of Kiel. The parking was booked via MSC Cruises and it was very well organized. Once arriving in the port the guides tell you the way to the parking next to the ship. Once parked you just take out your luggage and most important things from the car and you can proceed by foot to the terminal which is about a 5-minutes walk.

The check-in went very smoothly, despite the number of busses that arrived before us. In less than 30 minutes we were checked in and we were on board in our cabin. Once on board we had the possibility to leave our hand luggage in the cabin and start to discover the ship. Our cabin steward was cleaning in the cabin next to us and told us if there is something missing that it has been a very busy day for him. You can’t blame him, embarkation day is always busy for the entire crew.

Our cabin was located on deck 9 starboard and we stayed in cabin 9104. Really nothing to complain about this cabin, it was very good. And if we had to make one negative comment, it would be that the seat seemed a little too big for us. There is enough space in the closet for your clothes and under the bed for storage of your suitcase.

Once on board you are free to discover the ship and make use of all facilities. Just keep in mind that at 16:15 the obligatory safety drill starts and you have to be in you cabin for this one. After watching the safety movie you need to call a phone number to confirm that you were in the cabin and you have watched the movie. After that it’s time to proceed towards your muster station to have you cruise card scanned. Once scanned your cruise card is activated and you can start enjoying your holiday to the fullest.

The centre of the ship is definitely the Galleria Euribia where the shops and different restaurants are situated. Via the galleria you can walk from bow to stern ( or the opposite way ) and it gives you access to for example the Aurea Spa on deck 7. There is just no way to avoid the galleria when on board and there is no reason to avoid it as this is really the heart of the ship. The galleria is also the place for several parties just like the white party on board. To talk about parties, the entertainment team really gives the best of theirselves with multiple activities during the daytime ( quiz, dance lesson, games ) and amazing shows during the evening. One tip is to book your place for the shows in the theatre as soon as possible.

About food we had nothing to complain. Our restaurant was Aurora Boreale and the food was very good. The only thing were that some portions were too small and some may have been too big for a full menu, but I never heard someone complaining about having too much food.

On board you can find multiple bars and the occupancy of staff in the bars was not so logic. During the entire week we had blue skies and about 25°C and there were only one or two staff members in the pool bars while in other bars with less people there were more staff members waiting to help you. This looks like a planning problem, but we did not have to wait longer than 15 minutes for a drink. Nothing to complain, might be a small hint to MSC.

The ship has a outdoor pool area and an indoor pool area. The pools are heated and inside and outside you can also find 2 jaccuzi’s ( so 4 in total ). The jaccuzi’s are on the side of the ship and give you a very nice view on the area the ship is sailing in. As we were sailing in the Fjords, it was just magical being in the jaccuzi while the landscape is gliding by. The ship also has a own water park with some slides for small and large and with a pool for smaler children.We were not in Yacht Club so have no view on how the pools were right there.

If you’re more into gaming you will find yourself in the gaming area next to the Sportplex where you can find multiple arcade games and the famous F1 simulator ( highly recommended ).

 

Our cruise took us from Kiel to Copenhagen and then to Norway ( Hellesylt / Geiranger, Alesund and Flam ). We did not book a excursion via MSC in the ports of call and decided to go ashore and discover by ourselves.

In Copenhagen the cruise ship berth at the Oceankaj which is quite a walk to the city centre. In front of the terminal the Hop-On Hop-Off bus has a stop so you can jump on the bus to the centre of Copenhagen. MSC Cruises also offers a shuttle bus for € 17,00 per person that brings you to the Little Mermaid. From there you can walk easily into the city center.

After Copenhagen MSC Euribia departed for Geiranger. The first port of call in Norway and for me personally a dream come true to sail into the famous Geirangerfjord. In the morning the ship made a quick call in Hellesylt to drop some passengers ashore by tender before continuing to Geiranger. The passengers that were left behind were planned to join the ship again in Geiranger. This were only passengers that had booked an excursion via MSC Cruises. The quick pit stop offered us the chance to fully experience the arrival in one of the most beautiful fjords of the world. Passing the Seven Sisters Waterfall before arriving in Geiranger, what an experience! Berthing in Geiranger took place next to the SeaWalk, a installation that makes it possible to walk ashore instead of tendering. In Geiranger we booked a tour with a RIB, highly recommended if you want to see, smell and even taste the fjord!

 

In Alesund and Flam we decided to just wander around in the streets and to experience the ship in the afternoon. While a lot of passengers are ashore it really is a great experience to walk around and enjoy the pool for yourself. In both cities the ship berths right in the city centre and you just walk strait into the main streets.

Our overall cruise experience on MSC Euribia was very good. After reading a lot of negative reviews about MSC Cruises and MSC Euribia we could only find one single thing that was very disturbing on board: the photographers were very pushy and very present during the whole cruise. We also booked the behind the scenes-tour and this was a great experience to see what is going on in the lower part of the ship. Once back in Kiel disembarkation also went very smooth and before we knew we were back home.

This was our first cruise with MSC Cruises and definitely not our last!

Comments