New Children-Friendly Cruise Push from MSC

MSC Cruises has announced a number of new children-friendly initiatives.

First, children can now order from the “kid’s menu” at dinner, and, if they finish food earlier than the rest of their family, the kids’ club staff will come and pick them up.

For kids who relish their independence and would love the freedom of eating with their friends, away from the grown-ups and their dull conversations, MSC Fun Time Dinners have been introduced.

With MSC Fun Time Dinners, children in a separate, specially decorated area of the buffet restaurant with the entertainment team, and then have fun in the Mini and Junior Club while parents enjoy a leisurely dinner alone, picking up the kids when they’ve finished.

Every single night of the week, children aged between three and 11 can eat together with the entertainment team and their new friends. Three of these nights are theme parties- a  Welcome Party, Italian Party, and Farewell and Birthday Party- while the remaining four are MSC Fun Time Dinners.

Both the MSC Happy Dinners and the MSC Fun Time Dinner services are now available free of charge on all MSC ships. Dedicated to children aged from 3 to 11, parents simply need to register their children in advance with the Mini or Junior Club and fill inthe special ‘dinner coupons’ with their details.

MSC Cruises has also introduced a second nanny-hour to its kids’ club programmes. Every morning from 09.00 to 10.00 and now also from 17.00 to 18.00, MSC offers a special programme designed for babies and toddlers aged 10 to 36 months to spend quality time with their parents with the support of MSC kids’ club staff.

Staff organize dedicated games and activities aimed specifically at MSC’s youngest guests and their parents, including playing with bricks, musical games, baby disco, puzzle games and drawing.

Looking for the latest FABCruise offers on a wide range of cruise holidays let FABTHINGS2do help you.

Summer is the ideal time to book your winter voyage

The school summer holidays may only just have begun but if you are a cruise fan, now is the time to start thinking about Christmas.

The cruise companies are already tempting passengers with a range of special deals – whether you prefer a blast of December sunshine in the Caribbean or have time for a longer voyage.

The family-focused Ventura sails from Barbados for 14 nights on December 21. Father Christmas will abseil down the funnel on December 25. The fare is from £2,779 per person, including flights from Birmingham, Manchester or Gatwick, with P&O (0843 3740111, www.pocruises.co.uk).

If you love theme parks, start your holiday with three nights at a hotel in Orlando, Florida, before joining Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas for an eight-night cruise from Fort Lauderdale. Departure is on December 21 and the fly-stay-cruise package costs from £1,929pp with Virgin Holidays (0844 5734398, www.virginholidayscruises.co.uk).

You could also be sea-kayaking and snorkelling from a beach in Roatan, Honduras, on Christmas Day, or viewing the reef in a semi-submarine. Those are just two of 55 free excursions available on a ten-night cruise aboard Seven Seas Navigator (02380 682280, www.rssc.com), sailing from Miami on December 18. The ship sails to Key West and the Caribbean coasts of Honduras, Mexico, Guatemala and Belize. The all-inclusive price, from £3,809pp, covers flights and open bars.

Further afield, an adults-only Mysteries Of The Indian Ocean cruise with Swan Hellenic (0844 8220679, www.swanhellenic.com), sailing from Sri Lanka to Singapore, will spend Christmas Day at sea between the Andaman Islands and Rangoon. The 16-night cruise, leaving on December 19, costs from £2,010pp including flights and excursions.

Why not spend Christmas heading round Cape Horn from the Atlantic to the Pacific? A 17-night cruise on Oceania's Marina sails from Rio de Janeiro on December 10, heading down the coast of Argentina and up the coast of Chile with Christmas Day at sea. The cost is from £2,792pp including flights (0845 5051920, www.oceaniacruises.com).

You can even get in on the act if you like a walk at Christmas, with a no-fly, two-week Ramblers 'cruise and walk' holiday aboard Fred Olsen's Balmoral. It leaves on a round trip to the Canary Islands from Southampton on December 22. After three days at sea with a traditional Christmas on board, your first guided walk is on Madeira and there are hikes on La Palma, Tenerife and Gran Canaria, and in Lisbon and Oporto. The cost is from £1,849pp (01707 386767, www.cruiseandwalk.co.uk).

For a bit more glitz, head to the Med on Divina, MSC's newest ship, launched this year. The 11-night cruise, a round trip from Genoa, calls at Barcelona, Casablanca, Madeira and Tenerife. On Christmas morning you'll wake up in Malaga. The cost is from £849pp including flights (0844 561 1955,

Looking for the latest FABCruise offers on a wide range of cruise holidays let FABTHINGS2do help you.

MSC Divina Homeports in Miami for 2013-2014 Winter

MSC Cruises is deploying the 139,000-ton Divina on Caribbean cruises out of Miami from Nov. 20, 2013 to April 12, 2014 – the first time a Fantasia-class ship is sailing from a North American homeport.

According to MSC, the Divina has 1,751 staterooms and 30,000 square meters of public space which include a casino, seven restaurants, 20 bars and lounges, 4 swimming pools, a bowling alley, a gym and the Aurea spa.

The ship also features the MSC Yacht Club – “a ship-within-a-ship” – designed as a sanctuary for guests seeking peace, privacy and exclusivity but with access to all that large cruise ships offer. The MSC Yacht Club offers 69 butler serviced superior suites, 24 hour concierge service, the dedicated restaurant Le Muse, a private swimming pool featuring the One Bar, private decks, private lift access to MSC Aurea Spa, complimentary wines and spirits and sweeping sea views from its private Top Sail Lounge.

The Divina departs from Venice Nov. 2, 2013 for a 19-day trans-Atlantic crossing, calling at Valletta, Malaga, Funchal, St. Maarten, San Juan and Nassau, before arriving in Miami.

Three different seven-night Caribbean itineraries will be offered: Four cruises calling at St. Maarten, San Juan and Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas. Ten sailings calling at Falmouth, Cayman Islands, Cozumel and Great Stirrup Cay. Six cruises to St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Great Stirrup Cay. And, one cruise to Bermuda also calling at Great Stirrup Cay.

Looking for the latest FABCruise offers on a wide range of cruise holidays let FABTHINGS2do help you.

MSC to Broadcast London Olympic Games

As the end of Euro 2012 approaches,  MSC Cruises’ guests will be delighted to learn that they can now combine their fabulous holiday with all of the excitement of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. From July 72 to August 12 2012, guests across the entire MSC Cruises’ fleet can tune in live to London for the high drama, emotion and tension that the Olympics never fails to provide.

Over 2,000 hours of the games will be broadcast via satellite in public areas as well as in guests’ cabins.

Coverage will include 29 Olympic sports as well as the opening and closing ceremony, and guests can cheer on their favourite sportsmen and women from the over 10,000 athletes competing in diverse events from archery to triathlon, athletics to volleyball.  

Onboard entertainment during this period will also be Olympic themed. A colourful parade celebrating different nationalities will take place on every cruise, and lesser known national anthems will be sung around the pool in a fun-filled ceremony.

Guests can place bets on the games, the finals and on the number of medals each nation will take home. Video quizzes on the history of the Olympic Games will also allow sports buffs to show off their knowledge.

For the most competitive guests, five-aside football, ping pong, darts and shuffleboard tournaments will be organized,  with medals awarded to the champions of each event.

For something a bit more light-hearted, many amusing events have been dreamed up, including fully-clothed relays in the pool, football juggling, and exciting scavenger hunts.

MSC chefs have also taken inspiration from the games, and impressive cakes decorated with the famous symbol of the Olympics, the six interlocked rings, will tempt even the most serious athletes to break their strict regimes. Cocktails have also been renamed and matched with different events, so guests can enjoy the “Muhammad Ali” Strawberry Daiquiri during the boxing, the “Kung Fu Panda” Negroni during the wrestling, or the “Tour de France”  Aperol Spritz during the cycling, amongst many more.

Looking for the latest FABCruise offers on a wide range of cruise holidays let FABTHINGS2do help you.

Unlimited Drinks Package with MSC Cruises

MSC Cruises has announced an all-inclusive beverage package, ‘Allegrissimo’, allowing guests to enjoy unlimited wines, cocktails and beverages throughout their entire cruise.

Adults can enjoy unlimited wines by the glass, cocktails, draught beer, soft drinks and juices, mineral water, smoothies, and take away ice creams.

Children can enjoy soft drinks and juices, mineral water, hot drinks, smoothies and milkshakes, and take away ice creams.

The package can be used at every venue throughout the ship during the entire cruise, with the exception of the à-la-carte restaurants and mini-bars.

The ‘Allegrissimo Premium’ packages offer even more choice, and include all premium brands, a large range of DOC/DOCG wines by the glass, the best selection of premium and signature cocktails, drinks from the minibar as well as items from the 'Gelateria' menu, Pastry Shop and food from the room service menu.

The package can be used at every venue throughout the ship during the entire cruise, with the exception of the à-la-carte restaurants.

Guests can book their ‘Allegrissimo’ package by contacting their travel agent. In order to complement the services provided by travel agents and offer greater convenience to guests who wish to continue planning their holiday outside of travel agent hours, it is now also possible to book this service online through the company’s global website, as well as the local consumer websites in Italy, France, Austria, UK, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Norway, Denmark, Japan, Lebanon, USA and Mexico.

An ‘On Board Services Reservation Tool’ is available under the ‘On Board Services’ section of the websites and gives guests with a confirmed cruise booking reference number the opportunity to reserve special services, including ‘Allegrissimo’ packages, before their holiday departure. Once guests have confirmed the reservation of the particular service they have booked, the amount will be debited from their account on board ship through our post-paid service.

‘Allegrissimo’ packages booked through the ‘On Board Services Reservation Tool’ can be made or modified up to 3 days before departure.

Looking for the latest FABCruise offers on a wide range of cruise holidays let FABTHINGS2do help you.

Delays and Itinerary Changes for U.K.-Bound Cruise Ships

With gale-force winds battering much of the United Kingdom over the last few days, at least two cruise ships have faced delay or diversion due to high wind and rough seas.

MSC Opera, which was scheduled to dock Friday (8/6/12) morning local time (GMT) in Southampton, made it into port at 4 p.m. GMT on Friday, according to a port spokesperson. A statement from MSC Cruises cited the adverse weather conditions and focus on passenger safety as the cause for the delay. From Southampton, MSC Opera is scheduled to depart on an 8-night Baltic & Northern Europe cruise. It is not yet known whether the ship, which is supposed to depart Southampton at 10 p.m. GMT on Friday, will face further delays.

A second ship that faced weather-related difficulties was Costa NeoRomantica, which was unable to dock in Dover, the ship's turn-around port, Friday as scheduled. A Costa spokesperson commented that the ship was redirected to Amsterdam to offload passengers from the current cruise and pick up those scheduled to sail on the next, an 8-night Baltic & Northern Europe cruise.

Upon disembarkation in Amsterdam, passengers will be flown back to the U.K. as required, and guests who had been due to embark in Dover will be flown to Amsterdam to meet the ship. The line is covering the cost of all flights, and no further itinerary changes are expected.

Looking for the latest FABCruise offers on a wide range of cruise holidays let FABTHINGS2do help you.

Royalty to attend launch of MSC Poesia

In the presence of Their Royal Highnesses Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, MSC Cruises’ most exciting and anticipated ship to date, MSC Poesia, will make her debut in Dover on 5th April 2008.

Prince and Princess Michael of Kent will be joining Hollywood icon, Sophia Loren, godmother to the new ship, at the magnificent star studded launch event marking the first ever launch of an MSC Cruises ship outside of Italy.

As part of the ‘Musica’ class, the MSC Poesia, which translates as poetry, will see her first night in Dover celebrated by live performances from headline acts including the celebrated Andrea Bocelli.

At 89,600 tonnes and 1275 cabins with double occupancy for 2,550 passengers, MSC Poesia has a wonderful blend of cutting edge technology, elegant surroundings, exciting entertainment venues and tantalising dining opportunities. MSC Poesia will be a sister ship to the popular MSC Orchestra and MSC Musica (launched in 2007 and 2006 respectively). She will become the ninth ship in the MSC Cruises fleet, which has experienced the industry’s largest fleet expansion in the last three years.

After the launch event, she will set sail on her 13 night pre-inaugural voyage from Dover to Venice, visiting Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Croatia, and finally Italy, arriving in Venice where she will be positioned for the summer of 2008.

Find out more about MSC Cruises with Hays Travel Cruise the Cruise Experts.

Join in the pre-inaugural cruise of MSC Poesia

On 6th April 2008, MSC Cruises most exciting and anticipated ship to date, MSC Poesia will set sail on her pre-inaugural voyage from Dover to Venice.

MSC Cruises is offering a special price to be part of this historic sailing. Currently available are savings of £100 per person on this 13 night cruise – with prices starting at just £858 per person including flights.

MSC Poesia (which translates as poetry) will make her debut in Dover on 5 April 2008, during an elaborate overnight pier side event attended by Mrs Sophia Loren, godmother to the elegant new ship. She will then set sail on her 13 night pre-inaugural voyage, visiting Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Morocco and finally Venice, where she will be positioned for the summer of 2008.

With MSC Poesia, MSC Cruises has combined a wonderful blend of cutting edge technology, elegant surroundings, warm Mediterranean hospitality, exciting entertainment venues and tantalising dining opportunities.

At 90,000 tonnes, accommodating 3,013 passengers, 80% of cabins have external balconies, MSC Poesia will be a sister ship to the popular MSC Orchestra and MSC Musica (launched in 2007 and 2006 respectively).

She will become the 9th ship in the MSC Cruises fleet, which has experienced the industry’s largest fleet expansion in the last 3 years.

Find out more about MSC Cruises with Hays Travel the Cruise Experts.