MSC Sinfonia

The cabins are small, but excellent. If you are four in the room as we were it can become a little crowded. It is not necessary to take towels or a hair dryer as both are provided. The towels we received were clean, but had seen better days. The air-con worked well, electricity outlets were sufficient and the TV had some of the latest movies showing. Taking anything from the minibar costs the same as any other bar on the boat.

Eating would probably be the thing that you do the most on the boat and lunch opens at 12:00. The restaurants however, there are basically 5 of them, are not open for the whole day and finding food between 10:00 to 12:00 and 16:00 to 18:00 is impossible. A formal dress code applies for the first dinner on board the boat, but few people actually still abide by this. I would however still recommend semi-formal for the two main restaurants on decks 5 and 6. Also note that these restaurants require you to be seated within 15 minutes from opening. Thereafter the doors are closed. The buffet restaurant on deck 11 is however informal, but as no tables are reserved, finding a place to sit can be difficult. Although the buffet restaurant is excellent, the dinner service in the formal restaurants are even betterand should not be missed. As plate sizes are small you should order from all parts of the menu. There are drink stations on the upper deck providing water, coffee and tea. Any other drinks are for your own account.

Child minders Child care is only available for children age 3 and older and since ours were 2 months away from 3, we needed to accompany her to their activities. This limited how much we actually used the service. Our interaction however found the minders requiring the children to watch long videos while they continued with their own stuff. Interaction with the children was extremely limited and I would from what I saw not recommend them at all. On a side note, if at all possible and you are taking teenager along try and have a friend join them. It keeps them out of your hair and makes the cruise so much more enjoyable for them and yourself.

There are a number of entertainers singing in the various bars throughout the day. There is also quite a busy nightlife on board. The shows are very entertaining with beautiful dancers dancing provocatively in tiny costumes making up for the quality of the coreography and singing. The entertainment director, Stephen Cloete, is excellent and the team is very enthusiastic. There are 2 salt water pools on deck 11 and you will find yourself spending a considerable amount of time here. It can become very hot and loads of sunscreen is required. When lying on the pool deck, a book to read is quite handy.

There are a number of excursions to take part in when at any of the ports of call or islands. The best excursions do sell out quickly and I would recommend booking early. If you are visiting any of the islands pack a mask and snorkel as the water is crystal clear. Most of the excursions cost an additional amount. Tickets for UShaka marine world is also available on board and is about 15% cheaper.

Boarding Transits at USD14 per person from King Shaka Airport is available so flying into Durban is not a problem. We made the decision to drive from Johannesburg and at 7:00 we were the first to arrive at the harbour even before the boat itself. Arriving early is important as you board in the order you arrived. At 8:30 however there were still below 100 groups of pasengers which would place you in the second group to board when boarding starts at 10:30. Upon arrival you need to book your suitcases in whereupon you will receive your boarding number. It is however important to note that you would probably not see your suitcases again before that evening. Any clothes such as bathing costumes and the like should therefore be kept in your hand luggage.