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MSC
Melody
 Melody
Review Part I
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The
Itinerary |
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View
My Photos of MSC Melody |
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Public
Rooms:- The majority of the public lounges are all on Lounge
Deck, along with the shops, casino & photo gallery.
The
Shooting Star Photo Gallery is a nice sized room, not in a
walk through area, so causes no obstruction. The photographs are not
too expensive & the photographers not overly pushy. Embarkation
photos are taken, along with various photos about ship & in the
dining venues, but not at every port of call. Formal photo sessions
with 'backdrop' are available on the Gala & Formal nights. |
Shooting
Star Photo Gallery |
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Jewellery
Shop |
The
shops are small and were only open whilst at sea There's a
Jewellery Shop, Cosmetic Shop, Boutique, Liquor Shop. Italian. The
sales were not pushed, and there are no walkway stalls of sales. One
day there was a stall of "50% Off Today Only" MSC Logo wear
out by the Calypso Pool. |
Sundry/Liquor
Store |
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In
Starlight Disco
The
Starlight
Disco is
a popular venue, with dancing & competitions going on well into
the early hours. Also a popular meeting place for the Teens and their
organised activities during the day and early evening. Decorated in
bright deep blue, turquoise & pinks. Small dance floor. |
Slot
Machines in the Casino
The
Casino
is small with only a few tables, but many slot machines. The room
extends across the width of Melody and has 2 walkways through it to Club
Universe, the Show Lounge. One corner is given over to a
Children's Arcade with various video machines etc at e1 a time, by
means of tokens.
View
More
Photos |
The
Library consists of 2 locked cabinets facing each other, in
one corner of the Prom on Pool Deck. Open for a couple of hours each
day & has books in various languages. On an itinerary not so port
intensive, bring your own books. It did seem to be well used however.
The
'Library' |
Top
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Club
Universe
More
Photos |
Club
Universe is the Show Lounge. All on one level in various pastel
shades. A lovely room, but it can be awkward to see what's going on
on the stage unless you are in the first few rows. Chairs are at
awkward angles and the support struts obscure some views. Tables are
slotted amongst the chairs and drinks
are served in here. Surprisingly
smoking was permitted to starboard, but I don't think anyone did; at
least not near where we sat on that side.
For
an International audience shows tend to be a variety of acts which
everyone can enjoy. These included, Magic, Mime, Plate Spinning,
Flamenco Dancing, Ali & Camel Baba, Singing, Dancing & Circus
Acts. Some were good, others [Ali] were not to my liking. I didn't go
every night. DGM-Fascination Ballet were the dance troupe and not
bad. All introductions & thanks at the end of the shows were in
numerous languages which can get tiresome after a while. Likewise all
announcements made were in many languages, but they were few and far
between. The room was largely empty during the daytime. |
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The
Junkanoo Club & Bar in red, pinks & mauves, aft on
Lounge Deck, was a very popular evening venue. A large dance floor,
bands, candles on the tables set the scene for lively parties in the
early hours. During the day quizzes were held in here.
Junkanoo
Club |
Junkanoo
Bar |
Top
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Blue
Riband Pub
Framed
photos of past Blue Riband Winners line each side of the entrance. |
Blue
Riband Pub
The
Blue Riband Pub on the Port Promenade, Pool Deck, was unused
during the day, but during the evening there was Easy Listening live
music & 'Romantic' songs. A lovely room, for a peaceful drink
& chat.
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Port
Prom |
The
Port & Starboard Promenade areas were used for playing board
& card games. People did bring their trays in here from the
Satellite cafe too. The Calypso Bar, which serves the Calypso Pool
area, is on the starboard side.
View
More Photos |
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Quizzes
of all types are held daily. Music of every type & style,
Italian & International, can be found all over MSC Melody during
the afternoon and evening. In every Lounge & Bar, on deck &
around the Pools you will find something being played or sung. There
are various competitions, tournaments, crafts, demonstrations,
keep-fit sessions and many more activities going on all the time.
There is Shufleboard, Deck Quoits, Table Football & Ping Pong to
be played on deck [Deck Stewards provide the equipment, no deposit
required]. No mini golf or netted area for ball games. No Art
Auctions are held.
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The
Cabin.
We had 2 cabins on Bahamas Deck. A 3 berth standard outside, B40, for
Dave, Myself & Howard, and an inside, B38, across the hall for
Beverley & friend Katie. These were spacious & comfortable
with plenty of storage space. However the decor is a little bright
& old fashioned; probably the original colour scheme. The
bathroom in the outside cabin was very generous, even a small tub,
just a shower in the inside cabin.
B40,
Bahamas Deck
The
double bed could be divided from the rest of the room by a curtain.
The 3/4th berth was a sofa bed. A selection of toiletries are
provided and replenished as required, including sewing kit, shower
hats & shoe shine. Water temperature remains constant and a
decent pressure. No hairdryer is supplied, but one can be borrowed
from the cabin steward if you don't have your own.
The
TV had various channels, view from the bridge, & showed
documentaries on the ports of call, including historical facts &
what to do and see, and how to get around. The electrical outlets are
110v [European 2pin round or US flat pin]. The cabin stewards have
adaptors if required. Having a multi point extension lead is handy
for a laptop & battery charger.
A
bowl of fresh fruit was in the cabin [but no chocolate on the pillow
at night], replenished daily by the cabin stewardess, Eugenie, who
was excellent and spoke good English.
MSC
Melody does not have a self-service launderette, but the standard
laundry is reasonably priced. Different accommodation decks follow
similarly brightly coloured decor in greens & reds.
View
More
Cabin Photos. |
B40,
Bahamas Deck
Eugenie,
Katie & Assistant
B38
looking across to B40 |
Top
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The
Children's Mini-Club, "Pluto's Play House", aft
on Premier Deck was in a lovely room, brightly decorated. Open during
different times of each day depending on the hours in port. Children
could be booked in whilst parents went ashore on excursions, and
there was a baby sitting service. Children under 3 are only allowed
to stay if accompanied by a parent. Howard [7] enjoyed going, even
though not many of the other children spoke English. There is a
netted deck area with paddling pool. At the end of the week the
children put on a performance, "Captain Giramondo's Show"
in Club Universe.
The
Teens had many activities & discos during the evenings, not
so many during the daytime, mainly meeting in the Starlight Disco. |
Children's
Paddling Pool |
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Green
Hallway on Oceanic Deck |
The
Seasport Fitness & Health
Centre was small but well used with a variety of programmes. The Beauty
Parlour & Hairdressers
was always busy, various packages of 'treatments' were available and
there is a small Massage & Sauna room.
Beauty
Salon |
SS
United States
At
the Blue Riband Pub.
Europa
1930 |
We
sailed back into Venice under the red glow of sunrise. A beautiful
city. Disembarkation was by way of colour coding depending on one's
forward transport arrangements. We had a late afternoon flight back
from Venice, via Milan, and were able to leave our luggage in the
cruise terminal for a charge of e2.50 per item. We were off the ship
by 10am and set out for a day exploring Venice on foot and Vaporetto.
MSC
Melody is cashless onboard with everything charged to your cabin
using the MSC Melody Card issued on embarkation. This is also used
for security purposes when going ashore and returning in ports. Your
picture shows up on the operator's screen. No other ID is required.
The
Passenger mix was very International. Italian in the majority, but
many British, German, French & Spanish passengers with a
sprinkling of Austrian, other Europeans, Australian, New Zealanders,
Canadian & American citizens. There was also a fair sized group
from Japan aboard, who disembarked in Rhodes for a week on the beach,
before resuming their cruise back to Venice. Passengers embark and
disembark at many of the ports of call en route. You can take a
straight 7 day round trip or spend time in a selection of the ports
en route, resuming the cruise the following week. The language
barrier was evident at times.
We
had a wonderful cruise. MSC Melody is a 'fun' ship, very family
orientated and affords a great value for money vacation. We'd return anyday. |
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