Med Cruise: All aboard!

About two years ago we took an MSC cruise around the Baltic because it was the most affordable way to see a bit of those expensive Scandinavian countries and the only way we could travel to Russia. It was kind of exhausting, but we were glad we did it.  This year we decided to try another MSC cruise around the eastern Mediterranean.  Why MSC?  Their "kids cruise free" policy and budget pricing mainly. We were viewing the cruise ship as transportation more than as a destination if that makes sense.
 

 

From our house, we drove to the nearest train station. We just missed a train to the airport and had to wait about 30 minutes for the next one.  Jake and Amelie made themselves comfy on the platform.  By the way, that is all we packed for six people for eight days.  We pack light y'all.  We made it to Frankfurt airport where we took a Ryanair flight to Venice, Italy. (That's part of why we were packing so light- they have strict carry-on policies.)  Once we arrived in Venice, we took a taxi to "Camping Village Jolly" where we would spend one night before heading to the cruise terminal.

 

These EuroCamps are a really great deal for families.  We had two of these tiny cabins for three people each. They were basic, and the beds were hard, but they were clean and had a full bathroom and air conditioning.  The total was less than half of anywhere else I could find anywhere near Venice- including airbnb options.

 

The campground had a shuttle bus that ran to downtown and actually dropped us off right near the port which was a very happy surprise!  Not a happy surprise, was the fact that Jacob started sneezing the minute we got off the plane in Venice and by the next day had puffy, itchy eyes too.  He was severely allergic to something in the air in Italy!  Thankfully we had packed Benadryl and once we got out on the ship, it cleared up.

 

We opted not to tour around downtown Venice since we had done that not that long ago, and it was a holiday weekend in Europe due to May Day.  Instead we changed into our swimsuits and hit the pools and hot tubs.

 

The mandatory muster is always good fun.  Ha!  I was super glad I took this photo as we received a notification the next day to attend again as they didn't have record of us having been there despite having scanned our room cards.  I showed this photo to the reception desk and we were checked off the list of non-compliance.

 

It was nice to go up to the top deck and view Venice from the water as we left the port area.

 

Here is St. Mark's Square with the Campanile and Doge's Palace.  If you look closely you can see that the area is completely packed with tourists.  We were happy with our decision to skip downtown.

 

Ciao Venice!

 

Next it was time for some dinner.

MSC is not known for amazing food, and while we could go to the dining room for a somewhat fancier meal, our kids loved the buffet.  It was low stress, there were plenty of options, and no waiting with tired, hungry kiddos.  The main downside was trying to find a table for six, but after the first evening we would just show up for dinner early and bring card games with us and play Uno, Set, or War until the buffet opened for dinner.  It worked for us.

 

Finally we headed to our cabins.  

Again, since there are six of us, we had to book two adjacent cabins.  We split up girls and boys and were happy to have access to two bathrooms. We booked the cheapest rooms- interior, with no windows.  They weren't flashy, but they worked for us, and we were comfortable in our set up.  It was time to explore some new places!