Mystery Cabin Cruise Specials

2013-07-18. Review written by Verushka Ramasami

I love travelling, one would say I have the travel bug. Since returning from London all I kept seeing in every travel brochure was cruises. Now this was something I had never done and everyone who had ever been on a cruise came back with WOW feedback. So in October last year my cousin and I found a fab special online from MSC cruises on their new liner OPERA . We found a cruise special on their Facebook page and it was called the "mystery cabin" - this meant we had no idea what to expect until we actually arrived there. I counted down the days till I sailed off into the sunset for 3 days at sea. All my friends were offering advice on what to take, what to expect and taking medication. The only thing that I was interested in was my much needed holiday.

We arrived at the Port with luggage, passports and our holiday frame of mind. The checking in and boarding process was very simple, didn't take too long and the staff were amazing. While waiting in line I couldn't help but marvel at this amazing and beautiful ship and the thought of this floating hotel being my home for the next few days. Once aboard the ship I was amazed at how beautiful it was - all the beautiful bars and staircases and friendly staff on hand to help us. Piece of advice - get a map of the ship to help you find your way around. We eventually found our room , which too our surprise was lovely, it had a view of the ocean - I was a bit worried about getting a cabin that was beneath the sea .
All passengers were informed of the safety drill and points that we had to take note of - immediately in my crazy head I kept thinking TITANIC!

The upper deck, with its pools, bars, nightclubs and eating places was a buzz of activity. I was loving this vibe and already knew this was going to be a fab trip. Daily the bars have a cocktail of the day - both alcohol and non-alcoholic versions, and yes I tried one every day. There were a variety of places to eat as well as a 24 hour Burger /Hot dog bar that was a bonus - especially after a night of partying.

So we returned to our rooms to make our bookings for the trip to the island the next day. On returning to our cabin on our bed was a list of activities and information for the evening. This helped us plan our evening. We had a second seating for Supper which was at 9pm which allowed us to have pre dinner cocktails and watch a show in the Theatre. I couldn't get over how helpful and good looking the staff were onboard and how many parts of the world they came from. The pre-dinner show was spectacular and it was there we met the cruise director Derrick - such a hottie and a bundle of energy.

The food was amazing, the portion sizes were small thus enabling us to try out more dishes. There was such a variety of foods from, all over the world. After dinner we decided to take a stroll on the upper deck as we needed to digest our food. The view that met us was breathtaking and yes I still had phone signal so was able to chat to friends and family and send them pictures.

The next day was our visit to the Island it was so amazing how the staff took literally everything to the island - from food to drinks, to umbrellas, to first aid to even décor. It was a fab day of fun in the sun sipping on local rum in fresh coconuts and buying gorgeous trinkets from the local vendors. And yes I got sunburnt. We returned to the boat so we could have a siesta as there was going to be an Island themed party after dinner. So a rest was much needed before we could put on our dancing shoes and dance the night away. The cruise director and his team pulled off an amazing event that evening - so much fun, specially made cocktails, lots of dancing and singing that carried on into the wee hours of the morning.

Sunday was a chilled day which we spent reading magazines, playing cards and sipping on cocktails. Perfect day before the busyness of the evening's program. Every evening there was a different show in the theatre. The Grand finale was breathtaking and almost left one in tears cause it meant the holiday was almost over.

So the question is ……would I go on a cruise again ??? YESSSSS I LOVED IT AND I WILL DEFINITELY BE GOING ON MORE CRUISES. If I had to rate this holiday out of ten I would give it a 10/10.