MEDITERRANEAN magic

Presenter Marcus Bronzy sets sail on an idyllic MSC Cruises voyage and discovers just how cool cruises can be

- Marcus Bronzy

We’re sailing out of Santorini, following the most beautiful sunset I’ve ever seen in my life. I’m watching from my suite’s balcony, but I bet there isn’t one person on board not entranced by the sun as it slowly sinks to meet the calm horizon, turning the sky a fiery orange, then an iridescent pink, and finally settling on a mellow purple.

Our eight-day voyage around the eastern Med began in Venice, where my partner, Lou, and I had a time for a short wander around and a little pamper session in the city’s Hilton Hotel spa before boarding our ship, MSC Lirica. Our cruise was a round-trip from Venice, so we would have more time to explore the Floating City on our return.

As somebody who is new to the cruise experience (this was only my second cruise), I’m still blown away by the ships. I’m an avid fan of all things gadget-related and cruise ships are amazing pieces of technology. They're like enormous villages that not only get you to all these wonderful destinations safely but also have everything you could ever want or need on board. And to make it work, and smoothly at that, as MSC proved, is an amazing feat.

It was also interesting to find out that MSC Lirica had been enlarged a few years ago. The vessel was cut in half and a new middle section was added before it was fixed together again. It’s incredible something like this can be done, especially on such a huge scale, and the fact that you’d never be able to tell makes it even more impressive.

The first thing we did when we got on board was check out our suite. I’m not a small person, I’m 6ft 3, but there was plenty of space. There was a living room area, lots of luxurious touches and, the best part, a balcony. Every single morning and evening, we would step onto the terrace and soak up the views – I mean, it would have been rude not to.