Day 3 – Sea Day, 28th March

Considering we’d been at the disco the night before, we woke up relatively early and went to the MDR for breakfast. We were seated at a large table but there were just the two of us, so we sat looking out of the window at the waves passing by.

Breakfast and lunch service is in the other MDR, La Caravella on Deck 5. At Christmas on MSC Sinfonia you may recall I mentioned that we thought the addition of a buffet option in the MDR caused confusion however on MSC Opera it seems to work well. I could speculatively say this is due to organisation but it would just be speculation.

The breakfast selection is varied, with choices to suit every taste. I opted for the Eggs Benedict and Andy an omelette. The food arrived quickly, was hot, well presented and very tasty.

A cappuccino in the coffee bar ensued and that’s when I wrote the blog about the embarkation day before heading to a port talk on Venice which covered the history of the city.

We had a leisurely morning with a dip in one of the ship’s two hot tubs. MSC Opera doesn’t have a heated swimming pool so therefore we resisted the urge to dive in to the crystal clear pool… I put my hand in and that was enough!

Of course we sampled a few more delectable cocktails which were all included in our drinks package. There’s a separate themed cocktail menu on this cruise with cocktails based around the Caribbean islands. For this cruise we have the previous All Inclusive Restaurants and Bars package. As this is no longer available our choice in future will be the Premium package unless the ship has a dedicated Champagne bar.

No sooner had we got changed again and it was time for more food! We always prefer to eat in the MDR and avoid the buffet as there’s no hassle in finding a table, one of you disappearing to get food and taking it in turns as a tag team.

The menu again was varied with a selection of meat and vegetarian dishes and an extensive always available selection. We shared a table with another English couple who live in Spain who out of the blue asked us “have you seen Gail?” We wondered if they were talking about the strong winds that we’d been through, alas there is a group of around 30 ex-pats on an organised tour booked through a lady called Gail.

The afternoon’s activities were again varied with different games, happy hour in the casino, some arts and crafts and a Great British Pub Quiz. The quiz was good fun and held up in the disco on deck 12 which offers excellent views. It’s a shame this space isn’t used more during the day as it really is a nice spot.

An announcement was made in the afternoon that due to the bad weather we’d been experiencing our arrival in to Malta would be delayed by two hours and we’ll be leaving two hours later.

It was then time to get ready for dinner and enjoy an Aperol Spritz before heading to our dining room. The evening’s theme menu was French with some classic dishes such as bouillibaise, moules mariners and provence salad. I’ll post all menus and food pictures when we’re home. I chose bouillabaisse to start but didn’t fancy any of the main courses, our waiter was kind enough to arrange a large portion of mussels with fries for me and Andy and they were exquisite.

We haven’t made it to the theatre yet but will go tonight. The rest of the evening was spent in the various bars and yet another trip to the disco.

The ship was a bit rocky through the night but again in a nice way with defined movement rather than a gentle rock. I’ve suffered sea sickness before so either I’m getting used to it or the defined movements are easier to cope with.

We’re heading in to Malta now and have just watched the pilot embarking. I’ve got a great video of it which I’ll also be sharing!