#msc orchestra

[kreuzfahrttester]

Eine exklusive Schiffstour - Entdecken sie die MSC Orchestra

Entdecken Sie die MSC Orchestra: Luxus und Abenteuer auf hoher See Die MSC Orchestra, eines der Juwelen der Flotte von MSC Cruises, bietet Reisenden eine unvergessliche Erfahrung auf See. Mit einer Kombination aus eleganten Innenräumen, erstklassigen Annehmlichkeiten und einem abwechslungsreichen Unterhaltungsangebot sorgt das Schiff dafür, dass jeder Tag an Bord zu einem besonderen Erlebnis…

[12endigital]

MSC Cruceros ha celebrado este martes la escala inaugural del MSC Orchestra en Alicante en el que ya es su tercer año consecutivo con puerto base en la ciudad y que ha servido para presentar la temporada de verano en la que están previstas 28 escalas, de las que 20 operarán como puerto de embarque. A la presentación, a bordo del MSC Orchestra, han asistido la concejala de Turismo, Ana Poquet, el…

[cdbrainrecords]

Danny Davis Orchestra - Trumpet Cha-Cha-Cha (7", Single)

Vinyl(VG) Sleeve(VG+) / コンディション　盤 :��Very Good (VG) コンディション　ジャケット : Very Good Plus (VG+) コンディションの表記について　  [ M > M- > VG+ > VG > G+ > G > F > P ] レーベル : London Records,FFRR – LED-117 フォーマット : Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM, Single 生産国 : Japan 発売年 :  ジャンル : Jazz, Latin スタイル : Big Band, Cha-Cha   収録曲 :  A. Trumpet Cha-Cha-Cha B. Lonesome Trumpet       Matrix / Runout 45 MSC 3066Matrix / Runout DST 151Matrix /…

[sunsh4dow]

Obligatory Blog

6500 passengers, 1500 crew, 12 stops, 1 ship. Classic begin of text: done.

To further clarify what this is: it’s a subjective travel blog. At least it was intended as one. I happened to get on a three week cruise on one of the biggest cruise ships there are. To get ahead of criticism regarding exploitative labour and the environmental impact these ships have and any such concerns: I’m painfully aware of it. In fact, I’m usually quick to point these things out when they come up in conversations. Every single cruise ship is one of humanity's many, many big middle fingers towards nature and utter decadence.

Despite this, I’m on board of this behemoth - such hypocrisy. Well, I don’t know what to tell you. There are multiple reasons. It’s majorly a private one that I’m not much going to elaborate on at the moment. The other reasons just added to it.

For example, I’m in between jobs and have the time. Otherwise I would have never wasted three weeks of my precious mercifully-corpo-granted-because-law-forces-them vacation days on this. Also, I got it for a steal, which is the best I can do for now.

It still bothers me. A lot. It feels like betraying my principles. I actually have trouble getting any enjoyment out of this trip, primarily out of a sense of shame. I’ve mentioned it only to a few friends. On social media I post mostly pictures from the cities I visit, but not the ship. Maybe I could get over it, at least for a while - if it weren’t for all the other elements to this fever dream.

That’s where this ‘blog’ or whatever this is comes in. At the very least I can process what I see, learn and turn it into something of remote journalistic value. Biassed, subjective, self-therapeutic ‘journalism’. Maybe someone out there can learn something from it, too.

It may be noted, when I suspect, claim or presume anything, take it with a grain of salt. There’s only surface level research in here. And I can only get so much information with the limited internet I got, anyway. Like these numbers:

The MSC Virtuosa is a massive ship in service for less than a year. 330 metres long, 50 metres wide and 65 metres high. The over a hundred year older Titanic was 260 metres long, 28 metres wide and 53 metres high (notably including funnels). Their respective given tonnages aren’t exactly comparable, but we can estimate that the Titanic fits inside the Virtuosa at least thrice by usable volume. So either the Titanic was smaller than the movie makes it seem - or the Virtuosa is just huge.

When you board the ship, the first place you enter is a flabbergasting, three story high, about 100 metre long gallery. It has an all (O?)LED ceiling that plays different sceneries and animations throughout the day. Since all TVs, crew-tablets and stuff are from Samsung, I’d guess it to be a variant of Samsung’s ‘The Wall’. An expensive tool that requires constant, active cooling or it literally destroys itself. A massive energy sink. Looks sick, cool technology - but insanely unnecessary.

We could make a stamp of that conclusion and hammer it under every paragraph that’ll follow. It sure is true for plenty other things, but cruise ships are way up there.

The bling continues as you walk into a lobby with musicians playing jazzy pop music, framed by mirrors, marmor and swarovski-laden staircases. Everything is shiny and elegant. It all feels high class.

Think Titanic with its big staircase, marmor columns and little orchestra, but dialled to eleven. More of everything and bigger to boot.

But contrary to the Titanic it caters to the common folk, not the extremely wealthy. It is exactly to make you believe you are on the Titanic. A nice facade.

An impression that I can’t shake off at any point. It’s so blatant, too. None of the other passengers seem to notice or bother, as much as I can tell. Do they choose not to? Has to be. Otherwise they’d be like cows on a field. Ignorant to the world out of sight and just happy to be fed while they get milked. And fed and milked they will. Half the ship’s storage must be food and everything not included in the initial ticket cost is overpriced.

Let’s continue with some dry observations. Most of my fellow passengers are older white people. Most of the staff is filipino. Make of that what you will, but it should come to the surprise to noone. I have spoken with a couple of both. When I brought up any critical arguments about cruise ships in front of passengers, they tended to agree. Then again, they usually were quick to add points that their participation or non-participation wouldn’t have an impact anyway. Or they started the next sentence with a ‘But…’.

The brief moments I have talked to crewmembers, they explained that they were paid enough to finance a good, simple life for their entire family at home, as the sole earners. That they were little heroes when they returned. I’m not sure what to think or say about that, so I’ll just leave it to your own judgement.

There certainly are reasons why this economy exists. Capitalistic demand. As much as I can tell, a cruise is the most convenient and comfortable way to travel for elderly and immobile people, of which there are plenty. Compared to a train drive or flight with luggage it certainly is. But that comfort costs. Some of the ‘packages’ for drinks, internet or the shuttles, guides and such are just short of a scam. Everything is priced unreasonably high. A 20 minute shuttle bus drive from the ship to the closest city (without any guides, just transport) will cost you 40 euro or more. Often you could just walk it, but for those unwilling or unable, there’s little choice. Again, it’s simply demand and when people are willing to pay, a company will jump at the chance to make money. That’s the world we live in. Ideals, clean environment, even reason are naive concepts in the face of money. Profit always prevails.

The service on board is great, though. Personally, I’m creeped out by someone shuffling food, drink and silverware around in front of me. The only server I’m comfortable with is the computer kind. But humans… doesn’t feel right. It has something undignifying and old fashioned to it that society should grow out of.

Similar applies to all the other staff in the kitchens, laundry, cleaning and so on that you never get to see.

To draw you a picture of the excess, let’s count some of the facilities. There are about twelve full fledged, high class restaurants and roughly twice as many bars and lounges. All with different themes and styles. On a single, big boat.

I’ve counted a minimum of five pianos and a handful of luxury stores. There’s a big casino and spa area, two theatres and five pools. Add an indoor basketball/multisport field, bowling alley, gym and arcade. And there is plenty more I forgot or haven’t even discovered yet.

Admittedly, there are some gems here. A british pub with a nice atmosphere and solid list of beers, and a sky lounge jazz bar, both with live musicians in the evening. In general, all performers do an incredible job and carry the venues and events a lot. Every day there is a different show in the theatre. Small musicals, classic recitals or international entertainers, all very talented and great. It’s merely held back a bit by noticeable troubles with the acoustic. I’m kind of amazed that no speakers or hearing aids get blown out.

In the end, weren’t it for the excursions to the cities, the daily show and maybe the occasional, casual quizzes, I’d lose my mind. And whoever had the clever idea to put out a table with ever new puzzles deserves a raise.

Other than that, It gets dull very quickly. With all the things you can do here and the plethora of venues and events, in the end, it’s just plain boring. Might be circumstantial of course, but most places are either relatively empty or full of humans.

As much as I could gather, there are ‘only’ 3700 guests on board, so at about two third capacity. The aforementioned gems are usually packed, probably for the same reason I find them bearable. They don’t feel all too unauthentic. The pub’s atmosphere is quite proper, with the most noticeable thing lacking being cigarette smoke. The sky lounge in turn combines all the nice things. High class, good music and a nice view. Both have chill vibes.

In the end, I always come back to the same question: Why does it have to be on a ship? I’d like to know a jazz place like that in my home port. I’ve also sneaked around the ship a bit, places that are definitely crew-only. Most are spartan hallways with signs to all the different locations. But there’s also a low crew deck going around the vessel. It seems to be my only chance to get to the front of the ship, but I never stayed at these places for longer than I can reasonably claim that I’m just lost. There are cameras everywhere.

Humanities hybris knows no bounds. Turns out, the ship in Wall-E or the ‘Elysium’ space station from the movie with Mark Wahlberg aren’t so far from reality. MSC has some initiatives against global warming through a non-profit, but those feel more like greenwashing and money laundering than anything. Just presumption. It certainly exists to ease the minds of their customers. That it will balance out the negative. A nonsense argument for sure. If there was no ship, there would be no need to balance anything.

And so, this man-made jörmungandr continues on, ravaging earth as a perpetual symbol of gluttony, laziness and greed.

Actually, I have no idea where I’m going with this anymore. Travelblog would be a real stretch. So I’ll end this here for now, as a part one - maybe. Considering the time I still have and my boredom, I might very well add more.

If you are interested in pictures, I post my best impressions on my instagram page (@sunsh4d0w). Generally the places I visit when in port.

[raytravelling]

[mooifotos]

Das passiert, wenn man eine HDR Bildfolge in den Panorama Edition lädt. Auch Künstlerisch 

[luxebeat]

MSC Cruises' Full Fleet Returns for Summer 2022 Sailings

MSC Cruises’ Full Fleet Returns for Summer 2022 Sailings

14 ships to be deployed in the Mediterranean – the Company’s biggest ever offering with more than half of the fleet sailing over 40 different itineraries The MSC Virtuosa, which will be homeporting in Southampton, UK, for the summer 2022 season.   MSC Cruises has confirmed that the Company’s entire fleet of 19 ships will be sailing during summer 2022 offering an outstanding choice of cruises.…

[kreuzfahrttester]

Historischer Rekord in Genua: Vier MSC-Kreuzfahrtschiffe und über 22.000 Passagiere an einem Tag

MSC Cruises Genua Record … MSC Cruises, eine der führenden Kreuzfahrtgesellschaften weltweit, hat am Sonntag, den 29. Oktober, einen neuen Tagesrekord in der Hafenstadt Genua aufgestellt. An diesem Tag legten gleichzeitig vier MSC-Kreuzfahrtschiffe im Hafen an und sorgten für beeindruckende 22.000 Passagierbewegungen, die Ein- und Ausschiffungen sowie Landausflüge umfassten. „MSC World Europa“…

[12endigital]

Más de 3.200 cruceristas llegan a Alicante a bordo de dos barcos

Más de 3.200 cruceristas han llegado este viernes a Alicante a bordo de dos barcos, el MSC Orchestra, que opera como puerto base, y el Seven Seas Splendor, que hace escala en la ciudad. Esta es una de las siete ocasiones a lo largo del año en que coinciden dos cruceros a la vez en el Puerto, situación que volverá a repetirse el próximo jueves 26. Este mes de octubre está previsto batir récord de…

[travellingnews]

ΚΑΛΟΚΑΙΡΙ 2021: ΑΝΑΝΕΩΜΕΝΑ ΔΡΟΜΟΛΟΓΙΑ ΠΟΥ ΠΡΟΣΦΕΡΟΥΝ ΣΤΟΥΣ ΕΠΙΒΑΤΕΣ ΤΗΣ MSC ΠΟΛΛΕΣ ΕΠΙΛΟΓΕΣ ΓΙΑ ΚΡΟΥΑΖΙΕΡΕΣ ΣΤΗ ΜΕΣΟΓΕΙΟ ΑΛΛΑ ΚΑΙ ΣΕ ΟΛΗ ΤΗΝ ΕΥΡΩΠΗ

ΚΑΛΟΚΑΙΡΙ 2021: ΑΝΑΝΕΩΜΕΝΑ ΔΡΟΜΟΛΟΓΙΑ ΠΟΥ ΠΡΟΣΦΕΡΟΥΝ ΣΤΟΥΣ ΕΠΙΒΑΤΕΣ ΤΗΣ MSC ΠΟΛΛΕΣ ΕΠΙΛΟΓΕΣ ΓΙΑ ΚΡΟΥΑΖΙΕΡΕΣ ΣΤΗ ΜΕΣΟΓΕΙΟ ΑΛΛΑ ΚΑΙ ΣΕ ΟΛΗ ΤΗΝ ΕΥΡΩΠΗ

Τα δρομολόγια αντικατοπτρίζουν τις πιο πρόσφατες πληροφορίες όσον αφορά τα ανοίγματα λιμένων και τη διαθεσιμότητα τουριστικών αξιοθέατων στους προορισμούς που επισκέπτονται τα πλοία. Έως και 15 πρόσθετα λιμάνια επιβίβασης, μόνο για δρομολόγια της Μεσογείου, σε όλα τα πλοία, έτσι ώστε οι επισκέπτες να επιβιβάζονται κοντά στα σπίτια τους. Η εταιρεία σχεδιάζει να εμπλουτίσει περαιτέρω αυτά τα…

[crazycruises]

La prima volta di MSC Crociere in Groenlandia

La prima volta di MSC Crociere in Groenlandia

La prima volta di MSC Crociere in Groenlandia

Nuova pietra miliare per MSC Crociere che con MSC Orchestra fa scalo per la prima volta in Groenlandia.

La capitale Nuuk ha accolto la prima nave della flotta MSC Crociere a raggiungere queste latitudini. Prima di arrivare nella città più grande del territorio groenlandese, Orchestra ha attraversato l’iconico stretto di Prince Christian Sund,…

[lesser-known-composers]

Francesco Maria Veracini (1690-1768) Ouverture n.6 in sol min. Allegro

[msc. Venezia - Biblioteca Conservatorio B.Marcello]

Zefiro Baroque Orchestra Alfredo Bernardini, oboe and director

Musicisti: Oboi: Alfredo Bernardini, Paolo Grazzi Fagotto: Alberto Grazzi Violini primi: Cecilia Bernardini, Claudia Combs, Ayako Matsunaga, Monika Toth Violini secondi: Rossella Croce, Ulrike Fischer, Isotta Grazzi, Matilde Tosetti Viole: Stefano Marcocchi, Teresa Ceccato Violoncelli: Gaetano Nasillo, Sara Bennici Violone: Riccardo Coelati Clavicembalo: Francesco Corti Tiorba: Evangelina Mascardi

 Live recording from Teatro Bibiena - Mantova 18-05-21

[cruisetravellive-blog]

Passanger cruise ships collision MSC ORCHESTRA MSC POESIA Buenos Aires

[mooifotos]

Sonnendeck, MSC Orchestra bei Scapa Flow (Schottland)

[danielecamizconductor]

MSC - Mozart Symphonies Challenge

Sei pronto ad imbarcarti con noi per un viaggio musicale fantastico?

Sta per iniziare la grande avventura….

Un’idea pazza, venuta all’improvviso, insieme alla voglia di condividerla con i miei amici dell’Orchestra ICNT e con tutti gli appassionati Mozartiani.

Ecco l’idea, la sfida, anche piuttosto ambiziosa:

vogliamo eseguire tutte le sinfonie di Mozart, e quando dico tutte voglio dire proprio TUTTE.

E sono ben 53!

Si le ho contate tutte, seguendo la Neue Mozart…