MSC Canary Islands Cruise: My Solo Travel Experience

A Canary Islands cruise wasn’t anything on my bucket list, but I had been interested in trying out an MSC cruise for a while. Their prices are generally lower than many of the other cruise lines, and everyone says their style is more European. I’m not entirely sure what that means, but I was curious. I was also able to use my Hilton Honors program status to match with MSC Voyagers Club Diamond membership for some extra perks.

Why MSC? Why Canary Islands? Why now?

My employer laid me off in 2023 which included a pretty good severance. I had also just received my 2022 bonus, so I thought I’d treat myself to a trip. After some searching, I found a great mileage deal on a flight to London, one of my favorite cities, so I decided to start there and figure out the rest.

I found a twelve night Canary Islands cruise on MSC out of Southampton that looked really interesting. My longest cruise to date had been a nine night, and it was the one where I caught Covid, so I was interested to see how I’d do with twelve nights. I love the idea of doing a long cruise, so this would be a good test.

From London to the Port in Southampton

I flew in to London and spent a couple days visiting with friends and exploring the city some more, and then the morning of the cruise, took the train to Southampton. The cruise port there is very easy to get to. You can walk or take a cab from the train station, and I figured the walk would be fine – until it started raining part way there.

My rain jacket and umbrella were packed in my carry on, so I had no choice but to carry on (pun intended), and I arrived at the port looking like a drowned rat. Of course the picture I had provided online was of no use to them and they had to take another in my drowned rat state, so that was fun.

Embarking on the MSC Virtuosa for a Canary Islands Cruise

The boarding was super quick and in no time, I was onboard and trying to find my way around the ship. The rooms were not quite ready yet, so I had to lug my bag around at the beginning. MSC has traditional dining and multiple dining rooms, so I was trying to find out more information about my time and location. I had selected the Early option as late is usually really late for me.

Dining on MSC

Because there were multiple dining rooms, the Early time was different for the different dining rooms, and I had the earliest at 5:30. I didn’t love it, as I like to watch the sail away from ports and the sunset, but late dining is also too late for me.

I learned I was to be seated at a large round table in the middle of the dining room at the aft of the ship. Twelve other solo travelers would be my table mates. This ended up being pretty interesting, and I was able to make some friends this way, but some nights, I just settled for the buffet. Interestingly, some of the table mates seemed offended when I didn’t show up. I’m not sure if that was a cultural thing (most passengers were British) or an age thing (most were older than me by a decade or more).

The weirdest thing I encountered about MSC is their beverage policy in the main dining room. When someone from the US or UK purchase a cruise, the contract explains that water in the dining room is included. When someone from other countries books a cruise, apparently water in the main dining room is not included. There were two friends at my table from Norway. Neither were drinkers and they had not purchased a drink package.

The first two nights in the dining room were fine. They asked for waters, and were given glasses and bottled water was poured. On the third night, the server said he would have to charge them and should have charged them the other nights. They asked for tap water, but that was not an option. They could drink all the tap water and juice at the buffet that they wanted, but in the main dining room, they had to pay for anything to drink. It just seems silly to me to not have a tap water option. While it didn’t directly affect me, it caused a bit of discomfort at our shared table.

Lisbon, Portugal Port Stop

The ports on this cruise were great and all places I hadn’t been before. First up was Lisbon, Portugal. I had heard that it was a cool experience going under the 25 de Abril Bridge, so I wanted to be up for that when it happened. Because I was at the back of the ship wasn’t able to see how close we were until we were right under it. I definitely heard it before I saw it, but it was pretty cool to go under.

I didn’t do any formal excursions on this entire cruise. Each of the ports had things to see and do close by, and as a solo traveler, I’d become more comfortable exploring on my own. In Lisbon, I bought a ticket for the Hop On Hop Off tour bus. I like these as a casual way to see the city. They had two routes, and I accidentally hopped on the one I hadn’t planned on taking, so that was a bit of a bummer. It was still great to see the city. I had some time left and went on part of the other route as well.

I was told that I must try Pastel de Nata, a Portuguese egg custard pastry, while in Lisbon. The second route took me to the stop nearest to Pastéis de Belém. The treats were very good and were a great pick me up from a day of sightseeing. I walked a little further away to another stop of the HOHO bus that was heading back towards the port.

Funchal, Madeira Port Stop

Our second port stop was Funchal, Madeira. My research told me that the cable cars were the thing to do. I set off to do that first thing, hoping to get there before it was too crowded. There were two sets of cable cars. Most seemed to just do the first set, but I did them both. Even getting their relatively early, there was still a pretty significant line to board. Riding the cable cars was a great way to see the city, even if it was a little scary being that high.

At the top, it was a short walk to the next cable car that went down the mountain and ended at a botanical garden. I toured the garden for a bit before heading back to the top and then back down the original car. Another popular thing to do in Funchal is to take the cable car up and then a wooden sled down the steep streets. Guides ride on the back of the sled to steer and keep you safe. It wasn’t really something I felt comfortable with, so I skipped out on that experience.

The walk to and from the cable car to the ship was about a mile and a half. On the way back, I took a break at McDonalds to try a menu item not offered in the US. After that, it was back on the ship for some rest and to enjoy the rest of the day.

Las Palmas Gran Canaria Port Stop

The following day, we were in Las Palmas on the Gran Canaria island. Once again, I took a Hop On Hop Off tour before heading through town to check out some of their famous beaches. Living near beaches myself, they don’t excite me too much, but I wanted to check this one out. I can see why people like it.

Tenerife Port Stop

Tenerife was our next stop in the Canary Islands. I had read about a public tram and decided to take it up to San Cristóbal de La Laguna. It was Sunday, so there weren’t a lot of shops and things to do. It was a nice area to walk around, and at that elevation, much cooler than down near the port.

Lanzarote Port Stop

Our last stop in the Canary Islands was Lanzarote. This island seemed to have a different feel than the other islands we had visited. I can’t really put my finger on it, but it was an interesting place to visit. The change of scenery was nice with the buildings with the white washed walls and flat roofs. I walked around and explored a bit along the water before heading back to the ship to enjoy my balcony.

Vigo, Spain Port Stop

Our final port was Vigo, Spain. Vigo is a very charming city with lots to do right near the port. Some of the streets are very steep, so I didn’t do a ton of walking. I looked around for a bit and then sat down to listen to a street performer and people watch.

Our final day on the ship was at sea, and I was really grateful to have sunshine on my balcony. The temperature was cool, but sitting in the sun, with the wind blocked it was tolerable.

Disembarkation in Southampton and Back to London

On the morning we disembarked, I carried my own bags off and headed to the train station. Tickets booked earlier are cheaper, so I had pre-purchased a ticket for the 9:30am train. I ended up at the train station in time for the 7:30am train, but I couldn’t change my ticket without significant cost, so I waited.

I was really glad that I disembarked early. The UK port authorities were doing a thorough check that morning which made the lines incredibly long. It took people hours to get off the ship. Apparently they were checking luggage for people bringing in more cigarettes than allowed. Gridlock ensued in Southampton when the departing passengers were trying to leave while the new passengers were arriving. There were also train strikes that day, so a lot of people had to scramble for alternative transportation. It was a mess and made national news.

While my train wasn’t cancelled, it did end up having a significant delay. With the British Laws, I was able to get a refund for my fare. I made it back to London and had two more nights before heading home. On my last night, I got to watch Eurovision for the first time. It was certainly an experience!

My flight home went well, and now it’s time to plan the next adventure!