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Sail into a crucible of history

Cruising through six countries in 12 days was as enjoyable as it was educational

  • By Mark Williams-Thomas, The Daily Mail
  • Published: 00:00 December 26, 2009
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  • Image Credit: Supplied
  • Amsterdam

After a leisurely two-hour drive to Dover, we climbed aboard the MSC Lirica for a two-week Treasures Of The Russian Tsars cruise. Ahead of us — that's me, my wife, our 8-year-old son and two daughters, aged 9 and 13 — lay 12 days in six countries, including a two-day stop in St Petersburg.

Lirica luxury

The Lirica is not the biggest of the MSC fleet but still has two swimming pools, three restaurants, a spa wellbeing centre, a theatre, shops and even a minigolf course.

After enjoying the sea breeze out on the deck, we were famished and went to La Bussola restaurant, where we were well looked after by the two Brazilian waiters — who were to take care of us for the whole cruise. They were brilliant at making shapes out of napkins and kept the children amused for hours.

Our first stop was Amsterdam. From the dock it was only a ten-minute walk into the city centre and its vibrant shops. We chose to take the children to the zoo, which was well laid out and focused on learning in a fun way.

Entertainment on board

That night we went to the Lirica's spacious theatre to watch the evening show. It offered good variety — acrobatics, dancing, magic, singing, opera, miming and an amazing pickpocket act I was very impressed with.

Life on board was far from boring, with constant activities organised by the entertainment team. When we needed a quiet time to ourselves, there were plenty of rooms and areas where we could relax with a good book.

Day 3 was Bremerhaven, at the mouth of the Weser River. The town centre was a taxi ride away and there was a beach and plenty of shops.

Cruising through the night brought another day and with it another country, this time Sweden and the ancient city of Gothenburg.

Unfortunately, we had only three hours ashore before we had to be back on the ship — not enough time to enjoy this beautiful and lively city.

On board, we enjoyed meeting other families and, with junior and teen clubs, MSC had activities organised to keep children of all ages amused.

The high point

On Day 5, we were at sea all day and, in glorious sunshine, we set up camp by the pool.

Halfway through the cruise came the beautiful port of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. The well-preserved old city was by far the loveliest location we had visited and certainly one we would like to visit again.

Next we had two days in St Petersburg which, for many, was the high point of the cruise.

However, because of strict immigration control, the only way to leave the ship was on an organised excursion. We took tours of the city and of the fortress of Peter and Paul.

St Petersburg has an incredible history and we were lucky to have a knowledgeable guide — so it proved to be a real history lesson and one that the children found very interesting.

On the second day in St Petersburg, we took a canal excursion to the Yusupov Palace, once the residence of the wealthy Yusupov family and the place where Rasputin was murdered. It was an amazing tour full of opulence and grandeur.

Copenhagen calling

The final stop on our cruise was Copenhagen, where, preferring to explore by ourselves, we boarded the local bus to the Tivoli theme park.

MSC puts great emphasis on family values. If you have not experienced one of their cruises, you are missing out on something very special — we will certainly be going again.

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