PackThePJs attended the christening of MSC Bellissima in Southampton and got to stay onboard for two nights. What a #BeautyAtSea – good food, good bars and a fabulous crew. But in this new era of family cruising it’s not enough just to provide mum with her favourite cocktail or deliver dad a well-made latte at his favourite spot in the Sky Bar. You have the children and teenagers to think of too. Its OK, MSC know this and they have provided Bellissima with some fabulously well-equipped clubs for babies, tiddlers, middlers and teens. The MSC Cruises kids clubs are available until late in the evening, and the ‘Kids Around The Clock’ service can provide supervised late-night play and sleeping that will allow parents to have a night off.
Doremi Land
Situated on Deck 18 at the quieter aft end of the ship, and above the Sportsplex courts, is Doremi Land where all of the children and young adult clubs can be found. MSC’s Doremi Land includes:
- Baby Club for under 3s
- Mini Club for 3-6 years olds
- Junior Club for 7-11 years olds
- Young Club for 11-14 years olds
- Teen Club for 15-17 years olds
The children and baby clubs are served by a constantly-manned service desk where the children have to be booked in prior to being allowed into the club areas. The foyer looks over the Sportsplex; there are Lego sculptures and a Lego Mosaic/messaging board where you can produce your own images and posts.
Lego Bench – Perfect Photo Opp!
There are two other rooms off this area, over and above the children’s clubs. These are the Doremi Studio and the Doremi Lab. Doremi Lab is an area containing digital art equipment (complete with 3d printer) with huge state-of -the-art screens for drawing on.
Doremi Lab
There are also Lego-branded decorations and games as well as games consoles (PS4 and Xbox as well as Nintendo VR). The Lab on Bellissima also had a Fussball table. It’s a nice space that can be used in addition to Club rooms for the needs of various age groups.
Doremi Lab
The Doremi Studio is an intimate stage area where children can take part in their own game shows, quiz and magic shows. Or they can take part in their own singing and acting skits, trying to emulate Kelly and Kloe, the onboard Doremi Land characters who have their own TV series.
Doremi Studio
Here, there are screens and also high-quality sound equipment as well as DJ-ing decks (Doremi Musicmatch).
Doremi Studio
It is certain that Doremi Land has a massive quantity of high-tech electronic equipment to allow children to be both productive and creative.
Doremi Studio
Baby Club
The Baby Club is for the under 3s. The area is sponsored by Chicco, who are known for the quality of their baby equipment including strollers, toys, playmats and games. The room, which has a rainbow and unicorn theme, is divided into three areas. There is a Play Area where the specialist trained crew can interact with the children, playing games, reading stories, or generally interacting. There are strollers here for hire. Also, this area has a huge range of books, toys and games aimed at the 0-3 age group. There are also little armchairs that can be extended into sleepers if required.
Play Area in the Baby Club
Baby Club
Baby Club
The next little area off this is a very comprehensive Changing Area. There is a wash area and a bidet as well as many changing mats, a huge selection of nappies, powders and barrier creams and a toilet for the slightly older ones being potty trained.
Baby Club – Changing Area
Off this area is the Rest, Relaxation and Sleeping Area with cots so that the sleepy ones can get their rest or indeed be put up safely into a secure Chicco cot. The area is ideal for this age group.
Baby Club – Rest Area
Mini Club
The Mini Club, for 3 to 6 year olds, is based around a Lego theme. The Duplo Lego bricks used here are larger and safer for this age group. There are a huge array of things to do, including messy play, and of course the Lego Duplo where you can make anything you like.
Mini Club
There’s also lots of games and books and areas for refreshment and toilets. A Lego cinema area is also in this club room.
Mini Club
There’s Lego playpits, huge amounts of Lego bricks, tables to do drawing and modelling on as well as a Lego food play area. The room is dominated by a Lego food theme with a chef and a proper Lego kitchen. The room is fantastic for this age group and they will love it.
Junior Club
The Junior Club is for 7 to 11 year olds and again it is based upon a Lego theme. In this room there are computers for the children to draw on or play games.
Junior Club
There is also a Fussball table. Oh and lots of games consoles (PS4, Xbox and Nintendo VR).
Junior Club
The room has buckets and buckets of Lego so that the kids can build to their heart’s content. There are also lots of books and games of various types. There is so much going on, the kids need never turn around to you (as ours have done) and said “Mum, dad, I’m bored. The staff are brilliant and our children loved this area when we sailed on the sister ship MSC Meraviglia. There was always something going on. Story reading, games competitions, basketball and soccer in the Sportsplex – even shows and parades. There was also a regular magic show in the studio during the evenings.
Young Club
Of course, the 12 to 14 year olds are a lot more sophisticated (!) Here you will find a huge range of books and games, arts and crafts and many hi-tech games consoles.
Young Club
Young Club
There was some cross-over with the Junior Club but the kids here are kept constantly occupied with activities.
Young Club
Teen Club
The Teen Club is for 15 to 17 year olds. Teenagers can look forward to having the time of their lives onboard, from sports and competitions, dance contests and social network games to Wii, Xbox and PS3 tournaments. The teens have their own supervised space, and activities such as dance and talent competitions, a formal prom night, and also teen hair and beauty treatments in the spa.
Teen Club
In the evening, they can enjoy the teen disco, karaoke, White Party, Flash mob and many other themed events.
Teen Club
Also, money is no object as the Teens Card provides them with a prepaid debit card, for spending (your) money!
Services
The kid clubs onboard MSC Bellissima are second to none. The staff are superbly trained and the services offered provide convenience for the adults. Happy Dinners Club can serve your kids their food and then take them to the kids’ club for more fun activities. With a Fun Time Dinner, the children can be fed with the entertainment staff who can also entertain them.
The cutting-edge technology onboard allows passengers to geo-locate their children using the Kids Locator Service. The children can be tracked via a digital wristband as part of MSC for Me: This onboard technology provides a functional and seamless way for guests to explore the ship and to get in touch with other guests and crew whenever they need to.
Family Explorer excursions are another way the family can enjoy excursions together with treasure hunts and story telling guides.
Additional Facilities
MSC Bellissima has many other facilities that children will love, including
- Aqua Park
Aqua Park
- Three water slides
- Several pools
- XD cinema
- Two Formula One simulators
Formula 1 Simulator
- MasterChef at Sea competition for children
- Bowling alley
Bowling Alley
- Tennis
- Table tennis
- Basketball
- Football
- Dance classes
- Cooking classes
- Quizzes
- Parties
- Discos
- Talent shows
- Pirate shows
- Acrobats
On this ship there is ALWAYS something for the children to do! A true family ship.
Wow, there is so much for children to do. We’ve never been on a cruise but if there was this much for Erin to do I’d definitely consider it.
There are lots of ships kitted out with this level of family activities now
We are huge cruise fans and always choose a cruise purely because the kids clubs are so amazing which this one most certainly looks like it is!
Same here – we’ve tried most of them. This is a very good range of kids clubs
I’ve never been on a cruise but if I was to plan one then I’d definitely want it to be one like this – it looks like so much fun for everyone in the family!
There’s more to do than you’d ever manage in a week!
How amazing are those lego rooms?!? Do you have to be a child to go? I’d be content all day haha
HaHa I know what you mean. I feel the same about the offerings for teenagers!
Wow, that looks amazing! My boys would totally love it. Though my 4 yr old would probably be annoyed (aka throw a tantrum) if he wasn’t allowed to be in the same club as his brother (who is 8) – he’s always trying to keep up with him.
Yes this is something that you need to keep in mind. My two (12 and 10) want to be in the same club. Unfortunately my 12 year old mainly hangs around with 15-16 year olds, so she’d want to be in the teen club!
My kids would be so excited by the LEGO, I would love to take them on another cruise and know they would love all the kids areas
We’ve not got one booked this year – the kids are not very happy about that!
I like the sound of the Junior Club with Lego theme. So beautiful.
It’s very colourful!
Oh wow! Since when did cruises get so child friendly?! ? It looks like there is so much to do. No chance of the older ones getting bored.
About 10 years ago! And they are getting more and more child friendly as each new ship is launched!
They really have thought of everything!! The clubs sound absolutely incredible and I love how they cater for so many different ages xz
I know! All bases covered!
Wow – I’ll be looking into this, for sure (after we save up a bit). Thanks for sharing!