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M2ice

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  1. And the great part of these boards are that people who have never been on a single cruise can be an expert on how the dining room is run. Yes there are people who believe that they are "entitled" however switching your dining time in no way fits into this. Anyone who has been been on cruises would know this. There is much background to the assignment of dining times and tables and it is SOP to make a switch on board, on any line. Just did it last weekend on Seaside and while it was not as easy as it should be it got done. As to the "I wait 5 minutes and go to another bar" here is what would happen on the Seaside last week. After leaving the first bar and walking up three flights of stairs you would find the wait there was even longer, go down four flights and walk the length of the ship stand in line 10 minutes order a screwdriver and find out that they have no orange juice. And my next move is? And don't forget that you are just trying to get what you have already paid for if you have the drink package. As a customer at any level you are "entitled" to some basic level of service and this point in time MSC is often not able to provide it, even items that you have already paid for.
  2. Just got off. have friends booked on two up coming cruises, our advice to them was cancel and go elsewhere. Take a peek at the on board now for 4/27 for more details.
  3. Not sure of the details but the Expedia people were not on board for free. They were having meetings and not just along for the ride. Believe it was more of a sales meeting that Expedia was putting on for their store owners. Sure that they got some perks and discounts but the ones I talked to were very disappointed with the product. One was standing next to me at a bar for 20 minutes and couldn't get a drink.
  4. Did a little research, Seaside holds about 1000 more passengers then the Independence of the Seas. BUT they have about the same number of staff, IF all positions are filled. Do the math, it is pretty ugly.
  5. We have been on Azamara, Carnival, Royal and MSC since the first of the year. All are having issues with staffing. Azamara handled it well along with everything else, truly a great experience. We were in a suite but the whole ship was managed well Royal had a terrible meal in Chops, rest was as we expected. Carnival was an old ship and very warn, big problem with them wanting you to do everything on their app but other wise as expected. MSC we didn't expect much and got even less. Way understaffed and no management of the employees. Quick example, one morning at breakfast asked three waiters for water, no luck, tracked down the Manager in the white jacket, he asks how many, 8 one for each person. He brings 2, slaps them down and leaves. Some 35 minutes after we sat down finally got water for everyone. When the Manager acts like that how do you think the staff is going to act? When the food came all 8 orders were either cold or incomplete. We go on cruises to relax and constantly standing in line, not being able to get even basic food orders in a timely complete manner and having to bus your own table at the pool are not what we consider relaxing.
  6. I played BJ in the casino on two evenings (night 1 and 3). Ended up getting a little back on the second night. All in all, not a high price paid for the entertainment. I asked at the cage when I cashed out and was told I had earned a little over 3,000 points. I'm not sure if that was a "real time" figure or not. I probably put in less than 6 hours of play total. I was playing at the $25 table, and I can't recall seeing quite this number of people (with several hundred or more "in hand") that didn't know how to play the game. Examples: Standing on your A-A-5 against an 8, and losing. Doubling (yes, you heard that right) your 7's against a 9.. and winning. Splitting 5's against a 5 (and losing). It just never stopped. Internally, my eyes rolled over and over. I was shocked to see that they offered surrender - I play two hands, averaging $50/hand. Upon getting a 16 and 17 against the dealer's A, I asked, and they said YES. I surrendered. I don't think anyone ever takes them up on it, but the pit boss explained it to them. I saved half my bet that hand. I would go on to surrender twice more (mostly with "better than it would have been" results). BTW, it would seem they don't have, or at least don't often use, purple chips. If they did - the fellow with a FULL TRAY of blacks could have used them last night at first base. Even he hesitated on many obvious basic strategy plays. I'm the only one who hits my 12 on the dealer 2 or 3. I'm the only one who hits my A-7 vs dealer 9-10-A (take a shot!), etc... Noticed this also, was going to hop into the table with the big winner ( had 7-8 K in blacks in front of him). After watching for a few minutes a kept going as no at the table had even a basic clue as to what they were doing.
  7. We were on board at the same time. Third time on MSC, well over a hundred cruises total. In a balcony/aurora. Just some quick notes. Will never sail MSC again. Ship was badly understaffed and poorly managed in every department we dealt with. Drink service was awful the entire cruise with the exception of the private bar on deck 19 which was always empty. One decent meal the last night in the MDR. All other's were a hot mess. Talked to three different members of the Expedia group. None would sell MSC unless the customer insisted due to the service/staffing issues. This despite the fact that MSC pays them a commission of almost twice the rate of any other line. Found the security getting back on the ship at the private island very invasive. Ship would get a C for cleanliness at best, many dirty glasses on tables for hours at a time, through out the ship. Dirty floors very common. The electronic elevators are the finest example of technology gone bad I have ever seen. Yep they are cheap, but a glowing example of you get what you pay for.
  8. How formal was dinner dress? Planning on bring tux but no need if I'm the only one.
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