skipsaur

I emailed MSC to ask and got this response 2.5 months later: Good Morning, We will need you to fill out a special needs form Thank you for choosing to sail with MSC Cruises. We are excited to have you on board and want to ensure that your cruise experience is as comfortable and enjoyable as possible. In order to better accommodate your needs, we kindly request that you fill out a separate Special Needs form for each reservation. To access the Special Needs form, please follow these steps: Go to www.MSCCruisesUSA.com Scroll down to the very bottom of the page Click on "Special Needs" In the section labeled "Informing us on any mobility, medical, and dietary requirements," click on the "plus" sign. A window will open, displaying the words "online" in orange writing. Click on it to proceed with the form. Complete the necessary information in the form as accurately as possible. At the end of the online application, please remember to click the green "submit" button located at the bottom of the e-form. This step is crucial to ensure that we receive your form. Please be aware that we do not accept form submissions via copy/screenshot. To successfully register your special needs with us, you must click the "submit" button as indicated above. Should you have any questions or require assistance, please don't hesitate to reach out to our customer support team at the contact center 1 (877) 665-4655 We genuinely value your well-being and strive to provide the best possible service for all our guests. Your completion of the Special Needs form for each reservation will help us better prepare for your cruise and ensure a fantastic experience onboard. Once again, thank you for choosing MSC Cruises. We look forward to welcoming you onboard soon! Kind Regards, Dana Hamrick MSC Cruises (USA) Inc. 6750 North Andrews Avenue, Suite 100 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309 1-877-665-4655

You're good to go, cruises booked through MSC USA get free bottled water in MDR for Japan-departing cruises. 👍

I too was initially taken aback at all the extra costs and felt a bit nickel and dimed. But I think it's better to think of it as MSC offering an a la carte style: lower base price and you have the option to pay for the"extras" you want, instead of bundling all the costs together at a higher base price that already includes the cost of ice skating whether you do it or not.

Ugh I'm sorry this happened to you and your daughter, especially when she was going through a tough patch. Glad she has an attentive mom keeping an eye on her needs preemptively! That's such distasteful behavior from elderly Yacht Club guests who should know better. Puts you in an awkward position as a parent when you're trying to teach your child proper behavior and there's adults who must have forgotten all their manners. Glad that it didn't spoil her day though! Looking forward to hearing your final thoughts on the trip.

Cringe

Just caught up on your review, thanks for doing it! I've read a couple of your other ones and love your writing and parenting style. I love how you include plenty of detailed information without making it dry. Your storytelling narrative really makes each post light, fast and fun!

That's interesting, I didn't know that about intra-EU flights. Most of my flights are long haul so the difference is not inches, but more lay flat seats, compartments. Usually the first and business class seats are full, except during COVID. But if any are free upgrades, I'm happy for that passenger to have escaped a long haul flight in economy!

Sorry, you misunderstood me. You're arguing with the ghost of what you think I said, not what I actually said. I'm not saying "what is the harm of someone else using the "perks" they are not entitled to?" Put down your pitchfork, I'm not advocating chaos and anarchy. 😉 1. In the example I read it was MSC crew who directed other passengers to those empty seats. People did not take it upon themselves. 2. YC passengers paid for their seats and have the right to them. The empty seats are the property of MSC and it's entirely up to MSC to choose to give them to other passengers or keep them empty. 3. MSC representatives gave out the seats. Those lucky passengers received a "free upgrade" for the length of a show. MSC is the only one who can legitimately give out entitlement to those seats. YC guests are entitled to the 1 seat they paid for, not what happens to the empty seats. This is the same logic that dictates YC guests may not invite non-YC guests to YC areas. Which of these 3 points is untrue? You might argue that MSC shouldn't give the seats away, but that's a separate issue and I have no interest debating that. As far as "diluting" the brand appeal, brands have always given away luxury items for free. Some people in the middle pay full price but people on both ends of the bell curve get it for free or negligible cost. There will always be people who pay much more or much less than me for the same goods or services. I can't change that. I can change whether to look for the positives or negatives. You can't choose what MSC does with the empty seats, you can only choose how you react. At my age I've learned that in this case, if I choose to be magnanimous and happy for the good fortune of my fellow passengers on their free upgrade, I and everyone else feels better than if I stew in stingy discontent at the unfairness of life. One path is how I aspire to be, the other is where I sometimes end up.

Something piqued my curiosity about this quote so I looked up the author. I don't know what I was expecting but it was not a social media influencer/make up artist/actor! His Instagram is pretty hilarious, thanks for sharing!

Wow thanks for sharing this, had no idea NCL had done this. That's a huge negative in my book.

Cabin

In my opinion, if I pay for business class, that gives me a seat, singular. It doesn't give me the right to the empty seat next to me. The airline is free to assign that seat to someone else, even as a free upgrade, regardless of the fact that I paid for my seat. Sure, I might like a row to myself, but I don't need more than 1 seat. I can't imagine complaining to a flight attendant if they choose to give the seat to someone. 😂

Also daily service charge

This is an excellent point and made me really think.

I think you get brushed off because the minimum wage customer service representative probably gets as much say in what is stocked as you do. It's like complaining to cashiers when grocery store prices go up... it's way above their paygrade, it's not like corporate asks their opinions. I sympathize. It's frustrating when your choice of beverage isn't available AND the cruise line doesn't allow you to bring it on board yourself. How I deal with it is just reminding myself I can live without my favorite beverage for a week. Maybe I'll find an appreciation for something new, which is part of the fun of travel. You can drive yourself to frustration with thinking how things should be, but if it won't change anything, then the choices are to find a way to accept it or don't.