AVACTION

Each pool/whirlpool has the temperature posted on a sign by the side.

Just spoke with the Australian MSC Office about the World Cruise.

They have cabins available to Voyager Club members only at this stage.

Looked at Genoa to Melbourne which is available, an Aurea Balcony Cabin would cost just over AU$45,000 for the two of us. Comes with 15 free excursions, free standard drinks, 30% off laundry, priority boarding and exclusive use of Aurea Sun Deck.

Matt, who I spoke to, had no idea where the rumor of YC came from and stated that it was not an experience that would be available (but who knows?).

I was tempted to just go ahead and book but then came the crunch ..........

MSC Australia want a 15% NON-REFUNDABLE deposit for a cruise that is in 2 years time!!

Can anyone see this itinerary on the UK website or U.S. TA with a lower deposit as I do not want to give MSC AU$6,750 to sit on for 2 years.

Maybe they are going to have YC area. Look at the difference in price between a balcony and a suite ......

Where's the review located (URL).

Heinekin is the only choice on the basic Aleggrissimo package as can be seen in the following image where it is mentioned by name

 

 

The info is from Splendida last week

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pete

Any idea of what the drinks menu in YC on the Splendida out of Dubai is? We will be on a repo in March.

If you like Guiness watch out. The Guiness served in the YC is Export or Extra Stout which is 7.5% ABV :eek: I couldn't understand why I was getting blasted until I read the label!!

Hi, booked a grand meditterean cruise next july we havnt been on an msc cruise. Looking at the msc check in site notice you can add on board credit to your account before you go is this correct as rhe site is set up different to others here in australia.

Any tips regarding tours as most of the time we have done our own thing. I have noticed that some of the stops are about An hour and half from port and i think it would be safer to book at tour? Any information would be very helpful.

Thanks:rolleyes:

Hey, Bateau Bay, we are in San Remo! We have done a couple of cruises with MSC (in the YC) for Rome I would recommend the all day walking tour with MSC including lunch. It is about 90 minutes from the port and traffic can be terrible. If you are on an MSC tour and are delayed getting back to port the ship will wait for you, whereas if you are on a "private" tour bad luck if you are late, the ship will sail without you!

What ports does your cruise stop at. Then other members will be able to assist with recommending shore excursions etc..

We did it! We are Yacht Club. Did it by phone, don;t have a cabin # yet.

 

Somebody asked how many YC cabins have balconies. I gave up a rear facing balcony, first time for us, I will probably need a straight jacket, if I paid $700 extra for an inside cabin.

Please tell me there is no such thing as Yacht Club Inside cabins.

No inside cabins in YC on MSC Divina.

Hope they offer a re-positioning cruise from Europe to Asia.

I bought a book of 18 coupons before our last trip in YC and ran out after two days. Thereafter we just paid for the drinks we had outside the YC as the prices on MSC are quite reasonable anyway.

It also helped that after a few days we got "comped" in the casino (Blackjack) by the Gaming Manager.

We usually spent till at least 2am in the Top Sail lounge, free pours by the generous barman (who we tipped, out of sight of the security cameras), so I don't remember exactly how many 'standard' drinks we consumed.

Hey, you're on holiday!! 20 drinks a day IMHO is not outrageous, at least you will not be driving home!!

Read that the development of the Cayman Island Private Resort has been delayed.

Any information out there on the Sir Bani Yas Island as we are due there in March next year.

What's strong flat white coffee?

 

 

My dh likes to eat in the dining room for breakfast but I was reading some older threads where shorts weren't allowed. I was shocked, since I have never run across this (breakfast and lunch). We will, of course, try Top Sail for breakfast, but if it's hot, dh wants air conditioning.

Flat White coffee is a double shot espresso with warm milk and no froth, stronger than a latte and no fancy froth & toppings as in a cappuccino.

read here for explanation http://guide2coffee.com/guide-2-coffee-1/2013/3/30/cappucino-latte-or-flat-white

We have cruised in YC twice and only used TC restaurant for breakfast once or twice (when I wanted Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon). The breakfast offerings in the Top Sail Lounge and the The Pool Bar were good enough for us. They will make omelettes, eggs etc. to your preference, and the coffee is IMHO better there as it is made in an espresso machine. They do have soya milk and skimmed milk for those who prefer.

Nothing better than siting in the sun reading your complimentary newspaper eating a breakfast prepared for you and a strong flat white coffee. (Makes me want to book a cruise starting next week, just thinking about it!!).

Dress shorts are acceptable in Le Muse for breakfast and lunch.

Will Fantasia sail out of Miami or Ft Laudedale for the Caribbean ?

I was interested in this change as we have a cruise booked on Fantasia in March 2017, now I see the change will not effect us.

Looking at the future itineraries the Fantasia will be based at Port de France, Martinique.

Wonder if they will do a repositioning cruise back to Europe in 2018, that we would be interested in!! Be nice to do a Caribbean cruise followed by a TA.

Just use the private lift on the 15th floor, goes straight up to the spa/sauna area bypassing the reception area of the spa. Your butler or the concierge will be able to direct you.

Looking at the Australian MSC website https://www.msccruises.com.au/en-au/Cruise-Deals/Deals-By-Destination/grand-mediterranean-cruises.aspx the prices range from AU$1538 for Bella Class to AU$7217 for YC/Aurea inc drink package.

Looks like a possibility for our next cruise in 2018, I like the varied itineraries.

We've only been on two MSC cruises. In both cases we used the casino nearly every night and got chips on our card and there was no surcharge added at the end of the trip. We also "cashed out" chips at the cashier and got cash back which we then used on shore.

It shows as one purchase on your CC bill and so we also got frequent flyer points as a bonus.

Depends upon the ship & the itinerary. In the Med it is usual for the Port side (outside) to have smoking areas, in the casino and in the cigar lounge(if one is available).

On a TA no smoking was allowed on board whilst docked in Brazilian ports, otherwise the above rules applied.

I understand that the casino on Divina is non-smoking and the smoking areas are more restricted.

In the YC, the Top Sail lounge there is usually a smoking area, on one cruise it was on the starboard side and on the other two it was on the port side.

Generally the rule is no smoking in cabins or on balconies but the balcony rule is mostly overlooked on the cruises we have been on. Look out to see plenty of people enjoying their morning nicotine fix leaning over the rail. Again I understand the Divina sailing out of Miami has stricter rules.

I understand that Europeans have a higher percentage of smokers and more tolerance towards smoking in public.

It will be nice on the seaside not having to walk to the other end of the ship to the resurant

That's about all the exercise I ever got, so not so good for the waistline!!

After the first few days my wife insisted on using stairs rather than the lifts to burn some of those excess calories.

We have only one day docking at Le Have. There are four of us and I guess don't really mind a private driver. Thank yvet for the good points;I will look into that other tour also.

It's about a two and a half Hour drive from Le Havre to Paris. The risk in taking a private tour is that if you are delayed for any reason and miss the embarkation time the ship WILL leave without you. However with a tour booked through MSC the ship will wait for that tours arrival.

It happened on one cruise we were on that one of the tour coaches was over an hour late getting back to the ship but the ship waited for it.

For "local tours" around the city that we port in we prefer private tours (usually use Tours by Locals) but when the travel distance is that great I would not risk it. Also travel insurance would not cover the cost of getting to the next port of call, which is what you would have to do to re-join the ship.

Ive stayed in different hotels all of the place and I've never noticed shuttle services to the port from them. They have shuttles to the beach from city centre hotels, shuttles to the Malls from beach hotels and the port but not to the port.

 

Honestly just get a normal taxi, they are heavily regulated, reliable, plentiful and really, really cheap (no tax on fuel).

 

Dubai Creek is a lovely area to stay before a cruise. Short ride from the airport and to the port. I stayed in the Hilton and was happy with it. A healer alternative would be the Arabian Courtyard beside Dubai Museum and near the Abra station.

Thanks for the advice. Just booked the Hilton, got a great deal as I am an HHonors member.

Easy solution - stick to one case each and use the laundry if you have too :/

Yep that would be a solution. Only one of the cases is for me. It's an 18 night cruise and horror of horrors if my dear wife had to wear the same outfit more than one night!:)

On our last cruise we had a mini bus from Sao Paulo to Santos all to ourselves (and our luggage)

Yes we use the laundry service and have a discount of 30% on this cruise, so I am taken care of.

There are a whole price range of hotels but even though I make very few reservations for Dubai, I'll take a look. It will depend on your budget.

 

I do know that taxis are relatively inexpensive in Dubai so even if there isn't a shuttle, it won't cost too much to get to the port.

Fortunately we are using frequent flyer point to fly business class with Emirates form Australia to Dubai. Thus we will have four large cases + two "carry-ons" and other stuff. So most taxis will not be able to carry us and our luggage.

Our budget is around $150 to $200 per night for a 'decent" hotel.

Can anyone recommend a medium price hotel in Dubai which offers a shuttle bus to the cruise port.

We will be staying two nights in Dubai pre-cruise and I am just overwhelmed with the sheer number of hotels to choose from.:confused:

We are a couple in their early sixties and will have a lot of luggage so would prefer a hotel with a shuttle bus to the port, a swimming pool and a bar but no noisy nightclub.

Thanks in advance for any useful advice.

I believe the only time MSC have come to Australia was a re-positioning from Europe in 2015. The ship was then chartered by an Australian TA for a cruise to Turkey (Gallipolli) for the centenary of the ANZAC landings there in WW1. We tried to get on that cruise but it was sold out over a year before. So maybe if you wait another 100 years there may be another sailing?