Beamafar

As an FYI, not anymore. Instead, you receive a bottle of bubbly and a choice of a larger bottle of liquor for the cabin. The (included) minibar is stocked with a variety of soft drinks, water and beer, which is refilled as required. There’s a large toblerone and snacks such as choc peanuts and Pringles provided on arrival (these are not replenished).

For us, MSC YC is a far superior experience (though food in Luminae is ‘fancier’ and not to my taste). MSC has a new ‘luxury’ line - Explora Journeys. There are some very positive reviews and fares seem reasonable - especially in comparison to The Retreat (which, IMHO, is overpriced and over-hyped).

Utilising plastic glasses is one of the downsides of the MSC buffet. However, it’s a safety issue, as people do bring their beverages out to the pool area.

Sailed twice on X (in Sky suites); have our first Princess cruise booked for later this year and a non-suite X booked for late 2025. Looking forward to comparing the experiences and interested in reading opinions on here regarding the differences between the two lines.

Seeing as this thread has been bumped: We’re in the EU and final payment is due 63 days - 9 weeks - before embarkation date (when booked directly with MSC. TAs FPDs are at their discretion and tend to be further out).

Ditto.

We got popcorn on Millennium (that was back in 2016).

You’ve summed up exactly how we feel about this ship (and we did a repo - so it wasn’t at capacity, nor were there many kids onboard). I thought, at the time, that it would be a complete nightmare during its Med Summer season.

Chef Lisa was in response to Meraviglia being referenced (which would cause confusion as this thread is about Seascape).

If you could find out when Mustafa’s (YC director) contract ends, I’d appreciate it. TIA

They have a much more ‘European’ vibe and food emphasis is more tailored towards the passenger demographic. The mix of passengers from different European countries has a big influence on menus, entertainment, vibe. Sailings from US ports rely heavily on building the market there (they already have a huge market in Europe and don’t have to work so hard in that region to ‘grow’). I’ve really noticed the difference, over the years, of how MSC has evolved in the US market since Divina first home-ported there and the drive to make a seriously significant impact there. They offer fares that don’t exist anywhere else.

❤️

The quality of produce brought onboard is also superior in Europe than on US sailings.

Yep.

Can you tell me what this order is?

That strawberry cheesecake in BC looks terrific. Having lost count of the number of times I’ve had it (on several ships) and mostly good, that’s the best I’ve seen. Last few times, it’s been such a letdown that I’ve went with the chocolate lava cake (yum). That photo has made the decision for me to have it, at least once, on our Seascape cruise.

Totally agree. I have more than 5 times the number of points needed to reach their highest tier - Diamond (not status-matched) - and they could be wiped out without a thought from the company for all the years it took me to accumulate them.

As an FYI, you lose status on MSC if you don’t sail with them within 3 years of your last day onboard (they extended this out during Covid). This applies to everyone - not just those who status-matched.

Hi Cap’n. Yeah, we’ve got a B2B on Seascape coming up, then Splendida in September. After that, it’s Princess, Explora and Celebrity. Itineraries are getting boring on MSC, plus their fares have caught up with other lines, so we’re finding value elsewhere. I have more than 5 times the points needed to get to Diamond and it doesn’t look like MSC will ever add a higher tier to VC. Congrats on the deal you got. I’m not sure how the sales on drinks packages work here, but we’re Elite with X so we’ll get 15% discount to upgrade anyway.

I had over-charging issues on an NCL cruise. Went to GS the evening before disembarkation day and was assured it would be sorted. It wasn’t. Queued up next day and had to wait while someone went off to the specialty restaurant to check it out (that’s where the charges had been added). As we had an early flight, I told them I couldn’t wait any longer. I was told not to worry, they’d look after it. My cc was charged with the over charges included. Contacted NCL and finally had a rebate to my card. However, as the onboard charge was in USD, I had incurred a loss due to currency exchange and bank commissions, then lost again as the rebate - in USD - was converted back to Euros, falling victim to the exchange rate and commission charges a second time.

DH enjoyed a mains so much (on another cruise line) that he asked for a second helping. From then on, our waiter brought a second mains every evening whether DH wanted it or not! (One night I couldn’t decide which dessert I wanted so he brought me all three). As for adding a charge for a second mains, MSC has introduced a charge of $5 on their US sailings.

Thank you for your response. I was wondering whether there they have sales here for the upgrade (though it seems doubtful). Well done on the great rate and Bon voyage!

For you or the kid? 🙈

Can I assume you’re in Ireland? If so, how did you avail of the 6.60? The app is showing €16.64 pp (I believe I’ll get 15% discount for being Elite if I ring X)

We’ve done several MSC cruises which had many sea days included (one had 7 in a row - so funny to see passengers almost killing themselves to get off at the first port after that! 🙈), so that wouldn’t be an issue for us. As for the casino being closed - that would be a Plus for me (I can resist anything but temptation 🙄😆).