Beamafar

🎶In a New York minute🎶 Sincere apologies to the OP. 😔

🎶 You should know the score by now 🎶 Sorry - couldn’t resist! 😁

Personally, I thought the martini bar over-rated. Maybe it’s so popular because there are so few other venues to enjoy (on Edge ships) - unlike the newer MSC ships, where there is so much more choices. Also, Top Sail Lounge on MSC is a far superior venue than the Retreat lounge.

We had the cabin next to the Penthouse suite on Millennium, meaning we shared their butler. It was a very disappointing experience.

In YC, all guests are treated equally, whether in an inside or the best suite in the enclave. Personal service for your cabin totally depends on how good your particular butler is - he/she can be amazing - or less than mediocre. However, the assistant butler can be more helpful. Elsewhere, service is exceptional. Having experienced The Retreat, the Yacht Club is, overall, a much better product IMHO (except for food offerings, where Luminae has the edge).

I’d wondered how MSC would handle those who embarked last Thursday in Haifa.

Thanks, P. That’s great news.

MSC has 4 levels - Bella, Fantastica, Aurea and Yacht Club. Bella is the most basic and YC has the most benefits. With Fantastica, you get to choose your cabin location and dining time. The Speciality Restaurant package just means that you can pre-book a package at a reduced rate from the onboard one (apparently this is not possible with a Bella booking). There is also a discount on pre-booked Spa packages. These benefits are also available when booking the 2 next levels.

We were there for the first time last year (on Celebrity Edge) and loved it. It’s a great port to wander around in and is a very interesting historical location. It would be a perfect alternative to Haifa for us.

There’s firing being exchanged across the ‘Blue Line’ between Israel and Hezbollah, who have said that they will attack Israel if there is a ground incursion into Gaza. There’s increased military activity along the border with Lebanon.

That is what I’m hoping for. 🤞

That has been our experience on numerous YC sailings, too.

Well, I guess I’ll find out next week. 😁 Even tracking Musica this week doesn’t mean the changed itinerary will be the same for our sailing, though.

This was to be the itinerary for next week It’s possible that Rhodes or another Turkish port could be a substitute.

@perakcruiser I wonder if the Russians were due to embark in Haifa. 🤔

Sorry here, too, as Sinfonia had been mentioned and you could easily have meant that. I had to check my booking to make sure that we are embarking on Sunday. 🙄 I have an inane fear of getting the flight date wrong and turning up in the airport the day after the flight is scheduled. I can’t see MSC going to Haifa from this week. They will have disembarked anyone who had embarked in Haifa in the last week by today. It’s shocking that they haven’t reached out yet to those who are due to embark there.

A good place to keep an eye on Musica’s whereabouts this week is on marinetraffic.com

Sunday’s embarkation port is Piraeus (Athens).

Exactly, P! I specifically stated Musica as was hoping that someone sailing this week could let us know if Haifa has been replaced with another POC. Sorry to hear how you’ve been messed about. It seems to me that MSC does this even more often than other lines. I’m not holding my breath that we’ll hear from MSC this week. I’ll report on here (meaning this forum) when we embark, or if I get any information in the meantime.

Thank you for your response. Yes, I’m expecting to see it dropped. Was really looking forward to visiting Jerusalem again. We had a fantastic experience when we did an excursion from Eilat a few years ago on the Sinfonia repo to South Africa.

MSC has never had Bulgari products. MED is their signature toiletries brand (as others have said). Celebrity did, at one time, provide them in their suites. Perhaps they’re being provided on MSC’s luxury line, Explora. 🤔

We’re embarking Musica next Sunday. If anyone comes across any news from this week’s sailing that Haifa has been dropped, I would really appreciate it if they posted the info here.

😱🥺🤨

Yeah, I wondered at the notification, too. Like “WT-“??? (Can’t add the third letter or it’ll be reported 🙄). OMG - 4 years since. Crikey! 😲 You have an upcoming cruise soon, don’t you? Where are you off to? We’re on Musica from Athens to Israel, Cyprus and Turkey in 13 days’ time. (Somehow I doubt the OP will mind this thread being hijacked. 🤣).

Our preference is for deck 16 for access to the Top Sail Lounge and Concierge desk.