Beamafar

Thank you so much for sharing your cruise experience here, CT. Sounds like you didn’t miss YC too much (which has always been our experience when not in YC). So, the verdict. Would you go non-YC again, or did you feel that, despite enjoying steerage, YC is more of a must?

If they’re updated on our sailing and the WiFi plays nice, I’ll post them.

Yeah - I feel the same way. I’d considered cancelling the upgrade but it’s too close to sail date, now. Had this arisen last week, I may have done so. But I’m not convinced that we’d be able to pay the price difference for a drink outside our original included Easy package. Also, I’ve never had to keep an eye on onboard spend for drinks (we’ve always had the top package) and I don’t want to have to spend the next 2 weeks doing so. I’m just going to roll with whatever happens and not let it spoil our cruise.

Totally agree! Though, actually, this has happened in a slightly different way before. The package prices would increase and then I’d find that items were removed from the menus. For example: the top package was known as Deluxe. When it was first introduced, Remy Martin XO @ €12 a glass was included. The price increased and RMXO disappeared off the menu. Janneau XO became the top cognac @ €9 That was removed and I was left with Martell @€6.75 (or thereabouts) as the best available covered by Deluxe.

It’s just that I and 1 aren’t clearly distinguishable to older eyes, especially. 🥴

Yes, I think it is a very different, understandable, situation on Virtuosa. In the other cases, it seems grossly unfair to increase prices without increasing the limit simultaneously.

This is the fear I have, that we may experience similar. I’ve already paid €960 to upgrade to PremX and won’t be too pleased if I have to pay more for drinks that have suddenly been removed from it.

Sorry - it’s an original booking. I don’t have the facility to bid for an upgrade.

We have one booked for next week. Really looking forward to it. Love the big window view of the sea. We don’t use a balcony much, so this really suits us.

That has been one poster’s experience onboard World Europa. Another onboard Virtuosa has said that it’s not possible on their ship.

Just to clarify - a YC1 is a balcony; a YIN is a YC inside.

Aaahh, thanks, JD. 🤗 😁

DH has a similar problem so it may be a glitch in the new site. Guess I’ll live without the chance to bid for an upgrade. 🥴😆

Name and booking number gives me access - but just to the particular booking; not to my account. Joys of MSC IT, alright. 🤣 Still, the new site is awesome in comparison to what we had before. 🤪

Unfortunately I can’t log in. Haven’t been able to for years. Gave up trying to get them to sort it. The Ireland website was finally brought into the 21st century recently; tried to log in but keep getting a notice saying my email has to be validated and that they’ve sent me an email for validation. However I never get the email. Yet, if I try to register with my email address they say that it is already associated with an account. 🙄

No contest - YC all the way.

Can you direct me to the box in the account, JD? I’ve never received an upgrade bid offer and just thought that it’s not offered here.

That’s a wonderful gesture, CT - I’m sure you’re well-deserving of it. Those treats look scrummy. Enjoy (and I hope you’re not feeling too bad).

I don’t see any mention of a Minors package on any of my bookings.

That also states a welcome package of Prosecco and chocolate which is no longer the case. You now get to choose a bottle of liquor from a list.

Totally agree! It appears that, no matter what individuals are experiencing, it’s a case of YMMV. 🙄

We’re embarking Europa on Monday next. Someone currently onboard has posted that they could purchase a drink outside of their package and just pay the difference in price between it and the limit. Someone onboard another ship said they can’t do that, so there’s a lot of confusion with these new package/drinks prices which I’m hoping won’t impact us negatively on our cruise. Also, a booking we made on 13 February last is indicating that we won’t be able to use the beverage package in the SRs. The drinks package prices are the new ones with the increased limits.

It may possibly be an error due to the drinks package pricings being changed and the wording on the website being impacted. I’ll be keeping an eye on my booking over the coming weeks for changes to the text.

The prices have increased recently and there’s some confusion about what’s now covered as MSC is currently making changes but they haven’t yet been implemented across the fleet. There are a couple of threads around this that you should read. Then it’ll be clear as mud to you (we’re talking about MSC here, after all). The Easy package is €39, EasyPlus is €54 and PremiumExtra is €74. They’re the prices you’ll be charged onboard when the onboard currency is €, plus the service charge (which used to be 15% but that’s been increased to 18%). I don’t have the new $ prices. As @insidecabin has said, you may get a promotional rate when making a booking. MSC does not indicate a price limit for the Easy package; they have a menu onboard listing the inclusions. For the other two, you will be covered for drinks up to €9 and €14, respectively (but that’s not the situation at the moment. From some reports on here, the old limits seem to still be in place). The previous prices for the packages in $ were: $38, $49 and $69, respectively. These have now increased, as have the drinks price limits which I include in brackets here. The 2 higher packages covered drinks up to $9 (now $10) and $15 (now $16).

Thank you so much for the photo (and info!), LW. Delighted to see they have Cicogna onboard - and that you liked it. I’ve recommended it here before on a couple of occasions and received a similar response. Eagerly anticipating boarding on Monday (and hoping it will still be covered by the Premium package 🤞).