Beamafar

Yep - same with Veuve Cliquot, which was also included. Idiots on sm bragging about drinking thousands of $\€ worth of champagne a day for - was it €72 pppd (can’t remember, now, but it wasn’t much more, if any)?

Johnny Walker Blue was included in the Premium Plus drinks package (which you had to upgrade to from the YC included Premium package). Alas, MSC, in their infinite wisdom, discontinued it. 🙁

MSC started leaving the cruisecards on the beds in the cabins a few years ago (can’t remember when, exactly).

Would you care to share your plans for Trieste? We will be spending a couple of days there post-cruise and would be very interested in hearing about them.

Haven’t done The Haven, but have sailed in Sky suites on Millennium and the Edge. For us, YC is a much better experience, due it being a totally separate part of the ship. We do think that the food in Luminae is a step up (though a poster on here begged to differ on that one, so it’s a very subjective question) but food is not a concern for us. There isn’t really a comparison when you take the fares into account; The Retreat fares, IMHO, are way overblown for what you get. We’ve just booked a Sunset Veranda on Celebrity for next year and will not even consider bidding up. But, when budget allows, it’s YC for us.

If you think the Seaside class ships are crowded, just wait til you see the World America, if World Europa is anything to go by (and the ship was only at about 70% capacity when we sailed, with just a few children onboard).

Here’s the current drinks menu available on US sailings. (MSC sometimes changes prices and included items from April). Drinks up to $16 are included across the ship for YC guests. Items without a price on the YC bar menus are also included. Divina US bar menu.pdf

If you want to upgrade to the better PremiumExtra package, it’s best to do it before sailing as it’ll be cheaper than if you wait til onboard. Here’s what’s included (so you can compare and decide if it’s worth it to upgrade). This covers drinks up to the value of $16 - the package that you have covers drinks up to $10.

You’re not limited to a certain number of drinks per day, either, unlike packages on some other lines. Here’s what’s included in the Easy Plus:

It’s been reported elsewhere on the forum that the 30% discount voucher has been discontinued.

I’m not sure that the perk applies on 3 night cruises.

We’ve sailed many times with MSC in the Med and have never experienced anything like you’ve described. You must have been very unlucky with your sail dates. As for rudeness - it’s not an exclusive trait in Europeans; I’ve come across some extremely rude Americans in my time onboard. But I’ve also met, and enjoyed the company of, some wonderful Americans (and Europeans) too.

That Zonin brand is the one they have on European sailings and is included in the basic package.

They have been known to make an appearance. 😁 A steward, on one of our sailings, left one for us one evening. Next day I made a point of thanking him. Every night thereafter, we received more and more elaborate creations. On the last night, no animal on the bed. I shrugged and said Ah well, he’s preparing for a busy morning ahead with having to prepare cabins for the new arrivals. I then turned around to discover a ‘monkey’ hanging from the side of the wardrobe. I’m sure I have a photo of it (and all the others), but can’t remember which sailing so it would take me an eternity to unearth it.

Thanks for explaining how you upload the photos. I sometimes write up my posts in Notes, then copy and paste for the same reason - wifi drop-off. Lost so many long posts before, so - lesson learned.

The ‘better’ located cabins are often booked in advance so you end up bidding on what’s left. It’s a gamble that doesn’t always pay off. By bidding, you’re probably getting a higher category for less than what it would normally cost.

The menus on US sailings did tend to be similar to those on Med sailings in the early days, but they weren’t popular with a lot of US passengers, so they adjusted them to cater more to the US palate as they grew their market share in the region. Let’s just say that there’s no way you’ll see chicken and waffles on a Med cruise on MSC. 🙈

A butler will fetch a wheelchair from the YC stock and bring it down to the terminal. Just let them know that you need one.

When we were on Musica in October, the menu on my app one night was different to the one on our table mate’s app - and we both had iPhones!! Some of the items differed from the actual menu, too. 🙄

I had just said to my DH a few minutes ago, as I read through this, that there was no sign of Oberon. It’s the only red I drink on US sailings and I am hoping that it’s available on our upcoming Seascape sailing. If I don’t see it on the list, I guess I’ll have to talk nicely to the sommelier. 😆

I can book excursions through the app, but, as you say, you cannot reserve show times until onboard. Same with Speciality Restaurants.

One of the butlers will organise a wheelchair for you if you let them know that you need one. Can’t answer on the TV situation.

Lovely to see the Diamond perk bottle of bubbly & treats awaiting your arrival in the cabin. I haven’t seen that in quite some time (except for YC - and they’ve done away with that, too). It’s usually delivered some time during the cruise. That’s quite some feat to get all those photos uploaded - and the spaces in between. Is there a knack to it? I know how to insert photos, but I have to hit the space bar after I’ve inserted each one, then go and insert the next photo, etc. I’m wondering if there’s an easier way than the way I do it.

Just to say that you don’t need your cruisecard to get a drink on embarkation. You just need to tell the server your cabin number and, if you have a drinks package included, it’ll show on the system. I assume they can charge to your cabin if you don’t.

Thank you so much for your detailed response. Sounds like an amazing day out. Sorry to interrupt the flow. I just hoped that you were going to include a report of it in your review. Looking forward to reading about your first MSC cruise.