Bethwte

Does anyone know if once MSC has assigned you a cabin number, if they will change it or upgrade after that? I booked Bella inside guarantee and received an inside stateroom assignment within a few days that I'm actually really happy with location wise, but just curious if I should plan on keeping that room or if it might be changed/upgraded? My sailing date is about 2 months out. 

On 10/10/2023 at 11:26 AM, chobo2 said:

 

Yes I seen some places as an option not to book with drink package but I still would like the wifi, that is what is nice about NCL and most other you can pick and choose what you want and don't want.

 

I chose the lowest base fare (Bella) which has none of the add-ons like drinks or internet. After booking, it gave me options to add each of those things individually. For my 7 day cruise (Northern Europe in December, I'm not sure if pricing is different based on itinerary and time of year), the internet package pricing is as follows (prices in USD):

Browse: $70 for one device, $126 for 2, $168 for 3, $196 for 4

Browse and Stream: $98 for one device, $189 for 2, $259 for 3, $322 for 4

I'm also a new MSC cruiser and also wanted to let you know that unlike some of the other lines, it seems MSC does not tell you the times of your excursions until on board (and apparently often the night before, per the answers I received on this board when I just asked about it). Now that may not matter to you if that's all you planned to do for the day, but I did find it a little frustrating. That said, the prices were pretty unbeatable so I can't be too mad about it. 

Example of pricing based on my upcoming cruise to Northern Europe. Please note sometimes NCL will offer $50 off per stateroom per excursion, so for you and your wife you could potentially subtract $25 per person from their numbers. MSC is pretty much always cheaper, even with that $25, sometimes significantly so. I'm not sure if Carnival offers deals as I haven't cruised with them in almost 20 years. Sorry that I can't help you with pricing for the Caribbean specifically.

Le Havre, France:

Rouen is $71 on MSC (5 hours) and $119 on NCL (5.25 hours), no option for just Rouen on Carnival

Honfleur is $83 on MSC (4.5 hours), $109 on NCL (4.25 hours), and $90 on Carnival (4 hours)

Le Havre by foot is $41 on MSC (3 hours) and $75 on NCL (3.25 hours)

Paris Sightseeing tour is $126 on MSC (10 hours), $199 on NCL 10.25 hours, and is $200 on Carnival (10.5 hours)

Mont St Michel is $126 on MSC (10 hours), NCL does not offer it, and $180 on Carnival (10.5 hours)

Zeebrugge:

Bruges Walking tour is $46 on MSC (4.5 hours) and $89 on NCL (4.25 hours), Carnival's tours are longer (8 hours) and are $110 for a walking tour and $79 for on your own.

Brussels is $69 on MSC (8 hours) and $109 on NCL (8 hours), Carnival's includes more of a guided tour and a lunch and is $130 (8 hours)

Ghent is $52 on MSC (5 hours) and is $109 on NCL (5.25 hours), Carnival's incudes the canal boat tour ($11 to do on your own) and is $120 (5 hours)

Thanks for the help and insight into your experiences everyone. Shame I probably won't know until the day before so it would be hard to make any kind of a firm plan for other things, but at least it will be Christmas market time so if all else fails, those will be lovely to wander through with any time I have left in port. 

New MSC cruiser here. I don't normally do ship excursions but a couple were reasonably enough priced I decided to try them for my upcoming cruise. I see the duration of the tour listed, but can't seem to find when the tour actually starts anywhere, even after booking and paying for the tour. How can I find this information out or will it only be available once on board? Hopefully not, as I'd like to plan other activities on those days since we're docking for much longer than the tours' durations. 

I'm looking into my first river cruise after many on the more major ocean lines. I am used to seeing set times for when ships will be in each port, but can't seem to find that anywhere pre-booking. From what I understand, Viking sails mostly at night, but what I'd like to know specifically is if we'd have any time in any of the Christmas markets in the evening when they are all lit up. The itinerary we're looking at is the 12 day Christmas on the Rhine and Moselle in December. 

Any past experience with this would be great. And/or if anyone knows how far in advance one might be able to find docking times. 

I've never had just a pure blow out (I intended to this last time but she talked me into the keratin treatment and I'm actually thrilled with it and when I got home was shocked to see it was cheaper on the ship than salons here), but I usually do some kind of hair treatment that involves them doing a blow out at the end, like phyto or a scalp massage*. My little treat to myself. I've always been really happy, but my experience may be colored by the fact that there is a treatment before.

*I have however noticed that whether or not the blowout was included in the initial price varies, so definitely ask if you're going this route. I'm not sure if this is based on the treatment, the cruise line, or both as I hadn't paid much attention.

Vacations are the only time I get a manicure, and I do a french gel - because it lasts for so darn long and since there really isn't much color variance between the polish and your natural nail, the growth isn't very obvious at all. I do hate how my nails are after taking gel off though, hence it being a vacation only treat. I'll have to look into the other options mentioned above for next time.

Just off from Coral as of about a week ago. They did have milkshakes but just in case you weren't aware they are not free. I believe it was $2.50, though they are included if you have various drink packages (the soda plus mocktails one or the all-inclusive)

I don't have an iPad but wanted to comment that the wireless connection was definitely better in public areas than in the room, so especially if you are paying for minutes, I'd try to stick to public areas.

Not at all crowded on the Coral Princess we just got off of (10 day Panama Canal). We loved it, almost moreso for the two fantastic women who were serving drinks. Since so few people attended they really had time to chat and get to know passengers

You're thinking is not unsound. The AIBP is merely a great convenience, (but unless you have deep pockets AND are quite at home quaffing 5-7 drinks daily), not a great value. Pay as you go. Your pocketbook and liver will thank you.

It really depends, especially re: the liver thing. I never do the fancy chocolate or espresso martini things at home, but on a cruise I figure hey, why not. With my favorite only having a splash of Irish creme and creme de menthe in it, it's not really all that alcoholic. It's very easy to knock those types back without feeling it.

My thighs however, probably aren't too happy with me! lol

I keep a master packing list saved on my computer with all the essentials as well as both cold and warm weather clothes, and then tailor it to each individual cruise, starting at least a month out. This gives me time to try on clothes to make sure they fit, get them laundered and order/buy anything new I might want or need.

I don't like to pack ahead of time though. I will hang everything in a separate closet or otherwise set it aside, but packing always gets done the night before. I find that helps prevent wrinkling in clothes. With the list and having everything already in one place it goes super fast.

So glad to hear they were so accommodating for you. While I don't have any dietary restrictions I have to say I was very impressed with how well a table mate we had one dinner was treated. The head waiter came right over and discussed the meal with her as well as reviewed the menu for the next night, they brought her tons of food and tried very hard to make sure she had an equal experience to the rest of the diners. For instance, she was unable to have the sorbet palate cleanser we were all having due to allergies, so they made her a fresh fruit and ice blend for that course.

This was at an anytime dining table/venue, so while I'm sure traditional dining makes it an even easier and smoother process, I wanted to share that so people who may not want traditional dining would know it works well with anytime as well.

I think it's highly dependent on your individual cruise. We didn't board until late and I didn't see the Maitre D's desk until well after 3pm and still got in on the cruise I just took. There are probably a few reasons for this.

We were told that there tends to be less interest in it on the longer cruises/cruises with more experienced passengers because many have the been there/done that attitude. Whereas on the itineraries with newer passengers, many more want to try it. I also am a single female under 30 which probably helps, and there was a family of 3 looking to get in, so I helped even out the numbers. So while a lot comes down to early boarding, sometimes it's just luck.

I used some for the first time this trip (also the first time doing carry-on only, so proud of myself) and loved them. I used a backpack which fully unzips like a regular bag and the cubes were awesome to make sure stuff didn't all settle to the bottom and weight stayed evenly distributed. Backpack is 19" x 13.75" x 9" and an ebags large packing cube fit perfectly along the entire length and 2 mediums would be able to be put on top of that, bringing the main body of the bag up to comfortably full. I actually put shoes and toiletries/jewelry in place of the second medium. Still had plenty of room to put stuff in outside pockets and the pocket on the top inside of the bag.

Got two skirts, maxi dress, button down shirt, two 3/4 sleeve cotton shirts, 1 wrap-style top, 1 cardigan, 1 pair of sweatpants and 2 mens XL shirts (pjs), 1 blanket and a flat iron in a large, and it wasn't even close to stuffed. All lingerie, tanks, and bathing suits fit into a medium. Loved it, will never pack any other way.

Kind of like Princess Diana's wedding gown the dress looks like it's wearing the model.

 

I think it's a bit too much going on for one dress. If you want the high slit great, but either remove the sleeves or make them a solid or solid sheer. If you want the offset neckline great, but get rid of the slit and slit sleeves. Coco Chanel would agree. There's simply too many details trying to fight for the attention of the eye and it makes it a distracting hot mess.

Agree with this. At very first glance I was slightly ambivalent about it, but after a closer look I do agree that the details of the dress are competing/fighting with each other a bit. Especially because there is a lot of ruching on the body as well (which is hard to see in the pic you posted, but I went and found it on Kohls.com)

I do like it much better in the shorter version if that's something you're comfortable wearing. Then again, if you like the long dress you go ahead and rock that as well. Sometimes clothing looks much different in person/on someone other than the model.

I might notice red espadrilles every night, but only because I do like shoes and tend to look at other people's. However, I'd probably merely be admiring them and certainly wouldn't look upon wearing them often negatively.

That said, I agree with others than you probably want at least one other pair for various reasons. Flats for rocky seas or days your feet may hurt a bit from lots of activity and you don't necessarily want to walk around the ship all night in heels. Plus I've found if I don't change up my footwear a bit, after a few days in a row of the same shoes, my feet start to rebel a little. I'm a big fan of leather ballet or d'orsay flats for evenings as they are very comfy (if you buy a nice pair), can be dressed up or down, and take up very little room.

Had to look up Saltwaters - those are cute and would definitely be fine for non-formal nights on the MDR. Plus they would be good for port days, and shoes that do double duty are always a plus when trying to pack.

I wouldn't bother with the sparkly/strappy shoes especially since you said you're not going to do formal nights. As far as heels and safety goes, I think a lot of that depends on your comfort level in heels in general. If you teeter in them on land, it will only be worse on a ship. If you could run in them (I envy you, women who can), the only time it would really be an issue is when you hit very rough seas, which has been a rarity in my cruising experience. And yes, as someone else mentioned, Hawaii was the roughest I've experienced.

This is me to a T, and it's even worse since I've lost some weight recently. Everything just looks so much nicer on me and I can't stop shopping for cruise clothes or clothes in general, which is really bad because I do plan on working out and toning up more, so I'm sure all of these clothes I'm buying won't fit for much longer.

For my last two cruises, I had my fingers crossed that clothes/shoes/bags I ordered online mere days before would arrive, that's how bad it is! LOL (And yes, all arrived thank goodness)

Google's reverse image search is your friend in this case...

It's the Montage by Mon Cheri brand, specifically style 113925 :)

Hmmm... was on the Jade 3/11 and had to ask for room service menus (we got the normal breakfast cards but the actual menu was just a print out off a computer). Wonder if this is related and they were working on switching out the menus or just a fluke.

That's too funny! I was a bit the same when I was younger (though it's probably more common for girls). Up until my late teens I would dress to the nines for cruises and pack so, SO much stuff.. As the years have gone on, I've gotten more and more casual, to the point where I am loving NCL because I don't need any formal clothes at all if that's what I happen to feel like.

And of course remember to wear your heavier items and as many layers on the plane as possible/comfortable, which will help with the weight limits. My Cali coastal was in March and I was glad to have sweaters/layers. I haven't tried them, but I have heard from a lot of people that silk underwear is a great layer for cooler weather when traveling and is very lightweight. And it sounds like you might already be thinking of this, but yes, make sure to bring something to wash items in your stateroom. I'd only send out things like jeans, PJs, socks, etc. Basically only items you'd be okay with washing and drying on HOT settings.

The best advice (imo) for packing lighter, no matter what the climate, is to pick a color scheme and stick to that. A few neutrals and maybe one bright accent color. Or even all neutrals and then accent with your accessories. My recent Med cruise was black/white/grey (and denim for bottoms), and all the color came from scarves/jewelry. Everything went together and I definitely could have even done a carry on only if I'd wanted to. I plan to for my next one.

I loved my California Coastal and am hoping to do the Canal at some point, so I am very jealous of your trip. Have a fantastic time!

Found this site the other day and I really like the packing list, at least for trips other than beach vacations, or for someone looking for something fairly "stylish":

http://justonesuitcase.com/just-one-suitcase/

It's very similar to my style and what I would pack anyway (minus the button downs as they don't flatter me), so it was nice to have that reassurance.

I actually just something similar for a thread where I was checking to make sure my packing list for my Western Med cruise in March sounded alright:

• Black Rain Jacket
  
• Grey Blazer (this is a nice thick ponte knit so can serve as a jacket as well)
  
• A couple sweaters/cardigans
  
• Some medium to lighter weight long sleeve tops
  
• Couple of pairs of dark jeans
  
• Black skirt and formal top should I need to dress up (both of these pieces also work with other tops or jeans)
  
• Wrap dress
  

I didn't count camisoles/tanks as I wear those under everything and consider them to be more of undergarments than anything else. And like Sadie, I would buy some scarves there. If it was a bit later in spring obviously this would be adjusted slightly for warmer weather.