drsel

Skipper Tim, this is the Costa forum, so most of the people reading your review are huge fans of Costa. Costa has very low fares for transatlantic cruises, but I honesty feel that MSC is better value. If anyone wants something better than MSC, then they will have to pay much more for a Celebrity or Princess cruise

Oh my gosh, It's shocking to read all this! I didn't expect Costa to have gone down so much. It wasn't so bad before. Thankfully, I have not booked any more Costa cruises and I do not plan to do so unless something drastic changes.

Now we know that Costa serves free pizzas in the buffet only on the trans Atlantic cruises and cruises around South America, whereas MSC serves free pizza in the buffet on ALL their cruises. Both MSC and Costa choose room stewards, waiters and kitchen staff from Indonesia, Philippines and India because they can pay them much less and still their TAX FREE income in foreign exchange would be upto 1000% more than what they would have received for the exact same work and exact same hours in their own home countries. Also the minimal income they receive in their home countries is fully taxable whereas income received in foreign exchange is completely TAX FREE . At least bartenders on both Carnival and Royal Caribbean have told me that they average around 4000 US dollars per month TAX FREE, which is 1000% more than what bar tenders in their home countries earn

Wow you are going to have a fabulous time! I agree with At7seas that filling water at the buffet should be done by using the glasses, for the sake of hygiene. This is the same on MSC and other ships. Please ask your rooms steward if they make/ provide towel animals (and how many) on such a long cruise. We have never received towel animals on any of our MSC and Costa cruises. At Barcelona you must buy the 5 day unlimited Barcelona Go City pass which includes all the attractions and is excellent value for money

No towel animals or art auctions on ANY Costa or MSC cruise. These are exclusively on American lines--RC, Carnival, Norwegian, etc

Dear experts & experienced cruisers, My wife & I are doing the Norwegian Fjords & Baltic ports for the 1st time ever. It's a once in a lifetime experience for us, so we would like to plan it perfectly. We have always done shore excursions on our own, on a budget ( in ports in the Mediterranean, Asia, Middle East, Caribbean). We would like to know-- A) Is it possible to get taxis and/or shared minivans for ON THE SPOT shared tours at these ports below ? If so, will they accept cash in Euros or credit card ? B) Which is the single BEST full day/ 4--8 hour tour at-- 1. Maloy 2. Molde 3. Trondheim 4. Honningsvag (North Cape) from 12 noon till 12 midnight 5. Tromso 6. Alesund 7. Olden 8. Nordfjordeid 9. Stavenger (Lysefjord) 10. Gdynia (Gdansk-Danzig) 11. Klaipeda 12. Riga 13. Stockholm 14. Copenhagen 15. Warnemunde 16. Kiel Thanks in anticipation!

Thanks for your detailed analysis & comparison. I will heed your advice!

Emma's comparison is spot on. It's precise, to the point, and much more accurate than that of the Cruise Buoys

Emma's comparison is spot on. It's precise, to the point, and much more accurate than that of the Cruise Buoys

Actually the video was just to prove that medically it is better & safer to have one peg every hour when you have the unlimited drinks package. Instead of consuming many drinks in rapid succession. Space them out for maximum pleasure and joy!

VID-20230323-WA0038.mp4

The best price is when you book it along with your cruis, as part of the cruise fare.

Dear experts & experienced cruisers, I apologize for not reading all 265 posts. My wife & I are doing the Norwegian Fjords & Baltic ports for the 1st time ever. It's a once in a lifetime experience for us, so we would like to plan it perfectly. We always do shore excursions on our own, on a budget ( in other ports in Europe, Asia, Middle East, Caribbean, etc). We would like to know-- A) Is it possible to get taxis and/or shared minivans for ON THE SPOT shared tours with CASH or CARD payment at these ports below-- B) Which is the single BEST full day/ 4--8 hour tour at-- 1. Maloy 2. Molde 3. Trondheim 4. Honningsvag (North Cape) from 12 noon till 12 midnight 5. Tromso 6. Alesund 7. Olden 8. Nordfjordeid 9. Stavenger (Lysefjord) 10. Gdynia (Gdansk-Danzig) 11. Klaipeda 12. Riga 13. Stockholm 14. Copenhagen 15. Warnemunde 16. Kiel Thanks in anticipation!

Costa didn't refund anything for a missed port in Madagascar, due to poor weather

This is the reply of my TA-- MSC confirmed that in order to get the new 40-60% LOWER PRICE for taxes and fees, they would need to reprice the entire booking to the new fare. They cannot price adjust ONLY the taxes and fees.

This is the reply of my TA-- MSC confirmed that in order to get the new 40-60% LOWER PRICE for taxes and fees, they would need to reprice the entire booking to the new fare. They cannot price adjust ONLY the taxes and fees.

In my case, the port fees and taxes were genuinely high on the MSC website when I booked the cruise and now they have actually fallen 40 to 60% for 3 different MSc cruises. Very very surprising and unusual! The basic fare mentioned in the agent invoice was the same as that on the MSC website when I booked. So my agent did not make any adjustment for non commissionable fare and he never does. Both basic fare and taxes on my agents invoice are always exactly the same as that on the MSC website.

In my case the port fees and taxes were actually high on the MSC website when I booked, but are now much lower on the MSC website. So it is a genuine fall in Port fees and taxes. But the basic fare has also gone up, so the overall fare is higher

No.

Yes yes even I am surprised. It has never happened before

Some months after booking, if the basic cruise fare has gone up, but the port fees & taxes have reduced 50--65%, can we a price reduction ONLY on the port fees & taxes?

Thanks, These are 3 MSC cruises to the Norwegian fjords and Baltics. Over all the total fare is much higher in two cruises, and only $12 lower in one cruise after the drastic fall in port fees and taxes. What should I do? Do you think that MSC will give us OBC for the difference or not?