drsel

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?

Check out all info about cruise ports on these free websites www.whatsinport.com www.tomsportguides.com

Yes you can, but you will have to buy the alcohol free drinks package for all four of you. it won't be worth it unless the four of you together consume around 28 or more non alcoholic drinks everyday. Also the non alcoholic drink package onboard price is more than the easy plus package when included with the cruise at the time of booking.

I saw 2 videos of Hapag Lloyd Europa & Azamara Pursuit going through the Kiel canal. From the videos it appears that these cruise ships were the main attraction, not the Kiel canal. There is nothing much to see except the locks opening, greenery on both banks & a railway bridge. I think the Rhine cruise is much better

Google says there are no local ferries giving joyrides through the Kiel canal from one end to the other (96km). Only this is available https://www.sfk-kiel.de/en/cruises/fjord/ www.whatsinport.com also has a list of all Kiel attractons (attached herewith) but no mention of a boat ride or cruise through the Kiel canal stadtplan_rueckseite_englisch.pdf

So how and where to book tickets on the excursion boat that sails through the entire canal?

https://www.sfk-kiel.de/en/cruises/fjord/ Is this the excursion boat you are referring to?

Hamburg will be our base city for day trips to Lubeck, Bremen, Wismar, Schwerin, Lunebeck. We will also be spending 6 nights in Berlin (after the last Cruise) and doing 2 --3 day trips to Potsdam, Leipzig and Dresden Do you have the link where I can book tickets for a 96 km Cruise through the Kiel canal, starting & ending in Kiel?

Maybe I should spend 2 nights in Kiel and then 5 nights in Hamburg

Is that 99 km as scenic as cruising through the Norwegian fjords?

I don't know about YC, but for ordinary cabins you get a FULL REFUND of your deposit of $398, if you cancel more then 90 days prior to sailing. Penalties start at 89 days prior to sailing

From what I have seen in the past, different MSC ships (from the same port) have completely different shows, although the remaining activities & cuisine may be similar, just like in all cruise lines.

Yes, I have chosen the 2nd option (2 diff cruises) to experience a diff class of ships with completely diff shows & entertainment. Maybe similar cuisine & activities. Also the 7N in Hamburg in between the 2 cruises is necessary to fully explore Hamburg & do day trips to Lubeck, Bremen, Schwerin, Wismar, Lunebeck. I had to cut down on extended land tours both before the 1st cruise & after the last.

Poesia is a second generation Musica class MSC ship while Fantasia is a third generation Fantasia class MSC ship. So the design is completely different and i expect the shows, entertainment and activities also to be completely different. Nevermind the cuisine being similar, this is not very important to me

Non Yacht club, regular cabin

HI, I want to change my existing booked MSC cruise to another new cruise on a different ship /different region/ different month. Both existing (booked) cruise & new cruise are over 180 days away Can I simply transfer the deposit $398 to the new cruise, or do I have to take a refund ( which takes over 30 days) & then pay a fresh deposit for the new cruise? Thanks!

I forgot to mention that the second Cruise of the back to back is cheaper by $164 ( for 2 adults) than the second Cruise on a different ship (Poesia). So far it's a split verdict, but I am more inclined to go for two different Cruises even though it's $164 more expensive and also inconvenient to travel from one port to another. Because for me, the main attraction on a cruise is first the shows entertainment and activities, and then the sightseeing

No doubt the back to back Cruises are very convenient and do not involve any travelling, but I expect the shows at least to be different on 2 different MSC ships

Thanks ldubs, it would be either 7+7=14 nights on the same MSC Fantasia or 7 nights on MSC Fantasia, 7 night in a hotel (land tour) and then 7 nights on MSC Poesia, departing from a different port 3 hours away

We have the option of 2 back to back 7 night Cruises with different itineraries (Norwegian fjords and Baltics) on the same ship MSC Fantasia, which is very convenient; OR 2 Cruises (of 7 nights each) with 2 different itineraries (again Norwegian fjords and Baltics) on 2 different ships MSC Fantasia and MSC Poesia in 2 nearby (different) ports, with a 7N land tour in between the two Cruises In the 2 back to back Cruises, the same shows, same entertainment, same activities and same cuisine will be repeated in the second week (2nd cruise) , whereas on a different ship there will be different shows, activities, entertainment and cuisine. Also a 7 nights land tour in between. so which option should I choose?

Is nudity compulsory or optional?

Is nudity compulsory or optional at the poolside on this nude Cruise ? If optional, it may lead to voyeurism.

See the beginning of this thread

Another Major difference-- MSC is the only cruise line to have never sold or scrapped any ship during the entire Covid pandemic. On the country, they built and launched more new ships. Almost all other cruise lines including Costa have sold ships or scrapped them. Costa sold neoClassica, neoRiviera, Mediterranea and neoRomantica ( later scrapped by Celestyal without using it) Costa scrapped Victoria. Right now Costa has 13 ships

Some more differences-- MSC has got many new ships--Meraviglia, Bellisima, Seaview, Seaside, Grandiosa, Virtuosa, Seashore, Seascape, Euribia, World Europa and even more being constructed; Whereas Costa has only 4 new ships--Venezia, Toscana, Firenze & Smeralda. MSC is right now the fastest growing cruise line and is expected to overtake both Royal Caribbean and Carnival in the near future.