mrsbraxton

Thanks for replies. I emailed Travel Agent and price I'm getting seems to be full price for child which is annoying. I think I'll contact MSC directly and check with them.

Although Skier52 I'm getting much cheaper price than that per adult so maybe thats why child fair isn't reduced.

hi all

I'm looking into possibility of booking a 5 night cruise in oct. only availability is ex genoa which may be too awkward to get to from Dublin. One TA advised flying to Milan while another said it wasn't possible to organize myself.

Trying to figure out child price but can't seem to get answer. When I do mock online booking it comes up as full price? Are children full price now? My son is 3.

I've only ever cruised in summer so is a cruise in oct worth going on or are we better to save our money and go in summer 18 instead?

Thanks. I emailed travel agent and she came back with package which included return flights and transfers to Milan. Not sure how far Milan is from genoa.

hi all,

looking at booking a cruise for late October and saw a good deal for a 5 night cruise on Preziosa. Only getting options to embark in either Genoa or Marseilles but both don't seem to have direct flights from Dublin.

Has anyone any experience of getting to either of these ports from Dublin and if so which one would you recommend? Thanks

Stop after Genoa is Barcelona which would be ideal but no options coming up for that date

Thanks. Tomorrow is bank holiday here so can't call msc or travel agent until Tuesday so was just wondering if kids sail free still applied.

Thanks. I assumed he'd be free too but price pp is coming up as x3 in final booking price. Unless travel agents website doesn't recognise kids sail free or something.

I'm looking at cruise prices for next summer out of curiosity and when I click to get final price (travel agents website) our child who will be 3 next summer is coming up at full price. He was 18 months old when we cruised last summer and we didn't pay for him so wondering what policy is now for child prices.

Thanks

FYI for anyone else who wasn't sure what process is. Msc reply

We would like to advise that when all guests register a payment method on-board, the ship takes your card details and checks throughout the cruise to ensure there are enough funds available in your account to cover your final bill. Once your final bill has been paid, the pending authorisations are released by MSC Cruises.

However depending ont he type of card registered, depends on how quickly these funds become available -

Credit Cards – can take 3 to 7 days

Debit Cards – can take 10 to 14 days

Pre Card Cards – 14 to 30 days

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Tks. I'll get my husband to ring the bank so as its his debit card we used. It's held for 7 days now so want to get it sorted.

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We came back from cruise last Friday and cabin bill was paid in full on ship, that transaction has gone through on account but there's a pending transaction of €250 still there.

My husband rang msc but they can't deal with this query on phone and asked him to email instead.

Can anyone here shed any light on what this is and if funds are automatically released back etc if it's a deposit/pre auth transaction

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I had forgotten there was one until 2nd night I had rinsed out my sons uv sun suit and left it hanging over sink. Came back later to find cabin attendant had v nicely hung it up on line for me.

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Yeah the baggage storage worked out well. We initially only pre booked one way as wasn't sure how we'd find it and didn't want to pay for way back if I wasn't happy with it. But we booked again during week. It's €15 per bag to book at port when you arrive or €10 online. There was a stand in cruise terminal on way out so we just dropped bags there and picked them up before flight.

I can't believe people would push in past a wheelchair. Actually I would! Here everyone waits their turn to get on an elevator, you stand back to let people out and would never push in past anyone, let alone someone in a wheelchair but so many people on board saw elevator as a free for all and we were frequently pushed out of way by kids getting in.

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The Fantasia has them in shower so I'd imagine the divina does too

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We got back sat morning from our cruise on Fantasia. I really enjoyed the week.

We flew to Barcelona early morning so had the day to explore. We had booked our cases into storage before we left so the guy met us at baggage carousel and took them and met us later at port with them so a service I'd definitely recommend for anyone who has time to spare in Barcelona. We did a tour of nou camp which was enjoyable.

Official boarding time wasn't until after 6pm but we chanced going to port earlier to see could we check in and no problem when we got there at 5ish. Check in was quick and only took a few minutes.

We were in cabin 10025 which has the steel surround balcony. Initially I was disappointed when I found out months ago but it worked out well as we had our 18 month old with us so it was v safe to have him out on balcony with his toys etc. the cabin was v spacious and spotlessly clean. They had a travel cot in as requested and it had a lovely thick mattress on it to so was very comfortable for our little boy to sleep on for the week.

Day 1 - Marseilles

We decided to stay on board this day to get settled and find our way around etc. our cabin was at front of the ship so when we were coming into port each day we could hear ship but other than that it was in a lovely quiet location.

We went to mdr (il cericho d'oro) this night and food was lovely. Staff very accommodating with toddler and nothing was too much trouble. The show tonight was star walker Michael Jackson tribute which was very enjoyable.

Day 2 - Genoa

We got up early and went to aquarium after breakfast. The excursion price for this on board was €39 pp but thanks to advice here we did it ourselves. The aquarium is 800m from ship so an easy walk and tickets are sold at port for €24 each so a lot cheaper. The aquarium itself is huge and took a few hours to get around. Our son loved it so def a trip worth doing with kids.

Day 3 - Naples

We stayed on board again today as we have done Pompeii, sorrento, Capri etc so figured we'd take the day to relax and catch some sun. The ship was lovely and quiet all day so we had no problems getting sun loungers and buffet was calm enough at lunch time.

Day 4 - Messina

We decided to do a tour bus in Messina but to be honest there's not a huge amount to see so maybe a stroll around would have been as nice. It was very warm so when the tour bus was over we got back on board as didn't want our son in the heat and sun too long in case he burnt.

Day 5 - Valletta

My favourite stop of the week. It's a beautiful place. We walked from ship to the lift which takes you to city for €1 each. Then we walked around taking in the sights. There was a band playing so we stopped to watch them for a while. We didn't have long in Valletta which was a pity. We had to be back on board at 12.30pm as the next sailing time was long to get to Palma.

Day 6- at sea during day and then Palma at 9pm

This was the first time all week where you'd feel the amount of people on the ship. It was v busy in most areas, particularly around the pool. We went to pool about 9am and there we're only a handful of loungers left. We managed to get one on deck above pool. Despite all the signs around saying any towels which were unattended for 30 mins or more would be removed this wasn't the case. There were several loungers with towels on them for hours and no one came to them and no staff removed the towels. I feel they need to be more on top of this as there were so many people looking for loungers and several taken with towels but no people came near them.

We got to Palma at 8.30pm and the ship pretty much emptied within an hour! We didn't get off as it wasn't suitable with our son but looking out the window at the streams of people getting off we were definitely in the minority staying on.

Dinner tonight was open seating which was a bit chaotic too. We got to dining room at 6.45pm and there was a big queue. We decided to eat in the tex mex. we had eaten there a few nights previous and were impressed. It's extra charge but worth it and very reasonable.

We left Palma at 5 am and arrived back in Barcelona at 2pm. Our disembarkation time was 2.30pm and it was very quick. A few years ago we cruised on the armonia and found the process far more efficient on the Fantasia.

Overall we had a Great holiday and would def cruise with MSC again. The one downside we found (and it was an opinion shared by other people we met) was lack of manners by many other passengers. It never ceased to amaze me how waiting at elevator people (both adults and kids) would barge past me to get in even though we were waiting first and I had stroller with me. Then when lift stopped people wouldn't wait for us to get out before barging their way in. That got annoying as the week went on. Same in the buffet, it was a free for all some days. Queues mean nothing to some people and they'd walk to front, take what they wanted and didn't bother with everyone else who was waiting in line for food.

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http://bagsandgo.com/en/baggage-left-luggage-services-at-Barcelona/

This is company TA recommended. €10 per bag/case so well worth it

Looked up taxi before I posted here and whatever site I got quote from said €65 so good to hear it's more reasonable.

hi all,

We're flying to Barcelona Friday morning and have time to spare before cruise that evening.

What are our best options for getting from city to cruise?

2 adults and 1 toddler plus his stroller. We won't have suitcases as were meeting a company at airport who'll take them, store them and deliver to port later for us.

Tks!

Yes that is their official policy so not surprised they told you that.

 

However in all the cruises I've had with them, they have always started boarding before that, often several hours before that.

 

I certainly think it is worth your while trying earlier than 8pm. Say around 4.30-5. Worse case they won't be ready but at least they'd take your luggage. Best case they will let you on (although your cabin may not be ready).

Super, thanks for the info!!

Thanks all. I just rang msc to confirm and it's about 3 hours before according to agent. So 8pm.

Was hoping it'd be a bit earlier as well have an 18 month old with us and wanted to get settled with him before his bedtime.

hi all, think this was asked before but can't find post so apologies for asking again.

We are sailing on Fantasia on 10th July from Barcelona. Departure time is 23:00 but would anyone know roughly what time embarkation would start at? Ship arrives back in Barcelona at 14:00 that day.

Just trying to plan what sightseeing well do in Barcelona that day.

Sorry only seeing replies now. Thanks a million for the great info (as always!).

Unsure now what to do, whether room we have 10025 is better than ones still available or not. Decisions, decisions, decisions!! :)

Looking online here on TA website doing mock booking to see what cabins are still available on Fantastica package.

Not sure if any of these are better than 10025 so maybe some one might have a better idea.

10232, 10234, 10238,

11166, 11172,

12119, 12120, 12121, 12122

13150

What way do the port charges work? We are travelling In July and our son will be 18 months at the time. Does price we pay include charges for him or will we owe money at end?

Pity free child places going as it was a big incentive to book a cruise this year for us and would have been something we considered as he got older too.

Thanks so much. Have sent him on the info. Sounds like Deck 8 cabins best avoided. Good to know.

Thanks again.

Hi,

Looking up cruise options for my brother for Sept. Divina from Barcelona on 2nd looking good.

Theres B1 cabins available but not sure if they all have restricted views or only some of them etc.

If anyone knows about any of these cabins I'd appreciate any info.

Thanks!!

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