Lisichka

I booked a cruise leaving from Warnemunde. I do not see a port transfer option yet under the excursions tab. Is this something MSC offers there or should I just plan on taking the train?. 😃

Well then I guess I am booking for spring 2025. 😞

Weird that royals own blog wouldnt know that......

The link says October.

Ok, so it is true that the Anthem will start sailing from Singapore starting October 2023. Itineraries will be released and bookable later this month. Phew, so glad! https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2023/05/15/royal-caribbean-anthem-of-the-seas-asia

That is what I want though…A cruise that goes to Japan. Right now there is nothing for next fall except for the ones leaving from China that are all in Mandarin.

Fingers crossed! I am hoping for a Tokyo to Singapore itinerary.

Yes, and I do a lot of cruises across the world. The difference here is that comedy shows, announcements, etc will only be in Mandarin. As a solo cruiser I like to meet and communicate with others, and my Mandarin is a little rusty. Royal tells me about 90% of the people on the cruise I had originally booked will only speak Mandarin. Likewise they have replaced all staff for this particular cruise with Mandariin speaking staff. My question really wasn’t if this will be a good or bad cruise but rather if more cruises will be released for next year. That’s it.

They don’t go to the same ports at all….

The cruises from Singapore I wouldnt have an issue with. I have had friends and family take that one, and there are lots of people from Australia, Europe and the US on board on that one. The one from Shanghai apparently is very different. When you travel solo it is a lot more difficult to find people to do things with when you dont speak the same language. I just came off a cruise to Saudi Arabia and it was an immersive cruise too, but there were many people from all around the world, and many who spoke English (or Dutch, like I do). Not sure why/how you spent $30K though....

I was ok with the ports but after I booked it I received an email from Royal saying all entertainment/announcements will be in Mandarin and that 90% of the passengers will be Chinese. I am not sure I would like that as much.

I thought they were going to release Asia cruises the week of July 24th, but they released quite a few last week. All of them are cultural immersion cruises, which I am not interested in. Are they going to release more or was this it? Anyone know?

I think this has to do with Covid testing requirements. All world and grand voyage cruise passengers are required to have a Covid test done up to 48 hours before sailing. Some GV cruises have had those requirement changed, while others still have that requirement in place. To distinguish between what your requirements are, those GV that no longer have the testing requirement are no longer labeled as a grand voyage cruise.

My reservation was recent and is included.

On my reservation it says it is included

If you have Covid they would tell you to stay home and move your cruise. Any other reason without insurance you are SOL. Weird times we live in.

Did you ever actually receive the visa or had you just paid for it? People are saying you are supposedly getting the Visa 3 days before scheduled visit, so if that is the case (and the visa worked) you must have received it by email?

The $150 visa or the $20 one?

You may not hear until the day before you are supposed to hit the port. I have absolutely zero faith in MSC notifying passengers in advance. And dont count on calling and getting a correct answer either.

Check and see if the credit card you used offers any protection

How did you get a visa for Jeddah? Did the cruise ship arrange it? How much was it?

Yeah, that full price visa wasn’t the issue. But nobody needs that Visa plus it is expensive.

The email is from MSC. I have no doubt your TA knows nothing. Even CS on the ship “knows nothing”. That is MSC for you.

Did you see the email sent to passengers? I posted it a few posts above this one.