RudiRatlos

There are daily fligts to Genoa from London, Amsterdam and Munich, so maybe a connecting flight may be an option for you. If not, MSC offers airport transfer from genoa, milan, and nice (cannot be booked online, you have to call or e-mail MSC or use a TA), or as been said above, you can take the train - not only several hotels but also MSC's cruise terminal is in short walking distance from the station.

You will find just as many germans who prefer Aida (a german subsidiary of carnival cruises with a fleet of 12 ships) which is quite different to TUI and could be described as a club resort on sea. Personally, although I am german, I prefer the international crowd on MSC with not to many niggling germans around. 😃

It's the Mein Schiff 1 ("My Ship 1"), one of currently 7 ships of TUI cruises, a joint venture of Royal Carribean and the german travel company TUI, targeting the german market.

Yes. There will be 15% service charge added to the price of the package when booked on board, no service charge for pre-booked drink packages.

We "applied" for it the first day on board (actually the concierge asked if we would be interested and I did not hesitate to answer "of course", knowing that this tour was sold out on our earlier cruises), but they cannot tell you for sure when or even if it will take place (apparently the captain reserves the decision). Bridge tour started at 10:30 or 11:00 on port day in Helsinki, therefore no full day shore excursion would have been possible - we just took the shuttle to town afterwards. We got information about date and time the day before (I think, if we had booked a shore excursion also for the same day, we would have been asked to decide which we participate and cancel the other - but I'm not sure about this as we did not book any shore excursions on that cruise).

We did this last year on MSC Preziosa. Afaik it is offered on most MSC cruises, but cannot be pre-booked. Just ask for it at the shore excursion desk or (if in yacht club) the concierge. The tour was done in two parts: laundry, kitchen, backstage theatre on seaday, bridge and engine control room while in port.

Which ship? The app can be useful on the newer ships, but you do not have to use it. https://www.msccruisesusa.com/on-board/internet-apps/msc-for-me Every cruise is a special time. And now, MSC for Me, available on all the smart ships in our fleet*, helps each guest enjoy every moment in their own special way. Using digital technology that literally interconnects the guest, the crew and the ship, your time on board is in your hands. Guests will experience a more seamless, connected, carefree holiday, at no extra charge. The easy-to-use interactive touchscreens around the ship, the In-Cabin Smart TV and the app, are all designed to help Guests better relax and enjoy their holiday with family and friends. *Available for guests travelling on MSC Seascape , MSC World Europa, MSC Seashore, MSC Bellissima, MSC Grandiosa, MSC Meraviglia, MSC Seaside, MSC Seaview and MSC Virtuosa. The MSC for Me program is also available on MSC Splendida and on MSC Magnifica, however it has reduced program features. Coming soon on MSC Euribia. The MSC for Me app functionality may vary from ship to ship and across different countries.

The butler may be able to give you better fitting ones.

There are also USB outlets on Meraviglia (standard 500 mA, slow loading for an iPad...) and other MSC ships built after Meraviglia (think she was the first to have).

iirc the other front-facing cabins on deck 9-13 are oceanview only.

If one does not have or does not want to use a credit or debit card, it is also possible to do a cash deposit within the same time frame - but then you will have to queue at the reception again before disembarking.

I´d say the "real" price difference between YC and Aurea is smaller nowadays than it used to be some years ago, taking into account that aurea does not include even a basic drink package anymore and no free massage (actually the reason for our first YC cruise last year was the reasonable small price difference between YC and aurea + drink package + massage.) Regarding the wines, I see from some answers here that there are differences between european und US cruises.

2015 we stayed in one of these on deck 12 (used be Aurea suites then) also as a family with two teenage daughters. I´d say take it: very suitable for a family of four, nothing is better than having two bathrooms... Sofa bed can be converted daily by the butler if you want it, and even if not (due to long-sleeping teenagers), you still have a proper table to sit at. With duplex suites belonging to YC now I would choose deck 12 to be nearer to Top Sail Lounge. Also on deck 9 it may get noisy when the ship is docking. I think these cabins itself all have the same size, balconies may differ a bit.

When it comes to drink prices, one has to distinguish between producer price, wholesale, retail and gastronomy. In germany restaurants often calculate their drink price with a factor of 3-5 on the wholesale price (on a cruise ship, I would expect this factor to be on the higher side). I just compared the YC bar list with the "normal" MSC bar list: wines included in YC are sold for about 25-35 EUR per bottle in other bars on the ship, so I would expect a wholesale price of 5-8 EUR. I also found some of these in online wine shops for about 8-10 EUR (so supermarket price may be 10-15 EUR). Seems like a fair calculation to me, and these are in no way bad wines (in supermarkets here, the really bad ones are sold for 2-3 EUR, "drinkable" ones starting at about 5 EUR) That being said, I found most of the wines in YC enjoyable and much better than the wines included in easy plus and easy package, so I am fine with that. After all, for me the main point in YC is the YC itself (atmosphere, people, service) and not only food and drinks. These are good, but of course you cannot expect them to be on the level of michelin-guide-awarded restaurants (you may pay the same there for one menu including wine than for a whole all-inclusive cruise day in YC).

Some of the bar lists have a section called "Included in Easy Package" on page 2. For Easy Plus and Premium you have to look for the price, but often the bartender/waiter will check and tell you if a drink is not included in your package when taking the order and receiving your cruise card.

That's an easy search: https://www.msccruisesusa.com/cruise/flight-hotel-transfer-packages (assuming "Novato, ca" means that you are from the US, otherwise just look at your local MSC website)

I´d say "Bella" is for now just another name for "guarantee cabin"... So just choose "Fantastica" and be happy... 😀 Once on board, you will not be treated differently than any other Bella, Fantastica or Aurea passenger (with Aurea guests being there a few minutes earlier because of priority boarding 😀).

Yes.

This may vary from ship to ship with MSC.

Yes, they usually do (at least in european ports). Bookable the evening bevore or just in the morning for usually about 10-18€ per person, so if you are a party of 3 or 4 it might be worth looking for a taxi or public transportation. For example in marseille there is also a shuttle provided by the port authority - cheaper, but the bus stop is not directly at the pier. Some years ago we took a taxi that brought us to notre-dame-de-la-garde, waited for us there and then took us to vieux port, all for 50 €. With another 15-20 € for a taxi back to the ship later in the day quite a bargain compared to MSC's excursion, but do not expect the taxi driver to speak english. You will find plenty of information here in the CC-"ports of call"-forum.

Seems common, we used it on three non-YC-cruises. This year in YC cabin was ready after the first drink in Top Sail Lounge (we arrived quite early), so no need for that, but we noticed it on our way to YC. Actually this hand-luggage drop-off was not on pool deck but near the boarding area on each of our cruises.

According to this information from MSC's website (cannot find it there at the moment, but I would expect it to be still valid) your onboard currency will be EUR: For cruises in the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, Antilles, Dubai, the Emirates and Oman, as well as MSC Grand Voyages departing from Europe, the onboard currency is the Euro (€). For cruises in the Caribbean, South America and South Africa, as well as MSC Grand Voyages going to Europe and to Australia, the onboard currency is the US Dollar ($).

For every drink not covered b a drink package you will be charged the full price plus 15% service charge.

So I stand corrected.

Just like today - JW Blue is €20 in Top Sail Lounge and not included in "Premium Extra" (don't know if it was in "Premium Plus" last year).