8420PR

We have done multiple cruises in the YC and not in the YC, and had a great time on all of them. Bella certainly is a different experience (compared to the YC), but not necessarily a worse one. The fixed dining times drives a different rhythm (e.g. dining, show, disco) and we tend to take part in more activities and meet more people when staying outside the YC. I hope (and am pretty sure) you will have a great time!

This is the best value cruise I could find today on MSC: 5 nights (repositioning) on MSC Virtuosa for €251 per person including easy drink packet and gratuities. This is a last minute offer, only recently made available likely for a poorly booked cruise. During the pandemic I booked many similar cruises for this price months in advance, but now (like before the pandemic) the choice is a lot smaller and only for last minute cruises.

What I have noticed: MSC has in the last year or so attempted to increase their base price (i.e. the lowest cost per person per night, typically seen on off-season or repositioning cruises) from GBP30 to GBP50 (inc DSC, but without a drinks package). However in the last month they have gone back to GBP35 a night for some cruises in April (that I assume are poorly booked), indicating the challenge in filling ships at a higher price. In the last 3 years we were treated to some very good prices (on all cruise lines), and now we are back to a smaller selection of bargains, typically offered last minute. Personally I don't feel prices are much higher than they were before the pandemic, for the cruises I am looking at.

2024 cruises from Fort de France are still available to book on UK and German MSC websites. e.g. https://www.msccruises.co.uk/Booking?CruiseID=SE20240210FDFFD1&Type=CROL&DealID={EE600ECC-0562-4336-B68B-161759230198}&PriceCode=SEC01299GB4013EA&NewCruise=true#/pricing

I watched Brazil cruise prices for a couple of years: - I didn't see any prices going down - they only went up as ships filled up. - Ships did get booked up - there is quite a lot of demand from the local market there. - I didn't see any promotions on South America cruises - not even a drinks package included. So my advice would be to book now. I posted my experience of a cruise in Brazil here: For other destinations - e.g. Caribbean and European cruises - MSC do sometimes reduce the prices of shoulder and low season cruises closer to departure, depending on the booking situation; as well as sometimes increasing prices. Personally I can think of more cruises I saw and wished I had booked (as the price later increased) than cruises I've booked and saw price decreases on.

Yes, only if booked 9 months in advance. I'm not exactly sure how they measure the 9 months - at least for me it also worked to book 8 months 29days in advance.

The $50 OBC is only for members that have silver or higher status. If only one passenger in the cabin is silver (or higher) you only receive $50 in total, if 2 passengers are silver (or higher) you will receive $100 in total.

Video monitored home tests have always been accepted by MSC. Take some self-tests (a couple more than you need just in case) and use a service like https://testifly.de/ to get the certificates.

What adult only spaces are there? I don't think the disco is adults only?

When you book a cruise onboard it is assigned to the MSC office or travel agent where you booked the original cruise. E.g. If you booked the Caribbean cruise with MSC in Italy then the Med cruise booked onboard will be with MSC in Italy. I would assume the MSC office you called to make final payment is the country with the booking. At least in Europe I don't think port fees are a 'thing' - I have never seen them separately shown on bookings and itinerary changes haven't results in more or less fees.

YIN cabins are largely back to pre-pandemic pricing for typical 7 day roundtrips (I'm finding roughly GBP1200pp for 7 days is the best available rate for shoulder and off-season cruises), and for shorter 2 to 3 day repositioning trips MSC have significantly increased prices (I did several for GBP75 per person per night, and they are now at least GBP150pppn). Best YIN price I can find at the moment for a cruise I am interested in is GBP1019pp for 7 days repositioning in Caribbean. It ends in the French Caribbean, so plenty of flights back to Europe via France (but very limited flights to US). Still I booked the 6 night cruise (ending in FDF) in a bella inside cabin with the easy drinks package for less than one third of the price of a YIN cabin.

MSC generally offers good value - especially in the shoulder and off season. $521pp for 3 nights in an inside cabin with easy drink package and Wi-Fi sounds like a lot to me, but I don't know the single supplement portion and personally tend towards lower cost cruises anyway. But you get what you pay for. For many it is a great vacation but for others perhaps the opposite. MSC has a defined product that they offer, and their objective is to charge as much as possible for that product. Some people here seem to want MSC to change their product, but that is a much bigger, riskier and complex undertaking for a company to take. From my point of view the product has barely changed the last 6 or so years - just some minor tweaking here and there.

Meraviglia was designed and launched with the option of anytime dining for everyone. From memory it didn't last long..... found this to explain the offer: https://porthole.com/msc-cruises-introduces-enhanced-flexible-dining-options/

Is the booking confirmation of your new cruise the same as the cancelled one? In the past when I used a FCC I received the same booking number - it was effectively a change of [the old] booking instead a new booking. For this reason my suspicion (I don't know for sure) is you cannot use FCC for booking a cruise onboard - they can only book new cruises and not change existing ones.

I find the TA mostly to blame. They just took the commission, but should have explained that: - if you pay half the cost compared to other lines then expectations need to me reduced appropriately. - It's an Italian cruise line sailing from Italy - not everything will be in English. - OBC can only be spent onboard, not for pre-ordering items. You say MSC gave you $100 compensation. What exactly were you expecting them to reply to your letter apart from more apologies?

The prices you quoted seem fairly typical for what Celebrity is selling their Med cruises for in high season, and while there will be some small variations (due to the offer at the time) I wouldn't expect large reductions. But I have never been on a Med cruise on Celebrity as I just cannot justify paying those prices for what you get, compared to the opportunity cost of land based vacations (or even other cruise lines). The decision could be different if you are coming from US, with limited vacation time and the favorable exchange rate. This is just my opinion though, don't let me put you off.

Last October on Bellissima they were piloting only providing the daily planner in the app. You could ask for a paper copy if you wanted, but I prefer the app anyway. I don't recall anything unusual or specific to Bellissima on the daily planner - it was all roughly the same as other Med cruises in case that helps.

I often use a TA in the UK that gives 10% discount on MSC, and I know of another in Germany that also gives a discount from their commissions. Both these TA's are online only and make their money by charging booking fees (and fees for any changes made). But you are correct that offering OBC or discounts is certainly much less common in Europe than US - my only guess is that commissions are the main revenue for TA's in Europe, whereas in US either they are making their revenue from ancillaries (e.g. insurance) or the higher cruise revenue allows TA's to take a lower margin? Here is an example contract with a travel agent from UK - there is no mention of price fixing: https://www.mscbook.com/pages/sdl/img/B2B_TA_Example_MSC_Retail_Agent_Agreement.pdf

Yes I want to also confirm that after 6 European cruises and 1 South American cruise on MSC in 2022, I didn't experience what is discussed here. Ships are busy or full (compared to 2021) and sometimes it takes longer to get served at some bars, but I always experienced friendly service and nothing I would call dysfunctional. I also cannot recall a time when I thought the other passengers were behaving poorly, though I'm sure there must have been a few occasions. Based on the reports here it seems to be only an issue for cruises originating from US.

Resolving these issues should be exactly what you hold the TA accountable for! Otherwise what are they doing for their 16% commission? Some examples from my experience: example 1: For a cruise cancelled by MSC on 27th Sept, the refund was received on my credit card on 18th November. This was booked directly with MSC. example 2: I realized I had overpaid for a cruise (the voyagers club discount was not included) on 16th December, and the refund was received on my card on the 5th January. This was booked with (and paid to) a travel agent.

It's no problem. In any case, many others will be ordering the Italian way (antipasti, starter, pasta, meat, dessert), and I'm sure the waiters are used to it.

Did you pay the money to your TA or directly to MSC? Just hold your TA accountable and hassle them until you get the refund - that is their job!

You will get 2 chocolate bars from now on 🙂 , but everything else is just one per cabin. Did you have the easy drinks package?

For me the decision is based on where I would like to spend a couple of nights before or after the cruise. I've done: - Fly to Milan, and then take the train to Genoa Piazza Principe station. - Fly to Turin, and the take the train to Genoa Piazza Principe station. - Fly to Pisa, and the take the train to Genoa Piazza Principe station. In Italian Genoa is called Genova, so that is the train destination you are looking for. I have always taken regional trains, as they are cheaper and you don't need to book in advance. If you take an intercity train you should book in advance and will get a seat reservation with the ticket. I use the Trenitalia app to check times and book tickets. There are plenty of other opportunities depending on where you want to visit before your cruise - for example Florence is easily possible (but a bit longer train journey), and there are direct EC trains to Genoa from Zurich each day. Not mentioned so far is flixbus - their bus terminal (Genoa Fanti d'Italia/Principe bus station) is 50m to the cruise terminal (even closer than the train station). I've taken a flixbus from Munich in Germany to Genoa - it took 9 hours with just one stop in Milan. Not as comfortable as the train, but can be very cheap and convenient. https://global.flixbus.com/bus/genoa

EU terms and conditions allow you find and rebook on an alternative cruise - I'm sure there are others with interesting itineraries in Europe that could fit with your flights? My experience was the email from MSC informing me of the change ignored these t&c - it was either accept changes or refund. However when I asked to be rebooked on an alternative cruise it was accepted. I believe US terms and conditions are different, so this might not apply. Source: https://www.msccruises.co.uk/terms-conditions 14.3 Most changes are minor but occasionally MSC Cruises must make a significant change. The following are examples of significant changes when made before you go on the Cruise: A change in the time Passengers are due to leave the UK to go on the Cruise or the time Passengers are due to come back to the UK after the Cruise of more than 12 hours. A change of UK airport from the Passengers were due to fly to or from, except where the change is between London airports (Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, London City or Luton) or where the new airport is within 50 miles of the original airport. A change of cabin accommodation to a significantly lesser grade. A significant change to the itinerary. i.e. when the itinerary has to be changed by more than 50% and may have to exclude an iconic highlight. All changes which are not significant are treated as minor changes and therefore there is no right to cancel or to claim compensation. Please note: MSC Cruises do not classify a change of air or sea port as a significant change where coach transfers between a UK town and the relevant air/sea port are included in the holiday. A change of flight from direct to indirect is not classified as a significant change. In the event of a significant alteration to an essential term of the Contract, MSC Cruises will inform the Passenger or his/her Agent of such change in writing as soon as reasonably possible. If there is time to do so before departure, we will offer you the choice of one of the followinga) Accepting the alteration; orb) Making another Booking from the brochure and/or from the Official Website of equivalent or superior quality, if available; orc) Making another Booking from the brochure and/or from the Official Website of lower quality, if available, with a refund of the difference in price; ord) Cancelling and receiving a full refund of all monies paid.