windlicht

Never experienced MSC before. (The low single supplement won me over).

 

2) Is it true no bottle of wine allowed when boarding?

You're not allowed to bring wine on board.

 

6) What do they do with liquor bought at ports?

They collect it and deliver it to your stateroom on the list evening on board.

I think she shops have to be closed in port because of duty free rules

Sometimes you can reviews of ship excursions on trip advisor

I was thinking that would be the case..I called MSC and they said every YC cabin gets one. I'm not sure i believe that! lol We are in the Deluxe Suite. Any ideas what they cost per day/week etc?

Actually someone posted in a different thread that MSC reduced prices to $99 sea days/$59 port days

Just looking for some clarification on the YC cabanas. My wife and I will be sailing in August.Does each cabin come with its own cabana or do we have to reserve them when we get on the ship? Is there an extra charge for these? I would assume that they change for them, if not what a bargain. Any insight would be great.

Not been there yet but as I understand it, Royal Suite guests get cabanas for free, all other YC guests have to book and pay on board.

I think many people confused the classically trained singers with opera when they were not in fact singing opera material ... especially the set that included Phantom of the Opera.

 

 

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I know the difference between musicals and opera! Madama Buttterfly is an opera... and so was the mini version of La Traviata on the Divina.

But yes, I did read the post in which someone called “The Phantom of the Opera” an opera. :-)

I am so glad you had such a wonderful time! Thanks for the review!!!

No opera, though? Awww. I thought there was a show named "Butterflies," which was supposed to be an adaptation of the opera Madama Butterfly. Not?

Oh, I see the problem. What I meant to convey was that we had Arthur as our server for every meal that we had in the YC restaurant. We ate there about three times each for breakfast and lunch and four times for dinner. We tipped Arthur a total of $50 at the the end of the week. I expect that he also gets DSC money.

Ah! :D Ok then. I understood you to mean you gave him 50 bucks every day...

I think it came out to about $290 in cash, plus $175 for the DSC.

 

ETA: I feel that my total amount may even be a bit high, but if I'm going to recognize exceptional service by giving someone a cash tip at the end of a cruise it will not be less than a $20 bill. I usually keep my tipping cash in $20 bills so that works for me.

I’m not judging you.

I just wanted to clarify... you said you tipped $50 for every meal in the YC. You must have eaten elsewhere a lot.

No, honestly, I am in awe that you and others are able to tip that much. It’s in no way a criticism as I am definitely happy for the recipients.

Really?

As with most cruise lines I don't think there is much actual proof as to where the Daily Service Charge goes. I have also found I get a different answer from each crew member regarding almost any question. The way I look at it is the crew and unions know what the cruise line claims. MSC states the DSC is used as incentives for the all crew, those that interact with passengers and those you never see. MSC also discourages individual tipping, in my opinion because it may have the effect of decreasing the amount a passenger pays into the DSC. I will not say there is a right or wrong way, but I leave the DSC intact to hopefully cover those I don't see and tip additional cash to those I find extremely friendly and/or helpful. On MSC I tip less to the butler & concierge than I do on NCL, where they are definitely excluded from the DSC.

 

 

Since many seem to be interested in the topic I will say that on Seaside in addition to the DSC I gave the following cash tips per week: Arthur - every meal that we ate in the YC restaurant $50, Siva - his assistant $20, Luigi & Hostess - both made sure we always got a preferred table in Arthur's section $20 each, Mohammad - our butler $40, Cabin stewards $20 each, Alisia?Concierge $20, Other butlers Roy and Zakia - just for being so helpful around the YC - $20 each. I also went through about $40 in ones when I ordered directly from a bartender around the ship and in YC.

So you paid $670 plus about $150 DSC ($820) in tips for one week?

Wow, I am glad so many of you are able to afford generous tips like that! That's wonderful.

Guest Services will NOT punch hole as it contains a computer chip. I attempted to get this done after boarding and was informed of this.

We had a badge holder that we could have used, but ended up getting the bracelets instead- they were so handy!

Ah, that's a new thing then. :-). Thanks!

:hearteyes::hearteyes::')<3<3<3

Noon will be fine.

guest services will punch your a hole in your cards..... or you can use a card holder ... or you can use one of their bracelets

thank you so much for the photos!

Children should not be heard and women belong in the kitchen. And that's that.

AWESOME! Enjoy the remainder of your cruise!

Awesome review so far!

AWESOME price! Congrats.

 

Wind: The website is crapola for me today too, gotta just laugh :)

I am more concerned about the CS rep who couldn't have cared less and was unable to give me a reasonable (or any) explanation why one time teenagers gets a slightly lower fare and other times not. I could practically hear her shrug through the phone. Not sure why I feel so bummed right now. I can always go with NCL. Hm.. I think it's because I had it last night and then the website wouldn't let me book and less than 24 hours later they want 200 bucks more. It's not about the 200 dollars but about the price jump in such a short time... and the bored, disinterested attitude of the rep lol. I guess.

OK, I'll have a glass of water and get over it. Another opportunity will come my way, I'm sure. I am NOT going to reward MSC for this ridiculous situation though. Hahahaha maybe I'll win a cruise in the casino of the Seaside this summer.

hahahaha on the website, the price has doubled since yesterday! So I called MSC and they gave me a similar price to yesterday's BUT no discount for teenager - which is not their policy. So it still came 200 bucks more. I was very dissatisfied and the CS rep couldn't have cared less.

Anyway, if you want a better price than quoted on the website, call MSC.

I will probably go with another cruise line instead. I am a little bummed.

Aaaand... I tried to book and get an error message lol

Figures.

I've never seen someone complain that the transparent railings were too high. Usually, people complain when the steel railings aren't transparent.

 

If you want to know why the railings are high, just read about the drunken woman on NCL Epic who "fell" into the water a couple of weeks ago. Cruise lines have to take human stupidity into account when building outdoor spaces.

 

As for the Yacht Club, the percentage of space given to it is less than you think.

/quote]

 

Yup !! You're so very right !! Drunk, AND stupid are two dangerous factors for adults including 19-20 aged college students especially. Many times while on a land vacation in Panama City, Fl during spring break we'd actually SEE college kids LEAP from the fourth floor railing, aiming at the center area pool (luckily, they made it (barely) that time.:rolleyes: However, usually 2-3 times during the break they'd miss, with horrible results.:eek: But you hear of ONE person, on a cruise, so drunk they can't even talk, use a chair (Because the railing is very high, almost to my chest, and I'm 6'2) because they've decided to SIT or even worse WALK the railing, fall overboard and OUT come the naysayers SCREAMING just how dangerous cruise ships are !! And how 'SOMETHING' needs to be done, too make cruising SAFER ! The sad thing is, you CANNNOT issue 'common sense' to drunken young/or OLDER adults, for that matter like a life jacket.. It's supposed a learned thing. Unfortunately, most people fail to learn, till it's too late. Then the bereaved parents/spouse are interviewed, grief-stricken so the local news media can vindicate THEIR belief that 'something-anything NEEDS to be done. As the old media quote goes--'IF it bleeds, it leads'.

 

Mac

you sound bitter... :confused:

 

- Free coffee is very bad, as in many cruiselines. They offered free Nescafe though. It's worth it to pay and go for excellent coffee

Ha! J

That made me think of my most recent cruise. I have only been on three cruises so far - so I am a newbie ;).

Anyway, my first cruise was on the Norwegian Sun - I agree tha the MRD food was meh - but it was an Alaskan cruise so I couldn't have cared less about the food - we ate the buffet mostly but also the very good specialty dining restaurants.

My second cruise was the Divina last summer. I liked the food in the MDR.

So, I just went on a rather spontaneous cruise on the Empress of the Seas, my first RC cruise... and while I thought the MDR was mediocre, the sea day brunch a great disappointment, the buffet pretty good, I was pleasantly surprised that the coffee offered in the buffet was excellent! Strong, fresh, and not bitter at all. On a side note... I very much liked the design of this old ship - lots of private nooks and lots of windows on every deck.

So... kudos to RC for the good coffee at the buffet!

I am definitely looking forward to some authentic Latte Macchiato or espresso on the Seaside! Yum!