suron

On 6/13/2019 at 9:42 PM, gatorchinsky said:

 

We board next Wednesday from Rome and would be interested to know this as well.  Also, I know tipping is not common but if there are porters that take your luggage, should you tip them a few euros?

On arrival at the port in Rome your luggage is taken by porters (no need to tip).  Make sure you have your luggage labels attached so that baggage handlers know where to send them.  Hang on to any hand luggage though.

Cases were pretty quick in reaching cabin.

Have a great time.

Suzanne

On 6/14/2019 at 10:05 PM, Huntingdon1701 said:

Thanks for the review.

 

I noticed your comment at the end - some of the other NCL ships in the Med not infrequently have inside have offers with no single supplement, so it's worth keeping an eye on them. I did the Greek Isles on the Jade that way.

Thanks for that info.  Will have to check out options.

Suzanne

4 minutes ago, FaithPlus1 said:

Thanks 🙂

Sorry I put I. An extra figure at end - it should read

www.cruisecritic.co.uk/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=658594

Suzanne

5 minutes ago, FaithPlus1 said:

The Haven thread got me thinking about this. 

 

I'm interested in getting a studio cabin one day on any of the ships that have it. That said though, often times they seem to be more expensive than just getting an interior cabin. 

 

I've seen on dailies things like "Solo Travelers meet in Studio Lounge at 5". I know you need to have a studio cabin to enter the studio lounge (understandably so). I assume solo travelers who did not book a studio cabin will not have access to any of the solo traveler events due to this correct? Like would a daily ever say "Solo Travelers meet in Spinnaker at 5", when the ship has studio cabins?

Have just travelled as a solo on Epic.  You are correct in thinking that only those in Studio Cabins will have their cruise cards indicating they have access to the studio lounge at all times but anyone travelling solo is welcome to join the solo gathering in the Lounge each evening (5-7pm) and can link up with other solos to go to dinner/see shows etc.  Of course you could always get friendly with one of the solo who have a studio cabin and they can let you into the lounge!

i have written a review of my cruise which might give you some tips and it can be found at

www.cruisecritic.co.uk/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=6585948

Good luck,with your plans

Suzanne

Thanks for taking time to read the review and thanks too for the info on Escape and Getaway

I was on Epic 15th May from Rome and have posted a review which although written from a solo traveller's viewpoint I hope it will give others some insight as to what to expect on this itinerary.

www.cruisecritic.co.uk/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=658594 

Suzanne 

I was on Epic 15th May from Rome in a studio cabin.  I have written a review of the cruise which can be found at:

www.cruisecritic.co.uk/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=658594

which will, I hope, give you some tips.  

Suzanne

I have a question for Olden.  The ships tours (Princess Sapphire) all seem to have the glacier tour with the hike.  I have mobility problems so wonder if I can get tickets for this tour to include the troll cars if I go to the Tourist Information Office once  we dock or should I contact them and book in advance .  We will be in Olden on July 9th and will not be tendering and are the only ship there that day.  Can you tell me if I need to pay in local currency or if credit cards are accepted.  Many thanks and congratulations on such an informative posting.

Suzanne from UK

21 hours ago, stoneharborlady said:

Has anyone sailed solo with a line that has solo cabins?  Are they truly closet sized, or just smaller than a regular inside.  I have never seen one.

I have been on Norwegian Epic twice and will be returning on 15th May.  The studio cabins are not huge but have all the amenities you would want. There is a Studio Lounge which has a dedicated crew member who will arrange for groups of solo passengers to dine together/go to shows together and even organise shore excursions.  There is no obligation to join in but it is a nice place to meet your fellow solo travellers.  I made some good friends on my first trip on Epic and met up with some of them on my second cruise.  We are still In contact with each other and some good friendships have been formed.  It’s a pity more cruise lines do not have the studio cabins and the services of a crew member.

Suron (Suzanne in Bristol UK)

When I first sailed on Epic I had a balcony cabin but was travelling solo.  I went to Guest Services and they swiped my card to indicate I was a solo and I was then able to access the Studio Lounge to meet up,with other solos.  On my next time I was in a studio cabin and it was great, especially as it avoided the dreaded single supplements!  Am booked into a studio on the 15th May sailing from Rome and am looking forward to visiting places I could not get to on my last trips and revisiting some favourite sights

Suzanne

I have been Epic twice before and am booked for 15 th May from Rome.  The itinerary is the same as before but there are still places I want to visit.  For me as a solo traveller the Epic scores highly because the studio cabins mean no solo supplements, there is the Studio Lounge where solos can meet up each evening and there is a crew member assigned to the Lounge. He/she will arrange for groups to dine together, go to the shows and even arrange shore excursions.  The entertainment is good although some people don’t like having to pre-book this.  Food enjoyable but if I am honest not as good as some other cruise lines.  Overall for me it represents good value for money.

Suzanne (Bristol, UK)

My DA thinks she would like to visit the Blue Grotto

(on Malta). Our port for Malta is Valletta. We are there

on a Sunday which means that St. John's is CLOSED!

Good grief- what I really wanted to see.

Oh well, so has anyone visited this Blue Grotto?

I have watched some things on YouTube but the rides look

very short and sweet.

TIA

Have just returned from cruise on MSC Seaview and whilst in Malta we arranged a private tour through Malta Tours. We were a party of five. We were met at the port gates at 9am by our guide Audrey and we had a seven seater car waiting with a charming driver. Audrey was fantastic - so knowledgeable and she made the whole tour so interesting. We made our first stop at the Blue Grotto and were one of the first boats to go out. We avoided the huge crowds of the ships tours by arranging a private tour and were able to visit places where no coach could negotiate the narrow roads through the villages. The Blue Grotto was amazing and I would recommend it highly (the tickets for this were Euros 8 each extra). The boat ride lasted 45 mins and each cavern had something unique about it. The colours were awesome and the rock formations spectacular. The boatsman was very interesting and nothing was rushed. It was very safe - everyone had to wear the life jacket provided. For anyone who cannot manage the steep slopes up and down to the jetty there is even a little shuttle cart service for Euro 1 each way - I made use of this as I have mobility problems.

From the Blue Grotto we went to Dingli Cliffs which were really lovely. We then went on to Rabat and Medina (the silent City) where we walked through the quaint cobbled streets. There is also the horse drawn carriage which will take you around if you do not want to walk too much but we took a leisurely stroll around. Audrey showed us all the places where they had filmed Game of Thrones in Mdina and we also learned that she and a couple of the carriage drivers had been extras on the film set (we saw her photos to prove it and we can now say we have met one of the stars of the film!!). We had free time in Mdina and had enjoyed some delicious coffee and cake in one of the restaurants and afterwards did some souvenir shopping.

Audrey did give us the option to be dropped off in Valletta and for us to make our own way back to the ship (about 15 min walk) but as we have visit Malta before we asked to be taken back to the ship. We got back to the port at around 2.30pm. The cost of the tour with the guide and driver was 240Euros for us all - far cheaper than the ships tours and so much more relaxed and hassle free.

A most enjoyable tour.

Suron

We were in Athens at Easter and daughter, son in law and granddaughter went ashore on their own (I have been to Athens twice before so stayed on board and had a lovely Spa session). They took the Hop On Hop Off bus and managed to get around easily stopping off at the places of interest

This might be another option for you to consider

Suron

Thank you Skier52 and Wetwash for your info.

We will certainly check out the fun pass - the twin grandsons are keen to experience the zip line etc.

We will also try and make sure we get a reasonable time for dining room.

We have set up the MSC app so will be able to book show times etc.

Just getting ready to meet up with son and his family who are flying into Heathrow from Dubai where they are based. We then fly out to Barcelona for a couple of days there before boarding Seaview. We have a three bedroomed apartment just about ten minutes from Sagrada Familia and have already booked our slot for that.

Having booked this cruise over 18 months ago we are so excited that it has finally come around.

Thank you for all the help given. Enjoy your cruise

Suzanne

We join the ship next week(13th) and would like to know how dining room allocations work. We have been assigned late sitting but I understand this could be as late as 9.15pm - too late for grandsons. Any chance we could get this changed. We are on the Fantastica package in a Super Family Plus balcony cabin.

Can you clarify what the costs are for the zip wire, bowling and Formula 1 car - believe there is a voucher you can buy to cover these.

Hope you are enjoying this new ship.

One thing I would mention is that if you are not taking ships Shore excursions in Marseille you will have to pay for shuttle bus here.

Suron

My son and his family were on Mergavilia at Easter and they downloaded the MSC Me app which enabled them to book theatre times and lots of other things. Think this app is being introduced on several MSC ships now - one disadvantage of the big ships now I feel.

Good luck with your plans

Suron (Bristol UK)

You can see the layout for the super family plus cabins if you go to the MSC website for Seaside and search the cabin info. This category is actually three adjoining balcony cabins and all have a double bed and there are also sofa beds in two of the cabins (making sleeping for 10 possible). Think the double beds may be able to be split into twin beds but not sure. From the plan is seems one of the cabins has a bath and the others just a shower.

As regards children being in a cabin on their own. We are a party of five(3 adults and two children) sailing on Seaview on 13th July (sister ship to Seaside )and have a super family plus booking. We have had an awful job trying to sort out who will be in which cabin. All the confirmations received have shown my daughter in law appearing twice - once in a cabin with one son and then in with her husband, whilst I am in a cabin with the other child!!

The reason for DIL appearing twice was that MSC do not allow bookings to be made for two children sharing a cabin but we have been told that once on board we can re-configure cabins as we want by just seeing Guest Services. Interconnecting doors can be opened as you want.

Hope you manage to sort it all out but if you have any problems I would suggest you phone MSC as trying to do anything on their website is just almost impossible lately.

Suron In Bristol UK

Am I missing something somewhere? I can't find any Seaview Roll Calls.

There are definitely posts for Seaview Roll Calls in the Roll Call Forum. Hope you can find it.

Am on this ship on 13th July out of Barcelona - can’t wait :p

Suron

We have booked an apartment for our Barcelona stay. Worked out far cheaper for five of us than hotel rooms. We have a 3 bed apartment at Suite Home Sagrada Familia at a total cost of £240 for the one night pre cruise. It is literally in sight of and only a short walk to the Sagrada Familia Church.

There are good reviews on Trip Advisor and booking can be made via booking.com.

Good luck with the plans

Suron

Successful outcome after the senior supervisor acted so quickly and efficiently. It was a wrong price showing in the general MSC Shore Excursions pages - someone in IT made an error I would guess. Anyway we have booked the Pompeii tour, paid the £54 price but have been offered some on board credit to make up for all the inconvenience.

Really think MSC need to get their website sorted out- the supervisor told me that the whole system crashed over the past weekend, they could not log on to their own computers. This affected not only the UK but America and other countries too. Let’s hope things are better now.

Good luck with your planning

Suron

I have done three cruises from Dubai (my son and his family are based there and I love visiting). I actually did one of the cruises on Lirica. My itineraries were slightly different as I visited Abu Dhabi (the mosque here is not to be missed and The Emirates Palace Hotel where I had a wonderful Afteroon Tea is awesome), Muscat, Khor al Fahran and Khasab. On the last cruise in that region we visited Sir Bani Yas Island which was most interesting.

Ports of call have changed recently so I have not been to Bahrain or Qatar but reviews indicate these are interesting.

If you can spare extra time then I would suggest you spend a couple of days in Dubai either pre or post cruise as there is so much to see and do there.

I have no hesitation in going around Dubai on my own- it is very safe and the people are so friendly. Taxis are very reasonable and the metro system excellent.

Good luck with your plans. I feel sure you will not be disappointed with UAE

Suron

UPDATE - After lenthgy talks with MSC UK I was transferred to a senior supervisor who was most helpful. She confirmed that there was a gross error in the IT department whereby the price was showing at £47 if just browsing the general shore excursions (without entering any booking reference) but £54 if done via Manage My Booking!!

Not wanting to miss out on this tour the supervisor kindly agreed to book it for us but took no money at the time so it now appears as an outstanding amount on our booking. She is hoping to get us either a refund of the difference (not a huge sum admittedly but it is the principle) or we may be offered some on board credit to compensate for all the trouble this has caused. We should know the outcome early in the coming week.

I think MSC really need to shake up their IT department, the website is awful and we even had to phone in most of our passenger details as the website could either not eaccessed or would not allow us to enter details in full.

Hope others do not have the same problems.

Suzanne

We want to swap 1 person in each room for each other.

Dont think you will have a problem. There are five of us on Seaview in a Super Family Plus cabin (3 adjoining balcony cabins). The cabin allocations have ended up with one of the twin grandsons aged 14 being with me, the other in with his mother and son and daughter in law are in the third cabin. This meant daughter in law appeared twice in the booking confirmation but it seems that they were not allowed to allocate one cabin for the twins sole use.

We have been told that once on board we can go to Guest Services to get cabin cards amended to reflect how we decide who is in which cabin. The card changes MUST be done for health and safety reasons which is understandable

Why not enquire if this is one option open to you.

Suron

I received an e mail offering me 20% off shore excursions for my up and coming cruise on Seaview. When I went into it and priced up a tour to,Pompeii it came up at £54 per adult and this was the price already with a discount. On checking MSC Shore Excursions (without entering a booking reference) the same tour was showing at £47. Phoned MSC who could not explain different prices but they are looking into it! Just make sure you check prices before committing to any tour.

Suron in Bristol UK

I have done the Emirates cruise three times (twice with MSC) and have visited Khasab twice but it was not a tender port. Booked a private tour with Dolphin Khasab Tours - excellent service.

If you would like to read my reviews of Emirates cruise then go to

cruisecritic.co.uk/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=2730228

If you are calling at Abu Dhabi then I would definitely recommend you take a visit to The Grand Mosque - it is breathtaking. Be sure to cover up - trousers/long skirts,no bare arms or shoulders for ladies and they should cover their heads. Gentlemen should wear long trousers

If Sir Bani Yas Island is on your sailing this is also worth visiting - the Jeep Safari was excellent. Tours on the island can only be booked via MSC either in advance or once on board.

Good luck with your plans.

Suzanne (Suron in Bristol, UK)