MisterBill99

There's lots to do that is walking distance from the pier. Not like if you were at the Pan American pier.

Why would you ask this in a thread about embarkation questions where most of the posters haven't even been on the ship yet? You should create a separate thread, or find one that is talking about the food.

Thanks. So, it sounds like I should get there well in advance of my 2:15 time to avoid a long line when I get there. Will have to see what experiences people had last week and this week. The SL/OBC would be much easier to spend if they let us pay for Shore Things using it like they do on Celebrity and Royal (and maybe others). Yeah, there are no tips or specialty restaurants to spend it on. Not sure what other nickel & diming you are referring to that VV does not have. I figure my wife will get a massage, and I'll do the behind-the-scenes tour to spend a bunch of it, and I have one excursion picked out that is still available.

What time was your scheduled arrival time? I also have DBE, but my time is 2:15. I was led to believe that the earliest time they gave out was 2pm. How was disembarkation? Does VV offer a shuttle to the airport through Shore Things, so I can use Sailor Loot to pay for it? I don't see it listed in the app, but that is usually booked once on board. Obviously, it will be more expensive than a taxi or Uber, but I've got $800 to spend and depending on the price, it could be a good use of extra money. Thanks.

None of this would apply in this case. Departure was not delayed; it just didn't go where it was originally supposed to. The entire itinerary was changed (other than the start and end ports), and it occurred before they left.

Does not say exclusive (see image). But would it show up as Sailor Loot or OBC? I knew about the $100 SL, that showed up as soon as I booked. I was not expecting the other $100, but obviously am happy to have it. With $800 OBC/SL we should be able to do two excursions and still have money for a massage for my wife and the behind-the-scenes tour for me (she would much rather do the massage than the tour). My regular TA who I use for other lines is now offering 5% back on VV, but they weren't going to be able to provide me with a MNVV to use, so I used a VV specialty agent. With the $200 OBC now, that's actually better than the 5% would have been, so it's a win-win (assuming I would not have gotten that from the other agent).

I just noticed in the app that I now have $100 listed as On Board Credit in addition to the $700 Sailor Loot that I previously had. I'm guessing that it's related to my TA having a group on the cruise, although I thought that was what the extra $100 Sailor Loot was for (I also used a MNVV for the first $600). Does the OBC behave any different from SL? Is it refundable if not spent? I also have $800 Bar Tab ($600 from the booking promotion plus $100 each from Deep Blue Extras, but I understand how that works).

Thanks. I wonder what's in the space above it on deck 18? I had a very poor experience on Celebrity Silhouette many years ago, was below the buffet and thought that it was the dining area and we'd be fine. Every morning around 6am, I would hear carts rolling above us. Couldn't understand why, so finally one morning I got dressed and went upstairs when it was happening. Turns out that I forgot that the deck above us extended out, and our cabin actually ended up being below the walkway and right at the doors from the galley. In any event, the cabin on deck 16 is no longer available, but I'll consider it if one becomes available again. Walking up and down two flights isn't the worst thing, gives us some exercise. And our deck 14 cabin is above and below other cabins.

What cabin were you in? The deck 16 interior cabins seem like they are under galley/prep areas.

So, did you actually take the cruise yet? I was in a front-facing balcony on Seaside (a non-YC suite with a huge balcony that I never should have booked, but that's another story), and it was unusable when the ship was moving due to the wind. I still can't believe that MSC has front-facing balconies.

Thanks. I think we'll stay on deck 14. Being closer to the lounge would be nice, but the possibility of being under the galley is not something I want to take a chance on.

Have you taken the cruise yet? I'm on deck 14 currently, but, 16006 just became available. I like the location, but am concerned that there might be a galley above it that would wake me early in the morning. The other discussions here are about the balcony cabins, I believe.

You can put it out, but they're not going to service your room more than twice a day! I just think that she's confusing the room being serviced when they get back with constant servicing. As I said earlier, if I put towels on the floor before leaving for the day and then again when I was back before dinner, it might seem like it was being done constantly.

FYI, it appears that they are owned by Nationwide. The company answering questions here does not sell them, so I would not expect them to give you an answer. Here is a description of their focus from their website. Detour is founded and operated by adventurers who live the lifestyle and understand the rewards and risks associated with experiential travel.

Update -- ignore my "Hi Steve", I hadn't noticed the Q&A was with a different company this time.

Someone who was on the recent MSC cruise that got rerouted from Nassau, Bahamas to Canada the day before they sailed (due to bad weather) claimed that some people who were supposed to be on board had cancelled and had their insurance cover it. Is there any policy that would do this, other than utilizing the Cancel for any Reason coverage (which presumably would not be at 100% and not everyone has)? Similar question for people who were supposed to go to Israel and had their itinerary changed. Thanks.

Hi, Steve. I'm wondering if there was any insurance that could have provided coverage for the people on the three-year cruise that got cancelled right before sailing recently. Would it even have been something that could be covered since it was (supposed to be) so long?

Relevant article I just got sent from Cruise Critic. How Often Is Your Cruise Ship Stateroom Cleaned? "Even though twice-daily stateroom cleaning has long been the standard in the cruise industry,"

I figured that the 12/23 date was my Covid extension, since it should have expired in 2021 (plus I think it only should have been extended to 2022). Obviously, I am not going to do anything if the date stays as 2027. I'm wondering if anyone else who was supposed to have expired last month also got a surprise extension. I do have a cruise booked for March, so it would make sense for them to have extended it to then. But that doesn't seem to be something that MSC typically does (i.e., things that make sense).

Funny, I must have missed that part of their constant TV commercials. Also missed the part that warns prospective customers that we're a budget cruise line, so keep your expectations low.

And if you use towels in the morning before you leave for breakfast and in the afternoon before you leave for dinner, then the usual twice-daily service they do in the morning and before bed (typically starting around 6pm) in the evening would explain what you're seeing. Are you claiming that it was made in the morning, and you came back to the cabin around lunch but then went out again and the room was serviced three times a day? You made a few valid points in your post, but your insisting that some things that make no sense are actually true is making your whole story suspect.

Except that the ship would have refused to let them leave with their luggage if they were going to incur a fine.

Since someone else commented on this, I figured that I would as well. This sounds extremely unlikely, since it would have meant they left after only two days and they would have received a hefty bill from MSC, who would have been fined for violating the PVSA by allowing them to embark and disembark at different US ports without a distant foreign port in between. I suppose they could have left in Nassau, but it still seems unbelievable unless someone was sick.

I've never heard of cabins being made up more than twice a day. Maybe the timing just worked out for you, and it seemed like they were doing it constantly.

Well, we're in an inside YC cabin so it wasn't that expensive, certainly not compared to the balcony suites. Everyone tells you how great MSC is, but when you come back to complain, they tell you "Well it's a low-price line, what did you expect?" I even saw someone post that when there was a complaint about YC, saying it's not fair to compare it to a high-end cruise line. Funny thing is. MSC's description of YC doesn't say "but we're a low-price line, so take our claims with a grain of salt". Anyway, we'll see how it goes.