CruisingFox27

There isn't a permanent bar, it's a pop up bar. All of the Divina class and below ships have the same set up. The drink selection is limited, it's obviously not a full bar but more extensive than just serving bottled drinks. And it's never been my experience that the hours are limited, it's always been open all day when we've used the Aurea sun deck, we'd usually be there 10am - 6pm on sea days. 

I always travel with a pair of small nail scissors, and a small pair of hair scissors, packed in my hold baggage. It's never been an issue with flights or with MSC.

How many plug sockets are there in each cabin? And what type are they? US/EU? If there are no usb ports I'll need to calculate how many multi usb adapters to pack. 

3 hours ago, sidari said:

The grid now specifically says upon reservation.

It's MSC, what's written and what happens aren't always the same thing....😂

As an alternative, assuming you're referring to having dinner in a speciality, you could book for lunch. 

Or, if you look at the dinner menus and nothing of note appeals, have the concierge book the speciality restaurant. 

It's pretty safe to assume that the ships won't be going through the Suez Canal. The MSC WC has rerouted down the West Coast of Africa. And any itineraries due to traverse the Suez have been pulled. I suspect a lot of cruise schedulers are currently very busy finding alternative routes and ports.

No dumb questions, only dumb answers 😉

All the bars have QR codes on the tables for you to scan, and there are usually paper menu's available on the bar too.

We sailed through the Suez in mid-November, but our port calls to Egypt and Jordan were cancelled. We had a heavy military presence on board, far more so than we've seen when sailing in that region before. As things are currently, I wouldn't want to be sailing there now

MSC Poesia started her WC on 5th Jan, they were due in Malta today, then Rhodes, Cyprus and to traverse Suez 16th Jan. They've been to Alicante and Malaga instead, currently sailing on the West Coast of Africa, just off Morocco. So, definitely no Suez.

1 hour ago, DHP1 said:

I would think for Europe cruises, there will be a separate blue lane for Platinum/Elite members because the majority of people won’t have their medallion because they live in Europe. Cross your fingers and hoping that I’m correct. 

We aren't sailing in Europe, we're sailing from San Francisco.  I will still be crossing my fingers that it is better in reality than it sounds 😁

12 hours ago, New2cruise2022 said:

Is the decision to not offer a full refund common practice in the UK or just a Princess practice?

We're not entitled to a full refund in the UK, it's at the discretion of the cruise line, depending on the circumstances. We had a cruise booked with a different cruise line in November, our planned ports included Egypt for the Pyramids and Valley of the Kings, also, Jordan for Petra. All of those were cancelled. We were offered the option of cancelling in full/FCC.

23 hours ago, bobpell said:

First timers with this benefit because of our room selection.

Do we mention this after getting our medallions?

What actually happens?

Thanks

Bob

 

We are in a similar situation, but UK based, so we can't have our medallions mailed. The priority embarkation appealed as a benefit. However, I've lowered my expectations on what this actually entails. Our regular cruise line has a separate priority check in desk or separate area, depending on cabin/eligibility for priority. After check in, you clear security and board. As we know no different, I hoped for similar. From what I've read, Princess check in is just 2 queues, blue and green. After that, you're sent to wait in an area for boarding, which seems where the priority applies, those with the higher priorities board first.

It sounds a bit disappointing, but we're not sailing from FFL so it might not be, we might be surprised, but I'm managing my expectations that we'll just have to do a lot of queuing and waiting.

On 1/7/2024 at 10:32 AM, mcoler181 said:

I'm a pretty heavy drinker when on holiday, but a limit off 22 drinks? I don't think many if any are going to drink 22 drinks a day. Seems like a pointless limit.

15 hours ago, DCGuy64 said:

Agreed! Anyone who needs more than 22 drinks a day should be checking into the Betty Ford clinic, LOL! 😂

It prevents people sharing their package drinks with those who don't have packages. The Thirsty packages and limits are specific to SA cruises as they have a lot of issues with drinking and packages in that region. This is the first year they offered packages. I suspect, it'll be the last. 

7 hours ago, thepla said:

Yes south Africa.  I'll give feedback. New thirst package just replaced easy   I don't check often so I have no idea when replaced. I know they can't change price, maybe rules.

The new packages came into effect at the end of November when Splendida arrived on her repositioning from Italy. Just checked my calendar and we disembarked on the 23rd November. So, it was the 24th November. This is the first time they've had drinks package for the region.  Although, I understand there have been issues and they are also reintroducing vouchers for SA again. 

It's unlikely the menu's would be posted here due to the demographic of the passengers. There is a Splendida group on the social media platform that we're not allowed to mention 🙂 📚, they're probably available in there. 

The thisty and thirsty plus are the new names for the new South Africa drinks packages. And they've had to introduce limits on the packages there. Perhaps someone pressed the wrong button when doing a website update. 

Are slippers provided along with the robes?

On 12/28/2023 at 7:04 PM, Rick&Jeannie said:

It is my understanding now that those in Canada can now have medallions shipped to their home.

We're not Canada either so sadly we won't have medallions in advance. 

On 12/28/2023 at 9:30 PM, Steelers36 said:

No one just "goes to the ship" unless general boarding has opened.  Prior to that, everyone is in a holding area, albeit Suites & Elites have their place versus Platinum.  Not sure where Reserve Minis go, but used to be group with Platinum.  Once general boarding begins, they let the priority groups on first, followed by the rest.  "The rest" are not held back for arrival of other Elites/Platinums.

 

Once general boarding is underway and the terminal waiting areas are cleared, newly arriving guests just head onto the ship after clearing check-in, regardless of CC Member level and cabin type.

Hopefully, the priority embarkation is going to be straightforward and easy to understand once we arrive. It's all sounding far more complicated than our usual cruise line and the priority embarkation we're used to. Do you receive an embarkation time or is it a general, open operation? 

A great review as ever, thank you for taking the time to post in such detail. 

19 hours ago, nanatutu said:

Thank you very much for your review. Enjoyed it very much. My husband and I have booked “Big Mama” for December 2024 out of Rome. We have never sailed on an MSC ship, only RCCL and Princess. I hope we won’t be disappointed. There seem to be a lot of add on costs.

 The shore excursions you booked seemed quite interesting. Rome has been on my bucket list for a long time. I’m  particularly interested who you booked your Rome excursion through.

 

Happy sailing and hope you have a safe trip home.

 

 

We've never felt it necessary to pay for any additional item whilst cruising with MSC. I'm not sure what you consider these add on costs are but there's absolutely no need to pay for anything extra. As with all cruise lines they'd like you to spend other money but it's not necessary at all. 

17 minutes ago, Reds4life said:

We are going on the same ship and similar itinerary in June. Hopefully they will have the ship refreshed by then. A few questions if you don't mind...

 

1. We are pretty much English only speakers. How easy is it to communicate on the ship and in the ports? This is our first international experience.

 

2. Are the MDR menus the same as what we would get on an MSC ship in North America?

 

3. How were the shows and entertainment? Did you guys spend much time at the pools or spa? 

 

Thanks for any help in advance!

We embarked Splendida at the end of October for the 27 night repositioning cruise. We did note areas which appeared tired but they spent a lot of time doing maintenance during our cruise. I think i read that she'll go in for a 2 week dry dock next year too. 

We're only English speakers and we've never had an issue with language on board, English is usually the first language onboard. 

The menu's do vary in different regions but a lot of the choices are regular to MSC fleetwide. Aside from a couple of issues with dishes, we had excellent food during our trip. 

We didn't go to any shows or the spa so can't comment there,  I'm afraid.

On 12/29/2023 at 8:38 AM, Molly64uk said:

We finish our cruise in Barcelona August 24, what time is the earliest you can disembark.  And the lastest time you can disembark,  just trying to sort flight times.

If you do self disembark, you could be of within an hour of docking. Do bear in mind that docking times aren't guaranteed though. We once waited an extra 2 hours to dock in Barcelona due to the port being busy.

Although you'll need to be out of your cabin at the assigned time, it's possible to stay onboard for an extra hour or two. 

2 minutes ago, EDVM96 said:

After you get your medallions at the cruise terminal, you can just go to the ship as Platin or Elite, instead of getting a number for a boarding group and wait in the waiting area. And there are also priority lines for getting the medallions.

Thank you. So we join the blue queue for Medallions and then there's a priority queue for embarkation- we're not platinum or elite, the priority is assigned with our cabin. But presumably the same principle applies. Hopefully! 

15 hours ago, 1cruiselvr said:

BTW If you choose to have your medallions shipped to your home there is a $10 shipping fee.  Pickup at the pier is free.

Shipping is only an option for US passengers though, is that correct? I'm therefore unsure how our priority embarkation will work if we don't already have our medallions. 

We have our first Princess cruise booked for next year, and I'm trying to learn all the new things required. If we do not live in the US our medallion won't be posted to us, and we can only be blue, is that correct? We have booked a cabin which states priority embarkation - how does that process work if we are blue? We embark in San Francisco, if embarkation port is a factor.

If you're logged into your booking, that is the discounted price. If you only want the experience menu for one restaurant, it would probably work out less expensive to book on board.