max996

This information quoted directly from the MSC Cruises web page:

"Reservations can be made and accepted through any travel agency. In order to secure a confirmed reservation, a deposit is required. Final payment is due no later than 90 days prior to sailing or by option date if booking within 90 days of sailing. To avoid cancellation, the deposit or final payment must be received in MSC's office by the option date given at time of booking. Option dates can vary from one to seven days from booking date depending on sailing demand. In a few rare instances immediate payment by credit card may be required to confirm your reservation. 

World Cruise 2019: Final payment is due no later than 90 days prior to sailing. A 15% non-refundable deposit is due within 7 days of making a booking. 

World Cruise 2020 and forward: Final payment is due no later than 120 days prior to sailing. A 15% non-refundable deposit is due within 7 days of making a booking. 

If the Ticket has been purchased through any travel agent, tour company, group, organizer traveling companion, or booking representative ("the Agent"), the Passenger authorizes the Company to give any notices and to pay any refund owed to the Passenger to the Agent on his behalf. The failure of the Agent to pay the full Fare to the Company is considered a breach of Contract by the Passenger when the Ticket has been purchased through an Agent. Such Agent shall be deemed in all respects to be the Agent of the Passenger and not of the Company."

Link to web page: https://www.msccruisesusa.com/en-us/Terms-Conditions.aspx

5 hours ago, rattanchair said:

Dear Mo,  I hear you loud and clear. We consider ourselves very capable travelers. Been around the world several times like most of you on the CC boards. Cruises, lost count after the first hundred (started early no kids). Let me just say that until you experience someone so exceptional you will never understand where we are coming from. This Vishnu, put us in another place and time, reserved only for the 'leisure class'..Even my 'observations' were affected as I posted them to you all. I was accused of playing a 'role of landed gentry' and rightly so.  Being addressed as "Sir R" so many times in a day gets to you, in a rather 'fun' way. All the world's a stage and Vishnu pressed all the right buttons with me.

We had Vishnu last month as well, and agree that he went above and beyond throughout our week on board. We had our kids with us, and my wife and I wanted some "husband & wife" time on various nights throughout the week so we turned on the do not disturb light. Do you know that Vishnu would not allow our kids to even knock on the door when that light was on? LOL! I gave him an extra $100 just for that! He is the best in the business.

On 7/31/2019 at 12:55 PM, rattanchair said:

Dear Max,  Your posts about the Divina and the Seaside YC Royal Suites helped us 'pull the trigger ' on booking with MSC. Thank you for all your postings ! I could have never have posted my observations in 'real' time in the Royal Suite on Divina, there was absolutely no wifi when I sat on the balcony. I could type day and night from the RS on Seaside.

Hey, that's good to hear, and I'm so glad you had a great of an experience that my wife and I always have! 

Good review. We enjoyed that same suite during my family's cruise from June 29 - July 6th 2019. Vishnu was absolutely fantastic! So was Eva - she worked the Concierge desk in the Yacht Club during our sailing. We found there was nothing she couldn't do for us on that ship, and between the two of them they made our vacation extra special. We've' sailed in Divina's Royal Suite as well, and there is really no comparison between the two.

Our three daughters shared the suite next door (16029) and we were able to keep the partition between the two decks open all week so that the kids could use the hot tub on occasion instead knocking on the door. We really like MSC Cruises and are looking forward to our cruise aboard Meraviglia when she arrives in the U.S. The only thing I "hated" about this cruise was that Ocean Cay, MSC'c private island in the Caribbean, wasn't open for us. But we will get to call on that port on our next voyage.

18 hours ago, dexddd said:

Last night YC party by pool.

 

Prime rib, tenderloin. shrimp among main courses.

Oh, I've heard great things about the relatively new YC Pool party.

They didn't do that on our last YC cruise aboard the Divina last summer.

Looks like you're in the port side Royal Suite (16037). Love it! That's my suite on Saturday, June 29th!!! 

I think MSC's plan has always been to gain a foothold in the U.S. market by offering voyages on their ships at the low prices we've seen over the past few years. Now that they've gotten that foothold, and have plans to build their own terminal at Port Miami, plus the private island (Ocean Cay) they are raising prices to levels closer to where the competition is. I'd never sail on an MSC ship outside the Yacht Club, but I've said the same thing about Disney too. We've always sailed DCL in Concierge before MSC arrived here with Divina, and I probably will continue sailing MSC in the Yacht Club as long as the product remains at current levels.

Glad you had a great time. I've had great times on my MSC Cruises in the past. Embarking aboard Seaside in 15 days!

1 hour ago, Cruisergal1208 said:

Gampy1967, Yes, one of the couches does make into a bed.  I think the max occupancy for the RS is 4.  You will love it. I have stayed in 16037 before and will be there again in September.  Let me know if you have questions about the cabin.

Mary Ann

Hi Mary Ann! My wife and I will be in 16037 in 17 days! So excited

~Fred F.

20 minutes ago, Fredric22 said:

A bit surprised to hear your feedback about the food in the YC restaurant.  Having sailed somewhat recently, I will say that the pastas and fish dishes were absolutely spectacular.  If you are a meat eater only, the options were a bit more limited.  Looking forward to reading your complete review! 

Food is very subjective. What one person finds delicious, may completely gross out somebody else. So I think we have to take everyone's opinions about the food with a grain of salt. I like the food we ate in the YC, but the steaks were obviously not Ruth's Chris (as an example). We've cruised on 3 different cruise lines, and none of the food we've had was spectacular. But it was all good, in my opinion. The service we have received in the YC restaurant (Seaside and Divina), however was fantastic.

22 hours ago, Linda the Book Lover said:

We sailed on May 25th and stayed in the Yacht Club. Your experience is very different from our experience because we decided to pay the extra and stay in the YC. From the second we handed over our bags until the day we were escorted off we had everything we asked for and more. Our only rude experiences were the spa, as there was no one to show us around after the first day and when I asked for help with the lockers the attendant was not very nice. The search for additional towels was answered with you need to get them all at the front desk. Ok, now I know the rules. My DH was disappointed when the spin class he signed up for was canceled because only two of them showed up and the instructor said he would not do the class with less than 6. Aside from that everyone was attentive, nice, and ready to chat you up. We decided to do MSC once again for my birthday in 2021and only in the YC. Yes, we have to reach in our pocket to pay more but the attention to detail and all it offered was well worth it to us. I am sorry for the cons but I am glad to hear you are willing to try MSC again and this time in the YC.

I concur with your comments. I said after our first cruise with MSC Cruises aboard the MSC Divina several years ago that I'd only cruise MSC in the Yacht Club, and I keep coming back to the YC. It's the best option, all things considered (including the price) of all the major carriers operating from the U.S. We loved Disney Cruises when our kids were younger and only cruised in the Concierge section, but the price of the YC, plus the Top Sail Lounge, the YC pool deck, and everything else you get with the YC made switching a no brainer given the skyrocketing price of DCL concierge lately. MSC has increased the cost of their cruises packages as well now that they have a foothold here in the U.S., but for me it still remains the best option for my family and I.

19 minutes ago, AerynSun_JohnCrighton said:

Hey,

 

 

It's been down for over a week. I've emailed them. Very frustrated as we got to do that before we get tickets. Anyone else having the same problem? I tried two different computers.

Yep. Same problem here from D.C. I really like my cruises aboard MSC vessels, but their website and customer service are the worst in the business.

33 minutes ago, CelebrationFamily said:

Loyal (25+) Disney cruiser here. Tried MSC for the first time on the Meraviglia in March. The value for experience is amazing...and we were NOT in Yacht Club (although we were in the Aurea Duplex Suite and upgraded to a premium+ drinks package.) The ship, food, entertainment, itinerary, embark/debark, status match and friendly crew all made for a wonderful vacation...again, especially considering the price paid when compared to other lines. (BTW, we've also sailed 2 RCCL, 1 HAL and a Celebrity...IMHO, none of those experiences compare favorably to MSC.)

I agree. We were loyal DCL Concierge cruisers, and originally stepped outside Disney to MSC Yacht Club because of the price. The prices of the DCL Concierge suites are through the roof these days, so we gave MSC a shot. And since the kids are older now, and we're getting what we expect and enjoy, we just never went back to Disney.

The Top Sail Lounge aboard Seaside is 4 times the size of the Concierge Lounge aboard the Fantasy & Dream. Plus the YC pool deck and private restaurant - you're absolutely correct about the value of the experiences. Disney will always have it's "Magic" and nobody can touch that, and I'm sure they are "jazzing" up the concierge areas of the new ships currently under construction. 

I jumped over to MSC from Disney back in 2014 and we have really enjoyed our cruises on Divina and Seaside. They were all in the Yacht Club, and I definitely recommend booking a YC cabin if it's in your price range for your cruise vacations. 

1 hour ago, LMaxwell said:

Am I the only one that has waited a long time for Ocean Cay and one delay after another, and now that it will be up and running soon, just kind of deflated to find out everything is a la carte pricing and additional?  I find it odd to go a cruise line private island at a beach day and even the beach bbq buffet is an upcharge.  I get that certain upscale features and amenities will incur a charge for any cruise line, but a simple beach day in lounge chairs with a bbq lunch is a new one for me.  

Yeah I agree. The food should be included in the price.

57 minutes ago, vtgumby said:

My only advice is to NOT COMPARE it with any other cruise experience, advice offered up on this blog before we went on our first MSC and fortunately YC experience in April and it helped because its completely different than any NCL, Celebrity, or Azamara cruise we had been on and fun different, ESP entertainment wise...wait until the 5 or 6 language announcements, thats priceless and like I said, just fun.

It provided us lots of laughs and we'll definitely be back, already booked in YC for another ship but I'm going to sound like the newly found snob I am, no way would I do it outside of YC because of the sheer madness and may I say, lack of manners. We walked deck 15 to get to the YC restaurant and saw chairs everywhere, places chairs don't even fit and it was crazy, esp for a TA that isn't usually booked solid...it looked solid and we were grateful to have our private sanctuary to retreat into with a snack and cocktail at the barely half full sundeck.

Public areas are gorgeous (they do up the bling bigtime) and we observed some long waits for drinks but honestly, we didn't spend enough time in the common areas to comment further, embracing our solitude in YC, away from folks who lack the ability to say excuse me in whatever language they speak or other rude behavior, not a fan of being pushed and in this crowd lots of pushing was going on just walking, crazy and first time we've seen behavior like this from older folk who should know better.

Preziosa had a lovely theater, great layout for seeing and also a shoutout for their gym, 25-30 machines along with probably 10 treadmills/steps and a row of spinning bikes (class only use) so if you're cruising on Preziosa it will keep you fit.

Slap us a review when you're back, glad you are going to see for yourself and remembering everyone has an opinion, we found six Brits got started on the bad food theme and it continued for three weeks and while the food was completely tasteless it wasn't inedible (an overuse of salt on this cruise saved us) and it became almost a sport with them to condemn at all costs so as others mention, if everything is bad then its probably bad but a cruise always has more than a handful of unhappy folk having a crappy life and nothing is going to get in their way to have that crappy life and share it with others.

🙂

Happy sailing!

 

 

I feel the same way! I love MSC Cruise Lines, but I'd never cruise outside of the Yacht Club. Aboard Divina the trek to Le Muse was sometimes frustrating and sometimes comical! We ventured out one night, I remember on a cruise in 2017, to do some shopping and had some great family time, over all, but when we got back into the YC enclave and those glass doors slid shut behind us, it was like "ahhhh" - like going from Times Square in the heart of New York city on a Saturday night, to an over-water bungalow in Bora Bora.

14 hours ago, CGTNORMANDIE said:

Yes...we did have the same wait team each evening...probably because we arrived at about the same time each night.  I also wrote thank you notes and put one in each envelope.  I gave them great marks on the comment card.  

This has been our experience during our cruises aboard Divina as well. We always arrived for dinner at the same time every night and had the same waiter all 7-nights. We established a great rapport with him and I always tipped him something extra on the last night of our cruise.

I also tipped our butler, jr butler, and my favorite bartender at the Yacht Club pool deck - his name was Gary from Jamaica (on our Divina '17 cruise). Whenever he saw me walking towards the bar, he'd reach over into the fridge and crack open a cold Sam Adams for me - every time, no matter what he was doing. I tipped him on the first day of our cruise and told him what my favorite beer was and for the rest of the week he kept them coming.

On 5/13/2019 at 9:27 PM, theEvilQueen2 said:

Now and then I complain about some small thing on my preferred cruise line, but after a taste of this alternative, I'm going home.  If you're considering this ship due to all the hype, don't.  Just don't. I cannot in good conscience keep quiet and not tell you this.    Maybe if you book Y Club it may be a different experience, but there's still a lot of bad on the rest of the ship you'll have to deal with. If you've already booked and feel you just have to try it out, make sure you take receipts, paper receipts, for everything you do and buy pre-cruise.  This may help, no guarantee. All those great things their hyping, it's ala carte or you won't get it at all. And if you don't go YC, you will be treated like you're a peasant traveling in steerage. Caveat Emptor.    

 

Happy Cruising.  

Bummer you didn't have a good cruise. Hopefully, your next one (on whichever cruise line you choose) will be better. 

18 hours ago, Beamafar said:

 

Max ... the discussion revolves around the fact that the OP (Nikki) has been told that she won't be able to dine in the YC restaurant, or enjoy any of the other YC facilities and benefits as she received a free upgrade to a YC cabin but not to the 'YC Experience'.

Ah ha - thanks for the clarification. 

Yacht Club passengers dine in Le Muse restaurant on deck 15 Aft. It's a long walk from the YC section of the ship, but you can dine whenever you like. On embarkation day, you'll be asked what time would you like to eat each night and your table will be waiting on you each night. 

You can eat breakfast and lunch there as well on a walk in basis. Best burgers on the ship for lunch. 

23 hours ago, JAGR said:

I'm not as concerned as most, I guess.  TRQ Travel shared a post on a site we cannot mention.

 

Hey, TRQ Travel - I know Tina (and her husband John). 

16 hours ago, Skier52 said:

I've sailed on both Meraviglia(YC) and Seaview (Aurea) and my conclusion in my review is that I would only cruse again on Meraviglia In the YC. I would happily sail on Seaview again in any class of cabin.

 This is because of the  feel of the two ships

Meraviglia feels overcrowded but not the same can be said of Seaview,

 

Meraviglia review here

 

http://www.cruisingmates.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=270&t=12438

 

Both ships have GWT/Guest ratio of around 30GWT / guest so they should feel the same but they don't.

 Seaview has plenty of routes to outdoor spaces and plenty of those, whereas Meraviglia has not got the same.  

Meraviglia has a major bottleneck in the mall under the LED screen not helped by the theatre entrance leading to the mall and creating a massive crowd when the theatre empties after a show.

 

 Meraviglia is designed for all seasons and so is better suited to cooler climes , eg N Europe, and Seaview is designed for sunshine, eg Caribbean cruises.

 

I may have been influenced by the use of the private sundeck for Aurea guests on Seaview.

 

just my humble opinion

 

Pete 

Great comparison Pete! Thank you.

Our first cruise aboard MSC Seaside embarks on June 29th, and we will sailing aboard Meraviglia on March 15, 2020. I've sailed aboard Divina several times in the Yacht Club, and I have always said that I don't think I'd like sailing outside the YC aboard Divina. I think you hit the nail on the head when referring to the design of the Seaside class ships (for warmer climates) and Meraviglia (which mimics the Fantasia class in some respects) better suited for cooler climates, with a lot of interior corridors that seem to run into a lot of dead ends. I can't wait to experience Seaside - we are in the YC again, but we often venture out to the other parts of the ship for the shows and activities on the main pool deck, etc. 

16 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

 

However; your question prompted me to do a quick google search where I found that MSC is claiming Ocean Cay as 95 acres. Knowing that Ocean Cay is man made and thus can grow, I did a google earth map of the island and it came in around 90 acres (see below), so MSC figures appear much more in line than my post about Ocean Cay yesterday.

 

So, thank you for the dialog. I stand corrected!! It appears Ocean Cay is 95 acres now (not 65) which makes it about 30% larger than what I wrote yesterday. That makes a huge difference. It's not teenie tiny, it's just tiny.  While still the smallest of private islands, 95 acres will put it much closer to it's nearest competition Coco Cay (140 acres). 

Thank you for taking the time and effort to research this for us all. My question was honestly meant to find something from MSC Cruises about the size of the island. I knew it was going to be bigger than the developed sections of Disney's Castaway Cay (which Disney lists as 55 acres), but I think we'll have to wait and see how big (or small) it "feels."  Making a direct comparison to another island based solely on acreage isn't accurate because I think it'll depend a lot on the size of the vessel and the amount of passengers on board at the time.

I called on Castaway Cay aboard the Disney Wonder once and it felt a lot less crowded than a stop my family made while aboard the Fantasy in July one year. So although 95 acres is bigger than 55 acres, when MSC Seaside pulls in with a full passenger manifest of over 5,000 passengers it's probably going to feel much more congested than Castaway Cay with Fantasy in port (<4,000 passengers).

No.

Good review, thanks for the information. My wife and I (both 50 - also from Atlanta, GA (College Park)) will be taking our first voyage aboard Seaside on June 29th in the Yacht Club. We've sailed with MSC Cruises several times before always in the Yacht Club though. We're not show people at all, but we did like the Michael Jackson show (a little bit). The Yacht Club offers an almost entirely different experience on an MSC ship that I'd invite you to try. I personally think the YC is the best value at sea for that class of service. Sounds like you guys would have loved the Top Sail Lounge, and I think you should give it try one day in your future.

We also have a voyage aboard the MSC Meraviglia on the books for March 2020 and I'm looking forward to their private island opening later this year.

Thanks again for the review.