Morgsmom

If you book online you MUST book the same package, in which case you should book the lower non alcoholic package. You can upgrade once onboard so you MIGHT be able to just upgrade your wife as they will happily take the extra money (and the 15% gratuity on the difference). The whole point is that they don't want drink packages being 'shared'. As far as table mates, you can always un-link your reservations if you think it's an issue, then ask to be sat together once onboard on the first day. But since drinks are so hard to come by in the main dining room I don't think that having different packages for different staterooms at the same dinner table will be such an issue. (It's not like they leave the bottle of wine on the table as they might on a European sailing)

Hum.... the best answer is to call them and ask. You likely talked to the UK reps who may have their own rules. Likely it is end of business day the following day, but you never know. Tomorrow in the US is the 4th of July and a holiday, so MSC in the states will likely be closed.

Both Hubby and I have traveled solo on MSC on various cruises when the other couldn't accompany. It's certainly different than traveling with your spouse, but we each enjoyed our solo cruises very much. Gives you more time to talk to the crew!

And if people keep doing such things which cost the business time, effort and money (booking, cancelling, re-booking the same cruise) pretty soon the deposit WILL BE non-refundable.

I'm sorry, but YOU are the one who keeps changing your booking. It is not their job to keep changing things because of changed promotions. That's what they are - promotions. In the T&C they will likely say that they are for new bookings ONLY. Having the cruiseline jump through hoops to change things causes more churn in a system that is already flawed (MSC's IT dept, billing dept, etc). Off my soapbox for now. Yes, I get is a couple of hundred bucks, but most of us BOOK our cruise and don't look back.

If you go to crepe vendor in Paris you will get a crepe wrapped in paper to be consumed while walking about...

That's a dangerous move, in my opinion. It will take at least a couple of months to get your deposit back on the first booking. Is it worth it for a few dollars would be my question? You may end up worse off....

I think it's about $120 for one hour for either 1 or 2 people.

Just to chime in, it's not really an upgrade "fairy" if you are bidding for an upgrades. The fairy sprinkles her dust when you get upgraded by the cruiseline (for their own benefit)

Ship? Sailing? In Europe you pay the service charges up front so it could be that. More info needed to help.

Customs in Port Canaveral is VERY VERY easy for US Citizens. There will be a separate line for Canadians but that is fast.

WOW!!! You are an adventurous soul! Congratulations on your spontaneity and enjoy your cruise.

Remember that there are lots of folks bidding for those cabins - make sure that you have signed up for email communications as I've never heard of someone calling to get an upgrade. From my understanding any paid for upgrade would be at the fare difference between your booked cabin and desired cabin as it was at the time you booked.

Well DH and I are snuggly back in our cabins by 9 - 9:30 so I cannot at all speak on nightlife. (Though you'll see us walking the decks at 6:00am so I can give guidance on that 🤩). I do not think that MSC has sailed out of New York before (though I could be wrong) but I would imagine that there will be a lot of local tri-state folks on the cruise which would infuse a certain New York ambiance. (Whether it's Upper East side or Bridge & Tunnel is another story...) To me, Yacht Club on MSC > a balcony on NCL. But that's my personal opinion as we really enjoy staying in the bubble of the YC.

FCCs are not transferable to friends/family unless you did some weird booking that included them in the room and they either no-showed or you did a name change later.

Heinekin 0.0 is NOT included in the Easy package.

Pro tip: get 2x the Lobster salad and skip the bread 🙂

We chose a deck 16 cabin in YC on the MERA that was Starboard because we had an overnight at Ocean Cay and wanted to watch the lighthouse show from our balcony. Great access (as others have said) to Topsail lounge, concierge desk, etc.

Sadly, lots of things that used to be included in the Premium Plus package no longer are 😞

It depends on your ship & sailing. If you log into your booking you can see.

Many, many US based TA's refuse to work with MSC. Too many headaches and it's not worth their time to be on hold for hours to fix simple issues.

Here are some answers: 1. Yes, it is open dining. There is a section of the MDR. You can dine when you want, with whomever you want. The Maitre' D' will probably want to put you at the same(ish) table each night but you can request to move. 2. On Drinks, it DEPENDS on which offer you book. If you book the All in Easy Plus with Wifi then upgrade to Aurea package you will have drinks. There will be no limit on the # but the max amount is $9 per drink. It is not what you were accustomed to in the YC in terms of spirits or wines. 3. Can't answer on smoking or deck 8 shenanigans. 4. Yes, they cluster the Aurea cabins together. In all that I've read the Aurea experience is really, really watered down. You used to get a massage and other perks. No more. Frankly with the exception of open seating it is pretty much the same as a Balcony with an Easy Plus package (in my opinion). If it were me, I would book the balcony with Easy Plus and Wifi then upgrade to the Premium Plus Beverage package (if that was important to you). You'd likely still be better off by a couple hundred bucks vs Aurea which you could then spend in specialty dining for 'anytime' dining. My opinion only 🙂

Check out Walgreens or CVS.

I'm confused; it sounds like she offered to send you a refund and you accepted. That WOULD impact your OBC as it would now be zero. Seems the issue is that you are waiting on your $200 refund. This might take at least two billing cycles to go through so, in theory, it could be in progress. As far as MSC Customer Service, that's a big, deep, black hole.

We were on the MERA two weeks before she began her trek across the ocean in "dry dock." What we heard was that there would be some touching up, but no major changes by any means.