Morgsmom

As a cautionary note, yesterday's Seashore departure from Port Canaveral was a hot mess.  Friends waited in security lines for hours to even get into terminal. The YC area ran out of seats and beverages (the horror!)  Boarding did not begin until well after 1pm and the ship left about 8:45pm.

Many stories were told but the scuttlebutt was some B2Bers who did not want to get off and turn around.  They couldn't be located.  Can't say if that was true or not but an entire ship of Thanksgiving week cruisers were backed up.  So even though you theoretically can get to the port at 10am you might be waiting hours.

8 hours ago, joeyancho said:

Stealing luggage is pretty low.  Most people know to carry off their jewelry,  electronics,  cash and other valuables.  So what can they get?  Dirty clothes?  Used luggage?  Cheap souvenirs?   Why would a port worker risk their job for such a low reward?  

I don't think that someone intentionally stole the luggage; my guess is that another guest grabbed a bag in error and got to their taxi or even airport and then realized it.  Maybe husband didn't realize that wife already had the look-alike 21" rolling black bag..  Rather than trying to do the right thing they abandoned the case.  Just my guess. 

6 hours ago, MariaPet said:

MSC lost our luggage during disembarkation at Barcelona. We didn't receive one of our suitcases at the port. I still haven't received any updates from the company. I opened my request with lost and found on 7/10 (the day they lost the luggage), but they never responded. When I reached their sales team by phone (they even have no customer support phone), after 20 minutes of research, the operator informed me that my case is in progress. She mentioned that as soon as her colleagues finish, they will contact me. When I asked about the timeline, the operator said she does not know.

Awful customer service and support!

I'm unable to open an insurance case, as the insurance company requires proof that MSC refused to pay compensation.

During the cruise, we enjoyed our time, and everything was nice. However, this lost luggage incident and the company's subsequent reaction just spoiled everything. Please be aware of this company and think twice before buying their cruises.

Likely another guest grabbed your suitcase. You will likely not hear anything.  Reason to never check your bags. 

If you miss embarkation the balance of the first cruise would most likely be cancelled. 

Diamond Plus and a free bag of laundry would be awesome!

10 hours ago, ptuder said:

Yes. I am in YC and every week my boarding time changes. I have had 1 pm, 3:30 pm and now 2 pm. All without them asking me my preference. I plan on being aboard for lunch! 🤣

Lunch?  I assure you that I will be having a mid morning glass of champagne in Topsail well before lunch 🙂

to the OP, you can arrive at any time. Worse case scenario is that you comfortably wait in the YC waiting area in the port having a snack and beverage and a chat with fellow excited passengers.

Have my eyes deceived me or is the MSC website search engine now updated and more usable?  WHAT kind of sorcery is this?  I can search and sort using multiple factors so that I can see, for example, YC fares for a number of sailings all at one instead of having to go into each one individually.....  Christmas has come early folks.  Enjoy!

I booked a solo fare last week that was a 20% supplement, so it is possible. It just varies by sailing and ship.

@go.without.you are you arriving at the Winter Park or Orlando Amtrak station?

So this was new to me - upcoming Seashore 4 night cruise.  Going solo but paid a reasonable single supplement for original cabin as the Yacht Club single supplements were 100% which was way too much per night per person (for just me!)  

First, received "standard" email to upgrade and I bid the maximum for a YIN (knowing full well that it would be x2).   But I also knew that there were no YINs available on the cruise.  

This morning received a COUNTER offer to bid for a Yacht Club Deluxe Balcony because there were no YINs available.  I accepted the counter and within 15 minutes my credit card was charged, and 30 minutes later a cabin assigned.  SOOOOOOOO excited. I thought this was super smart of them.  Hummm, someone is willing to go all in on the YIN, but I did not put in a minimum offer on the YCD, so they lowered their offer, leaving it within an acceptable range for me.

To note, this is not my first yacht club rodeo by any means, but last year (same week, same 4 nighter but on Meraviglia), the solo supplements were waived so I sailed much cheaper last year booking outright.  

Correct, there are so many factors that can come into play when coming back to port.  Can a smooth connection happen?  Sure, but have backup plans.

On 11/12/2023 at 10:04 AM, lcpagejr said:

.Still witholding judgement until I see if they actually deliver on my choices!!😂

 

Very very wise, indeed 🙂

On 11/7/2023 at 7:10 AM, EllieinNJ said:

We just got off the Miraviglia.  We had fantastica experience and was assigned a dining time of 6pm.  A little too early for us so on embarkation we went to the dining room to get the time changed.  It was a very long line and we waited almost an hour.  When it was finally our turn the only later times were 8pm or later.  We took the 8pm but the dining room actually opened at 7:45pm or you can get there by 8:30pm so you can see either the early show or late show in the theater.  Also ask for a two top at the end of the row so you are not between two tables. 

If you have an 8pm assigned time they reserve the right not to seat you if you show up at 8:30

2 hours ago, mtlchris said:

It says right at the bottom of your image that the discount doesn't apply to beer bottles 🙂

well dang, I only saw BUCKETS... still seems odd though

Ok, so here's a conundrum (and not of the wine variety...) theoretically why couldn't you apply the $8 credit on the easy package towards a $7.50 beer so that you are not limited to just Heineken.  I see that it says "cocktail, favorite spirit or special glass of wine" but this seems like a fine line to me... Thoughts?

37 minutes ago, Jimmycruiser said:

Planning a 10 night cruise on Divina in a Yacht Club suite. Have the following questions:

1. Can mini bar or suite be stocked with a couple of your preferred included bottles of wine at no charge? NO, just soda & beer, however you can order in glasses of wine

2.  Is a coffee maker provided in your suite? I heard that on Divina No but not confirmed? Yes

3.  Are Washer & Dryers available to use and are they free?  No self serve laundry

4.  Does the private Lounge have Live music in the evening? Yes

 

Appreciate any other YC input specific to Divina since my understanding is that the "YC Experience" varies by ship. 

Le Muse on the Divina (the YC dining room) is all the way in the AFT of the ship, so you'll want your butler to escort you the first time you go.  Other than that the Divina's YC is lovely and intimate.

43 minutes ago, eyern1 said:

I assure you the post is serious due to the fact of having muster drills occur at various times on my cruises and even having one delayed for several hours so there is no hard and fast rule on exactly when it should occur. As well, it’s a very simple procedure on many ships now whereas it’s a drawn out pain in the butt on others. This is something in this instance that if possibly adjusted 15-30 minutes, it would potentially make a lot of people’s day and probably get some good pr out of it. I guarantee you would never forget the cruise where you saw the rocket launch when someone mentioned it. And no, I don’t feel entitled thank you!

Shaking my head.  Literally, there is a schedule on the cruise ship.  No one, I mean NO ONE, in the cruise line industry gives a hoot about a shuttle launch.  And as a Central Florida resident I couldn't care either; heck, 99% of them are scrubbed.

MSC has very low single supplements on some of their Flash Sale fares out of FL.  Booked a solo Interior for 4 night on MSC Seashore on December 3rd for $288 and was upgraded to Deluxe Balcony.

Shady spots are generally easy to find on deck - it's full sun that people have a hard time getting.

Umbrellas are plentiful and free in the YC beach. Enjoy!

Wasn't suggesting that the 2nd person would be free.  Just wondering if anyone had encountered this before. (?)

I don't think I've ever seen this.  So, say you book & pay as a solo (with whatever solo supplement there is).  You then bid and successfully upgrade to a new category, paying for 2 guests.  You now want to add a person to your booking.  1) is it possible?  2) how would the fare work?  

Now if it is were non YC I can see a couple of options ranging from having the 2nd person book a 2nd cabin (assuming low supplement) and "joining" you in your cabin.   At that point no one would theoretically care where you slept.  But if your upgrade was to YC this wouldn't work...

Anyone experienced this?  Again, just hypothetically but given MSC's ever-changing rules....

14 hours ago, eyern1 said:

You described the situation we're in right now except we are waiting to see if we get the YC upgrade with 6 days left before sailing.  Kind of a 2 edged sword for us since it's nice to have the balcony we hardly ever buy, but we probably will never end up with yacht club unless we go for it like this. I'm thinking of bumping the bid up slightly like I saw someone else do and actually got superbumped into the balcony as you described  but I'd possibly have buyer's regret it if it just secured us into the YC interior.  Decisions, decisions....  BTW, no cabins show as bookable on our cruise right now anyway.

If no cabins show as bookable then the upgrade company might be data-mining. They collect information to see how much people are willing to pay for each category.  It is used in setting prices going forward.  

From personal experience, YIN > a balcony (unless it's a Yacht Club Balcony, of course)

5 minutes ago, lcpagejr said:

Nope...There is a reason why YC is inclusive. I don't care if my spouse doesn't join me.... that doesn't mean I can or would want to  substitute a non YC guest. There are other restaurant venues on ship where YC and non YC passengers can eat together

My point exactly. 

Ok, so the more I thought about this the aunt didn't actually pay for 2 berths; she paid a 100% solo supplement WIHTOUT the port fees on the 2nd booking.  Solo supplements can range from 0 - 100% (or more in some odd cases), but they do not represent 2 people.  It is a penalty.

Taking the OP's logic about purchasing 2 seats in the YC for dinner, what's the difference if my DH wants to stay in and watch Monday Night football and order pizza and I go to the YC dining room and take a non YC friend?  Isn't that the same logic? I paid for 2 seats and since he's not coming I can invite anyone I want, right?    (Or if his pizza counts as his meal, let's say he doesn't feel like having dinner at all, so I can just substitute someone else for him in the YC dining room by this logic, and he actually PAID for a place at the table....)

Lots of very low single supplments on the Euribia I have seen.  While we are not supposed to name websites the one previously referenced has a very robust search engine for solo deals.  There was a Euribia out of  Southampton and/or Le Havre for $298 USD for the 7 nighter as of a few days ago!