perakcruiser

16 hours ago, Stockjock said:

FYI, as of this evening, that offer is now showing on the MSC USA site as well.  Earlier today, it was not showing up.

Nice. You can expect to get the 700 points one week before the cruise. I indeed got them exactly one week before departure. 

34 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

Unfortunately, I'm in the USA so I can't do that, although we do have a winter European cruise booked.

Oh, I saw this promo on some countries websites, but seems not to be on the US site. 

Certainly there is! 

MSC sometimes runs promos where you get extra points BEFORE the cruise to reach your status faster. And they are doing it right now!

Just pick your dream Winter cruise and book by November 30th: as part of the MSC Voyagers Club, together with 5% off of all winter cruises, you will receive 700 extra points credited before departure, to help you upgrade your membership level faster and possibily get exclusive new benefits during your upcoming cruise. You may enjoy privileges such as priority embarkation and disembarkation, late check-out, complimentary dinner at one of our speciality restaurants and much more, depending on your membership level.

https://www.msccruises.co.uk/cruise-deals/winter-members-promotion

On 10/30/2022 at 11:04 AM, oleb84 said:

drop them off at kids club at 6

Maybe at 6 the kids club is closed. 

3 minutes ago, SonofTertius said:

Maybe the ship ain’t so bad after all, or am I just getting use to mediocre? 

Well, if you start to PAY for a wonderful Cappuccino you maybe really start to enjoy 😄 

No, this is not available anymore. All water, beer, wine, coffee packages have been discontinued. 

23 minutes ago, 3StepDam44 said:

Would I sail with MSC again? It's very doubtful now.

Very understandable, but the first rule is really to avoid the school holidays of UK, Germany, France and Italy. As I have two kids I know the difference between cruising without them outside the holidays and with them during holidays very well. It is two completely different worlds. 

On 10/25/2022 at 4:37 PM, tbmrt said:

Do you happen to know the one day charge for spa?  We are only doing a 3 night and 1 day will be at Ocean Cay

For unknown reasons MSC is very unwilling to sell 1 day passes. During Covid they did not sell at all, not sure if they started again. And usually when you ask for the price they are afraid to tell, I think last time I got an answer like "It is absolutely not worth it" instead of the price😄

Just go and try telling them that you are only on a 3 day cruise. 

On 10/24/2022 at 1:11 PM, mousefan73 said:

Oh Dear God. We booked our first MSC, departing Hamburg on the 8th.. Got a good deal, just to get away knowing the time of year and itineray IMO is horrible.

 

So there are that many people willing to sail western/northern europe in late fall????

 

I hope I dont regret booking this. We were covid spoiled with half empty ships..

Well, look at the price of your cruise (I am on board as well) and you know why it is popular 😉 But no school holidays, so I am not too pessimistic. Maybe not half empty as the Virtuosa was in February, but that times are probably gone. 

And if you are frightened about the long lines at embarkation, just go late. The ship leaves Hamburg at 9 pm, I am sure late afternoon the waiting time will be zero. 

13 hours ago, Stockjock said:

Another factor is the sameness of many of MSC's newer ships.  As an example, I've been on Bellissima, Seaside, Grandiosa and very soon on Virtuosa.  All beautiful ships in their own right, but all very similar too.

So true. When I was first time on Virtuosa I had the feeling I have been on this ship before 😄 

After we had all recent cruises on the newer MSC ships I want to go back on the Preziosa, still my favourite ship. 

14 hours ago, Stockjock said:

In short, they did not reply to my e-mail request.

Maybe just try to call again and pretend it is your first call about this topic. Meanwhile they are maybe more familiar in changing these cruises. 

1 hour ago, ACruise535 said:

Figured it was some kind of mistake. Appreciate the input.

No, it is quite normal to get upgrade bids offers for sold out cabins. 

5 hours ago, syracr said:

We often prefer to have dinner  at the buffet instead of the MDR.

We know on RCI, dinner in the buffet has at least some subset of what is being served in the MDR.

Exactly the same on MSC. 

1 hour ago, Elsammo46 said:

Is there any way to check your onboard account balance on the MSC app or any other way online?

Depends on the ship. 

Does it get crowded? - Usually not. I never saw it crowded.
 

Are the loungers heated? - Yes.

Is there staff that you would have to tip there? - No. 

In my opinion the Meraviglia is the first MSC ship with a Spa that is worth to visit. Same with all ships that came after the Mera. 

3 hours ago, Stockjock said:

Am I missing something, or are they doing YC wines on the cheap?

You are only writing about US wines that anyway are only available on MSC ships for this market. 

Surely the US wine market is not the main wine source for MSC for obvious reasons. What I know from MSC in Europe their wine selection in the YC is great.

And you should not look only at the price. In Europe the average selling price of a bottle of wine is somewhat around 3€. Prices above 15€ have nothing to do with quality or production costs, that is just storytelling, marketing, demand and shortage. 

I would not recommend someone who never drove on the British side of the road (which unfortunately is also the Malaysia side) to rent a car in Southampton. Also still a lot of manual gearing rental cars around in Europe. 

9 hours ago, RBrowny said:

Hi, what is included in the 'normal dining options' as when we was on NCL, O'sheenan's was included which was like a British/Irish pub food place, I'm assuming similar, you pay for on MSC.

I have been in the British pub on some MSC ships, but I really don´t remember if there was food available. I only went there for a Newcastle Brown Ale from tap 🙂What I know is that they started to have some food options (free or not) in the sports bar, because of the high demand for this from US pax who - please don´t read, American friends - seem to need food all the time during the cruise😉

That is why your question "Is food included in the bars" is difficult. Yes, I remember some small selection of pastries in some bars or other very small snacks in other bars at special times, but also tea time and breakfast is really happening at the buffet. You definitely will not have lunch or dinner in any of the pubs, bars and cafes, so you don´t need to think if included or not. None of the places has anything more than small snacks, but most have no food at all. 

14 hours ago, peanutzmom said:

This will be our first MSC cruise (though we’ve been on over a dozen cruises). I didn’t know about Status Match until after I booked the cruise and signed us up for the Voyager Club. We’re Carnival VIFP Platinum, but I’m afraid to contact customer service about Status Match in case it will change our booking price just to get us a small gift!

I understand your doubts. Especially if you like your booking. But you can do the status match already now. Just trying to get any of the benefits into your existing booking can hurt. Indeed much more than a tiny gift is worth.

2 minutes ago, RBrowny said:

Thanks for response, so essentially just the main dining room and buffet that are included - the rest there is an upcharge? If so, do you think it will be like the other MSC prices or more?

Don´t think too much about the speciality restaurants, you probably will never use until you have Diamond😄 

Usually the prices for the speciality restaurants are the same across the fleet. 

• Do we know what food is included with the cruise? I know there are 13 different dining venues, but I am unsure what we would have to pay for and what we don't have to pay for?

All normal dining options are included, the so called speciality restaurants not. Same like all other MSC ships. We never used a "speciality restaurant" so far, I guess 95% of the guests never used. 

• I noticed all the different activities like the massive slide, the bumper cars, 4D cinema, various shows etc, I was wondering how much these would cost over the course of 7 days.

Shows and slides should be included, for the other stuff the prices are not too much, especially when using the entertainment pass. Nothing to worry about. 

• What are the inside cabins like? Our last cruise was a balcony and it made all the difference, but I want to know if these are quite spacious or are they really small, compared to some of the smaller ships like the NCL Gem we was on not long ago.

Insides usually have no sofa, but some do. And some inside cabins are bigger, some smaller. For me Insides are OK, not spacious, not really small. But I have no idea about the layout on the Europa of cause. 

• With a drinks package, would these be included everywhere, like the Gin club, the Pub, and all bars around the ship? I am unsure if some places don't allow it, and you have to pay a premium?

Basically the package is included everywhere, the few exceptions are clearly mentioned. 

• Dress code? NCL was quite relaxed, and I enjoyed wearing a polo shirt and jeans for evening meals, is this acceptable on MSC or is it stricter for the main dining rooms?

You will not be turned away from the MDR with this. 

• What are the differences between a smaller ship and a large one like this? Are there long queues for drinks/food and activities or is it quite simple processes

Simple.

20 hours ago, RBrowny said:

Do we know when we will start to see more of this? I'm thinking of booking, but also curious as to what restaurants and bars are includeed

I don´t think there will be any difference to the other MSC ships, MSC has never changed their policy on this throughout the years and ship classes. Apart from this Venchi and other vendors stuff. 

2 hours ago, Nextholiday? said:

Why good offers because of the weather or because virtousa has had some brilliant deals?  🙂

 

I would call the prices crazy low, but that is my personal opinion, others may disagree.

22 minutes ago, Ulsteinvik said:

Euribia will sail in winter 2023/24 the same program like Virtuosa this winter from Southampton/Hamburg.

 Memo to myself, there will be incredible good offers for the Euribia in winter 23/24 😄 

But as far as I know there is almost no difference between the Euribia and the Virtuosa/Grandiosa. 

11 minutes ago, tbmrt said:

Wow...Maybe I was thinking of another cruiseline...I remember there being about 5 cruisers plus a chef from the ship along with people watching in a room on bleacher type seats.  The chef showed them how to make a dish and guided them along the way.  Lots of fun with prizes.

That is correct. There is a kids version and adults version. If they do it at the moment (and on which boats) that I don´t know.

14 minutes ago, Nextholiday? said:

MSC is the worst cruise line I have used. This is our first cruise but nothing but issues. Really gutted. Sorry if that sounds pathetic 😢 

Fantastica is a nice ship. As it is your first MSC cruise it is not a big thing which ship. I would just take the $100 and ignore all the trouble.