perakcruiser

I only can tell you that this is the most popular cruise available in Europe. It will be sold out early, there will not be the usual MSC promotions and specials. 

There will be a lot of kids, your idea that this cruise is not attractive for families unfortunately is totally wrong.

You don't need to think about the "classes", Aurea is not available, if Bella is still available, take it, if not or if you want breakfast in the cabin you have to choose Fantastica. By the way the Poesia was sailing many years already before MSC invented this "classes". 

4 hours ago, JohnJayJotaJames said:

You may find some crew members who have not adapted well to a ship of 99.5% Brazilians.

Are there any crew members from other areas of the world left when the ships go to Brazil? :D
 

We were on the Seaview in the Med a couple of month before the ship went to Brazil and already almost only Brazilian and Middle America staff on board. And even the Brazilians were already horrified about their compatriots coming on board soon in big numbers 

So, please keep us up to date if it is really so horrible, ziggyuk. 

12 hours ago, cruiser man 60 said:

We are in the Dubai to Yokohama cruise next year which has one stop for 9 hours in mainland China at Shekhou, port for Shenzhen. Anyone cruised in the area with a one day stop in China got any experience of how the 24 hour transit visa is a obtained i.e. Do the cruise ship obtain, do you apply yourself at cruise port etc.

we are U.K. Passport holders and cruise then goes to Hong Kong and my understanding is that 24 hour visa free visit is permissible .

To answer this question, one needs to know the port BEFORE Shekou. 

Unlike St. Petersburg the cruise company will do nothing. 

6 hours ago, CruisingFox27 said:

Hong Kong adds an extra complexity to the rule.

No, not at all. Hong Kong is treated as a foreign country like any other when it comes to TWOV rules, especially the ABC criteria.

Anyway, even if you are eligable for TWOV, the main reason to go off the ship and on the long Metro trip into Shenzhen is that you can say "I have been to China". But at least the Shekou Sea World shopping and leisure area is within walking distance. The best option probably is to walk up Danan Mountain in Nanshan Park for some really good views (if the weather is good). 

38 minutes ago, lcookie said:

My experience with MSC is to book in advance.  Their onboard prices have always been higher.  Even on embarkation day.

I did not see any offer on board for internet that was cheaper than in advance. Same with all kinds of drinks packages. The only thing with sometimes better offer on board that I realized was Spa activities like massages and facial treatment and this stuff. 

9 hours ago, LMaxwell said:

They have the worst customer service of not only the cruise industry but probably any bank, cable company, phone company, hotel, etc.  Maddening, inefficient, inept, and frustrating is an understatement. 

Only someone who has never dealt with any other Italian company, especially Alitalia, can say this ;)

It is for sure a different culture, you need to make it on board, then you get rewarded. 

You tried to ask ZOE for tonights menu in the MDR? 

Weather, news and menus would be the most useful features.

1 minute ago, marcoigna said:

No male message therapists - all female

I don´t know 100%, but I think at the Middle East cruises with a lot of muslim pax they also have males. Otherwise business will be difficult 

1 hour ago, trainbuff said:

MSCprocessed the charge in Paris, France which means my credit card company charged a foreign transaction fee

A reason for you to select your CC more carefully. Unbelievable for what things some people blame MSC.

On 11/26/2019 at 11:03 PM, happygrammy100 said:

I did not want to spend the extra $ for yc and the reviews said that is the only way to go.  I wish there were more positive reviews

Ridiculous. MSC is the most popular cruise line of the world and not because of the yacht club. Why you think they are so successful? Because of a couple of cuisers in YC? They are extremely popular in all parts of Europe as well as North and South Africa, East Asia, the Middle East, Brazil, Mexico, the US ... 

The reason is because the whole world loves Italy culture and cousine and lifestyle. And they deliver this on the Seven Seas. So very easy for you, you think, you can enjoy this? Go and book, you will not be disappointed for sure. You prefer a cruise with 99 % US pax and a few invisibe foreigners? Stay with the bigger lines from your home country. 

About the TA, yes, there are many complaints on this cruises where the Brazilians are the majority. Also the staff is mainly Brazilian and the Europeans often come home unhappy from this cruises. But this has nothing to do with your planned TA from Barcelona to Miami. 

MSCs under 6€/$ beer rule is very simple: Heineken and sometimes, but not always, a second (usually local) brand. 

Well, if TO did "couple of dummies" and no price change after entering VC number, than probably this is the reason. Certainly can also be one of the many website glitches. 

14 minutes ago, ready2cruzagain said:

Really? because they seem to care when boarding the Divina in Miami last year. 

OK,there is a second answer: Every port and every staff is different :)

We never had anyone interested in a bottle of water in the lugguage, but we also brought never more than one. 

You are lucky, no need the photo, I found it on Googlemaps. 

The name is Hotel Cozumel & Resort.

Just walk south from the ship on the main road, cannot be missed. Opposite the road is the hotel, no use for you. On the beach side is their restaurant with buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner. Their beach is great, if I would spend a week in Cozumel I definitely would choose this place. 

On 11/24/2019 at 3:16 AM, GreenSmoothieCruiser said:

 

@perakcruiser do you know the names of any of the private beaches in Cozumel by the port? I don't mind buying a few drinks so we can avoid the taxi ride to another beach. Thank you. 

I can check for you but this needs some time as I have to look at the photos from this trip. One place was really excellent, it is the restaurant/beach from the hotel opposite the main road. Will provide you the name as soon as I found it. But before 29th ;)

Many offers like MSC Specials can not be combined with the VC discount. So that is why the price does not change.

11 hours ago, sfaaa said:

The enclosed port area is fine, outside not so much. Place looks like an army camp with armed guard posted at the entrance and concertina wire strung on top of the compound wall. 

Actually I would not call it the "port area" but the town center. Which is very safe in my opinion. If you walk to the suburbs past St Johns Cathedral you will meet a police guard that friendly tells you, that is it not recommended to continue in this direction. 

Always the same, if you ask, the answer will be no, if you just do, nobody cares.

Nobody expected ZOE will work from the beginning. Let´s wait and see, maybe in two years it will be a nice extra. 

Cozumel has a lot of options in walking distance from the ship when heading south. The first you will see (or not see) are all private, most places will let you use them if you order a coffee or so. The first public beach is about 2 km from the ship, small, but friendly. 

It definitely speeded up the check in process. 

2 hours ago, ChiTownCub said:

I can't even believe I'm asking this question, but can you find plain water throughout the ship without purchasing it?

You may not believe it, but it is true. On all MSC ships water dispensers are only available at the buffet (together with free coffee and tea). But these are open 24 hours. You can refill your water bottles in the way explained above. 

And it is always a good idea to choose a cabin close to the buffet 

Let me add that you always get priority tender tickets if you have Gold or Black status (the biggest perk of Gold in my opinion). Otherwise if you want to leave the ship early, just line up before tender tickets distribution starts. Then you should get "Tender 1". If you are not in a hurry, do als @cellfree said and wait for you number or the "open tender" time. 

Belize City is very compact to walk around, three hours time is definitely enough. 

1 hour ago, cellfree said:

Journey2016, I agree, for us to, but MSC has chosen not to do it during the check in process but rather afterwards.

They changed the system in 2016, before the CC was registered at Check In. In 2016 the communicated the new process with the machines quite active, but now indeed they seem to think everybody knows meanwhile 

10 hours ago, roycny said:

I booked Bella Balcony and price dropped. I noticed that Family cabin Fantasia is now $50 more. I wonder if I can call to just pay $50 to upgrade to a Family cabin?

It's after final payment and the cruise is 17 days away.

I was in a quite similar situation last year with the Armonia. When I booked there were no more Fantastica in this category, actually they only showed one Bella cabin. After I booked this cabin, immediately there were no more Bella but Fantastica for the same price as the Bella I booked. So even I try to avoid their hotline as much as possible I gave it a try. As expected I could not change the booking I just made to the Fantastica cabin available at the same price. I would have needed to completely cancel (losing the 20% deposit) and book new. Understandable at the end, and not a big thing as the only reason for Fantastica for us are the extra Voyager points. 

4 hours ago, nunuc2000 said:

That's pretty standard with most cruise lines... along with many other caveats that the cruise lines technically have at their disposal.  

8 hours ago, nunuc2000 said:

We've cruised on various different cruiselines almost 40 times over the last 12 years, and have often called for price drops prior to final payment - but have NEVER encountered anything like this. This is just plain stupid! 

I think you only talk about US cruise lines. Usually the Europeans will not allow you to cancel and rebook just because of a price drop. It is one of the so many perks MSC is giving US pax to get a hold there. I am sure this all will disappear when MSC is strong enough. 

NORMAL is that you have to pay 20% of the price at booking time, which is ALWAYS lost if you cancel or want to change to a cheaper price. As the price movement at MSC is extremely high and they have myriads of different rates, often still it is a good deal to cancel and give up the 20% and rebook. But you will not get the same cabin again as MSC will not put it on sale immediatley as they sell not all cabins at the same time. 

And I think you Canadians should be a little bit more thankful to MSC  You are the 50th or so most important market for them, well behind Mexico or Brazil, and they already set up a webpage for you and even a hotline.