perakcruiser

Uh oh. This might be one of those regional abbreviations? I meant air conditioning. It was hot that day!

No, air conditioning sets! But it is understandable, because the prices in Mexico are sooooooo much cheaper than other places in the caribbean.

On the MSC USA website you choose the cabin type (category) first and then you choose the Experience.

I don't know if this works the same on MSC websites in all countries but I would assume.

Yes, should be the same. But it is the same step anyway, above is cabin category and down is matching experience.

I’m other words, why would you pick the seaview?

It is a new kind of ship I never have been before. Definitely want to try it out. If it would be an older MSC ship and a new NCL ship (so happy to see that the US ships are now not so ugly anymore thanks to NCL and Celebrity) and the price is equal I probably would go for NCL because of the free drinks, internet and no Service Charge (at least for European bookings). But since the launch of Seaside/Seaview this is priority no. 1.

For Dining in MDR, are you assigned a time and a table? Is it a shared table or can you request your own table of two? Thanks!

It is usually a shared table with other pax that speak your language. You can ask for a table for two, chances are not so bad as most prefer to dine together with others.

Also, I’m still trying to understand how the Experience concept works - it looks like you can add this on to your cabin, or possibly that the cabin category you select determines which level of Experience you receive (?)

You choose the Experience in the first step of the booking and then you can choose from the cabins in that category. Note that on some ships already a balcony Fantastica cabin gives you access to the MyChoice Restaurant. Armonia for example.

Am I correct that for assigned dining - it’s a window of time and you can ask for a certain time inside that window once onboard?

No, it is not a window, it is a starting time. If you have the 18:30 dining, you should arrive latest at 18:45. The smaller ships have two sessions, the larger three. Don´t panic that you will have to dine at the latest shift at 21:30 or so. There are enough Spanish, Italians, Mexicans and Brazilians that will opt for this :)

The poster of this question is in US so don’t think the service charge etc is included over there for NCL?

Uh, this I don´t know. Thought they stopped the Service Charge worldwide meanwhile.

Happy Birthday! I think the Meraviglia is not the worst place in the world to spend this day :)

But I think that if you order items from the buffet breakfast, there is no charge for the food also.

You cannot order things from the buffet, only hook what you want from the breakfast menu. Yes, yes, YC may be different ;)

We continued down Las Ramblas, shopping a bit, but mostly enjoying the atmosphere, stopping for wine and beer (and A/C!) as we got to the bottom of the street.

On our last cruise at the stop in Cozumel one guest really bought two A/C sets at the MEGA supermarket next to the port and brought on the ship :D

Hello - I realize I’m resurrecting a pretty old thread but - we are seasoned Princess cruisers looking to try either the NCL Epic or the MSC Seaview in the Med fall of 2019 - price is close enough to not really factor in....curious about current opinions and comparisons between these two lines and/or Princess. Thanks!!

I would definitely choose the Seaview, but when you compare the "close enough" prices keep in mind the NCL prices include free mealtime drinks (MSC only water, tea, coffee at the buffet), free internet and there is no separate Service Charge or tips (MSC askes for 10€ Service Charge per day per pax, but can be cancelled or reduced without giving a reason).

They have cribs in the Baby Club but I don´t know (and doubt) that they will borrow them out. All baby stuff is from the super-expensive Chicco brand :)

I am just back from the Armonia and will write some kind of review the next days, watch out :)

Is there a non-alcoholic bevarage package available for aduls?

-> Yes, there are some.

There seem to be prices for a sun deck and loungers. I'm assuming that is some kind of a special and more private sun deck? There are still loungers that you can use for free to enjoy the sun some place, right?

-> No, there are no prices for sun decks and loungers, all is free, nothing can be reserved for money. But on part of the sun deck is reserved for guests with Aurea and Wellness categories.

There also seems to be price for fitness classes? Are there any classes for free? What is the fitness center like? Is there empty space, mirrors and mats to do your own streching etc?

-> Yes, alot. The fitness center is very similar to other ships. I don´t think there are classes for free, anyway these classes are very limited, most people do there own thing.

Any other major differences between MSC and Royal that we shoud be aware of?

RCCL 99% US pax, MSC 0,1% US pax (on Armonia) :D

Nassau in May insisted that you have your passport with you, we have a laminated copy of the photo page of our passports which they were going to refuse to accept! Meanwhile St Thomas accepted them.

In Havana you also cannot leave the ship without carrying your passport.

Not just depends on the ports also on your nationality. If all ports are Schengen then the will not keep any passport.

finding your review really helpful, going on Meraviglia in November with a fussy eater so seeing this is exactly what I need. do you know which restaurant is for Bella experience at dinner?

No different restaurant for Bella, guests are grouped by nationalities, not by booked experience.

I don´t know this. But the chocolate drinks are cheaper than the frozen coffee drinks if that helps you.

We used all our coffee cuddle coupons for hot and cold drinks in the Edge bar like you did on Orchestra.

It's nice that the Sky Lounge has cases so you can kind of see what they have and ask for what you want. Other bars have chips (US style), peanuts, and/or olives generally, and sometimes other stuff like I've seen some cheesy Cheeto puffs looking things and then the plate of stuff I posted earlier. When I went to the Sky Lounge the first time and it was busy the cases had chocolate covered strawberries!

Oh! If only I would have known this while being on the Meraviglia last November. We never went to the Sky Lounge, as we did not expect that place being different from the other bars. I really enjoy your review, never good so great information about the dishes served at the moment. By the way, the "Pistachio-crusted rack of lamb" is a MSC classic usually not served in the MDR. Nice to read they put it on the Meraviglia menu.

Best post of the thread - thank you!

 

Now if only those early respondents who were certain that this could not possibly happen and that the individual who was reporting it happening to them had to be making it up would drop by to read this!

 

Where are you guys now?? Sorry if the facts get in the way of your opinion!

Sure it can happen, but the possibility is close to zero for "normal" pax. In case of MSC they first kick out all the travel agents and MSC staff that booked the staff rate (in case of MSC these are very, very much people from all their container business around the world).

I find it interesting that MSC is not buying new ships from "home" Fincantieri shipyards....and conversely, NCL, after buying from Meyer Werft for so many years, is now buying from Fincantieri...

Meyer is fully booked for many, many years. A little bit more competition would be good for the market, but the Chinese seem to be not ready and the Japanese and Koreans are not too popular with the cruise companies.

I don´t see the Lirica- and Musica-Class ending business soon, they need also smaller ships for smaller markets.

Can I bring a bottle of wine in my luggage? What about at each port, can I purchase wine outside the cruise ship and bring it into the ship?

One bottle in the suitcase usually will not be confiscated. But a swiss knife with a screwdriver will!

MSC got very easy with alcohol purchased during the cruise. So different to the years before.

MSC has changed their HR strategy again. If you like the service of your waiter in the MDR and want to do him something good, order a special dish from him that needs additional payment. The T-Bone-Steak, Lobster Pasta and this stuff. Also all drinks that are ordered without a package count for them to reach their "targets".

No refund if your booking does not separate the fees and taxes.

I see they offer two types of internet packages, premium and standard. From your experiences should I get the premium (it's only $24 more) or just the standard?

Just back from a Caribbean cruise with MSC. Very different to all my cruises before because many times zero wifi in the ports (or even countries!). With other destinations the standard package is enough, but here I would opt for premium after this experience.

- Is there any place where we can get all the amazing chocolate drinks?

- In looking at the pictures, it appears that the Seaside has a more chic and modern decor, while Meraviglia looks more classic. Is that a fair description?

I don´t know the Seaside, but for me the Meraviglia is chic and modern. Thinking about a classic ship I would defintely name others.

The place for coffee and chocolate drinks on the Meraviglia is the Edge Bar.

Baby Care (1 to 3 years) Schedule on the Armonia is 9:00-11:00, 15:00-16:00 and 19:00-21:00.

Baby Time in the specific room is 11:00-12:00, 16:00-17:00 and 21:00-22:00. The Chicco area is great stuff.

Because of the Water Spray Park the Armonia maybe is the best MSC ship for families with babies.

I'm sure you'll enjoy your time onboard just as much, P - Bon Voyage! :)

 

I went ahead and booked a Fantastica suite on Armonia for next year (so the question of a separate dining area for Aurea guests for breakfast and lunch is a moot one, now).

Oh yes, I enjoyed it so much. Congrats on your booking, anyway here is the answer for anybody: The Armonia now has a separate Dinner area ("La Pergola") for Balcony Fantastica and above. More important than the area, there is also a separate menu. I will write a short review of our cruise with more information on that. But one thing first, because of this DON´T BOOK BELLA if you book a balcony cabin!

You sure about that?

Yes, absolutely. As I did not get the 5% for 2 of our last 3 cruises.

Like so often with MSC things are not very consistent, Smart Deals, Holiday Breaks and Last Minute offers are SOMETIMES excluded, sometines not. Note that all this offers probably have different names in different markets and are not offered in all markets.