BestNC Cruiser
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Posts posted by BestNC Cruiser
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It´s definitely not part of my culture to dine late at 9:45 pm!!! It´s part of my culture to fall asleep by 10 pm.
Europe is very large and there is no common culture regarding dining times. Northern Europeans (and I count me into that as German) do tend to eat early - 5 to 7 pm. Southern Europeans (those countries with higher temps like Spain, Portugal, Italy, Southern France, Greece...) tend to dine later and not earlier than 8 pm.
It´s like I would say it´s part of the American culture to eat late... That is true for South America and Middle America (Brasil, Argentina, Mexico...) but not for North America (US, Canada).
I don´t think that any of the Brits would be happy to be assigned to a 9:45 pm dinner time nor would I.
steamboats
I see that agree with me that a culture of late dining does in fact exist in some parts of Europe. A late dining option of 945 on the Seaside is not far fetched for those people. Thanks
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Since MSC is a European cruise line, I can completely understand the late dining times, hence the third seating at 9:45. Late dinner is typical for most europeans on vacation.
The funny thing is that I can picture the grumpy American with a 9:45 dining time clinching his fist and all red faced telling the maitre d that a 9:45 time is the most ridiculous thing has ever heard. Then a bit later the grumpy French guy asking the same thing all red faced and mad except he has the ridiculous 5:30 dining time.
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I much rather they charge it and keep their cruise fares on the lower end then charging very high prices like RCL and having the zip line 'free'....
I agree with you 100%. No such thing as "free".
My opinion, I am ok with the charges for activities. It helps keep the lines down.
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My point is, and I am not anti business, or anti MSC, NCL, RCI
, etc. I cruise them and more, but the point is it is on the company to provide what was promised when I booked and gave a deposit. If their business plans and revenue targets change it is their job to grandfather me in to what I have paid for and if they want more money come up with offerings to entice me to spend more. Elevate the product and people will spend more, it’s not my job as the consumer to happily accept less or negotiate against myself or pay for something again that I was told I was paying for as a part of the cruise.
Yes I can read contracts and understand the difference between the spirit and the letter of the contract. An American family with dual income, 4plus weeks of vacation per year, that lives driving distance to Florida’s major cruise ports and defaults to cruising 3plus times a year is MSC dream. They say they are trying to court us and win us over but the whole thing feels like dealing with a used auto dealer or timeshare salesperson Versus being a valued client. I don’t change terms and conditions on my clients after they contract with me even though all boilerplate contracts are written to favor the vendor vs consumer. It’s called smart business.
A legitimate question for you. When you booked, did you see it in writing that certain things were included that are now at an extra charge? ( I don't include info from TA's). The only reason I ask is that I personally do not recall seeing a specific breakdown of what activities were included vs extra charge. I know there was a list of activities zipline, 4D screen, bowling, etc, but when I booked, I never received or read a confirmation that any of these were free of charge or vise versa.
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Here's the problem: there are currently 25 reviews of the Seaside as of now on CC. And everyone pans it. There is not a mixture of good and bad....just bad. That's a real cause for concern. We're booked for May and am really looking forward to cruising on Seaside....but unless MSC turns it around quickly..,.the temptation will be to cancel. It's not only the bad reviews....but also the content of the bad reviews. It's a sign of poor management to allow the initial cruises to be panned so badly. That shouldn't happen.
I have read many positive reviews so far. On this board and others.
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Unfortunately for us, I feel that the "nickel and dime" is a pricing model that the industry has found that works. Looks like MSC is just running it to the far end of the spectrum. We are booked for the Aurea package for 1600$ less than the nearest competitor for that market/date. When we booked, it was a no brainer. Therefore the ship is sold out for those dates. Im sure that this was plan for MSC all along and if their sailings were not filling up, then we would probably be seeing more of the 'free" stuff.
NOW, they just need to deliver a good product after the bugs are all worked out.
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Can anyone answer these questions.
Is it safe to assume that children booked in an Aurea cabin with you will be getting the "child-non alcoholic drink package"?
Has anyone in an Aurea cabin been able to upgrade to the "Deluxe Drink Package"?
Any experience with the cabin steward restocking your mini bar frig?
Did you get the included massage? How was it?
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Hearing you say that you are not picky, needy, or uptight tells me that you will be just fine. New cruise ships have issues. You will be on a vacation cruise in the Caribbean. It is what you make it. If you are the type of person that lets little things take you over and have them bubble up into every thing else, then you should avoid new and different. Those types of people should know by now what they like and should stick to it.
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We are in the same situation. I went and linked all of our reservations, but I am not counting on that working out. I figure that I will be in line on day one at the maitre D station trying to work it out. I am guessing that the aurea people will end up having to dine with the fantastica people at their set dining time. Who knows.
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My big red flag for negative cruise reviews is when posters use absolutes for everything. "This was always bad" and "they never were helpful" or "every dish was cold". When I see those types of reviews, I really pay them no mind.
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I will be honest, when I saw that MSC added the zipline to the list of activities with a charge, I got a bit upset. I actually spend time online looking for alternative cruises for our spring break vacation in April. For the Seaside, we are currently booked for my wife and I along with our 2 DD. We have the Aurea package with an upgrade to the deluxe drink package. I went and priced out all the cruises that fit our travel dates that sailed out of Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, and Miami. I priced all the alternate cruises to include a balcony room, drink package for all 4 of us, and spa access with 2 massage treatments. I did this with the purpose to exactly match what I am getting for the $$ with our Aurea Seaside package. The absolute closest that I could come was the Carnival Glory at 4800$. Everything else was over 5000$ easy. That's 1600$ more at a minimum!!! WOW. So, while I do completely agree with the posters upset about the changes and "nickel and dime" going on, I feel much better about it. I can spend another $500-$600 on onboard activities and still be 1000$ ahead of the next best deal.
Zip Line Charge!
in MSC Cruises
Posted
I completely agree with the power of perception when it comes to "free". But, in my humble opinion and when I do research on vacations I quickly find out that NOTHING is free.
The RC Anthem for the same week that I am on the seaside is 5950$ for a comparable set up. Without getting into the merits of ship quality/reviews, that is a huge $$$ difference. Its a 2600$ difference. Why? Because every single person on that ship, whether they use those "free" activities are paying their share.
Again, just my opinion, but at least MSC lets me get on the ship for a very reasonable price and lets me choose if I want to spend extra on things.
It reminds me on Universal studios in Florida. When we stay at the Hard Rock hotel, we get "free" express passes to skip the ride lines. That's awesome. I just have to forget that I paid 400$ a night for the hotel room.