CruizinSusan70

All done in nice hot water. 👎

Yes it is. Proper communication with cruisers regarding the specific benefits of a loyalty package that cruisers have earned is solely at the feet of Carnival. It's part of the overall marketing package. Even though we both know the heart of their promotion is to obtain as many blue cards as possible, there are still benefits to appeasing the golds, platinums and diamonds for Carnival in the long run as they attempt to rid themselves of their billions of debt.

First, not all cruisers are even going to know what amenities they are entitled to if they're red or gold. And they wouldn't know to call guest services or inquire about it to their steward. At Platinum, I know and frankly don't care since they are primarily worthless. You inferred that it would be a piece of paper given out to each cruiser. A permanent posting on the desk or wall that everyone could read would solve the problem including those that are not inclined to have their smart phones with them. Some still use flip phones or possibly no cell phone at all. Not everyone is electronically up to date these days.

Princess will be entering the ship within a ship concept when the Sun & Star debut in early 2024 and 2025. I have witnessed first hand demanding passengers that stay in the Haven on NCL and stay in the Yacht Club on MSC. I'm hoping we don't have to put up with this nonsense over the 28 nights we currently have reserved on the Sun in the fall of 2024 and the winter of 2025. It's one thing to have expectations based upon how much you paid for your cruise and where your accommodations are located, but it's an entirely different thing to make snide comments when you're being escorted into a venue bypassing the queue of passengers in line that are staying in the general population or steerage.

It would be too cumbersome and confusing for the guest services rep to rattle off all of the amenities that a particular cruiser is entitled to based upon whether they were red, gold, platinum or diamond. Instead of having a QR code in the cabin, there should be a printed letter prominently displayed so that the cruiser knows what amenities they're entitled to and how they should be obtained. This way there is no confusion as to what the cruiser should receive and where these benefits can be received or how they can be received. Not all cruisers have smart phones, so those that do not have them are left in the dark regarding benefits that they could receive.

Yup, that's just another reason why MSC is in our rearview mirror, even though the two times we sailed on her was in the Yacht Club five years ago on the Seaside and this week in a Fantastica cabin on the Meraviglia. Each sailing was below our expectations compared to 50+ other sailings on Carnival, NCL, RCI, Celebrity and Princess. MSC is just not our cup of tea. We gave them time to improve and it still did not meet our standards. They still have many strides to attempt to get to the level of their competition. Others like the difference between MSC and those cruise lines based on this side of the pond, some like ourselves don't appreciate the various differences and nuances that need to be improved. We gave them two chances five years apart in the Yacht Club and in Fantastica. They failed in our opinion, so our vacation dollars will be spent elsewhere. Those that enjoy MSC, good for you. We however enjoy the new builds on this side of the pond and are looking forward to the Sphere Class of Princess (Sun & Star).

It sure is. And you don't have to pay extra for it on Carnival, RCI or NCL like you do with MSC.

No, Carnival has a limit of 20.00 per drink. RCI has a limit of 13.00 per drink. Yes, RCI has no limit on the number of drinks that you consume each day, but if you need at least 16 drinks per day to enjoy your cruise..... This should only come into play if you're a serious beer drinker and you're young enough to have the metabolism to process all of that beer. Go to the Alchemy Bar and enjoy your 15 max drinks. It's tough to hit it once in a while, let alone every day.

Best of luck getting your choice of dining. Depending upon which ship you're on and how full it is, you could have many different time slots which you could be assigned to. We're currently on the Meraviglia and it could be 530, 730, or 930 in two dining rooms or 600 or 830 in another. If you choose late, it'll be 830 or 930. Early could be 530 or 600. Don't know whether they consider 730 as early or late. The shows on board are also at 700, 830 and 1000 each evening. We chose the 700 show after our 530 dinner, so at 745 we have the rest of the evening for other entertainment or consumption of beverages of our choice.

There are many differences between NCL and MSC. First of all, in order to get anytime dining on MSC, which everyone sailing on NCL gets, you need to book an Aurea Class cabin, which you will pay a premium for. Second, as had been mentioned, the entertainment on MSC is nowhere near the quality of the entertainment on NCL. Third, the specialty dining on NCL is far and away better in general on NCL unless you have extremely deep pockets. If you purchase a 3 night dining package on MSC, you are relegated to a limited choice percentage of the entire menu, unlike the specialty venues on RCI, NCL, Carnival, Celebrity and Princess. Once again, things are done differently across the pond. I have 55 cruises under my belt and I'm currently typing this on the MSC Meraviglia. As of Sunday when we disembark in Brooklyn, MSC will be in our rear view mirror. We gave them a shot five years ago on the Seaside in the Yacht Club and again this week in a Fantastica cabin. In our opinion, the overall cruise experience is much better on the five previously mentioned lines. There are many that enjoy the European flair that MSC provides. The negatives outweigh the few positives (pizza, pasta) that MSC provides, in our opinion. We'll stick to the Sphere Class of Princess, the Edge Class of Celebrity, the Excel Class of Carnival and the Prima Class of NCL. These ships provide more of what we are seeking in a cruise vacation.

When we redid our membership a few weeks ago, it was 45.00 for 5 years and the gift was a circular version of the charging station, but it was for plugs, not USB ports.

The bottom line is that it's cheaper to buy Cheers about 90% of the time compared to the drink package on RCI. Because of their Dynamic Pricing policy, the price fluctuates depending upon which ship you're cruising on and the time of year. Unless you're on one of their rust buckets off season, Cheers will always be cheaper, many times substantially less. On some sailings, Cheers is 20 bucks a day cheaper.

It says you'll save 10%. When you factor in the gratuity, it is in fact a 10% difference, minus the 9.5 cents. You forgot to add in the gratuity on top of the $5.00.

Our Platinum status on Carnival got us matched to Gold 5 years ago when we cruised on the Seaside. But if we were Diamond on Carnival we would have matched to Diamond on MSC 5 years ago. Possibly things have changed, but since it looks like MSC will be in our rear view mirror after we disembark from the Meraviglia, it's really a moot point.

Yes, there are people who unscrupulously book themselves into a HC room even though they really don't need the space because of a scooter or wheelchair. And like you said if there are HC rooms left to be assigned, then MSC will obviously assign them to those who booked Bella or won an upgrade. But at the same time, they should know the difference between those who booked those cabins needing those cabins versus those that got them assigned.

No, Carnival charges the same price for all of their cruises, unlike RCI and their Dynamic Pricing policy which fluctuates depending upon the ship you're on and when you sail. The majority of the time it is much more expensive than the Cheers package. The only time it's cheaper is off season on the older rust buckets of RCI. If you sail on one of their newer ships, you'll be spending substantially more than what Cheers costs.

Well, the only cruises to Canada you'll find are primarily out of NYC during September and October for fall foliage. The only west coast Canada cruises would be those that embark from Vancouver or those that stop in Victoria as a foreign port stop that embark from Seattle. It'll be a few more years till MSC tackles Alaska. They have their foothold in FLA, are now in NYC with the Meraviglia and will soon be in Galveston. It'll be baby steps until they infiltrate other ports on the west coast and take on Alaska.

Over the years we have been through many different incarnations of what constitutes the muster drill. At least it's not how it was 25+ years ago, with everyone standing shoulder to shoulder four deep adjacent to the lifeboats wearing their vests. Saw many a senior faint from heat exhaustion back in the day. 😱

Since we stay in a HC cabin, each cruise line should already know that we would need assistance by transferring me from my scooter to either a wheelchair or evacuation chair (whatever that is). God forbid we ever need to go through this procedure.

Most of the time there is an option when you book to have the easy plus and wifi together as a package that is much cheaper than booking them individually. We booked an inside on the Mera for about 800 pp all in with taxes, wifi and easy plus for a July sailing.

Totally agree but the Carnival of today, especially on the Excel Class ships is much different than the Carnival of 15 years ago. MSC is the value leader price wise, even cheaper than Carnival. It also has a European vibe to it which many like and even though they have been in the states for over five years now with multiple ships, they still have not learned how to cater to an American clientele. Some people cruise on MSC for this very reason, but if they wish to utilize the deep pockets of their parent company to climb the rankings and bypass NCL they still need to improve on various aspects of the cruising experience that they are lacking. To begin with, their customer service on board, their customer service on line, their customer service via phone, their online website and their App, just to name a few starting points. And this is being typed as I sit aft on the MSC Meraviglia in Port Canaveral.

You have got to be kidding. Post Covid we have cruised on MSC, NCL, RCI, Carnival, Celebrity and Princess. At no point have any of these lines informed us as to specific procedures that would occur in the event of a real emergency in order for us to safely get to our muster stations since I am confined to a scooter 100% of the time on board with the exception of using a walker in our cabin. If we had to use the steps to go down multiple decks it would be doable but at a snails pace while my DH would be blocking anybody from stumbling into me with his girth. It would definitely not be a situation that we would like to enter into.

Virgin Voyages also matches, but the top tier Diamond on MSC has the best perk with the free specialty dinner. If I'm not mistaken since many cruisers took advantage of the status match I believe that they will only match up to Gold. That is what we got for matching our Platinum level from Carnival.

You obviously have never been to the World Class Bar on Celebrity, Good Spirits at Sea on Princess or the Alchemy Bar on Carnival. All 3 blow away anything that MSC offers. And this is after 50+ cruises including the YC on Seaside 5 years ago.

Could you please provide some more details as to why you "wouldn't be caught on a Carnival cruise"? After 50+ cruises on RCI, NCL, MSC, Carnival, Celebrity and Princess I would be more than happy to clear up any misconceptions that you may have from reading and regurgitating second and third hand information about Carnival. The Excel Class ships of Carnival are not the party boats that Kathie Lee Gifford promoted 30 years ago.