77red96

Wow, you're all scaring me! Maybe I'd be better off staying at home!🤣🤣

11 minutes ago, styles27 said:

Personally I don’t even wear my real Diamond wedding set when I travel.
I leave them in the safe at home. I have a CZ set that is much smaller and less expensive that I always wear whenever traveling out of the country. 
The last thing I want to do is draw attention to my jewelry while in some of these less than safe ports. 
 

 

Thanks, yes I'm thinking the best thing to do is not take them with me, I'll put them in my safety deposit box before I go. Perhaps buy a few homage watches, I might even get an invicta onboard.

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

3 hours ago, jules815 said:

Store them in the safe. (How easy was that?)

 

Have a great cruise!

That was my first thought too, but when I stay in hotels for a few days I have on many an occasion asked for them to be kept in the hotel's main safe. I'm not sure if this is something MSC offer as a service.

1 hour ago, travelberlin said:

Since you are asking for advice, here is my opinion. I do not bring anything which is so valuable. This is MSC not Cunard or Hapag Lloyd. At MSC no one displays their jewelry because actually no one cares about it. You might see Starowsky stairs as part of the ship and as a matter of fact you my see my Starowsky pendants if I am in the same cruise with you (🫢). But MSC cruises are not the place to show off. 
Ivi
 

It's not really about showing off though, it's about feeling like my outfit was complete, I've been on an MSC cruise,  to not have a quality timepiece on my wrist whilst sporting a tux would just feel wrong, also the chances of someone who isn't a watch person recognising what is on my wrist is slim.

2 hours ago, jinpasco said:

If you really want to, I would say being ONE. The safe is the best place and maybe take a picture of the watch. Personally,  I wouldnt bring any expensive jewelry and surely wouldn't announce their value. Many fakes these days look very real and  would be hard to know if it was of real value or a knockoff. If it concerns you then I would say leave it home.

Thanks, yes, perhaps bringing one on my wrist is the best option.

42 minutes ago, Gatordad1967 said:

first world problems

 

Very much so, I'm pretty sure being on a cruise forum equates to the same thing.

@morpheusofthesea has convinced me that formal wear is the way to go.

I will be in tux in my next cruise.

Thanks, that's a good read, it pretty much says leave it at home, which is what I've done in the past.

Please allow me to explain my thoughts before I get started.

With my next MSC cruise approaching, I've decided to go all out with the formal wear, yes I'm young (ish), yes I did casual last time in the Med (more because I can't bear the warm climate) but this time I'm going to Norway and the temperatures should be more what I'm used to.

When I wear formal wear I like to wear my dress watches. I've never traveled with them before. I usually take 3 or 4 homage watches with me (they don't have much value.) My plan was to bring 3 watches, the value of the 3 dress watches combined is approximately £38,000. Not the most expensive to some I know, but they are to me. I'd hate to lose them because of a bad decision, especially if the advice would be to not travel with them.

If the advice is to not travel with them, I'd consider buying a nice watch onboard, I know from past experience MSC has Tag, Omega and Cartier on board, so there are plenty of options at every price point. How do you cover a watch you purchase onboard for insurance purposes, and do you wear it traveling home?

(I've also just realised that the same rules probably apply to ladies jewelry and perhaps I should have searched for that but I've typed this much so I'll continue)

My questions are, 

1. Should I bring them at all?

2. How do you pack yours?

3. Will travel insurance cover them?

4. Where should I keep them? Room safe/ships safe (if that's even a thing)

5. Should I just bring the homage watches and make do?

6. What to do if I buy onboard.

I'm sure I'm not the first person to ever find themselves having these thoughts. I'm looking for some advice from the more experienced cruisers. Especially those who carry and wear expensive timepieces.

6 hours ago, perakcruiser said:

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

You should really go to Jean Philippe, get a quiet booth at the window, order some nice coffee and watch the world go by whilst you read your book. The areas were you have to pay a little more are the areas where it is quietest.

I'd also recommend getting a crepe from crepes and gelato, as this is part of the Jean Philippe chain you are able to take your crepe to the seating area in the coffee bar.

During the morning when the shops are shut that whole area is quiet. Go to the Virtuosa bar (outside the theatre).

Have lunch in the speciality restaurants, a. it's cheaper b. It's quieter!

Finally and most importantly if you have only a couple of days left onboard you could ask for a room upgrade to a balcony if any are available, the cost would be significantly less than if you had asked at the beginning of your trip, you'd have that quiet space to read and relax, and most importantly you could order room service, sit at your little canvas table and have breakfast on your balcony.

Ps. Fish and chips from masters of the sea is money well spent!

If you want some peace and quiet go to masters of the sea! It also has the best Aircon on the ship. I'm sure you will find it quieter in there up until 5/6pm

Another top tip for fun, there is usually a day where each of the F1 simulator, 4d cinema and some of the other funpass activities onboard are half price or 2 for one. You still benefit from these discounts when using the funpass credit, so make sure and ask on embarkation day which deals are on which day to get the most for your money.

Never say never, but at this point in time, given the price difference and the fact that I love the MSC experience, I can't imagine ever sailing with anyone other than MSC in the future.

Thanks, a great read and lots of brilliant helpful information as always, I might even have to cross over to the dark side and follow your celebrity thread!

14 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Thanks for the video.  I have never seen one of those machines in action.  

Neither have I! So much so that I went to show my wife the video to prove that they actually do use them 🤣😂🤣

I guess it depends what ship you are on and where on the ship you are, sometimes it was perfect, other times a little laggy.

5 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Yes, but we try not to 'invite' them in. We no longer fly. We drive to the port ourselves and park. We skip self serve buffets. We stopped eating dinner with others. With what little time we have left we are spending like there will be no tomorrow on cruises and high end suites, until we no longer can.

Hopefully you run out of money before time🙏

So you embark tomorrow? I'm really looking forward to your thread, I'm so glad you are doing one, I felt terrible and responsible for how the last one ended.

I hope you have an amazing time 🤞 no sickness. 

Hi, if  you are sailing at the end of August we will likely be on the same cruise.

To answer your questions

You will be allocated a boarding slot, to try and keep queue times to a minimum.

(I've found most lines including MSC to be a little flexible around this)

Luggage can be dropped as soon as you arrive at the port but like I stated earlier, they are all pretty flexible with boarding.

It depends what experience package you book, Aurea allows flexible dining, Bella and fantastica are set time.

They will still match your loyalty, but you must do this before you book if you wish to avail of the voyagers club discount on your booking. Depending on your level there are benefits like $50 OBC, free chocolate, free spa treatments, free/discounted speciality dining, and of course discount on your cruise.

My best tip is just go and have fun, my other tip is if you drink alcohol book the including drinks option when making the booking it is cheaper to book it then than at any other time.

On 9/30/2022 at 8:09 PM, marierdna said:

I like the fact there is some shade going on. Mid-summer in Miami that would add some needed shade. Now I will not shy away from that deck.

 

I know this might sound obvious but one side of the ship is always in the shade... If you like the shade, you can see the direction of the ship during your cruise and pick the side that is in the shade most of the time.

6 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Had lots of good food on our cruise a few weeks ago. But am I the only one who thinks the OP’s bone marrow dish looks gross?  No offense, OP. 

100% I'm with you, about 40 years ago my grandmother cooked soup, before putting any of the ingredients in she boiled a large bone, I remember her letting me taste the marrow when it was done, it's not something I'd ever like to experience again.

Easy for me, the T-bone (porterhouse) in the MDR on Bellissima. €18 upsell but worth every penny. I also had creamed potato and carrots on the side. 

This is exactly what they need to do. If they have a policy they should enforce it.

Then there will be no more nonsense.

14 minutes ago, mscdivina2016 said:

I tried them.  It picked up I am in the USA so I went under a vpn and it won't let me go above $11,000 per person.

You're travelling on a trip of a lifetime so we want to make sure that we cover all aspects of your trip. So we can ensure we provide the right cover, give us a call on 0800 042 0215 and please quote WEB1

I am very interested so I might try calling tomorrow.  I do wonder about age, we will be 60 and our flight into the game lodge is not on a commercial carrier. We actually hired a private plane service to fly us in and out.  I also know we have emergency medical evac at $750,000 per person including being flown all the way back the the USA in an Air Ambulance.

Ahh of course, I put it in for us (a party of 4) at £8000 each which was £32000 total. I'm sure if you give them a call they should be able to do something for you. 

Ps. That sounds like an amazing trip.

I saw them on advertising boards during a UEFA champions league match and thought WOW! I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the 3 MSC cruise ships being used as hotels at the UEFA world cup in Quatar, I'm also pretty sure they will have had a large cash injection from this partnership.