Sakura Tomoe

18 minutes ago, ScottsSweetie said:

Since I have no way of knowing when DH became Diamond status with Hilton, and we have no "card", what do I use for the date and do I need to send a picture of anything? DH is actually Diamond for Life, so would have been Diamond for at least 15 years before that enhanced status 4 or 5 years ago.

You can find your virtual card on the Hilton Honors site, if you have an online account.

Thank you for this review.  It was really helpful to see some options of what I can expect onboard, and kind of how it stacks up to my NCL experiences.  Now I can start looking forward to my February cruise on the Meraviglia!

Oooo, the draft list doesn't really do anything for me, but I do enjoy Asahi, so when my stomach is inevitably upset with too many days of liquor, that'll be a nice change of pace for me.

16 minutes ago, BDL said:

We'll be on board for 2 Bills games (Oct 15 and 22). Hopefully they'll show them at one of the bars but good to know we'll be able to watch in the room at least. GO BILLS!!

I don't know about MSC as I've yet to sail with them, but on other cruise lines the bartenders have changed the channel to whichever game people wanted when they were asked.  As long as there's not people who really care which game is on, I don't see it being an issue.  I guess, just doesn't hurt to ask.

27 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

We also stopped at the local drugstore and picked up a few medications. The woman behind the counter recommended a candy bar that is quite popular with the cruise passengers and crews, but we restrained ourselves from buying one. I think being so overfull from lunch helped with our self-control.
 

Just out of curiosity, was that candy bar called a Palomine?  I recall that being pretty popular when I cruised to Canada last year.

I'm assuming that the food offerings at the Brass Anchor are not complementary, since I see prices.  Is that correct?

1 hour ago, optimusprime82 said:

Anyone have any MSC experience with Boston? Will they be using Flynn Cruise Terminal this fall when docking for the day? We're trying to determine the viability of just walking off the ship to explore.

That is the only cruise terminal in Boston that they could use.  As far as exploring, based on where the terminal is (middle of nowhere) you'll either want to familiarize yourself with the public transit system (the T) or get an Uber, since it would take a good deal of walking just to get to places that are interesting.  The T can get you all around Boston for cheap.  I'm somewhat local, so I'm very familiar with the T and can get to anywhere I want pretty easy, but if you don't know the lines and where they stop, it could be tough.

24 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

We will be taking our first MSC cruise in February.  I applied for matching status for our Celebrity Elite and received emails for both my DW and myself that it had been accepted and gave us a Voyager Club number.  That was two days ago.  Today we received another email confirmation of our status match acceptance and it showed a point level or 3200 points, even though we have not sailed.  Does that means we start counting toward Diamon status with 3200 points and that points from our upcoming cruise will be added to that number after the cruise? 

 

Also, When I go log into my booking and select Voyager Club and try to enter my number it keeps telling me my number is invalid. Is there a trick to entering the number or do I simply have to wait a few more days for my membership to process through all their systems? 

 

Yes, you now currently have 3200 points, and points from the upcoming cruise will be added to that afterwards.  As for the VC, I guess just give it a few days.  I can't recall if I had to wait to log in, and if so how long.  I've never sailed with them before either, but I do have a February one booked, and thanks to status match I'm at Diamond, so I'm maxed out on points, which is nice.

I hadn't even thought about straws ever since NCL switched to the not plastic plastic straws.  Please tell me MSC doesn't use those garbage paper straws anymore.  For a spell there I had to bring my own straws, and while I'd only use one per day, when people found out I had them I was swamped with requests!  Thinking back, I should have sold em for a dollar apiece.

I'll be interested to see what you think of the Meraviglia.  I'm doing my first MSC cruise on her in February.  I have a YC Inside room, and I couldn't believe how inexpensive it was, especially since I'll be cruising solo.  NCL is my usual cruiseline of choice, but I could never sail in the Haven since it's prohibitively expensive for a solo cruiser.  I've done a CA/NE cruise on the NCL Joy last September around this time and I think it was actually a bit early since the leaves hadn't really started changing yet.  Hopefully you have better luck!

2 hours ago, David8965 said:

I filled in the status match form last weekend and heard nothing (Hyatt explorist). However, I've just receive a marketing email shows a card number and status as gold, which agrees with the spreadsheet. I can't seem to find anywhere on the MSC site that shows me my status though. Does anyone know where I could check this? I will definitely book an MSC cruise within 3 years as I'm eyeing up a UK cruise in 2024 but whenever I try and input my card number into the MSC site, it just comes up with an error.

Do you have an account set up on the MSC site?  If so, then log in to your account and click on the MSC Voyager's Club tab.  That will show you your status and the expiration date.

On 8/2/2023 at 10:37 PM, Illbcruzn4life said:

Think this is pretty spot on. If you haven't cruised in 3 years you'll lose your status and AFAIK you can't do another status match.

So am I understanding correctly that if you cruise with MSC at least once every 3 years, you'll maintain your status?  Even if you lose the matching status level in the program you used to get the MSC status?  I was able to get MSC Diamond by matching my Hilton Diamond status, but the likelihood of me keeping the Hilton Diamond status is almost non-existent since I only got it through a special promotion at the time.  The likelihood of me cruising with MSC every year or two is much higher (depending on how much I enjoy my first cruise with them in February) so if I can keep status just by cruising with them yearly, that would be great.

1 hour ago, Fogfog said:

 

 

 

 

Best advice-- enjoy your cruise. Be kind and generous to your butler(s). They work very hard

 

Happy sailing

 

 

 

I've sailed on many cruises, although my upcoming one in February will be my first MSC cruise, and it'll be the first time I've sailed in this class of stateroom.  What's a fair gratuity to leave my butler at the end of the cruise?  Usually I leave my room stewards $100 on a 7 day cruise, but I'm imagining butler service will be more personalized and I've no issues with rewarding hard work.  I'm just not sure what is kind of considered the norm in the Yacht Club, so any advice on that would be appreciated.

On 6/26/2023 at 1:29 PM, OrcaGirl said:

 

I always found it just a touch too warm inside the ship (except one section of the Garden Cafe seating area where the AC was *blasting*). But also I tend to run warm all the time anyway.

 

I usually walked around the ship in a tank top, but the Fox and the Cub usually had a light hoodie.

 

Not related to what I'm quoting, but just trying to get your attention. Just wondering if you happened to notice if the daily menus at the main dining room changed each night, or if they were the same each time.  I know NCL is looking to make it so their menus are the same every night of a cruise, and they've started doing that on several ships, just not sure if it's happened on the Bliss yet or not.