Anastas617

On 6/19/2024 at 8:34 PM, GA Dave said:

For anyone that booked a cruise without the drink package, MSC has a limited time 40% off deal running. I had booked my December 2024 seven-night cruise without the "bundle" deal, but just added the Easy Plus for $301, which comes out to $43/night. Much less than the current price onboard (see photo) and will only need to drink four alcoholic beverages each day to make it worth it

Thanks for the head's up! I'm on a casino comp in September and didn't get a bundle package. I don't check the email account I use for my cruises near often enough and need to get better with that. Much appreciated for saving me $126.

22 hours ago, marktwothousand said:

LOVED IT!!! Yes there was probably a bit more F-bomb and N-word music than I would have liked at the late night club, and I’m also not used to being on such a ridiculously packed ship but all in all it was a great cruise, I am looking forward to MSC again! I will hopefully post a review at some point

 

- pro’s: non-stop activities and parties and a younger crowd,

gorgeous ship, aft balcony cabin was spectacular, awarded everyone $200 OBC bc of late port arrivals (OBC eligible for casino spend), water and red bull included in drink package, lots of good cho’s in the theatre (probably saw about 6 different ones, sat front row centre each time), status match gold with NCL platinum, plenty of lounge areas in the main chandelier area and concourse to watch the parties if you don’t want to get into the crowd, app was generally good for chat and bookings, value for dollar was almost unrivalled in all my cruises, 2x day full room cleaning

 

- con’s: very busy, cruise staff seemed unengaged at times, not The kind of crew that remembers names, not a great variety in the buffet, pizza was good but sometimes hard to self-serve, (but all food was generally good), floors were humid and slippery in too many places, no free food on room service, weak solo traveller meetups and awkward seating for solo eaters, truly difficult finding seating in the buffet at times, less line dancing than other cruises, spa didn’t feel too clean and lacked tranquility, paper menus and dailies were a challenge to request, TV channels were poor, elevators too busy and slow and no aft elevators, free ice cream hours were limited 

Thanks for the write-up. I always appreciate hearing from someone that provides both sides of their experience with actual examples.

Can I ask what experience you had (Bella, Fantastica, etc) and your seating arrangements? I ask because as a solo traveler I was sat alone at a two-seat table (my preference) my first two times when I had Fantastica and I was sat at an 8-top my last cruise when I was Bella and it was awkward for a number of reasons. No idea if it was related to my "experience" or just coincidence. I am on a casino comp in September, but upgraded to Fantastica; will ask the maitre d' to change my seating or will just use the buffet if they stick me at an 8-top again.

Just now, kad56 said:

It sounds like a really nice itinerary. I have my eye on it. Did you enjoy the ports?

I did enjoy the ports, but there was a lot of walking and makes for tiring days. I am glad I went in October as I can't imagine doing those tours in the summer. Pompeii (Naples) was my favorite excursion and I really liked Marseille despite the downpour that started immediately after our "free time" off the tour bus started. 

12 minutes ago, kad56 said:

I assume this is the itinerary on the Grandiosa that includes La Goulette, Tunisia. How were the ports? Looking at the itinerary, it seems like the ships docks pretty close to town in alll of the ports. Were any of the a long distance from the port?

It was, but due to unrest following 10/07 La Goulette was cancelled and replaced with Palma de Mallorca. Marseille port was isolated, though not really far from the city just not somewhere you walk from. Genoa, Palermo and Naples were right at the cities (I took a ship excursion to Pompeii from Naples, so not sure if you can walk right off into the city like at Genoa and Palermo).

On 5/26/2024 at 3:05 PM, Reds4life said:

Hey could I possibly bother you for the photos of the menus? I would appreciate it very much!

I'm not sure if the order of these is correct, but I will post what I "think" was the order of dinners. Only took one screenshot of "always available" because the 4 options never changed and I never looked at wine offerings.

11 hours ago, Reds4life said:

Hey could I possibly bother you for the photos of the menus? I would appreciate it very much!

I'll see if I can track them down. Can't remember if I screenshotted them, but if I did I transferred them off my phone.

21 hours ago, luckyinpa said:

i just returned from the 6 day bermuda cruise and when i saw one more day for 400 bucks cheaper than the 6 day, had to book it, plus love the night lights. 

How did you like the Bermuda cruise? Did you just have 2 days in port?

Never been to Bermuda, but I love the Meraviglia and am looking forward to it. 

The penalty is having your +1 denied boarding and losing the deposits you placed and wasting your guest's time. It's pretty explicit in the T&Cs that the invited Casino guest must be present.

16 hours ago, SnorkelFool said:

I just saw that the Aug and Sept sailings to Bermuda on Meraviglia don’t depart Brooklyn until 8pm which surprised me. I’m kind of bummed with the later departure time. Curious if anyone knows why they leave NY so late when the ship is set to arrive by 7am from the prior cruise?

Thanks for posting this, I never noticed that the departure time was 2000 for my September cruise. I'll be glad to depart in the evening for the viewing, but this may have me looking at other transportation options as I was originally planning to drive and this makes things a bit more flexible for me.

I'll be on the Discovery for the June 1st sailing. I'm on a casino comp and have been kicking myself that I didn't upgrade to a balcony room. As an interior room dweller, did you find it fairly easy to do some viewing from the decks on Sea Days without being stuck to a spot from the crack of dawn?

3 hours ago, marktwothousand said:

Starting to get a little concerned about my memorial week cruise from Brooklyn next week. Reading lots of posts on other sites that people bring pot. To me, if that’s the first question people ask about this ship, that’s not a good sign.
 

Is the crowd from this port going to be a little rough and tumble? Starting to get the impression I’ve signed up for a 3-day Carnival out of Nola where people bring their luggage on in a reuseable grocery bag…

 

I also saw one video where the reviewer said “a certain demographic of people who made up most of the passengers” were extremely rude at the buffet and hoarding armfuls of fruit to bring back to their room. (He would not get more specific than that)

 

anyone can shed light on what kind of demographic I can expect, will really help to assuage my concerns or at least prepare me for what sounds like it might be a total shipshow… *gulp* 😩

I've been on Meraviglia twice out of Brooklyn and going again in September. I have quite enjoyed it.

I have never personally smelled or had any other indication that there was pot smoking going on. As with almost any cruise, I would think there were a few that succeeded in getting it onto the ship but never anything I noticed and I was very much a night owl on my second Meraviglia cruise.

The passenger base is definitely a lot more mixed than I've seen on other cruises. It's particularly noticeable during one of the parties (probably White Night?) when they go through music from other regions of the world. The Indian contingent was very boisterous (in a good way) when their music came on.

There are/were also more children than I'm used to, but I've also never been on carnival, RCCL or NCL (yet). As a solo, I would usually camp out on the Horizon deck (aft pool area, adults only) during the daytime and enjoy my books and drinks in relative peace. So, I stay away from the crowded lido pool/indoor pool areas on any line.

As for the buffet, I tend to go during slow times and I go towards the back where less people are. I can't really generalize other than to say I've seen rudeness to a degree on every cruise I've been on. The worst moment I had was after leaving the late night buffet I got in an elevator with 4 teens in it and one of the teens thought it would be funny to make the other teens laugh by pressing the buttons for every floor when the old guy got on.

Late arrivers and seat reservers in the theatre were more noticeable, as well. Honestly not sure why the theatre allows people to come in 20 minutes late to a 40 minute show and distract the audience.

As per usual, my response is much longer than intended. Short answer is the crowd is a bit different than other lines I've been on, but not necessarily bad and not something I ever considered to be low class or a hindrance to a good cruise. I've long accepted that things I find rude are not seen that way in some cultures. I'm on vacation enjoying myself and don't let it bother me.

I used to watch A LOT of videos when I was a complete newcomer to cruising (starting after I made my first booking in January of last year). Now I watch videos specifically for cabin tours, dining options and being able to see the actual prepared foods (particularly MDR), excursions I may be considering, and maybe a quick scan of a walkthrough video to see particular areas of interest (for me I very much like to see the lounging area on the sides and the aft pool area.

That being said, I think the video you included was fine and actually (in my opinion) provided a good visual to your question. It was much more effective than simply asking "Would you be upset if people walked through Butcher's Cut (I think that was the venue?) playing music while you were enjoying a fine dining meal?".

If there were people using CC as free advertising to hustle their channel I'd probably get annoyed with that, but I don't think that's what you did. I've seen people post "Trip Reports" that are simply links to their personal websites and I don't see how that is any better than promoting a YT channel.

16 hours ago, KeepCalmBearOn said:

 

One of my best friends, who could afford Haven LOVES the solo cabins and special lounge on NCL for single cruisers.

Have my first NCL cruise in one of those solo cabins in February. Glad most of the reviews I've read/seen have been fairly positive.

I've only been on three lines so far, but they have all run the entertainment the same way. Makes perfect sense to me and I appreciate they are punctual.

20 minutes ago, amberjohn said:

Hello,

   We will be sailing out of NY on the Meraviglia in October. I have been watching numerous videos and reading up on the ship.  A few answers I cannot seem to find anywhere:

1-We love to get one meal to try and one backup meal in case we don't like the 1st meal (we eat both meals).  I have read/heard that MSC doesn't have a traditional Main Complimentary Restaurant, that they charge for any dinner after the 1st entree?  Is there any truth to this? Yes. They charge $5 for additional entrees in the MDR. (Though if you dislike an entree they may just replace it for you. I've never disliked anything enough to not eat it so have never asked.)

2- Can you request just a table for two at dinner? What experience are you? Bella you get no choice and Fantastica you can choose preferred time slot (early/late). As far as requesting a table for two, you would need to check with the Maitre D' and see if they can accommodate you; I would do this as soon as you are on board (I think they will be at one of the restaurants on Deck 6?)

3- If the lines are as terrible and disorganized and I have heard, is there a time you can go to the meals (buffet) and the lines will be short? I've had good experience at the buffet going after 7pm for dinner and before 7am for breakfast. I rarely go to buffet at lunch, I go to Hola! tacos, the MDR or I'm on an excursion. EDIT: I should also note that the majority of people never walk to the back area where there is usually less people.

4- I have read conflicting reports on complimentary drinks at meals. They all state that you can get tea, coffee and water but some also say you can get lemonade and flavored waters? Can't help there as I only drink coffee, water and alcohol on cruise.

5-Are there any smaller venues to get complimentary foods? Outside the buffet in the pool area there are spots to grab quick eats like pizza, burgers, fries and hot dogs. Brass Anchor Bar has a very small and cheap menu of food and Hola! Tacos is cheap (a la carte or $18 AYCE). But MDR, Buffet and that mini-buffet near the pool are the only complimentary options.

6- Port Canaveral is one of our Ports.  Does MSC have any shuttles (for a fee) to the Theme Parks. I've seen excursions listed that don't include the hefty park tickets and it's a good drive from Port Canaveral. I'm sure others can tell you their experiences with this.

 

Thanks

Comments added in Red

I'll admit that when I first joined CC I found it a little odd that there was so much YC talk considering it was a comparatively small percentage of cruisers. I honestly wished they would have two separate forums since they are seemingly two different products based on the numerous comments I'd seen.

In some cases it wasn't even that the post was about YC, it was the comments along the lines of "I would NEVER (gasp! Where is my fainting couch?) sail MSC unless it was YC!" I've learned to disregard those posts; it goes back to the days I was on Vegas boards a lot and I would get frustrated that whenever people would ask "Would you stay at Flamingo or Harrah's?" and you would get quite a few "Don't stay there, stay at Wynn or Bellagio" completely ignoring that the asker was looking at budget hotels.

Now, I'd just be happy if posters included YC in the subject so I can happily skip on by in most instances. That being said, I read all of @morpheusofthesearecent trip report and thoroughly enjoyed it.

I went on a big tangent there. Anyways, for me, currently, there is no value in Yacht Club as so few of the benefits are enticing to me. I have a favorable work schedule that allows me to travel 7-8 times a year and traveling at a lesser cost is more valuable to me now. When I am ready to retire, perhaps I'll splurge as I have no kids/grandkids to leave my $ to.

I did have great frustration gambling on my last MSC cruise which led to me "angry gambling" for much of the trip. THAT money would have been better spent on a couple of YC trips. I think I'll go sulk reliving that memory. 🙂 

On 5/11/2024 at 8:55 AM, JamieLogical said:

 

 

After getting all that sorted and doing a little bit of final gambling, I headed back to the room to get packing. BTW, the only casino offer I ended up with was $150 of freeplay on a cruise sailing by December 2024. Not a super appealing offer as it is for new bookings only (not worth canceling/rebooking our August cruise since the price has gone up more than $150 since we booked). We already have October and January cruises booked so very unlikely to be able to squeeze in another cruise before December!

 

 

I received a similar offer left in my room from my sailing on CB last year, but a few weeks after the cruise I received an email for free cruises (up to 3) that were valid for almost every cruise I looked at (interior room, but option to pay for upgrade). The website actually allowed me to book 5 cruises, though I had to cancel one of them. I didn't gamble a ton, so hopefully you'll see some offers. (All the upcoming Princess cruises in my signature are from the casino plus a 10-night in Australia in 2025 that I may or may not have to cancel).

22 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

Bundles are packed. Here are the final tallies of what went into each of our bundles.

 

My Bundle:

4x Wide-legged Pants

3x Yoga Pants

1x Jeans

2x Trail Pants

2x Maxi Dresses

1x Swimsuit Cover-up
1x Raincoat
4x Long-sleeve Linen Shirt

2x Sweaters

2x Moisture Wicking T-shirts

3x Cotton Print T-shirts

7x Cotton Camisoles

1x Swimsuit Bottoms

1x Spanx

1x Pair of Boat Shoes

7x Pairs Slipper Socks

3x Pairs Cotton Socks

3x Pairs Moisture Wicking Socks

9x Underwear

1x Swimsuit Top

4x Bras

1x Collapsible Hamper
 

Husband's Bundle:

1x Trail Pants

1x Slacks

1x Jeans

1x Long-sleeve Linen Shirt

4x Tommy Bahama Shirts

6x Cotton Print T-shirts

4x Moisture Wicking T-shirts

2x Shorts

1x Swim Trunks

10x Boxer Briefs

10x Pairs of Socks

2x Pairs of Shoes

 

Were you able to get this all into a carry-on?? I know I overpack, but even when I "try" to pack light, it's tough getting everything into my medium suitcase. 😂

Looking forward to following along @JamieLogical. I have three Princess sailings coming up in 2024 on Discovery, Emerald and Sun. I appreciate your MSC reports, so I'm definitely interested to hear your takes on Princess. My first cruise was on CB last April and I quite enjoyed it, but it seems like forever that I have been waiting to go back on Princess since these next two have been booked since last summer.

I'll also check out your Emerald report since I'm taking that out of Boston in July. I've been looking forward to actually sailing out of my home port.

15 hours ago, ajoneen said:

On the MSC website-

When I do a test booking without logging in to my MSC account (that has my Voyagers club account) it shows price$. 

When I do the same test booking while logged in it shows the same price$. Why is it not showing the discount for voyagers? 

TIA

 

 

Even if you are logged in, you still need to manually add your Voyager's number. Are you doing that?

32 minutes ago, Rfemle said:

Thanks all. Did not think so was worth a shot. Maybe some day they will have a rock band. I have to more cruises on her, then not sure of which cruise next. Maybe I will have to do an NCL monsters of rock cruise. 

I've only done MSC, Princess and HAL. Many of the HAL ships have a "Rolling Stone Rock Room" with a live rock band performing most nights (5 out of 7 on my recent cruise). That being said, I did not think the band on the Rotterdam was all that good which was disappointing because I love live rock music.

Not really. There is a band called "something or other Soul Band" that may have some light rock in their repertoire, but I wouldn't call them a Rock Band. They mainly play in the Meraviglia Lounge or whatever the name of the bar close to the main theatre is, but also played one of the night parties in the promenade and one night at the lido pool.

There is also a South African gent (I think his name was Mark?) and a Brazilian fellow (forgot his name) that play guitar and have some classic rock songs in their playlist. Mostly seen them playing in Brass Anchor or the atrium. Mark (hopefully not messing up his name) also plays prior to some of the shows in the carousel theatre.

I've only gone from Barcelona and it was very convenient. I had direct R/T flights from Boston, so I would expect the NYC area would be even easier to find good flights (?). Only regret is I didn't have the free time to book a couple of extra days in Bareclona.

On 4/7/2024 at 9:47 AM, BigTeee said:

"Asked for a Americano at breakfast.   The server started to pour coffee out of a pitcher.    I said I want a Americano.   She said yes it is coffee.   I said no it is espresso with hot water.  She said that she never heard of that.  "

 

The only people who hear of that are Americans frequenting Starbucks.   It is done no where else in the world.  And I am an admitted coffee snob and have actuality worked at Starbucks. 

 

That said, for an Italian/(Swiss) cruise line, MSC's coffee is decidedly average.  That was my experience on an MSC Dubai cruise.

This is just not true. I have seen "Americano" in almost every coffee shop I have gone to in Europe and Southeast Asia. Starbucks didn't invent it, nor is the only shop selling it.

40 minutes ago, Anastas617 said:

For me, "you get what you pay for" boils down to no complimentary dining outside the MDR/Buffet and maybe a little less in the way of options at the buffet.

 

I've only been on MSC, Princess and HAL. HAL was far and away better for food in the MDR/Buffet based on my one cruise with them, but I don't really think I'd say there was much of a difference between Princess and MSC in the MDR. In fact, while some items are hit or miss, Princess is the only cruise where I actually hated something I ordered (2x).

 

I thoroughly enjoy the paid Carousel shows ($12 pre-cruise) and am very happy with Hola! as a paid restaurant ($18 or less depending on how you eat) and when I consider the usual cruise price, I find these add-ons perfectly reasonable. I don't pay for specialty dining otherwise.

 

I have never noticed a difference with cleanliness of my room or pleasantness of staff*. Then again, I always try to be pleasant myself and do not have demands or expectations that I would consider unreasonable. Based on the way some of these reviews or complaints come across, they lead me to assume that some of these folks are just difficult or unpleasant people. I could be wrong, but that is the impression I get based on the walls of complaints.

 

*just adding that I did find that staff in general seemed a bit less personable on my MSC Mediterranean cruise, but I chalk that up to perhaps cultural and, from what my international friends say, probably preferred.

Replying to myself because I guess I waited too long to edit. I wanted to add that no free movies in your cabin and very limited TV options was another trade-off for the low price. Doesn't affect me much but might be important for some folks.