CruisingWalter

On 11/15/2023 at 9:10 AM, Homosassa said:

MSC caught onto the fare cheaters for solo passengers that routinely booked a ghost second passenger.

But in the case of a "No Show" that second fare is not refunded. Only the port fees and taxes for that second person.  Or did MSC used to actually refund the second fare?  I've honestly never heard of that from any cruise line. It's always just the port fees and taxes that are refunded, not the fare for the second guest. 

Itinerary changes are par for the course on any cruise line. Whatever the actual reason you just roll with it. What the other cruise lines are doing is irrelevant to what MSC is doing or will do.

That's why it's super important to have all the contact information for any private third-party excursions you might book. When your itinerary changes, and they do more often than you might think, you can get in touch with them if you have to change or cancel. 

Most everyone's Black Friday "deal" is out now. But if you have not tracked actual cruise fares these past few weeks you don't know if the current deal is a 'deal' or not. Cruise lines are amazing at flashing big numbers up on the screen to distract you do you don't notice whether the actual cruise fare has gone down or in some cases actually went up. We've seen it multiple times from various cruise lines where the 'special' goes from 20% off to 40% off but the actual cruise fare or the add-on package went up by $10 or so because they just raised the 'brochure rate' base fare. 

Happy shopping and happy cruising! 

15 hours ago, Avatar345 said:

Question to anyone that can help...

Is the base Internet package strong enough for social media purposes? Instagram and such...

And, if it is not, can the base package be upgraded at some nominal fee if the base package is already included in the cruise fare?

Many thanks for any insights! 🙂

Internet quality always depends on the itineraries and the satellite coverage. Judging by the near constant launches from SpaceX these past few weeks out our back window, that Starlink Satellite network is filling in gaps in a hurry. 

Because I work remotely and do multiple livestreams from the ship so I always step up to the high speed no matter the ship. What I found interesting on the Seaside is that I was able to stream with no problem to our TikTok channel but YouTube live was a no-go the entire cruise. First time I've experienced that on any ship since the restart. 

My wife was able to watch our TikTok stream just fine with the basic package, check email and such. As others have noted, the speed of that basic package will depend on how many people are hitting it. I found the high speed package to be very consistent throughout the ship. 

The one thing that was maddening for me is the inability to log off one device and login to another device. The MSC web packages don't allow this so I ended up getting two high speed packages for two devices. 

We noticed that Karaoke with the Diva just showed up on our schedule. I believe it's in there twice. We were hoping for Bingo with the Diva but at the moment it's been replaced with the karaoke. The Groupie up front is hilarious if you spend some time in there. 

@cantgetin thanks for the updated report. We're on Valiant for Thanksgiving and might have to give that show a try.  

On 11/13/2023 at 10:22 AM, Jezo said:

How does the $600 work?  Is this $600 for the current cruise or the next cruise?  

You pay $300 onboard the ship for each MNVV. That $300 is put towards your 20% deposit when you convert your MNVV to a cruise.  You can purchase up to 10 MNVVs per cruise per person.

You get $300 off the cruise fare for your selected voyage. You must book a Sea Terrace or higher.

You get $600 Sailor Loot for your selected voyage.

That Sailor Loot can be combined with most current VV promos such as the current Bar Tab promo. You could have $600 Sailor Loot and $600 Bar Tab if you book a 7 night or longer cruise using an MNVV.

If you book with a Gold Certified First Mate (TA) you would get $100 more Sailor Loot added.

MNVVs are 100% transferrable and they make great holiday gifts (just sayin). But seriously you can buy extras if you think you might have some friends or family who would want to go with you on a future cruise. A TA or Sailor Support can easily change the names and book the new cruise for them. 

The only real downside is you have 2 years to book AND sail. Some future cruise certificates and credits must be booked within 2 years, but with VV you have to sail within 2 years. 

On 11/13/2023 at 12:27 PM, 3rdCoastFan said:

The only downside I'm aware of is that if you book directly using a voucher, then you cannot select your specific cabin. Easiest way around that is to work with a TA who will  be able to select a specific cabin for you. 

If you book anything directly via VV's website you cannot select a cabin. You must work with a TA or call VV to have a cabin selected for you. 

Well the good news you do have a lot of advance notice unlike those poor folks when Valiant Lady was first released. Nothing like having a TV show swipe your ship just weeks away from boarding. If you don't have to book immediately perhaps wait until Brilliant Lady's schedule is released and book one of the Southern Caribbean cruises for 2025? 

Yeah it does suck when you have multiple cruises rebooked and there are only 3 ships to choose from vs. 15 to 27 from other cruise lines. Good luck with you future cruise and I really do hope you get to sail on VV soon. 

Ditto to what everyone else says. Start booking the moment you get WiFi. If you're two people, you can tag team by having one person book shows while the other books events and classes. 

On 11/14/2023 at 8:32 PM, singleflyer said:

 

HA!  My bad.  Of course!  For some reason when I read it I thought it was something new they were introducing.  

My favorite is the French Toast Burger for breakfast. French toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, burger, syrup. Totally filling and totally worth it. 🙂

16 hours ago, evelyn.sav said:

We have an embarkation time on Virgin at 4:15 pm on 12/2. Will we have difficulty finding a parking space in Garage G at that time?

 

Take a look at one of the port schedule websites to see how many ships will be in port that day. There always seems to be some room at the very top of the garage. But we've never come in that late. As mentioned above, show up about 3pm ish.  But keep in mind the traffic inside the port area can be very bad as I've mentioned previously here. Arriving at 3pm could mean you're actually parking at 4. 🙂 

12 hours ago, Morecruisesplz said:

What's your favorite Mezcal mixed drink?

For myself it's an Oaxaca Old Fashioned. 🙂

16 hours ago, Spudd said:

Wow, that's great. I just googled it to find the answer and Google said 30 days. I guess in real life they're a little more flexible than the official policy!

As long as you have not passed Final Payment date, they will transfer it. Super flexible and awesome cruise line for TAs. 

On 11/11/2023 at 12:58 PM, Smiling Sue said:

Cantgetin - wouldn't it be too late to use a Gold Tier TA at this point?  We have our room, paid in full etc.  We have more than enough Bar Tab as we were credited for a cancellation.  The last thing I am planning on doing is staying up Tuesday night to book the dinner and entertainment.    Many thanks for any insight or clarification. 

VV allows you to transfer your cruise to a TA up until Final Payment date. After that you're locked in. As @cantgetin mentioned a TA can actually go into the booking engine to make your reservations. The app is notoriously horrible when the bookings open. Bring a LOT of patience. We've heard of people taking 2 to 3 hours to make reservations because the app keeps freezing up when everyone hits it to make the dining reservations. But the TA just goes into the booking engine and is typically done in 10 minutes or less. 

On 11/8/2023 at 2:25 PM, 8420PR said:

How much did the 3 Asian Market dining package cost to book onboard?    

$109/pp. It worked out cheaper to do the package vs. paying for all three restaurants. 

16 hours ago, godzukihop said:

Can you use bar tab to purchase liquor in the Booty Free shop?

No you cannot use the Bar Tab for any retail purchases. You may be able to purchase bottles of liquor from the bars. 

I have used it to purchase some liquor in the Booty Free shop on the last night of the cruise, others have used it to purchase the hammocks when they have them in stock. You can put it towards any paid events on the ship which you can't book until you get on the WiFi. I did a Mezcal / Tequila tasting that was good, they have other paid events as well.

And the most overlooked thing on the ships, Afternoon Tea. It's one of the best of the mainstream cruise lines in the U.S. Well worth the prices. 

On 11/3/2023 at 8:27 PM, DaKahuna said:

 

Maybe not but I keep hearing how on Carnival he is the King of Burger.

 

On our recent Mardi Gras cruise I had to pace myself with Shaq's Big Chicken. So freakin' good and I never had a single Guy's Burger. It was all Shaq's Chicken and Blue Iguana for me for the fast food. 🙂

9 hours ago, Cashsmoney said:

Yeah I think the speciality dining packages are a joke, because you have to order off the “dinning experience” menu, that looks more like menu items from the MDR. The other option is to order ala carte off the speciality restaurants menu that is way over priced. 

I would completely disagree with that, at least in the case of our 3 night Asian Marketplace package. We had an awesome set of three meals from the Asian Kitchen as I showed in the food review. Nothing we ordered looked like a menu item from the MDR, not even close. Nor did it taste like anything from our 2 MDR dinners. We purchased that package onboard because we didn't like the pre-selected restaurants concept of the pre-cruise packages. But at least for us, those meals I showed in the food review were nothing like the MDR. 

17 hours ago, Rhea98 said:

No. We're on Seashore right now. It's okay--even really good in some areas, but we can't help but compare.

That's one of the big things I've told many folks about MSC and one of the points I made in that food review. You have to take them at face value because when you pay less, sometimes a lot less, you can't expect the same quality or product as Royal, NCL and the others. MSC is MSC and we give MSC a solid 8.5 for value. For what we paid for that cruise, we got a lot of value and we'll be on the Seashore in a month to meet the Seaside's bigger sister. If you start down that rabbit hole of "well NCL is this and Royal is that...." you'll be disappointed. But if you accept that for what you are paying, MSC is delivering a lovely cruise vacation, you'll have a great time. 

My guess is "No" there is no feast of the seven menu, though they might add a seafood sauce. They do already have some nice clams and seafood dishes on the menu so you might be able to sort of create a 7 fishes meal. I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving Night on Valiant.

That would be cool if they did.  That was my childhood growing up in the Hudson Valley, NY. I honestly didn't know there was any other way to celebrate Christmas until I went to college. 🙂 We carried on the tradition for quite a few years when we lived in Georgia, at one time having 24 folks to our home for Christmas Eve. Some of the recipes from my family and a few others are on my site. My mom's seafood sauce brings back so many memories each year I make it. And if you want something delectible, try Nonni's Bow Knots. I could never figure out how to actually make bows, so I just made strips of fried dough. And the Randall's Ordinary Scallops are THE best scallops, I have to make extra every time because they go so quickly, but they're so incredibly easy to make. Enjoy! 

https://www.whereswaltertravel.com/travelresourcelibrary/categories/recipes-feast-of-the-seven-fishes

Journeys is simply the name Carnival has placed on longer cruises. The actual cruise experience will be basically the same except usually with far fewer children. With any cruise that's longer than 7 days from the home port you'll find fewer families onboard and generally a more mature audience. Mainly because most families plan vacations in 1 week increments, especially when it comes to cruises. Other than having fewer children, and perhaps being a little more mellow onboard, it will be the same Carnival experience you've come to expect. 

Ship Eats is some of the best room service at sea that we've experienced. It all comes packaged up brilliantly so cold stuff stays cold and hot stuff stays hot. I have found the coffee to be much better from room service than what is served in The Galley. Instead of paying the delivery fee I'll order a specialty coffee to get that waived.

Food is basically the same quality as you would expect from The Galley. We've used it multiple times in the past and loved it. About to embark on an 8 day Valiant Lady cruise and we'll probably use it a few more times. I do wish they could deliver anywhere on the ship like Princess, that's actually really cool.

No tipping required anywhere on the ship. 

On 10/30/2023 at 2:07 PM, _tacocat_ said:

yep they do, not sure what the pricing was though

It does? I don't remember seeing cartons anywhere in that store when we've gone in there to buy spirits. Are they hidden from sight?