lumofny

1 hour ago, KINGBOBOFTHENORTH said:

This question comes up often and this is my answer: just get there when you get there. No one has ever looked at my paperwork with the time printed on it. Don't ask, don't point it out, just go in the terminal and join the queue. No one is going to inquire.

Isn't that the point of having scheduled arrival times? It seems like everyone just showing up whenever they want to is the reason they went to assigned times.

2 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Highly recommend allowing kids to sign themselves out so they can hang with the other kids

 

 

 

Thanka for the info, it's helpful to see what activities are going on. Do you know if there is any sort of registration or sign in/out policy for those older than the 7-11 group?

We are sailing out of Brooklyn with MSC for the first time in three days. During online check-in we were given a choice as to what time we wanted to check in. 930am was the first available time slot so we took it.

Has anyone else gotten a 930 embarkation time? What time did you arrive at the terminal and what time did you step onboard?

Is sign up necessary for the Young Club (12-14 year olds) on MSC ships? Do you need to sign participants in and out or are they free to come and go as they please?

Our kids are now tweens and this will be our first time they'll be in the tween/teen age club (as well as the first time on a MSC ship.)

7 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Because you are adding a 5th pax to a 4 pax cabin, not designed for 5, but rcl allows it if you call. 

There are some (not many) listed as 5+ capacity on their deck plans for certain ships. I had specifically book one of those cabins, then call to have the 5th added. Seems like it would have been easier to display only rooms with a capacity of 5 when making an online reservation for 5.

4 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

If I were booking for a party of five, I'd want two connecting rooms.  You can see that cost online.  

There were 5 of us last year sharing the same cabin on Odyssey and it wasn't bad at all. I imagine lots of families with two adults and three kids would want to share a room. Five adults, maybe not so much, and may want two connecting rooms.

When I book with NCL or Carnival I get to enter 5 guests when searching for sailings and the results displayed are prices/cabins able to hold 5. I can see total pricing before booking and I'm wondering why RCCL doesn't do it the same way.

We've sailed on RCCL, NCL, Carnival and have an upcoming cruise with MSC. On all the lines we've sailed with we can make reservations for 5 in a cabin, except with RCCL. The travel agent had to book 4 under one reservation, then a single person under another, then link the two reservations. Makes no sense and I'm wondering if anyone knows why RCCL does it this way.

On a related note, is it possible to determine total pricing for 5 in a cabin before booking?

Anyone know why port taxes and fees would vary so much for essentially the same sailing? For example, 7 day Bermuda sailing from Brooklyn: on the October 13 sailing they are $140 but on the September 29 sailing they are $372. The October sailing actually spends 4 days docked vs 3 days docked on the September sailing. Just doesn't make sense to me...

When are excursions able to booked, or at the very least viewed? We are 60 days out but still seeing a message that they'll be available soon. Not sure if this is actually the case or if it's just MSCs IT department doing their thing again.

We (party of 4) will be sailing with two others so 6 total. We all have Bella experiences. We'd like to eat together at the same time. Is this possible? Are there tables for 6? Can arrangements be made before we sail or is it something that can only be taken care of once onboard?

Our latest cruise was on RCCL and we were able to prebook excursions and shows through the app prior to sailing. Is this a thing with MSC? We are about 70 days away from our first time sailing with them and keep getting an error message when trying to view what excursions are available. At what point do they become available? Or is booking in advance through the app a lost cause?

On RCCL onboard shows were sold out unless you booked reservations in advance. I don't see this option in the MSC app. Is it offered/necessary?

Has anyone added a third and fourth passenger to your "free" NCL cruise? What was the cost, if any, aside from port fees and taxes? Were you charged the $20pp admin fee for 3&4?

5 minutes ago, princeton123211 said:

UberXL to Grove St is about $30 so might as well just go to Newark Penn for the much easier transfer. 

Tickets from Newark Penn to NY Penn would be free for kids 11 and under on weekends, yes?

You seem to be very detailed and knowledgeable about NYC transportation. It is appreciated!

Reservation was made directly with MSC for 3 people however one can't go now. We paid only the deposit for all 3 passengers and the sailing is in April 2024 so final payment is still months away from being due. This particular sailing was supposed to be a 7 day however due to Ocean Cay being renovated the entire sailing duration and itinerary were changed. To rebook now would be between double and triple what we booked it at. For this reason I want to make sure the reservation isn't touched at all. I've heard horror stories about even the smallest changes resulting in a repricing from MSC agents.

Does anyone have any experience removing a passenger prior to final payment? Do they refund the the deposit amount for the passenger not sailing or just apply it against the balance due?

5 minutes ago, princeton123211 said:

Don't take a taxi in New Jersey-- they are awful and overpriced. Take an Uber or Lyft. Much nicer cars and the pricing is usually lower than what the taxi drivers ask for. 

 

No, but there are faster and easier ones. 

 

Personally after a cruise I would just have the Uber take me right to Penn Station but it will be the more expensive option -- about $75 for an UberXL direct from the port. But I do like where your head is at about NJT-- I think its a good compromise on cost and time. Going direct from Newark Penn Station to New York Penn Station will be ALOT easier than taking the PATH and walking. Uber from Cape Liberty to Newark Penn Station will be around $40 plus the NJT tickets. 

Do you have an idea of what an Uber from the port to PATH station would cost?

What's the cheapest way back to NY Penn Station on a Sunday post cruise? Looks like it'll be having a taxi or Uber take us from Cape Liberty to the Grove St PATH, exiting at 33rd Street in Manhattan, then walking to Amtrak at NY Penn. Is there a cheaper solution? There will be 5 of us and 2 are 11. NJT says they travel free with a paying adult on weekends so there may be a cheaper option out there since we are disembarking on Sunday. Have the Uber driver drop us off at a station that will take us directly back to NY Penn perhaps?

My wife is gluten sensitive. I know there are some GF options and alternatives in the MDR but how about at the buffet? Would they be able to prepare some gluten free pasta there? Also, anyone know if gluten free pizza is an offering onboard?

4 hours ago, cruiseguyinorl said:

Unfortunately, they applied this confusing rate code name to most bookings after the itinerary adjustments. But no, it does not mean that the amenities were added to your booking.

 

I had this code applied to many of my bookings in a large group and have already been down this road.

 

Bret

 I figured as much. We don't drink but to have the option for non-alcoholic drinks would have been nice. Thanks for clearing things up!

We'll be taking Amtrak into the city the day before our sailing out of Brooklyn and have been looking at Wall St area hotels as well. Planning on taking the ferry over to Red Hook the morning of our sailing. Not sure if that'd beat finding a hotel in Brooklyn and taking the bus. I've more experience riding the subway in the city than the bus but not sure what would be easier with luggage. Also much fewer subway stops in Brooklyn that in Manhattan and (as far as I can tell) none within walking distance of the port.

Are you sailing on her now? Would love to hear about the activities for the younger teens.

1 minute ago, RandomUser123 said:

Go directly on the MSC website and login to your cruise if you have Easy Plus it will also indicate on the site as included in your booking within the cruise details tab. 

There isn't any mention of it on our cruise details on the website or the app. Only a single line on the cruise docs. When we booked they were still doing "All In Plus" however we didn't book that rate. We did get half off the second passenger and two free kids though. But since they emailed the updated docs it says Drinks/WiFi/OBC but no mention of us having it anywhere else.

3 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Look at the page that details the individual passengers' amenities. It should list Easy Plus, and Browse Wifi under each passenger and OBC under one passenger.

There doesn't seem to be anything listed like that.

31 minutes ago, Tierun said:

Call, don’t mention anything to the rep, just ask for a copy of the cruise booking documents to be emailed to you. It will show you what’s included as well as the current price in case they screwed something up. Simply verify what you have and how much you owe. If the drinks and Wi-Fi are there with no price increase, be happy and speak nothing of it to no one. If there was an increase in price, then you will be at the mercy of the dreaded MSC customer service reps.

This is what we were emailed a few days ago, after they changed/upgraded our sailing from 7 to 10 days due to Ocean Cay being closed. I never saw drinks bring mentioned anywhere until here. I presume we somehow got it added to our booking if it is indeed now included as the payment schedule has not changed (our final payment amount is still the same.)

Just now, Laurab23 said:

Where in upstate NY are you coming from? 

 

Laura

Syracuse. Planning on taking Amtrak or a flight down the day before. We did this on our last cruise with NCL but we left from Manhattan. Haven't left from Brooklyn before.

Where in NYC did you leave from to get to the terminal? Bus, ferry or drive there yourself? We're in upstate NY, planning on taking Amtrak the day before, and finding a hotel for the night somewhere. Right now it seems hotel prices are crazy expensive but we're still 250+ days away from our sailing so I expect them to drop.

So either a hotel somewhere in Manhattan and take the ferry to Brooklyn or a hotel in Brooklyn and take the bus to the terminal. Any recommendations or suggestions?