smeesme

Hello.

I'm new to HAL so forgive me for this stupid question.  I can download a sample dinner menu from the Navigator but how would I see what there is each day?  I'm trying to plan our specialty dinners.

Thanks for all the great info I'm learning on this board!

Smee

I know this is kind of a weird question but did the French toast have raisins in it?

Thanks.

You can definitely status match as a Canadian.  We're Canadian as well and status matched years ago.  Here's the webpage for MSC Canada:

Frequent traveller status: enroll the form | MSC Cruises

 

Hope this helps.

 

Thank you to everyone. 

Could someone please tell me which pier number the Venezia sails from in NY?

Just trying to plan our trip.

Thanks.

Smee

Enjoying the review.  Is the Chinese lunch buffet free or is there a cost?

Is it every sea day?  Thanks

Hi,

Currently on the Divina.  There are 1100 people on this 7 night cruise.  Talking to the staff, the 3 and 4 night cruises are fairly full but the 7 nighters are pretty quiet.  The next 7 nighter has just 500 people on it.

 

 

We're currently onboard Divina and the basic internet has been very good.  Also, we are able to get a few TV channels.

Hi there,

Thank you for the reports so far.  We're sailing next Sunday so eagerly following along.

 

Quick question - are they still delivering the Cruise Compass or do you need to request it?

Thanks in advance.

 

Hi there,

If you don't mind telling me, what did you do for testing for coming home to Ontario?

Thanks,

Smee

Thank you so much for the link to that review.  It helps a lot.  The one thing I'm not too keen on is making reservations for Windjammer.  I'm used to just going to the buffet whenever I felt hungry.  Can anyone tell me how easy it is to get a reservation there last minute?

Hello,

We're experienced cruisers on other lines but this is our first cruise on Royal.  We'll be on the Anthem of the Seas in late March.  Any suggestions of must do's or things to be aware of?

 

We have any time dinner and will probably just get the classic soda package as we are not big drinkers.

 

Thanks for any insights you can provide.

@Reenie75

Hello neighbour, I'm from Whitby.  Not to hijack this thread but if you don't mind, can you tell me who you got insurance from?  Also, what are you using to show proof of it to MSC?  Did the insurance company provide a one page summary that shows the Covid coverage?

 

Thanks!

 

By the way, another vote for the Frozen Toberone.  Both my husband and daughter can't get enough of them!

 

 

5 minutes ago, ready2cruzagain said:

 

I am curious about this also. I see a cruise on the Seashore that has the 5%+15% but does not include the Free Drinks.  The current cruise I have booked includes 5%+15% and included free drinks.  If I were to book the cruise with the Free Drinks/Wifi, could I later go back and say that it is 5%+15% and get that discount?

I just added the 5%+15% to an existing booking that included the Free Drinks/Wifi from a sale awhile ago.  I'm in Canada, so I emailed Existing Reservations and had the 15% discount added within a day.  You can probably also call them and get them to add it to your existing reservation.

My cruise still shows as live and I haven't received the email cancellation however this was from a telephone agent at MSC Canada.

 

The government still has a no cruise ship travel advisory for Canadians which means we can't get insurance.

 

I just called MSC Canada to change my cruise on Oct 2.  The agent told me that all cruises through October have been cancelled for US sailings.  She said I should receive an email today with instructions (nothing so far.)  Just wanted to let others know if they have a cruise planned.

Smee

Were you able to find Covid insurance offered by a company in Canada?  From my several conversations with MSC Canada, us Canadians still need insurance for US based cruises.  

 

Maybe they're finally updating information and actually giving guidance.  It would be nice.  I've been going to the US site but MSC Canada reps/supervisors state that we do not fall under the same guidelines.

11 hours ago, hamrag said:

 

With regard to FCC, those only paid a deposit are entitled to a 25% FCC of total cruise fare....which seems generous to me. This is confirmed in the following extract, taken directly from the MSC website:

 

If your cruise was booked  through MSC Cruises USA office, and you have paid in full, you will automatically receive a 125% Future Cruise Credit (sent to guest or travel advisor email on file). For those guests who are not paid in full, but only paid a deposit will receive a Future Cruise Credit equal to 100% of your deposit + 25% of total cruise fare (excluding Gov. taxes & fees). Should you decide you would like to request a refund, you may do so online starting June 19....

 

 

 

I wish that would be true.  If it is, that is very generous.  However, in the Canadian email, it just says 125% of the money paid.  It doesn't mention deposits only.  Here's the wording (btw we hadn't made final payment!):

 

As you have made the final payment on your cruise, we will automatically provide you a 125% Future Cruise Credit for the amount you’ve paid to date to be used toward a sailing on or before December 31, 2021. This is good toward a future cruise of your choice – including any ship and any itinerary in MSC Cruises’ fleet. The Future Cruise Credit will be directly sent to the email we have on file for your reservation by Friday, June 26, so there is no need for you to do anything.  

I'll wait until June 26 and see what we get.  Hopefully it will be the same as the US.

For anyone who booked through msccruises.ca, they are only giving FCC (125%) on either the full payment or on the deposit.  No cash refunds until after Dec 31, 2021.

I just received an email  from MSC stating that all cruises from NY for the Meraviglia are cancelled including the 2 repositioning cruises to NY from Europe and NY to Miami.  We were on the reposition from NY to Miami so definitely disappointed however not surprised.

For the theatre shows, they had the screens around the ship where you could reserve a seat but no one was ever checking at the doors.

Mexico8: we just asked Strawberry Tours to reduce the amount of walking and they customized the tour to what we would be able to do.  The tour guide adjusted his speed to allow my parents to keep up.  We did not do the entire tour like they have on the website but it was still a great tour.  If your scooter can go over cobblestone streets, I can't think of anything you wouldn't be able to do.  I would suggest contacting Strawberry Tours and asking them what could be done.  I'm sure they would work with you to try to make something that would work.  The only thing that might be a problem would be fitting the scooter into the vintage car's trunk.

Another really good tour group is https://strawberrytours.com/havana.  They offer both free group (you tip what you think the tour was worth) or paid private tours both walking and vintage cars.  We used them a couple of weeks ago and it was amazing.  I would recommend asking for Fernando as your tour guide.  Some big pluses that they did:  1) we were late getting off due to the long customs lines but Fernando waited for us and rearranged everything to make sure we got the whole tour.  2) they allowed us to customize the walking portion since we had 2 seniors (1 with a cane) with us and 3) the whole tour was really well done, Fernando knew his city and was so proud to share it with us.

On ‎1‎/‎14‎/‎2019 at 11:48 AM, mexico8 said:

If any Canadians were on this cruise can you post if you had to have a Visa to enter Cuba?

Unfortunately, yes, you will need a visa since you are entering from the US.  The cost was $50 USD.

We were on the MSC Armonia and visited Havana on Jan 5 and 6.  On the 5^th, we reserved a private tour with Strawberry Tours. 

 

First, setting up the tour was really easy.  From their website, https://strawberrytours.com/havana/tours/private-tours, I sent them a message.  I received a reply within 24 hours.  I explained that the 3 hour walking tour would probably be too much for my parents who were with us.  They worked with us to customize the tour to be a one and a half hour easy walking tour and a two and a half hour driving tour.  The price was very reasonable and payment was made through Paypal.

On the 5^th, the lines to get off of the ship were ridiculous!  We were about an hour past the meeting time when we finally got through.  Fernando was still at San Francisco Square waiting for us.  Instead of cutting down the tour, he called ahead and rearranged the time for the vintage car tour so we could complete the walking portion.

Walking Portion:

Fernando was a great tour guide.  He told us so much history and pointed out so many things.  He even took us up an old elevator to a bar that overlooks Havana so we could get pictures from above.  He obviously loves his city and we loved his enthusiasm.  He kept the pace slower so that my parents could keep up.  We spent about 2 hours walking but it didn’t feel like it.

Vintage Car Portion:

We had 2 cars (’52 Ford and a ’52 Chevy) due to there being 6 of us.  Neither driver spoke English but Fernando did come with us in one of the cars.  We drove around for about 3 hours.  Due to our late arrival, it was dark when we finished the tour but we still got to see everything.    

If you want a really unique tour of Havana, I would highly recommend Strawberry Tours and ask for Fernando.  They fall under the Support for the Cuban People criteria for American cruisers.