MsTabbyKats

This could have happened to me on a trip a few months back. The prices were "so reduced" close to sailing....much lower than the offered bids.

So, to clarify.....I can put $1000 on the AMEX card and the balance on another card (that has insurance attached). Correct?

So, I'll be the MSC cheerleader here. I'm not a YC person, nor am I a Haven person. I'm not a MDR person or a specialty person (we skip the platinum meals on NCL and go to the buffet), I have a sailing in April on MSC out of NY...balcony at a ridiculously low price and $200 OBC. I've had this cabin before...one of the angled balcony cabins. MSC ships are beautiful...the atrium has swarovski crystal stairs. The ships are kept shiny clean...staff always cleaning mirrors etc. In general, the staff does their jobs without pretending to be your best friend. The entertainment..far above American lines. They don't bother with comedy stuff...because of the languages. Dancing and singing....and lots of music around the ship. On one sailing there was a (well known in Italy) opera singer...and I discovered that I liked opera. The food...nothing compares to the NCL buffet! On MSC...nothing compares to their pizza. Otherwise...not a fan of their buffet (had one meal in MDR...nothing to write home about). If hamburgers are your thing, forget MSC. Your fellow passengers will be European/South American. They take more pride in their appearance than Americans. It's not that the atmosphere is formal....just more like looking at a fashion magazine. However....one really bad, and I mean very bad, aspect is customer service. I had to cancel and rebook 3 times now when there were price reductions. You call customer service...and the reps have no idea, or never heardIY of "lowering the price". There were 4 reductions and only once was a rep able to amend my reservation without "the cancel and rebook" scenario. And the refunds for the cancellations can take a while. Otherwise....I'm one happy sailor girl that MSC came back to NY!

Not happy....I'm all for vaccinations (without testing).

Sorry I didn't see this until now. We had 8192 on the Meraviglia....it is an obstructed view with a larger balcony. We liked it so much we booked the same cabin for the next year (lol) the day after we came home. The "obstruction" was a non-issue. That little bit of extra balcony was a real plus.

You are absolutely correct. The price of my cruise was just reduced. I spoke to 3 agents...and well, "price adjustment" was just not in their vocabulary. One said it takes a few days for their website to reflect what I see. One said "new bookings only get the lower price". And the third had no idea of what I was trying to do (language issue). So I cancelled (3rd time) and will rebook. Is it their reps, is it their IT, is it their training???

Did you know that when your tablemates speak a different language, the food takes on the flavor of their language. That's one of the reasons I live MSC...so many different languages....so many different cuisines based on who's at my table!

Absolutely!

Where do I even start. How does "what someone wears" affect the taste of your food? You're in the MDR to eat and unless the person smells, I don't see a problem. The people who "get up and walk away" are the people with problems.

So, to be clear, if I book a 12 day cruise: I will get 300 minutes. My husband will get 300 minutes. Correct?

Same here. I was trying to book with "my TA". My call wasn't returned; this was after final payment. Then I had an "almost medical emergency" so I put it off. Emergency turned out to not be an emergency so 5 days before sail date I booked directly (OV guarantee) and was given a decent cabin. Two days before sail date I got the invitation to bid.. I bid the minimal for a balcony. The day before sailing we were assigned the "perfect (by our criteria) balcony"....at a few hundred dollars less than what we would have paid the TA for the guarantee OV*. The TA doesn't participate in the upgrade program either. TAs really don't make much per cruise; I really don't know how people get such great discounts. *The price went down substantially

I like to book directly because if there's an issue, I don't want to wait for the TA to get involved. My obc is never that much...and it's worth it to me. I've had TAs respond too slowly to get price reductions etc.

I was a "stay at home" mom....so going on a cruise with my son wouldn't have been a vacation. For "working moms"....it's a time to be with their kids.

Not new in NY either!

A "cut and paste" from Silver Level Voyagers Club benefits: Voyagers Exclusives $50 Onboard Credit per person + Double Points on all bookings made more than 12 months before departure Voyagers Exclusives $50 Onboard Credit per person on all bookings made 9 to12 months before departure Milestone reward https://www.msccruisesusa.com/manage-booking/msc-voyagers-club/members-benefits ETA....just noticed that the first "silver benefit" is $50/pp plus double points for reservations made more than a year in advance. So, I guess they were trying to cheat me...back in March.

I'm also thinking about Princess for next Sept. We just got off CCL Magic...and although DH and I had a great time, I doubt I'll go on Carnival again in the foreseeable future. My issue (yes, out of NY....but my fellow passengers came from everywhere but NY) was just that it was "low class". Although nobody starved, the food was nothing more than ok. Same for the entertainment. My husband (talking about cutbacks) likes to buy golf shirts as gifts and give them in the cruiseline bags (those plastic bags). They no longer include a bag with your purchase. For the record, I'm a regular on NCL and I also really like MSC.

Could not agree more! Because of price fluctuations, $50/pp itself is not much of an incentive to book early.. If "you catch a promo" on a good day, you can do a lot better than $50. That's what "Free Balcony Upgrade" did for me....kept me in the same cabin but lowered the price to that of an OV.

I booked a cruise over 12 months out.....no Gold OBC I canceled (customer service could not change my booking to another promo) and rebooked @ 10 months out and DH and I both got the credit. It showed up immediately on our cruise summaries. I changed my promo this week...now 7 months out....and the $50/pp OBC went away. To the best of my knowledge....you have to book between 9-12 months in advance. No credit if you book over a year out (at least that was the rule a couple of months ago).

Directly. I've found that TAs don't like dealing with MSC.

I read the thread about that. Yes, I have Fantastica. I don't know what this was counted as....but I tried to change before (also being allowed the free change) and I had to cancel and rebook (twice). This is the only sailing I'm interested in (based on date and itinerary) and the really want this specific cabin, so the only change would be to completely cancel. ETA....this whole "one free change" is so ambiguous. It depends on the rep you get, I guess. Sadly.....

I have a cruise booked for April. I initially booked it over a year in advance. As "price reductions etc" happened, I had to cancel and rebook (twice)...a bit annoying because I wanted the cabin that I wanted. Today I noticed that there's a better offer out there now. I called assuming I'd have to cancel and rebook...but, the rep actually got me the better offer without having to "do the dance". I wish all the reps were as capable as the one I had today! 🙂

@Roatanfans"Lectures" is a big plus. We were on an NCL "Guy Harvey" cruise to the Bahamas a few years back....really like having something other than "buy overpriced jewelry" or "the finest copy of an art piece in the world" to listen to!

As long as singers can carry a tune, the musicians aren't off key....I'm good. I don't expect "B'way Quality" (I have that at home for $$$)...just something more than the passengers being the entertainment. Acrobats, hula hoops are good too.... I've pretty much set my mind that our Fall Cruise to Canada will be with Princess....barring no personal or world wide issues.

What is a Medallion ship?

LOL....I'm thinking about what Frank Barone (Everybody Loves Raymond) said about a restaurant that didn't have rye bread. For pizza, it's only MSC. Being a native NYer I'm a pizza purist and MSC does it "just like the guy on the corner" did 73 years ago.