pcrum

Is it MSC Magnifica you are wondering about? I do not see a MSC ship named Magica. Our MSC 3-night cruise went to Nassau and Ocean Cay. We always stay on the ship for any cruise that stops at Nassau. It's nice to enjoy an emptier ship. I would definitely sail on Divina again; we loved that ship! We also love Key West. Our last cruise was on Celebrity Summit and our ports were Key West and Nassau. I have not read a lot about the Magnifca, but our one MSC experience on the Divina was very good. So much so that we booked a 10-night cruise on Seaside for this September.

Sept. 14, 2023, Seaside out of Port Canaveral. We are on the 10 night cruise. Is your cruise a 3-4 night cruise? Our first MSC cruise was on Divina for 3 nights. There was no option to upgrade our drinks package until we were on the ship, which we promptly took advantage of! For some reason, MSC does not let you upgrade the drinks package ahead of time on a short cruise.

When I look at my cruise online, there is the option to upgrade.

I honestly do not understand the negative reviews of MSC. We did a short 3-night cruise on Divina over Labor Day weekend last year. It was a last minute booking and they were the only line available out of our home port of Port Canaveral. After reading such horrible reviews, we went into the cruise saying, "it's for 3 nights, how bad can it be?" Well, we loved the cruise, loved the staff, and loved the food. We were not in the YC, but in a Fantastica balcony. We loved it so much that we booked a longer 10-day cruise for this coming Sept. while on board. The private island, Ocean Cay, is really beautiful. YC has it's own area on the island, but we were fine with "the masses". We upgraded our drinks package and I enjoyed Nicolas Feuillatte champagne throughout the cruise. The drinks package even works on the private island. We also just took our first Celebrity cruise in December. Loved Celebrity too, but I think the entertainment on MSC was a bit better.

Which AIs are your favorites? We have been curious about this type of vacation, but have never done one. Thank you.

No salt on the rim?

Just curious why two different kinds of orange liquors?

Does anyone know if the Prima has Howl at the Moon? It is one of our favorite things about NCL.

I had no idea that such a small, portable air pump existed. That is ingenious!

Also make sure to bring any feminine items you might need. On our last cruise, we came across a woman in the MSC private island gift shop looking for tampons. They didn't carry them. She indicated that the ship giftshop on the ship (Divina) also did not have them. As others have indicated, any OTC meds are also important. The selection in the gift shops on the ship are very sparse and expensive. Not every port has a CVS within easy access.

I love the magnetic hooks for hanging hats, beach bags, lanyards, etc. Keeps things organized.

We parked at the POM from 12/27-12/31/22 and paid $22/day. You pay as you exit the garage. I did not see anything set up for people who might have pre-paid in advance. Doesn't mean it doesn't exist, but we did not see anything related to pre-payments.

I turned 60 this year and my new mantra is "Life is too short to drink cheap champagne!" FAS + is the way to go! 😀

We sailed 12/27/22-12/31/22. We booked with the gratuities, wifi, and premium beverage package included. We were also given $100/person onboard credit. We did a concierge balcony as it was my 60th birthday cruise. We were invited to the helipad to watch the sail-away from Miami since we were concierge class. We felt it was great value with the all included price (I don't see that the premium beverage package is included on new sailings--we booked in April, 2022). If you go to the Celebrity boards, you will see that starting on Jan. 1, they made some cutbacks. Apparently the room is only serviced once a day now and some menu items have changed (we had prime rib in the MDR for the first night and that does not seem to be on the menu after Jan. 1). I would still sail Celebrity again and have been looking for another cruise on either Summit or Constellation. That solarium was just pure relaxation.

Not sure which Celebrity ship you are looking at, but we just tried Celebrity for the first time in December. We did the Summit out of Miami for 4 nights. I believe the Summit also goes to Alaska. I would not hesitate to sail that ship again, even though it is one of the older ones. It has been completely redone and we loved everything about it. The solarium is free and has a huge whirlpool. This is comparable to the whirlpool in the thermal area on NCL that you pay extra for. I'd sail Summit again just for that Solarium area, which would be great on an Alaskan cruise, because it is enclosed. I believe all Millennium class ships have this area.

I can book a 3-night cruise today for Sept. 14, 2023 with the drink package included.

Thank you. What was the price?

Hi: We will be on the Seaside in Sept. I am reading @APDMOM's excellent review from 2019. Does Seaside still use the wristbands? Our only prior experience with MSC is a short 3-night Divina cruise last year and no one mentioned wristbands, but I know that Divina is an older ship. Thank you.

Thank you!

Hi: We have booked a 10-night cruise in Sept. on the Seaside with the Easy Plus Drinks Package included. On our last MSC cruise (3-night), we upgraded to the Premium Package on board. The price for the upgrade if I do it now is $200/person; seems a no-brainer to upgrade for $20/day per person. Does anyone know if it's cheaper if I wait to upgrade while onboard? For our 3-night cruise, they did not offer upgrades ahead of the sailing so we had no choice but to do the upgrade onboard. Thank you.

Thank you.

Do you know the brand of champagne they served? Was it brut (i.e., not sweet)? Thank you.

We did a 3 night cruise on MSC in September. We had no problem upgrading our drinks package once onboard. We also booked with the drinks, Wi-Fi included. We could book specialty dining once onboard. We had no idea what to expect and just thought, “ it’s for 3 nights—how bad could it be?” Ended up loving it and booked a longer, 10 night cruise while onboard. We did the Fantastica package. The food was amazing. We did a dinner at the steakhouse and the seafood tower rivaled the best steakhouse on land. I think MSC has the best pizza at sea. The drinks package works on the private island too. Staff were outstanding, we had no complaints. Did the status match prior to sailing. Platinum on Carnival got us gold on MSC. I have not been on Carnival since 2013 and have no plans to return. We love MSC. Also like Celebrity and NCL.

I just hope they don’t do away with Howl at the Moon. We did a TA on Epic in 2019 and loved Howl at the Moon. The Beatles cover band was also good. I would hate to see them go.