rool

6 minutes ago, Malibustacey79 said:

Ah I see what you mean now, yes that makes sense. Maybe we ought to be thinking about how important seeing the show is to us, it’s always been a highlight on previous cruises but then maybe it will be a different type of show on a mostly Italian ship anyway... We are used to mostly musical theatre type shows. 
 

More to research/think about, but you have answered my question perfectly so many thanks!

We always eat late but generally miss the shows because of the getting ready thing especially on port days 😁

No, apologies I wasn't clear enough, for a 6:30pm seating the doors will close around 6:45pm. They will get a bit sniffy if you walk in after that.

I know where you are coming from with the teenage girls so you should be able to switch to the late seating as soon as you get on board if you go to see the Maitre D in the restaurant.

The problem you will have is the early show time is likely to be 6:30 I think and so you still have the issue of getting the girls ready as what generally happens is late diners go straight from the theatre to the restaurant.

Hi, The restaurant doors will be closed around 10 - 15 minutes after the scheduled dining time as it is not like anytime dining. We were late once due to a friend we were travelling with getting lost on the ship and were given a lecture at the table by the Maitre D.

The shows are on twice to accommodate the two dining times. 

10 minutes ago, jkgourmet said:

 

Look VERY carefully at the (imo) extreme limitations of the Easy package.  Especially if you are used to alcohol packages on other cruiselines. 

Only any good now if you are ok with one beer choice, a couple of house wines, a handful of cocktails and non premium spirits for the duration of your cruise.

Obviously it suits some and sometimes budget dictates your choices but I got bored very quickly of Heineken and the two house reds on my last cruise.

That said I would personally still go for Easy over pay as you go as I know I would exceed the 5 or so drinks a day that covers it.

I have just paid £51 per day for Prem + on a 16 night repo from Santos to Barcelona.

That seems a bit higher than most of the quoted prices I have seen but I wonder if they take the 9 sea days into consideration when consumption will probably be much higher.

I just wanted to come back to say that I have had confirmation that the included Cairo/Pyramids excursion is still going ahead.

The one with the Nile cruise has been cancelled as it was felt that there wasn't enough time in the day for this to be done.

I'm perfectly happy with that.

21 minutes ago, Cliodhna112 said:

Hi has anybody ever shared an inside cabin with 3 other people there is a gang of us going on the preziosa and we are sharing inside cabin with 3 other people so 4 people in each cabin I just can’t figure out how they are going to fit 4 beds in an inside cabin 🙈😂

I'm not sure about Preziosa but on Armonia there were two beds that folded out from each side of the walls above the double. Or sometimes they pop down from the ceiling.

On 1/22/2020 at 1:45 PM, Carioki said:

Which Egypt excursion have you tried on the 3 continent tour on Celestyal? I am torn between the one that is included and the one with the Nile cruise.

I have just had an email from Celestyal stating that the excursion with the Nile cruise is no longer being offered for our March 2021 sailing. 

I am waiting for confirmation that the alternative one is still going ahead as our main reason for booking was to visit the Pyramids.

1 hour ago, Carioki said:

Which Egypt excursion have you tried on the 3 continent tour on Celestyal? I am torn between the one that is included and the one with the Nile cruise.

In my haste I booked the one with the Nile cruise before reading the details of the one included. I'm not sure it's worth the extra money for a boat ride and some food but it's done now and there seems no way to cancel online.

9 minutes ago, Opie417 said:

We’ll be standing by the door, bags in hand when they open the doors! The travel agency booked this claiming we ‘should be ok’ 😂  

I don't want you using your  'particular set of skills that you have acquired over a very long career' to find me but....

Good luck

😁 👍

That sounds scarily tight to me. 

Gate probably closes at 10:45, you then have to queue at bag drop and go through security. I'd want to be at the airport at 09:45 at the latest.

So you have 1 hour and 45 minutes, if the ship docks at 8.00, to wait for the ship to get clearance, disembark and cross Barcelona to the airport in rush hour traffic.

You'd want the gods on your side for sure.

It would be too stressful for me to contemplate but I'm a light weight as far as time is concerned.

I booked on this itinerary last night for March 2021.

Very much looking forward to a different style of cruising after a few cruises on MSC, Costa, RCI and Celebrity.

The stop in Egypt swung it for us as the mainline cruises no longer seem to go there. Israel was attractive to us also.

We are looking at a Capetown to Venice Itinerary on Opera in March 2021.

The map route on the MSC website shows Egypt as a destination but the Itinerary just shows 'Suez Canal (Transit)'. Do we actually get to visit Egypt or does the ship just go through the canal?

Many thanks

We will be doing this cruise on March 10 this year on Fantasia as well. It's phenomenal value compared to a single flight. In our case we get a 16 day holiday, visiting several ports and all meals included for about £150 more than a one way flight from Sao Paulo to Barcelona.

We did the reverse (Valencia to Santos) in November 18 and thoroughly enjoyed it.

As Cruisingfox27 above states, it was lively due to the number of Brazilians on board but it made for a good atmosphere.

12 hours ago, Host Joe said:

I have been looking daily as well, we don't depart until 2/2, we booked a Bella Balcony Guarantee and are excited to see what we end up with.  

 

On our last MSC cruise we booked an inside and received a balcony, which was amazing.

I took a calculated risk on our upcoming repositioning cruise as the inside guarantee cabin was an amazing price for a 16 day cruise so I will be perfectly ok if assigned that way.

On the two occasions I have booked inside cabins for guests who travelled with us and they were both upgraded to balcony.

Kind of hoping for the same and if The Secret really works it will 😁

14 minutes ago, JohnJayJotaJames said:

Uruguay and Argentina is on my must do list. We've already confirmed Grandiosa for Brasil 2020, so fingers crossed for 2021. Where in Brazil do you live? We're near to Campinas - SP.

We're a long way from everywhere in northern Mato Grosso. Fairly close to my wife's family.

Nearest airports are Goiania or Brasilia which are a 10 hour or 12 hour drive respectively.

We are considering moving to Palmas TO though in the next year which will make things more convenient.

I'm waiting too, on previous bookings it was much earlier. I have read recently on here it could be as close as 5 days before or you might not even know until you board.

I have chilled and stopped looking now.

2 hours ago, JohnJayJotaJames said:

We did the Brazilian coast (Santos to Salvador) on the Preziosa Christmas 2016 and were on the Seaview Christmas 2019 so can answer some of your questions. We have done med cruises but never American, can't compare to US market. I'm British and live in Brazil so maybe I have adjusted to cultural differences.
1) Brazilians will line up if it's clear that it's what's expected of them. A few will cut the queue!
2) Yes! Late partying with a lot of noise. I'm sure that it being Carnival they'll be some cruisers that will party night and day if allowed. 
3) You won't hear a lot of English being spoken but once they discover that you're not Brazilian you'll find that quite a few cruisers will want to chat with you in English. At Christmas we only spoke in English with all crew members and met several guests who loved chatting to us in English.
Embrace the party spirit and you'll have a fabulous cruise! with lots of caipirinhas! 

Another Brit living in Brazil here 👍

Edit: We are doing Rio to Uruguay and Argentina in December 2020 on Preziosa. Our first time on that ship.

I'd say yes if there is no delay in arrival. It's about 25 minutes to the airport by taxi.

Pre book a taxi/transfer and make sure your onboard account is settled the day before. I think you can request an early disembarkation or take your bags off yourself.

The only risk currently with Barcelona is further strikes or protests.

That's great, thank you for your work.

We are sailing on Fantasia on March 10 from Santos to Barcelona so very interested in your review. I cannot see the menus on my phone but will look on the laptop later.

Re the Brazilian passengers, we did Valencia to Santos on Poesia last November and it was exactly as Ziggy says. Quite a few play a card game called Truco around the pool which involves a lot of shouting. Other than that they are no different to any other mix on an MSC cruise I have been on.

3 minutes ago, deliver42 said:

I will with hold  opinion on the beverage packaging, but based on previous performance, MSC will only water down further what's available now. The only way to judge future behavior is by past behavior, and in past behavior, MSC fails miserably.

I might be wrong (according to my wife I usually am) but I get the impression the same thing is being said across most cruise companies.

We sailed on Royal Caribbean last year to the Baltics and our fellow diners were pretty much all saying that standards were declining etc and I see similar comments on here re HAL, Princess and NCL.

I had last sailed with RCI in 2009 but to be honest I don't think there is much between them and MSC now except I think MSC offers better value which is why we keep coming back to them.

Not too sure about a totally Brazilian menu on our cruise from Rio in December 2020. There's only so much churrasco and feijoada one can eat lol.

A wine package option sounds interesting though.

The App is great, just do a screen shot of the boarding card on your phone in case you lose signal.

I don't know about Preziosa but other MSC ships I have been on have had computers to use with a printer nearby.

It's a fascinating subject. We will certainly be looking out for pineapples on MSC Fantasia 10/03/20 to 26/03/20.