wikoffclan

Good to know. We were on board the first week of the change and everyone (including the customer service desk people) was confused.

On 9/13/2024 at 3:33 PM, Badfinger said:

Hmmm....wonder if a Grateful Dead comes in under $20.  Could be my "free first drink" on our next cruise.

"Free First Drink" has a price limit, too (In my experience on Valor in July. They made my glass of wine "free" and charged us $14.50 for my husband's Manhattan.... though his was the "free drink")

1 hour ago, MrsMuffin said:

I found this by clicking on my profile in the top right on the website (your picture or initials) and then going to Royal Gifts.  The liquor selections were not available when I went to "gifts and gear" down below.  

Well... wouldja look at that!! Ya learn somethin' new every day! Thank You! Now why would they hide that so well?

27 minutes ago, taglovestocruise said:

Different ships have different options.  Be aware the the liquor is only a 325 ML bottle. OP might need to order two. 

O Wow... Thanks for the info!

8 hours ago, MrsMuffin said:

We are sailing on Harmony next month, and would like to have a bottle of liquor delivered to the stateroom for an occasional cocktail.  We will also be buying drinks here and there from the bars.  My question is, do you know if there is a way to request diet coke instead of regular coke with the package, or if there would be a place to swap the regular coke for diet?  If not, it is not a big deal and we will just gift them to our room steward, but would prefer to get something that we will drink ourselves.  

Is this option only available on specific ships? I'm only seeing champagne and strawberries or wine and cheese plate on our Radiance OSS cruise in November out of NOLA.

23 hours ago, SeasideMemories said:

Also the May cruise is a little less $$ so would our final price be the going price for the May cruise or the higher price for the already booked Nov cruise?

 

 Also from what I see on the MSC website they only discuss a change to different dates/itinerary but no mention of changing ships.

 

 

I can only give you my experience but it may answer at least 2 of your questions which I quoted above.

I booked a 7 night Med cruise on MSC Opera for 5/12/24. I was able to make the "one time change" to a 5/12/24 MSC Seashore 7 night Caribbean cruise. 

The Seashore cruise was about $100 less than the Opera cruise (the going price at the time of the change). So my balance due is the lower amount. At the time of the change, I had only paid the deposit.

Hope this helps. When you get some answers, I hope you'll get back to us and share your experience.

I've rarely had a problem finding (inexpensive, reasonable, relatively cheap) solo fares on MSC, even close in. On 12/8/23, I booked a solo 9 night on Opera from Genoa to Athens in May '24 for $767/inside. Due to high cost of airfare, I decided (a week ago) to switch to a 7 night, still May '24, out of Port Canaveral for $670/inside. Both of those fares were about half of what I would pay for RCCL or Celebrity for a similar itinerary sailing Solo.

Two of my 3 previous MSC cruises have been solo. Both of those were on Seaside with an Inside Guarantee and I was assigned a Balcony. Hoping I might get that upgrade again, but IMHO any cruise is a good cruise.

In my (very) limited experience and knowledge of Casino offers --- My understanding is that the person who received the offer must be one of the passengers included in the reservation.

My experience was several years ago. It was a cruise offer which went to my son but sent to my email. In my attempt to book the cruise for myself solo using his offer, I was advised (after a call to Customer Service) that he needed to be part of the reservation. This was a different cruise line, but I would guess that most operate with the same rules.

Therefore --- since you can only occupy one room, you can only use one offer per cruise. IF one of the offers is in your wife's name, that could give you the outcome you're hoping for - wife/child in one cabin, husband/child in second cabin.

3 hours ago, tvo7 said:

I have a list of bucket list items in travel.  Once I went on 2 cruises this year and walked by the lounges,  I started to think,  what would it take to to get in there.  Other than getting a suite, which is outrageously expensive, is to go on a lot of cruises.  So then, I put it on my bucket list of dreams.

 

 

I can understand your wish/goal... especially if it's within easy reach. The 4 drinks and the lounge are nice perks. I sailed solo on a 16 night Transatlantic before they started double points for Solos (2012 maybe?). So lacking 7 points to reach Diamond before sailing a 5 day last December out of New Orleans, I booked a 4 night solo for the 8 points and reached Diamond. That gave both my husband and I Diamond status and we enjoyed the peace and quiet of the Lounge and the 4 drinks around the ship. As it was a benefit to both of us, it was a win win. (And I did enjoy those Relaxing 4 days at sea solo!)

On 12/12/2023 at 11:05 PM, optimusprime82 said:

Some pre-cruise photos and one post-cruise photo from New York City. Some assorted subway shots, exploring the flower district near our hotel, graffiti in Soho, and the Statue of Liberty when we returned to Brooklyn.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LOVE your eye for composition... and timing! Truly fascinating to see

My understanding of MSC status match is that it changed several years after their initial foray into the US market (MSC Seaside in 2017). Originally they would match higher status levels to Diamond. After a year or 2, the highest status that could/can be attained through a status match is now Gold.... no matter how high the status in other programs. (Just my understanding. Someone will correct me if I'm wrong) 

Just found this chart. Apparently match to Diamond is possible:

https://frequentfloaters.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/B2B_TA_Status-Match_Conversion-Table.pdf

New Orleans and Grand Cayman. Easy decision.

11 hours ago, lasvegascruising said:

It works for me and maybe it will work for others.

Very good point and probably much simpler.

I redeemed 5,000 points for $50 of OBC on 9/26/23 for our 10/30 cruise. It showed on my "Cruise Manager" under "Booking and Order Details" under "View Order Details" within 3 days. I printed that page as soon as I saw it. I also printed the page from the barclaycardus website to show the redemption. And I printed the "Carnival FunPoints Mastercard" email which shows the redemption. (As you can tell, I'm not taking any chances 🙂

16 hours ago, helene109 said:

Thank you, was it hard with everyone getting ready at the same time? 

Be aware that the Junior Suites on Valor are not significantly larger than a regular Balcony room (IMHO). There is a larger bathroom with bathtub/shower combo and a small hallway with closets leading to the bathroom. But the "bed" for the 3rd person is a convertible couch that's almost immediately at the end of the bed. A coffee table and small space separates the 2. For a "suite", I was not impressed.

13 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

If your grandson is having a birthday and is gold or Diamond member, you will not have to order him a cake, it will appear on his birthday.  At least, it did for me. 

.... in the Main Dining Room (Seaside 9/10-9/14)(Gold level). I have no experience with Yacht Club, but did receive a Very nice birthday cake in the MDR (without asking). It was big enough to share with others. In fact I shared with other tables that had kids and we all enjoyed it!

(I did sign a form the next evening to note that I had received it)

10 hours ago, dolphinsfan246 said:

Cruise is ending in NOLA because of the Airport. Many more options from New Orleans than Mobile. Dropping over 2,000 people to find their way home from Mobile’s airport would be terrible. 

Smart move. And a fun city to explore after a cruise.

58 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

She's headed to you, NOLA...  Miraflores Locks

 

 

Next cam will be Pedro Miguel:  https://multimedia.panama-canal.com/index.html

Spirit is going to Mobile. Is she stopping in NOLA?

2 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

 but there is not the same dining hour changes on the Seaside out of Canaveral.

Seaside 9/10-9/14/23 out of Canaveral --- early dining in the MDR was 5:15

2 hours ago, CruisingWalter said:

 

Royal Caribbean has over 200 solo cabins, including real balconies across their fleet. You have to look for them

I sailed a Solo Balcony on Odyssey OTS in April of 2022. Great cabin (7650), BIG balcony, Fabulous shows, wonderful trip. Only drawback... no double points for sailing Solo. 

4 hours ago, Mark_T said:

try Celebrity where according to a recent post there were single supplements raising a solo booking to 450% of the price for double occupancy...

Agree. Which is why I haven't sailed Celebrity solo!  I had also heard that cruise lines are cracking down on the 'book double, sail solo' scheme. I've never tried it. There's not a cruise that's been worth it to me to chance it. With enough patience, I can usually come up with a solo rate on an interesting cruise that fits my budget and schedule. Lately MSC seems to be the most solo friendly rate-wise.

There was an MSC special for Solos back last fall. I didn't book and regretted it because I was running into the dilemma you mention. Then suddenly, just about a 6 weeks ago, I came across the ability to book a solo with less than 100% upcharge for an Inside Guarantee ($250/pp double - $350/solo) for a cruise less than 2 months out for MSC Seaside Sept. 10, 2023. Since then I've been assigned a balcony (!!) and have had 2 offers to upgrade to YC. 

I realize this doesn't solve your group problem, but Solo offers may come up again. The alternative is to book a double and have a "no show". Good luck and happy sailing.

(BTW - RCCL often does the same thing and I have not seen them charge less than double for a Solo in a Very long time)

1 hour ago, Essiesmom said:

It’s possible it can be reused…but I don’t know if they will.  The band has the ship and muster station on it.  Last month on my B2B they just reprogrammed it for the second leg, but I was only moving four cabins away, so same muster station.  Another question to ask on my next cruise…. EM

Thank you for this insight. I'd forgotten.... yes it does have the muster station which will definitely be different (14th floor last time, 9th floor this time). I'll take it with me and find out the answer in a week.

On 1/12/2023 at 10:13 AM, JAGR said:

Not officially collect, but they do have boxes set up by the security station when you leave.  At least they had them the last three times we were on.

I"m hoping you might know the answer to the OP's original question. Will my wristband from a previous Seaside sailing work for my Seaside sailing coming up Sept. 10th? I did buy it (for $5) the first time. I don't recall them asking for it back. Just curious. Thanks, Ann

I know.... Not a major question and probably not important to most, but it's what I drink with my coffee. When I was on Divina, Fall 2022, the only "chocolate milk" was hot cocoa mix. Does anyone know if Seaside has chocolate milk? And if not, would I be allowed to bring chocolate syrup in my carry-on? Any info much appreciated, Ann