Joal

Do a search on this forum and you will find many detailed posts (many from me) with step by step directions.

 

Hank

Will do a search. Thank you.

It's almost next door to the ship. Done this many times. Buy your return ticket as soon as you arrive in Capri and don't wait till the last return boat. Capri is wonderful. Go up to Ana Capri for fab views.

 

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Thank you. Good news the ferry pier is so close to the ship. We will NEVER wait fro the last boat back. Too afraid to miss the ship! Would probably take one around 3PM for a departure at 6:30PM No rush, no anxiety. Thank you again.

Will be in Naples on September 25. Considering doing a day trip to Capri on our own. Has anyone taken the boat to Capri out the port of Naples? How close is the departure pier from where the cruise ships dock? Have been checking this, and it seems to us to be better and cheaper than taking either private shore excursions, or the ones offered by the ship. Will be in port from 7AM to 6:30PM. Any suggestions will be very much appreciated.

Joal

It appears that you will have very little coverage in that cabin. If you go over to the MSC board here at CC, there are some experts who can tell you just about everything you want to know about all of the cabins. EM

Yes, that is what we thought by just looking at the deck plans, Called MSC this AM, and were able to get same cabin but on deck 9. This way we are sure we will have the full covered balcony. Thank you for your response.

Just booked this cabin for the 2016 New Year's sailing. We know this cabins have larger balconies. However, looking at the deck plans, I realized that the cabins on deck 13 have the so called Juliet balconies. These are narrow balconies. My question is, does this mean that the balconies on deck 12 are only partially covered? If anyone has been in any of these cabins on deck 12, please let me know. Thank you.

Thank you for your answer. Indeed these are obstructed cabins, so no, we will not book any of those. Called Celebrity, and they offered cabin 7314 at a very good price. We have been on Deck 7 on the Equinox, and those are not obstructed. The lifeboat is below, and you see only the top of the boat if you stand by the rail. Thanks again.

Has anyone stayed in any of these cabins? Thinking of booking for New Year's sailing. These have been offered by Celebrity. We have been on Reflection twice, and on Deck 6 once. Any comments will be appreciated. Thank you.

We have always used the terminal's parking. Yes, it is expensive, but if I am willing to spend thousands on a cruise, I am not going to save a few dollars by leaving my car on a parking lot. The security, convenience, and above all the peace of mind are well worth the extra money.

Thank you all for your replies. Now I am aware of the process. No that I see the need to complicate things, but at least I will know what to do. By the way, since this is probably new for most passengers, do they made you aware of the need to register your card on those machines? or they leave it up to you to find out?

I hope there was no queues! I dont mind to register my card but it would suck to have to face yet another line right after checing in

I do not understand the need to register my card, Maybe this is a misunderstanding. What I am talking about,is not to register or adding anyone or cabin to the card you get to use on board. I am referring to the credit card that you use when you make the reservation, the card that appears on your documents. At the time of embarkation, when we go to the window and fill out all the other papers like the health declaration, etc., then you give the agent the card you want to use to charge on board. Usually, I use the same credit card. They take the card, process it, and that is the end of the story. After that, you are given the ship's card, the one to use to enter the cabin, to charge at the bars, etc. Why on earth should I have to go and register that card in any machine on board? If that is the case, it seems an unnecessary step. By the way, yes, I have read several posts from people who did have problems with their credit cards on MSC, and it was not because they did not call the credit card company prior to embarkation (something I always do).

I registered my card in the machine beside Reception on my recent Divina TA. It's a very simple process.

OK, so they do exist. The reason this policy worries me is because of the number of posts from people who did have problems with credit card issues. We have taken many cruises and never, ever have seen such a thing. I guess they really do things differently!

Read on a recent post that MSC does not register your credit card for on board payments at boarding time. Said that you have to register the card using certain machines similar to an ATM. Is this a fact? It seems to me that this might create a lot of problems. I have never heard of such system. Does anyone have any knowledge about this?

We are on our first cruise with MSC for Xmas and New Year and have read no end of reviews.

We make our own enjoyment and am sure we will enjoy it. If you read and believed every review you would not cruise. You are on holiday enjoy.

We will be on the Divina for the New Year's cruise. Never been on MSC, but decided to give it a try. I agree, a lot has to do with your expectations, and there are those who no matter what are never happy. We are Americans, but very much enjoy meeting people from other countries. Lived in Europe for sometime, and loved it! I see you are from the UK. Maybe we will meet on board. We have British friends we met on the Queen Elizabeth with whom we still correspond.

Most probably some one died or needed medical ASAP.We had same issue on HAL . But its normal on HAL :rolleyes:

We have been on HAL many times and never knew of anyone dying on board. I am sure it might happen, but it is not "normal"

Standard concierge class cabin, slightly larger than regular balcony cabin. Standard size balcony. Cabins above and below. Should be a good cabin. EM

Thank you for the information.

Has anyone stayed in this cabin? We booked a GTY for the New Year's sailing, and have just been assigned this cabin.

I thought the food was good. In fact, I wouldn't say it's any better or worse than HAL or any other mass market cruise line. It's typical banquet quality food served in an elegant atmosphere. Specific dishes aren't standing out in my mind, but I don't remember having any complaints.

 

As for HAL, I agree about the crew and I love their classic ships and itineraries. Unfortunately, I seem to have bad luck with getting stuck next to chain smokers and HAL is the only line still allowing it on balconies.

Thanks for the input. I am looking forward to this cruise. My main concern was the food, not that we expect gourmet food, but some posts were sort of scary.

We have been lucky with HAL Never had a problem with smokers. Guess it might be difficult to enforce non-smoking if people smoke in their balconies. Will write a review when we come back.

I have also been on both and I have to say, I was very happy with my Divina cruise. The ship is beautiful and the entertainment is amazing. I'd go as far as to say it's Royal Caribbean quality.

 

I wouldn't choose MSC for a European cruise though. Only if its on this side of the pond.

 

HAL is on my blacklist until they change their balcony smoking policy.

Thank you. Yes I think, everyone agrees on the beauty of the Ship, and the entertainment. Most negative comments have been about the food. We are not demanding, and do not expect gourmet food in the MDR, so I think we will be OK. In fact, with very few exceptions, we have enjoyed the food in every cruise.

Sorry to hear HAL is on your black list. We never had this problem with them. We like HAL very much, particularly the Indonesian crew. Think they are super.

We have sailed on both. Granted, we had 24 days on NA, and only 3 on Divina. It was her first US cruise, and there were teething problems, most involving a very large group of travel agents who were probably boarded first, and assigned to early seating, forcing the rest of us into late seating at 9pm, not good for diabetics. But we enjoyed her and agreed she would be worth a second try. EM

Thanks for your reply. Glad you like it. We are not demanding people, but some reviews are scary!

I have not sailed on NA but have done a 7 night on MSC Divina. The food on Divina was absolutely the best we've ever seen! (We're at 30+ cruises with 5 different lines.) It was more Italian in scope (as to be expected) and was delicious. The buffet had everything under the sun! We also thought the shows were exceptional. One odd thing is that the theater is not designed for you to bring a drink in. Seats right next to one another, no drink holders or spaces to put an empty glass. No bartenders roving to sell drinks in the theater.

Thank you for your input. Think we will give it a try. It will be for the New Year's sailing. After all, we will not know until we try it. Thanks again

HAL is for refined passengers, no matter their age.

You nailed it!!

We will be taking a New Year's cruise this December. Have been on the Niew Amsterdam twice before ( not on New Year's Day). We like HAL for different reasons, one being the crew, always polite and cheerful. The Ship is very nice, and the food has always been good.

We are undecided between the Niew Amsterdam and the MSC Divina. Never been on MSC, and some of the CC posts and comments about MSC have us somewhat concerned. On the other hand, everyone agrees the Divina is very beautiful, and the shows excellent. Has anyone experienced both ships? Would very much appreciate your input.

Caribe deck is the most sought after deck.

 

Caribe deck has the biggest balconies

 

there is no sofa in the balcony cabins (unless you have a mini suite or higher

 

 

the best balcony i had here was C753 (google princess C753)

Thank you serene.

I know the balconies have no sofa. When we first booked this cruise, we chose a mini suite. However, we realized that the balconies are totally uncovered. In reality they are like a terrace, not a balcony. We do not like the idea of having no cover at all, so we were undecided between the Caribe and the Aloha decks. So anyway, we booked a balcony on the Caribe deck. It is an aft cabin just off the middle of the ship. It seems like a good location. Thank you again.

Just booked a cabin on the Caribbean deck of the Ruby Princess for the 2015 Christmas Hawaii sailing. Never been on Princess, and just learned that balconies on the Caribbean deck are only partially covered. My wife is somewhat concerned about privacy, and we wonder how much of these balconies is under cover. Since it is still early, we have the opportunity to change to a cabin on the Aloha deck, and would really appreciate any input we can get. Thank you.

We were in an inside stateroom on deck 7 in a good location, an upgrade is available to a 2D obstructed view balcony on deck 6, These are obstructed by the big life boats, has anybody had any experience of these stateroom and can you share your experience or photos.

Is a balcony always better than an inside

 

 

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If it is the Eclipse, it is a Solstice Class ship. The obstruction means that if you look down, you will see the top of a lifeboat. We were on the Eclipse last November in one of those cabins, and we liked it very much. For me, it is a no brainer. However, I would not go on an inside cabin because I can not stand the darkness, and I know I would feel confined. But others do not mind!