BosoxI

Thanks, but you're misunderstanding my situation. I've got black loyalty status, what I don't have yet is the 5% discount

I paid to change from a Balcony Fantastica to the Royal Suite after final payment had been made. Granted, MSC completely cancelled the first booking, and gave me a new booking number with the Royal Suite, but my TA had them apply the 5% for Loyalty Member on the new booking (it hadn't been applied on the balcony cabin yet). That happened in the past three days.

Thanks. I guess I'll try again next week with a new agent. It may be in the works for all I know, but what would it take to so inform me? When is your cruise? Mine is in a week.

Does it apply to the Yacht Club, too? If so, is it applied even if the booking occurs after final payment? I asked this of the MSC agent whose answer was cryptic, saying only that all reductions had been applied. When I tried to get clarification, I received no response. So far, no adjustment has appeared on my credit card, though it's only been 4 or 5 days since I booked.

I like Celebrity's ships and Princess' food. Any cruise line that could combine these two would get my business and loyalty forever.

For those who book Sky Suites, has anyone stayed in the Suites above the buffet area? (SS 2 class) Your thoughts?. We are booked on Equinox Cabin 2116. Hope we haven't made a mistake.

We haven't but our friends have on several occasions and had no complaints. Above is better than below

I agree with Frederic, I think overall the YC beats the Celebrity Suite experience hands down, and I am a long time Celebrity client. We spent 12 days on a Celebrity Suite med cruise last summer and Luminae was very good, service excellent, and food choices pretty varied, and I would definitely do it again. However we found the food in Le Muse to be better prepared, the service exceptional, and the atmosphere much more intimate and fine restaurant like. Can't go wrong either way but the pool, and lounge for YC passengers is the tipping point for me, we sail again in YC in 3 weeks. Enjoy.

We always hesitate to leave our favored lines where we had spent so much time and treasure on our way to exalted status. The only reason we'll be on the Divina next week is because I seriously misjudged DW's desire to do something special this year for our anniversary and her birthday. Fortunately, the YC had some room, and we had been wanting to try it for some time, so here we are. Seeing the laudatory reviews of Le Muse makes me even more anxious to be on board. We've taken so many cruises, I had reached the "ho-hum" stage. This has rekindled a bit of excitement and that hasn't occurred in some years.

Thanks, Fredric22. Very interesting and now I'm really looking forward to the YC If the food's that good, who needs the specialty restaurants?

The Black Label perks are the icing on the cake. I believe yo will receive two free specialty dinning dinners. We recommend the Galaxy restaurant for food quality, service and location.

 

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Can you tell me if the black label diners order off the regular specialty restaurant menu or are give an abbreviated menu.

Also, can someone give an opinion of the Yacht Club dining compared to the specialty restaurants. And I'll go one step further. The YC vs Celebrity's Luminae. I know that's pushing it:p

I applied for a status match over 2 weeks ago and I am not sure where that went to. .

In my case I'm leaving on May 14 on the Divina, so there was some urgency attached to my attempts. After trying five or six times in vain, I sent an email to the Voyagers department in which I provided all the information I thought necessary. I added a statement that I accepted the T&C and sent it off around 12:45AM EDST.

To my surprise and considerable joy, by 9Am the next morning I had both my and my wife's numbers. So you might try that route.

Funny thing about public men's restroom. They don't have any urinals only stalls. At least the ones I went into. First few times I had to double check to make sure I wasn't in the wrong place. Kinda funny to think back on!

Hmmm. I didn't think there was a "wrong place" anymore.:mad::eek:

Done a couple of B2B with MSC from/to Miami. In the past we've meet in the Black and White Longe at an allocated time with our cruise cards and passports. Escorted off the ship through customs and straight back on again. This all took about half an hour, so no big deal.

That's the way it is on every cruise line, a Government requirement, not the ship's.

I'm new to the MSC site, but I had quite a bit of trouble navigating on it yesterday. And when I tried to get a Status Match, the program kicked me out when I clicked on my Celebrity Captain's Club standing. Annoying at 12 midnight.

Thanks, DWhit. Proving our status might be an issue, as we don't keep our cruise cards. Using a shot of our cruise history/points is no problem. Thanks for the idea.

MSC has a wonderful loyalty match program, whereas if you have a higher loyalty with another cruise line, all you need to do is fill out a form online, showing proof of your loyalty with another brand and they will match it, in most cases, ELITE or above on Celebrity or Diamond and above on RCCL, qualifies you for MSC's black ( highest loyalty program) this gives you several extra perks, such as 2 complimentary speciality restaurants, some cocktails party's, 20% off the higher internet packages etc.

 

 

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Thanks for this tip. I woke up this morning with a feeling of despair, as DW and I are celebrating our 25th anniversary on May 18 and the next day is her birthday. So, I looked around at possible cruises and came up with the Yacht Club, something we've talked about trying. Fortunately, a call to MSC led to a choice of three cabins. So, come May 14, we'll be onboard the Divina.

We are Elite+ on Celebrity and Elite on Princess. Navigating the MSC web site was more painful than using X's, and that's saying a lot. I haven't returned to it since making the booking. Can you tell me, if I sign on now with my listing information, will I be easily led to the form or will it be possible to call the MSC agent and have him assist? I have little faith in the website working easily. What proof is needed? Elite numbers, I expect, but anything more? Thanks for your advice.

I have read the benefits for Elite Plus and from my point of view there is no real carrot to achieving this status that would hold my loyalty. Tell me I am wrong please.

Sorry to say, Elite+ is not the Holy Grail. Elite is the key.

I never book through the cruise line/private tour operator. Always use a TA. That way you always have another person who can fight for you if any problems etc. arise. In your case, the fox is in charge of the hen house!

I go both ways on this one at least. I feel perfectly capable of fighting my own battles and not relying on someone to state my case adequately. OTH getting additional OBCs does have it's appeal.

I recently called Celebrity to inquire if I could book over the phone with X and then transfer it to a TA. The agent asked which TA and how much OBC would I get.

When I answered, he said he could match that offer. Shortly thereafter, I received a confirming email, I've never had that happen before. Is it commonplace?

I emailed Celebrity rep back and thanked him for his effort.

That speaks well of you and might do the rep some good, too

I should have mentioned that you might find the best source of info on the Roll Call for this cruise. Check it out

Emphasis on "salt". I love French Onion soup, but have to watch my sodium intake. To me, all of X's hot soups tend to be over-salted, but the onion soup tends to be the worst offender. :(

 

If you Google Julia Child, you should be able to find the videos from her old (black-n-white) TV show. One of them is the instructions for making French onion soup. Her emphasis was on a sharp knife and LOTS of onions -- not much added salt, at all. :cool:

I, too, lay off most soups or at least don't finish the whole serving. To me the secret of excellent onion soup is to use a rich broth and then caramelize the onions, again, and again, and again. And then do it some more. I don't see how that can be accomplished on a cruise ship with so much demand, so I tend to stay away from it. If Chef Laing has found the way, I salute him.

There is a small French restaurant in Naples, Florida which absolutely has the best French onion soup I've ever had. I try to mimic it, but I have not yet succeeded and probably never will. Hope springs eternal, though

You picked a very nice cruise on a very nice ship. The price for a C3 cabin has risen considerably, $500, since you booked and you're getting a nice package of "free" items. I don't know from where you are flying, so I have no idea of what airfares might be. I'm sure others can advise as to where to look for the best prices. I fly standby so my angst lies in areas other than price.

We are booked on that same cruise, as it is considerably cheaper than the next one over Christmas. The Concierge cabins are nice enough, though many experienced X cruisers tend to stay away from them, as the price is usually higher than a balcony with not that many perceived benefits. But $1499 is a very reasonable price for that time of year. I'm sure many will pay that much and more for just a balcony. If you intend to stay with Celebrity, the CC does offer 5 points a day towards a higher benefits status, but that's a long way off for you.

Unless the airfare is outrageously expensive, I would certainly stick with your cabin. It's a beautiful ship and I am sure you will enjoy the trip. In any case final payment is not imminent, so you have time to check further.

Rated: 1+

 

Thank you Jules, the reason many may be here complaining, is because those who cannot afford to cruise would look at them cross-eyed trying to figure out what their real problem (privilege) is.... :cool:

 

bon voyage

Exactly. Anyone who sets foot on a cruise ship is filthy rich in the eyes of those who can't afford it.

I recently got the opportunity to pay $999 for any cabin balcony and below on a Cunard 14 day sailing out/in to Southampton. $999 for a balcony. 14 days. That's $72 a day. A suite on the same trip, as I recall, was more than $6800 to start. Do suite passengers deserve some percs? You're damned straight they do. Wish I were one of them, but I don't begrudge anyone his success.

Just completed a B2B on the Summit and we thought Luminae was great in terms of service and food quality. The steaks were all very tender. A number of the menu items were a little too odd for us but we could always order chicken, baked potato, Caesar salad, shrimp cocktail, etc. if we preferred. The burger and halibut at lunch were outstanding. Breakfast was always great although we wished it was open later than 9 am.

Here is the perfect example of what makes the world go 'round. If I were forced to eat chicken, baked potato, and a Caesar salad on a cruise, I would demand my money back and then jump overboard and swim back to port.:D

I want different food on board, different cuisines, items I can't pronounce from countries I've never visited, spices I can't find in my local shops, food prepared in ways far beyond my ability as a pretty good amateur cook. I want the chef to be challenged and if I have a complaint with Luminae (and I really don't), it would be that too many meals, particularly seafood, were ho-hum. Throwing a beurre blanc with a couple of canned mushrooms on a piece of fish does not constitute fine dining in my book. Good? Tasty? Yes, but hardly fine dining.

I would not upgrade to a suite. I took an upsell to a suite once and a mere balcony was never the same. Luminae is wonderful. Afternoon coffee is wonderful. Having a butler us wonderful. Michaels was wonderful. You get the picture. We thought that only having 1 sea day in a 13 day cruise would be a disadvantage but not so. We still loved the suite. Get a full suite not a Sky Suite.

But didn't you find the toilet paper holder was hard to reach?

We missed Devil's Island, #1 on my bucket list, because the ship was delayed near Bermuda on its westbound TA. Shades of The Tempest!

Trying a suite for just one time can be the beginning of a "slippery slope". Hard to go back, but it can be done.

Yup, it's like trying a balcony for the first time. There's no turning back

There have been some problems reported here about policies sold through them.

 

We'd recommend you call

 

http://www.TripInsuranceStore.com

 

(CALL, don't just read the summaries, as the fine print is also important, as some find out belatedly.)

 

Tell them what you want, and they'll make suggestions from their vetted insurance companies.

Thanks for the tip, but it is as I feared. None of their companies sells just the cancellation policy.

I guess it just isn't lucrative for them, but I know so many travelers have medical policies that provide worldwide coverage, making a comprehensive policy unnecessary. I would think someone would see the void and take steps to fill it. But, apparently, the payoff isn't there Thanks again.