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The way MSC sells multiple length itineraries it’s almost impossible to know exactly how many rooms are available. We were upgraded for free to the YC on our first MSC cruise. Speaking to the folks in the room next to us they told us they were only on for 3 nights….we were on for 7 our other neighbors were on for 10. I feel bad for the butlers and room attendants. I think everything MSC does is to maximize revenue and that includes the upgrade program.

To clarify $4k total for the two of us. Aft facing deck 10 1/3 of what YC is for the same cruise.

That’s interesting. Our first MSC cruise we purchased aft facing Fantastica and were given an upgrade to YC for free the day before departure. We had a great time however we’ve been on 2 cruises since and did not book YC. We also have an upcoming 14 day in December and didn’t book YC. We love aft facing balconies and the aft balconies on Divina are as large as our patio at home. The balcony in YC was small to average at best. All in we’re paying. $4k for our upcoming 14 day cruise with airfare, drinks and WiFi. YC for the same cruise is about $6k a person without airfare ($12k total yikes!) Personally our YC experience was not worth us paying an additional $8k. We’ve been cruising for 40 yrs and have been blown away by some cruises but YC was not one of them. Out last Divina cruise had 490 passengers. That was a once in a lifetime experience that blew the YC cruise away times 10. I’d much rather spend $12k on another exclusive river cruise but that’s just us.

If I may put my 2 cents in. It’s so hard to answer any question concerning food or drink because we all have different opinions on how something taste. We’ve travelled to many wine regions over the years and tasted wines at just about every price point. I have spit out just as many very expensive wines as affordable everyday wines. My favorite wines are less than $50 a bottle. We have a couple of favorite central CA region wines that are less than $20 a bottle. I was in YC on Divina in Mediterranean and only had one or two glasses of wine that stand out as something I would purchase for home consumption. We also did some vineyard tours in Italy, Spain and France and didn’t think anything we tasted was any better than what we get here in the states. Taste is subjective. 🤷🏻‍♀️

We all know the embarkation time can change a dozen times before we cruise however this one made me chuckle! Do not show up at 3:00 or even 3:15 come at 3:12!!! 🤣

It is as I thought. Enter your zip code and click on find and it will give you options to choose from. Click on correct city/town and state and county should auto fill

When you enter the zip code isn’t there a “find” or “search” tab to click on? I’d have to go back and look at my upcoming cruise but if memory serves me correctly I remember clicking on that after entering my zip code and options will show up and you click on the correct town/state.

That’s interesting and helpful! But in our situation her husband was clueless because when she opened her trunk to get my suitcase she said “we don’t have one of those belts on our suitcase so I’m not sure why he took it” I always double check which suitcase we have by looking at the name tags because I realize the very straps we have are sold on Amazon and anyone could have them although I’ve yet to see any other than ours. This is the one we have

Thank you so much! I’m not surprised Rodwin commented on the type of passenger mix that will be on the 3 day. It’s the main reason we won’t book a 3 or 4 day. We notice a huge difference in how the passengers act…although reading @phissyPat’s post above is concerning. I expect that behavior from some of the passengers on shorter itineraries and have witnessed it. We go out of our way to be kind to the staff on board because number 1 it’s the right thing to do and number 2 I can’t imagine being away from my family for months at a time. There’s no reason to treat another human being so poorly. We can only hope Karma will catch up with those people.

Yes! I love having more “sleeps” ahead of us than behind us on a cruise. If only we could slow down the clocks on a cruise ship!

Sounds like you’re having a great cruise! Any word about how many passengers are on board? We had 490 on Divina in 11/22 I know that’ll probably never happen again but I wonder if any recent sailings have been at or near capacity.

Thanks Pat! I’ll have to think about how adventurous I’m willing to get. While having a police escort out of town sounds good it also makes me nervous. I’m so sorry to hear about Frank’s back. Having had a few spine surgeries myself I feel for him and hope he’s much better today. Good to know that they gave you a credit for cancelling. After I read your post last evening I did a little research and saw many articles warning about travel to that area of Panama. 20 years ago I wouldn’t have given it a second thought but now the whole “older and wiser” thing is kicking in lol

Wow thanks so much Pat. I wish I had asked you about this before we booked the Panama Canal excursion. Panama Canal is on my bucket list but John isn’t as keen about it so this was his compromise to a PC cruise. I don’t really want to go after hearing your report about the port not being safe. I wonder if we can cancel it and use the credit towards other excursions. Will take your advice about Columbia and book that tour. Hopefully we’ll be docked where you were in Jamaica that sounds great. Sorry the weather didn’t cooperate in Costa Rica. Enjoy the rest of your cruise! ~Deb

We’re doing a similar itinerary on Divina Dec 30th for 14 days. It was attractive to us because we’ve never been to Jamaica, Columbia, Panama or Costa Rico. Our cruise also goes to Nassau and does 2 stops at Ocean Cay one is overnight. We purchased the Panama Canal excursion. Are you doing that one? Curious about Jamaica. Is there a nice beach close to the ship that we can grab a taxi or walk to?

Well this sounds like a horrible way to start a cruise. Note to self….never book the first cruise after a TA. (We already won’t book anything shorter than a 7 day as we’ve found them to always be lacking no matter what line we’ve been on.) Sorry you guys had a bad experience.

Definitely a hard lesson to learn. We have always received a print out of our onboard expenses usually slipped under the door on the last night and if we hadn’t I’d be in line asking for a copy before leaving the ship. If we’re on a long cruise I go to guest services every 5 days for a printout. I’m super organized and I realize most people won’t do that but I’ve saved myself some headaches doing it this way. If there’s a “next time” for you you’ll be doing that I’m sure. We had one of our pieces of luggage taken by another passenger in the Boston terminal after our HAL cruise a while back. I’m not sure how anyone mistook it because it had a huge lime green belt attached. I filed a claim and figured I’d never see it again. 3 weeks later my phone rang it was a woman from Connecticut telling me she had it. She claimed that she hadn’t even taken it out of her car since she got home 3 weeks prior. Huh? Long story short I met her half way and got my stuff back. She told me her husband just grabbed it and didn’t even notice the bright green belt that was wrapped around the middle. 🙄 I’m wondering if another passenger picked up your bag by mistake. Also it really hasn’t been that long so give it another few days maybe the port will reach out to you. Good luck!