Mark_T

Just curious, but in the event of a real emergency with no elevator access have you been told exactly how they will handle your evacuation, and if not, are you confident that they are aware of your need in that regard?

We all know you had a bad experience, that doesn't mean that it isn't a good idea to understand what the T&Cs for the region you booked in actually are as a starting point.

Ignore this, it is UK only, or at least in the UK terms and not in the US terms. We don't have the 'original passenger' requirement though.

I assume you didn't have a problem upon your return though? As long as you are leaving on a cruise it should all be correctly recorded, but I can understand why you would want a backstop with a UK stamp. The more risky situation occurs where you are using one of the many small European airports, where they are still not really set up to properly deal with a mixture of Schengen and non-Schengen residents exiting the country, my wife almost missed her exit stamp in Sicily that way...

Do read the contract T&Cs carefully, as I seem to recall that in the event that you transfer the cruise to another person, you remain jointly liable for the final payment, so worth being sure it is someone you trust.

The UK isn't part of the Schengen group, so UK stamps are not that helpful for EU travel anyway unfortunately. As mentioned above though, you can be sure that the details of any cruise that visited a Schengen country will have been recorded. So that just means that every time you do get a Schengen entry stamp you really do need to make sure you get an exit stamp as well, or things can get messy unless you are leaving on a cruise...

I'm not sure there is a definitive clear answer as it is really determined by the stamps in your passport, if any... If your passport is stamped in and out of the Schengen zone that determines the count of the days, but most cruises like your do not actually get the passports stamped, and in that case it is theoretically the entire length of the cruise that counts... Keep in mind it is 90 days out of a rolling 180 days, not sure if that helps you at all...

They just need advance notice and where possible they will accommodate, so on day 1 they may have no shrimp, but they will do their best to ensure it is available on all subsequent days if you make a special request.

We promise we won't tell her, but all you had to do was ask and she would have received it every day. Something to look forward to next time...

The 'Book today, cruise tomorrow' card says "Flexibility - Change your reservation to suit your needs prior to final payment". That is the only information we were given about changes.

We were told that the 'Priority' YC elevator service for guests is turned off during major passenger movements like boarding, only the butler's overrides work at those times.

We have always treated them as separate from the waiting team. Many, but not all, are deserving of that consideration.

We had a great butler on our cruise as well, so we know there is more than one of them 🙂 So far, on a sample of one, our butler exceeded both Regent and Celebrity, we'll see how our next experience goes in Feb. I can totally understand that and nobody is suggesting that MSC trumps Celebrity on all levels, so very happy that not everyone is going to try and book MSC YC, as it would just drive the prices up! 🙂 We can still get what we need on Celebrity S class ships, just not on M or E, but this is a conversation for another thread. Thanks for taking us all along for the ride Charla, I hope you enjoyed your evening, and I'm sure we are all looking forward to hearing about your next adventure! Words to live by for sure.

I'd have to concur, the steak we have had on MSC, both in the YC and in Butcher's Cut was superb. Nothing in Luminae or Tuscan has ever come even remotely close.

This list seems to be accurate... Classic/Silver/Gold/Diamond

It is not just a name match 🙂

It has been reported elsewhere that NCL Silver will only get you MSC Classic...

This is what is tipping the balance for us as well, although you get the whole ship with Celebrity there isn't actually all that much we find attractive that is easily available without a queue, or having to deal with a shortage of seating... and on the flip side a lot of things that are there in YC that are missing from the Retreat.

I was wondering if the intention is to clearly identify those who cannot make it to the muster stations without using the elevators? In a real emergency with the elevators out of action it would be necessary to provide additional help for those guests so useful to know who they are in advance... I know the muster drill on other lines like Celebrity is very easy and quick to complete, but I have wondered how well it actually prepares guests for the reality of getting to the boat deck without elevators...

Just to save Charla a little typing, here is the standard book onboard offer... You also get whatever the current MSC promotion is at the time.

Sounds like a plan to me! Pier runners can provide unplanned entertainment... as long as you are the ones watching from the ship not the ones on the pier... I have immense sympathy for anyone caught out by unexpected accidents obviously, but too often it does appear to be poor planning not misfortune.

That's pretty much what I'd have expected, you can change to a better offer but you don't get to keep parts of the original offer... Not sure that I'd expect the double points to survive in that circumstance either, but perhaps someone has direct experience of what happens when you use the price guarantee...?

I see no reason why not, the double points offer has no conditions listed, and if you use a TA for the cruise you are on when you make the booking onboard, the new reservation will automatically be transferred to the same TA...

That is entirely intentional... As per the Guidelines for these forums: "There shall be no third-party recommendation (whether positive or negative in tone) of travel agencies on any forums within Cruise Critic. General discussions regarding the TYPE of AGENCY to be used to purchase a cruise will be allowed, as long as no recommendations for any source of purchase are posted. Touting of your personal cruise agent or cruise line "personal cruise consultant" (or any other venue by which you purchase a cruise) is not allowed on our message boards. Postings that contain "tell them John sent you" will be removed without notice. This means you should not ask about someone's travel agent, nor should you respond in kind. Offering to email someone your travel agent's name or info is also not allowed, nor is asking members to email you for the information."

Last month we did all of that exactly as you listed, but additionally we had to go down to the muster station when called to scan our cards. Nothing else required just a quick scan and back to the cabin. The only limitation is they aim to have the elevators blocked off for this stage so it does act as a check that everyone knows how to get to the muster station and can manage the stairs... I might possibly have been a little less than cooperative when returning back up to our cabin as there was nothing to be gained from preventing access to the elevators after you have completed the validation of your card.