blueskadoo

Yes Divina for this Sunday…ycp category. The others definitely did go up! 

We're headed back on MSC again on Sunday! And these sorts of things always seem to happen....we booked (and paid in full) yesterday with a 5% voyagers discount, and a 20% MyVegas discount. Just goofing off since the promo changes, I see that the price has dropped by about 180 bucks since yesterday and now there's an offer for "up to 200 in OBC". Is there any reason to try to get the OBC or the price drop?  I tried to find the fine print about the OBC portion of the new promo but didn't have much luck. We also have a coupon from the last trip for on board credit based on casino play that we'll be redeeming- not sure if that matters either. 

ETA- just found that the OBC is 50 bucks. Still not sure what to do!

Wow! Stacks of purple chips on Carnival had to make that pit boss very very nervous! 

To answer the question about loss and comps, I don’t know where the threshold begins, but I’m going to guess it is safe to say a 5 figure loss would be worth the effort to ask. The worst they can ever say is no! 

We were on Divina and the casino was non-smoking! My last few cruises were Celebrity, then I went on a carnival and wow…the smoke…I forgot just how awful it could be. MSC casino definitely had a more Celebrity-esque feel. 

We went on a last-second Divina cruise and had some great service. Where can I send my kudos? I never received a post-cruise survey like I've had in the past, but I want to make sure to give the appropriate people their due. Thanks!

Hello all- recently took an MSC cruise based out of the USA. It was excellent! Loved the ship, and most of the casino staff were great, which the exclusion of the casino host. There was a large language barrier so it made things more complicated than need be. Nevertheless, I'd love to return on another cruise with them...but I'd have expected to get a discounted or free cruise, but I don't know who to talk to about seeing if I've earned anything. Has anyone sailed with MSC and had any luck getting comps based on past play? They actually had baccarat on the boat!! Amazing! 

Our last cruise was on the Edge and the casino left a lot to be desired. My husband had to keep after them to make sure they recorded his play appropriately- it was so off he had them review the tape and it was off by 1000s, which they corrected thankfully. The young man was plenty kind enough...but just sort of powerless. We too are MGM Noir (or at least have been for a while- not sure about this new MGM rewards program) and were surprised that there was never any contact from the casino team once we were onboard- you have to think they know you're there as a Plat/Noir guest. Other lines that are "fun ships" have much more outreach between the casino and the players...and while it may seem cheesy, sometimes its nice to get the little gifts in the cabin as a surprise after you've spent your time and money...makes you feel noticed. In the end, the loss was big enough the host was able to comp off some items, which we appreciated, but had we not known to ask and persist, I have no doubt we would have left comps on the table. 

Hello all. A while back, we booked a cruise around the thanksgiving holiday and included my stepkid on the booking. They are over the age of 12, so supposed to be vaccinated, which we had been lead to believe was happening. Well...there has been a change of heart, and it doesn't appear that will ever come to pass. So now, we're stuck and have this cruise booked. I know its very unlikely that Carnival will change the protocols for the unvaccinated by November, so I have researched the exemption requirements. One thing I saw in there was it seemed like if Carnival denied your exemption, you could ask for a full refund and it would be granted. Am I interpreting this correctly? We understand fully that we missed that cutoff back in February, but at that time, we were under the impression everyone's going to be fully vaccinated by cruise time. A little part of me holds out hope that it will change, and they will suddenly show up with a vaccine card at the house, but...if they don't, and we apply for an exemption (this kid is just barely old enough to require the vaccine) and it's denied, do we get the refund?  Are there other options aside from having a no-show at the port? Its over a holiday, so we're not going to leave them at home- we've already done that once to try to encourage kiddo to no avail. 

Just want to know our options.

ETA: I know this could potentially be a controversial post and its not my intention at all. For anyone who has been in a co-parenting situation, you understand the difficulties that can come with "hot button" issues. I am more interested in trying to not lose our money if possible, and fully expecting we won't be on the cruise.

On 4/12/2022 at 2:22 PM, KIMMER322 said:

Just wondering how the OP liked MSC and Divina. I just booked MSC for fist time as well.

 

MSC was awesome!! We really enjoyed the cruise ship, and the private island...wow. Just magnificent. Now, I will say I was very happy that we went with YC. I'm sure that it was a lovely cruise elsewhere on the ship, but being YC influenced everything we did heavily and enhanced our experience. We spent a lot more time in our room because the room was so nice (Grand Deluxe Suite) and then spent the rest of our time in the same few places. I don't think I even saw the buffet on 14....but I think that's a testament to how much the ship has to offer.  If there was any negative, it seemed like the language barrier was a little greater with our butler than on other lines.  At one point, I thought about using a translator app just so we knew she understood us. She was eager to be helpful (within reason- she wasn't going outside her parameters) but she'd not always really seem to understand. She was a newly transferred butler, so hopefully she'll improve as time goes on for future guests. Our assistant butler was a rock star and always would just be "there" any time we'd walk by, insist on escorting us everywhere, and always just would say yes. If you wanted something done quickly, you told him. We hope we will be able to find some time to go back soon and do it all again. I wish they would take a ship to Ocean Cay and park it there for a few days like ships do in Bermuda... 1 overnight simply isn't enough!

ETA: They did make us get off the boat when we returned for PC, and it was just as easy as everyone said it would be. They also make you take a covid test down in medical, but they were the rapid variety, and you are free to move around pretty much after its over. The "no news is good news" approach.

So I’m part of the group who had a cancelled cruise on Escape. I picked the standard $99 travel insurance. Fast forward to last Monday, and I get the dreaded cancellation email, which includes that they are not refunding the travel insurance portion. So that leaves me confused…you aren’t sailing, you didn’t give me the opportunity to use this insurance, but you’re keeping my money? Anybody else experience this? I have to imagine this happened quite a bit during the shutdown. I chose the refund option because I couldn’t make any of the alternate sailings work. Suggestions on how to get the travel insurance refunded? Am I beating my head against a brick wall? New to NCL, so not well versed her policies.  Thanks

Thank you all! Calming down and mostly just getting excited now. Just thought of this question...when they do the "zero count" on Sunday before we get back on, will they make us take another covid test? I read some people who were doing B2Bs on other lines (but much longer 7 nights) and the cruiseline made them test. Just want to anticipate appropriately. My gut says no, but I wanted to confer with the experts. 

New dumb question alert…I’m looking at the drinks and trying to understand if I have a beverage package? It says in the YC you can have drinks…but if I go out to say…the sushi place and order a glass of sake, will I pay? And can I order whatever (within reason) in YC? I’ve been assuming yes, but don’t want any huge shocks.
 

Edited to add: I’m trying to add a credit card to my account. It gave me the option once on the screen, I clicked the wrong thing and now it won’t come back. I’m assuming it’s at check in- I see passenger data and travel documents, nothing else where I can put a card on file. Any tips? I’ve tried refreshing, signing out, new browsers. Oh and I messed up my name and inverted it with last name first so it can’t link my booking. Jeez! 

Thanks again 

@perakcruiser And now the total newb question…where do I pre-purchase it? Also, since I’ve got the “browse” level, do you get any credit for that and it’s an upgrade fee or do you just pay for the whole thing? And a second question, does the app work on Divina? I’ve read conflicting reports. 

49 minutes ago, AngryBirdah said:

 

• I'm having trouble finding the itinerary you're sailing on... but in general, MSC will offer back-to-back cruises, so a 7 night that is made up of a 4-night followed by a 3-night, for example.  In general, I believe they make everyone disembark at Port Canaveral (for customs/immigration/security reasons), but they streamline the experience for those due to get right back on (especially in Yacht Club).

Have fun.

So it’s an odd 6 night itinerary that leaves Friday, goes to Ocean Cay (I think?) and then comes back to PC on Sunday, and leaves again for Nassau. You can book to just do Friday- Sunday, or Sunday-Thursday, or like me Friday to Thursday so sounds similar to what you described. 

Hi all, got off a 4 nighter last week and I wanted to brag on the MDR. Now I know sunshine has her fans and detractors, so I wanted to post something to add to the “fan” category. We ate in the MDR 3 of the 4 nights with anytime dining and they were all very good! The bitter n blanc was a dessert good enough to pay for on land. I was pleasantly surprised. The one night we skipped, we had jijis, which pre-shutdown, was my favorite restaurant on any ship, anywhere. Sadly, that wasn’t quite as good as I remembered but I’m not sure if it’s because it was built up so much in my mind. Our MDR meals were very quick, and we were in and out in about 70 minutes total and we said nothing about being “in a hurry”.  It was a highlight going to the dining room this cruise and I hope it stays that way! 

Hi all. We were scheduled to go on the NCL Escape leaving Saturday....but it sadly cancelled this morning. Still wanting to cruise, we checked out what else was in port, and the MSC Divina came up. Making some lemonade from these lemons, we booked the 6 night cruise in the Yacht Club. So now I'm realizing all that research I did on Escape...won't help much for MSC. 🙂I searched YouTube but that didn't yield much either. So a few of my big, possibly time sensitive questions are: 1. Do we need to get covid tested 48 hours before departure or is this done at the port? I thought no one was still testing on site, but the documents they sent us state otherwise. My second question is that I know some level of internet is included with YC bookings, but I need unlimited and as high of quality as I can get as I need to stay connected to home and the office. Do I need to pre-purchase/upgrade to get some kind of discount? Finally, just a curiosity more than anything else, the boat stops at Port Canaveral on Sunday and some people get off, and others get on. I'm assuming I get to stay on the boat just like if I was in Nassau and didn't want to get off the boat. And of course...if there's something I'm missing or something I wouldn't know to ask about, please tell me. I'm excited for a new adventure...but the planner in me is nervous!! Thank you all in advance. 

New to ncl and hoping to gain a little more insight on the vpn availability. My work requires me to connect through vpn and we use WebEx Meetings with video and audio. I would have to be able to assure my work I would have vpn connection before I left. I would be teaching classes using video and audio, and receiving it as well from participants. If the internet manager is controlling inventory on the ship, how do you guarantee that you’ll get it? Also, anybody used/hosted from the ship using WebEx successfully? This could be a game changer…I’ve not found any other lines even giving a glimmer of hope for vpn! 

Similar question…If you win an upgrade bid and the cruise gets cancelled by ncl, do you receive a refund or is it added to the fcc? Thanks 

I have this very same question. I'm starting to think the 800 dollars is the OBC + funds for an excursion. The way they sell it, it sounds like you get the OBC AND a free shore excursion from the excursions book. I'd much rather the second (more free stuff!) but I haven't found much about it on CC. Not sure if this is something relatively new- none of the old posts I've found talk about it much that I could decipher and instead talk about the OBC exclusively. I'm going to stay tuned to this thread in hopes I'm wrong and we will get a shore excursion in addition.

I was afraid there probably not be any real success stories. It’s about 2 weeks (max) until embarkation. The good news is that it was a casino rate, so it’s not a huge loss, especially after port fees are returned. Will talk with my pvp in the morning and see how it goes! 

Hi all. Have a cruise booked for the very near future, but don't think I can go right now due to bad timing with life events (not covid). However, I still would like to cruise...but not until December. Anyone had luck with getting to take the cruise fare and have it applied to a future cruise? I'm sure it doesn't make a big difference but it is the same ship. I know we got spoiled with the flexibility from the covid-era, and the magic refund date was Feb 15, but I'm not really looking for a refund. Any current success stories? If so, what did you say? Thanks!

Thank you so much everyone!! We pulled the trigger and got an S1 gty sky suite for the reflection. I think that’s a good one (the s1). First time transatlantic and first time in a suite. Woohoo! 

One last question…how hard is it to switch cruises? Example…we book reflection and then a RS opens on Shilouette, could we switch? 

Okay everyone....I "think" there may be a room coming available on Reflection with a Barcelona-FLL itinerary. Any thoughts on that one vs Connie? 

Right now, there's a sky suite available on Constellation. The agent wasn't super complimentary about it and made a point to say "its our oldest ship" which dissuaded me from doing too much more. Compared to Equinox, would it be a disappointment?