Bestbubba

My bubbe will climb out right through the dirt if she catches a glimpse of that...

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Hi, Sue. Yeah .......... I've signed up for the M&M so will probably see you there! ;)

 

TBH, I don't know if you can use any left-over vouchers on another ship. There are a lot of conflicting reports on here, with some saying you can (and claiming to have experience of doing so) and others saying that it's not possible.

 

I have 2 (fairly recent) experiences of using vouchers. The first was on a South Africa 4 nighter. The voucher numbers were noted against my cabin number so that nobody else could use them, should they be lost or stolen. I believe that's a particular policy for South Africa cruises, though, as MSC are hyper-security-conscious when sailing in that region.

 

The second was a few weeks ago when I purchased a wine & water package on Magnifica. I already had an all-inclusive drinks package so I didn't need the water vouchers. I had planned to give them to someone onboard but never did meet anyone to pass them on to. I plan to bring them with me on my upcoming cruise on Orchestra and test to see if I can use them then. I'll report back on how I get on.

Thanks for the prompt reply Bea, I'll look forward to hearing how you get on with your water vouchers on Orchestra.

Sue :D

Perhaps people should bombard MSC with emails complaining about the cancellation of this package and insinuating that its re-instatement will be an influencing factor in booking with them.

Would you happen to know, if I have any drink vouchers left over from our Musica cruise (pigs flying come to mind!) , can I use them on our Divina cruise? Rather like Princess and their coffee card?

Sue

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These threads are monitored so we need to make as much disapproving noise as possible about the loss of the vouchers, they shouldn't be a victim of they're own success. Only having to buy the drinks you want is a winning formula, and being forced back onto an unlimited plan will effect the brand loyalty of a novice cruiser like me. When 2 out of 3 cruises have been with MSC, who gets cruise number 4 will depend more on price point than a crystal staircase!

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Well, to avoid disappointment please don´t compare. MSC is the favourite cruise company in Europe not for it´s customer service, we all regular MSC cruisers know here it will be ranked last on the seven seas and we don´t care :cool:

 

This is a common rule not only for US pax, also for British, German, Chinese, whatever: If you are boarding MSC you are leaving your home country and enter Italy. And Italy lifestyle and Italy cuisine has a great reputation for a reason, I really love it. NCL or Disney sell the US-american lifestyle, this is not a question about being "on par", it is a different world.

Many years ago we did a TA on the Costa Romantica. We loved it, it was Italy afloat. We enjoyed it so much we booked a Caribbean cruise a few months later on the Costa Atlantica. So disappointed. It was not the same at all. It was obvious they were trying to emulate US cruise lines and cater to US passengers. They only succeeded in providing a second rate Princess /Celebrity /RCI experience. Bella Italia it wasn't! So when I read your comments I was delighted. We're going with high hopes and open minds [emoji3]

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there a TA on FB running a competition to win a cruise on MSC. Some of the comments are quite worrying with the number of people saying they wouldn’t cruise with them if they paid them or never again. Do you think it’s because it’s not aimed at the English market. I’ve booked my first cruise with MSC. I’ve made a mistake by not researching and have been booked in a Bella package, but I will know better next time. I’m going on with an open mind and my least favourite cruise is P & O, so if their nothing like them I will be fine. I bet most of the comments come from P & O cruisers

We've booked our first MSC cruise and we're really excited. I'm sure itwill be different to Celebrity /Princess etc but we're going with an open mind and I'm ignoring all miserable reviews [emoji4]

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Also be prepared for wet and cold weather in London and Paris. We did a Med cruise in November many years ago, we enjoyed the uncrowded ports, compared to visiting during high season, but we certainly needed our umbrellas! Have a wonderful time [emoji846]

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Just sailed on Musica in June, and WELL.. don't expect much, very poorly run, food not so good. Staff, well not so good. A big step down from Divina. I booked this ship because of the Itinerary . MSC has to step it up. I am a very Loyal, but it is going away very quickly... :-(

Oh dear, that doesn't bode well for our first MSC cruise next March 😕 We are seasoned cruisers, sailed on most of the main cruise lines and thought we'd give MSC a try as we really liked the itinerary, Rio to Venice. To add salt to the wound, we've convinced friends to join us in 2019 on the Divina. Oh well, we've cruised 30+ times , some good, some great, never had a bad one yet,so I'll go with my Pollyanna hat on and make sure to pack my rose tinted glasses 😀

When we travelled with our 20 month twin grandsons, we took a small blow up paddling pool, added a few inches of water, put it in the shade, they were happy for hours..... So were we! ;) This was on NCL. Pool staff thought it was a great idea.

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We've booked with US travel agents when sailing other lines, but we've been told that MSC will not allow them to take UK bookings :(

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Ah that's a shame it's not available to do on ship. That's great you were able to find a company that rents/delivers. Sadly this would not be possible for us as we are travelling from uk next month also.

The husband of a friend of mine (also UK based) bought a very adequate looking dinner suit /tux at Matalan, think it cost £50. Certainly not Saville Row, but for wearing for a few hours on formal nights when cruising, seemed like a bargain :)

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Thank you for officially informing us on the 27th that this change would be effective on the 22nd .

Any idea when this information will be passed on to your customer agents ? Any time soon ?

And when will it be changed on the website? Made a dummy booking on the UK site and pre paid grats were still the only option with select dining.

I received the same email survey today regarding ports of call on our Celebrity TA in November. With nothing better to do, I filled it out. It didn't ask for any personal details so seemed innocent enough.

We are Elite (status not self importance!) with Celebrity. Scanner wasn't working so copied form, filled it out and posted it off to the London address. Two days later had an email with our black card number. So far, so impressed!

We've been on three TA's to/from the UK and always saw the lower prices plus gratuities. I guess that changed this year.

Same here, that's why I needed smelling salts when I first saw the prices[emoji6]

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Some cruises from the UK show the "total price" which includes the gratuity...but it's only some. Transatlantics to/from the UK are priced without the gratuity added.

Just back from the Eclipse TA (superb) and the gratuities were included on the bar menus. When we first boarded and saw the prices, I nearly became teetotal, until it was pointed out to me that on this sailing, prices were inclusive of gratuity [emoji2]

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thanks does anyone have details of UK offer? They have a box on their web site which you cant open until tomorrow saying it will be full of colour....:)

Don't hold your breath [emoji6]

We are doing a TA in April. Our first as well. We will be traveling at the back end for about a month before heading home so I also don't want to lug around heavy formal wear. How is this solution? Black clingy top and long skirt (Chicos) with sparkly jewelry and sequined shawl. Will that offend my table mates?

It might offend them because they don't look as good[emoji6]

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We are elite on Celebrity and sailing Sunday on the Eclipse TA. In July we tried our first NCL cruise, on the Jade around the Greek islands. We travelled with our children and grandkids and imagined we would enjoy cruising with the family but not the cruise. The whole casual, laid back Freestyle concept didn't appeal. In fact we loved every minute and have another NCL cruise booked next April. We found the service on a par with Celebrity, we had no complaints about the food, after so many Celebrity cruises we enjoyed the different menus. The buffet was also excellent as were the speciality restaurants, and vastly cheaper than X. Entertainment we found NCL had the edge. Our fellow passengers were polite, good fun and friendly. It was school holidays so there were quite a few children but the kids club seemed to keep them well occupied. None of this was what we had expected. So now we are looking forward to our Celebrity cruise on Sunday and we're excited about sailing NCL again in the spring. Others may feel differently but this was our experience.

Sue :)

Not available in the UK to the best of my knowledge , "dis-inclination to travel" always excluded in our policies.

Sue

It's like the student who fails the exam by one mark - they are not happy, but the line had to be drawn somewhere.

 

Agree it's a drama to use words like ridiculous- had the post title been what's the point or whatever the connection to the processing cost of the transaction would have been evident.

 

Salad Muncher - the glasses have always been large ones to date

I've always found the glasses to be large but not the pours😉

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We are always reading that you can upgrade as long as the new cabin is at least $1 more expensive. Well this upgrade was $6 dollars more. The upgrade to the suite was free.....good for them! Congratulations and I hope they have an amazing cruise living the "suite" life.

Sue :)

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Yippee skippee:)

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We booked an inside and when prices dropped paid a small amount to upgrade to a balcony. Any thoughts on what points we will be awarded?

Sue

We've always received price drops from Celebrity UK, no problem. We usually book direct and watch the prices. One phone call and it's done. Last week, a month before final payment on 5th September, our Eclipse TA had a price drop and also balcony guarantees. Phoned and told sorry, can't /won't. Told we could cancel and lose deposit and rebook, don't think so. Much to-ing and fro-ing and request to speak to supervisor etc. Eventually told can't have advertised price as rep couldn't see it (hello? I'm looking at it on my iPad while we're having this conversation) but can have it for £40 more. Still a bargain and DH had lost the will to live by then so we went ahead.

We have booked with a US TA before, very easy but like someone else mentioned, you have to watch the exchange rate, it's not always a good deal.

If Celebrity are changing the rules like this, in future we'll just wait till after final payment to book.

Sue