cublet

10 hours ago, helenb said:

See in RED

I found a very short thread on this from pre-COVID, so I figured it was worth asking again. We just booked a Med cruise on Seaside for 2025. We have been on Seaside twice before, in the Caribbean. I understand that there will be some differences to the onboard experience sailing in the Med. I am expecting:

 

- onboard currency in Euros Yes

- multilingual activities/shows (no trivia?) Not really

- multilingual announcements Few to none depending on importance

- passengers embarking and disembarking at every port 1 or 2 more maybe, not every

- possibly more seafood-heavy menus Never look for seafood so cannot comment

- possibly more smoking onboard No

 

I was wondering if anyone could give me some insight as to the extent of these differences. How is it embarking/disembarking in a port where the majority of the ship is not joining you? If you're not getting off in a port, do they still make you disembark to 'clear' the ship, like they do for people on B2Bs? How much more smoking can we expect? Does anyone have any sample menus from the Med?

 

We will be sailing in YC, in situations where that makes a difference (e.g. menus).

Regards,

Cublet

48 minutes ago, ToeyA said:

I signed up just so i could respond to this comment!

 

I've been on 16 cruises - mostly Carnival & Norwegian - and i will never go on an MSC again. 

 

While the staff on our Seascape cruise in December 2023 did a fabulous job, the cruise was disappointing. The food was HORRIBLE. Who goes on a cruise and loses weight?

 

Under cooked, over cooked or cold sums up the offerings at the buffet - except for the pizza. The pizza was good.  O! And the soft serve ice cream that was only limitedly available.

 

One dinner I ordered salmon and received grouper! I was presented with salmon on a different night and altho it was seared beautifully, it was undercooked and inedible.

 

The sad part was that every staff member we talked to acknowledged that the food was bad - eveb the dining room staff acknowledged and apologized. I felt bad for them. 

Hello,

Whilst I do not go on cruises to lose weight, the only cruise (out of 50+) on which I *DID* lose weight was on Celebrity Eclipse whilst in AquaClass and dining in Blu.

Regards,

Cublet

2 hours ago, little britain said:

It’s also good to tell them when you don’t want to use a voucher - like if you are buying a Coke. Don’t want to waste a $14 voucher on a £$4 tin of Coke !!!!

Hello,

But it's a good deal if you want to use the Coke as a tarnished metal cleaner (the only thing it's fit for).

Regards,

Cublet

Hello,

The booking number on the 'strange' upgrade email is unknown to the MSC booking system according to my TA.

Regards,

Cublet

Hello,

It would not surprise me if the major cruise lines, in order to 'save money', contracted-out their IT. So there is probably a single source of itinerant coders making the same balls-up on all the lines.

Regards,

Cublet

Hello,

I've had a similar email this morning. Ship, cabin type and sail date are correct, Booking Number and cabin number are incorrect.

Interestingly the upgrade costs are the same as I have already responded to on the booking I think I've got.

I have set my TA on the case.

Regards,

Cublet

17 hours ago, GPPhilly said:

It depends on your credit card.  You need to make sure to use a card that does not charge a foreign transaction fee,  

Hello,

Here, the UK, most zero foreign transaction fee cards come from 'building societies' (mortgage lenders) not traditional high street banks - though the difference is becoming increasingly blurred.

Regards,

Cublet

3 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

I think the OP is concerned about foreign transaction fees.

3 hours ago, alserrod said:

 

 

Hi

 

As soon as you embark you must link you cruise card with your credit card.

When linking it (there are kiosks to do it) you will have a 250€ charge (since Euribia operates in euros)

You will do any purchases on board and, after cruise (maybe 14 days later) you will have a second charge for that difference.

 

When using cruise card you are allowing to charge in credit card, not an instant payment

Hello,

Non-sterling transaction fees are more down to the T&Cs of the card issuer than of the cruise line. But....

I cannot speak for Euribia only Virtuosa out of Southampton. Firstly, last year the onboard currency was the pound sterling (GBP) so no non-sterling transaction fees, and I was not charged anything when I registered my credit card (apart from £1.00 'donation' {?!} to the MSC charity), I was charged the whole of my account at the end of the cruise. This cruise was a round trip with no pick-ups/departures en route which may explain the currency.

Traders may put a 'hold' for an amount on a credit card, it reduces the available credit but is strictly speaking not quite a 'charge'.

Regards,

Cublet

Hello,

The ban is wider than just alcohol:

Hello,

If you mean an extra charge for the privilege of using a credit card over and above the cost of the goods/services, then No to both.

Regards,

Cublet

On 3/18/2024 at 5:37 PM, goofysmom99 said:

So many of the M&Ms/Connections I used to attend devolved into folks making announcements about their private tours = a rude slap in the face to the folks who put on the gathering since those folks obviously cared about selling Celebrity's tours.  And even though Cruise Critic lists Meet & Mingles as "paused," in light of the current revenue-producing frenzy occurring within all the RCI fleets, I don't see M&Ms ever returning.

Hello,

It's not a "rude slap in the face" if the private excursion is to a place/event that is not being provided by Celebrity - it's their fault.

Regards,

Cublet

Hello,

This I did some time ago but I scanned my passport and cropped it just to leave my photo that I then added to 'my account' rather than just the check-in for any particular cruise. Subsequent cruises then picked-up my photograph and used it for check-in.

But sometimes, but not always, at the port they want to take another picture because they "want more of my shoulders in the photograph".  ???

Regards,

Cublet

Hello,

I too cannot see the return of CC Connections/ M&Ms.

However my recent experience is not of people touting for passengers on their private tours but that people from Facebook, not CC members, were introducing themselves (and getting the tea and cakes).

Regards,

Cublet

Hello,

For what little extra you get in/with a Junior Suite, I think it should be renamed to something like 'Extra Large cabin with Balcony' so as not to raise expectations falsely.

In addition to the above, you do get a printed Cruise Compass without asking, but (on Anthem) you don't get a walk-in wardrobe in all JS.

Regards,

Cublet

9 hours ago, Beamafar said:

MSC has upped their game for the US market.  

Hello,

By becoming more American and less Italian.

Regards,

Cublet

12 hours ago, ospreycruiser said:

Can anybody advise me how the UK/US time difference works when booking your time slot when checking in? Since the US is ahead of UK time does that mean they have advantage when looking for an early time?

Hello,

I know it's a bit early on a Saturday morning after a heavy Friday night, but are you sure you've got the time difference the right way around?

Regards,

Cublet

13 hours ago, Oceangoer2 said:

I'm Canadian, but I have to disagree with saying 'labour' is the  'correct' way to spell the word...it's not correct for the US.  I use 'ou' instead of the 'o' when sending any note or post to Americans as it's MY way to spell and I don't have to change because it's going to the US despite auto correct.

Hello,

I worked for a couple of petrochemical companies many years ago - before the days of email and the internet.

So one day a memo arrived castigating us over the spelling of the word 'tyre' and not 'tire'. But at the bottom of the memo was a line - printed as part of its manufacture - saying "Think - is this memo really necessary?".

Regards,

Cublet

6 hours ago, the penguins said:

Oh dear "teen-age" another word/phrase we can't use. Our grandson insists he will be a "teen" in June not a "teenager". Oh yes and when I ask how he got on at Ice Hockey his standard reply is "it's just hockey Grandpa". 

Hello,

If I was being an old cynic and got that response, my presumption would be that he lost.

Regards,

Cublet

9 hours ago, the penguins said:

That would go down just great with our grandson's teachers in Dallas

Hello,

From somewhere I've picked-up the idea that English speakers of English cannot teach that in America to children under teen-age.

Fact or fiction?

Regards,

Cublet

Hello,

When I ask for Prosecco on MSC, I get Prosecco - unlike on Royal Caribbean or Celebrity.

Regards,

Cublet

Hello,

When it come to spelling and grammar, my biggest surprise and disappointment was on Cunard's QV. The printed dining room menu had Lamb Curry and Poppadom's.

(Sigh.)

Regards,

Cublet

Hello,

I'm with Ernest Hemingway: One Martini is enough, two Martinis are too many, three Martinis are not enough.

Regards.

Cublet

11 hours ago, RTShaker said:

Your interpretation of supplement is flawed. That has always been one of my pet peeves when people discuss this. OP specifically stated 150% supplement. That intimates a fare plus an additional  150%.   A supplement is an amount in addition to the originally set price, so his assessment of a 150% supplement is correct. The charge is 250% of the original fare. If  the charges were 200% of the fare it would be a 100% supplement.

Hello,

This is another case of two countries divided by a common language. The Royal Group seems to be of the view that a 'supplement' is a multiplier not an additive unlike the rest of us.

Regards,

Cublet

2 hours ago, little britain said:

I have 

1. Chandon

 2. Chandon

3. Red Zinfandel 

 

I emailed to confirm that I would get #1 on my recent 5n cruise; received email confirmation that it would be…. And of course we received #3 !!! 🤔🤷‍♀️

Hello,

I hope you shared them!

Regards,

Cublet

34 minutes ago, twangster said:

<Humongous snip> 

 

This is the problem when a company doesn't invest in modern IT.

Hello,

This appears to be the case particularly when the CEO or COO is a bean counter who, armed with a spreadsheet, cannot see the need for anything more sophisticated.

Regards,

Cublet