Janet&Carl

No complementary laundry or dry cleaning in Yacht Club.

This must have changed - we had complimentary dry cleaning and laundry in 2010.

Yacht club is fabulous - loved it - felt so special.

I think the best way for of describing Cunard is the American idea of a Bristish cruise line - a sort of British theme park at sea for Americans. I had no idea at the time that Cunard was even trying to be British or in any way European. The language, food, menus, service style, everything, the whole experience to me was distinctly U.S..

 

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Whether you like them or not, MSC are genuinely Italian and exploit this mercilessly in their whole onboard experience: food, wine, service, decor, music and attitude. I have lived in Milan and Turin and the MSC experience takes me straight back to Italy right down to the authentic pizzas and the cheeky chatter-chat with the maitre d's.

 

MSC's over-the-top Italian theme is not designed to make Europeans feel comfortable but rather be the Italian idea of an Italian theme park. MSC's authentic Italian to Cunard's fake British.

Well said Skipper Tim - This is the best description I have heard yet

I just tried to book and its working here - I'm in Australia and using the MSC Australia web site.

Yep I'll get it back at end of cruise if not. So no big deal

Welcome Home

Waiting to hear from you re seperate bedroom in this cabin. Would appreciate you letting us know

This has just been posted on the Carnival Facebook Page (Australian)

Ready to pack your bags and go? We've got some amazing deals on cruises departing October 6 (Carnival Legend, 10 days to Vanuatu and New Caledonia) and October 8 (Carnival Spirit, 9 days to New Caledonia). Be quick as they won't last long!

I havent checked them out yet

Sailing out of Venice is one of my highlights - so much so that before we can fit in any of our to do list like Northern Europe and South America we will shortly be doing this again. I love the Eastern Med and there is so much more I want to see.

Second favourite would be sailing into Malta - wow that was stunning.

Thanks Jenny - do you have any more information about that - is it all you can drink ? does it include ice creams ? do you pay for coffee and tea ?

How much does it cost ?

Thanks

Can you purchase drink packages - If you can do you organise them before you go or onboard. I can't find anything about them on the carnival web site :confused:

wow so many Aussie cruisers - addictive isnt it :eek:

We will be cruising the med out of venice in November 2014 and cruising the pacific islands out of Sydney in June 2015

Thanks

:)

Hi Moonvine

My husband and I are the same age as you. We love MSC and haven't sailed with anyone else yet. I find most people on their cruises to be the laid back type. My husband (an introvert) always finds someone quiet that suits him. I wander and keep myself busy. We don't drink a lot. We love the family atmosphere on MSC - we cruise outside of school holidays so we don't encounter the kids running around thing that you hear about. I think you'll be happy with your choice if you book MSC.

:)

YES _ YES _ YES

I would definitely do it. yacht club is so special. The only draw back is the all inclusive drinks are only in Yacht Club bars and restaurants so if you want a drink anywhere else its not like the packages where you can get drinks anywhere.

The benefits of Yacht club are to many to mention - think premium everything !! the butler the afternoon tea, the breakfast buffet everything is fabulous. We now only splurge on yacht club if we have a lot of sea days. Don't get me wrong if we could afford it we would do it every time but if we are in port nearly every day and just using our suite to sleep we don't spend the extra.

Yacht Club is so special - you'll certainly be in for a treat.

I have known two people that have booked a guarantee cabin - they both got upgraded to balcony and they both knew three weeks before sailing :) I hope you enjoy your cruise

PMSL!

 

Our next cruise after this one will be with our three sons so we may have to settle for a bit less. :(

Not with MSC youdon't - with MSC kids sail free - we took our 14 and 17 year olds into Yacht Club with us and just paid port charges - which you do in a regular cabin. I agree with the lack of people on deck comment - the pool, hot tubs and lounge chairs were always empty. The next cruise we did was on Peosia so there was no Yacht Club - boy did we miss it.

one thing thats occured to me reading these threads is that each different country has different deals - what is available in the uk etc is not available here - no wonder the staff onboard get confused - given the language barriers and the extraordinary amount of different packages available.:confused:

Does anyone know approximately how much a taxi would cost from the cruise terminal to downtown Rome?

Thanks

The train is easy - all train ticket machines have language options including English and it costs 9 euro return ticket from port to Rome and back.

It takes about half an hour - trains are frequent and you will beat all the buses or taxis on the busy roads.

Can anyone tell me if it is acceptable to order more than one main course per person if the mood takes you. I am unsure if this is common practice.

Mu daughter (10 at the time) ordered three main courses each night - one from each of the different menus. They were served one after the other without question.

If you say you enjoyed something - the waiter will ask if you would like another. Happens every time to me.

We have never had a problem with service or with the food. On the one occasion I tasted something I didn't like and left it the waiter offered to bring me another dish of something else - as I had another four courses coming I didn't feel the need to eat another entree.

Great review. I literally just booked this ship 30 minutes ago and this will be my first MSC cruise. A couple of questions if you don't mind. First, do you have a list of which eating venues are free and which ones cost money? Second, do yo know the prices of the specialty restaurants? Third, are all of the evening shows free of charge and does MSC require you to make a reservation for the shows? Thanks for any help you can provide.

Hi, I'm sure you'll love MSC, we do. The main dining room and buffet are free for breakfast lunch and dinner. The shows are free and you don't need a reservation. Usually, the shows are held twice a night - once during early seating dinner and secondly during late seating dinner. There will be a lot of other entertainment in the form of live music around. I don't know the cost for specialty restaurants, sorry.

 

 

 

 

Hope you picked 9009. ;)

 

 

 

 

Bret

Great info Bret - I did pick 9009 - then was sent a picture which indicated to me that the balcony was not all that great and that 11009 balcony was better (more wrap around) so changed it to 11009. I think I might have to change back - just checked and 9009 is still available. Lol they must think I'm a nutter.

Thank you so much for your help

Thanks Tim and Paul for posting photos. Although still cruising on Armonia - today Piraeus and only one more port, Split before cruise ends, photos bring back wonderful memories of places and CC members.

A future CC reunion cruise?

Tim the Dubai to Fremantle cruise increased by au$2000 and l'm waiting for cruises from Fremantle to be released as only 4hour flight for me.

Overall looks like MSC prices increased. What dates is new MSC brochure for?

Elena, future cruise consultant on board Armonia has copy of Italian brochure up to March 2016.

AmoMondo l loved walking couple ports with you and sorry didn't get to say goodbye. Hope you enjoy your trip to HongKong, Fiji and Australia later this year and pity l will be cruising when/if you come to Melbourne otherwise would catch up. Wendy

Jessica - I enquired about the cruise out of Fremantle - it is booked for a private charter which is doing the Anzac commemoration. The prices are very high $14,000. I too would have liked to do MSC locally :) .

Wow great - I asked a while back when I was trying to decide which cabin - I had a choice of three corner ones but didnt get an answer.

can you list the dimensions of 9009 10007 and 11009

Thanks :D

Was I supposed to receive one after becoming silver member? I have only got a silver membership card. In any case after my next cruise I will be gold member, so looking forward to the gold one.

Me too Travelberlin - I never received one at Silver and I am gold next cruise on the first night. I shall expect one in the post on my arrival home :)

:D

As soon as I clicked the "post" button I realized I'd said we had nothing for Katakolon -- I should have said Corfu! Like the rest of the crowd, we will head for Olympia, but won't spend much time there as my other half, Charles, has severe lung issues and wont be able to do a lot of walking. Instead, we'll spend some time in local villages and visit an olive farm for awhile.

 

Olympia site had horse and cart tours of the ruins last time I was there. We booked through a local tour company. Had a chauffeur driven car waiting for us at the port - drove us to Olympia and toured for the rest of the day. All for 80 Euro for the four of us. Was a great day.

We are going on Fantasia 11 day (9 ports) on Nov 2. First MSC cruise with our cruise friends, very excited.

 

Want to go to Rome 4 nights before cruise. DH studied and stayed there for months during college and has been back a couple times, but not since 95.

 

Will take train to Venice day before and will need to find hotel stay one night.

We have booked the same cruise as you - I noticed there isnt' a roll call for this cruise yet.

Tim thank you so much for posting those fantastic photos earlier in this thread.

The pools are drained each night as I understand as they are salt water pools!

I would be interested in hearing from past cruisers if they saw the pools emptied!

As far as how many were sick, if it reached the numbers another poster mentioned it would have been reported to the CDC, as this is mandatory for all US home ported ships which the Divina is!

Yes - I have seen all the pools and spas drained every night and refilled early in the morning. This has happened on every cruise I have been on - every night.

This caused a problem when we left New York in the early hours of the morning after waiting for a late plane as the water was filthy when refilled the next morning - I guess we were still too close to shore. Needless to say no-one was swimming anyway as the temp was freezing. Sleet and snow on deck.

Cabins available for booking - I've looked at two web sites in addition to the MSC australia web site and all show cabins.