Janet&Carl

As a matter of fact, you won't have too many reasons to envy other ships cruisers. There will be MSC Divina direct competitors and one Mistake of Celebrity.

The best ships depart from FLL.

I have never, ever looked at another ships cruisers with envy.

I am very happy with my choice and make the most of my holiday. It's not a cheapie for me. With airfares and land costs we usually spend near $20,000 each trip away. I'm going to make the most of it and not let the little things get in the way of a fantastic holiday on a beautiful ship.

You've confused me. The first line of your post said "...cruising out of the US was very different to cruising out of Italy", but you went on to refer to two cruises out of the US.

 

!

Sorry to have caused you confusion -The two cruises out of Italy were fantastic - loved every minute. Maybe I should have put that in.

I compared my two cruises on the one ship out of America - to make my point.

 

 

I'll try to contact MSC for the extra single bed.

Just to let you know - I got mine from the cabin steward - I didn't arrange it before hand.

I thank you for your interesting reply and have just looked at the MSC UK web site with regard to pricings for a couple of yacht club sailings.

 

My findings are that the price difference between a YC1 and a YC3 on the UK site were ~ £500pp (~ $825pp) on a cruise only basis for two different itineraries.(not Divina but 2 other ships)

Obviously regional pricing has a lot to do with the results I got.

 

As a fan of MSC, (I have a BLACK card), I am now being put off them by their "Experiences" program.

 

I for one like the suites , non YC, (which are 300 sq.ft with a 100 sq. ft balcony) on deck 12 aft on Splendida and Fantasia, but find they only come with the "Aurea" package which has the completely rubbish CHEERS drinks package, in addition I have no interest in the Spa facilities.

 

This I find now limits my choice and I'm more likely to go on an RCI ship (I am diamond in the C and A) if the itineraries are similar.

 

MSC, IMHO, are no longer the good value , on European cruises at least, at the upper end of their accommodation range ie Balcony suites, and possibly YC suites as well because of their EXPERIENCES offerings.

 

The US sailings may well be benefiting from the aggressive pricing to aid their market entry in the Caribbean.

 

But I am still optimistic that there will be some good deals offered nearer the sailings as has been seen in the past, and I'll keep a look out for a good deal on a YC3.

 

 

Pete

Hi Pete - that is so different to here - here being Australia - I have just booked an S3 suite for our next cruise (seperate bedroom non yacht club) it is costing less than $4000 for an 11 night cruise for three of us. No spa facilities or package in site. Just the suite and the usual trimmings of everyone else. My experience is that the YC2 and YC3 suites go very quickly - I couldnt book one on any of the cruises I looked at because they were all sold out.

My DH and I are doing YC on Divina in September and wondered how much it differed from our experience on a Canaries cruise where the clientele were mostly European, which was not a problem, other than they didn't speak a great deal of English. Did people mix well in YC and could people join each other for dinner. When my DH and I were on MSC Fantasia in YC there were very few english speaking people and we tended to be the only ones in the bar at night and there was no one to pal up with and join for dinner. We enjoy getting to know people from different areas and finding out the differences. We loved the YC theme which is why we are going back and will be interested to see what the differences are on the other side of the pond as it were. One of the things I loved about YC was the packing and unpacking, it was so great to get on a ship and not be bothered with that chore but to go straight to the bar and start the holiday.

Hi - I just thought I'd share my experience in Yacht club. It was fantastic and I long for yacht club again but with an autistic daughter who needs her own room it very difficult to get an executive or royal suite with a separate bedroom. When we did yacht club there were about 30 Australians, 1 German couple who spoke English. One American solo gent and an Italian couple with two small children who were on their honeymoon. Only the Italians did not join in we all gathered in the Top Sail Lounge and had a great time.

I don't want to upset my fellow cc people here but I found that cruising out of the US was very different to cruising out of Italy. I am Australian easy going and have found that cruising gives me a great holiday. I sailed out of NYC on Poesia and could not believe what people were complaining about - some people are just complainers - some people travel in large groups (eg 30 or more from bible class) - People in groups give vent to their grievances to each other and their gripes just grow, sometimes out of all proportion.

Anyway, most of the gripes of my fellow passengers out of NYC were about small, little things and could have been fixed by a word to their cabin steward, extra hangers, face cloth, lumpy pillow. All could have been replaced in an instant - instead these people chose to gripe all week about it. And then continued to gripe about everything - honestly on the tender rides to port you needed the patience of a saint to not say anything. I spent a lot of this week shaking my head in disbelief at how people behaved and treated the staff. Now what staff member is going to give you a smile if you are constantly growling at them.

The following week we did a cruise on the Poesia out of Fort Lauderdale. Boy was that a different story and a completely different atmosphere. Less stuffy people, less complainers and a far more enjoyable cruise for everyone. You would have thought you were at party central. What lively, fun and happy crowd - a lot more like Australians and a lot more relaxed.

What was different - same ship - same food - same entertainment - same staff - different passengers.

Thanks - both for a very entertaining blog about your cruise but also for the information ;)

Hi all.

 

We booked an inside cabin for Preziosa for both of us and our almost 3 years old daughter.

We got assigned a Wheelchair Accessible one that I found that has a Pullman bed for the 3 rd passenger... Do you know if MSC provides rail protections or if it is possible to request a cot bed for her?

 

Just one other question: do you know if the soup the usually serve during meals is cream soup or is it one of those watery soups?

 

 

Thank you all.

I'm sorry I havent had the experience of ordering a cot but I have had an extra bed twice. I have an autistic daughter and want her to be comfortable, its easier for everyone if she sleeps well. I have never had any problems having another single bed put in our room. We have always had a big enough suite to fit one in.

The soup will change daily. From my memory of the menus most were watery type - but you will have a choice of two each meal and it could include both. I use google a lot and I'''m sure you'll see menus posted somewhere.

I asked the 2nd seating at the MDR. If I find this too late, can I change it to first seating?

Yes, of course, the Maitre de will be in a room changing dining options on boarding day - find out which room he is in and ask.

In my experience the later dining option has always been more popular on MSC - don't know why but it seems the Europeans like to eat later - I've never had a problem changing to first seating.

I haven't been on here for a couple of years - I got disillusioned with people banging on who had never sailed on MSC. I don't visit other pages and bad mouth their brand - I have no right to do that as I have never sailed on them. The only other pages I post on are ones where I ask questions for my up coming cruise - like port information etc.

There used to be a poster a couple of years ago who was here all day singing the praises of HAL disguised as a well travelled, across the board companies, cruiser. His moniker was pmacher61. I guess things do not change.

 

 

BTW by design the Divina is the closest to Celebrity S-Class.

Service concept and space per person make them different.

 

and price makes them much different. And the friendly family atmosphere counts as well.

 

For me I choose MSC because I cruise with my family. They offer a lot more benefits for the younger members and I don't pay for them to cruise with us so its cheaper.

 

I have looked at many HAL cruises in the past - but I don't think my younger family memeber would enjoy it. I have personal friends who we have swapped cruising stories with - none have enjoyed HAL most have said that you have to have a walking frame to fit in !! On MSC you can party all day and night if you wish (our older kids) or find a quiet spot to chill out and read like we do.

Hi Mike - you will be assigned a table in the MDR (main dining room) at either first or second sitting. This table will be yours for the duration of the cruise and you will have the same staff serving you each evening. You are welcome to go to another restaurant instead of MDR - they are not usually full. You book directly and if you want to ensure your table you can book at the very start of your cruise. Our experience was that the themed restaurants were not as good as MDR so why pay more?

The menus for MDR are posted outside the MDR so you can see if you fancy it before you book a specialty one.

Dont stress. Voucher books are always available for purchase at check in before you get on the boat. They are even available if you run out while you are cruising. We have never pre purchased drink vouchers. I have never seen any disadvantage in it. The drinks "packages" are only available prior to sailing but the voucher system is always available.

;)

I have booked and S3 suite for my upcoming cruise on Fantasia:confused:. Initially I booked 9009, I want to be port side leaving Venice. Then I saw close up pictures of the balcony and wanted to change. I rang MSC and changed to 11009. The operator asked if I was sure as she said to me that there is a difference of 2m in size between them (11009 being the smaller).

Has anyone sailed in these cabins and can they tell me if 11009 still has the seperate bedroom ? On the deck plans it doesn't have a line drawn to indicate a separate bedroom (but nor does the royal suite) however 9009, 9010 and 10007 and 10008 do.

Sorry but you are wrong cat 11 is a B3. B1 is the smaller balcony rooms.

yes but we are talking about inside cabins not 11 but the letter I so I am right. Categories have changed 10 through 12 do not exist any more they are balconies and are called B1 B2 B3. Inside has two categories and they are now called I1 and I2.

"I" (pronounced eye) the letter not the number 1 (one).

Hi Cathy

I have always found the drinks to be reasonably priced and have never bought a package. We have always bought the vouchers and used them just like paper tickets. They do not have a room number or name on them and are interchangeable between passengers. You get a package of 10 - 14 vouchers depending on what you buy. You can't buy them for mixed packages but an individual type e.g. for water - wine - beer - soft drinks - cocktails etc.. We usually buy a couple of cocktail ones, a water one and a couple of soft drink ones. You are able to buy them in the lounge area as you check in and you can buy them onboard if you run out.

My understanding is if you want a drink package it has to be bought by everyone travelling together including the children (there are particular all inclusive packages for kids) those in your cabin and those in other cabins that may be on the same booking.

I will not be buying a package because the next cruise we are taking my mum and my mother in law are going with us. Both are non drinkers but because I booked for them and we will eat at the same table - even though they are in separate rooms they still have to buy the package too.

CC has the wrong listed price for classic for Divina. It is NOT $31

Hi Bosjoe, thanks for all that information - can you tell me are the prices you quoted in American $'s or in Australian $'s. I thought it was much dearer than that.

Hi,

On the MSC web site there is a great run down of what is included in the drinks packages. Click on onboard services and then choose packages or click on already booked then beverage packages - both take you to the same place. Cruise critic has also looked into this and have an excellent article that I read today. I think I just searched for "drinks packages" in the search area. The Cruise critic one gives you prices too. http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=1470

From what I can gather so far - the premium all inclusive package includes gellato, cafe items, snacks and more premium drinks and the standard package is take away ice cream but still includes beer, wine, hot and cool drinks all over the ship. Both include cocktails.

Can you tell me more about the lift?? - last time I was in Malta we caught a local bus up to the town for 1 Euro - but the wait for the bus to come back down was painful. I would like to know how to find the lift and not have to wait for the bus. I will be In Malta again in November with my elderly mother.

I know of only two people who have booked inside guarentee cabins on MSC. They were both booked through a US travel agency. Both of these passengers were placed in a balcony cabin when the cabins were finalised. Which I think is about two to three weeks before the cruise.

If you book direct with MSC - and we can only do that in Australia through our local MSC Australia - guarantee cabins do not exist - I have just tried to book one for my mother to accompany us on our next cruise. I was able to book an I1 cabin or I2 cabin and I was given the cabin number straight away.

So, as far as I can tell, in answering your question. I1 does not mean I gty.

There is one glaring error in the two pictures posted above - the MSC one and I think the HAL one. On MSC Yacht club is only the decks at the top of the ship - so you need to include the space under Yacht club. For example on the ship we were on Yacht club was on decks 15, 16 and 18 (pool deck) at the front of the ship as indicated. However,the lower decks also had user space for all other passengers at the front of the ship. Your description is therefore deceptive.

Hi Skier 52 - the Royal Suite Yacht Club YC3- it is more comparable in price and size to the RCL cruise you posted - here is is only $300 difference between YC1 and YC3 so brings you closer to your price and much better accommodations. So far more favourable on MSC in my book :rolleyes:

3rd cruise this year will be:

 

6th December, Rhapsody of the Seas, Queensland.

 

Hubby said we will need to cut back on cruises next year. Ha, we'll see about that!

hahahah I'm with you - send him to the page about "how do you save for a cruise" then tell him all his little luxuries are gone now that your going to save for your next years cruise. love it.

wow great job David -thanks for all your work on the list

Hiya

I just read through the last couple of pages on this thread - don't know what the list is or how to see it so some advice needed there please.

And you can add us to the list too :) we are sailing the MSC Poesia out of New York - going to Canada, Down the Eastern Coast of America, Columbia, Panama, Costa Rica and Mexico ;)