Mikesa1721

No; you get the points on the final balance, so if you have $200 OBC and "spend" $200 your final balance is $0 and "nil point" as they say on the "Eurovision song contest"

 

Pete

Thanks Pete!!,,That perfectly explains how the OBC works now.

My OBC was just an entry at the top of my account paper work and was used to pay for excursions, shopping , gratuities, It was basicaly subtracted from any spend you entered on your account.S we had the AI pcakage we didn't have any drinks spend on our account.

 

We were also told by the MSC club rep on board "Use it, or, Lose it"

 

Pete

Yet another MSC Club question Pete,,,if you have, let's say $200.00 of OBC, do you get a point if you spend all of it onboard??

Hey everyone,

 

Embarkation:

It took way too long and the agent directing the line at the beginning was either misinformed, incompetent, or intentionally trying to mess with us. Since I like to give everyone the benefit of the doubt I’ll go with misinformed. We arrived at the port around noon. When we got to embarkation there were two lines you could go in. The agent at the front of the line directing everyone directed us to the line furthest away. When we asked what the difference in the line was because the closer line looked shorter he stated that the line furthest away doesn’t loop back around like the closer line does so that both lines essentially have the same wait time. How wrong he was. We found out about 3/4 in that the line did in fact loop around. In fact the travelers in front of us all seemed to notice this at the same time and did a collective “what the heck?!” In addition the line moved so slow, they definitely needed more agents checking people in. But in fact after a while they did add more agents and the line started moving at an acceptable rate. But it was bad and the agents knew it. When we finally made it to the front of the line the agent asked how long did our wait take and when we told her an hour and a half, she apologized and said that it was a long wait. That being said I’m used to long lines and can adapt pretty quickly so I spent most of my time in line watching Netflix. My 18 month old was in his stroller relaxing without a care in the world, my teenager was reading, the 7 year old boy (whoo) he was jumping around, and the 10 year old was looking around. All in all although the line was long, I didn’t let it affect me but sadly it was the longest embarkation I’ve ever had and I cruise the same time of year every year and show up at the ports around the same time so I can’t blame it on that.

Also, for some reason my partner’s credit card wouldn’t recognize at embarkation so we were informed we would have to go to guest services to create our onboard account. That guest services line was crazy but I’ll get to that later. So for being the longest embarkation time ever MSC has to lose points.

While we were waiting to embark the ship last week, I was talking with the butler who had escorted us to the Yacht Club check-in on our first sailing back in May as well as the lovely lady who had checked us in, and none of the check-in agents, porters, butlers,etc. are employed by MSC,,they are all employed by SMS Shore Operations Ltd. Norwegian, Carnival, MSC, use this company for all of their onshore support at the pier.

As far as the open flame. I believe some one else has already mentioned, but when one lights Sabbath Candles for the beginning of the Sabbath, on Friday night, there should be at least 2 candles to light. On all other cruises that offered Friday night services, they always had this. My DW lights candles at home each week, so she has done the prayers on several of these cruises. Technically, the candles are supposed to burn for at least 3 hours, but when we have done this before, we always extinguish the candles right after services. They are NEVER left unattended.

 

We sail NCL a lot and they always supply what is needed for these services, Carnival very rarely. MSC is trying, but they just need some one to instruct them in the correct way to do it. I'm sure they will have it right in no time at all.

 

As for the location, in the daily bulletin, they called the area where the Library and the adjoining part, something else. Maybe one of the other cruisers can remember the exact name. Myself, I probably never would have found it, but my DW remembered seeing it on the wall (or door, or somewhere) once before, so she knew exactly where it is. Why they didn't just say, in the Library is anyone's guess. The do say what deck it was on, so it wouldn't be too difficult to find the exact spot.

 

Cheers

 

Len[/size][/font]

MSC calls it "Sky And Stars". I wouldn't have known it was the library either if I hadn't asked a question regarding this area before we sailed.

Yes!!

 

but not if you spent $20,000 in the casino

I would have thought there may have been a cap on the amount of points you could accrue on one sailing. Good to know there is no cap on the earning potential!!

EatSleep,,,that's a great shot of KLM coming in!!! I wished the beach looked like that while we were there last week. When we were in St. Maarten in March, the beach looked just like that, so it must wash out during the summer, and return in the winter. Good if your traveling during peak season.:) not so good if you're traveling this time of year.:(

I'm afraid you have misunderstood how the points accumulate.

 

The points are awarded on an individual basis so in your calculation you have 15 points awarded to a couple but they are split one person has 7 points and the other has 8

 

if you only rely on nights on board you will need to complete 15 cruises to get 105 points and get a black card.

 

If you always give the on board spend to the same person (B) and you get $400 (2 points) per cruise

the system will work like this

 

1st cruise person A :- 7pts (CLASSIC) Person B:- 9 pts (CLASSIC)

 

2nd cruise person A :- 14pts (CLASSIC) Person B:- 18 pts (CLASSIC)

 

3rd cruise person A :- 21pts (SILVER) Person B:- 27 pts (SILVER)

 

4th cruise person A :- 28pts (SILVER) Person B:- 36 pts (SILVER)

 

5th cruise person A :- 35pts (SILVER) Person B:- 45 pts (GOLD)

 

6th cruise person A :- 42pts (SILVER) Person B:- 54 pts (GOLD)

 

7th cruise person A :- 49pts (GOLD) Person B:- 63 pts (GOLD)

...

...

 

11th cruise person A :- 77pts (GOLD) Person B:- 99 pts (GOLD)

 

12th cruise person A :- 84pts (GOLD) Person B:- 108 pts (BLACK)

 

If an extra point on spend is earned on cruises 1 to 11 then person B will get Black after 11 cruises

 

 

Pete

Pete,,,If I was onboard and decided to purchase a $20,000.00 watch,,,would I then become a Black Card member?

Do you buy these vouchers on board? What is the cost...and what is the benefit?

 

Thanks

MsTabby,,,for $10.00 you can purchase a future cruise credit voucher. The voucher is only good for new bookings and must be used within 18 months of the issue date.

It may be combined with the "Early Booking" promotion and the MSC Club member discount,,it cannot be combined with other promotions and is not applicable to category YC2 or YC3 staterooms.

It can only be used for itineraries 7 days or longer, and only one can be used per stateroom.

The following On Board Credit per category:

$100.00 OBC when you book an inside stateroom

$150.00 OBC when you book an ocean view stateroom

$200.00 OBC when you book a balcony stateroom

$300.00 OBC when you book a suite

$400.00 OBC when you book a YC1 Yacht Club stateroom

You can buy these vouchers from the cruise consultant desk on deck 6 starboard aft.

'Steerage' LOL!!!:D

A pic that Maureen posted in this thread describes it perfectly,,,,, made me laugh so hard it brought me to tears!!!

Same here. It didn't matter what time of day. If I wanted to take any kind of drink back to the cabin, one of the butlers in the TS insisted on carrying it for me. One day, hubby wanted some smoked salmon and not just those little canapes and the butler there at that time came back after a few minutes with a plate full of rolled smoked salmon. We both could not finish it!!

 

Just saw where you booked another Divina cruise. Did you get one of the square cabins or stayed with the YC3 suite?

We have the Sophia Loren Suite booked for January,,just a short 3 day sailing. This was the only time I was able to reserve this suite. Then we are back in stateroom 16008 for 2 weeks for a b2b to the Eastern Caribbean again, and then Bermuda. The Repo in October 2015 is what I am now debating over wether to try and see if one of those square cabins might be available. After all is said and done,,it's up to the boss to decide where she wants to sail on the ship.

Mike, you have really loaded up on future cruises on the Divina LOL....I would like to try a Mediterranean cruise on her at some point. But honestly...anywhere on her would be fine by me!

 

She is a great ship and travel in the Yacht Club was quite the experience that will be hard to forget.

I was smart and purchased a future cruise credit voucher which gives me a $400.00 on board credit for our Genoa to Miami repo cruise in October 2015. Called my PVC this afternoon and cashed that voucher in!!!! Woo Hoo!!!

My girlfriend wants to do the Med as well. She's half Italian and half Greek,,so sailing an itinerary that includes both would be fantastic!!

Yes, it is larger than the reg. YC's but the extras make up for their size. The balcony is larger than the standard also. After booking a regular cabin, I watch the inventory to see when one of the square ones becomes available and get my TA on it in heart beat. So far it has worked twice. I like being on deck 15 more than I would on 16 just for the easy access to the Top Sail.

I would go the The Top Sail Lounge every morning to get my girlfriend a Caffe Mochiatto,,butler had to carry it back to our stateroom every time. I guess it would be nice not to have to climb those stairs.

Yes, I do have pics of the square one we were in. 15031. Will be in 15029 next time. I don't use any of the photo bucket or whatever you use to post pictures here. I will be glad to share them by email if you like. You know how to use this.:) m a beckham at mindspring dot com

 

Just send a message so I will have yours. We have been in 15016 also.

Received your pictures Cruiser. Thanks so much,,very helpful!! It is definitely larger than the YC1 we stayed in on deck 16 this past May. I might have second thoughts now about our stateroom selection for the October 2015 repo sailing on Divina.

It is nice to finally see some pictures of the Sophia Loren suite! We will be in this room in October, and we are very excited about it. Are there any notable differences between this room and the other YC3 besides decor? They both look pretty identical from your pictures.

None at all Fredric,,Colors, artwork and the dressing table in the Sophia Loren suite which is a replica of the one Sophia Loren would use.

On our "turn around" day of the last cruise, the head butler took my friend and I on a tour of the cabins on deck 16. Nice digs!:) I think I still prefer the square ones to those YC3's. Just have to wait till one is available nearer to sailing to snag one for just 2 people.

Do you have any pics of those staterooms Cruiser??? I'd love to see what they look like. Our cousins vowed to never stay in "steerage" again and they want to book the Yacht Club for our April trip,,I think the square stateroom would be perfect for them and our nephew.

Absolutely stunning pics Havoc!!!! They are amazing shots!!!

Gambee,,it's to bad Bernard couldn't do your tour in reverse and start in Maho. The big planes like KLM's jumbo 747 lands at 11:15am as well as a few like American, Delta and Air France which land early afternoon. We decided this time, to take a taxi to Maho and just plane watch,,,here's just two examples, as to not hijack your thread:

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Our butler Johnny gave us a quick tour of the Sophia Loren Suite,,felt horrible walking into someone's stateroom, but Johnny assured is it was ok so I snapped some quick pictures:

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The living room is spacious with a couch with pulls out to create a queen size bed, 2 chairs, as well as two end tables on either side of the couch. There is also a credenza which the tv, as well as your bar ware sit on top of. Inside the credenza is where you will find your mini-bar refrigerator, as well as two cabinets for storage. Fresh fruit is delivered to your stateroom each day, and a welcome bottle of prosecco will be waiting for you upon embarkation. As this was our second time sailing with MSC, we received a pair of complimentary champagne glasses. An unexpected surprise!!!

 

Mike, the glasses must be special to those suites as we didn't get anything special on our second cruise. Will be soon doing our 3rd and 4th. Actually, it will be our 5th & 6th since those all are b2b cruises!!

 

Really Cruiser??? And here I thought I received something special:( Oh well,,looks like we'll have a large collection of them if that's the case. We have 3 YC3 suites booked for next year.:)

Some Random views from our balcony:

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The best part of this stateroom has to be the large balcony. It is quirky in design but definitely fulfilled our needs. There were two chairs along with an end table,,or ottoman if you prefer, as well as two loungers. We were told that stateroom 16006 was unoccupied so we wanted to expand our balcony even more. Unfortunately, a hatch is what connects these two balconies and not a divider.

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There is ample storage for luggage under the bed as well. We easily fit out two 30" duffles and garment bag underneath and still had plenty of room for more: Yes I did bring a tape measure along just for this purpose

Walking into the bedroom, you will find a desk area with drawers. One which is totally useless because the hairdryer occupies just about the entire drawer, but the other has ample storage for hairbrushes,,curling irons,,etc. I used it to store all of the daily's as well as other useful information I wanted to bring home with us. The bed is two twins put together. We found when we slept that both of us would somehow meet in the middles of the bed in the morning. There are cross bars underneath the bed that lock to form a king size bed. If they are not locked,,the two mattresses form a "V" shape and slope in the center. Once we told our butler about this,,he immediately checked, and found that the mattresses were not locked. Problem solved!!!

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The living room is spacious with a couch with pulls out to create a queen size bed, 2 chairs, as well as two end tables on either side of the couch. There is also a credenza which the tv, as well as your bar ware sit on top of. Inside the credenza is where you will find your mini-bar refrigerator, as well as two cabinets for storage. Fresh fruit is delivered to your stateroom each day, and a welcome bottle of prosecco will be waiting for you upon embarkation. As this was our second time sailing with MSC, we received a pair of complimentary champagne glasses. An unexpected surprise!!!

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