JT1962

It’s great. The line moves almost continuously and I’ve never had to stop more than 5 seconds at the screen before they wave me through.

Calling MSC customer service and making any type of change (or sometimes just asking a question) never goes unpunished. Their system seems to re-price everything to the current rate, since apparently they consider that a change in your original cruise. There are many threads on this board of similar issues. Some are able to get it resolved and go back to the original price, but many are stuck with the new price.

Looks great. Something for everyone.

My guess would be that they are still finalizing itineraries and possibly even ships for late 2024 and early 2025. I’ve been waiting for the fall 2024 Grand Voyages / Repositioning cruises to be posted. So far only one ship, the Magnifica from Miami to Europe in Nov 2024, has been listed.

I have canceled two pre-booked excursions prior to sailing in the past year by calling and it was very easy. They will probably tell you that it will take up to two billing cycles to see the refund post to your card. My experience was about 3 weeks each time.

Royal Caribbean is my favorite cruise line, but I have primarily cruised with MSC since Covid due to the price, especially for solos. I can cruise with MSC for 1/3 of the cost of Royal Caribbean for a solo fare on a similar itinerary. If you are expecting MSC to be similar to your experience on Royal Caribbean (or any other mainstream line), you will likely disappointed. If you go with an open mind, and embrace the differences, then you should have a good time. The only way you will ever know if MSC is for you is to take the cruise and see.

It seems they are strictly enforcing Shareholder OBC more now than in the past. If they give $ 250 for two 7 Day B2B, even with different booking numbers, giving only $ 100 for a 6 & 7 day B2B would seem to be consistent with their chart.

You should have Early Dining. This is another common glitch on the MSC website / app. I have been on six MSC Cruises in the past 18 months and had that same message online each time, however my confirmation showed Early Dining and I was assigned Early Dining on each cruise.

That would be true if the ship was not already scheduled to disembark passengers in Miami. But MSC already has numerous passengers scheduled to disembark in Miami, so getting off there instead of Port Canaveral will not need an emergency, CBP approval or cause a fine. Customs agents will be ready and waiting for a few hundred scheduled to disembark.

Is this on the Seashore in October? I am on the same sailing and plan on disembarking in Miami, since they added that port after I booked originally to Port Canaveral. I spoke with the MSC Future Cruise consultant on the Divina T/A in May about this and he said there was no issue. He said to inform Guest Services after you board, sign a form and you will be set for a normal departure in Miami.

On 6 MSC cruises I have never seen a sale on excursions. Purchasing before you sail is the cheapest option I have seen. Once onboard the excursions have always been more expensive. I have canceled a pre-purchased excursion prior to sailing and it was refunded back to my credit card within 3-4 weeks. One pre-purchased excursion was canceled by MSC during a cruise. It was credited to my onboard account and refunded shortly after the cruise ended since I did not use up the full amount of the cancelled excursion.

Most excursions have enough people sign up. Of the 6-7 excursions I have booked through MSC, only one was canceled due to not enough people signing up. It was to Kennedy Space Center for Back to Back cruisers, so a limited number of passengers (200 or so) taking the B2B and needed 25 for the excursion. Prices will be 15-20% higher onboard compared to booking prior to sailing, from my experience. If you see a ship excursion that you really want to do, I would book before you sail, but have a back-up plan in the rare case that it is canceled.

Length of cruise, home port, holiday weekend / spring break and pricing of the cruise, have more to do with the passenger make up than the specific ship. The shorter, cheaper cruises and those around a holiday or spring break will usually have a more “rowdy” crowd.

It depends on the cause of the “failure” and what actually failed. They may be able to repair it either before you sail or while sailing. They may also divert to a closer port to re-stock bottled water, if needed. It may be similar issue to what happened on Elation recently: https://www.cruisehive.com/carnival-cruise-ship-diverts-due-to-lack-of-fresh-water/103819

Yes, they match to other cruise line and many hotel programs. You only get one match, so make sure it’s your best option. You maintain your status as long as you cruise once every 3 years. Check the top of the MSC board here for a discussion / chart of the current matches. Note that it can vary as to which match you get and it may take more than one submission to get a reply (Customer Service / website is MSC’s weakest point). Here is a link to to status match request website: https://www.msccruisesusa.com/manage-booking/msc-voyagers-club/status-match

I have sailed the Meraviglia (7 Day), Seascape (7 Day) and Divina ( 7 & 12 Day B2B, 7 Day and 17 Day Transatlantic) in the past 18 months and would rank my preference as 1. Divina 2. Meraviglia 3. Seascape. I found the Divina to be easier to navigate, felt less crowded and I enjoyed the bars / music venues being closer together. The Divina is well maintained, is large enough to have everything you need and the buffet was much less crowded than the other ships. As an FYI, my 7 & 12 day B2B cruises were like being on two completely different cruise lines. The first 7 days was a typical Western Caribbean and the passenger mix was around 75% US and 25% International and very laid back. The 12 day that followed was to Jamaica, Aruba, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica & Costa Maya. There passenger mix was around 75% International and 25% US and was much more of a late night / party crowd. Both were enjoyable, but were a totally different experience onboard the same ship.

Lower rates for solo cruisers. Even with the low (0-20-%) solo supplements gone on most itineraries now, the solo rates are still substantially below most other cruise lines. The downside is they now seem to be tightening the limits on solo cruisers allowed on each sailing.

I would stay at a hotel near the airport and fly the next day. That’s what I did last month. The Ibis Budget hotel was around $75 USD. Basic, but clean and served the purpose. McDonald’s, Aldi, shopping and other restaurants nearby.

I’ve always gotten a final bill under my door the night before departure.

I believe that will only benefit those who booked after May 12, 2023. “Vantage's bankruptcy filing says customers who booked and made payments on or after May 12, 2023, for future travel will either have those trips take place as scheduled or customers will receive refunds. Those funds were put into a separate account, totaling $2.1 million, but that's a small fraction of the total amount Vantage says it owes customers.” https://www.wcvb.com/amp/article/vantage-travel-bankruptcy-customer-credit-proposal/44400033

Try calling 1-833-286-5159. It seems odd that they would automatically move your sailing by a month. Did you check your Spam & Trash email folders to see if you had received a previous email that you may have missed? My May 8 Divina cruise was canceled and I received an email with my options, which included moving to a different sailing date and / or ship or getting a refund. If I did not reply by a specific date, the default option was a refund.

For my MSC cruises from the US in the past 18 months, no one ever looked at the scheduled boarding time.

Maybe staying on the ship with less crowds onboard would be a nice option if everything else is good? There is no guarantee the ship will actually dock at Half Moon Cay, since it is a tender port and weather / wind can cause them to skip the port.

Snorkeling at Mahogany Bay is good if you go off the pier at the far end of the beach.

Refunds for most don’t look promising, based on this article: https://www.wcvb.com/amp/article/vantage-travel-bankruptcy-customer-credit-proposal/44400033