Msc Musica, June 2018 is it worth upgrading drinks package????

Sailing for 1st time on MSC. We have all the

ALL-INCLUSIVE RESTAURANT & BAR DRINK PACKAGE A.is it worth the upgrade price of £294 per cabin to upgrade to premiumThanks

Personally myself and family have always been happy with the bar and restaurant drinks package. Admittedly it does not cover premium brands but there is plenty to choose from and I do not think it worth paying so much more to gain the premium brands. My grandchildren also enjoyed the children’s package which proved cost effective and they were more than happy with their mockails, soft drinks, milkshakes and unlimited ice

creams!

I have done many MSC cruises and have always found the drinks package you have to be excellent value.

The extra to upgrade could I feel be spent better elsewhere (shore excursions maybe?)

Good luck with all your plans

Suron (Bristol, UK)

Depends on your drink preference. If you intend to drink daily for the full duration of the cruise those that are not covered by your existing package, it may be worth it. If your intention is just occasionally, maybe not.

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Spend the Money on excurtions in stead. There are so many fantastic places to see on that Cruise.

Until recently, we always upgraded as we thought it was great value. However, there has been a very noticeable slide in the value of the premium drinks offered. For example, I used to get Remy Martin XO @ €12 a glass on the package. Last year, that was removed and the most expensive cognac/brandy on the list was priced @ €8.90. This year, that has been reduced to €6.90 (for a glass of Martell VSOP; Remy Martin Cellar 16 is on the list @ €6.70 - nowhere close to the XO I could get 2 years ago!).

Couple that with the fact that the premium package (for cruises of <9 nights) increased this year from €44 to €50 pppd whereas there was no increase in the price of basic package, so the difference is greater, but offers far less value than it once did.

Also, while the room service items and mini-bar are included, on a 7 night, port-intensive, cruise, we found that there were very few opportunities to actually enjoy these elements of the package.

On our last cruise, we just had the basic package and I purchased the 7 wines package as I don't care for the inclusive wines on offer. We saved quite a bit doing that.

From this winter, for cruises of 9+ nights, I would say that the premium package is better value when US$ is the currency onboard as the difference between the 2 packages is only $6 pppd - now, that's a no-brainer!

Thanks everybody,

think we are just staying with original package booked, any advise regarding sailing with MSC would be appreciated.

Thanks everybody,

think we are just staying with original package booked, any advise regarding sailing with MSC would be appreciated.

Keep an open mind and accept that it will be a different experience to other cruiselines.

So I'm back again after a long break from MSC and cruising and trying to get my head around the changes since April 2015!

Also trying to decide between these 2 packages and with the Premium almost double the ordinary one, just not sure. What might swing it is the wine. What are they serving these days on both lackagaes please?

Does the ordinary package still include glasses of prosecco? What's the red wine like? If these aren't that bad, might go with that and just pay for the occasional Remy Martin or Armagnac as an extra.

Thanks

Hi Mairi, welcome back!

There's now a 2-tier pricing system for the all-inclusives depending on cruise length. I won't quote the prices here as there's the Sterling, Euro and US$ prices, not to mention that they differ as well depending on region.

Prosecco is still available on the basic package. On our recent Magnifica cruise I had a glass of one of the reds that's included. It wasn't bad - I can't remember the name but I intend to give it another try next month on Orchestra.

Remy Martin Prime Cellar No 16 is available on the premium package (I don't care for this one, at all) and Reserve Cellar No 28 is now Super Premium (a new introduction offering of drinks that aren't included in any packages. These items have 2 asterisks next to them on the menus).

Thanks Bea. It's the XO that I like too!

Going to do a week in Eastern Med on the Poesia with the new Albania port if call..

The basic package had a sweet and a dry bubbles (I can vouch for the quality of the dry one)!

There was also red, white and a rose. I don’t drink red but the white was some times a Chardonnay and sometimes a Pinot grigio, and the Rose was fine.

No problems at all with the selection of drinks in the basic package imho.

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So I'm back again after a long break from MSC and cruising and trying to get my head around the changes since April 2015!

 

Also trying to decide between these 2 packages and with the Premium almost double the ordinary one, just not sure. What might swing it is the wine. What are they serving these days on both lackagaes please?

 

Does the ordinary package still include glasses of prosecco? What's the red wine like? If these aren't that bad, might go with that and just pay for the occasional Remy Martin or Armagnac as an extra.

 

Thanks

Nice to see you back on these boards. Having done the Emirates cruise twice with son and family who are based inDubai have opted for Seaview in July 2018 and daughter and her family and I will be on Musica in March next. No Christmas cruise this year as having just had knee surgery thought it would be too hectic so will be going to Dubai To spend time with family but Christmas for us all will be spent chilling out in the Maldives.

Good luck with your plans on Poesia and look forward to more of your tips - really found your advice so useful in the past.

Regards

Suron (Suzanne in Bristol, UK)

Thanks Bea. It's the XO that I like too!

 

Going to do a week in Eastern Med on the Poesia with the new Albania port if call..

Unfortunately the Remy Martin XO is no longer available - that used to be included in the premium drinks package and was €12 a glass, otherwise. Last year, Janneau XO was included, at €8.90 a glass. It's still the same price, but is now on the "Super Premium" list, so not included in any packages.

Here's the prices for the spirits; the first photo shows the basic all-inclusive drinks, the second is the premium drinks package inclusions and the third is the list of drinks not included in any package:

For your cruise, the all-inclusive is £23 pppd, the premium is £44 - with no XO included, you may be as well off getting the basic package (if you're happy enough with the included house wine) and just paying extra for a nice® cognac/brandy than the Martell on offer. I usually have a Sandeman port in the Martell - very nice - and they're both on the basic package.

As to the wines, last month, I purchased the 7 bottles of wine and water package for €119 - fantastic value (don't know how much it would be in Sterling). I chose the Regale (which is one of the ones I'd have when we have the premium package). It worked out at €17 per bottle (not taking the included 7 water vouchers into account as we had a drinks package and didn't need them). Had I bought a bottle onboard, it would have cost a total of €27.60 (€24 + 15%) - that was a great saving. So I can't comment on the house wines. I'll report back from our Christmas cruise on Orchestra about them.

Thanks for the additional information. I think I'll just go for the basic package.

The wine packages are good value but with it being a 7 night cruise and me travelling solo, I just wouldn't get through that much wine.GHANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR HELP.

The wine packages are good value but with it being a 7 night cruise and me travelling solo, I just wouldn't get through that much wine.

I agree - I meant to add that it would be too much on a 7 nighter. I was the only one drinking wine on the 9 nighter and it was too much even then! Our upcoming cruise is for 11 nights and I still won't get the wine package. I'll give the included wines a go and maybe buy a bottle or two over the course of the cruise. We've had the premium package for most of our cruises before but it's just not worth the extra (unless you're upgrading when the currency onboard is US$).

At £23 per day, I probably drink enough coffee, water and the occasional cocktail or Baileys, to make it worth while even if I treat myself to the occasional decent bottle or glass of wine.

Only you can answer that, it's your $$$.

I rang MSC who told me that bottled beer IS included in the standard all inclusive as that it wasn’t just Heineken. I wasn’t 100% confident in what the person was telling me though. He said he didn’t have an up to date drinks menu to send me either! Does anyone have a copy for MSC Musica drinks menu for the Classic AI please? Or can anyone confirm whether or not there are other beer options available? Thank you.

I rang MSC who told me that bottled beer IS included in the standard all inclusive as that it wasn’t just Heineken. I wasn’t 100% confident in what the person was telling me though. He said he didn’t have an up to date drinks menu to send me either! Does anyone have a copy for MSC Musica drinks menu for the Classic AI please? Or can anyone confirm whether or not there are other beer options available? Thank you.

There's a Med bar list thread currently on the first page of the MSC forum. Have a look there - everything without an asterisk is included in the basic drinks package.

Thanks so much for getting back to me with the information that I’ve bern searching high and low for!!!

We are first time cruisers so it’s all very new and confusing to us.

Is there anywhere I can go to for discussions on the actual cruise and date that I’m going on?

Thanks again for your help, it’s greatly appreciated. :D

Is there anywhere I can go to for discussions on the actual cruise and date that I’m going on?

Here's a link to the Musica Roll Call section:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=973

Even if your particular sail date isn't included, you could always follow one of the other threads relating to your itinerary.

Thank you very much.

We are leaving our hotel in venice at 10am and not boarding until 5pm. We will obviously have all our luggage with us, does anyone have any suggestions on what we can do/where we can go in the meantime please?

Thank you very much.

 

 

We are leaving our hotel in venice at 10am and not boarding until 5pm. We will obviously have all our luggage with us, does anyone have any suggestions on what we can do/where we can go in the meantime please?

Do your tickets indicate a 5pm check-in? You could always go to the cruise terminal earlier than your allotted time and be onboard enjoying your drinks package sooner! :) You would be well settled in to enjoy sailaway (which shouldn't be missed when leaving Venice as you cruise down the Grand Canal).

Thank you very much. We are leaving our hotel in Venice at 10am and not boarding until 5pm. We will obviously have all our luggage with us, does anyone have any suggestions on what we can do/where we can go in the meantime please?

We've not had our tickets yet. I'm just going on the time stated on the booking. Would it be possible to request an earlier boarding time by ringing MSC do you know?