MSC Cruise Tips

[rdtsmith1234]

I'm an avid cruiser...mostly MSC, but I have a collection of tips I have reposted below from http://lifelessonsmilitarywife.com/?p=3853. I've included drink package prices and scans of flyers. I've also got another blogpost which I have not cut and pasted below on cruise tips BEFORE you book a cruise on the blog...things you should consider! I'd love for you add your tips:-)

 

Tips to consider when cruising MSC & Costa

 

We just got back from our last MSC cruise in the Western Mediterranean a few weeks ago, and I thought I would share some tips! One of my moderators also returned from her trip on Costa and has some helpful hints below as well. Some of our advice you can apply to the other cruise lines as well. Knowledge is power, right? I’ve taken a few notes and thought these could help the next person:

 

Drink packages. Do the math, period. They will try to cajole you and convince you to go with the most expensive package. Do keep in mind that water, tea and coffee will ALWAYS be available 24 hours up in the buffet restaurant on MSC. If you do sit down dinners or lunches in either of the main restaurants, this will NOT be available. We did the math and ended up getting two soft drink packages plus the do-re-mi package which included virgin drinks and shakes and such. So that included 24 sodas/fruit juices and 10 shakes. You get little coupons in a booklet to hand to the waiters along with your cruise card. They advertise them as 34€ for the soft drink package and 28€ for the do-re-mi but with the service charge, those three drink packages cost us about 110€ all together. To give you something to compare it to, a fountain soda costs 2,50€ (30 CL) and a few cents more for a can. A draft beer costs 4,90€ (40 CL). Bottled beers are more expensive. A Pina Colada or Daquiri Zero (no alcohol) costs 4,10€. – See scans of drink package costs below.

 

You cannot bring liquid drinks on board. Many cruise lines are cracking down especially stateside I have noticed! They are scanning your bags, yes to look for contraband to include liquids! There are cages in the lower decks where you enter the ship and all your offboard purchases will be stored here until disembarkation. There was even a crewmember storage area!

 

The best place to experience “sail away” or when the ship leaves port is the very back deck behind the disco R32. There is a large back deck and no wind. We rarely spent time on the front part of the ship while it was moving….it was like a wind tunnel up there!

 

Best times to hit the hot tubs are when the ship is in port and right before it sails in late afternoon on most port days. During the day, those hot tubs can be packed!

 

Outlets are both 220 volt and 110 volt. I almost fried my 110 volt hairdryer when I thought I had flipped the switch to 220 volt (I hadn’t). As it glowed red hot and smoke started to gather in our cabin, I quickly ran outside! Glad to say it worked again later. With all the multiple gadgets we have with multiple adapter plugs, especially with hairdryers using a switch…look first! There was a also a blowdryer in the cabin. We brought a power strip as there were only a few plugs in the cabin, and all in one spot under the mirror (not in the bathroom at all). That way, we could all charge our items at the same time.

 

Bring a small pack of laundry detergent. We washed some items in the sink and the shower has a nice dripline to hang up your items.

 

The cabin bathrooms do have soap and conditioner dispensers, but they SUCK! I could never tell which was which as neither lathered.

 

I did bring my own anti-bacterial gel but before every food station and at the entrance to the restaurants, they had the auto dispensers. I made sure kids used hand gel AFTER handling buffet spoons.

 

Visit the buffet either early or late, especially for breakfast to avoid the crowds. We avoided the buffet as it would get too crowded and instead enjoyed the sit down meals when that didn’t interrupt our plans getting off the ship. Guests can be aggressive with line cutting and some pushing. If you are used to standing in line, be assertive as someone will go in front of you if you don’t assert yourself and move forward (love Italians!).

 

My son thought it was cool to have binoculars. He used them everywhere! They do sell a pair in the giftshop.

 

We noticed some of the junk (watches, perfumes and such) would go on sail as the cruise wore on, so I would wait to buy if you really have your heart set on something. Prices are high IMO.

 

For Americans, the first dinner seating is best. My kids would’ve died having to wait so long to eat! For our Italian friends, late eatings were the norm. It was also nice to see the shows after a full belly. We enjoyed the jugglers, strongmen, contorsionists, dance shows, singing and the “high wire” acts. The Entertainment Team loved to play jokes on passengers and would seek gullible ones out regularly.

 

Smoking is allowed in the casino. Know that the return rates are low in winning as well….historically lower than land based casinos, although they will post huge euro winnings of passengers in the daily cruise program.

 

At one point in the cruise, massages went on sale for 50%. Watch for it if you are interested. The pedicures and hair stuff never went on sale. It’s a different business.

 

We had rough seas two nights. Rough enough to notice a marked difference of people skipping the sit down dinner and the show with one lady passing out of nauseousness at the next table over. I like to be proactive and always take Dramamine….one pill a day.

 

For kids on formal and informal nights in the dining rooms, long pants (not jeans) and button down shirts are just fine. I saw everything from long flowing ball gowns to cocktail dresses, cute little girls in little dresses and a few boys in coat and tie…one or two tuxedos, men in jackets and shirts. No jeans on formal nights.

 

I was surprised at how good some of the photography was. There are a few nights where the ships’ photographers will set up around the ship. If you are looking for a professional portrait, they were pretty good on our ship.

 

Our kids were not interested in the kids’ club. I saw the little ones at quite a few events and shows and having fun. I didn’t see too much of the tweens and teens. In fact, I took our youngest to a supposed DJ class in the disco, and no one bothered to show up, including the DJ. The disco nights for the older kids were quite lame as well. Your older kids may be bored on MSC if they don’t like hot tubs, the pools (VERY cold when not summer), eating and getting off the ship.

 

MSC is always port intensive. That’s why I like to book them. They rarely have sea days and every day is filled with a new port. I do like how they leave you with plenty of time in port on most occasions. Many other cruise lines will try to make you believe their itineraries are great, but then you are only in port for 4-5 hours. That is NOT enough time. ALWAYS read the times!

 

Be sure to read my other cruise tips that you should be reading BEFORE you book that cruise!

 

Keep in mind that some cruise lines will let you board at ANY of their ports along the route. In fact, some will advertise differently to each nationality. For example, many Italians get on in Bari or Genoa, Italy. To the French, they advertise Villefrance, France. The Americans may be booked thru Rome. Since you know I am CHEAP, I will check flights into EVERY port on the cruise we are interested in, and then pick the cheapest one or sometimes the easiest or fastest one to get to.

 

Use an agent. I used to book cruises on my own. I have found by using Mitch at Military Cruise Deals, I found not only the cheapest price with all the discounts he throws in but also TONS of onboard credit. I had so much credit, we didn’t have to pay for any packages or some excursions. He was a staunch defender when the cruise line tried to pull one over on me (hence all the extra credit). He spent HOURS on the phone with them fighting for my rights and cleared it all up for me. Now that’s a good agent. If you do choose Mitch, don’t go by the prices on his site. Be sure to call him and say you are a friend of LLMW and a blog reader, and he’ll see what he can work out for you.

 

When we went to pick up our free water package (bottled water tickets), we saw the receptionist take out an envelope labeled “North American guests free water”, and it contained water packages as such. This led me to believe that all North American guests get a free water package? I don’t know, but it’s worth a shot if it doesn’t show up in your booking when you sign in on the MSC. Ask about where your water package is!

 

(pic)

We loved the quiet middle deck. Think it was Deck 7. No one ever around. Everyone else hangs out up top.

 

(scan)

Here are some scans from the MSC drink package flyers:

 

It seems that quite a few of us bloggers went on cruises this past Spring Break. Make sure you read about Edith’s experience on Costa and what not to do on your first cruise. The Synder Family cruised MSC out of Venice, which is MSC’s “bread and butter” route, the Eastern Mediterranean cruise. All in all, cruises are a great way to get a taste of a variety of different locations. I am a firm believer too, that it is one of the few true vacations for mom. Most vacations you are still cooking, cleaning and planning. Here, you don’t have to do any of it if you don’t want to!

 

(pic)

Even in dreary weather, Villefrance-sur-Mer was perfect!

 

(pic)

So nice to travel with teenagers who appreciate a good and relaxed meal! We did sit down for almost all of our meals. Forget the hectic buffet!

 

(pic of meals)

The food was not gourmet by any means, but it was tasty and varied. Our favorite by far was the pumpkin risotto. Here are some of the appetizers and main dishes we had. For dessert, the kids’ favorites were the tiramisu and Baked Alaska which they serve with much fanfare. I liked the limoncello creamy dessert and their different versions of Napoleons.

 

If you’d like to share your cruise tips or experiences below or I forgot to link your recent blogpost on your cruise, please post below!

[tbmrt]

Thanks for this fabulous info!

Barbara

[sthelder]

Thanks for the tips (both general cruise and MSC/Costa), they really mirrored my recent experiences on MSC Splendida.

 

Just a few points that I would like to add:

 

1. Check with your cabin steward for extra outlet, chances are another outlet is hidden behind your bed. I was told about it after I complained to him the distance between the "normal" outlets below the mirror to the bed is too far.

 

2. The 7:00am cabin check-out time. If you have kids, or do not need to catch a flight early on the disembarkation morning, just talk to your cabin steward, he probably has many other cabins to clean and would have no problem with you linger until 8:30am or even later.

 

3. As mentioned by other posters, future cruise in its current European form may not worth it unless you don't mind booking your next cruise at "normal price" months ahead. Pete has also mentioned about checking your onboard spending and tried to tip it over the magical €/$200.

 

By the way, MSC price may not be at the bottom of the heap afterall, I heard Pullmantur price is all inclusive price but their itinerary is not as interesting as MSC.