MSC experiences?

[sanger727]

So, have cruised a few of the mass market cruise lines and the pricing at MSC is a little confusing. I'm intrigued by the "grand voyages" they offer and they look like they might be the best option for an Asia cruise we are planning. I get the drink voucher/packages differences but I'm confused by the dining.

 

Does everyone get to eat in the MDR for free? All of the "experience levels" except bella include "Choice between Classic or Flexi Dining Style with a preferreed seating or time slot" Does that mean bella can't choose flexi dining? I think I'm reading that Bella basically gets whatever staterooms and dining times are leftover? And what does "Freely select dining time with My Choice Dining Style" mean?

 

We prefer anytime dining and would hesitate to book anything that wouldn't allow us to choose anytime dining. We book our trips well in advance to guarantee that that will be an option. We also prefer to pick our own stateroom, is that an option on MSC?

[lakelorain]

You need to select the Fantastic experience or higher to get flexible dining.

 

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[hawkeyetlse]

I agree that it's confusing, with so many similar names for slightly different things, or totally different names for exactly the same thing, and different rules for different ships and depending on which country you booked from, and then in Summer 2017 everything changes again… :confused:

 

As lakelorain said, you can only have fixed-time traditional dining in the MDR with Bella. And they don't even promise to accommodate your choice of early vs. late seating (although I think most people get what they requested). So in that sense, I suppose you can say that Bella gets the leftover dining times, but there seem to be enough leftovers for almost everyone.

 

You can pick your own stateroom with Bella, it's just that you can only pick from what they consider to be less desirable staterooms in that metacategory. I think this basically means "lower decks", but you can check the deck plans for each ship to see which rooms are designated as Bella, Fantastica, Aurea, etc.

 

Of course it also depends on how full the ship is already. Like on other cruise lines, if the category has limited availability, they might still let you book GTY. But this can happen for both Bella and Fantastica (I don't know anything about the more expensive experiences).

[1fifthavenue]

The Flexi early and Flexi late is a new concept to be introduced on Meraviglia, Seaside and all new ships in those classes. For true 'any time' Aurea (spa style experience) or Yacht Club (ultra luxury) are the current options, with Fantastica due to have the flexi on the new ships.

 

To answer your question, everyone gets to eat in the MDR for free, however on really full sailings guests on a Bella experience may be seated in the buffet but with tables set properly and full waiter service. Fantastica guests have the priortity of choice over dining time, however these can't be guaranteed, Aurea and YC have complete freedom of choice

[jrccruiser]

How do you book your time for Flexi dining - can you book before the cruise or when you get on board?

 

 

 

The Flexi early and Flexi late is a new concept to be introduced on Meraviglia, Seaside and all new ships in those classes. For true 'any time' Aurea (spa style experience) or Yacht Club (ultra luxury) are the current options, with Fantastica due to have the flexi on the new ships.

 

To answer your question, everyone gets to eat in the MDR for free, however on really full sailings guests on a Bella experience may be seated in the buffet but with tables set properly and full waiter service. Fantastica guests have the priortity of choice over dining time, however these can't be guaranteed, Aurea and YC have complete freedom of choice

[ortech]

My question can you bring on board drinks ? Like soda juice box things like that and can I carry on 1 bottle of wine ??

[CruiseIreland]

From reviews of the Meraviglia on this forum, Flexi dining has been suspended. As for Aurea guests, you can choose your time when you board.

 

You are not allowed to bring drinks or food onboard but I think they really only enforce the 'no alcohol' rule.

[CruisingUS]

The Flexi early and Flexi late is a new concept to be introduced on Meraviglia, Seaside and all new ships in those classes. For true 'any time' Aurea (spa style experience) or Yacht Club (ultra luxury) are the current options, with Fantastica due to have the flexi on the new ships.

 

To answer your question, everyone gets to eat in the MDR for free, however on really full sailings guests on a Bella experience may be seated in the buffet but with tables set properly and full waiter service. Fantastica guests have the priortity of choice over dining time, however these can't be guaranteed, Aurea and YC have complete freedom of choice

:'):'):'):'):') Wow....well I'd be ok with that due to the MSC prices. I wouldn't be surprised if CCL does this too. Innovative if you think about it.

 

When you order off of the menu, do they pull the food off of the buffet or do they go to the back to create the plate?

[lifeasme123]

The Flexi early and Flexi late is a new concept to be introduced on Meraviglia, Seaside and all new ships in those classes. For true 'any time' Aurea (spa style experience) or Yacht Club (ultra luxury) are the current options, with Fantastica due to have the flexi on the new ships.

 

To answer your question, everyone gets to eat in the MDR for free, however on really full sailings guests on a Bella experience may be seated in the buffet but with tables set properly and full waiter service. Fantastica guests have the priortity of choice over dining time, however these can't be guaranteed, Aurea and YC have complete freedom of choice

 

We were just on Meraviigilia 2 weeks ago and honestly did not see people moved to buffet. In fact, the MDR was rarely full. We had few in our group who booked the bella package and their booking showed Flexi dining on it.