Losing my points

[sidari]

Bea ... As I said I doubt we would continue with MSC If that was to happen re status match and our Meraviglia booking for Xmas 2019 if we took it would possibly be our last, we have already returned to Royal and Princess for our next two cruises.

MSC really do need to make up their mind about further levels because the Black card level has become a joke now.

[Beamafar]

Totally agree! However, I'm really reluctant to try other cruise lines - especially with our one experience on Celebrity and the fact that they are all so much more expensive than MSC. At least with MSC, I know what to expect onboard! :rolleyes:

[drsel]

Totally agree! However, I'm really reluctant to try other cruise lines - especially with our one experience on Celebrity and the fact that they are all so much more expensive than MSC. At least with MSC, I know what to expect onboard! :rolleyes:

Hi Beam, what went wrong with Celebrity?

[Beamafar]

Hi Beam, what went wrong with Celebrity?

 

We booked X for 2 reasons: itinerary (14 nights from Singapore) and we wanted to move away from MSC. We chose a Sky Suite with a view to comparing it with our Yacht Club experiences and managed to nab one of the very popular bigger ones next to the Penthouse (on deck 6 LOL!) suite. It fell far short of MSC YC.

 

The suite dedicated restaurant, Luminae, had just been introduced at the time. An area of the original dining room had been sectioned off to accommodate this which, IMHO, wasn't big enough to allow for the sort of space between tables that YC restaurants afford diners, so tables for 2 were a bit of a joke as they were so close to neighbouring tables that you might as well have been assigned a larger, shared table. Service in Luminae was shockingly bad; so bad, in fact, that we eventually went to the MDR to eat - something we have never considered when in YC.

 

Michael's Club was dark and claustrophic, unlike the Top Sail Lounge. The snobby attitude from those in higher category suites was something I'd never experienced before, which made the atmosphere in both the restaurant and lounge unpleasant.

 

Entertainment onboard was sorely lacking; again nothing like MSC, where, for us, the entertainment choices far surpass anything on X. Some guests seemed to see the martini bar as "entertainment"! I suppose, when there's little else onboard, it's better than nothing. However, the music was so loud on the ship, that it was virtually impossible to have a conversation (which we tried to have one night with other guests in the martini lounge).

 

The system of each person having to hand over their cruisecard for every drink order is, frankly, ridiculous! On MSC, once the crew get familiar with you, they will take just one card, even with a group of 4 or more, where everyone has a drinks package.

 

Due to bad weather, we had to overnight in Hong Kong, which meant rescheduling and missing a port on the itinerary. Now, I know this is not X's fault, but MSC's compensation, for the same situation, is much more generous than what we were offered on Millennium.

 

The most striking thing for us was that, on returning to the ship after an excursion in one of the ports, we looked at the ship and felt we did not want to get back onboard. We have never, ever, felt like that about any of our other cruises (21 to date).

[sidari]

Bea ... I get where you are coming from and we also like what the onboard style offers and after 7 cruises have got used to the MSC way ... :o

However that said i find it still unacceptable that they can give someone who has never sailed with them the highest level while others who may still be Gold are expected to continue to work their way up!

[Beamafar]

Dave ... I've been promising myself that I'll try another line, but several factors crop up which cause me to book more MSC. For example, our upcoming cruise on Poesia is as a result of a 30+10+5% discount; Meraviglia Canada cruise Oct '19 is as a result of 50+5% discount; Seaview came about when Norwegian Cruiser and ourselves were researching Med cruise prices for late August/early September next year and MSC won out. I've booked Armonia next January due to a very attractive bundle offer from a TA. So it looks like we won't be changing cruiselines anytime soon. :rolleyes:

[drsel]

Dave ... I've been promising myself that I'll try another line, but several factors crop up which cause me to book more MSC. For example, our upcoming cruise on Poesia is as a result of a 30+10+5% discount; Meraviglia Canada cruise Oct '19 is as a result of 50+5% discount; Seaview came about when Norwegian Cruiser and ourselves were researching Med cruise prices for late August/early September next year and MSC won out. I've booked Armonia next January due to a very attractive bundle offer from a TA. So it looks like we won't be changing cruiselines anytime soon. :rolleyes:

I'm sorry you didn't like Millennium. We did the same 14 day cruise from HK to Singapore. My wife thought the Millenium ship was quite old and not so classy as the others. Also there were only 3 production shows in 14 days. But the cruise director Paul and Valentina were outstanding!

Kindly enlighten us about these amazing discounts-- 30+10+5 and 50+5 and the bundle offer, and how to get them. Thanks again

[Beamafar]

Our Millennium cruise was Singapore-Singapore, so a different itinerary to yours.

 

The discounts I mention are as follows:

 

5% = Voyagers Club

 

10% = Future Cruise discount (as a result of missing ports due to bad weather when on Orchestra last December)

 

50% = ditto (as a result of missing ports due to bad weather when on Splendida in April)

 

30% = Casino voucher for attaining the qualifying points - again, on Orchestra

 

The 'bundle' offer was offered by a TA and included the regular price from MSC which has the drinks package and Havana excursions (plus the Cuba visa) included as part of a promotion in this neck of the woods. With flights and hotels arranged by the TA included in the offer, it appealed to me as, with this booking, I'm getting a break from having to separately arrange travel and accommodation for a change!

[drsel]

Our Millennium cruise was Singapore-Singapore, so a different itinerary to yours.

 

The discounts I mention are as follows:

 

5% = Voyagers Club

 

10% = Future Cruise discount (as a result of missing ports due to bad weather when on Orchestra last December)

 

50% = ditto (as a result of missing ports due to bad weather when on Splendida in April)

 

30% = Casino voucher for attaining the qualifying points - again, on Orchestra

Wow, 50% discount for missing ports. That's awesome! Beam, you are a master of cruising with MSC

[Beamafar]

Wow, 50% discount for missing ports. That's awesome! Beam, you are a master of cruising with MSC

 

Possibly by sailing so frequently, chances of something happening are greater, LOL. :D

 

I thought it was an incredibly generous offer - especially as it wasn't MSC's fault! We also got €100 per person (!) OBC. However, we did miss a couple of very exotic ports - Phu My (for Saigon) and Shanghai (the only Chinese port, if you discount Hong Kong). Passengers had paid a lot of money for this itinerary and were very upset about the changes. People should be more aware that this is a risk one takes when booking a cruise. :rolleyes:

[drsel]

Possibly by sailing so frequently, chances of something happening are greater, LOL. :D

 

I thought it was an incredibly generous offer - especially as it wasn't MSC's fault! We also got €100 per person (!) OBC. However, we did miss a couple of very exotic ports - Phu My (for Saigon) and Shanghai (the only Chinese port, if you discount Hong Kong). Passengers had paid a lot of money for this itinerary and were very upset about the changes. People should be more aware that this is a risk one takes when booking a cruise. :rolleyes:

I'd gladly skip 2 ports for 100 euro OBC and 50% discount on any other cruise.

A sea day is as good if not better