Dress code, sanitisers and smoking answers from above

[Two 2 Tango]

A lot of new cruiser and new to MSC come on this site to get answers regarding Dress code, sanitisers and smoking. following a recent cruise I posed the following questions to the customer service manager UK who said she was replying on behalf of the C.E.O. MSC UK (sorry but can't use names on this site). So read into them as you see fit.

 

I asked why on a formal night were people allowed into the MDR wearing swimwear and towels and this is the genuine quote taken from her email

 

"MSC Cruises is not an extremely formal cruise line, however we do hope that all our guest make the effort on the formal nights. We do not enforce a dress code as we do specify that we do. Although are many of our guests may not want dress formally it is extreme to find people in swimwear during the evening dining, nonetheless management cannot and will not turn them away".

When I asked why there was no policy of asking guests to use sanitisers when entering the MDR and Buffet, she replied as follows:

"MSC takes any breaches in hygiene very seriously. All members of the ship’s company are subject to the code of conduct which includes disciplinary sanctions for individual breaches in the implementation of the hygiene policy. We do not solely rely on the sanitisers to control hygiene. Sanitisers have been assessed to be a help in the battle with contamination but it has been widely reported that should the person have dirty hands it simply will not do. MSC will not rely on all passengers being as conscientious as yourselves. You may have spotted our cleaners constantly wiping down the surfaces that have the most frequent traffic, the banisters, lifts, doors and handles this is simple the visible actions you witness. I can assure you that we take great precautions to get this right on your behalf, our new ships offer both sanitisers and washing facilities as we see this the way forward".

When asked why they seem to brush over flagrant breaches of smoking, particularly on balconies; she gave this answer which I feel said it all.

"The battle with the smokers is one we fight on a daily basis,unfortunately even though asked some people will simply not adhere to our rules, we do take breeches seriously. However MSC Cruises cannot patrol these people constantly during their stay"

We sail with MSC on a regular basis and most times it has been uneventful and enjoyable, but something seems to have changed on our most recent cruises, in particular the bad attitude of the service desk staff. Other staff members couldn't be more friendly but will tell you that they are not very happy and keep having their workload increased. I guess that is the price for us getting cut price cruises.

Edited July 31, 2018 by Two 2 Tango

[GUEST080219]

Very honest and realistic answers, I like that.

[Two 2 Tango]

Very honest and realistic answers, I like that.

 

Thanks for that but it is their word not mine, in all honesty they are direct un-edited quotes from head office.

[GUEST080219]

Thanks for that but it is their word not mine, in all honesty they are direct un-edited quotes from head office.

Actually I meant the manager. Normally you just get some marketing blabla

[sidari]

Thanks for taking the time to try to get answers from MSC, the trouble is as has been witnessed on these boards the Left Hand still does not speak to the Right Hand. People have seen others turned away from the Dining rooms on Seaside while others me included have witnessed Basball caps on Formal nights, if the same questions are asked of the Hotel Director on the ship you will no doubt be given different answers, the same would be true if you asked on a different ship.

MSC it seems have no fixed system and make thing up as they go along and as it suits at the time.

A good example is one of the Travel Agents we use when we do not book direct with MSC rang up to get one of the customers upgraded to the Deluxe drinks package only to be told it cannot be done ! that despite the MSC person being told that the same thing had been done the day before for another customer, the rep went off to ask a Supervisor who told the rep Yes you can do it, coming back to the TA the person said I have been told I can do it but I am not happy to be doing so! So i would take what you were told with a pinch of Salt.

Somewhat like the CEO Pier Francesco Vago telling people that only the people in the Aft Suites would be able to use the Aft lifts on Seaside, if the CEO does not know what is going on then how are the rest of the employees supposed to know.

[SirWolf]

Two 2 Tango, this is very informative.

The statements answer many of the questions in other threads regarding these topics.

Thank you.

[Two 2 Tango]

Actually I meant the manager. Normally you just get some marketing blabla

 

Quick question, we have not yet used NCL but can see you have had the odd cruise with them. How do NCL deal with these 3 issues?

[GUEST080219]

Quick question, we have not yet used NCL but can see you have had the odd cruise with them. How do NCL deal with these 3 issues?

 

Not an expert on this so just my personal observations, keep in mind that most of my cruises have been longer not standard 7 day Caribbean cruises so the demographic has been different.

 

a) dress code

pretty easy as at least one of the MDRs allow shorts and t-shirt with pretty much the same menu as the "dress code" mdr which on NCL means for men jeans and collared shirt with closed shoes. There are no difference between the nights. Most specialty are casual as well(shorts and t-shirt). I think as the guidelines are so soft there are not really people trying to bend those limits in a gross way. No one seen in damp bathing suits but as board shorts and t-shirt are okay there is not much of a reason to push it. I have kind of violated it as well on occasions (jeans and hoody, jeans and logo t-shirt, shorts) and never been rejected. Most of the time you already know the staff after a couple of days and even when bending the dress code a bit you can still look presentable. All other occasions are casual including VIP captain receptions, haven suite parties and so on.

The beauty of NCL is that as there are no dedicated nights people just celebrate their personal events so it can happen that someone sits in an nice upcharge steakhouse dressed up for their special meal next to me in shorts who is there the 16th night and couldn't care less about the atmosphere in there.

 

b) sanitisers

In front of all restaurants, lounges, casino entrances, ...

In front of the buffet they have staff with spray bottles as well reminding the guests but not forcing anyone. That is where NCLs "washy washy, happy happy" sing sang comes from. Same as MSC it is an offer and encouraged but if a guest uses soap in the washroom or their cabin, their own sanitising stuff or NCLs spray (or nothing at all) is up to them.

 

c) smoking

as a non-smoker not even sure what the policies are. I do know though that they enforce no smoking at the outside bar counters or food lines even when the smoking area is at the side next to it. The staff does make them move the 3 or 4 meters. In the casino smoking is allowed but only when the casino is active and the guest is actively smoking, that is often not enforced though.

[Two Wheels Only]

As for dealing with smokers on the balcony, photographic evidence (phone, DSLR camera, etc.) works best. It's much more effective to have a photo vs. just complaining.

[Two 2 Tango]

As for dealing with smokers on the balcony, photographic evidence (phone, DSLR camera, etc.) works best. It's much more effective to have a photo vs. just complaining.

 

Tried that one with a photo but got the answer that they would have to catch them. I asked if that means that they are going to abseil down the side of the ship, but wait for this; the answer I got was "we don't get many of you English on here" so I gave up.

[jaxw17]

A lot of new cruiser and new to MSC come on this site to get answers regarding Dress code, sanitisers and smoking. following a recent cruise I posed the following questions to the customer service manager UK who said she was replying on behalf of the C.E.O. MSC UK (sorry but can't use names on this site). So read into them as you see fit.

 

I asked why on a formal night were people allowed into the MDR wearing swimwear and towels and this is the genuine quote taken from her email

 

"MSC Cruises is not an extremely formal cruise line, however we do hope that all our guest make the effort on the formal nights. We do not enforce a dress code as we do specify that we do. Although are many of our guests may not want dress formally it is extreme to find people in swimwear during the evening dining, nonetheless management cannot and will not turn them away".

When I asked why there was no policy of asking guests to use sanitisers when entering the MDR and Buffet, she replied as follows:

"MSC takes any breaches in hygiene very seriously. All members of the ship’s company are subject to the code of conduct which includes disciplinary sanctions for individual breaches in the implementation of the hygiene policy. We do not solely rely on the sanitisers to control hygiene. Sanitisers have been assessed to be a help in the battle with contamination but it has been widely reported that should the person have dirty hands it simply will not do. MSC will not rely on all passengers being as conscientious as yourselves. You may have spotted our cleaners constantly wiping down the surfaces that have the most frequent traffic, the banisters, lifts, doors and handles this is simple the visible actions you witness. I can assure you that we take great precautions to get this right on your behalf, our new ships offer both sanitisers and washing facilities as we see this the way forward".

When asked why they seem to brush over flagrant breaches of smoking, particularly on balconies; she gave this answer which I feel said it all.

"The battle with the smokers is one we fight on a daily basis,unfortunately even though asked some people will simply not adhere to our rules, we do take breeches seriously. However MSC Cruises cannot patrol these people constantly during their stay"

We sail with MSC on a regular basis and most times it has been uneventful and enjoyable, but something seems to have changed on our most recent cruises, in particular the bad attitude of the service desk staff. Other staff members couldn't be more friendly but will tell you that they are not very happy and keep having their workload increased. I guess that is the price for us getting cut price cruises.

 

Is she running for politics

[TnTom]

Quick question, we have not yet used NCL but can see you have had the odd cruise with them. How do NCL deal with these 3 issues?

 

Regarding NCL, with their Anytime Dining option, the dress code is pretty relaxed, anyway. Last January on the Dawn, I was surprised to see folks in short and T-shirts at dinner, but if that is what made them happy, it didn't bother me.

 

They had sanitizer dispensers at entrances to the dining areas, but I don't believe they were ever "manned". I don't remember which line I was on, but I have seen them post someone at each entrance whose sole purpose was to squirt sanitizer into your hands. I also think it depends on whether there has been a recent norovirus issue on the ship- they have different levels of precaution.

 

As for smoking on balconies... I think we ex-smokers are less tolerant of smoke around us. On my last NCL cruise, there was someone on the nextdoor balcony who smoked. I didn't really smell it that much (they were aft from me, so downwind), but at night you could see the flashes of their lighter, and there was the faint smell. I mentioned it at the customer service desk, and they took down the information. I think they instructed the room steward to look for signs, and they actually called me a day or two later to let me know they had found no evidence. I was satisfied with that, but if the smoke had been strong enough to affect my balcony time, I might have pushed it a little harder.

[skt4cruise]

As for dealing with smokers on the balcony, photographic evidence (phone, DSLR camera, etc.) works best. It's much more effective to have a photo vs. just complaining.

 

Thanks for this! We have been in aft cabin and cig flicked into my hair from buffet above (not MSC). Fire is my biggest fear.:eek:

[sidari]

With regard to smoking on Balconies anyone who thinks that it is ok should take a look at the Star Princess Fire. This is what being selfish causes!

 

 

[deliver42]

I don't care what ship it is, or where your cabin is, there are smoking areas on every ship to be used. I'm a smoker, cigars, and wouldn't even think of smoking on a balcony, for fear of fire, or worse, having an ash hitting someone else sitting on their balcony. Don't be so lazy and go to the nearest smoking area for you. This sin't aimed at anyone in particular, just my opinion.

[Fostelo]

During our recent seaview cruise whilst docked in genoa the captain made what i thought was a strange announcement and asked if people would kindly refrain from smoking on balconies whilst the ship is being refuelled [emoji848] also there was a couple who had one of the extended balconies below us but a few along had brought her own ashtray and was freely smoking foe a week, even when there were crew washing the decks and i mean standing leaning on the railing smoking also there were numerous occasions when people were smoking by the pools. Seems to me that msc were not bothered in the slightest [emoji848][emoji20]

 

 

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[sidari]

Martin ... Did you go to the cc meet and greet ? That would have been the chance to bring it up.

The two videos above alone and there are others, are documented proof of why this issue needs to be taken seriously.

[Two 2 Tango]

I don't care what ship it is, or where your cabin is, there are smoking areas on every ship to be used. I'm a smoker, cigars, and wouldn't even think of smoking on a balcony, for fear of fire, or worse, having an ash hitting someone else sitting on their balcony. Don't be so lazy and go to the nearest smoking area for you. This sin't aimed at anyone in particular, just my opinion.

 

I am also an ex smoker so as some have said we seem less tolerant. But the thing I have found with MSC is that they allow smoking on one side of the casino, so this is about as good as saying you can only pee in one side of the pool. The other thing I noticed at night was that the casino became a smoking venue and not for playing the tables. Unfortunately the smoke drifts to the bar above and was really affecting the singer who is positioned above the stairs. one more gripe is the bar in the cigar/smoking room, that has to be run by young girls, I would hate to think what it is doing to their health; and they are not allowed to refuse working in there.

[Fostelo]

Dave i never and feel like i should have , mentioned it twice to my room steward and the second time i showed him the ashtray they had on the balcony was also going to go to reception but they are the only thing on the ship i would have changed ( load music or long lines ) [emoji31]. I really don’t think they were bothered about smoking. I actually watched the pool bar service serve someone on the sun loungers near the big screen tv whilst all 4 were smoking. My dads a smoker and he even said they were taking the ****.

 

 

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[sidari]

Martin ... Maybe you could mention it to PPS via the book of faces.

[Two Wheels Only]

With regard to smoking on Balconies anyone who thinks that it is ok should take a look at the Star Princess Fire. This is what being selfish causes!

 

As bad as that fire was and we can see the damage, people often forget that there was a passenger fatality because of that fire. Retired Air Force Sergeant Richard Liffridge died and he wasn't even on the deck where the fire started. There were other near-fatalities as some people (one was nearly unconscious) were rescued by firefighters.

[DMH15]

If the casino is smoky by people just sitting there, me and my purse full of money will just walk out and I will star gaze or read instead.

 

 

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[sidari]

TWO ... Thanks for adding that.

[waterbabyfish]

If the casino is smoky by people just sitting there, me and my purse full of money will just walk out and I will star gaze or read instead.

 

 

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Good...more room for us!

 

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[DMH15]

Good...more room for us!

 

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Not a problem. If the casino is not smoky I will play if it is I will just move on. As long as smoking is allowed I understand and adapt. I will find something else to do.

 

I am in my 60's and never smoked and it does bother me. But I have a SIL I adore who smokes and that puts it in perspective for me.

 

 

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