New to MSC but not to cruising seeking advice

[TomC21]

My wife and I are Diamond on Royal Caribbean and Elite on Celebrity. We were given reciprocity as a Black Member in MSC’s loyalty program. We’re sailing on Seaside this November. It looks like a beautiful ship and are looking forward to trying something different. We don’t pay too much attention to the negative reviews because they’re subjective and we’re pretty easy going. Pricing is quite a bit less for a comparable cruise on Royal or Celebrity, so it made sense to try it. Pricing included the Easy drink package and basic internet. Based on what’s included in the Easy package, my wife and I will be happy. Internet will be a plus just to catch up on some email. I guess I’m just asking a little advice for this cruise line and the ship. She looks beautiful. I know several of the amenities like the zip line and formula one simulator involve an extra cost. Does anyone know about how much they are?  Also does MSC allow the usual 2 bottles of wine to be brought on board?  I’m thinking not because of the drink packages.

thanks

Tom

Edited January 13, 2019 by TomC21

[NMsunset]

Hi Tom-

Seaside is a great ride, been twice in last 12 months.

No beverages are allowed, just review their luggage policy...plus if caught it will delay your bags to cabin. Wine by the glass is $7-14; bottles in MDR $33 and up...just buy onboard or drink included house wine...

Enjoy your cruise!

[ready2cruzagain]

 

Have not been on the Seaside yet, we go for 21 days starting in November of this year.

 

We did the MSC Divina last month for 32 days (first time MSC) and loved it.  We have sailed on 41 cruises, NCL, Carnival, Princess, Celebrity and MSC.  We were not in the YC, was in a Bella Balcony.

 

You cannot bring wine onto the ship.  I will say I enjoyed the House Chardonnay wine, it was Le Terre.

But then again, I am not a wine snob. 

 

Last time I seen a price for the zip line it was $20 for the week for everyone in the cabin.  Not sure of the cost of the simulator.

 

 

[TomC21]

Thank you for your responses. We won’t need to bring any additional alcohol on. I think the Easy package will enough for us. Not sure I want to spend $20 for the zip line for the week. We’ll enjoy the slides and might even try the bowling lanes

thanks again!

Tom

[sidari]

There is a charge for the bowling, never used it on our two cruises on Seaside so no idea of cost.

[Epos Man]

I think people who want to do the zip line bowling and f1 simulator go for the fun pass package as it gives you access to all three for the cruise and at 75£ not sure what they are charging in dollars it seems good value. I have heard that bowling was per hour and not including shoe hire was $10 zipline ride, the $40 bowling, and  $30 billiards

[Monk86]

Charging to flush the toilet next.

[bahrain_not_dubai!]

Just an aside- we where in YC on the last cruise and they had no problem with us bringing 2 bottles of wine onboard. 

 

I can't recall of the top of my head how much the activities where, but they have programs such as buy one activity, get 30% off the other one or an activity 'pass' that gives you unlimited access. It depends on how many of them you wish to do. 

Having tried the F1 simulator, its good fun. 

[Beamafar]

14 hours ago, Monk86 said:

Charging to flush the toilet next.

 

I am very happy that MSC charges for these extra activities, rather than charging the prices other cruiselines do to have them included, whether you want them or not.

[citizenfrank]

16 hours ago, Monk86 said:

Charging to flush the toilet next.

Oh I hope not!

[jody75]

On 1/13/2019 at 9:20 PM, TomC21 said:

I guess I’m just asking a little advice for this cruise line and the ship.

Tom

Just be aware that when you select a cabin number their T&C says very clearly it is subject to change without consultation with the client. It's no better than a Guaranteed cabin which are openly sold on other cruise lines, but MSC hide it in the small print.

[TomC21]

jody75,

I read that MSC reserves the right to move you from one cabin to another and adjust the cost for doing so. They don’t go into any further explanation as to why they would do it. It’s probably pretty standard in the industry. In 23 cruises, I’ve never been forced to move or had my cabin changed prior to a sailing. Is this something MSC does routinely? Thanks

Tom

[Beamafar]

Sometimes, if a particular type cabin isn't selling (for example, Aurea), MSC will upgrade you to free up stock.  Some don't regard it as an upgrade due to the location of the cabin they've been upgraded to, but we've been upgraded twice and were very happy to have been.  For me, getting MyChoice dining without having to pay Aurea prices is a bonus (you don't get any of the other Aurea perks, such as free Spa/private deck access or a massage, but that's OK because you can always purchase them, unlike the MyChoice dining perk).

[TomC21]

I understand. Royal Caribbean whom we sail with primarily has a similar upgrade policy. You actually have to click on a box acknowledging a complimentary upgrade if available or leave it unchecked if you don’t want it. Being that we were “given” Black status as reciprocity, I doubt we would be given an upgrade.

thank you

Tom

Edited January 15, 2019 by TomC21

[mickey89]

28 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

Sometimes, if a particular type cabin isn't selling (for example, Aurea), MSC will upgrade you to free up stock..........

That is more on a positive note but more concerning is that they will move people that unfortunately reserved a cabin which MSC identify as a 3 or 4 person cabin and they are just a couple. This is definitely NOT standard across the cruise sector as suggested by Tom C21, if you book a cabin that’s what one gets unless the client agrees to a change. MSC adopt a unilateral approach just to satisfy their bottom line which too me is just unacceptable and should be considered an unfair practice.

 

This has happened in the YC when clients have been moved from the larger square cabins to the smaller regular cabins just to facilitate a large family without even consulting the original cabin occupants.

I recently booked one of these larger cabins but only after days of emails back and fro to get MSC’s assurance that no change will occur without my express permission.

[Tapi]

We just returned from MSC Meraviglia in the Mediterranean (launched in 2017 and second in size to the Oasis class of ships). In a nutshell, we absolutely loved it, and MSC has now become one of my favorite cruise lines. We had previously sailed on the MSC Divina out of Miami in 2016 but that one failed to impress. This time though we were thoroughly wowed. We hadn’t been this wowed by a new ship since we sailed on Allure during her inaugural season.

 

They matched our Royal Emerald status to MSC Gold. Also, because pricing was so competitive, we splurged and booked an Aurea Duplex Suite (their version of a Crown Loft Suite) but we literally paid 1/4 what we would’ve paid for similar accommodations on Royal. Absolutely wonderful and we are now spoiled for life. Only thing to keep in mind if you’re a “suite” person is that MSC reserves their best perks for Yacht Club accommodations, so although our suite came with a nice list of Aurea perks, it wasn’t as generous as in full sites on Royal. 

 

Overall, we had a fantastic time on our last MSC cruise and would gladly sail on them again. The ship was beautiful, activities were plentiful, food was comparable to Royal, and the added perks, both because of the status match and Aurea experience, were extra icing on the cake. Fellow passengers came from all over the world (mostly Europe and Asia) which added to the wonderful atmosphere onboard. 

 

About the F1 simulator, 4D cinema, bowling and other games, I forgot the actual cost of each, but I want to say that each one was in the €8-12 range. We purchased a pass for €70 which gave us €100 to spend. We are a family of 4 and it was adequate for a few nights of family bowling and 4D cinema, as well as a couple of rides on the flight and rollercoaster simulator.

 

The main thing that bothered me about our cruise was that, even though the ship had tons of places to eat, most are for an added fee. On Royal, even though there are many restaurants for an extra fee, there are also several venues which are included in the price. On our last MSC cruise we were limited to the MDR and the buffet if we didn’t want to pay more. Everything else was extra including room service beyond continental breakfast. 

Edited January 15, 2019 by Tapi

[TomC21]

mickey89

I was responding back to jody75. jody75 led me to believe that MSC moves people around like you were in a guaranteed cabin. Although I doubt very much that’s the case, I read the cruise contract, and they do have the right to move you to another cabin. No additional explanation given.  I would think that’s under unforeseen or extreme circumstances or an automatic upgrade. I understand you can’t book a family cabin for 4 if there’s only 2 of you. In 17 years, I’ve never been moved to another cabin from the one I selected when I booked.  So I’m taking this with a grain of salt that MSC doesn’t indiscriminately move you to another cabin.

Tom

 

[TomC21]

Thanks Tapi,

we’re  looking forward to the Seaside. MSC is new to us and we’re really looking forward to a change

Tom