MSC experiences buzzword bingo

[some_body]

Can someone confirm or correct my understanding of the bella versus fantistica packages?  I've searched the forum a bit and while the terms are used all the time, I still have a couple loose ends.

 

Cabin location - preferred  cabins locations are based on the package. Unlike my past cruises (other lines), where cabin location is defined by category, MSC chooses to wrap this up in the experience.

 

Dining time - your chance of getting your preferred time (early or late) is improved by the higher tier package.  As a side note - MSC does not seem to have a couple fixed dining time?  Rather, it looks like the seating is staggered throughout the evening, so there is a steady flow of people in and out of the dining room.

 

Room service - NO room service for bella?  Other than continental breakfast in fantastica, there is a charge? (I have seen the menu)

 

Thanks.

 

 

[reedprincess]

1 hour ago, some_body said:

Can someone confirm or correct my understanding of the bella versus fantistica packages?  I've searched the forum a bit and while the terms are used all the time, I still have a couple loose ends.

 

Cabin location - preferred  cabins locations are based on the package. Unlike my past cruises (other lines), where cabin location is defined by category, MSC chooses to wrap this up in the experience.   Cabin location is based both in type of cabin and Experience. Fantastica gets "better" locations, but better is entirely subjective and determined by MSC. One person's better is another's worse 

 

Dining time - your chance of getting your preferred time (early or late) is improved by the higher tier package.  As a side note - MSC does not seem to have a couple fixed dining time?  Rather, it looks like the seating is staggered throughout the evening, so there is a steady flow of people in and out of the dining room. Yes, they have fixed set dining times. Depends on the ship there may be two, or three, or 6 (3 in each dining room). They are about 2 hours in between seatings, more than enough time to get dinner served.  Show up more than 10-15 minutes late and doors will be closed (and this is fairly evenly enforced). 

 

Room service - NO room service for bella?  Other than continental breakfast in fantastica, there is a charge? (I have seen the menu) Bella can order room service, all you want - you'll pay the delivery service charge, plus any food charges. Fantastica gets "free" delivery 20 hours a day, but still has to pay the food costs for those items that have a cost. There are some items that are no extra charges for the food itself, some sandwiches, salad, continental breakfast, etc.  Bella can order those too, and pay the $3.95 charge. The difference is Fantastica doesn't pay the delivery charge, whereas Bella does. 

 

Thanks.

 

 

Happy sails.  

[SirWolf]

Location & views of staterooms and

24-hour room service are the main differences

per MSC USA website:

 

BELLA

À  la Carte Amenities

 

Lowest priced staterooms: 
Balcony, Ocean View, Outside with Partial View, Interior and Interior Studio

 

Enjoy all the wonderful benefits of cruising, including fine dining, world-class entertainment, recreation and more:

• Guests request either an early dining option or a late one and a dining time within that range will be assigned, according to availability.
• Buffet with an array of choices available for breakfast, lunch and dinner. 
• ZOE - voice enabled virtual personal cruise assistant (available on MSC Grandiosa and MSC Bellissima)
• MSC for Me app

 

FANTASTICA

More Indulgent Choices

 

Preferred staterooms: 

Suite, Balcony, Ocean View, Interior and Staterooms for Families

 

All the benefits of the Bella Experience plus a variety of extra privileges:

• Ideally located staterooms and views, including the upper decks with easy access to main areas.
• Guests request either an early dining option or a late one and a dining time within that range will be assigned, according to availability, but with priority over Bella guests. *
• 24-hour room service is available with FREE continental breakfast. Choose from our free room service menu or upgrade for a fee.

Edited February 6, 2020 by SirWolf

[some_body]

Thanks for the feedback.   

FWIW, and for the benefit of anyone else reading this, the info posted by SirWolf is exactly the reason I had questions.   It's not presented clearly - for example the description Bella makes no mention of room service.  

[shipgeeks]

reedprincess has, as usual, set it out very well.

There is a section near the top of the MSC page which also lists the inclusions for each of the "experiences", in chart form.

What ship are you sailing on?

[some_body]

 Cruise is not finalized yet, but it’s down to either the Seaside or the Meraviglia in January 2021.  (Assuming we’re ultimately on MSC, there’s other pans in the fire)
 

Is the ship a big variable in all this too?

[reedprincess]

21 minutes ago, some_body said:

 Cruise is not finalized yet, but it’s down to either the Seaside or the Meraviglia in January 2021.  (Assuming we’re ultimately on MSC, there’s other pans in the fire)
 

Is the ship a big variable in all this too?

The ship has minimal/no variable on the Experience inclusions, etc. One exception is MyChoice dining, which is only available for Aurea Experience guests, except on Musica class ship, where it's also available to Fantastica Balcony and suite guests.  (Wellness Experience also gets MyChoice, except I haven't seen Wellness as an option to book for more than a year.  )..

Otherwise, inclusive/exclusions are essentially the same.  

[reedprincess]

46 minutes ago, shipgeeks said:

reedprincess has, as usual, set it out very well.

There is a section near the top of the MSC page which also lists the inclusions for each of the "experiences", in chart form.

What ship are you sailing on?

Thanks for the kind words, much appreciated. 

[aprilF]

I will add that if dining time is a big deal to you and a factor in possibly booking the more expensive experience, consider that the early dining time is usually the more requested dining time on ships leaving from US ports.  So if you'd prefer late dining and that's the only factor that really matters odds are decent thats what you will get if requested even for the lesser experience.  Its by no means a guarantee but if you are willing to gamble a little, odds are in your favor.