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On recent Bella bookings, what did you book and what did you get?

Stockjock

By Stockjock,
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Stockjock "Live from...." Rare

Stockjock

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I've done prior Bella bookings where I got an upgraded cabin.  But now, MSC has a paid upgrade program in place, so I'm guessing that they might be a bit more stingy with the "free" upgrades.

If you've booked Bella fairly recently (after the upgrade program was rolled out), what Bella category did you book and what did you end up with?  When was your sailing?

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Stockjock "Live from...." Rare

Stockjock

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From what I'm reading so far, in the past if you booked Bella, you had a pretty good chance of receiving a substantial upgrade.  Even though we had to cancel, not long before the paid upgrade was rolled out, we booked Bella oceanview and got an aft veranda.

Based on reading prior remarks, I'd estimate that before the upgrade program was here, one would have well better than 50/50 chance, and probably closer to a 75% chance, of an upgrade.  Now that the paid upgrade program is in place, it seems as if there may be a far lower possibility of a significant cabin upgrade.  Good to know.  If that's the case, I'd now be far more likely to book Fantastica and make sure to get what I want from the onset.  

I didn't mind periodically rolling the dice before, but the result of the roll was often pretty good.  It seems as if the odds of the roll may have changed.

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cruiseguyinorl

cruiseguyinorl

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3 hours ago, Stockjock said:

From what I'm reading so far, in the past if you booked Bella, you had a pretty good chance of receiving a substantial upgrade.

 

That was correct. Wasn't uncommon for Bella Interior to receive a balcony. However, haven't seen any comp upgrades for my clients in many months.

Bret

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publicpersona

publicpersona

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We had booked Bella balcony on Seashore for 7/30/22 sailing and was assigned a deluxe balcony on deck 13 in the hump section. We had to cancel that one. Then rebooked for 8/27/22 and also got a deluxe balcony on deck 13 but not on the hump. Both instances had glass balustrades.

 

Looking at Seashore's official deck plans on MSC site, all balconies are either Deluxe or Deluxe Balcony Aurea. I would think the balconies with metal balustrades would be less desirable, as would any balcony on deck 9 or 15. However, they aren't called out as such on the MSC deck plans. But they are on other deck plans on the Interwebs, possibly ones that existed before all Bella were Gty.

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LatinaInTexas

LatinaInTexas

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6 hours ago, publicpersona said:

We had booked Bella balcony on Seashore for 7/30/22 sailing and was assigned a deluxe balcony on deck 13 in the hump section. We had to cancel that one. Then rebooked for 8/27/22 and also got a deluxe balcony on deck 13 but not on the hump. Both instances had glass balustrades.

 

Looking at Seashore's official deck plans on MSC site, all balconies are either Deluxe or Deluxe Balcony Aurea. I would think the balconies with metal balustrades would be less desirable, as would any balcony on deck 9 or 15. However, they aren't called out as such on the MSC deck plans. But they are on other deck plans on the Interwebs, possibly ones that existed before all Bella were Gty.

Haven't cruised MSC before so wondering why balconies on deck 9 and 15 are less desirable?

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publicpersona

publicpersona

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10 hours ago, LatinaInTexas said:

Haven't cruised MSC before so wondering why balconies on deck 9 and 15 are less desirable?

 

It's a matter of personal preference, but in general I try to stick to decks that have staterooms above and below. Unless you enjoy the sounds of a jogging track at 5 AM, or hearing chairs being pushed around the buffet at 3 AM.

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sealynx

sealynx

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17 hours ago, publicpersona said:

Looking at Seashore's official deck plans on MSC site, all balconies are either Deluxe or Deluxe Balcony Aurea. I would think the balconies with metal balustrades would be less desirable, as would any balcony on deck 9 or 15. However, they aren't called out as such on the MSC deck plans. But they are on other deck plans on the Interwebs, possibly ones that existed before all Bella were Gty.

 

Yep, that has been a recent change. All cabins are now deluxe or better on the newer ships. No cabins are pre-assigned Bella or Fantastica anymore. It really simplifies the difference between these two experiences, and it makes it more desirable to book Fantastica, since no longer people can choose the best Bella as a cheaper alternative.

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publicpersona

publicpersona

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2 hours ago, KINGBOBOFTHENORTH said:

It's worth the extra few bucks to bypass Bella and move to Fantastica

 

I would normally agree, but on the last cruise I booked, the difference was substantial. In fact, the amount seemed to vary from time to time while the cruise price stayed the same .. must be dynamic pricing. Is there a known formula for the Fantastica pricing?

 

I've done it both ways. Fortunately, the times I chose Bella, I got a desirable (formerly Fantastica) balcony anyway.

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cmp03

cmp03

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Booked Bella interior for a 4 night cruise on Davina last month.  Received an inside room on deck 8 - I believe this would have been the same room we could have selected with the Fantastica package so I assume it could have been considered an upgrade but it was above the theater so I assume during shows there might have been more noise - I don't think this would have bothered me since the shows are not super late at night.

We bid  the cheapest amount possible on an upgrade to a partial view balcony.  We were assigned a balcony room on deck 11 (so I think it was an upgrade to a normal balcony without an obstruction since we were above the life boats but could still technically look down and see them) BUT we were assigned a room with a connecting door which turned out to be an awful room.   Their connecting doors have an obvious gap around them so you can hear normal conversations and sounds from the other room the whole time.  There were signs at guest services saying the boat was full when we tried to switch rooms but I asked if we could even switch to oceanview or back to inside just to not have a connecting room.  They did end up moving up to another balcony room that wasn't a connection room and that one was so much quieter so it all worked out.


So based on this experience, I will never do a paid upgrade (unless its to a category that has NO connecting rooms).  I will also never book the bella experience again because I don't want to be a assigned a room that connects.  

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blordos

blordos

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Years ago I booked two Bella interieur cabins on the MSC Meraviglia and we got a free upgrade to YIN, Yacht Club interior with all the YC amenities. That was very lucky. We also had booked interior cabins on the Seaside on the TransAtlantic cruise and was upgraded to the Balconies. But that cruise was cancelled because the COVID.

 

We made in total of 8 MSC cruises. A 9th MSC cruise is booked in October and we chose the unassigned Bella cabins. The booking were done directly on the MSC site. We let MSC decided the cabins.  Fingers crossed.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Stockjock "Live from...." Rare

Stockjock

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On 8/23/2022 at 7:56 AM, Sinppu said:

I apologise for the late reply. The cabins were assigned in the end of June. 

Sounds like they're mostly assigned after final payment, which makes it tough to make a change if one doesn't care for their assignment.

That's the nature of the beast, I suppose.

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bigislandcuiser

bigislandcuiser

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On 8/9/2022 at 3:02 AM, Sinppu said:

Myself and two friends booked a cruise on Fantasia in February in inside cabins and we were all assigned an oceanview. Cruise is in September. 

 

On 8/23/2022 at 7:56 AM, Sinppu said:

I apologise for the late reply. The cabins were assigned in the end of June. 

 

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bigislandcuiser

bigislandcuiser

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Hi Sinni,

 

It has been a long time since we saw you and Lowry in Hilo on your 28 day to South Pacific from San Diego.  I haven’t been on cruise critic for awhile so haven’t seen your travels.  We moved to Las Vegas from Kona in Nov 2019.  If you travel our way it would be nice seeing you.

 

Gary and Julie

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Morecruisesplz

Morecruisesplz

Posted
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On 8/2/2022 at 10:47 PM, Stockjock said:

I've done prior Bella bookings where I got an upgraded cabin.  But now, MSC has a paid upgrade program in place, so I'm guessing that they might be a bit more stingy with the "free" upgrades.

If you've booked Bella fairly recently (after the upgrade program was rolled out), what Bella category did you book and what did you end up with?  When was your sailing?

We booked an inside guarantee for May 7 cruise. We were assigned a really nice balcony on deck 13 very shortly. We ignored all of the bid to upgrade offers. Just didn't make sense $wise.

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