Bellissima.......October 2....Asia.....any thoughts

[Kelownabccan]

Looking at an Asia cruise next fall and happened to see this one for 11 nights.....have been on MSC a few time so know the drill for us North Americans...lol......anyways what about the ship over in Asia?? and the different cultures there.....would I be impressed with the service etc and still the European flavor or would the ship be transformed into an Asian culture experience???...fairly easy for us to fly over from Seattle or Vancouver to Tokyo....so air not a problem

 

Thoughts.......hopefully by someone who has done the ship and not just made up stuff...haha

[Kelownabccan]

Wow....I guess not many people been on this ship in Asia.....would have thought someone would have been....oh well.....I wonderd if it has been all re designed for the Asia market

[mackfam]

My son and his girlfriend were on the Bellísima in September on a 9 day cruise around Japan with one stop in S Korea.

 

They were in the YC and had previously been on the Meraviglia so could compare to that experience. They had a great time, found the non YC areas of the ship much less crowded than on the Mera for this particular cruise. Food and service in the YC were great. They said there were some different menu items that catered to the Asian market but regular items were also available.

 

English speakers were in the minority among the passengers (at least in the YC). 

[Kelownabccan]

On 10/31/2023 at 6:54 PM, mackfam said:

My son and his girlfriend were on the Bellísima in September on a 9 day cruise around Japan with one stop in S Korea.

 

They were in the YC and had previously been on the Meraviglia so could compare to that experience. They had a great time, found the non YC areas of the ship much less crowded than on the Mera for this particular cruise. Food and service in the YC were great. They said there were some different menu items that catered to the Asian market but regular items were also available.

 

English speakers were in the minority among the passengers (at least in the YC). 

Thanks....mostly what I had thought....I guess when on an Asia cruise be prepared for lots of Asians....lol....saw a review of an RCL cruise ship over there and all done up for the Asian culture...even had three casinos....lol

[peder]

Did you end up booking? I'm having trouble finding much info about the Bellissima's jaunt around Asia. I assume different social media apps are used, but you'd struggle to even know this ship is in operation based on how little info there is out there.

[clydecruiser]

We have booked this cruise while onboard Seashore in November/December 23. Just booked our flights from UK. 
 

As you say very difficult to find out much information. I know she did  21 day dry dock in Shanghai at end of 2023.

 

it will certainly be an adventure. 

[cruisingpluto]

@Kelownabccan  @peder I might be able to help.  I am from NY and just did the 10 night Japan + Korea itinerary on the Bellissima this past April.  I have also sailed on the Meraviglia out of Brooklyn.

 

The Bellissma and Meraviglia are sister ships so the ships were basically the same.  The only difference were the ports, the fabulous Japanese chef that made delicious Japanese food and additional Asian guests.  There were a lot of non-Asian guests too.  Cruising out of NY, the sailings here are also diverse so it felt like a sailing that could have been out of NY.

 

Some quick answers:

• The entertainment wasn't any different and did not cater to Asian people.
• The service (restaurants, buffet, room attendants, reception, sales etc.) were all the same.  It's just like what we're used to in the US.  I've been on many cruises out of the US.  This was my first Asian itinerary.  All of the staff are international just like what we're used to/have seen here in the US so everyone speaks English.
• Announcements were made in English and Japanese.
• Western food was very poor on the Bellissima in the dining room/buffet.  This has nothing to do with the itinerary being in Asia.  It was more the people in charge of the food that either didn't care or didn't know.  The fries and burgers were great in the buffet though.  The fresh mozz was also nice and readily available/fresh on the Bellissima.  Pizza was pretty good.  They hired a Japanese chef and the Japanese food was very very good.  I love Japanese food so this was a huge plus.
• Western food on the Mera was very good and exceeded my expectations and on par with my go to cruise line - Royal Caribbean/Celebrity.  Fries were weak and no readily available fresh mozz.  Pizza was great and just like a traditional NY slice.
• Hardly any people gambling in the casinos on the Bellissima.  There weren't many people gambling on the casino on the Mera either, but definitely more than the Bellissima.
• Passengers on the Bellissima were very nice, complete opposite of the crowds we are used to on the typical Caribbean/Bahamas/Mexico/Bermuda sailings.

 

Let me know if you have any specific questions since I am unsure what to tell you to help you decide if you want to book one of their Asian itineraries.  So while the Western food sucked in the dining room/buffet on the Bellissima, I loved the ease of being able to sail around Japan, visiting new places, and visit beautiful Jeju and the nice passengers.  I am doing another Japan + Korea itinerary next year on the same ship.  It looks like MSC changed up some of the ports so the ship will be visiting some new places!  It will also sail out of Tokyo instead of Yokohama.  The Bellissima one I did sailed out of Yokohama.

[peder]

We did end up going back in February BTW. I was quite surprised that, at least from the US and European websites, there were very few cabins available to book even though once we onboard, it was clear that the ship was only about half full. The staff were very bored. I'm looking at a 7-day sailing out of Tokyo for next year, and only Aurea cabins are available from the US. I think the Yacht Club cabins are only sold to Asian customers.

 

So it's good to keep in mind that even if a sailing looks sold out on the US and European websites, they might still have a ton of inventory that we just can't see. You'd need to find the MSC website or Line app etc. for Taiwanese or Japanese customers (and maybe a WeChat app for Chinese customers?) to see more cabin inventory.

 

I don't have much to add to your post. It's great and covers a lot of ground. Agreed with everything. I'd maybe point out that they had a Taiwanese and Japanese corners of the buffet, but really, it's not much different than any other MSC ship. Maybe slightly more variety of Asian classics.

 

The biggest difference from my perspective was that the pools were deserted, and the buffet was unusually busy, especially at the water-filling station. But lines at the bars were non-existent. Aurea spa was also not busy at all (even after you adjust for the ship not sailing full).

[clydecruiser]

Has anyone else booked on this October 2 sailing?

[perakcruiser]

On 7/30/2024 at 3:31 AM, peder said:

I was quite surprised that, at least from the US and European websites, there were very few cabins available to book even though once we onboard, it was clear that the ship was only about half full.

At least in Malaysia MSC and RCCL mainly sell their cruises with travel agents at travel fairs and not online. 

[peder]

Ah, that's really weird. I assumed there were websites or social media apps (like WeChat) where most of the inventory is sold that I just didn't have access to via the US.

 

I guess I don't understand why they don't at least sell the cabins online via the US website at a premium price, just in case someone wants to go through the hassle. Many of the Bellissima sailings have *0* Yacht Club cabins available, even though they're obviously not sold out. Why not charge something obscene and reimburse the TAs for lost revenue on the off chance that I want to do my "Japan Bucketlist Trip"?

[MyriamS]

Agree that it's weird. They are clearly not filling the ships with locals, so why not assign fewer cabins to local TAs and and instead sell them through the MSC website (where everyone, local or not, can book)? They must be making a loss sailing the ship half full.

I'd like to do a cruise in Asia but MSC only has a handful of dates/itineraries so it's always been impractical.

[Sammyjlb]

On 8/24/2024 at 5:50 PM, clydecruiser said:

Has anyone else booked on this October 2 sailing?

Yes, booked it relatively recently 🙂. Looks like there is a Facebook group but only 46 members in it.... Getting excited now !!

 

[Chell60]

My husband and I are booked on it flying from UK with a short stay in Dubai then Tokyo. First time cruisers so looking forward to it. Bit annoyed that we only just got access to the excursions and they were mostly sold out. 😭