Nunagoras

Yeah! MSC is using those "older ladies" to make some unique itineraries lately. If it wasn't for some personal happenings, I'd say, I'd to make perhaps to do one of them on the Musica to visit Jerusalem this year!... And I was on Musica when she had just a few months old back in 2006 or 2007 when she even smelled like a new car!... As regarding the OP's post: Yes. MSC is not that cheap cruise corner it used to be anymore, at least for European sailings. On the other hand they have a solid mainstream product to go with Europe wise that is becoming very popular and then profitable for them. I still feel there could be some value on their cruises, but that depends mostly on what I want from a cruise. If I want a port intensive cruise with long days out of ship, then I'd go with them. If I want long days onboard with loads of entertainment to go, I perhaps would go with the competition, even though the World Europa is on my radar... Time will tell what I may end doing for 2024!...

As per my experience, on all cruises taking place on Genoa, Genoa will be likely the "main" embarkation port, wherever they can have Barcelona with more people embarking or not. that said all the cruise will be designed with Genoa in thought. That said, have my best bet on the 2 gala/elegant nights in blue. Usually as per my experience; Captain's welcome gala night is usually very well attended, with the farewell one not so much. Ultimately on my last 2 or 3 cruises farewell gala nights have been "downgraded" to Italian/Mediterranean sorts of nights, even though I have read elsewhere it has been eventually "promoted" again to gala/elegant nights very recently. Other than Captain's reception on the main areas, a slightly better theater show and a slightly more sophisticated dinner menu, there isn't really nothing shining along on gala nights. Bars and lounges will work out their usual entertainment sets.

Wonderful, many thanks! I'm from Lisbon, currently living in the countryside near Holly Mother of Fátima Shrine!... But I know very well the wonderful Azores and their huge relationship with the sea!... I had family and friends there for quite a while and I have extensively traveled there!... Wonderful food there as well, especially the famous "cozido das Furnas" (such a unique volcanic land prepared meat and vegetables Portuguese stew from Furnas in Azores)!... Cuca Roseta is a very interesting, talented and versatile women voice, far from only Fado!... And a few years ago she worked with a small cruise venture here in Portugal that didn't endure too much!... I believe she was one of the cruise directors for late MS Funchal at their final operational year! So; cruising is very well on our both interests!... I currently am unable to take any cruise for many reasons... Maybe next year if things go the right way, who knows!... But it is a very enjoyable sort of holidays and it is becoming quite popular here!... Tenha um bom domingo!... (Have a nice Sunday!...)

Muito obrigado pelas palavras amigas!... (Many thanks to the kind words!...) Just out of curiosity: Are you from Portuguese origin!... So nice to see this here!... 🙂 That's my preference as well to use a jacket for dinner, sometimes even on non gala nights!... But sadly the worldwide trends to each time less formality... And TBHH; airline luggage allowances are each time lower elsewhere as well, so now my trick is just to dress the suit for my flights and then to use the jacket on gala night and on nights when the temperature would be on the lower side. By the norm I use collared shirt and trousers every day for dinner on a cruise. Here in Europe we seem to be sort on the more formal side of the pond on that one, but really a jacket I'd only "compulsorily" to use on the first gala night for Captain's presentation. On the 2nd gala I and most of the crowd use to relax a little more... Back in the day I used to use a tie for gala night... Not anymore!... Tenha um bom fim-de-semana!... (have a nice weekend!...)

Divina seems to be doing mostly those short-haul weekend escape cruises to Ocean Cay, etc. No gala night on such less than 7 night cruises. Either way: Trousers and collared shirt is more than enough for a gentlemen's MSC's gala night. As regarding theme nights they're entirely optional and even on say, a white night it is common to see people with other colors on the audience. The daily planner will tell you the previous night what days are themed and such things. The short-haul cruises tend to be more relaxed dress wise, IMHO.

Pretty much every cruise can be as good or as bad as one makes of it!... MSC is different. More international minded, lots of Europeans aboard, announcements in many lines and the likes. YC is a superior very acclaimed product. Yes, it would to be good, because they follow the same 4* EU land hotel industry standards of the likes of Carnival, RCI or NCL alike with an X/Princess twist here and there. In order for you to have an idea of what an MSC cruise is about, I suggest you to see this wonderful review from @Radio; whom I consider one of the best "professional" CC cruise reviewers, and that JIMHO, very well describes what an MSC cruise is about: And have a wonderful day!...

Many thanks Radio for your wonderful review of what I think is being such an enjoyable cruise on the MSC Seascape!... Surely MSC needs reviews like this one on their boards. And all of us, regular MSC forum CC members whom very well know the product, we need reviews like this one as well!... Sadly MSC hasn't attracted many of the bloggers/vloggers/cruise reviewers of your caliber and that in turn reveals itself on most of the reviews we see on these boards. But now, we have yours, as independent and at the same time as professional as the ones you do for other lines!... And for the ones whom are able to take a moment and carefully read your review, that gives plenty of well documented information on what an MSC cruise is like! I wholly prefer reviews like this that give an idea of what the real product is like, instead of hugely acclaim or hugely criticize the whole product under personal preferences!... At least there are some "urban myths" you're destroying out of this superb review; as for example that MSC has no activities on offer. Surely they have!... Again: Many thanks to this brilliant work!... I don't know if I personally would to be so patient on professionally scanning dailies and doing so many wonderful professional photos and videos just to share with a relatively small CC audience!... Appreciate your holiday time the best!... All of us will be as grateful for that as we have been with those lots of information and nice work you're sharing with us!... I believe all the usual members here will agree with me!... Have a nice sea day and a lovely cruise!... Oh, and a superb return home, obviously!...

Considering that at Bella balcony on Poesia, you'd very likely to be on a very obstructed view balcony, I'd to pick the inside Fantastica and save the extra money for everything else. Fantastica inside are usually cabins on decks 9-12, if my memory sticks, somewhat to the back of the ship. As per tables, if their structure is the same they had back in the day when the ship was new, and when I sailed her, they have very few 2 tops tables, mostly by the entrance, mostly for individuals in wheelchairs. Things may have changed though. Either way; at booking time you can ask them to, at least put you in same language table because they use to at least honor that. Have a nice day!...

Have your answers in Blue and have a nice day!...

Wonderful review, many thanks!... Wonderful to know they are still making Piano music by the atrium, at least in certain ships!... Have a nice weekend!...

This! If I wish to make a mark for the beginning of 4* EU hotel experience standards, I would to clearly say that day was the day RCI launched it's Voyager class back in 1999. From there onward it was the slow approach that led contemporary mainstream lines to become mostly like just every EU 4* like hotel property out there coupled with some exclusive cruise distinctive elements. Before that it used to be 5* EU land hotel standards for everyone. Times change, so does the cruise industry as a whole.

Let me to explain this here from Europe where most of those shipyards are from. The last big ships of the current before the pandemic building wave are set to be delivered by 2027, if my memory stands, some 2 ships for NCL, one or 2 for RCI, one or 2 for CCL group and one or 2 for MSC. Obviously that will only to be possible if no more supply chain delays are involved in the mix. Nobody knows, but shipyard delays are accumulating day after day. After those deliveries there are no cruise order books for the 2028-32 wave. It is expected that those will to pop up by late 2024, early 2025. Surely the shipyards are now more than full of cargo and tanker orders, but those require less working hours, less specialty work done... They end up less attractive to the shipyards. chances are there would be more military ships orders for the next years to come... Otherwise, without the cruise industry, shipyards will face a bad time, and Europe as whole will suffer afterward. Ships need time to be designed and built. What's my prediction? Cruise lines will try to make their orders for the 2028-32 wave so that they don't loose their precious slots for other operators elsewhere in the market... But I believe we won't see Oasis/Icon ships anymore. All the ships will be on the smaller size, stabilizing on the 150k GT for mainstream, 125k GT for the premium, and 75k GT for the above the premium segments, with a new sustainable green energy segment on the below 50k GT to come with... But that will only to be possible if all goes for the best. Meanwhile I believe MSC will to "eat" one of the "big 3", we just need to know whom the heck will be. My projection points to NCL, time will tell. And CCL will perhaps to sell Cunard for some UK specialty business, and finish Costa... There are interesting times coming out of this enormous mess. And we will need to make compromises due to the crew shortage...

It's worth to mention that all of those giant ships now being completed and put in operation were contracted before the pandemic and to refuse them now would to be more expensive than building them anyway. There is no 2028-2032 cruise ship building schedule yet for none of the shipyards, other than small yacht like, mostly trial alternative energy (like liquid hydrogen) fueled cruise ships. If the 2028-32 schedule doesn't come as expected till early 2025 at most, it is certain that Europe will to enjoy a bad time from 2027 onward with the loss of a significant industry here. I hope for the better, but for the better to happen, we all must to make some compromise.

That's sadly true in the whole cruising industry right now. I know a Brazilian couple whom is now a blogging/vlogging couple whom were 2 crew members till the pandemic. Him was a bartender with Crystal Cruises. She started as a cabin assistant with Crystal and ended up working for Seabourn before the pandemic. They then partnered with an international credit card agency and some Brazilian travel agents... And they're now taking cruises as passengers to present cruise reviews over to the Portuguese language cruise markets!... And they're far from the unique ones. Folks like those won't return the high seas as crew members anymore now that they can sustain their living far easier than partaking 8 to 11 months contracts to be stuck in a ship with rare-to-no free days to explore the locations they stop on!... And they aren't properly old. The ones I'm talking about are on their mid thirties. TBHH: Service reductions and automation will be the solutions for most everything else on the day-to-day cruise operations, like it or not. Want a cappuccino? Serve yourself from an automated machine. Want house wine by the glass? There will be a vending machine at MDR's entrance. Want more than once a day or once per some days cabin service? Become top fidelity member with cruise line, go suites or pay apart for that, if available. For the times being ships are understaffed and they'll to be understaffed. We will need to accept compromises, even at premium-to-luxury market levels. Will it be what it used to be? No. But better to accept compromise than to go out of cruising!... I hope I can return by 2024...

Wonderful review! Have a nice sailing!...

For a simple latte, any bar onboard will deliver you that, even included on the drinks packages. For a "fancier" coffee drink you'll have 2 options: Venchi chocolate and coffee bar (I don't personally know where it is located on Seaside, excuse me, some other members will shine in with actual location) which will be out of any drinks package, or you'll have an "invisible" small coffee bar around the atrium bar that will serve some of those lovely coffee concoctions inside the drinks package. Have a nice day!

Considering my experience is from before the pandemic, I'd say that if it is the same, then, that is pretty much relaxed. You can eat pretty much all what you wish. You can even mix things a little bit; for example: Imagine you want the pasta or the vegetarian main dishes as a starter. They can give you a starter portion of those while you'll have your main at main portion.

Other than the gym and Spa (where minors can go with an adult at certain T&C), the adult disco from 11PM onward and the Casino at operational hours, minors can to stay pretty much all over the ship at any time. As the other members have said; it is pretty much common for minors to stay with their families elsewhere once on holidays. MSC bars and lounges are to be seen primarily as socializing places, with adult drinks as a extra bonus, not the whole experience. You can stay long hours on them without drinking anything else. This is what I do most of the days, with the odd non alcoholic drink here and there once for health reasons I can't drink alcohol. Have a nice day.

Pretty much everything has been said, thanks! It's good to notice that YC differentiation point is far from just having alcohol covered! Actually pretty much everyone has it by default. It is rare to see the basic fares advertised everywhere else, even though they already have them. YC is a distinctive product for such a distinctive crowd. And it is becoming far from affordable, to say the very least!...

Here in Europe, port taxes are dealt separately from the base price by the law of the land, even though for facilitation purposes they might to be part of the advertisement package offer. Unused or overpaid port taxes is money on the hands of the client, because the states didn't require that. Balancing thing may be a slow sort of thing, but they always ultimately do so.

As per my experience; if the port taxes lowers till your sailing date, from where you have paid, you'll get a refund some 5 to 6 weeks after your cruise to the credit card you use to link your account. Same goes in case for any reason ship is unable to call a port. Those are basically state and port administration fees. They should have given you the current price, and you're very lucky on this one because our EU "consumer protection act" runs highly on your favor. In case of doubt ask guest services for guidance onboard, please.

As the amount is on the 100-300 bucks difference, my impression is that the amount might to have happened due to port and state taxes increases in the mean time or the gratuities if those are part of the deal, once those are calculated apart, but built in your set price. As someone has said small changes on bookings my incur on some price adjustment, but this time I believe more on my first assumption. Please contact them.

Tips for the drinks package are INCLUDED on your base deal for the items included at said package. For items excluded you pay final price plus tips. You need to do nothing on top of that. You can to do some extra tipping to someone you feel to deserve it, but once MSC discourages tipping, please do it in a very discrete way. Hope to have clarified things out. Have a nice day!...

Dubai is the "main" port for WE, so better availability there ship locations wise. Same with European sailings, the "main" embarkation port will ever be better. Sometimes difficult to find which is "main" port. Every time Genoa is in an Itinerary, that's easy!...

Another Portuguese or with some Portuguese origin here!... Congrats!... Tenha um bom dia!... (Have a nice day!...)