skipsaur

On 8/23/2023 at 6:16 AM, darkhorizon said:

Can we carry bottled water to MSC Seascape for infant formula?

I emailed MSC to ask and got this response 2.5 months later:

Good Morning,

  We will need you to fill out a special needs form

Thank you for choosing to sail with MSC Cruises. We are excited to have you on board and want to ensure that your cruise experience is as comfortable and enjoyable as possible. In order to better accommodate your needs, we kindly request that you fill out a separate Special Needs form for each reservation.

To access the Special Needs form, please follow these steps:

Go to www.MSCCruisesUSA.com

Scroll down to the very bottom of the page

Click on "Special Needs"

In the section labeled "Informing us on any mobility, medical, and dietary requirements," click on the "plus" sign.

A window will open, displaying the words "online" in orange writing. Click on it to proceed with the form.

Complete the necessary information in the form as accurately as possible.

At the end of the online application, please remember to click the green "submit" button located at the bottom of the e-form. This step is crucial to ensure that we receive your form.

Please be aware that we do not accept form submissions via copy/screenshot. To successfully register your special needs with us, you must click the "submit" button as indicated above.

Should you have any questions or require assistance, please don't hesitate to reach out to our customer support team at the contact center 1 (877) 665-4655

We genuinely value your well-being and strive to provide the best possible service for all our guests. Your completion of the Special Needs form for each reservation will help us better prepare for your cruise and ensure a fantastic experience onboard.

Once again, thank you for choosing MSC Cruises. We look forward to welcoming you onboard soon!

Kind Regards,

Dana Hamrick

MSC Cruises (USA) Inc.

6750 North Andrews Avenue, Suite 100

Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309

1-877-665-4655

On 7/16/2023 at 12:44 AM, 4sallypat said:

Interesting that Carribean cruises are not included.

 

So I'm planning on a Japan - Korea - Okinawa trip on MSC Bellissima - hope water is included as when we sailed the Mediterranean....

You're good to go, cruises booked through MSC USA get free bottled water in MDR for Japan-departing cruises. 👍

On 7/15/2023 at 5:32 AM, ksmommy5 said:

Just booked a cruise out of Port Canaveral on the Seaside bc the price was too good to pass up. I am having buyers remorse the more research I do into this line: Im sorry, but there are certain shows that are an additional cost?! A whole billiard room that has a COST? Coming from RCL which offers a variety of family friendly options included (zipline, bumper cars, ice skating etc) I guess we will be spending our time in the waterpark area. I am going into this cruise with an open mind but some of these amenities additional costs are a bit much. Anything else that will shock me when I board? I already see that bc I booked Bella I can't choose my dining time or preference of table size until I board.

I too was initially taken aback at all the extra costs and felt a bit nickel and dimed. But I think it's better to think of it as MSC offering an a la carte style: lower base price and you have the option to pay for the"extras" you want, instead of bundling all the costs together at a higher base price that already includes the cost of ice skating whether you do it or not.

6 hours ago, GenerationX said:

When a cart finally pulled up, after 20 minutes waiting, a group of YC guests were so eager to mob it I saw one lady who must’ve been in her 70’s try to grab and dive on the thing rear end first before it even came to a complete stop!  I guess risking a broken tailbone (or worse) was worth it to be sure she didn’t wait another 15 minutes to get back to the ship.

 

I wasn’t raised to throw elbows and shove elderly people out of my way, so when said folks mobbed the cart and I tried to set an example for her to not push and wait our turn, of course Gen Z and I were left standing with no seats left on the cart.  

Ugh I'm sorry this happened to you and your daughter, especially when she was going through a tough patch. Glad she has an attentive mom keeping an eye on her needs preemptively!

That's such distasteful behavior from elderly Yacht Club guests who should know better. Puts you in an awkward position as a parent when you're trying to teach your child proper behavior and there's adults who must have forgotten all their manners.

Glad that it didn't spoil her day though! Looking forward to hearing your final thoughts on the trip.

On 7/15/2023 at 7:32 AM, cml4958 said:

Snicker at the villagers comment; when we were in the 3 bedroom suite, the living room overlooked the pool deck, I believe.  We called it looking at the masses.

Cringe 

Just caught up on your review, thanks for doing it! I've read a couple of your other ones and love your writing and parenting style. I love how you include plenty of detailed information without making it dry. Your storytelling narrative really makes each post light, fast and fun!

On 7/7/2023 at 12:20 AM, exs2 said:

Funnily enough here in EU it is actually empty seat next to you in business class (intra EU). Legroom is only inches more or even same as in economy cause they keep changing business class size according to demand by just moving the curtain so no need to complain the flight attendant cause they are not going to give that middle seat to someone and I don't recall ever seeing it given to anyone for any reason.

That's interesting, I didn't know that about intra-EU flights. Most of my flights are long haul so the difference is not inches, but more lay flat seats, compartments. Usually the first and business class seats are full, except during COVID. But if any are free upgrades, I'm happy for that passenger to have escaped a long haul flight in economy!

On 7/7/2023 at 12:20 AM, exs2 said:

Ryan and you seem to be thinking that what is the harm of someone else using the "perks" they are not entitled to? It raises the question why would anyone pay more of YC or plane business class if anyone can and should just go there "if there is room" 

Sorry, you misunderstood me. You're arguing with the ghost of what you think I said, not what I actually said.

I'm not saying "what is the harm of someone else using the "perks" they are not entitled to?" Put down your pitchfork, I'm not advocating chaos and anarchy. 😉

1. In the example I read it was MSC crew who directed other passengers to those empty seats. People did not take it upon themselves.

2. YC passengers paid for their seats and have the right to them. The empty seats are the property of MSC and it's entirely up to MSC to choose to give them to other passengers or keep them empty.

3. MSC representatives gave out the seats. Those lucky passengers received a "free upgrade" for the length of a show. MSC is the only one who can legitimately give out entitlement to those seats. YC guests are entitled to the 1 seat they paid for, not what happens to the empty seats. This is the same logic that dictates YC guests may not invite non-YC guests to YC areas.

Which of these 3 points is untrue?

You might argue that MSC shouldn't give the seats away, but that's a separate issue and I have no interest debating that. As far as "diluting" the brand appeal, brands have always given away luxury items for free. Some people in the middle pay full price but people on both ends of the bell curve get it for free or negligible cost. There will always be people who pay much more or much less than me for the same goods or services. I can't change that. I can change whether to look for the positives or negatives.

You can't choose what MSC does with the empty seats, you can only choose how you react. At my age I've learned that in this case, if I choose to be magnanimous and happy for the good fortune of my fellow passengers on their free upgrade, I and everyone else feels better than if I stew in stingy discontent at the unfairness of life. One path is how I aspire to be, the other is where I sometimes end up.

On 7/7/2023 at 7:58 AM, morpheusofthesea said:

"We all judge. It is the most natural human tendency. Anybody who says they don’t judge are lying. We’re all judging all the time. Every opinion you have is a judgement in itself – whether good or bad. Judging is perceiving."  Ankush Bahuguna 

Something piqued my curiosity about this quote so I looked up the author. I don't know what I was expecting but it was not a social media influencer/make up artist/actor! His Instagram is pretty hilarious, thanks for sharing!

2 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

Forgot to mention: Different menu in the MDR each evening. NCL has gotten rid of this and it is now the same dinner menu every night of the cruise.

Wow thanks for sharing this, had no idea NCL had done this. That's a huge negative in my book.

22 minutes ago, mchin said:

To clarify, is the 5% discount per cabin or per person?  Each of us (husband, myself, and daughter who will be 20 at time of sailing) are Gold members.  Booked for July 2025.  My membership number is not working for some reason, but my husband's does and working on getting my daughter's membership now.

Cabin

In my opinion, if I pay for business class, that gives me a seat, singular. It doesn't give me the right to the empty seat next to me. The airline is free to assign that seat to someone else, even as a free upgrade, regardless of the fact that I paid for my seat.

Sure, I might like a row to myself, but I don't need more than 1 seat. I can't imagine complaining to a flight attendant if they choose to give the seat to someone. 😂

19 hours ago, peder said:

It depends. The kids-sail-free promotion doesn't always run, and kids are still subject to port fees and taxes.

Also daily service charge

26 minutes ago, PharmacyRx said:

There was zero presence of any MSC officers or leadership during the disembarkation fiasco. The fact that the ship staff "abandoned" any protocols to manage a calm, safe and orderly disembarkation and had zero presence about the ship is the reason I will never sail with MSC again.

If this "non- emergency" overwhelmed them then what would they do in a true maritime, ship involved event where life boats had to be deployed? MSC could learn many lessons from this and one important t lesson being that you are still responsible for those on your ship and we are all still guests until that cruise card is scanned at disembarkation. 

This is an excellent point and made me really think.

10 hours ago, Zerodrinker said:

I mention MSC because we are booked on the Euribia in January. Whenever we contact a cruise lines' customer service desk on this topic we receive the same non-committal brush-off

ie:"some of the restaurants might stock a non-alcoholic wine - if available - and we do offer fruit mocktails and one non-alcoholic lager".

It shouldn't be like this - should it?

I think you get brushed off because the minimum wage customer service representative probably gets as much say in what is stocked as you do. It's like complaining to cashiers when grocery store prices go up... it's way above their paygrade, it's not like corporate asks their opinions.

I sympathize. It's frustrating when your choice of beverage isn't available AND the cruise line doesn't allow you to bring it on board yourself.

How I deal with it is just reminding myself I can live without my favorite beverage for a week. Maybe I'll find an appreciation for something new, which is part of the fun of travel. You can drive yourself to frustration with thinking how things should be, but if it won't change anything, then the choices are to find a way to accept it or don't.

On 4/17/2023 at 5:19 AM, spedrson said:

We are going on a cruise with family members ranging in age from 17-75. We're not a huge group, only 6 of us altogether. If you've gone on a multi-generational cruise before what kind of ground rules/expectations do you talk about before boarding the cruise ship? I want everyone to have the freedom to do what they want without feeling like we all have to do everything together (especially my "kids" ages 17 & 21). Do you eat all of your meals together or only meet up for one a day? Give me whatever tips you have for a great multi generational trip! 

We did a multigenerational cruise where my husband (then boyfriend) and I were the adult "kids". We didn't do breakfast together because we were always up early and first off the ship at ports with booked excursions, etc while some of the family preferred to party late and sleep in. We did family dinner every night and while the seating time wasn't our preference, it was always a great time and we could visit the buffet before/after. We had all the rooms next to each other but I wouldn't say that was strictly necessary, it didn't add much to the experience. In ports, we did our own things as the other generations weren't interested in ziplines or packing in 30k steps in a day like us and we weren't interested in going to Senor Frogs. It was overall a great time!

What I would do differently:

At the time we were young early 20-somethings and liked having so much freedom and time to do what we wanted at our pace. But looking back, I wish we spent more time with family especially my husband's grandpa who is no longer with us. It was so special to all be there together and at the time I took for granted how rare a chance that was, because when you're young there's always a "tomorrow" or "next time". As a young person, there's always another cruise or another vacation, but there might not be another vacation with a grandparent. I wish I prioritized that family time instead.

On 6/24/2023 at 9:33 PM, SimplyMarvie said:

That's an excellent idea about leaving the bags at the train station, and probably more sensible since we don't have a lot of luggage and would otherwise carry it with us. We'll do that. 🙂 

 

(And no, definitely not down with locking things with bike locks. Maybe I'm too American for my own good, but I can already see having to explain myself to the bomb squad...)

The lockers sound perfect for your needs then, they're very convenient!

No worries about a bomb squad, Japan is very safe and can be a bit of a culture shock to Americans. You won't see large bike locks and it's common to see parked bikes with the key left in the lock. Full size bottles are fine to bring on domestic flights, backpacks are allowed in stadiums, and people will leave their phones or wallets on their table in food courts or cafes when they go to the bathroom. Occasionally you'll even see kids left in bike seats outside a store if a parent needs to pop inside.

16 hours ago, shaycamp21 said:

We are all up -to-date with our Covid vaccines but wondering if we need additional vaccines when travelling in Asia (cruise starts in Singapore ends in Tokyo, ports are NhaTrang Vietnam, Hong Kong, Keelung, Taiwan, Kobe, Japan & Mt Fuji)? Yellow Fever? Hep B? There is a travel clinic where I live where you can go for a consult -- but it's for profit so from what I've heard they try and convince you to get everything under the sun. So want to know what else (if anything) is really necessary? 

Yellow fever is in Africa and South America, not Asia so no need. (The name comes from the associated liver damage and jaundice, not the racist term.)

Hep B is recommended for everyone but it's a series of 3 shots so it takes half a year at least to complete, not sure how far off your cruise is. It's not a bad idea to get vaccinated because there is no cure for Hep B. Many people are vaccinated for it already, for example most health care workers.

You can get Hep A from eating contaminated food so I felt safer getting it because I'm an adventurous eater and I like trying street food.

But you're traveling to very clean, urban places. I probably wouldn't go out of my way. Like you say, sometimes travel clinics seem to try to sell you on more than you need, especially if you're not hiking through remote forests and jungles or anything like that. ☺️

23 hours ago, patty1955 said:

I booked a hotel that I really like (J8 Hotel) and they have a 24 hour reception. The email from my booking site said "This property doesn't offer after-hours check-in. Front desk staff will greet guests on arrival." I've seen a number of reviews that mention late night check-in but I can't get a confirmation that they allow it from the hotel. I've emailed and FB  them.

I would definitely believe the hotel over the booking site! I emailed the hotel at reservations@j8hotel.com and got this reply a few hours later. Hope that helps!

Dear Sir / Madam

Our hotel reception is operating 24 hours.

Thank You

Warm Regards

F.O j8Hotel

13 hours ago, bundtkate said:

Deck 13 aft balconies are Mera are not very deep. If you're after lovely wake views, you'll still get them, but be prepared for a fairly ordinary-sized balcony. Here's a video of 13354 to give you an idea. It may have a slightly deeper balcony than 13249 as those near the center get a bit of extra space, but I'd guess the difference isn't significant.

13249 also looks to be one of the family balconies. We were in 11273 which was also a family balcony. This means you will have a connecting door to the adjacent inside cabin. This didn't bother us as we couldn't hear any noise from that cabin, but I'm not totally convinced the cabin was occupied since we were on her in Sept 2021 and a lot of cabins were empty at that time.

Family balconies also come with bunk beds across from either the couch or the bed. Whether that's a pro or con depends on how you look at it. It does provide an extra place to stash stuff, but the beds can't be tucked away in any way so if you're not using it for storage (or, y'know, sleeping space for extra humans) they just eat floor space. It also impacts where one can watch TV. Looks like the bunk beds are always by the balcony so if your bed is by the balcony, the TV will be centered with the couch and hard to see from the bed. Our couch was by the balcony so TV was centered with the bed. We don't watch TV while cruising so we didn't care, but others may.

 

Finally, it looks like 13249 specifically comes with a bathtub. This isn't true of all family balconies and 11273 did not so I can't comment on that impact first hand, but based on this video of 11386, it doesn't look like it makes the bathroom too tiny or anything so probably fine unless you have mobility issues and would have a hard time stepping into the tub.

The last possible con I'd cite is the exhaust. Even on 11, it got us sometimes and I'd assume it'll be worse on 13. There are a lot of variables like wind direction/speed and ship speed that determine whether it's a problem and you may never notice it at all. We did, but it never bothered us enough to force us inside so take that for what it's worth.

Overall, our aft balcony on Mera was my favorite stateroom ever. I even liked it better than our Haven Penthouse on NCL Joy, but the extra deep balcony was a huge part of that so I'm not sure I'd pay the premium for 13. The Haven suite was bigger, but there's no beating the aft balconies on the lower decks on Mera and her sisters. The wake views are great so if the price is right I'd say go for it, but if you can move down even just one deck that will be a huge upgrade so I'd keep an eye out if something opens up and move if you have the opportunity (and the stomach for risking a change with MSC).

Not the OP but this was such a thorough and thoughtful answer. Definitely taking a look at those aft balconies now!

3 hours ago, GPPhilly said:

I just do not get all the pushback by people when talking about the YC and outside guests.  I do not feel it is people being uppity.  It is a matter of paying for a certain level of service and exclusivity.  When you have paid for this level why should you be good with others taking advantage for free of something you paid for.   Also, by using resources in the exclusive area that might have an impact on your level of service received.  

 

 

 

3 hours ago, KennyFla said:

It’s like buying a business class seat on a flight and somebody in coach taking your seat when you go to the bathroom 

I think in both these situations, the establishment should take care of things. On a flight, if someone took my seat, I would alert a crew member and let them care of it. That's their job and I'm not getting paid to do their job.

I don't think it's pushback. No one thinks anyone should be taken advantage of or that YC should be a free for all.

I think the parts that caused some difference of opinion aren't with true confirmed interlopers but the risk of profiling people who seem "out of place" or "look like" they don't or shouldn't belong in YC, and I think we can all agree how that's a bad slippery slope to go down. (Unless you're a silver-haired and fit George Clooney-lookalike, then you obviously belong in YC! 😂)

On 6/20/2023 at 1:12 AM, Zach1213 said:

I'm not sure what reasonably priced means to you, but I fly in to Singapore several times each year on like a 12am arrival. As long as I book for that night (i.e. if I arrive at 12:01am on Saturday morning, I book a hotel starting Friday) and let them know a couple days before what I am doing, I have never have a problem. I usually stay either at Quincy Hotel (on Mt. Elizabeth) or a Hilton-brand hotel. 

 

Also, Singapore as a whole is super efficient...if you land at 12:10am, even with immigration and luggage, you should be at your hotel well before 2am. 

On 6/17/2023 at 2:38 AM, patty1955 said:

Can someone recommend a reasonably priced Singapore hotel that allows late night/early morning check-in. Our flight lands at 12:10 AM, so we expect to get to the hotel around 2:00 am

As @Zach1213 said you'll be fine if you book a hotel for that night. Our flight was similar and Singapore at 2 AM felt like any other big city's 10 PM to us, as in lots of people out and about still, enjoying restaurants etc.

(Also, I have no idea if swaying your 15 year old is possible, but there's some interesting ramen venues in Tokyo as well. Would any of these fit your itinerary better and interest him?)

Tokyo Station has a Ramen Street area in the station with some very famous shops. Lots of souvenir shops with character goods and snacks from all over Japan in one place at Tokyo station too.

Odaiba, Tokyo also has a ramen "museum" area in the Aqua City mall. Lots to see in the Odaiba malls, I think teenagers might be interested in the giant Gundam statue, Gundam Base store, big arcades, etc and there are often events happening nearby.

https://www.aquacity.jp/trk_mai/index.html

On 6/13/2023 at 5:09 AM, SimplyMarvie said:

Sadly, the museum doesn't allow baggage, there's no left luggage and we weren't planning on a driver, so I'm trying to find a way for us to have our noodles and eat them too, metaphorically speaking.

 

 

Are you just looking for a place to store your luggage for a few hours while you visit the museum? 

All major train stations have banks and banks of luggage lockers. Clean, nice and simple to use. They vary in size from small ones that'll fit a backpack to large ones that fit a big suitcase, with the smaller ones being cheaper. Usually the big suitcase lockers are around 800yen for a day. If you commute to the museum by train, you'll definitely be able to find a place for your luggage. Sometimes tourist information centers also operate luggage storage services.

I wouldn't try the bike lock idea. Bike parking is often paid or validated and bikes often have individual spots, so just leaving your luggage at one won't work. Even if you offered to pay for it as if it were a bike, you'd probably be met with confusion or told that's not possible since it's not a bike.

When I called I was told we can do web check-in anytime between final payment up until 48 hours before the cruise but the e-tickets are only issued from 20 days before the cruise. Date seem to almost match what @morpheusoftheseawas told, but not quite, so as with all phone customer service, I'll believe it when I see the written or email confirmation.

Not really sure what the point of web check-in is, so I'm just waiting until we can get eTickets.

The website is a challenge, it's definitely not just you! It's not an intuitive design and I wish it could do more, such as making reservations preboarding.