slei15

We had the same experience on the Seaside.  We have been on it 3 times.  The first time on the inauguaral, the kids club staff remembered our kids from the Divina the prior summer.  The second time, last thanksgiving, we had a great experience and the kids club still remembered them.  The third time, this year spring break, was still the same! Hoping some of the Seaside staff transition to the Meraviglia when it comes stateside!

On 7/20/2019 at 12:56 PM, FIREFIGHTERCRUISER said:

We our doing the Western route leaving on Mar. 15th. Looking forward to Ocean Cay, fingers crossed. 🤞🤞🤞

Spring break for allot of Florida kids that week. Fair warning for anyone trying to avoid allot of kids...Ha Ha. 

We'll be with you on that one...With our FL kids who are on spring break :)

On 6/24/2019 at 6:12 PM, sidari said:

Hi CG ... We like yourself have a Deck 12 balcony forward on Meraviglia at Xmas with the hot tub and have also has an Aft suite on Seaside. We have also considered moving to the YC from the Forward balcony suite.

Remember that Aurea also comes with a massage each which is not included in the YC, a private hot tub that you don't have to share plus a larger two room cabin.

At the end of the day it all comes down to how you feel and if the move to YC is worth the extra.

We will be staying with 12007.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on 12007...We will be in that cabin in March 2020 with friends in 12010 as well. Now we just need to find someone for the duplex in between!  If you could answer a couple questions after Xmas if you remember...Curious if the couch is a bunk bed style or not in these like on the Seaside, and also wondering if you were able to upgrade to the old 536 package, and if so, how are they handling it on the MV.  Since she has never sailed with the US version, I am curious how it will be handled on that ship when she comes stateside.

I love the look of the suite and I believe the deck 12 are about 100 sq ft bigger than the others (and will be considered the two  Aurea Grand Suites with Whirlpool beginning Summer 2020).  Also curious if there is a TV in the bedroom and living room.  Looks like it on the Bellisima video, wasn't sure if MV is the same.  Thansk!

2 hours ago, Robinsoncruiseso said:

Full disclosure...I am a TA.  I have booked MSC for clients and myself (yet to sail).  Most everything can be done online through the agent site, which is easy to use.  They have a dedicated line for TA's, which is answered within minutes.  I have found their customer service on the agent line to be excellent.  I have successfully completed, and assisted clients with their status match, which is quite generous.  Commissions are fair and the agency may negotiate a commission contract.  Good TA's have the ability to work well with any cruiseline they choose.  Some may not choose to work with all lines, and that is their choice.

Much of MSC is ala carte, which means I will not pay for others to zipline, etc.  Most of my cruising experience (30+ cruises) has been good.  Only one cruise was awful, but to be fair that was a one day cruise where the ship arrived into port for embarkation several hours late.  When on holiday, enjoy yourself. Don't sweat the small stuff.  How much of the stuff we all complain about really impacts our trip?  How much does our reaction to the hiccups affect our trip.  "Relax"

Amen.  I am in the same boat so to speak. I fully agree with everyone who says service is bad on the customer phone lines.  It is. But on the travel agent line, it is good, and the TA website is very informative when you actually search it (and it generally works a lot better than the consumer site). I am by no means an MSC cheerleader, but I will defend them when they deserve defending.

1 hour ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

 

Actually, according to my travel agent, she does not have the time to wait on hold endlessly.  And get different answers from MSC whenever she calls.  Travel agents need to make a living too.

It's up to the agent to make their decisions on what to sell. There are times to call when it is busier and times when it is less busy. After dealing with them enough, you find agents in the call center that are knowledgeable and will give you the right answer, and you strictly deal with those agents. 90% of what needs to be done with MSC can be done through the agent booking website, and the correct answers to most questions are there too if the agent knows where to look.  Sure it took some time to learn, but it isn't all that complicated.

When I read the complaints posted on the BBB for MSC, I tend to see a couple of common themes.  First off, there are very few recent ones.  Second, almost all of the complaints start out with "I booked this cruise on xxx date through xxx large online travel agency".  Therein lies the first problem...The large OTA's are not giving you the personalized service needed for a cruise line like MSC that consistently has issues.  Second, many of the comments are referencing things as problems that are clearly stated.  There is one complaint about a quad inside cabin guarantee being split into 2 cabins.  MSC very clearly states on the booking site that a quad guarantee may be split into two cabins at the cruise line's discretion without notice. If the OTA is not providing you that notice, that is on the agency, not MSC.  Almost every issue on there could have been avoided or easily resolved without a problem had a knowledgeable travel agent been used instead of people searching out where they could get the most on-board credit for their booking.  

I stopped trusting BBB ratings many years ago when I realized that "Accredited businesses" tended to always have high ratings, even if they were companies which had many customer issues.  By paying for their accreditation, the companies are paying to keep their rating up. I have done 4 MSC cruises to date with more booked, and have had family and friends join us as well.  Yes, there have been issues, but they have always been easily resolved by staying on top of them and knowing the right questions to ask, the right things to be disclosed, and the right way to go about it.

MSC does not pay lower commissions to TA's than any other cruise line. They are on par with the industry. The reason some agents/agencies avoid them is because they don't want to take the time to learn the right way of doing things with MSC.

13 minutes ago, mnocket said:

There is an exemption if you have already paid for the trip.  I suspect that the cruise lines will still travel to Cuba for a short while.  How long is the big question for those who have already booked.

My guess is until it is no longer profitable based on the number of paid bookings per sailing as of 6/4/19.  They will not be allowed to add any new bookings for US citizens, however, I wonder how it will work for foreign citizens booking to sail from the US.

5 hours ago, JoeFo44 said:

Was just wondering what kind of straws, if any, are on the Seaside these days?  Obviously for water and stuff I don't even need a straw but what about for smoothies and other types of drinks?  Are they paper straws or are they still plastic?

As of March on the Seaside it was still plastic straws (by request only for most drinks).  I have started bringing my own silicone or stainless steel ones with me just in case when I go on cruises.  I HATE the paper straws that Celebrity has now gone to.

Bea, I do have a question for you...On the Meraviglia with the old deluxe package, what is not included (I know there was a difference between Venchi being included on Seaside but not Jean Phillipe on MV?) Is there still a place to get free gelato, etc with the old deluxe on MV?

On 4/15/2019 at 5:36 PM, jjh9 said:

Beamzfar I hope you can help me on drink package. What is Aurea best deal? This on the invoice.

In the US, MSC sometimes refers to the packages on your confirmations to make you feel good...Bella is sometimes called "Good Deal" or "Basic Deal", Fantasica is called "Better Deal", and Aurea is called "Best Deal" based on the inclusions.  It is their way of making it feel like you are getting a value.  It has no bearing on anything. The drink package you get is the Classic if booked prior to 11/12/18, and the Easy if booked after that date.

I see it on our app under items included with the cruise...It is just what they list all of the Aurea perks under.

On the Seaside 3/16, many of the specialty bars did not have menus (Venchi, Seaside Bar, and others).  Apparently they are getting new menus again and they hadn't come in yet...

The MSC website in the description for Fantastica has clearly stated for many many months now that the drink vouchers would be discontinued and not be available for sailings after 3/24/19. Most of the current deals (aside from the last minute "Escape to Sea" deal) are including the easy package or previously the drinks on us package which are a better deal than the vouchers anyway. If you book through a travel agent that works a lot with MSC, they would help clear up your confusion, as sadly, travel agents tend to be more familiar with the current MSC promotions and benefits than the customer service agents.

For anybody who has sailed on the Meraviglia with the old 536 all inclusive deluxe package, can you confirm what is included/excluded as far as gelato, crepes, etc.? On the Seaside, we can get pretty much everything buy the Venchi chocolate. I thought I have heard the Jean Phillipe cafe is excluded altogether, but is there a place that we can still get gelato included if we have the old deluxe package?  I booked a Caribbean cruise on Meraviglia for March 2020 before the changes and got the upgrade done prior to the grandfather period ending...Now I am just curious what it includes on this ship!

About 30 miles. A bit of a long walk with luggage 😀

1 minute ago, FM said:

Do you know if they have soft drinks by the can available?

 

 

Yes....Almost every bar used canned drinks.  Very little if any fountain drinks anywhere on the ship.  If you order a coke, you get a can and a glass of ice (with a disintegrating paper straw if desired).

46 minutes ago, leadvocal said:

 

I will be in 3119 Ocean View in April. Do you have any pics of the room? Great review by the way.

I don’t unfortunately. Every cruise I tell myself I am going to take pictures for the review and every cruise the martini bar finds me first and I forget!

3 minutes ago, DaCruiseBug said:

 

Wait...were you guys the ones that won one of the $100 spa certificates?

Haha no that was the other couple our age! We were up near the front during the raffle by the stairs!

1 hour ago, dazey said:

I was happy to hear that your cabin on Deck 3 Oceanview opposite the Martini Bar was good.  We are in 3158 coming up this weekend and I was concerned about the noise. Did you get to see the Magic Carpet at all from your cabin?  After your review I am reassured that we will be fine with this choice.

 

So enjoyed your review.

We were in 3113 much further forward than yours and on the opposite side of the ship. No magic Carpet view from our cabin. Deck 3 isn’t one of its stopping points and it is only on 2 when used for tenders, so not likely that you would see it much anyway. 

17 minutes ago, frankdp said:

 

 

OP, please forgive me for hijacking your thread, this started out as a comment, but sort of got out of control.....   

Not a problem at all! The more information and opinions the better!

Background

We are a couple in our mid-30’s from Central Florida. We sailed without the kids for this trip.  Our cruising background includes 20+ cruises spread between Celebrity, RCCL, MSC, NCL, Carnival, and Princess.  We are not loyalists to any one brand, and go where the best deal is for where and when we want to go. We find each cruise line to have its own pluses and minuses, and enjoy the differences between them.

The Ship

The Edge is stunning. The layout of the ship can be tricky at times (quite a few areas of having to go up and across to get somewhere on the same deck), but we managed our way around just fine. The buffet area was well thought out and had a great flow to it. The biggest complaint about the ship design for us would be the lack of seating around the bars. The martini bar, especially, has about a dozen seats at the bar, and nowhere near enough tables around to suffice as the main gathering point on the ship prior to dinner, which it was. This is where the pre-dinner live music and drinks happened for most everybody on the ship. The artwork on the ship is unique and fits the theme well.  The guest services/shore excursions/port shopping area was well thought out and never felt crowded. There is technology everywhere on this ship. The art auction area was kind of stuck off to the side and not a major focal area as it is on many ships, and the shops are spread out in a few different areas. The future cruise desk had up to 5 people working, and they were always busy. I felt horrible for the people working in the iLounge on this ship, as with all of the technology and app based functionality, it was non-stop for them. Those have to be the most patient crew members on the ship. Eden was a great area to relax and hang out, but unfortunately, we never made it there for the show. One thing that bothered us was the casino minimums.  The lowest table for blackjack all week was a $15 per hand minimum, which is just too high. The shopping on this ship was also a big complaint from many people. The shops are way too high end, and there is none of the typical $10 sales, cheap t-shirts, etc. that many people like to use for souvenirs, mementos, etc. Don't even think about looking for an inch of gold; the only one you will find is at Tiffany's for thousands of dollars! We had quite rough waters for most of the sailing, but the stabilizers on the ship were quite good. You did feel the forward/back up and down bobbing, but nothing side to side.

The Cabin

We were in an Oceanview cabin on deck 3 forward, right behind the martini bar. The location was great from a convenience standpoint. We never heard any unwanted noise and had easy access to get almost anywhere we wanted to go.  The cabin itself was huge for an Oceanview at about 200 square feet. The bathroom was also quite large, with the shower being almost twice the size of a typical cabin. There was plenty of storage in the cabin with lots of hidden areas. There were plenty of outlets and USB ports to meet our needs (we always bring a 6 port USB hub as well). Joy, our cabin attendant, was amazing.  Friendly, always smiling, and always managed to get into our cabin when we weren’t there. The design of the cabin was bright and modern. The minibar actually kept drinks cold.

The Food/Dining

We found the food on this ship incredible. We felt no need to go to specialty dining at all, as the MDR food was very well done, and could not justify the stratospheric prices for specialty on this ship. The 4 main dining room concept was great. They gave the feeling of being in a much smaller venue than a typical MDR, and the unique choices in each one added a little something extra to the typical main dining experience. We also found the buffet food to be quite good, although sometimes a bit out there. One day for lunch there was an Indian/Italian fusion station which had Chicken Tikka Lasagna.  It was slightly weird, but an interesting combination. The one area we felt could use a bit of work was the desserts. I don’t know if it was a combination of being too full from the appetizers and entrees, or if they really didn’t look that appealing, but I think we only ordered dessert in the dining room twice. We did go up to the buffet for dessert a few times, but nothing stood out as a must have (besides the after 8 ice cream and the double chocolate chip cookies).

Bar Service

There were plenty of bar servers all around the different venues, and waits for drinks were not long at all. The bartenders at the martini bar were entertaining and poured very strong drinks. We had the Premium Beverage Package, and thoroughly took advantage of it.  A couple things were slightly disappointing with it however; the craft drinks in Eden that were supposed to be the highlight of the area were almost all priced out of the packages.  Sure we could have paid a couple dollars for them, but it just didn’t seem right to have to. Around the pool area there were servers constantly around taking orders and cleaning up empty glasses and plates.  The other thing to keep in mind is that the ship has zero disposable plastic items. The paper straws are terrible, I would suggest bringing your own reusable straw if you like a straw. Also, there are no more plastic water bottles. The premium waters are in heavy glass bottles, and the standard bottles of water are in 16 oz aluminum cans.

The Entertainment

We enjoyed the three production shows we saw, and absolutely loved the music group “The Reckless Charms”, who were a group of young ladies who just graduated college in Nashville, TN. The music on the ship tended to gear more towards our age group, with a lot of top 40 type and mainly music from this century. We really enjoyed that. There was another group on board as well, Impulse, who played more of a mix of 60’s – modern, but we didn’t think they were as good. The production shows also trended towards the more modern end of the spectrum.  The comic for this week was definitely playing to an older crowd than us, as many of his jokes were not funny to us. We really liked the daytime entertainment things we went to, including the laser maze, archery, and family feud game show. The activities staff were all upbeat and fun. We felt that Deal or No Deal was a bit of a rip-off, and would rather have it back to Bingo. Only 2 people actually got to play the game, and everyone else was just playing for minor casino matchplay $, etc., with a very low chance of getting anything.

Overall

We spent the week trying to figure out who this ship was being targeted to. Based on the entertainment, design, and technology, it definitely felt more geared towards our generation, however; when you see the prices of the cruise as well as the onboard shopping prices, etc., it seems to be more geared towards an older demographic with more disposable income. After talking to many senior officers through the week, we seem to have narrowed it down to the following target…Multi-generational families sailing together, teenagers and up sailing with their parents and grandparents. This has the parents at an age that they have established themselves in their careers and have disposable income, grandparents at or approaching retirement age who are more into the modern world, and teenagers who are old enough to appreciate the great food and ambience of the ship, combined with all of the technology aboard. We did overhear many complaints throughout the week from “old-school Celebrity” loyalists, who felt they were being alienated by this new “Edgy” ship and entertainment. Other items we heard through the week were that the Infinity Balconies are not all they are cracked up to be, for reasons including that the captain locks them from opening when it is windy, to not being able to go outside in the morning without letting tons of light in, to not really feeling like a balcony.  We felt that the Magic Carpet was a huge miss as well. It cannot be used for tendering unless the water is perfectly calm, so we did not get to experience that feature in Grand Cayman. It was very windy on the Magic Carpet when it was used as a bar on Deck 14, which made it difficult to sit and enjoy it. It seemed like a very expensive experiment that doesn’t really serve any realistic purpose. Destination Gateway, on the other hand, was the best debark/embark point we have ever used for ports. It was open, airy, and never got overcrowded. Embarkation at the beginning of the cruise was painless, we were onboard within 10 minutes of walking into the terminal. Debarkation was also quick and easy. The facial recognition for customs made everything super quick.

Overall, we absolutely loved the ship and the cruise. The crew was amazing, and we had a great week.  We would definitely sail the ship again, for the right price. Since we booked this cruise in January 2017, prices have pretty much doubled, and that would not be worth it to us. If the prices come back down to normalized levels, we would definitely go back.

Please feel free to ask me anything I might have missed in this.  I’ll be happy to answer!

The upgrade to premium from easy is $27/person/day if done in advance.  Total for 2 is $378 for a 7 night cruise.  On the ship is the same price, but you will also pay the 15% service charge on top of it, making the total upgrade price $434.70.

2 hours ago, Preziosa said:

Are you shure that Michael Jackson show Will return to February. I have heard This month...

That is what we were told...Could be right, could be wrong.  This is MSC...Who Knows!

24 minutes ago, floridian1 said:

Did the pool/water park have decent hours? I always found it so frustrating on NCL. The kiddie pool area had such Limited hours

The pools were generally open all day.  The kiddie pool/splash area was usually 9-6.  The slides were usually 12-6.

9 minutes ago, floridian1 said:

Nice review. Do you remember what time the kids club closed? Do they offer late night at an additional charge? Is it true msc takes the kids on a lot of field trips around the ship? (Not a fan..too much can go wrong)

Kid's club closes at 11 each night (pick up starting 10:45.) They supposedly have a $6/hour/child late night until 1AM, but I never saw it advertised or planned to use it, as we are usually in bed by then anyways! They do take some field trips (parades, sports courts), but they always had a great handle on the kids as they moved around.

1 hour ago, sidari said:

Slei ... We were also on that Xmas sailing in an Aft Suite, we also sailed again in April and noticed a few differences but nothing major. The issue of reverting to Italy for an answer is the same for every country which is ridiculous, why pay high salaries for managers if you refuse to allow them to manage!

Being a family owned company I can only guess that they wish to retain overall control and you only have to look at who is employed in certain positions on the ship to see the Italian control.

The differences we noticed had a lot to do with being Aurea vs Fantastica, but the subtle overall things were the bigger deal.  The crew knew their way around the ship if you asked where something was. The language barrier with the crew was significantly diminished. The crew actually smiled and joked around with you! Many of the crew members I talked to were enjoying themselves on the ship and did not seem miserable like they did last year.