Beamafar

Lots of reviews on here with photos of menus and food offerings which will give you a flavour (😜) of what to expect.

I guess no one on these boards has felt the need to order 3 or more entrées. 🤔

We only paid the difference on our sailings last year. The drinks package, Premium Extra, is included for YC guests, but it applies regardless of whether you’re in YC or not.

You only pay the difference, plus 18% service charge. That’s fleetwide.

We have always been stopped at the MDR entrance on embarkation day (on European sailings). They look at your cruisecard, which shows that you’ve just embarked and you’re told that you have to go to the buffet. (We’ve always made a case for entry and have been facilitated - but it’s at the asst m’D’s discretion). Also, the point is that the MDR is open on port days (even if they happen to be embarkation ports, too).

There is a thread on this main page on the subject https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/3005858-second-entree-complimentary-dining-room/#comment-67321201

Yeah - I have the boarding passes in the wallet for the second leg. For some reason, the TA booked, first leg cruise, MSC hasn’t issued boarding passes for. I’m just not liking not having proof of inclusions (other than on the app - which I don’t fully trust as it’s glitchy) having experienced issues onboard on several occasions over not having some pre purchased items showing in the ships’ systems.

I’ve noticed several comments about how things are different on Explora than on other lines. Isn’t that exactly what MSC wanted to achieve - an alternative experience to the competition?

Just another of MSC’s inconsistencies. It’s nearly obligatory to add ‘YMMV’ to any information posted here.

We have a B2B booked - first leg with a TA and the second, direct. The first, we just received the printable tickets; the direct booking, MSC sent us the QR codes for the boarding passes. On the app, the boarding passes indicate that the QR code will be available on embarkation day. My issue is that, other than the app, there is no longer printable proof of what is included in the booking. Having had issues in the past (where, thankfully, I had printed off what we were entitled to) I’m not keen on this set-up. While I won’t have an issue with the digital boarding passes on my phone (whether at the port or for flights), I would always print everything possible, too.

You just did. 👍😁

I wasn’t sure when the new system was introduced. Our last MSC cruise was last October; the tickets were the usual. When I was requesting the tickets for our upcoming, the TA advised that we’d receive less pages due to the ‘new’ system.

That’s my thinking, too. @jcollin is the first person I’ve seen on here reporting it. I haven’t seen anything posted about the new digital boarding passes or printable barcode cruise tickets, either. While the latter are only 4 pages now (2 of which are luggage tags), I’m not keen on not being able to see the pre-paid inclusions (gratuities, drinks packages, booked excursions) that used to come in voucher form. While they show up in the app, I’d prefer to have a printable copy as proof of entitlement.

I wonder if this is a new thing that MSC is introducing or if it’s just for this ship/region, if it’s a case that the MDR is being under-utilised on port days. We’ll be on Seascape in a few weeks’ time; I’ll see if it’s same on her. We’ve sailed on Meraviglia and enjoyed it. Only real issue for us was that the entertainment team took over the Galleria area at night outside the Meraviglia lounge (and very little seating for such a popular venue). We especially liked the English, Brass Anchor, pub.

That's not what this subject is about, though. Yes, there are a couple of items available for an upcharge, but MSC is charging $5, on US sailings, if you order a SECOND mains/entrée item.

I also noticed you had ‘liked’ mine after I had posted the link in your thread. 😁

This is the first time I’ve ever heard that the MDR on MSC wasn’t open on port days.

Not sure about the photo (we don’t bother) but both will get the one hour thermal spa access as well as priority boarding. One perk that people miss is that you get a (small) discount off laundry prices (except packages). I think it may be 10% (there’s nothing anywhere, that I know of, that actually indicates the %, but there’s a place on the laundry list to indicate your Voyagers Club status).

One man’s meat ….

Sorry - I shouldn’t have said ‘ending’ as you can book a longer sailing, with other disembarkation ports offered (including Barcelona). But the pn rate is more in line with all other itineraries; only this 12 night section had the reduced fare.

I agree. Also, some of the embarkation/disembarkation ports aren’t easily accessible. ETA: Saw an almost last-minute (if May 30th is LM) 12 nights from Miami - TA, ending in Arricife - for little more than €500 pn (for 2 people - €6200!!).

Post #2. “Embarkation tom” (At the end of the post).

Yes, you get access the Aurea spa thermal suite as well as the Aurea private sundeck (though the YC deck has a lot more to offer with a pool and breakfast/lunch buffet, not to mention better drinks service).

No 17th deck on MSC - Italians are superstitious about the number the way others are about the number 13 (which is a deck number on MSC).

We’re doing Seascape in a few weeks’ time. We had a wonderful YC experience on her sister ship, Seaview (in the Med) and have sailed in a non-YC cabin on Seashore - another fantastic Med cruise. There are a couple of very recent reviews of Seascape YC on the MSC forum.