Georgia_Peaches

Yes, that would be a great feature! If you have time to shoot me an e-mail I'm at pipercatandjane at gmail dot com.

Wasn't suggesting that at all...was going to give you mine. But no worries, I'm good. And I did speak with my TA today and she laughed and said she had no idea what that could be. Have used the same TA and have had tremendous service from them for years. In fact, I've shared my source with numerous cruise critic members via e-mail that I provided. It's a shame that Cruise Critic won't allow the public sharing of TA info but their site, their rules. Happy cruising.

Wow! Couldn't disagree more. Perhaps it's the ship? Thank goodness there are so many different cruise companies to choose from to meet the needs and tastes of all cruisers. While I'm not much in need of a butler, there's no way I'd ever discount the offerings of the complete Yacht Club experience to the level of a standard Carnival experience...in my view, it's well worth the extra money. I could be just booshie like that, though..

Just made final payment on a cruise today using this card. Can you talk more about the insurance? Is this some sort of automatic trip insurance?

Thank you for making this post! I just looked at when I made our Mexican Riviera booking for March and it was on August 20th. Looks like I just got in under the wire and didn't even know.

You also get paid gratuities, dedicated concierge, butler service, priority embarkation/debarkation, tendering etc....basically all the stuff that goes with the Retreat on the E ships except the private sundeck and Retreat enclave. I haven't been on any of the E class ships because I'm a traditionalist and prefer the un-revolutionized ships (I think). Reflection and Silhouette are my favorite!

My guess is the $10 price difference from concierge to aqua is to cover the spa and Blu and like you indicated, well worth the $20.

One of the quirky things about MSC is their IT and customer service. Their website is not terribly user friendly and I've read so many reports of people calling customer service to add things (like gratuities) that ended up screwing up their booking that honestly, I wouldn't mess with it unless you booked with a TA. If you used a TA then you can let them do it. In fact, if you didn't use a TA you could look into transferring your booking to one and possibly even getting more OBC. So short answer is, I don't really know. We didn't prepay and just saw the daily charge on our printout. And speaking of printouts, you should probably ask for one a couple of times throughout your cruise as the stateroom TV's are not interactive so you can't pull up your cruise charges in a folio on the tv like you can on other lines. Since we were in the YC we just asked for a printout from the concierge to make sure all the charges were legit.

Great price!! I can't imagine being bored on this ship! You can be as busy (or not) as you want! I don't recall crafts but there was definitely trivia, dance lessons on the pool deck, games, water slides, etc. On one of the sea days they did a mid-day mini opera in the main theater which was interesting and just long enough for me to learn that opera isn't my thing...lol. Even if you did nothing but try to visit every bar on the ship for a cocktail (which we did 🤪), you'll find entertainment along the way. We enjoyed the live music venues, of which there are many. I think you are smart to pick a category that will elevate your experience without breaking the bank.

Celebrity is a sleeper ship with more traditional style cruising and has nothing on MSC when it comes to the spa and thermal area. imo congratulations on your cruise booking! We are going to be on this ship in August! After having been on 2 MSc cruises already, I’m pretty hooked on the product. My stomping grounds were Celebrity and NCL and Carnival. We are on Celebrity out of LA in March and I’m a little worried that I’m going to be disappointed now that I am getting to know MSC. So what to expect? Well there’s a lot of good and current threads out there with great pictures and information. I also poured over many YouTube videos but here’s some hi lights: -Aurea experience offers a private sun deck with bar. We saw this area when we were on Seashore and it was very quiet and nicely appointed and it even had its own bar and hot tub. Since seashore and seascape are sisters I’m thinking those areas are similar. -The thermal suite is amazing. Salt room with loungers, therapy pool, plenty of sauna, steam and cold areas. -production shows are typical cruise fare but they do more singing and dancing shows due to a more international clientele. -you swipe a credit card in a kiosk upon embarkation. Different, but not a problem. -embarkation check in can get congested at times -lots of different languages spoken on board..including daily announcements. -lots and lots to do on the ship. - not sure of your itinerary but if going to the private island, you’re in for a treat. In my opinion it’s one of the nicest islands in the industry. - beautiful ship impeccably maintained I could go on but I will close with this, if you have the opportunity to upgrade to Yacht Club, I highly recommend it. A little more than Aurea but totally worth it!

Well unless they've had a major change of policy that hasn't been publicized, your agent is full of sh#%! I'm glad you submitted. Please report back! This will be of great interest to me as I am trying to get the parents to try MSC but they are Princess loyalists because of their status. If the status match is no longer a thing then as Joey would say, its a moo point.

You will have to call them and have it applied to the booking. If you used a TA, they will do this for you. This was true for us as well as for getting the 5% off the cruise fare.

You are right that it is near the escalator. There's a turn around area that you can drive through but as I saw it, the porters were standing in the center area between the parking lot and the drive way so you'd have to pull up along side the curb nearest the escalator which means your car would loop around like you are on your way out (back to the parking area) and then stop when you see the tent. In other words don't stop in the area leading in, follow the loop to the drop off area on the way out. Sorry I don't have a pic to accompany my very confusing explanation. 😳 As we only had one bag each, we rolled our luggage up to the tent ourselves.

Even if using cash you should put your key card in the machine. You show them you are playing and wrack up points. Not sure how they track if you’re at the tables.

I was discussing the OP’s terrible situation with my DH to brainstorm what we would do if something similar occurred to us. We both agreed that we wouldn’t cancel. We would have kept open at least one credit card that wasn’t compromised and taken cash from the bank to buy prepaid cards and/or currency exchange upon arrival to our destination. And this is not to call out the OP for their course of action but rather, possibly help those who find themselves in a similar situation. Lord knows it’s hard to think straight when faced with such a stressful set of circumstances.

Full payment is due 90 days out. If you booked 2024 then there’s a mistake. If you thought you booked 2024 but actually booked 2023, there’s a mistake. Either way, it’s good you give them a call.

I’ve received several BCC offers over the last few months as well. Haven’t been on Celebrity since November 2019. I played in the casino quite a bit but it’s been a while. I haven’t been able to take advantage of the offers yet, but hoping I can in the future. My guess is they are trying to fill ships any way they can.

IMO food quality is about the same. One benefit is the access to Persian Gardens. Sorry, can’t help you with the pricing but assuming you are not traveling solo and you are on a 7 night cruise $20 per person per day or $280 to upgrade seems like a pretty good deal. Does your promotion include a drinks package or wifi?

Now that you mention it, you're right! I haven't been asked to complete a survey from either of our MSC experiences over the last few months. I wouldn't mind getting an e-mail request but I don't really care for requests while I'm on board.

I’m so sorry your DH is suffering from this nasty virus. Same thing happened to my DH as a result of a land vacay in Belize. He spent several days in a foreign hospital before coming home. I pray for your DH’s speedy recovery.

I only use a TA. Have been looking at 2 cruises for 2023 in YC but I don’t see anything special or above and beyond from their usual offering of refundable obc. Is this something you’d be willing to share via private email?

Whew! I thought I was losing it. 😊. And thank you! Have to say, we are hooked. After reading through this thread (and others), it would have to be an awfully good deal to get me back in the Haven, which we have enjoyed for years.

You’ve described a terrible scenario with regard to your finances. I’m sure if you had claimed Covid you would have been asked for some sort of proof. And then there’s the whole karma thing as it relates to lying. Bad on your TA for saying such a thing. It’s a shame you get punished for telling the truth but from the cruise line’s perspective, your loss should not in turn become their loss. I pray you had insurance to cover your loss. And no, I’m not one of those insurance preachers as I rarely get it myself but your unfortunate circumstance reminds me that anything can happen. I’m so sorry.

Somehow I am quoted in this thread and yet I have zero recollection of posting a comment here. None. Zip. Nada. Either my cruise critic account is so riveting that I’ve been hacked or I’ve lost time due to one too many mixed shots. 😬😳😵‍