jcathers1

9 hours ago, Até said:

Once NCL opened up the bidding process it set off an ugly chain of events regarding the Haven and suites.  Pretty much right at the start they lost a lot of loyal customers by irritating people like me who regularly booked suites and don't want to take chances on a mystery cabin location.  Additionally, once they made the Haven available to a supposedly discounted bidding system I'm sure bookings plummeted.  It basically cheapened the experience and makes it less likely people who consider booking suites are going to pay asking price if NCL is going to offer a discounted way to get into the Haven.  But NCL's strategy was actually to raise suite prices because they had a new new target suite passenger who was the inexperienced cruiser and had no idea what those suites normally sold for.  Advertising the suites at multiples of the old rate most often fuels ridiculous bids from the unsavvy.  It's a game controlled by NCL.

 

After reading hundreds of bid reports I feel the true suite bid deals are few and far between, most of the claims of great deals are made in comparison to the new fictional suite prices rather than historic prices before the bidding system.  The fact that NCL keeps the system shows overall people end up paying more than what NCL was getting before, even if a majority of suites go out for bidding.  I guess so far it is working for NCL and the loss of customers like me doesn't really matter.   I still hold hope the long term effects of their bidding system's implementation, along with the continuous "Free at Sea" promotional tactic are still not recognized by NCL.

 

Hopefully MSC will find a way to implement the program in way that I don't get the feeling they are only trying to squeeze every possible dollar out of me and everybody else on the ship.  I've stayed with MSC so far because they have conveyed an appreciation for their customers and value their continued patronage.  I do believe some of the other lines' (Azamara?) bidding systems do take into account things like loyalty status.  I don't know if that would be enough.  I've watched MSC prices for about three years so if I see a similar trend to NCL I may have change my booking strategy or just move on.

You have a flawed view of the concept of free exchange of goods if you believe that only the cruise line benefits from this.We sailed in the Haven three times, twice by bidding and upgrading. We saved over $3000 and $4000 respectively off list price for those cabins. Was the price inflated due to the bidding/upgrading process? Perhaps a bit, but I cannot conceive that prices rose for the entire ship due to a few people bidding on suites. In fact, for the sailings we upgraded, there were only 2 or 3 cabins left available at the time of bidding (so we made our bid good enough to give us a great chance of getting the room). This means that the vast majority of folks in the Haven were paying full price for their suites.

The concept is relatively simple, and makes sense for both the consumer and the cruise line. If you're already booked in a room, would you pay a little more to upgrade to a better class of room (but still less than the full amount)? They want to move balconies to suites, ocean-views to balconies, insides to ocean-views, and then offer great deals for last minute inside rooms. Everyone in this scenario pays incrementally more, gets an improved product, and the cruise line fills a cabin it would otherwise not fill.

2 minutes ago, jes1941 said:

I agree jcathers1..Wow, theEvilQueen2 (why that name?! not very complimentary); we have never had a problem on any MSC cruise except on believing what a bargain sailing on MSC is; it was less expensive than any other cruiseline - and we've sailed on many - for the itinerary we were looking for.  Our last, we left the Seaside Saturday 5/18 and I'm still in mourning.  No one could have been nicer; do wish more spoke conversational English but that was a nit because there were 179 dialects on this cruise, and that's one of the draws. You speak of poor reviews..those, I may have seen a few, but not nearly enough to sway our view of MSC.  I feel the same way as another post..I hope this doesn't turn anyone off to experiencing MSC and forming his/her own opinion.  We have never had to visit Guest Services for any reason. Of course I'm sorry you had this unpleasant experience but we will never abandon MSC and the dedicated and amazing staff/employees...even though we cruise free on RCL..their itineraries are not as favorable as other lines, especially MSC and more often, we feel shortchanged with their time in ports, or having to wake up at the crack of dawn to disembark the ship in the different ports.  Wishing you sincere good luck in the future with whatever line you choose!

Agreed. We have sailed on NCL in the Haven 3 times, and in the YC on Seaside last year. There's a reason we are sailing in the YC again this June and July. With the exception of the room sizes in the Haven, the products/services are nearly identical (in our opinion), and a half the price (literally) on MSC.

Can anyone advise whether there are "open container" laws in Old San Juan? Are you free to walk around with an adult beverage, or or laws more akin to those in the US?

Our plan (my wife and I) is to just wander around the area checking out shops, restaurants, bars, scenery, etc. With the timing being what it is, we just felt like this worked best for us. We have researched some places, but will likely just go with the flow.

On 5/18/2019 at 4:44 PM, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

 

I think I understand what you are trying to say (fair enough), but I'm confused how you made the leap that I do not have any basis to believe the person who served me was gender biased? My travel partner speaks fluent Arabic and heard exactly what was said.  

 

 

 

 

If that's what you experienced, then I suppose you can report that the bartender was sexist. But that's new information in this conversation that no one previously had...

4 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

A leap based on my personal experience. Much like you made a leap based on your personal experience when you stated above that MSC crew is no more or less diverse than crews on other lines.  I challenge the accuracy of this statement. Do you have a reference to support this leap other than your personal experience? Based on mine, I strongly suggest that the opposite is true. 

 

 

 

No, I didn't make any sort of intellectual leap. Let me help you out:

The OP claims she wasn't promptly served and was irritated by it. Fair enough. You claim you also weren't promptly served, and decided this was because the bartender was sexist. Although you might be right, you have no basis to believe that, but choose to believe it anyway. That's intellectual laziness. (Also, another poster has directly contradicted your contention by claiming she was served promptly.)

I said (in my experience) MSC has as diverse a crew as anyone else. Fair enough. That's based on my experience. If I had then said, the reason they have such a diverse crew is because they want crew members who speak different languages in order to confuse the passengers, that would be me sounding like an idiot by ascribing a motive to something that I have no proof for. 

You're welcome to report whatever experience you want--what you shouldn't do is fabricate reasons for that experience that you cannot reasonably prove. 

19 hours ago, Hobby3333 said:

How old are your kids?  We are taking ours ages 17 and 20.

Ours are 12 and 9.

Completing the waivers is a great idea. We didn't complete ours until the second day on our last cruise. Thankfully, we didn't to wait long, but I saw times where the line was terrible.

14 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

That is exactly what my post is suggesting. I've traveled on MSC twice. Once as a solo female and once with a group of girl friends. Call it personal experience. I hope the OP returns to tell us if she felt her experience with the bartender was related to gender. Regardless, my comment stands. 

This is quite the intellectual leap, to ascribe motives to a person with hardly any information. He didn't serve this passenger immediately (who sounds like she was a real treat throughout the cruise)? Obviously, he's a sexist. 

Yes, MSC'c crew is diverse--but  no more or less diverse than the crews of the other 3 lines we've cruised on. 

My wife and I will be on the Seaside in June and again in July with our kids (both times in the YC). Are there any recommendations as to what people like to enjoy first on embarkation day? I would like to use our early/priority boarding to our maximum benefit. We sailed last June as well, but our kids wanted to get right in the YC pool, which is what we did. This time, I was just curious if anyone had an suggestions for fun things to take advantage of before the crowds roll in.

TIA.

Sorry you had a bad time, but I can't agree with almost all of what you reported. Our cruise was wonderful--not perfect, of course. No cruise line is (and we've sailed plenty of them). The changes to the drink package were instituted by management, not the bartenders. As frustrated as you seem to have been with it, imagine them having to learn this ever-evolving scheme--and on top of that, having to deal with thoroughly discourteous customers (the kind who would refer to people making minimum wage as "clueless" and "the b-word").

On a positive note, when we see folks on a ship having a "full Italian-style meltdown", we seize it as an opportunity to teach our children the value of treating those less-fortunate than ourselves with respect, even if we are frustrated about something as serious and consequential as the amount of Khalua in our drink. Fortunately, they are now as embarrassed by this behavior as we are. 

The irony here for me is that even as you are attempting to dissuade folks from sailing on the Seaside, you couldn't help but mention your frustration when they refused to upgrade you on your next cruise or provide you some swag to take home with you.

Happy sailings on your preferred cruise line.

Some folks have reported that booking the 2 7-day cruises can actually be cheaper than booking 1 14-cruise.

Just something to consider...

Looks very neat. Thanks fro posting. They did not do this (to the best of my knowledge) during our cruise last year. We are in the YC this June and July and looking forward to it. Was this late in the evening? Was this meant to take the place of dinner, be a late dinner, or just a late evening snack?

If the whole ship is the YC experience, can it really replicate the experience? I'm curious to see how MSC manages this.

They should be open, depending on maintenance activities and weather conditions. Check the dailies for times.

How do you know when you "credits" are gone? Will the games just begin charging against your ship account?

There are a few excursion company that have package (taxi and ferry) deals, but those time do not work for us (we are actually in San Maarten from 7:00-14:00. Is it easy to simply taxi to Pinel Island and take the ferry on your own? Does the ferry only run once per hour? That, combined with the concern about getting a taxi back to the port has us rethinking a trip to Pinel Island.

Any info here would be greatly appreciated.

There are a few excursion company that have package (taxi and ferry) deals, but those time do not work for us (we are actually in San Maarten from 7:00-14:00. Is it easy to simply taxi to Pinel Island and take the ferry on your own? Does the ferry only run once per hour? That, combined with the concern about getting a taxi back to the port has us rethinking a trip to Pinel Island.

Any info here would be greatly appreciated.

On 3/25/2019 at 1:08 PM, Irule7 said:

We booked one through Caribbean Paddling.  We also booked a kayak instead of the ferry.  It was a fun option to kayak over to the island.  Plus we had a kayak to tool around the bay when we got tired of sunbathing 🙂.  Our driver was great!  The ferry runs once an hour on the dot.  So just make sure you factor that in so you get back to the ship on time.  And there aren't taxis waiting to take you back, so definitely make sure one is picking you up.  It looks like you can book a transfer and ferry (roundtrip) for 35 Euros, per person on their website now.

What did you do with the kayak when you were hiking/sunbathing/eating? Were you concerned about losing track of it?

1 hour ago, floridian1 said:

Do boys need to wear pants too? I usually dress my boys (7 and 11) in kahki shorts and brown loafers..usually with a polo.

In my experience, that would be fine for kids their age. The goal is to look nice, which is what you have described.

Ok, thanks. I know other lines provide a discount of some sort.

We are considering booking a summer 2020 Seaside cruise, but we will be on the Seaside this coming June. Does MSC provide a discount for booking another cruise while onboard? I plan on booking what we want now anyway (and then cancelling, if needed, to get the better price onboard), but I was just curious.

TIA.

46 minutes ago, peachycruise said:

I called MSC specifically for this. This is the answer I got:

~Sofa Bed - fold down sofa sleeps 1, so the room would hold up to 3.

 

~Double Sofa Bed - pull out sofa sleeps 2, so the room would hold up to 4, with 2 people sharing the sofa bed.

 

~3rd Bed is a Bunk Bed - no idea on this one, but the agent's guess was that the couch does not convert and the bunk bed folds out of the wall. However, I have read that there are no ceiling/wall bunk beds with MSC as well, so no idea really. Room sleeps up to 3.

 

~3rd and 4th beds are bunks - the sofa converts into a bunk bed set up (both twin size), so the room sleeps 4. This is the ONLY configuration a party of 4 can book to have separate beds for the kids. Unless parents wanted to sleep on the sofa bed and then you could request the main beds to be separated for 2 twins for the kids. However, there are very few rooms with this configuration.

 

~The last configuration for YC is a double sofa bed, one bunk, and then the regular beds. You can only book this with a party of 5, even with a medical form. I have heard of some people booking a phantom infant and paying just the "infant's" taxes and fees to get a party of 5 in order to book this type of room.

 

Hope that helps. Good luck!

 

This was some awesome information. Thanks so much!

Can anyone else add some insight into what these other classifications are? Is it possible to have a room where the 3rd and 4th passengers do not share a pull-out sofa bed?

2 minutes ago, dexddd said:

 On Seaside there are indeed YC Deluxe cabins with the master bed (two beds together), the double pullout sofa, then a drop down from the ceiling near the balcony.  There are a limited number of them and I had read here that they won't let less than five book them and that is what our TA said as well.  We booked very early on so early many rooms left.  We have teen DS and 20 YO DD so them sleeping in the sofa bed (including seeing the size of it in person) wasn't going to work.

 

Interesting enough we booked a RS and Deluxe for our trip in June, also very early, and our party of 2 got a room for 5 so who knows.  I have read of one family of 4 recently like our scenario who got one for four.

 

The beds pushed together on Divinia had a ridge and not that comfy but on Seaside, at least for us, it was pretty comfy and really didn't notice it.

Yes, we had our daughters in the pull-out sofa, which wasn't terrible. I do think if we had the drop own bed, one of them would use it, though. We also found the main bed very comfortable.