8420PR

Welcome to Continental Europe 🙂 I'm sure there are Italians, German and French posting somewhere about the Brit that got in the pool wearing their dirty shorts. Of course not that they are dirty, just that is the perception. It's just one of those cultural differences.

You will have [what I think is] the most beautiful cruise card onboard. The Gold is has a shiny metallic look and I think stands out from the crowd much more than the black "Diamond" card.

Get yourself arrested for some peace and quiet?

I believe since last year a drinks package called thirsty was offered for the first time, though not when purchasing a cruise. In any case drinks prices are very reasonable - $2 for a beer or glass of wine.

I have never seen drinks package discounted after you purchase the cruise, but you can always get a decent deal if you include the package when you book. e.g. In Germany the easy package costs between €10 and €20 per day when included in the cruise fare. e.g.: below a 7 night Caribbean cruise is €70 extra per person with the easy package. So you might be better of cancelling and rebooking (as long as you can still cancel for free).

It seems it is different for different EU countries. In Germany and UK all gratuities are obligatory on MSC and the advertised price (at each stage of the process) always shows the full price: e.g. Germany: €469 per person already includes €105 obligatory hotel service charge. e.g. UK: £349 includes all service charges/gratuities. Interesting to see that gratuities are not mandatory for bookings made in Spain - I had assumed it was Europe wide. My opinion: If they were really optional they wouldn't be added by default, so I feel including them in the fare is more honest.

Will MSC (and other cruise lines) include gratuities in the published prices in America, like in Europe? Or is this just the port fees?

I remember one cruise where there were lots of people complaining (for no apparent reason) - and that cruise was my husbands favourite one. Sometimes he likes nothing more than to have a good moan, and he met a lot of new people, making friends through their shared experiences of "terrible service" and "disastrous embarkation" and everything else. So my take (from living with a moaner) is it is how some people enjoy their holiday and meet new people, and it doesn't really matter if they knew in advance or it's wildly exaggerated and so on.

I think you should book the specialty restaurants package, especially if you are interested in good food. The YC restaurant is good, but I rate the specialty restaurants as better (especially Butchers Cut, Indochine and Kaito Teppanyaki). In any case over the course of the 14 days the YC restaurant will feel like home, whereas visiting a specialty restaurant is "special" - maybe more like a night out.

Flights for these cruises are a challenge from everywhere. I have been very surprised that MSC has deployed larger ships on this cruise (with another bump in size with MSC Virtuosa this winter), as they are constrained by flight capacity. MSC arrange charter flights from Brazil, Italy, Germany, France and UK to Martinique and Barbados, but it is a lot of flights needed to fill up MSC Virtuosa..... My experience is there are sometimes last minute bargains available, as the charter flights are full but cabins still remaining, so MSC offer big discounts. If you can arrange flights you can get quite a bargain.

I think it is one of the best cruise itineraries offered by any of the mainstream cruise lines. Each day you are in a different paradise island. To answer your questions/concerns: - food is the standard MSC European menu - not the Americanized menu served out of the US ports. - MSC is flying people from all over Europe as well as selling the cruise to people living on the islands (mainly Martinique and Guadeloupe). The overall majority will be French, with very very few Americans. - There will be crowds by the pool and at parties and events, but it in my experience it is always possible to find a quiet area (often with live music - e.g. the sky lounge). - Some people hate MSC - if you've never sailed them before consider the risk you are taking and manage your expectations accordingly.

Happens often to me, as the MSC voyagers club number and status doesn't seem to get correctly to the second passenger. Can you see a voyagers club number and status for your wife on the booking confirmation? I normally just send an email and ask them to add the voyagers number. A couple of days later I will get an updated booking confirmation with the correct status for all passengers, and then another couple of days later an updated booking confirmation with the additional $/€50 onboard credit for the second passenger. I've done this successfully many times.

It looks to me like someone at MSC UK typed in the wrong price for the fare without drinks. If you want to take advantage I would recommend booking sooner rather than later.

I'm a fan, and would recommend you try it at least once. It is very Mediterranean seafood focused, and certainly not to everyone's taste. The food reminds me of Sicily. For starter: I could eat the red prawn carpaccio all day - amazing and unique taste. Otherwise you cannot go wrong with the tuna tartare, though it is hardly unique. For main: The bottarga is another unique and interesting dish, with a very fishy taste. Otherwise the tuna or wild clams are again more mainstream and look and taste very good.

I do a lot of these 2-3 night cruises in the Mediterranean, as I find they offer good value and an excellent cruising experience alongside the opportunity to see one or two new places (i.e. the embarkation and debarkation ports) They are typically not repositioning cruises, but where MSC is balancing out the capacity between different embarkation ports, mostly in the shoulder seasons (March, April, October and November). Most of these cruises are only really available a few months before (as I assume this is when MSC makes the capacity balancing decisions) but you do sometimes find one bookable more than 9 months our so you also get the €50 voyagers credit per person. The pricing of €50 per person per night is typical - and has stayed the same for many years, though was less during Covid-19.

Out of interest what did the insurance pay or not pay? From what I understand MSC refunded 100% the cruise and offered (but not yet received) a 50% credit as compensation. Was it the other costs (hotel, travel and food) that you submitted to the insurance? If they paid 60%, which ones did they pay and which ones reject? I have the standard travel insurance (e.g. just medical expenses) which doesn't cover travel disruption, and wondered the value for money.

When I boarded the MSC Magnifica for a 3 day cruise (before Christmas last year) there was a card in the stateroom inviting me to the Diamond meal with a reserved time already proposed.

🙂 I didn't mean to pass judgement, my main message from my post was to go for it. Based on my experience it will be no problem, and the worst thing that can happen is the cans get confiscated and returned at the end of the cruise.

Based on the rules: Not allowed. Based on my experience: - In US, anyone with any liquids in their hand luggage was sent to a separate desk at security to check the contents, where they sniff tested my half drunk bottle of water 🙂. A bottle of prosecco in checked luggage was OK. - In the Med, no issue with having wine in either hand luggage or checked luggage. I have no experience of boarding in Southampton. The reality is worst case is it gets confiscated. I am not bringing wine onboard to drink, but will frequently pick up bottles on the way (e.g. gifts from hotels, or visiting a winery in Spain or Italy before the cruise) and it has never been an issue.

They are correct that the free change is excluding reimbursement if the new cruise is lower cost. Below are the T&C: _____________________________________________________________ FANTASTICA, AUREA, YACHT CLUB: One Free of Charge* *Any change to a date that is more than 90 calendar days from the original departure date will result in a fee of £50 per person, applicable to all experiences. Any subsequent departure date change will result in a fee of £50 per person. It is understood that, in addition to the administration fee mentioned above, if the price of the New Holiday Package is higher than that of the Original Holiday Package, the difference in price as well as in insurance premium will be borne exclusively by the Passenger. On the other hand if the price of the New Holiday Package is lower than that of the Original Holiday Package, no reimbursement will be due to the Passenger. _____________________________________________________________ For the cancelation you would just lose the deposit to MSC if you cancel more than 62 days before the cruise. I suspect the £50 is the cancellation charge from your TA - the TA I use in the UK charges a £50 cancellation fee in addition to the loss of deposit.

Is Seaside sailing back empty? Going into dry dock? I see it is currently in Las Palmas, after sailing from St Maarten.

I think there is a very big difference in the vibe between Europe and Caribbean cruises, though perhaps this reflects how I cruise: Caribbean: For many the ship is the destination, and pools, bars and amenities are generally busier. I think it holds true that on many cruise lines (including MSC) the atmosphere is more party in the Caribbean. Europe: Each day you are stopping in great cities full of culture, food and things to do and experience. During the day I think there are less people just drinking by the pool, and while you can still find a party in the evening they are smaller.

Keep the receipts for the accommodation and food, and either you, your TA or insurance company can submit them to MSC for reimbursement (up to €80 per night for the accommodation for 3 nights). https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/passenger-rights/ship/index_en.htm As per MSC T&C you have 2 months to make the claim. 20.3 Complaints based on Regulation (EU) 1177/2010 regarding accessibility, cancellation or delays must be lodged within 2 months from the date of the provision of services in this regard. The carrier must comment within one month on whether the complaint is justified, has been rejected or is still being processed. The final decision will be communicated within 3 months. The traveler is obliged to provide the company with all information necessary to process the complaint. If the traveler does not agree with the decision, he is free to appeal to the body responsible for his complaint in the country of the port of embarkation.

Others are reporting they were offered to change to a cruise leaving on the 7th April for free? Did they not offer this to you?

You risk getting turned away from the topsail lounge or restaurant if you wear shorts.