8420PR

Be careful, there are multiple posts complaining about peperoni pizza on MSC: Peperoni in Italy: Pepperoni in US: The Italian name for pepperoni pizza is "pizza alla diavola".

Be careful, there are multiple posts complaining about peperoni pizza on MSC: Peperoni in Italy: Pepperoni in US: The Italian name for pepperoni pizza is "pizza alla diavola".

How much did the 3 Asian Market dining package cost to book onboard?

As noted, MSC restrict the entries when booking to either UK or Germany/Austria. You could use a travel agent based in the UK or Germany to book these rates. You would of course be constrained by the UK/German terms and conditions, and might end up sharing a table with people from these countries.

Flights from US to Europe are typically much more expensive than flights from Europe to US - especially in shoulder season. A return flight to Orlando from Frankfurt for the same dates costs a lot less than the flight to Orlando and back from FDF. Hence the reason for the cheap cruise, compared to the typical 7 days from Miami or Orlando. Don't feel bad about paying more for your flights or cruise - the US simply is a lot richer than Europe and a large part of the price (of flights, cruises etc) is based on how much people will pay.

On the German website, MSC are selling the 6 night repositioning cruise from Port Canaveral to Fort-de-France on MSC Seaside for €40 plus gratuities (so €113 in total - approx. USD$119). On the UK website it is GBP129, including gratuities (approx. USD$156): The prices have been online for over 1 week, and widely publicized, so I don't think it is a mistake. In 2017 I booked two 7 day Southern Caribbean cruises on MSC Fantasia for €199 per week (plus gratuities), but have never seen anything this low cost. The challenge for MSC in this area is that the flights sell out before the cruises, so you often see great last minute deals. Flights are very expensive, but if you want to fly cheaply, use miles - Delta will sell an economy flight on Air France from Fort-de-France to most European cities for 35000 miles. I also would consider Air Canada or American Airlines back to North America, but availability is a lot lower.

It includes bookings made with MSC in UK and US - both through a travel agent or direct. As long as your travel agent is not based outside of UK it should be included. You will see this code on your booking confirmation and e-tickets:

My guess - the onboard currency will change on the 25th November in Fort-de-France, as I think that is the start of first "official" Southern Caribbean cruise.

For MSC Seaside cruises returning to Port Canaveral (2023) or Miami (2024): All passengers need to disembark before new passengers can embark - so you need to disembark with everyone else in the morning. For MSC Seaside cruises ending in the Southern Caribbean (e.g. Fort-de-France) or Mediterranean - you can typically stay onboard until the early afternoon (e.g. just after lunch), as passengers can disembark and embark at the same time.

Anyone care to guess if they will schedule replacement cruises for MSC Orchestra, or just leave her laid up until April 2024? Has this happened previously, and what did MSC do?

There is a current promo this winter where you get 700 points before the cruise: https://www.msccruises.ch/buchung-verwalten/msc-voyagers-club/winter-promo-mitglieder Enjoy your cruise!

I guess you booked Aurea experience? I think it is just the discounted (15% or something like that) specialty dinner and massage that you can book (online) in advance.

You can pre-book various experiences to celebrate your anniversary. Unless the experience says it is served on embarkation, when you board go to reception to tell them which day you prefer (and in the case of the anniversary cake where). In your position I would book these 2: - Rose petal package in your cabin on embarkation for €45 - one bottle of Moscato, 2 souvenir glasses and petit-fours. - anniversary package served in a restaurant for the day of your anniversary for €39 - one bottle of Asti and an anniversary cake. If you do not book anything and just say something onboard you might get anything from a congratulations to something special, but nothing is guaranteed (and in my opinion the highest probability is you just get a congratulations).

daily gratuities = Hotel Service Charge. For bookings made in the UK they are already included in the fare, with no additional charges onboard. https://www.msccruises.co.uk/manage-booking/before-you-go/service-charges Enjoy your cruise!

I've done plenty of 1, 2 or 3 night cruises (last one was 3 weeks ago) and always had the Diamond dinner (or lunch).

It looks like the old page, where (post covid) all cruises were offered with the 5+15% discount. It says valid through to March 31st 2022.

I would absolutely bring a costume and dress up for Halloween! I am fairly sure there will be a Halloween party. I've done a couple of Halloween cruises on MSC in the Mediterranean, and both times there were decorations and a party in the atrium. A few passengers wore Halloween costumes - perhaps one in 10 passengers - which probably reflects the fact that Halloween is a more low key event in Europe (compared to US).

I cannot blame MSC for trying to increase revenue, but I suspect this might have the opposite impact as it actively reduces the potential for pre-cruise spending (as a portion of customers cannot buy dining packages).

I don't see any dining packages for my cruise booked in Bella, but can see them for a later cruise on the same ship in Fantastica (plus one on a different ship). It is certainly a new change, and seems consistent with the MSC website (screenshot below):

I spent months wondering the same for my booking - but then realized the dining packages are only for those booked in Fantastica experience or higher. I cannot see any dining packages for my next cruise (Bella), but can see them for the one after (Fantastica).

Last December there was no specialty restaurant on MSC Armonia - the space previously used for Surf&Turf was just part of the normal restaurant. No idea if this was just the case for this particular cruise or permanently, but the MSC website doesn't list any specialty restaurants for all Lirica class ships: https://www.msccruisesusa.com/on-board/dining-drinks/dining-packages-specialty-restaurants We still ate well and had a great cruise.

MSC is selling single cabins on 3800 of 3977 cruises (per German website).

If it was me, I would just plan on using credit/debit cards and not converting cash into the local currency, especially if it just for a few hours in port. These days it is difficult to find a place that doesn't accept credit cards, especially in Europe where the interchange fees are regulated so accepting cards is often cheaper than accepting cash for the merchant. In case you do need cash, getting it from ATM's is normally cheapest. It might be worth applying for a credit/debit card with no ATM or foreign currency fees, if available to you in New Zealand, but even with fees a bank ATM is still typically cheaper than a foreign exchange shop.

MSC will not let passengers board that do not have the correct documents to enter the UK, even if staying on board. There are no special arrangements, and the UK Border Force has been doing some quite painful (long waiting times) spot checks since there was a newspaper story about 2 cruise passengers claiming asylum on arrival in UK. https://www.msccruises.com/int/manage-booking/before-you-go/travel-documents-visas

Assuming you booked Fantastica experience you can ask your agent for a one category upgrade: Unfortunately it is not automatically applied when the cabin is moved, and I think some TA are not aware of it.