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YIN cabins are largely back to pre-pandemic pricing for typical 7 day roundtrips (I'm finding roughly GBP1200pp for 7 days is the best available rate for shoulder and off-season cruises), and for shorter 2 to 3 day repositioning trips MSC have significantly increased prices (I did several for GBP75 per person per night, and they are now at least GBP150pppn). Best YIN price I can find at the moment for a cruise I am interested in is GBP1019pp for 7 days repositioning in Caribbean. It ends in the French Caribbean, so plenty of flights back to Europe via France (but very limited flights to US). Still I booked the 6 night cruise (ending in FDF) in a bella inside cabin with the easy drinks package for less than one third of the price of a YIN cabin.

MSC generally offers good value - especially in the shoulder and off season. $521pp for 3 nights in an inside cabin with easy drink package and Wi-Fi sounds like a lot to me, but I don't know the single supplement portion and personally tend towards lower cost cruises anyway. But you get what you pay for. For many it is a great vacation but for others perhaps the opposite. MSC has a defined product that they offer, and their objective is to charge as much as possible for that product. Some people here seem to want MSC to change their product, but that is a much bigger, riskier and complex undertaking for a company to take. From my point of view the product has barely changed the last 6 or so years - just some minor tweaking here and there.

Meraviglia was designed and launched with the option of anytime dining for everyone. From memory it didn't last long..... found this to explain the offer: https://porthole.com/msc-cruises-introduces-enhanced-flexible-dining-options/

Is the booking confirmation of your new cruise the same as the cancelled one? In the past when I used a FCC I received the same booking number - it was effectively a change of [the old] booking instead a new booking. For this reason my suspicion (I don't know for sure) is you cannot use FCC for booking a cruise onboard - they can only book new cruises and not change existing ones.

I find the TA mostly to blame. They just took the commission, but should have explained that: - if you pay half the cost compared to other lines then expectations need to me reduced appropriately. - It's an Italian cruise line sailing from Italy - not everything will be in English. - OBC can only be spent onboard, not for pre-ordering items. You say MSC gave you $100 compensation. What exactly were you expecting them to reply to your letter apart from more apologies?

The prices you quoted seem fairly typical for what Celebrity is selling their Med cruises for in high season, and while there will be some small variations (due to the offer at the time) I wouldn't expect large reductions. But I have never been on a Med cruise on Celebrity as I just cannot justify paying those prices for what you get, compared to the opportunity cost of land based vacations (or even other cruise lines). The decision could be different if you are coming from US, with limited vacation time and the favorable exchange rate. This is just my opinion though, don't let me put you off.

Last October on Bellissima they were piloting only providing the daily planner in the app. You could ask for a paper copy if you wanted, but I prefer the app anyway. I don't recall anything unusual or specific to Bellissima on the daily planner - it was all roughly the same as other Med cruises in case that helps.

I often use a TA in the UK that gives 10% discount on MSC, and I know of another in Germany that also gives a discount from their commissions. Both these TA's are online only and make their money by charging booking fees (and fees for any changes made). But you are correct that offering OBC or discounts is certainly much less common in Europe than US - my only guess is that commissions are the main revenue for TA's in Europe, whereas in US either they are making their revenue from ancillaries (e.g. insurance) or the higher cruise revenue allows TA's to take a lower margin? Here is an example contract with a travel agent from UK - there is no mention of price fixing: https://www.mscbook.com/pages/sdl/img/B2B_TA_Example_MSC_Retail_Agent_Agreement.pdf

Yes I want to also confirm that after 6 European cruises and 1 South American cruise on MSC in 2022, I didn't experience what is discussed here. Ships are busy or full (compared to 2021) and sometimes it takes longer to get served at some bars, but I always experienced friendly service and nothing I would call dysfunctional. I also cannot recall a time when I thought the other passengers were behaving poorly, though I'm sure there must have been a few occasions. Based on the reports here it seems to be only an issue for cruises originating from US.

Resolving these issues should be exactly what you hold the TA accountable for! Otherwise what are they doing for their 16% commission? Some examples from my experience: example 1: For a cruise cancelled by MSC on 27th Sept, the refund was received on my credit card on 18th November. This was booked directly with MSC. example 2: I realized I had overpaid for a cruise (the voyagers club discount was not included) on 16th December, and the refund was received on my card on the 5th January. This was booked with (and paid to) a travel agent.

It's no problem. In any case, many others will be ordering the Italian way (antipasti, starter, pasta, meat, dessert), and I'm sure the waiters are used to it.

Did you pay the money to your TA or directly to MSC? Just hold your TA accountable and hassle them until you get the refund - that is their job!

You will get 2 chocolate bars from now on 🙂 , but everything else is just one per cabin. Did you have the easy drinks package?

For me the decision is based on where I would like to spend a couple of nights before or after the cruise. I've done: - Fly to Milan, and then take the train to Genoa Piazza Principe station. - Fly to Turin, and the take the train to Genoa Piazza Principe station. - Fly to Pisa, and the take the train to Genoa Piazza Principe station. In Italian Genoa is called Genova, so that is the train destination you are looking for. I have always taken regional trains, as they are cheaper and you don't need to book in advance. If you take an intercity train you should book in advance and will get a seat reservation with the ticket. I use the Trenitalia app to check times and book tickets. There are plenty of other opportunities depending on where you want to visit before your cruise - for example Florence is easily possible (but a bit longer train journey), and there are direct EC trains to Genoa from Zurich each day. Not mentioned so far is flixbus - their bus terminal (Genoa Fanti d'Italia/Principe bus station) is 50m to the cruise terminal (even closer than the train station). I've taken a flixbus from Munich in Germany to Genoa - it took 9 hours with just one stop in Milan. Not as comfortable as the train, but can be very cheap and convenient. https://global.flixbus.com/bus/genoa

EU terms and conditions allow you find and rebook on an alternative cruise - I'm sure there are others with interesting itineraries in Europe that could fit with your flights? My experience was the email from MSC informing me of the change ignored these t&c - it was either accept changes or refund. However when I asked to be rebooked on an alternative cruise it was accepted. I believe US terms and conditions are different, so this might not apply. Source: https://www.msccruises.co.uk/terms-conditions 14.3 Most changes are minor but occasionally MSC Cruises must make a significant change. The following are examples of significant changes when made before you go on the Cruise: A change in the time Passengers are due to leave the UK to go on the Cruise or the time Passengers are due to come back to the UK after the Cruise of more than 12 hours. A change of UK airport from the Passengers were due to fly to or from, except where the change is between London airports (Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, London City or Luton) or where the new airport is within 50 miles of the original airport. A change of cabin accommodation to a significantly lesser grade. A significant change to the itinerary. i.e. when the itinerary has to be changed by more than 50% and may have to exclude an iconic highlight. All changes which are not significant are treated as minor changes and therefore there is no right to cancel or to claim compensation. Please note: MSC Cruises do not classify a change of air or sea port as a significant change where coach transfers between a UK town and the relevant air/sea port are included in the holiday. A change of flight from direct to indirect is not classified as a significant change. In the event of a significant alteration to an essential term of the Contract, MSC Cruises will inform the Passenger or his/her Agent of such change in writing as soon as reasonably possible. If there is time to do so before departure, we will offer you the choice of one of the followinga) Accepting the alteration; orb) Making another Booking from the brochure and/or from the Official Website of equivalent or superior quality, if available; orc) Making another Booking from the brochure and/or from the Official Website of lower quality, if available, with a refund of the difference in price; ord) Cancelling and receiving a full refund of all monies paid.

Overall we had a great cruise - it was a pleasant way to spend Christmas and get to Argentina to continue our holiday. I would happily book another cruise from Brazil, but with the following considerations (for me): - cruising from Brazil is more expensive than cruising in the Med or Caribbean. MSC seem able to charge high prices in South America - especially as I couldn't find any cruises with a drinks package included. I think it is difficult to justify cruising here just for the ship. - cruising from Brazil is more expensive compared to a land vacation there (which is the opposite of Europe or US). All this means that whereas from Miami or Barcelona I would spend 2 nights in a hotel and then 7 nights on a cruise, I think I would do the opposite in Brazil. For next year I'm looking for either another repositioning cruise, or one to Ilhabela, Ilha Grande or Buzios that would be much more pleasent to visit on a cruise ship compared to 6 hours in a minibus.

Some information on the ports: Itajai: We boarded here. We flew into Navegantes airport and landed at 22:30 in the evening, we then took an uber to the river ferry, took the ferry across the river and then walked to our hotel. Brazilians we talked to beforehand didn't recommend this, but it seemed like most people on the flight did the same thing and the alternative would have been more than 1 hour in a car going to the nearest bridge. The location shown on MSC etickets was incorrect - it showed we should go to the tourist pier. Instead check-in took place at the convention centre and we were then bussed to the ship in an industrial port. We queued for 1 hour to get into the convention centre, but was then checked in and on the bus in about 10 minutes. Passports were handed in on boarding and picked up the evening before disembarkation. Punta Dell'Est: This was a tender port and MSC used both local tender ships and MSC Armonia's tender boats. The weather was very pleasant, but with relatively big waves it was good to see some good seamanship skills from the crew that we passengers don't normally see. We just walked around, saw the sights, went to the beach and had something to eat. Buenos Aires: It was painless disembarking here - with the only formality being putting our luggage through an x-ray for customs.

Overall the type of passengers were the same as the Med - a mix of young people, couples, families and older people trying to have a good time. We didn't hear anyone else talking English among themselves - it was either Portuguese or Spanish. All staff spoke English, but some announcements were Portuguese and Spanish only. For example, in the theatre the cruise director didn't say anything in English. Sometimes we had no idea what was happening, but went with the flow and didn't have any problems. The staff we interacted with were friendly, and despite some typical MSC hiccups and misunderstandings I am sure that all staff just wanted us to have a good holiday and acted accordingly. The shows were definatley not adapted for Brazil, as almost all songs were in English. I thought the quality of singing was not the best I have seen on MSC, but after enough wine they were entertaining.

Here are some menus. It was a combination of typical MSC dishes, Brazilian specialties and I think the "always available" is upgraded compared to Med cruises (I thought salmon was replaced by white fish and steak removed in the Med). The Christmas menu was wonderful. The steak tagliata (from the always available section) was also very good. Overall, it was typical MSC food and service. Some hiccups along the way, but overall a pleasant experience.

I bit the bullet and booked a 3 night cruise on MSC Armonia from Itajai to Buenos Aires over Christmas, so can answer the questions I had in case it helps others. Firstly, here is the drinks menu. The Easy drinks selection is expanded with some Brazilian specialties, and the prices looked roughly comparable to Med cruises (perhaps a bit cheaper). We pre-purchased the easy package and had a great time. One curiosity as mentioned by rool is the system of queuing at the side of the bar for the server to input your order, getting a receipt, and then handing it to the bar staff to make for you. I have never seen this on any other MSC cruise - where you are mostly served at your table or you can go to the bar as a last resort. I am not sure if this is Brazil specific or MSC brazil specific, but on the first day it seemed to only be me that was confused by it. QR_BF_APERITIF-AND-WINE-BAR_OTHER_DAYX_EN_1671839589.pdf

It is scheduled as a sea-day, between Bridgetown (Barbados) and St Georges (Granada). I guess the sea day is not required because of the distance between ports (it is just 150 miles), so perhaps just off St Lucia was the best place for the ship to spend the time?

I suspect it is more about the blogger trying to make more revenue from youtube by getting more views. Everyone does ship reviews and video tours, but it is the controversial stuff that gets the clicks and makes the money.

To save anyone listening from watching the video, I summarized it below: The blogger boarded in San Juan at a crew only gangway. At the top of the gangway a security person dealing with an incident shouted at people to move out the way, the blogger didn't move out the way in time so the security member touched him to move him out the way and ran past to deal with the incident. No pain, injuries or bruising was mentioned by the blogger. Guest services offered an apology, and said they would inform the dept head. The blogger is upset that he received no compensation from either guest service or MSC customer service. I think it is valid for Stockjock to share this, and I'm sure everyone will have a different reaction and opinion. My opinion is it shouldn't even be considered an incident, and more a way for the blogger to increase revenue from youtube.

This time last year: - there was a separate area for YC at the far end of the beach - you will be driven by golf cart to and from the YC area, or you could walk. - the YC beach had comfortable loungers - butlers provided drinks service. - food was a dedicated buffet area, with barbeque meat and seafood, salad and desserts. - the atmosphere was more relaxed than the rest of the beach. Overall, yes it is somewhat unremarkable (compared to the best beaches in the world), but still a very pleasant day on a cruise where there other ports are large cities.

My experience has been the Gala night is planned around the homeport. E.g. this summer on Bellissima the Gala night was the evening before Genoa, as the homeport was Valencia.