MisterBill99

Yes, it's a difficult port to dock at. Sadly, there's no one to blame for that except MSC since they built the port. I think they have a much higher cancel rate than Royal does at Coco Cay, at least I don't hear about them cancelling. I recall that Royal used to have problems when they had to tender there.

Meraviglia had to skip Ocean Cay today due to high winds (so what else is new). I was checking their path in VesselFinder after initially reading that there were wind issues to see whether it actually got to dock. The tracking that it shows is fascinating, and weird. You can see on the first image that after circling the area near Ocean Cay, it headed back north pretty much up to Boca Raton, before heading to the next stop in Nassau. Any idea why they would do that rather than just traveling slowly and maybe even getting passengers to Nassau earlier than the 11am time they usually get there (I see it says they'll be there at 10:30, but that is probably typical and later than other ships that are there get in by 9am). You'd think they'd want to do something nice for passengers, even though MSC tours wouldn't start early but presumably many people booked all-inclusives for the day and could get an extra couple of hours. I also attached a close-up showing the circling they did near Ocean Cay. Either they were practicing maneuvers, or they kept trying to get a good angle. Or they were just killing time, but once again, I don't understand why they didn't just stay in one place. Can anyone explain why they did this? And please, none of the "the captain was wonderful for not putting the passengers in harm's way by trying to dock" dribble I see on social media fan-groups. g

Well, I was the beneficiary of the status match, so I guess I should not be complaining. But those perks were part of the reason why I booked Seaside back then (for my first MSC cruise). We're going again next week (after saying I'd never sail them again) but doing YC so the free Diamond meals aren't as big a deal.

Yes, they changed this a couple of weeks before our MSC cruise back in January 2018 and would not honor it onboard. It was a sleazy thing to do then, but typical of MSC it seems.

Thanks for posting these. Do they use the same order on all sailings, or might they mix it up? We will be on Meraviglia next week and are trying to figure out if there's a night that we should book our free Diamond specialty meal when we get on the ship. Of course, we could always just use the free meal for lunch on a day that we don't care for the dinner menu and just have a light dinner.

Yes, I saw that!

First, the MNVV OBC is not reduced if you book within n60 days on purchasing it. I'd love to get the same amount I get for Celebrity. That doesn't seem to be possible, but I'd certainly like to get SOMETHING (otherwise, I would not bother booking with an agent). I didn't get much the first time, obviously, but this agency had a MNVV to sell me, so they got my business. Now that I have my own to use, I can be more selective. I don't want to get into commission percentages, but what I read online is that VV pays on the full fare and does not exclude a non-commissionable portion as other lines do.

The agent is one of their top agencies. They're offering an entry into a contest for a free cruise instead of the Sailor Loot.

I was considering booking one of the 2025 San Juan sailings and contacted a TA who I had used for my first VV sailing earlier this month, when she offered me $100 Sailor Loot. She did not offer me any this time and said that VV is no longer allowing it on bookings using MNVV. Is that true? Personally, I can't believe how stingy the agents are on OBC with Virgin, given that they apparently get a very generous commission. Even my usual TA who gives me 10% back on Celebrity and whose email when they started selling VV said 5%, is now just $100 (and I did not confirm whether it would apply to a MVV booking). Obviously I would get the $600 Sailor Loot from VV, the SL from the TA was in addition to that.

So what do they do for the Super Bowl? I'm sure they show that onboard.

The Oscars are broadcast in 200 countries worldwide, so they could get a feed if they wanted to (as other cruise lines do). I'm sure that they show the Super Bowl ,even though they don't carry the station that it's carried on that year.

Bumping this thread to see if anyone has the seven-day schedules posted. Thanks. Update -- there's a current "live from" thread that is posting them.

We're going to be sailing on MSC starting Sunday, March 10th, which is the night of the US Academy Awards/Oscars (figured I'd be clear since it's an international cruise line). Does anyone know if MSC shows them in the theater and has any sort of activities for them? Some other cruise lines do, but not all.

That's interesting, since others said that they did not check the times.

There's lots to do that is walking distance from the pier. Not like if you were at the Pan American pier.

Why would you ask this in a thread about embarkation questions where most of the posters haven't even been on the ship yet? You should create a separate thread, or find one that is talking about the food.

Thanks. So, it sounds like I should get there well in advance of my 2:15 time to avoid a long line when I get there. Will have to see what experiences people had last week and this week. The SL/OBC would be much easier to spend if they let us pay for Shore Things using it like they do on Celebrity and Royal (and maybe others). Yeah, there are no tips or specialty restaurants to spend it on. Not sure what other nickel & diming you are referring to that VV does not have. I figure my wife will get a massage, and I'll do the behind-the-scenes tour to spend a bunch of it, and I have one excursion picked out that is still available.

What time was your scheduled arrival time? I also have DBE, but my time is 2:15. I was led to believe that the earliest time they gave out was 2pm. How was disembarkation? Does VV offer a shuttle to the airport through Shore Things, so I can use Sailor Loot to pay for it? I don't see it listed in the app, but that is usually booked once on board. Obviously, it will be more expensive than a taxi or Uber, but I've got $800 to spend and depending on the price, it could be a good use of extra money. Thanks.

None of this would apply in this case. Departure was not delayed; it just didn't go where it was originally supposed to. The entire itinerary was changed (other than the start and end ports), and it occurred before they left.

Does not say exclusive (see image). But would it show up as Sailor Loot or OBC? I knew about the $100 SL, that showed up as soon as I booked. I was not expecting the other $100, but obviously am happy to have it. With $800 OBC/SL we should be able to do two excursions and still have money for a massage for my wife and the behind-the-scenes tour for me (she would much rather do the massage than the tour). My regular TA who I use for other lines is now offering 5% back on VV, but they weren't going to be able to provide me with a MNVV to use, so I used a VV specialty agent. With the $200 OBC now, that's actually better than the 5% would have been, so it's a win-win (assuming I would not have gotten that from the other agent).

I just noticed in the app that I now have $100 listed as On Board Credit in addition to the $700 Sailor Loot that I previously had. I'm guessing that it's related to my TA having a group on the cruise, although I thought that was what the extra $100 Sailor Loot was for (I also used a MNVV for the first $600). Does the OBC behave any different from SL? Is it refundable if not spent? I also have $800 Bar Tab ($600 from the booking promotion plus $100 each from Deep Blue Extras, but I understand how that works).

Thanks. I wonder what's in the space above it on deck 18? I had a very poor experience on Celebrity Silhouette many years ago, was below the buffet and thought that it was the dining area and we'd be fine. Every morning around 6am, I would hear carts rolling above us. Couldn't understand why, so finally one morning I got dressed and went upstairs when it was happening. Turns out that I forgot that the deck above us extended out, and our cabin actually ended up being below the walkway and right at the doors from the galley. In any event, the cabin on deck 16 is no longer available, but I'll consider it if one becomes available again. Walking up and down two flights isn't the worst thing, gives us some exercise. And our deck 14 cabin is above and below other cabins.

What cabin were you in? The deck 16 interior cabins seem like they are under galley/prep areas.

So, did you actually take the cruise yet? I was in a front-facing balcony on Seaside (a non-YC suite with a huge balcony that I never should have booked, but that's another story), and it was unusable when the ship was moving due to the wind. I still can't believe that MSC has front-facing balconies.

Thanks. I think we'll stay on deck 14. Being closer to the lounge would be nice, but the possibility of being under the galley is not something I want to take a chance on.