Toofarfromthesea

I recall there also being a chef up there who would be making the pasta dish of the day freshly, for lunch. But I am also very partial to the lounge with the small buffet and Afternoon Tea, and music in the evening and all the drinks. But they are both great.

IMO, absolutely yes.

It's not a one size fits all world.

MSC is clearly not a good fit for you and that's OK. You have plenty of other options. But calling a delayed refund 'stealing' seems a little over-dramatic. How was the actual cruise?

One caveat on this point. The early ships that have Yacht Club had the YC restaurant at the opposite end of the ship from the 'enclave'. So you have to walk the length of the ship to get to and from the restaurant. For 3 meals that means walking the length of the ships 6 times. Which can be difficult for folks with mobility issues. The Divina is one that has this awkward arrangement and I think there are others but I don't know their names - maybe someone can chip in with them. If this might be an issue for someone they should check the deck plans. The second generation of YC has the restaurant with the rest of the enclave, so no problem there. I really liked Divina, but now I'm mobility challenged, so it is off the plate, for me.

I'm so sorry for you. After this you won't be satisfied with less. Your expectations for cruises will jump to another higher energy level. Have a great time. Let them pamper you,

Which cruiselines have the fewest restrictions in the three areas of 1) vaccine requirements, 2) testing requirements, and 3) masking requirements? Have any of them completely eliminated all 3? Thanks.

Think for yourself, don't follow a train.

As soon as you throw in the notion that it is discrimination you are making yourself a victim.

The OP was trying to claim victimhood and no one was having it.

My guess is that the reason is two-fold. First, there is a higher percentage of creeps in the population than previously. Second, matching entities face significant liability if they fail to screen out a creep and they do something bad to their roommate.

But the obvious facts say otherwise. If you're paying $2,000 for a room that they could get $4,000 for as a double occupancy, on board spend is not going to be a factor. They charge the single supplement to make up the $2,000 difference in fare, not the marginal on-board spend difference.

No, you don't "pay a single supplement to supposedly replicate the earnings of the on board spending of an average cruiser" you pay the single supplement because you are getting 2 people's worth of real estate. Those 3rd and 4th passengers aren't getting any real estate, they are just cramping the 1st and 2nd passengers' space. The "extra services or products" you get for the single supplement is twice as much room as each individual in a comparable double occupancy cabin. Basically the pricing is really per cabin pricing even when it is expressed as per person pricing.

As to the former, it is generally a marketing ploy and the fare for 2 with the discount, is not much different than the "regular" fare for 2. As for the latter, the 3rd and 4th passengers "sailing free" are not given any extra real estate. There is almost zero marginal cost to the cruiseline for #3 and #4, and the cruiseline may actually make money on them in the form of on-board spend. Particularly if everyone in the cabin has to have a beverage package if one person has it.

All of these factors are completely subsumed by the cruiseline losing the fare they would have collected for the second person in the cabin. Which is 95% of the reason for the single supplement.

If I had to hazard a guess, I'd guess that average on-board spending exceeds the marginal cost of passenger food cost.

Since I live in the US I'm not familiar with the ins and outs of non-US residents booking with US-based TAs. But if a US resident asked or if you are able to book through a US TA then I would suggest that one place to try is to use one of those sites that lets you specify the sailing and cabin class you want and they put it out to bid to TAs. I've managed to get an average of 7-10% off in a lower price and perks. This assumes getting a good deal is the primary motive. Some people use TAs more for advice and handholding. And some folks don't use TAs at all because they want to stay in control of their booking.

I'm old enough, and I suspect you are too, to remember when describing someone as having discriminating taste was considered a compliment.

And if the 70 year old is not in good health and slows down the whole excursion is that fair or right when considered from the perspective of the other people on the excursion.

Funny how the discussion veered into right and wrong. But since we aren't bound by actual legal definitions of legal terms, in this thread I would suggest that what you did the other two times was perpetrate a fraud on the cruise line. You entered into a contract with the cruise line that you had no intention of fulfilling from the start, and was based on misrepresentation. Does it work? Apparently. But where it falls on the right/wrong scale is a whole different story. But maybe the right/wrong issue only applies to the cruiseline.?

But then the requirement that only people above a certain age have to get a Dr's. permission to cruise will result in charges of age discrimination. People who want to paint themselves as victims (e.g. by using loaded legal terms such as discrimination) will find a way to paint themselves as victims.

Proving that everything has a price,

It's nice to have the choice.

It could be a lot of things. Age/condition of ship, the accomodations, food, crew, etc. A bad cruise for a cheap price doesn't seem like good value.

Yes it is, objectively cheap. Whether it is good value is a whole different question.