eastender

Have done 2 MSC cruises in USA (Poesia) and 1 (Splendida) in the Med.

I enjoy MSC but fact is the standard of service and food in Europe was way below that in the US. I'm not fussy or a professional moaner, that's just the way it is, in fact I'll be on the Armonia out of Venice in June. Also in US the spa area is free to use where in Europe there's quite a hefty charge.

Off Connie today, I was amazed there were no large tv's or a sports bar of any description on the ship. The tv's in the casino are pathetic and the noise would be unbearable anyway. I was looking forward to watching the Masters on a big screen with nice atmosphere but I ended up confined to the cabin.

Threads like this are quite amusing to us Brits. In UK we have to pay a deposit of $250 pp which is NON-REFUNDABLE. Therefore we have no leverage at all to argue about price drops.

For USA sailings, a 7 bottle package is available where you can choose 7 reds or 7 whites if you want. Sensible? of course. So why in Europe only a split package seems to be available, like 2 reds, 2 white & 1 rose. So if you want 6 of one type that's tough. Grrrrrrrr! Guess I'll have to buy singles.

Who was the cruise director? We were on the Freedom before xmas and it was a guy called Ricky.

Recently on Freedom, at the Captain's talk at the promenade, it was stated that with the exception of swimwear and the like, RCI cannot stop people going into the main dining room in casual attire. "They have paid their money to cruise same as everyone else, we have to think of our shareholders." Walking in on a formal night a man in line in front of us had t -shirt, long basketball shorts & sneakers. He was spoken to at the door but not stopped. Funny thing was he was at a table near us, sat right next to a guy who had a gone the full 9 yards with a fantastic tux and all the works.

Not all ships have the new packages with one person only.

Passengers on the current Voyager of the Seas departing Sydney yesterday had to buy it for everyone in the stateroom.

I was told that on the pre xmas Freedom cruise. My wife's a non drinker ("you have to have a medical reason & doctors note"). What's that all about, you can't just be a non drinker???? They knew nothing about the recent changes and I had to go to guest services to sort it out & THEN someone went around telling the package sellers it was ok to sell for 1 person. Shouldn't have had that grief if people did their job right!

Mykonos is famous for its night life

Now I'm trying to imagine an over 60's foam party!! :-)

Booked Armonia for June 2014. On one day it leaves Santorini at 15:00 & arrives at Mykonos, same day at 20:30 departing at 03:00 am. I'm trying to get my head around that late stop in Mykonos. I guess if the ship's docked, a walk around will be ok but it seems so late in the day, unless there's a big night club there or something.

Ok, that's fine.. I just noted that you where surprised which lead you to now complain about its value afterwards. My point is, I think it is stated very clearly, and it surprises me that you can be surprised. You could have called or written to them before purchasing to ask and clear it up before hand.

 

The difference could probably be that it would be a challenge to do inventory by.

 

Philip

Errrrrrrr, I'm going for a beer!

Was it not obviously described when you purchased the package? When I look at the website it seems very obvious to me. Failing to read what product you are paying for is now the fault of the company?

 

6 bottles of DOC wines (2 white, 3 red, 1 rosé) and 7 bottles of mineral water. This package can only be consumed in the main restaurants, where we will carefully keep your unfinished bottles of wine and ensure they are waiting at your dining table the next day.

 

What made you think that you could have 3 whites? What?

 

Strange logic.

 

Philip

So when did I say it was the fault of MSC? I love their wine prices. My POINT was, these wines are bargain bucket and when all the bottles are the same price, it would be preferable and nice to have the choice, what difference would it make? I'll spell it out next time.

On our Mediterranean Splendida cruise this year we had the classic wine package, 6 bottles (2 white, 3 red, 1 rose) and bottles of water. I thought this meant a choice of those and was surprised to receive vouchers to be exchanged for that exact mix, and getting red instead of white, although achieved was an issue that had to be taken up with the maitre d. This would put me off ordering the wine packages in future.

Just come back from a cruise on Sinfonia which has the same design at the aft of the ship. In my experience of it there were very few people who used the aft walkways / areas the only exception being deck 13 and the minigolf there.

 

 

 

 

Pete

Thanks for replying with that info.

Anyone experienced an ocean view right at the back on Armonia. They look like they might be a bit noisy, close to the stairwells?