perakcruiser

11 hours ago, kjquilts said:

Have you sailed on the Opera or similar smaller MSC ships in Europe?  If so, how was your experience?

Nothing to complain about the Lirica-Class of MSC. Classical cruising and in the Eastern Med it is traditionally more about the ports than about the ships. The Spa is not really exciting, your 1 time free visit with Diamond is enough. Cannot compare to Mera. 

Top 13 is extremely relaxed, a place you will enjoy. 

11 hours ago, kjquilts said:

Thinking about booking Aurea class balcony for the anytime dining and less crowded Top 13 deck area.  Would

this be worthwhile?   We did Aurea on the Meraviglia.

If Aurea is worthwhile in the end, that is completely personal. Just if the Spa is your main concern, then I would say no. Anytime dining on Lirica-Class usually works better than on other MSC ships. If you take Aurea, make sure you select one of the Balcony cabins mid-ship built in 2015. 

For example OV on deck 10 is already an upgrade from deck 5. Same as other lines.

2 minutes ago, Norwaylady said:

it’s my hate object nr 1😜

Welcome to my world 😄 

Off Topic: That is a good thing about Norway cruises, no shopping options 😛 

On 9/26/2024 at 5:03 AM, Jacaluke said:

My only concern with the June itinerary is the crowds.

No problem. The crowds in Europe are during Pentecost holiday (which starts later in June in 2025) and then July and August. And the ports in the Western Med, these cities are so big, no matter if one, two or three big ships. Or more. Things a very very different in places like Dubrovnik for example. 

Western and Eastern Med are totally different, so hard to recommend one of the two for someone who has never sailed in the Med. But I find the September sailing much more special and interesting with a really cool itinerary. Starting in Barcelona and ending in Athens is also a big plus. 

2 hours ago, Norwaylady said:

Yes, we ask for the lobster and beef wellington👌🏻

 

When I travel with Mr, he enjoys lobster 🦞 and I eat beef wellington or duck 🦆. 
Then we order 2 lobsters and one other thing. 
Since it’s 1 lobster/person. 
If you say surf & turf, they know what you want😉 

Thanks, we will then follow your example in a couple of weeks on the Infinity. 
As we will follow your example in Kusadasi and go to the fortress. But skip the shopping afterwards 😄

24 minutes ago, Norwaylady said:

We had salmon tartare, surf & turf 🦞 +beef wellington 

Surf & Turf was not on the menu and you combined it by yourself? 🙂

18 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

bogo is “buy one get one”.  In this case the 60 means that the second passenger paid less than the first by that amount.

 

it has nothing to do with on board credit.

Thanks! Yes, the second passenger was discounted heavily. So only the Shareholder OBC and "no perks" 😄

I also got this mail. 

But I maybe do have OBC, at least in my booking confirmation it is stated:

NOPERKBOGO60

"No perk" sounds unhappy, but "Bogo60" sounds promising. Anyone who knows, what this cryptic word means? 

16 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Cruise Critic survey found the 3 worst cruise lines by tallying all their reviews. The worst is Costa, followed close behind MSC

These two are the lines with the most affordable prices, both provide a very good product that is great value for money. They are not the "worst cruise lines", but the people who do the reviews are probably not qualified to do a review. I guess these people are not only not qualified to review a cruise, they are already not qualified to book a cruise. Yes, all cruise lines give you the chance to overpay them dramatically, if you are clueless. The reaction then is of cause a negative review. 

I am cruising mainly Celebrity and MSC, when it comes to food and entertainment I certainly have higher expectations when going with Celebrity. Which are usually not unjustified and yes, I am looking a little bit more forward to my next Celebrity cruise compared to my next MSC cruise, but that does not at all mean that MSC is "worse" than Celebrity. 

That is interesting. As Eataly (sadly) totally failed before. But the US cruisers are more open to specialty restaurants, maybe it will work this time. 

For me the Paxos on the Go sounds great, a good pita sandwich would be a great snack. 

55 minutes ago, emarismom said:

Thank you! Will they open it up later for other Americans to book? 

Yes, they will open up. They by no means can fill a December 1 cruise from Barbados otherwise. 

55 minutes ago, emarismom said:

Does MSC only use this Fly and Cruise process for its Caribbean market in the southern islands?

No, they also do this for selected European cruises. Especially in major school holidays they want to sell their flight contingents. The ones with own airlines like TUI (Marella) of cause especially. So it is a common practice for European cruise lines, this is not a MSC thing. 

No group charter usually, just MSC is holding back cabins for Fly and Cruise bookings. Only YC are available without booking the combo. Which probably is not available yet because they don´t have the seats for Dec 2025 yet.

Actually MSC often only gives away cabins with Fly and Cruise, you just did not realize this because it is not relevant for the US market and Florida cruises can always be booked without the flights.

On 9/16/2024 at 5:30 AM, Traveling Fools said:

The morning after our son passed, we departed his house for my BiL Tom's house in Kaiserslautern (K-Town).

A very long time during my student days I visited a football match there during a Europe trip. One of the few things I remember from this trip as it was a great experience with this huge stadium on top of a hill and excellent athomsphere during the match. 

On 9/22/2024 at 5:46 AM, canderson said:

No wine purchased through Celebrity is subject to corkage.  That said, their online price and selection for the pre-cruise purchased wine means that this isn't anything I'd spend any money on in advance if it was for myself. 

 

Here's what I'm seeing for pre-cruise with their 'discounts':

 

Decoy Cabernet, $63.00 > $55.99 (10%)

Mer Soleil Chardonnay, $68.00 > $60.99 (10%)

La Crema Pinot Noir, $50.00 > $44.99 (10%)

Corte Giara Pinot Grigio, $40.00 > $35.99 (10%)

Villa Maria "Private Bin" Sauvignon Blanc, $50 > $43.99 (11%)

 

Even a 'Classic' member gets the same 10% discount buying aboard, and 'Select' and above can all do better than this aboard (15 or 20%).

Much better prices at Black Friday sale, looking forward already to stock up. The La Crema Pinot is one of my favorites. 

Actually I usually have a mix of Celebrity pre paid wines that are delivered to the cabin and my own wines. Uncorking is done in the room. I was never asked to pay the corkage fee in the MDR. 

Best itinerary for me is Eastern Med when it includes Kotor, Dubrovnik and Zakynthos. 

Not too late, should still be available. At least it is for my cruise. 

16 hours ago, babs135 said:

Would like to hear from anyone who has recently sailed on the ship and what their thoughts are.  

Been on the Preziosa before and will be again in November. 100 percent sure that it will be a great cruise. Indeed the prize is amazing. Certainly need luck with the weather, it really can be very grim at this time. Which is the reason for the great prices obviously.

The reviews, well, listening to them it like ask a random passerby for stock market recommendations and follow him. 

Morpheus, I lost a little bit track, when will be your next EJ observations? Or did you cancel this?

10 hours ago, Jiima said:

I am from starbucks country and need to figure out if we bring our own teabags and instant starbucks coffees. 

Better be discreet, otherwise they will throw you overboard if you consume your foreign instant coffee instead of their Italian coffee 😄

A cup of paid coffee is affordable 2,40 EUR. The free coffee (free for all at the self-service buffet, free for some at the MDR) will probably not satisfy you. But it is ok, the usual quality from hotel breakfast. 

Tea selection is wide, I see no reason to complain, but I am a coffee drinker. 

11 hours ago, Kelownabccan said:

Thanks for all the comments.....have booked two back to back....

Nice.

As you are not familiar with the Canaries, here is a recommendation. You have to get the permit for going to the top of Mount Teide long in advance. The permit is free. After you got the permit grab the tickets for the cable car. And then reserve your rental car, best choice is Cicar. 

If your cruises start/end in Tenerife you can do the Teide trip either before, after or in the middle of your back to back. 

Permit: https://www.reservasparquesnacionales.es/real/ParquesNac/usu/html/detalle-actividad-oapn.aspx?ii=6ENG&cen=2&act=1
Cable car: https://www.volcanoteide.com/en/volcano_teide/teide_cable_car/teide_cable_car

This thing you have to organize by yourself. But all islands do offer great trips and MSC has good stuff reasonably priced. Make sure your excursion on Gran Canaria includes the Bandama crater. 

11 hours ago, Hilaurennn said:

Thanks Kenny - on Our recent celebrity cruise, a fellow guest told us not to book either as they are 'party ships' and good for teenagers - is this something you'd agree with? 

The Virtuosa is certainly excellent for teenagers, but unfortunately for teenagers, they have to go to school. It is very easy to spot the school holiday cruises, the price is double as "normal". 

Canary Islands in winter is excellent. No problem with rough sea and strong wind, but it is not warm enough to swim in the ocean if that is your desire. Fantastica or Aurea, no recommendation possible, depends all on yourself. 

10 hours ago, KINGBOBOFTHENORTH said:

Not. Kiel Ostuferhafen terminal is a LONG walk to Kiel Hauptbanhof.

2020 was the main cruise port next to the railway station for MSC. 

On 7/30/2024 at 3:31 AM, peder said:

I was quite surprised that, at least from the US and European websites, there were very few cabins available to book even though once we onboard, it was clear that the ship was only about half full.

At least in Malaysia MSC and RCCL mainly sell their cruises with travel agents at travel fairs and not online. 

Acqua Panna is usually available, but often enough you just get a cheap nestle non-mineral water if you not tell the waiter you want Acqua Panna.