perakcruiser

Memo to myself, there will be incredible good offers for the Euribia in winter 23/24 😄 But as far as I know there is almost no difference between the Euribia and the Virtuosa/Grandiosa.

That is correct. There is a kids version and adults version. If they do it at the moment (and on which boats) that I don´t know.

Fantastica is a nice ship. As it is your first MSC cruise it is not a big thing which ship. I would just take the $100 and ignore all the trouble.

Just checked it, it is not showing available: "Al momento non c'è disponibilità per la data scelta. Per favore seleziona un'altra partenza". You also can see that the route map is removed for the Euribia. Usually they do, but I guess because it is the New Years cruise the change request has to go thru Napoli. Still thinking in the end @Stockjock will be allowed to change to the World Europa for free.

No drinks package included, but don´t get too excited. These (very few) cabins are usually sold out.

Here it is about something else. MSC follows the Italian tradition of start something not fully prepared and just hope the best. The ship is not ready, the crew is not ready? No problem, after some time things will improve. A German or UK line definitely would cancel or delay. Just a few weeks before MSC had real troubles with the Seaside but tried to continue. Finally they gave up and put the ship out of service for some time.

Ok, I should have trusted my knowledge in MSC language more 😄

Unfortunately not handling the US market. And for legal reasons also not willing to do. But I think when the numbers for 2022 are calculated quite a number of US TA will get the highest rank from MSC in 2023.

What @Stockjock did not mention - probably because it is not relevant for him - is the killer pro for most of the guests. "Kids cruise free" and the totally amazing free of any charges Kids Club and attitude towards young guests that is not even closely matched by any other line. Agreed with @CampNCruise74, yes, the multi-language stuff can be tedious, but it is also an irreplaceable gesture of respect to all guests on board. OK, not all, but most.

I am not a TA but I know the system of MSC. You have to have the MSC TA rank "COMMANDER" to get a good connection to MSC. My TA is a "Commander" 😄 and has a very good connection to MSC, even can change a Bella booking that technically cannot be changed. Commanders also get special bonuses, incentives and so on. Usually all TA have a special connection with one or two lines and then of cause they will try to move their clients to these lines.

You should include the date of your cruise in the title so people know what cruise you are talking. Would be very helpful.

In MSC language " "This cruise is fully booked" usually means "This cruise is cancelled". But don´t worry, in that cases always check first the ITALIAN website https://www.msccrociere.it/ All kinds of changes can be found here first and it is the best source for availability. And there you will find all kinds of cabins available for booking including YC.

I am sure your TA has the lowest rank with MSC and is more or less ignored by MSC, so he started to ignore MSC, because he anyway has no chance to reach a higher tier 😄

Actually this is a quite normal price for these first cruises. Believe it or not, even the first 4 nighter on the brand new World Europe after the World Cup costs only $139 for inside or $259 for balcony (with 100 OBC, so it´s a steal for 159). People just need to understand that this is a TEST RUN and they are not cruising almost for free because MSC made a pricing mistake 😉

You are on the 4th November cruise? As far as I know the ship is at least empty before it starts it´s winter schedule from Southampton.

Oh yes, they do. And it is higher than other cruises for 7 nights, €84 instead of €70.

If you are not forced to or can opt to include this during the booking it will be added onto your account on a daily basis. Only in this case you can change or remove. The charge depends on the route and age.

OK. Just checked, as expected all kinds of cabins including YC are available.

This is a cultural business gap. The anglo-american world is giving local staff the rights to decide things, in southern Europe and all of Asia everything has to go thru HQ. EVERYTHING in Malaysia, the local branch of a business cannot make the smallest decision without approval from HQ. It is the same thing in the other direction. Had this a couple of years before, we were told better just drop the luggage and go sightseeing in Venice and come back late afternoon when the chaos has ended. Which we did, had a great day in Venice and in the evening we could more or less walk directly on the ship. Sure MSC is to blame here, but definitely also the port authorities. I know that some ports are far away from everything and leaving is not really an option. But Venice or Genoa or Napoli are perfect.

You are not writing where you embark. Different ports have different allocations, but basically it is totally impossible that a cruise in November 2023 is fully booked.

No, the WE will go back to work on Dec 20. Doha and Dammam are on the itinerary.

Totally strange as ALL cruise lines I know charge you for picking the cabin by yourself. Maybe some where the base fare is already 10 times higher than MSC not. And the surcharge for Fantastica is so tiny, all others I know charge much more. And definitely MSC is the not the best line, but the line with the most "equitable environment".But I guess you are right not to go with MSC, it is probably just not the suitable product for you.

Sometimes day passes are available, sometimes not. During COVID hard times no day or week passes at all on board, only pre booked. If that has changed now, I don´t know. I don´t remember the price of the day or week passes on board, just remember that they are much more expensive than in advance.

If you booked via MSC you need to call them, if you booked TA you need to ask them.

Just don´t touch the booking and nothing will be changed. But yes, if you read "2nd seating" on your cruise card, you have to go to the maitre d to change.