perakcruiser

You are only writing about US wines that anyway are only available on MSC ships for this market. Surely the US wine market is not the main wine source for MSC for obvious reasons. What I know from MSC in Europe their wine selection in the YC is great. And you should not look only at the price. In Europe the average selling price of a bottle of wine is somewhat around 3€. Prices above 15€ have nothing to do with quality or production costs, that is just storytelling, marketing, demand and shortage.

I would not recommend someone who never drove on the British side of the road (which unfortunately is also the Malaysia side) to rent a car in Southampton. Also still a lot of manual gearing rental cars around in Europe.

I have been in the British pub on some MSC ships, but I really don´t remember if there was food available. I only went there for a Newcastle Brown Ale from tap 🙂What I know is that they started to have some food options (free or not) in the sports bar, because of the high demand for this from US pax who - please don´t read, American friends - seem to need food all the time during the cruise😉 That is why your question "Is food included in the bars" is difficult. Yes, I remember some small selection of pastries in some bars or other very small snacks in other bars at special times, but also tea time and breakfast is really happening at the buffet. You definitely will not have lunch or dinner in any of the pubs, bars and cafes, so you don´t need to think if included or not. None of the places has anything more than small snacks, but most have no food at all.

I understand your doubts. Especially if you like your booking. But you can do the status match already now. Just trying to get any of the benefits into your existing booking can hurt. Indeed much more than a tiny gift is worth.

Don´t think too much about the speciality restaurants, you probably will never use until you have Diamond😄 Usually the prices for the speciality restaurants are the same across the fleet.

Do we know what food is included with the cruise? I know there are 13 different dining venues, but I am unsure what we would have to pay for and what we don't have to pay for? All normal dining options are included, the so called speciality restaurants not. Same like all other MSC ships. We never used a "speciality restaurant" so far, I guess 95% of the guests never used. I noticed all the different activities like the massive slide, the bumper cars, 4D cinema, various shows etc, I was wondering how much these would cost over the course of 7 days. Shows and slides should be included, for the other stuff the prices are not too much, especially when using the entertainment pass. Nothing to worry about. What are the inside cabins like? Our last cruise was a balcony and it made all the difference, but I want to know if these are quite spacious or are they really small, compared to some of the smaller ships like the NCL Gem we was on not long ago. Insides usually have no sofa, but some do. And some inside cabins are bigger, some smaller. For me Insides are OK, not spacious, not really small. But I have no idea about the layout on the Europa of cause. With a drinks package, would these be included everywhere, like the Gin club, the Pub, and all bars around the ship? I am unsure if some places don't allow it, and you have to pay a premium? Basically the package is included everywhere, the few exceptions are clearly mentioned. Dress code? NCL was quite relaxed, and I enjoyed wearing a polo shirt and jeans for evening meals, is this acceptable on MSC or is it stricter for the main dining rooms? You will not be turned away from the MDR with this. What are the differences between a smaller ship and a large one like this? Are there long queues for drinks/food and activities or is it quite simple processes Simple.

I don´t think there will be any difference to the other MSC ships, MSC has never changed their policy on this throughout the years and ship classes. Apart from this Venchi and other vendors stuff.

I would call the prices crazy low, but that is my personal opinion, others may disagree.

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.