perakcruiser

Orchestra Armonia Poesia Splendida Preziosa (my favorite ship) Meraviglia Armonia again Virtuosa Seaview Virtuosa again Musica (finally as Diamond) This year I hoped for the World Europa, but routing and pricing set us for a third round on Armonia 🙂

That is very kind of you and deserves a thumbs up instead of pummel. But what are you talking? Do you have any idea what a worker a McD, PizzaHut, Dominos, ..., makes a month in Jakarta or Manila? It is not $900, but $200 and no free pizzas or accommodation. And zero tips. 900 a month from which you easily can save 800 is a dream salary which is why so many Indos and Pinoys dream about a job at a (western) cruise line. But no Malaysians, almost no Thais. But with a monthly salary of $900 you are also extremely attractive on the marriage market in Indonesia and Philippines, that is why even these young folks are usually already married and have kids. That is the really brutal thing, not being able to see your wife and kids for many months, not what you consider a tiny salary.

No, it is Italian setup (sometimes in Spain also), that leaves other Europeans stunned and confused as you 😉

In my opinion it is pretty simple, you book Aurea because of the cabin (as Aurea is the only option to get one of the best cabins on the ship) and you book YC because of the experience. And you book the best cabins in YC to combine the two things 🙂 @texangal39 Congratulations, especially for the World Europa cruise. I hope you start in Naples, but anyway, do yourself a favor and some detailed research about the destinations to make this a really great experience.

Interesting! In other languages MSC uses a stronger language: "For this reason, MSC does not recommend tipping individual employees as we believe in equal opportunities for all." But your point #4 certainly is a good definition. If you want to make a personal gift to someone, it is not the business of the cruise line and anyway it does not hurt others. Certainly completely anti-social behavior would be to delete the DSC and give all the money to one person.

This is normal, but usually MSC adds more slots. Just check regularly before the cruise and then head straight to the excursions desks and try to book or get on the waiting list. If this fails, which I don´t think, then plan B. I don´t know. I always took the free port (not MSC) shuttle bus to town center. From there it is a 1,5 km walk to the train station. I would not count on any taxis, but Uber, Bolt and others are available if your parents can´t do the walk. Not sure if they are allowed to enter the port area. This I also don´t know. But for all of North Africa the answer "It depends on your negotiation skills" is never wrong. Speaking some French also helps. No, no, no! Amalfi coast is a totally different world, it is one of the best places of all Europe! Not just an ordinary beach. Great in April as well as November. Actually my first advice after many cruises in the Med, choose Naples as your starting or ending point. And then enjoy some days in the area that has so much to offer. If you like pasta, a visit to the pasta capital Gragnano is a must. On the ship on one or two nights MSC is generous and offers dishes with pasta from Gragnano in the MDR, in YC of cause you can have it every day. Go to Gragnano and buy some for home. Strolling along the „Sentiero degli Dei“ (path of the gods) is breathtaking. My mom had no problems at age 72, but if it is suitable for your parents you need to check. If not you still have the road trip from Salerno to Positano (and onwards to Sorrento for Capri). Whatever, yes, Pompeii and Naples itself, sure, great, a must, but don´t limit yourself to that. I would not be surprised if you rate at the end of your trip the Amalfi coast as No. 1 of all you have seen.

Maybe. But you will not know before arriving in Florence and look out for MSC staff in the airport. Child seat rules are indeed a problem (everywhere in Europe). Be prepared that you maybe only can use trains and local busses. Which is not a big thing, there is a bus from Florence airport to Pisa you can use and kids under 4 are free on this bus as well. MSC excursions can be done will kids and your little one is free here as well. If your ship departs at 8pm you should check in until 6 pm. If you arrive later then that, call them. Embarkation time in Livorno has zero meaning, you can show up anytime until 6 pm. Correct. Don´t be too optimistic that the baby will stay in the baby club alone the whole two hour slot 🙂 Yes, no problem. Here I would consider the MSC tour Aix and Avignon. Handle this individually is already a hassle without kids. If your budget allows you only one MSC tour on this trip, choose this one. By no means the pace of the MSC tour is too fast for the kids. No problem. My impression of Tunisia is that no one cares about the car seats there. Or any other driving rules. Yes, but all the Italian wines you will get in Naples also. Certainly also Barolo, Chianti, ... No use to buy them in Florence already. Allow me my harsh opinion that there are no local wines in Barcelona that are worth the hassle to be brought home. Of cause Marseille is different, I fully understand that you want to shop wine in France. The ship docks very close to the town center, there is a lot to see on a stroll that can easily be done with the kids, no need to plan anything. Beach in April is not really attractive.

As you know for most guests the daily gratuity is mandatory and even has to be paid before the cruise. Just US pax can theoretically remove it. Why is MSC doing so? Because US pax contrary to Europeans do not remove it. If they would, MSC would immediately make it mandatory also. The whole discussion is completely irrelevant, MSC collects the daily gratuity and collects the 18% extra service charge on board. If MSC allows certain nationalities to cancel the daily gratuity because they think these people will not, that is their risk, but surely they have the numbers to know how big this risk is.

Certainly all Euro matches will be shown, no matter which ship and where. When I sailed in the Caribbean with MSC in 2019 they surprisingly failed to show Formula 1 as they could not get a signal there. As F1 is now more popular in the US maybe this has changed. In June there is the T20 cricket World Cup in the US and West Indies. It probably is the sports highlight of 2024 on planet earth. But I do not trust MSC to be prepared for it😉

I was on the first cruise with discontinued Anytime Dining for Fantastica. The staff was still traumatized from it and the higher ranks from F&B refused to talk about it at all. I guess in official MSC speech this thing has never happened. So it did not insist even I had documents with Fantastica and Anytime 😄

Well, it is not totally. The machine readable part of your passport does not include middle names. And a first name “Mary-Jane” is written as Maryjane. A missing middle name is never a problem, no matter if airline or cruise line.

Did the Valentines Day promo start today?

Booked a Bella inside, got a Bella inside a few days later. But in the aft on a high deck, happy with the cabin, no interest to switch for free to a OV low deck in front 🙂

Yes, not just Chinese market, many cruise lines publish their Asian cruises only local.

Well, after experiencing the desserts in Istanbul, you will probably find any dessert anywhere else "less sweet". Which be no means is a reason to avoid the desserts in Turkey 🙂 Do not forget the mandatory visit at Hafiz Mustafa on Istiklal Street, they know how to do desserts since 1864. Or any other of the "legends" in Istanbul.

If MSC not would allow primi before secondi on a cruise in the Med I guess three months later they would go out of business 😄

I would say the Magnifica is pretty comparable to the celebrity infinity. Not much for kids compared to the other MSC ships. And end of April is no school holiday time, so the family factor is not relevant. You are avoiding the Easter and Pentecost madness, when the Europeans come even to the Caribbean in masses 😄 Food is generally good, but as you will already have guessed when seeing MSCs prices, it cannot compete with celebrity. Except pizza and pasta of cause.

Meanwhile I am not excited about all the new ships from MSC to much. I just hope that the grand old ladies like Armonia and Musica will continue to sail forever. Good thing, MSC is usually keeping it in the family and not hiring these consultants that tell them "oh, the ARPU or whatever number of this old shop is not so good, you better sell it or scrap".

SB050 is a current promo and has nothing to do with Voyagers Club.

I am also on the Armonia this year, but I do not start from Venice. I wonder how it works with the non-disembarking guests. They get a tender to Stazione Marittima from MSC?

It is no problem to change the cabin when onboard. But no extra key. We had to do the same on our last booking because my brother and his wife had no VC status to get the booking discount. Actually my brother had, but he could not log in with his VC data. After boarding he got back his silver status from MSC and his wife from me.

Which languages do you speak? You are definitely wrong, but certainly different markets have different rules. Not just that the cruise line must compensate you for the flights you booked, you even have the right to book a similar cruise and MSC cannot charge you more. Let´s say you have a Fantasia cruise from Barcelona for one week, MSC cancels the Fantasia, you can book the World Europa for the same date and not need to worry about the price.

This is only true for the new MSC ships. The Armonia for example is very comparable to the Infinity. As a enthusiastic MSC and Celebrity cruiser I think I can recommend you MSC with no limitations. MSC is king in the Med. Their many different itineraries cover all wishes. Well, certainly there are limitations. If you cruise the Med in European summer holiday it is very busy. "Too old" is never a problem as the Italians love to cruise with all generations alive, so there will also be a lot of 90+ old guests. And all other ages as well. Overall, simple rule, if you can enjoy holiday in Italy, you will enjoy your cruise with MSC.

You cannot book MSC in Thailand or Malaysia, you have to chose another market. To get the best possible consumer protection we prefer book in EU.

This is not true. If the MSC cruise is bought under EU law, the cruise line has to pay the flights when a cruise is cancelled or modified. But the amount is limited. When Celebrity change my last cruise they offered to refund the flight uo to 250 $ per person. But in this case I would opt for the full refund and take the Costa Toscana. Flights from Barcelona to London are millions with all the European AirAsias 😉