perakcruiser
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Posts posted by perakcruiser
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7 hours ago, Cruising_Gals said:
You can remove them if you feel you didn't receive good services- but you can't modify them like on other lines.
This certainly depends on the nationality again. While there are maybe some nationalities that cannot modify, most can of cause. For example it is quite common for families travelling together in two cabins, that the DSC is deleted for one cabin and doubled on the other, so that the person with the highest amount of Voyager points can reach Gold or Black faster. Cutting down 50 percent is certainly also not uncommon.
6 hours ago, camofwilliamsburg said:Bar staff are not included in the daily service charge. Tipping bar staff is customary and added to bills.
Who told you this? Maybe bar staff lurging for tips? 😉
Either it is a lie, very new or only on specific sailings. Certainly on European or Asian sailings it would be a desaster for bar staff if they would been removed from the DSC with almost zero tips for them. But certainly it is possible that MSC realized that on US sailings the bar stuff gets tips, so they reduced there other earnings for fairness reasons.
10 hours ago, sidari said:Mickey ... Since the DSC has been included in UK pricing as of June 23rd 2019 my understanding is that it cannot be removed
Very simple rule in many countries, what is included in the final price cannot be removed, what is not, that cannot be collected by force, no matter it is a service charge or port fees or whatever.
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On 1/28/2020 at 8:20 AM, aprilF said:
We will need a place for lunch in between Pompeii and Herculaneum. We will have a car. Our preference would be a winery but we cant take a very long time for this meal, two hours max driving included. Any recommendations?
If you have a car and love pasta, you should really consider to visit Gragnano. Also on the Amalfi coast consider the hike „Sentiero Degli Dei“, so amazing.
Cannes, nothing special to do, but a nice city walk. Palma, there is a quite nice shopping mall very close to the port. Otherwise Palma is a classical stay on board stop if you don't want to do any of the excursions.
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10 minutes ago, KennyFla said:
The only 15% charge I have heard of is on bar drinks.
Then prepare for a couple of 15% surprises more.
And certainly the salaries on all European and Asian cruise companies are much higher, otherwise they would get no staff.
Very simple, US boats low salary, high tips, Non-US high salary, no or low tips. At the end it ends up same same, because the cruise companies know the numbers very very good.
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47 minutes ago, KennyFla said:
I read on another thread that the Daily Service charge that is automatically added to your bill goes to MSC, not the service employees on the ship. How many people cancel the auto charge and pay the employees directly? Also, what are some guidelines to tip each person?
You still refuse to understand that the DSC is not the 15% service charge on board.
Second, you should understand that MSC is a European company, staff is not living on tips, but on salaries.
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16 hours ago, orderfire said:
Oh man, this is really excellent news! Thanks for posting. ☺️
No real news, MSC had the "pillow menu" with a wide choice of pillows already in 2014. Maybe you just did not ask for it at that time. But indeed typical MSC "cruise and learn" style, not everything is black and white, you just need to know.
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15 hours ago, rkacruiser said:
When was the last time you attended an opera performance on a Carnival Cruise Line ship? Meraviglia's theater was filled to capacity that afternoon. Why would such a successful program be eliminated?
Because it is expensive and it is already almost eliminated from MSC 😥 I do not see many chances to save it, but if you were lucky to enjoy on your last cruise, please tell them!
On our last cruise on the Sea view there was zero classical music or opera so we cut down the DSC 50% and also told them how disappointed we were.
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49 minutes ago, skiierx131 said:
First time reading MSC doesn't divvy out the daily service charge in a thread like this. But it doesn't surprise me in any way.
The daily service charge is not the 15% service charge for on board services. MSC has a bonus reward and incentive system for the staff that is connected to the daily service charge in some way.
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13 minutes ago, HofstraJet said:
Have a MSC cruise booked for next month. Wondering if as the sail date approaches if MSC sends out discounts on drink packages, internet, shore excursions, etc.
Should I just book or wait for a discount?
Are any of them cheaper on board?
No discounts on these products just because the sailing is coming closer. Almost always more expensive on board. The only thing worth waiting is the cruise fare itself, if you are flexible then you can hope for a very good last minute offer in case the ship is booked not so good.
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Should be no problem at all. And the railway station is just a very short walk from the ship.
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5 minutes ago, Até said:
Whether you have the Drinks On Us package that charges 15% on each drink or purchase a' la carte and directly pay a 15% "gratuity" or have a newer drinks package that is all inclusive there is no way to tell what part of these the bartenders will actually get.
I don't know where this idea is coming from that the 15% charge for services on board is going to any staff member. This belongs to the company and goes to the company. And it is a main reason why the cruises are so cheap 🙂
But certainly you are right, how the crew is paid will probably remain undisclosed and a mystery. And the system changes all the time anyway, now with so much more tipping US pax on board, MSC surely has changed already.
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7 hours ago, geospyder said:
I learned something 🙂 As much as I've traveled I had not heard of the Schengen area. Looks like I'll be good to go.
This is important for ALL cruises is Europe, not just in the North.
If there is one non Schengen port included the things get much more bureaucratic. If all Schengen everybody can enjoy total seamless travel, even if you hold an Afghanistan passport 😄
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1 hour ago, Jembeccatoo said:
If I prepay my drink package before sailing, there is no 15% gratuity charged. Does that mean unless I tip for each drink, the bartender gets nothing at all?
The bartender certainly not gets anything of the 15%, this service charge belongs solely to the company. In Europe they have this strange concept of salary instead of gratuities 😄
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It was the Seaside and not the Seaview, but at the end of the cruise I was told that the Zipline was booked zero times during the whole cruise. So probably not included for anyone.
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1 hour ago, phissy said:
Not sold out, so thank you for the recommendation. Appreciate all the help and suggestions. Anyone have experience with Hamburg Card / multi day city pass?
I remember there was another hotel built in this area when we last time were there. So if you cannot get the Novum at your time of booking, there is a second option.
We usually buy the 9 o clock group ticket. it can be used monday to friday all the time except 6 to 9 in the morning, weekends all day. The ticket is valid for all harbour ferries also which is a great way of sightseeing. Weekends thousands of others have this idea too 😄
The Hamburg Card only makes sense if you plan to visit museums.
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10 hours ago, melnemac32 said:
Babysitting is free? Were you able to book this ahead of time? If not, when did you arraign the baby sitting? And do they baby sit for 10 month olds? I'm trying to find anything online about this... and there is a frustrating lack of details out there. Thanks!
Don´t expect too many details before you board. First cruise with MSC is always leaning time. The hotline knows nothing, don´t waste your time.
You cannot "book" the babysitting, there are fixed times. You bring the baby or not. No idea if they also take 10 months olds as our baby was 13 months as I wrote.
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On 7/30/2019 at 1:15 AM, Preziosa said:
Hotel Hafen Hamburg is Very close
The correct name is Novum Hotel Hagemann Hamburg Hafen. There at least one other Hotel Hamburg Hafen and it is far away on the other side of the river.
The hotel is good and reasonable prices, but probably sold out also.
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We were on the Mera with our 13 month old baby and it was absolutely great. Yes, babysitting is offered and it is free.
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Why on earth would anyone want to book a room for 4 with 2 persons. The cabin is not 1cm bigger, just higher chance to hit your head on the "hidden" Pullman beds 😄
Our maybe some people think in this case I can make sure one family with kids less on board, very strange.
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No drinks package needed for you.
Cirque du Soleil is the only on board activity you can book in advance. Note that Americans like it a lot, Europeans usually not so excited about it and name it a waste of money, don't know about Brits 🙂
Costa Maya itself is very bad, this is the place to do a trip to the Maya ruins. We found the prices very high "outside", this is together with Belize maybe the place to simply go with MSC. While on Roatan I would just go to the west of the island for excellent breach life by taxi (you need proper negotiation skills), no use to book excursion. You even can earn a lot of street credibility by taking a colectivo, but for this you need to walk to coxen hole centre. No colectivos pass the harbour even the map would indicate they need to.
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On 2/3/2020 at 11:02 PM, fishin' musician said:
For anyone who has sailed both lines:
Our first cruise about 15 years ago was on the Costa Mediterranea ... Just wondering how the MSC experience compares to that of our two Costa cruises (other was Costa Magica, also Caribbean)?
Well, nobody would believe now, but at this time Costa was the bigger name compared to MSC. Now they are almost irrelevant while MSC is trying to hunt down the Big Americans. It is a matter of ownership.
So nowadays Costa has nothing to offer in terms of matching Seaview or Meraviglia or Grandiosa. But if you are considering Armonia class, definitely can consider Costa also. Costa prices may look slighty higher, but as a result of some interesting lawsuits MSC vs Costa and Costa vs MSC usually no tips, no daily service charge.
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Funny to read about "European taste". Food in Poland and Portugal is quite different taste 😎
Apart from the thing that there is no "European food", MSC anyway is totally focused on Mediterranean cuisine, mainly Italian.
No food at all from Northern, Eastern or Central Europe, even they have so many guests from Germany they do not serve any German food. And that is because all guests expect from MSC that they focus on Italian food, which is what they want in their holidays. No matter if they are from Northern Europe or Eastern Asia.
On 1/28/2020 at 8:40 AM, Justalone said:So, what is European taste in cuisine? Examples?
All kinds of Primi and Secondi you are used to when travelling in Italy. If you are unfamiliar with Italy this helps:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/italian-meal_b_2626155Oh, I forgot, this is only valid for MDR, Buffet is a different thing.
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First priority: Have Santorini included.
Last priority: Have Athens included.
Certainly not because of Athens, totally worth to visit. But while Santorini and other islands are perfect for a one day stopp, Athens needs more time. Only if you really have no other option to visit Athens at all do it with a cruise.
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18 hours ago, Swedish Viking said:
Are gratuities compulsory on MSC Seaside? Please no negative comments, I only want to know if it’s yes or no. Thank you
As you know already about the gratuities, there is another similar topic, the "port taxes/fees/whatever". Same here, some nationalities need to pay, some not. If you are really Swedish I guess not need to pay. These charges cannot be removed, if MSC collects from your "market", you have to pay. Which markets MSC collects? All markets where they legally can do this, so probably all markets outside Europe and some inside Europe.
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16 hours ago, denmarks said:
Gratuities are never compulsory but if you do not want to give them then don't go on a cruise.
First, don´t give people wrong answers if you don´t know what you are talking. On MANY cruise lines gratuities are compulsory for ALL nationalities, on SOME only for some nationalities. On some the decision is free for all.
Second, it is not your business at all if somebody is deleting the gratuities or not. Or tipping or not.
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Seaview and Med questions
in MSC Cruises
Posted
So sad, Corsica is really a great highlight and a "special" thing.
As is Cinque Terre of cause. If you want to do the real hiking between the villages you have to go by yourself. Head to the railway station as early as possible, bring enough water. Very challenging, but so much joy to do. If you are not that fit, then better stick with the excursions.