perakcruiser

Absolutely! Don´t leave the ship without sorting this out. 

5 hours ago, Curious about cruises said:

Can anyone recommend specific nights for the specialty restaurants based on the MDR menus for the nights so that we avoid the 'misses'? 

No, forget about these hits and misses. Certainly the will be nights with a menu that not fits you so much than other nights. You can the the menu for the whole week in the app (only while you are on the ship). So you can make the decision for your speciality nights on the first day on board. 

No idea if they offer Liwa oasis (from Abu Dhabi) but that place is so amazing. Burj Khalifa is a must, but this you do by yourself. Buy the tickets online well in advance.

I find it very strange that the OC Island Tea costs only USD 6. 

Would take one even I would have no drinks package and usually don´t drink cocktails :D

Let the YC restaurant staff sing "For he's a jolly good fellow" for you with every meal conducted by your butler. Yes, every meal includes breakfast also, certainly. 

8 hours ago, SteelCruisin said:

We will be taking our first cruise in the Med this Spring and were wondering which of the following ports will require us to take a shuttle into town... Barcelona, Marseille, Genoa, Naples, Messina and Valletta.... also would a taxi be more affordable for a group of 4....thanks in advance!

According to your level of fitness and lazyness everything except Marseille is walking distance.

Genoa, Messina, Valletta, Naples is more or less directly in city center. Ignore the long line at the elevator in Valletta, just a couple of stairs. Or if you don´t want to do the stairs, continue a few meters and go the normal road.

Marseille you need a plan, either the shuttle to city or a tour to very interesting places like Avignon, Aix ...

Barcelona is walkable, done it many times, 2,5 km to Drassanes Metro. Shuttle busses are available.

17 minutes ago, Bollinge said:

As you say, I have been on over fifty cruises, but this is the first time I have found the gratuity to be a surcharge and not a tip for the bar staff.

Well, you are cruising MSC much longer than me, 2003 compared to 2011, but in all the years I never heard that this "Bar or Spa Service Charge" goes to the staff. Costa samesame. And realistically, if it would go to the staff, MSC would cut their wages exactly corresponding. I don´t believe any cruise line is paying much better than the others. I talked also to Indo staff that was working for different lines before "Why are you not working on the American ships where you get all these high tips?". And the unsurprising answer was "More tips, less salary, at the end, not much difference, higher position after some years with the same line is much more important".  

11 hours ago, heatherb1958 said:

Each cabin has a glass carafe , on each cabin deck there is a filtered water station, you just fill up and store in your cabin fridge , no charge , no single use plastic.

The German cruise lines have this also. But MSC probably will never follow this example. Meanwhile I am used to the one filtered water station at the buffet. As long as they don´t close this I am happy :)

On 1/11/2020 at 2:05 AM, WonderMan3 said:

There are plenty of other things to see and do in Barcelona beyond Montjuic and La Rambla; Sagrada Familia basilica, the Gaudi houses (La Pedrera and Casa Batllo), strolling through the historic Gothic Quarter, Parc Guell are what I can think off the top of my head. Or you could take an excursion outside of the city to the monastery in the mountains of Montserrat...

Yes, but these are the total mainstream things done before not just once. Even Montserrat already been two times, probably have to do it again when our kids are older so they can enjoy. That is the curse of Europes favorite cruise and weekend trips destination. 

4 hours ago, Bollinge said:

Two different bartenders told me that the 15% service charge or gratuity, call it what you will, does not go to them, and is merely a sneaky way of increasing prices.

Certainly it does not go to them but to the cruise company. Cannot believe that after so many cruises you thought it is different. If the 15% would go to the bartender all of us would quit their jobs to become a bartender :D

4 hours ago, Bollinge said:

€9.80 for a Bloody Mary? All the cruise lines buy their liquor at duty-free prices!

Also like it always has been. Cruises are cheap, meals are included, drinks are very expensive. If you want to enjoy cocktails, just buy a drinks package. Or go to all inclusive lines.

2 hours ago, Danny61231 said:

My daughter is 6 and my son is 3.

No dress code for small kids. But the Italians on board will dress their kids better than we ourselves on elegant night.

2 hours ago, Danny61231 said:

The menu also listed things such as burgers and wings but it appeared that those would cost extra?

Nothing is free except the very limited continental breakfast. But I am used to fantastica interior with four beds, believe me, you don't want the room service.

On 1/7/2020 at 11:49 PM, fieldsofflowers said:

I have seen a webpage article describing flexi late and flexi early for fantastica and i am not sure if this is what I have.

This is very outdated information. On the Meraviglia on the first few weeks Fantastica guests indeed had flexi dining, but that was canceled in 2017 already as it ended up in chaos. My choice flexi dining only for Aurea since then

8 hours ago, Sarmiento2 said:

Will I be able to do it through app once on board? 

Yes, but 15% more expensive. Better call MSC now to book or your TA if you did not book directly with them.

Sailed the Armonia in 2011 and 2018, nothing to complain about. Yes, not a fancy new ship, but a classical cruise ship everybody can enjoy. Everything is in good condition, the ship is maintained very well. 

Bonus: If you are qualified for My Choice dining, La Pergola restaurant will give you a better experience and better food than the My Choice on the newer and bigger ships. 

On 1/9/2020 at 1:59 PM, WonderMan3 said:

Pestobene in central Genoa was the best I have ever tasted. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187823-d15188249-Reviews-Pestobene-Genoa_Italian_Riviera_Liguria.html

Yeah, we have been to that place also, Pestobene is so amazing. 

But I enjoyed even better pesto, the place is called Cavour 21. But that was a couple of years before and the woman behind the pesto, Alfonsina Trucco, was already about 90 years old. Anyway, i highly recommend to visit Pestobene and Cavour 21. 

On 1/9/2020 at 12:02 PM, aprilF said:

Also, if I had a choice between the towns you list as accessible via Genoa and going to Pisa (if we dont need a second day in CT), I'd choose Pisa. 

Don´t do this, Pisa is really too far away and Italian railway is not super reliable, especially the Toscana region is famous for trouble. 

On 1/9/2020 at 1:59 PM, WonderMan3 said:

Use the train to maximize your time (if you feel comfortable; it’s safe but watch for pickpockets) possibly combined with a ferry boat to get a sea view of the villages.

Unfortunately off season (October onwards) the ferry boats are very limited and not too helpful if you want to go to the - in my view - best villages. 

We took the train from La Spezia to Manorla and walked to Corniglia and Vernazza. From there train back to La Spezia, but there was enough time to hop of in Riomaggiore (careful, technically not allowed, but the crowds make it "safe"). I found Riomaggiore not worth the stop, the other places were much better. Note that the walk cannot be done along the coastline, it was closed in 2019 for some years already for "renovation". The hike up and along the hills is tough but the views are really great. The train ticket is always 4 Euro, no matter to which village you go. 

On 1/6/2020 at 1:37 PM, WonderMan3 said:

It's not necessary to go all the way to the Cinque Terre to find something to do from Genoa. First of all Genoa itself is good for a walk around through the historic area if you've never been before (having a guide or at least a guide book would be recommended). We did a food tasting tour there that was wonderful. You definitely want to check out the focaccia and the pesto. The waterfront area has been revitalized in recent years with an aquarium, ferris wheel, restaurants, etc.

While I don´t like the waterfront too much, I certainly agree that Genoa is a nice place for a city walk, certainly we also had a big focus on Pesto when we did that two times meanwhile, had some brillant stuff together with other food. But a third time I would not need to walk around Genua. 

On 1/6/2020 at 1:37 PM, WonderMan3 said:

Going outside of Genoa you have Portofino, Santa Margherita, Camogli and Sestri Levante which are all wonderful seaside towns with great shops, cafes and beautiful views all an hour or less away by car (faster by train I assume).

 

And to call Barcelona "boring" is a bit of a head scratcher. But each to their own I guess...

Misunderstanding. I don´t call Barcelona boring, I call the port boring and the walk from the port to La Rambla. As alternative we also walked up Montjuic, no need to do again. So I don´t really see anything to do in Barcelona nowadays off a cruise ship. While I would not say no at all if I would have to live there for the next years :)

Yes, the places outside Genoa are probably good recommendations. Will go to one next time by train. If we not start the cruise in Genoa. 

All wine bottle packages gone

Very sad story, but unfortunately this is not uncommon, I know some cases with the passport // residence permit trap. And the cruise lines REFUSE to tell you if you need a visa or not. Another problem is that for some countries you don´t need a visa if you enter via airplane, but they consider als port entry as a overland entry. 

If you want to be on the safe side you need to follow all entry rules concerning your PASSPORT and not the rights your ID, residence permit whatever gives you. I know this is extremely annoying as these visa are usually a pain to get and so expensive.

12 hours ago, daisy-mae said:

and I believe it was because we were in the Fantastica category.

Has nothing to do with Bella or Fantastica, you got it because you are from Canada or US. 

22 hours ago, new.b.cruiser said:

Hello, 

Can someone tell me the gratuity breakdown on msc sailing to the Caribbean? I cannot for the life of me find it on their website and would like to know how it gets split among the staff.

Thank you! 

Was never disclosed and anyway according to staff the formula is so complicated, nobody understands and it changes all the time*. If anyone on the ship tells you the breakdown, don´t believe it, I am quite sure, that there is not one person knowing it. 

* For example with now so many drinks packages around the sales of drinks is not a factor anymore for the waiters in the MDR I was told. 

Been on so many cruises in the Med but I really can´t tell which side is better. I guess aft cabins give you the best views. But certainly I would totally prefer the experience of Whirlpool cabins no matter where on the ship they are located.

Huh, few days passed already, time to continue ...

FOOD (you will not skip this)

Anyway, much more important than the service is the food itself. And now it is time for happiness, let´s start with the MDR. Many of our pasta favourites available, the fresh made pasta on board like the Tortelli stuffed with aspargus and mascarpone or the squid ink Tortelloni with salmon and sparkling wine, so, so, so amazing. Which I knew before, so certainly that days I skipped other courses and ordered two servings. Also the normal pasta dishes were spotless, and yes, sometimes Gragnano pasta was donated to the passengers, well, this is the reason why we sail MSC. If you ever read Paccheri (it is just a pasta shape, not a brand, but usually impossible to get outside Italy) on the menu, order, this is a order.

I don´t need to say anything about the Pizza, everyone knows. One thing is worth to mention, MSC did something new to please the Asian guests, black charcoal Pizza available, I would have never expected to see this outside East Asia. Made the Chinese, Japanese, Koreans happy, us also.

The above is not too spectacular, but this is. A very good beef fillet on the menu, not thin cut as usual with MSC, a real thick piece. Nice! And oh my god, that day even at the cutting station in the buffet they had beef fillet, this is completely unseen! Huge plus point, this will not be unrewarded.

The Seaview class has two buffets, a big one with the signature outside sitting area. Selection is great, every day so many different options, you cannot expect more (expect expensive seafood which is certainly restricted to the YC, we did not forget, that we still paid MSC prices). Nice, but we would still prefer the MDR. But the small buffet on the highest deck is a kind of gamechanger. There they do a speciality night EVERY night with - logically - a totally different menu. The theme nights include Asian (first time to see jiaozi on board), Bavarian (!), Mexican, Italian and so on. Mainly ONLY this regional food, so it is indeed special. And the food was really great and truely authentic, don´t miss the Bavarian night, even MSC as a quite big idea of Bavaria, it includes Austria and even Hungary :D

Well done, MSC, the food on Seaview gets full points.

Before anyone asks: The speciality restaurants were tucked away in an area you will not pass, but I had a look. As it was a cruise in the Med (that means almost zero Black Card holders), these places were as empty as they used to be. Actually on my visits I never saw any guests, but they continued to try to to sell this Trio-Dinner-Packages.

The Americans also need to pay port taxes. 

And technically MSC can cancel your booking completely if they are in the mood for this, because they - again technically - not accept non-resident bookings. I am sure the travel agents in the US know tricks how to avoid this so they can make that business. Just be aware of it. 

Don´t buy the drink package, no use for you. Choose a cabin as close to the buffet as possible, you did already, great. By the way, no "juices", only for breakfast. Fantastica Balcony should qualify for the My Choice restaurant, at least it did in 2018.