perakcruiser

7 hours ago, GrandyMandy said:

Thank you. Do we have to change on the S-Bahn ? If so, how simple is it ? We will have one large case and 2 hand luggage.

Yes, it is very simple, usually the S-Bahn (you have to change at the main railway station) is at the opposite track. Actually your options are very limits, all kinds of UBER services are illegal in Germany and the airport is very, very far away from the cruise center which is in the middle of nowhere where most locals have never been in their lifes. Taxi for the whole trip will be hell expensive.

S-Bahn combined with this hansetix is the best bet I guess, I never heard of free MSC shuttles from the main railway station and I highly doubt this. But I don´t know.

2 hours ago, Europeantraveler1 said:

Well, we’re all set to go on the Grandiosa and we are all excited to experience MSC!  I think I’ll make myself a little notebook with common, Italian phrases in it so I have an easier time communicating with our Italian crew members.

 

I am sure you will have a great time on the Grandiosa but there is a quite good chance that you will not meet one Italian crew member. Yes there are some Italians in higher positions in the MDR, but the only deal with you if there is a wine problem. The vast majority of the staff comes from Indonesia and the Philippines. The usually are able to communicate in Italian and German, but they surely prefer English.

49 minutes ago, WonderMan3 said:

My understanding though is that they are given a crash course in both Italian and English, unlike an American cruise line where they only have to learn English. Having to learn two languages that are not their native tongue and the fact that they may be communicating in Italian more than English due to the make up of the clientele is likely why they are not as proficient in English.

They also have to learn basic German! 

2 minutes ago, sidari said:

Perak ... Apologies for the misunderstanding ... 😀

All good. Unfortunately my English is under Malaysian average and not improving anymore. I don´t speak English wih my daughters so I am not spoiling theirs 

13 minutes ago, sidari said:

Bea ... Unless he added the word "you" instead of "Me" meaning himself the post clearly refers to myself.

Certainly I am talking about myself. 

Every change in the Club program was terrible for us. Mostly the one, that a 6 day cruise in Bella Balcony (!) - which we did two times - is only worth 200 points! 

And two weeks in Bella 7(00) instead of 14 points. Anyway, the loyalty program is definitely not the reason we are cruising MSC, as I said, I am only interested in the priority tender tickets. 

11 minutes ago, sidari said:

Yes it would be, rumour has it that if you have a Mickey Mouse Card MSC will also match you to Black ... 😂

Great to read this when it took you eight years to gain Gold status ☠️

13 minutes ago, cinnamon said:

I wasn’t referring to where the ship’s are registered, just where the offices and company are based.

The office that handles the worldwide cruise business is in Naples, Italy. 

19 hours ago, glittergal1 said:

I am  very thank full that MSC are not like other cruise lines .  And as a Vegetarian Ive found that MSC food has been the best with the most variety and more accommodating staff for  offering even alternatives to what is on the menu.  Ive never tried Celebrity their prices compared to MSC have been ridiculously high. 

Of cause, as a Vegetarian it would be crazy to pay the extra charge for Celebrity as the top reason to book them is the higher quality of dead animals 

18 minutes ago, WonderMan3 said:

 

Is the pizza the one they serve at the main buffet? If so, I have to say it looked absolutely disgusting. 

Yes, that is a great pizza for us like a pizza should be. Called the best pizza on sea with a reason, noone comes even close. 

The thing they serve on Celebrity with this name I would not call a pizza. As I would not call the thing MSC has on the breakfast menu "Egg Benedict".

18 hours ago, glittergal1 said:

"Can't wait to read your final comparison to Celebrity"

 

 I would have thought 2 different products

like chalk n cheese

& if you favour one you may find the other less favourable . Horses for courses 

Not for me ☺️

I could criticse many things both on MSC and Celebrity, but I like them both and would never turn down a cruise with them. Obviously Celebrity has the better meat and MSC the better pizza and pasta, both deliver a great product, thankfully not the same. 

Yes the Meraviglia has a cafe. It is called Infinity Bar. I spent a lot of time there and with your consumption the non-alcoholic package is worth the money :D

Try the frozen coffee drinks!

5 hours ago, mvh said:

Believe or not, MSC could not answer this question on the phone.

They also cannot or are not willing to answer this by E-Mail. 

But there is indeed one big advantage, priority tickets for the tender boats. I hated to line up to get an early number for so many  years since our first MSC cruise. So I expected that this will be put away for Gold when I reach it, but so far it stills exists. 

2 hours ago, aravindndeepa said:

perakcruiser - only planning to dine in main dining room .other than main dining rooms and buffet, any other area food covered part of fantastica or cruise fare?

Yes, indeed. There are sandwiches and small cakes available in der Bar del Duomo cafe. This is very nice when you want to have a real cappuccino in the afternoon and not hang around with the masses at the buffet. 

Edit: Oh, question already answered correctly by someone else ☺️

1 hour ago, Beamafar said:

They used to just leave the bottle - even when I was the only one drinking it and, yes, it was much more convenient to pour as you required rather than have to wait for a waiter to come and top you up.

OK, I was not thinking about this option, this could be a gamechanger.

6 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

 

They have better quality wines by the glass on both packages, P, and they're all more than €17 a bottle.

Yes,  I know. But still cannot understand why these 17 to 25 Euro bottles are not included. It is a small thing, but we are prefering to have a bottle on the table for the dinner and help ourselves. Instead of asking the waiter from bringing another glass and waiting if he finds it or not and so on. We all know the "Sorry no have" 15 minutes after ordering, with bottles at least you have to manage this only one time at the biginning of the evening. 

We worked hard on testing all the bottles they have and find out our favourites, now all gone and only these for us useless AI packages, great ☔

48 minutes ago, jkrislc said:

Thanks for the replies. That's what I figured unfortunately. Had they not discontinued the drink vouchers for Fantastica, this wouldn't be a problem for us. 

That was only a "welcome" promotion when MSC entered the US market that was not available for anyone else. But maybe the price gap between Bella and Fantastica was bigger in the US, in Europe it is only around 50 Euros, sometimes less. 

It is totally ridiculous that so many of this super expensive spirits and champagne is included in the premium and premium plus, but a simple 17 Euro bottle (!) of wine is not. 

Had a phonecall with MSC yesterday, all is discontinued expect the four AI packages. They understand the unhappiness, but the decision was made in the HQ for all markets. 

Oh, the kicked out the Fantastica Balcony guests from the La Pergola. And you can read this also in the way that even Aurea Balcony cannot dine in the La Pergola, only Aurea suite. Typical MSC style, if you can create confusion, create it 

Yes, there are special Christmas and Easter menus.

1 hour ago, Beamafar said:

The dinner menu is only available on US-based sailings;  the majority of MSC sailings are non-US based and a lot of people only have experience on those - hence the confusion.

Now as you write this ... 

Indeed I never saw this dinner menu on any MSC cruise, also not in the Carribean, but indeed we never sailed from the US. What I meant was that you only can get the dinner menu from the MDR delivered to your cabin if it is confirmed that you are too sick to attend. 

On 4/4/2019 at 12:29 AM, LaCal said:

But does having a suite w Aurea pkg have any other room perks like free delivery on the dinner menu? 

 

Dinner is never delivered to your cabin, no matter what Experience you booked, paid or unpaid. Only if you are sick (confirmed by the hospital onboard), they will deliver to your cabin. 

1 hour ago, DCGuy64 said:

I believe the MSC for Me app is designed SOLELY for cruise passengers actually on board the ship, so using it any other time is only likely to drive you crazy.

Yes, immediately after disembarkation everything is gone and before getting on the ship it is more or less useless. 

17 hours ago, ranchette said:

Is there anything else needed beside your embarkation form and passport when you get on the ship?

What is "embarkation form"? Never had this.

Will be on the Seaview in two weeks, and yes I love the MSC cheesecake too. Will monitor the situation very closely. 

They already changed the rabbit in my favourite pasta dish to chicken, don´t gamble too much, my Italian friends ⚡

54 minutes ago, CarolR said:

We tried to order regular coffee for the next few nights and it caused so much confusion that we gave up the ghost and headed up to the buffet for a cup of coffee. 

Well, the confusion is that other passengers need to wait 15 minutes for their desserts, because the waiter is away to pick up a cappuccino from the next coffee bar for you. 

I have to admit that one time I also asked to get one - yes, I know, only Espresso is allowed after dinner, but I am not Italian and have no Italian heritage ☺️  - the waiter told me no coffee available, he would need to go to the San Marco Cafe to get one. So I went there and picked it up by myself. Would be nice if MSC would offer coffee in the MDR, but only if it not slows down the menu serving. We have two kids, waiting for dessert is not the biggest strength ☢️