perakcruiser

Yes, the Anytime Dining on Celebrity did not work. On our cruise only 5:30 or 5:45 slot were available for reservation, all other times booked out. Some days all slots booked. Huge lines at 8 pm. To avoid this we ended up going very early before 6 pm which normally is too early for us. Not a big thing as long as the food is good (it was), but the free Anytime Dining from Celebrity cannot be compared to the Aurea Anytime Dining from MSC. At the beginning of Meraviglia MSC also gave Anytime Dining to Fantastica, that ended up in total chaos and was discontinued after two cruises already.

This is impossible to say, because it depends on the main chef on the ship. And this is changing. Service is the same, actually when you write "Attendant was ok, we didn’t request anything so we didn’t see him much", MSC says perfect, that is how it has to be, he should do his job and try to be invisible. But the older ships are more relaxed and the front of the ship is accessible. I do not like the design of the new ships where YC and spa block the whole front and no deck to walk completely around. Also no outside stairs in the back of the ship. It is the atmosphere on board the Preziosa thanks to the design.

Take an older ship, ideally the Preziosa or the Divina. You will like it more.

I don´t know where your soft serve trauma comes from, but don´t you think it is a little bit ridiculous? This fake ice cream is not available on any MSC ship outside the US and also Celebrity did not offer, paid or free. For a good reason, it has nothing to do with ice cream, it is made from vegetable oil and a thing that you know from IKEA or McDonalds, where it costs close to nothing, no matter which country. Parents hate it 😄 It looks like there is a demand at cruises from US, so MSC bought some machines and sells it. So what? Sorry, but there is ZERO "nickel and diming" on board of both MSC and Celebrity. I wonder if the people who assume this have ever made a holiday on land where they will find a lot of and much more nickel and diming, no matter where.

You will find a lot a comments that say that the Preziosa is the best ship. Not just from MSC. I am one of those. She is such a beauty and just the right size. Even Splendida and Fantasia are quite similar, for me still a different feeling. Divina maybe is 100% same, I never been on that ship.

Yes. I don´t know, but there is always lots of staff around that will guide you. Either to the priority line or - if there is no priority line anymore - directly in front. Any of your documents that show "AUREA". No, for this you need to have Voyager status Gold or Diamond.

You were absolutely right! The cruise points came in today absolutely correct that means double. I really did not expect this as I saw the promo only one time (at the PUP webinar about cruises in Europe). And the 5 from the webinar also. I have the feeling it is really possible to reach Elite if I only work hard enough 😄

I know nothing about holiday slots in USA, but the main thing is to avoid the European summer holidays. Deals can be made at the edge of these. And apart from summer and the two weeks christmas holidays the others are not so overpriced. You don´t need to wish me luck, so far I could find that price every year. But yes, I have recognized that it was never harder than in 2024 and so far I was not successful. OK, this year I need some luck or I will have to break the budget 😄

OK, you will always find an example like this. Certainly I would never pay 2334 for a 1 week inside on a MSC ship. I never paid it (no matter if with 1 or 2 kids) and I am cruising with them regularly for more than a decade. Certainly I look at the overall "no frills" price. I think 1300 MSC and 2600 Celebrity inside no frills is pretty normal, certainly Celebrity has also cheaper sailings sometimes.

If your are in the lucky situation that money is not a topic at all, then things are different. Celebrity keeps the prices for kids at such a ridiculous level that no further discussion is necessary. Even if kids don´t use any of the wonderful things MSC provides for them it is a no-brainer. I am not sure if MSC or Costa is the No. 1, but no others come close. For example, we last time cruises without the kids (that is why we considered Celebrity and finally took them), I told my brother about this cruise. He checked the price and his 1 year old would have paid more than his mom and dad. And I also can only emphasize that both companies have a excellent produce, but not the same produce.

If you have a straightforward booking there is absolutely no need to call. If it is more complicated - more than one cabin, different categories involved - better do it by calling.

MSC and Celebrity are our main choices, both know how to do their business, but they don´t do it the same way. Certainly both have their strong points and their weak points, but overall both offer a great product. Which line and which ship to prefer? 1. Sailing with or without kids? With kids Celebrity is not an option at all. Deal done for MSC. So we are sailing without kids and have to make the decision. I don´t think general atmosphere, crowd and better cocktails and drinking atmosphere are really useful to make a decision. MSC is more lively for sure, Celebrity usually is overstaffed which obviously is not bad for customers at the bars. Conclusion: Apart from the route, it is in the end only the price that is decisive. I have no doubt that both will provide a great time. Both have sometimes good prices, sometimes bad, depending of the time, the ship, the market... Food on Celebrity deserves a higher price per pax per day, but not a so much higher price. How much higher? 10%, 20%, 50%? That is absolutely personal.

Funny. We were cruising Celebrity last week and wondered all the time who are the "friends of Bill W" who meet EVERY DAY in one of the ships lounges / restaurants and drink on Bills tab. Wished we were his friends also.

I also saved the screenshot from the webinar with the promo.

I absolutely agree. And I think most of the negative posts and reviews come from people who think they paid too much and are unhappy with what they got. Sure, this can be true for expensive cruises, Celebrity has an enormous price range, definitely bigger than others. But if you book a Celebrity cruise for a price you find attractive, there is almost zero chance that you leave the ship unhappy. Especially as a first timer, don´t book a super expensive cruise in a top category and expect you are a real Celebrity now and been treated in that way😄

Same here. But also my cruise that finished Friday is not shown, but that maybe just takes some more days. Anyway I guess I need to contact them as I booked this cruise when they had "2x points on new 2023 Europe bookings". Pretty sure they "forgot" this.

Yes, our final bill was zero.

I was indeed on one of these ships.

On our Aida cruise the choices in the 3 buffet restaurants changed every day. For example daily specials from different Asian countries and specials from different Italian regions. Is Aida above MSC and Costa? Something to discuss, at least the two others are cheaper. And Aida had indeed higher valued cuts of beef and fish and seafood. But MSC has improved the buffet in the last years (and of cause the MDR that Aida has not), so hard to say.

Enjoy your cruise. We are on celebrity at the moment and stood behind you in Gran Canaria 😄 Also cruised Aida one time, I found it the line that is most suitable for Asians if you are not afraid of the language barrier. But this is for the Asians who are not cruising mainly for casino.

No, MSC will honor. The changed things so often already. When they moved away the free Fantastica photo, people with old bookings before the change had a * on the cruise card to show that they were qualified for the free photo. Maybe they will handle it the same way this time.

That was fun! Great athmosphere, wonderful parade. And it looked like it would rain every minute, but it did not 😄

5pm in Fuerteventura and certainly we will join. Fits perfectly to the end of the excursion from the cruise ship at 4pm as the parade starts in the harbour 🙂

MSC has, but the ports do what they want. As read here, Barcelona port one day does not care, the other they force to empty the ship. But still the very relaxed leave the ship policy is a big plus for MSC.

The Bel Air Bordeaux is a "classic" airline wine. From the old times when airlines offered food and drinks😄 Now still available, but not free. So no surprise this winery is doing business with cruise lines also. Actually I like this Bordeaux for decades, yes, nothing super special, but a wine I surely would not refuse.