Best Cat Mom

When you receive your eTicket, it should list both names (if you're in the same cabin) and your status should be right next to your names: One you're onboard, you can use this as "proof" of your status in case you have any difficulties getting the free dinner or other benefits.

We did it online a few years back. I searched just now and found this page: https://www.msccruisesusa.com/manage-booking/msc-voyagers-club/status-match Your Travel Agent or MSC Cruise Concierge may have other suggestions for the best way to get your status match processed faster.

MSC will award status based on your level with other cruise lines as well as hotels. Use whatever your highest status is to get your best MSC match. I used my Marriott Titanium Lifetime status and was given MSC Diamond. My husband used his Hilton Gold status and received MSC Gold.

Hmmm... does this present an opportunity to change the devices when you are back on the ship? I've seen so many messages that caution once you've chosen a device to use on the MSC wifi, you are "stuck" with it. When you reconnect on the ship, would it be possible to connect a different device?

Our expectations are more than just 'how is the food' -- it is the full dining experience. From how the maitre d' treats us ("you never get a second chance to make a first impression" is a saying familiar to most Americans), to where we're seated, to the ambience of the dining room, and (even) to our own moods that evening -- these are all facets of how we might consider our dining experience on a specific evening. Each cruiser has different expectations of all these facets. Some may want a different experience than others. We stopped cruising NCL, even in Haven, because we did not find the overall experience what we wanted. MSC's Yacht Club works for us. We believe that everyone should be allowed to determine their own requirements and decide how to best meet them without judgement from others.

We have -- but thank you SO much. Again, hope he is back to normal soon.

Thanks for the info. Maybe our YC will be empty enough that we'll avoid it. Or not. I hate to eat on One Deck all the time just to avoid it. But if this ship is at full capacity, maybe we'll do that. And hope your spouse gets well soon!

Perhaps you are correct. I just know that the website had us listed as expired and the cruise concierge helped us get it back. As is typical with MSC, experiences of others may be different.

Sounds like you were in Yacht Club -- correct? We're used to YC where there is typically more personal space than the rest of the ship so just wanted to clarify. (We cruise this weekend for a 12-day and we're hoping to avoid infection.)

I think you meant me LOL. Each time we boarded, the maitre d' in the YC restaurant wanted an approximate time of our preferred dining so that they could make sure they wouldn't have every YC cabin show up at the same time. If you traveled during Covid, maybe that was not an issue? Also, the maitre d' was the one who did the fresh cooked pasta for each meal (well, lunches and dinners). Did they not do that at all on your cruises either? We did eat every meal in the YC restaurant except maybe 2 or 3 at the One Pool grill and the one complementary Diamond dinner in Butchers Cut so we saw the maitre d' at least once per day every day. We never knew who was our head butler either sailing, btw. I guess we were fortunate that we did not need to that individual. I do think that the maitre d' was especially present at breakfast each day so that might be your best time to catch him/her. We were typically the last ones seated for breakfast; keep that in mind as well as you try to make contact with them. I hope your next cruise is more in line with all that you're reading on the boards. Our cruises have been so wonderful in YC that we don't think we'll ever sail in NCL Haven again. We even sold all our CruiseNext certificates on eBay (we had 6).

Ours had expired prior to us booking our 29 September cruise (which became a 9 October cruise due to Hurricane Ian). The cruise concierge from MSC sent me instructions as to how to re-instate our Diamond status via email. It was processed in less than 48 hours and we are now Diamond once again. The cruise concierge said that even though statuses had expired due to Covid, they are re-instating people. I never asked what the threshold was -- sorry! It had been nearly 3 years since we cruised last. PS: Has anyone else tried the new Cruise Concierge program? Access it via the "Call Me" pop up on the MSC web site. I had a dedicated Cruise Concierge for our sailing and he called me back within 15 minutes every time I had a question or needed assistance. Much better than calling in to the "regular" number!

We have special dietary needs. To accommodate them, we were always given the YC menus a day in advance so we could choose our meals and give the kitchen time to make any alterations. This occurred both on the Seaside YC in the Caribbean and on Fantasia YC in the Med. They cover the procedure when you first board and meet with the maitre d. We saw everyone in YC have a quick meeting that first day, even if no special needs existed. This is typically the time they ask you about what you'd like for your table in YC, what approximate time you think you want to dine, etc.

I'm happy that this helped! Gotta have Bailey's in the morning coffee else why bother? LOL See you in the Top Sail Lounge and safe travels to both of you as well! J and A

Oldsweets -- I believe that MSC uses the title 'assistant butler' for room steward. We did not realize that our first time in the YC as well. We were looking for this third person until we figured it out. I hope now that you know more about what to expect and request in YC, your next cruise will be even better. I know that each of our cruises get better and better. And we're always so thankful for all that service that we can't consider anything other than booking in YC again!

Phissy, we are on that same sailing with you and I received my email today requesting my Yacht Club selections. I recall that type of pre-boarding preparation when we sailed Haven on NCL as well. We would request Bailey's Irish Cream for one of our 3 in-suite bottles so we'd have it accessible each morning to add to our coffee. When last on MSC's YC, we asked our butler for same. He said that they did not have it available in "nip" size but instead put 2 glasses of it (covered with plastic wrap) in the fridge every evening. A bottle might be more convenient at times, but knowing that you can get any alcohol at any time when you're in YC makes the bottle selection nearly unnecessary to us. I guess it helps the butlers, though, since they don't have to bring as many drinks to each cabin. It is a nice new touch to add to the many good reasons to book YC. 🙂

My TA is on a cruise out of Port Canaveral and also is getting extra days due to the hurricane. He told me that once the storm is away from the port, part of the work to be done to allow ships to dock is a sonar check underwater to look for any sunken objects. I'm not sure how long that would take in addition to all the visible clean up needed (in case they don't mention this to any of you on board and waiting).

I'm curious if they will charge you the daily service gratuities for the extra days. Did they say if they would? If not, could you report back after you get your final bill? Thanks!

As you said, I hope we are informed soon. At a minimum, I will want to change our flights and move our hotel to the "new" night before the cruise. I've already checked availability so that does not seem like it will be an issue. I'm poised and ready and waiting for MSC. Thanks for sharing what you heard -- that is what allows me to be in this good position. 🙂

We have a 10-night cruise, which combines the 3-night (29 Sep to 2 Oct) with the following 7-night (2 Oct to 9 Oct). We've not had any notification of changes to our boarding on the 29th -- yet.

We always use American Express as our credit card for the MSC on board charges. The kiosk has never failed to accept it. Another advantage of using Amex is that there are no foreign transaction fees if you're Platinum. One reason to carry another brand of credit card is that not all vendors will accept Amex outside of the US (not sure of your itinerary, that's why I'm mentioning other uses besides the kiosk).

Russia has been on the US State Department's Travel Advisory list at the highest level -- Level 4: Do Not Travel -- since 19 Jul 2022. Link to the US State Department advisory: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/russia-travel-advisory.html Each of us will make our own decisions. I share this in case it helps someone who is making travel plans.

If you don't want to engage your butler, you can also bring food from the YC pool deck back to your room. We had great made-to-order burgers there several times and one time brought them to the room to enjoy on our balcony for lunch.

Did you think of bringing food from the YC pool deck back to your room? We had great made-to-order burgers there several times and one time brought them to the room to enjoy on our balcony.

I think it is going to vary based on how you sleep. I sleep pretty soundly and I've never had an issue. (I was on a flight once where someone in the row behind me was in medical distress. He was pulled out of his seat and laid out in the aisle next to me. I was told that they asked over the address system if there was a doctor on board. I slept through the whole thing.) But these boards have many people saying that it wakes them up. You'll need to keep that in mind as you read people's comments.

This was very enlightening. Thank you eagletwo. I checked Amex Platinum's benefits for travel and was pleased to see that medical evacuation coverage is covered up to $100K: