4 hours ago, DaveNetMan said:

I too would like to know if you can cancel your cruise and then immediately re-book it (to take advantage of the new lower rates)? Or do you have to wait until your FCC is mailed out?

 

We originally booked on the Armonia for $279pp for an inside cabin. The current sale rate on the same ship/sailing is $249pp for a balcony. In other words, a balcony is cheaper than the inside we booked. I discovered this on Sunday. I called MSC Monday morning, and was told they can't match/honor the lower price on an existing booking. My two options were to a) 'uprgade' to a balcony at the rate a balcony was at the time we originally booked and pay the $500 difference, or b) cancel our current booking and re-book to get the new lower balcony rate, but there's a 50% cancellation fee (as of Monday) which for us would be about $450. Neither choice is good.

 

So now with the new Cruise Assurance program which just started, looks like we can cancel w/no fees. But the only reason we'd want to cancel is to immediately re-book at the current lower rate. Has anyone tried this yet? Is it possible we can immediately use the FCC?

 

Thanks so much,

davenetman

What lower rate?

9 hours ago, blueslily said:

OMG, just read all the messages you all posted in just the past 12 hours. Gracious. 

 

 

This is a posting Board for cruisers, thousands of people have a lot of money tied up and were planning to take vacations. If you don't care to read this stuff stay out of here. 

A greedy business model doesn't always work.

1 hour ago, Danny61231 said:

So, are my family and I the only ones still thinking about going on our cruise? We are scheduled to sail on the Meraviglia on March 22nd out of Miami going to Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman, Cozumel,  and Ocean Cay. Our groups will consist of my wife and I (both mid 30's) 2 children (6 and 3) and my inlaws (62 and 65). All of us are in pretty good health and we DIDN'T take out any insurance on this trip.

 

So here's where we're at, we booked this trip 1 year out and have REALLY been looking forward to it. We could reschedule with no penalty but would most likely be out A LOT of money in airfare and hotels. 

 

Vice President Pence on Saturday stated that people should still travel and cruise unless you are elderly with underlying health issues while the Department of Travel issued an advisory of no cruise travel on Sunday.... why the difference? 

 

Sorry for the long post and it's more of a rant than anything but I'm just curious what other people are planning to do about upcoming Caribbean sailings....

Trying to convince my wife to sail on the 22nd, looks like a cruise ship might be the safest place to be with all these precautions in place now.

We tried to upgrade to a balcony last week from an inside. The price was then $1589 on the website and MSC told us we had to pay $1800 because we were already booked. Seriously MSC?? now you won't be able to give those cabins away. 

A greedy business model doesn't always work.

6 minutes ago, jeepfan2006 said:

I get that this is a difficult situation for all of us, but I just don't understand the outrage towards MSC. I’m a believer of consumers voting with their pocketbook. If you don’t like a company, don’t buy their product. If you don’t like the way MSC is handling this or their response timing, I’d say take matters into your own hands use the cancel for any reason insurance you purchased. That's why we purchase it in the first place.

Are you serious? you don't understand the outrage? MSC is the only cruise line that has not done the right thing and offered FCC. Everyone else did it by last Friday. Not everyone has CFAR insurance and don't lecture us about not purchasing it that is another discussion. People are outraged because of MSC's lack of compassion and not doing the right thing like EVERY other line has. This is about fairness and treating your clients right. Every minute that passes without an FCC statement MSC is losing more and more customers. 

10 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

I hear you! My group of 8 is in disbelief right now. I am not accepting that MSC would be this ridiculous. I am still holding out hope they will fix this TODAY since that is the message the Ken Muscat tweeted on Saturday.

Ken Muscat said there would be an update, and there has been. Fingers crossed there is another one shortly.

23 minutes ago, bombcat9 said:

FYI...my 70 year old parents just called and were able to cancel and get a FCC valid until December 2021.  We are scheduled to leave on the Meraviglia this Sunday.  They said the wait was long but there were no questions asked.  My husband, kids and I are all still going.  

 I am happy for your parents, on the other hand where is the line for Future Cruise Credit MSC? Who gets it who doesn't?

19 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

My group of 8 is fine with a FCC good through dec 2021. We will let msc hold our money. Win win imo

 

i know everyone wouldn’t be happy with that arrangement, just speaking for us.

 

What cruise? date? did you get this FCC from? 

19 hours ago, Micheb5 said:

We are on Meraviglia Mar 15. I have received no communication other than upgrade offers to date.

Upgrade Offers 😂 I called the other day to upgrade to a balcony. The posted rate on the website was $1500 when I asked they said $1800. I asked why and they said "oh you already booked, that price is for new bookings" I said well where are you getting the new price from? I have no time for these greedy buggers

On ‎3‎/‎10‎/‎2019 at 9:49 AM, bemis12 said:

It's just a promo insulated cup.  No, you don't have to use it.

Thanks

On ‎2‎/‎11‎/‎2018 at 12:10 PM, moki'smommy said:

It has been the same price on my last 3 Princess cruises. I purchased in advance once and on board twice. In addition, the crew member who sells it to you on board gets some sort of credit for the sale. It was also more convenient to purchase on board. When I did it in advance, there was a voucher in the room that had to be taken to "any" bar to be exchanged for an insulated cup. Three bars later, I had one. When purchased on board, they handed it to me at the time of purchase.

 

The things I know of that are better purchased in advance are the internet packages (get "bonus" minutes for booking in advance) and sometimes photo packages.

I just purchased this package now I am curious what the insulated cup was for, please tell me I don't have to bring this thing with me around the ship to get drinks. I mean if I am having a mocktail in a lounge I certainly don't want to be drinking it out of that thing.

I just spoke to MSC customer service and she told me that the vouchers expire once you are done with your cruise. Has anyone actually used their left over vouchers on another cruise?

We took backpacks for our last trip as we were in Europe for 3 weeks, we rolled all of our shirts and pants and put them in large ziplock bags it worked like a charm.

In what way ? We’re arriving by train the day before[/quo

 

We departed the ship at 1000 and there was mass chaos with people pushing and shoving there way into the line up to try and get taxis No one from the ship or port to assist

Just wondering how early you can board in Genoa on the meraviglia?

Not sure but I hope your not departing in Genoa, it was complete chaos !!!

Ok, I have accepted that I will have to pay $3.95 every morning for coffee and juice. :rolleyes:

 

Is the $3.95 considered the tip, or do you tip also?

 

This is a real bummer to me.:(

You don't have to pay the $3.95 every morning. You can go to the Buffet or Dining Room and get it yourself or upgrade your experience

We just returned from our 11 night cruise aboard MSC Orchestra. Over all we were pleased with the cruise and found the value for what we paid to be very good. We had an inside cabin with the Bella experience.

Embarkation: We boarded in Warnemunde Germany and there was a line up for about 20 mins, we only had backpacks so luggage was not an issue.

Ship: The ship over all was very clean and spacious with lots of lounges, we found some of the staff struggled with English but we were expecting this as we have only previously sailed in the Carribean out of the US. The ships Officers did not interact with the passengers very much not that they have too to but the occasional hello would have been nice.

Food: Overall we found the food to be good to very good with most meals and service in the MDR on the very good side. Food in the buffet was good with a variety of dishes each day, the produce was especially good. The buffet was extremely busy at times and finding a table proved difficult, they did not seem prepared or organized at times to handle the amount of diners. An example of this is the ship arriving in port at 1300, they should have known that most of the 3000 passengers were going to have lunch before leaving the ship and closing one half of the buffet line was not a good idea. My wife and I were told to go to the dining room for lunch because the buffet was "full". We are not very picky but having to do this was a pain in the ass, we had to choose from a significantly reduced buffet selection or sit down and order off a menu which neither really impressed us. Not to mention we were not really wearing dining room attire as we were planning to head ashore.

Entertainment: The entertainment was good with a variety of acts throughout the cruise, however one of the things we found odd was that we only laid eyes on the cruise director when she appeared on the stage before and after each evening show. We never saw her even once anywhere on the ship, not even in passing. Another odd thing was on the last night as is customary the Captain said a few words, he was bashing the larger ships in the MSC fleet while trying to sell his smaller sized ship, we appreciated his love of his ship but found it odd for him to speak ill of is employers larger ships. Perhaps this was a language thing but it just sounded odd.

Ports: The Ports were all interesting but it would have been nice to know that we were going to have to pay for a bus/shuttle service in 2 of the Ports, this should have been communicated earlier so that passengers had a choice to sign up for an excursion since you are paying for a ride into the city anyway.

Disembarkation: We disembarked in Genoa Italy and it was complete chaos when we got off the ship. There were so many passengers wanting taxis and in typical fashion in Europe there are no rules for Queing, passengers were pushing their way into the front of the line with luggage carts and there was no staff from the ship or port authority to assist it was everyman for himself. This could have been easily avoided with a couple of staff and a simple barrior line for a queue.I can tell you this sort of behaviour would not be tolerated in North America but seems quite normal in some places in Europe.

Happy to answer any questions

They are coded and can't be used by anyone else.

Not true riclop we have been over this topic several times. I for one have used drink coupons that I purchased from someone and was also given other coupons on my sail on Seaside which I then gave to someone that used them. Not to mention the countless other cruisers on here that have made the same claim. For some reason you are bothered by the fact that some people are getting and using other peoples coupons. Not sure why but you should reflect on this.

Are passengers told what theme nights will occur, before the cruise? (Are there notes in the pre-cruise documents?)

Not in advance but you can have your TA call and find out or you can call MC yourself, I have done this and they told me what they were for our cruise.

The dress rules are for the main dining rooms, and mostly for formal nights . Anywhere but main dining room shorts are fine. We did see many people turned away from the dining room that weren't dressed properly. After dinner, buffet shorts are fine.

Safe sailing

 

Sent from my SM-N950U using Forums mobile app

What ship were you on that was turning people away that "weren't dressed properly"? Also can you elaborate on what they were or were not wearing? I can say for certainty that there were a large number of men wearing shorts in the MDR at dinner on MSC Seaside which goes back to my point that there doesn't seem to be consistency within the Fleet or even the staff onboard any particular ship. To be clear here I am not defending the wearing of shorts in the MDR I am only pointing out the obvious.

That makes no sense. Oh, wait, this is the MSC board. Of course it makes no sense. It's just something we get used to ;)

"Of course, there will be the US cruisers who stand out in their Carnival dinner wear."

 

Ha, I used to think like that until I went on my first Carnival cruise this past week, 8 days/nights on the Vista. Granted it is a newer ship and the price point is higher than many of the ships owned by the cruise line, but I found most dressed appropriately at dinner, often exceeding the minimum dress code standards. One morning, I went to wash a few swim suits in the laundry room and found it crammed with young gentleman who looked a little rough around the edges in their morning shorts and tank tops ironing very nice suit pants and dress shirts for that evening's casual night dinner. Expensive clothes. I know this as I have to buy quite a few expensive garments myself for work. The stereotype of everyone heading to dinner in ripped jeans shorts, a basketball jersey and hat on backward didn't hold.

 

We actually are considering cancelling our Seaside sailing this coming March in favor of an 8 day/night on the horizon instead. A balcony room on that ship is nearly the same price as our Seaside YC Deluxe Suite. Its an extra night with better ports in our opinion but it doesn't include drinks or perks like the Yacht Club.

 

On the plus side, we enjoy the "fun" vibe Carnival puts out and the fact I can wear shorts at dinner on casual nights and after 6 pm every night. I would bet MSC doesn't have a cruise director who calls himself the Flying Scotsman and wears kilts all cruise long. lol. I like leaving behind my $300 a pair Johnson Murphy wingtips for my $50 Dockers boat shoes on vacation.

 

But if we do stick with MSC and give it a try, we'll all abide by the rules. Its a different kind of vacation is all. I don't view the frequent Carnival cruisers as automatic country bumpkins or hoodlums because they choose that kind of relaxed, fun atmosphere.

The "Rules" on MSC are no different then most other cruise lines when it comes to dinner wear. I can tell you first hand that I sailed on MSC Seaside and there were plenty of men wearing shorts in the MDR. The dress is suggested at best and while most men wear long pants there are those like yourself that choose to wear shorts to dinner, at the end of the day as long as they aren't cut off jean shorts who cares. The only issue I have with the dress police is consistency

The subj is being offered on our upcoming cruise on MSC Orchestra for $21 USD. Can anyone tell what if any choice you have in the selection? Specifically, my wife likes Pinot Grigio and would be disappointed if she couldn't get that. We understand it's a $21 bottle of wine but she would still prefer a choice.

We booked a guaranteed Fantastica inner cabin with the MSC Seaview and we received a Fantastica balcony cabin. We are happy with the location. September is our cruising date.

 

Begin this year we have booked a Fantastica inner cabin on the Meraviglia and we received the YC innercabin with all the YC perks. That was even better. :)

Do I understand you correctly that you have already sailed earlier this year on Meraviglia and were upgraded to YC and received all the YC perks? or is that sailing still to happen?