CTurtlelvr

On 8/6/2019 at 11:32 AM, Salazar said:

Here is the wording for my cruise on Seaview later this month

 

Ideal for a seven-day cruise. 
This service enables you and the other occupants of your cabin to have your garments washed and ironed at any time during the cruise or even all together on the last day of cruise.

Mine said that too on Armonia last week we were Fantastica. We used it on different days. $30 for 20-items, I believe.

A powerful, yet small fan! (Armonia)

Our scheduled time was 11am, SIL was 1pm so she called and they said we could go in at anytime. We all got there around 11, and were sitting in the rum bar by 12.

I ‘think’ there was a soda pkg available, but I am not sure if the price is worth it for a few a day. You can purchase it at any of the bars, but you cannot bring in your own at embarkation. Lots of people purchased them at ports though, and brought them on. 

Same cruise for us, but on the 7th floor. Same issues with A/C, we had a little fan, but purchased a large one on Roatan. Had technician in 4-times, never was cooler than 82-degrees F, according to my watch. We tried to stay in the cooler areas as much as possible. I agree, MDR was necessary to stay cool and get an available seat. Also loved Caffe San Marco, and had either almond milk or soy milk lattes on everyday, but one when they were out of non dairy. Wish gelato flavors had changed, but it was still very good, and we also loved the pizza. 

On 7/30/2019 at 4:04 PM, the mistral wind said:

are their machines with tea and water in buffet

The machines had iced tea, water, lemonade, strawberry kiwi juice, and some tropical mango juice. I brought my own reusable travel mug and refilled as needed to carry around with me especially by the pool. 

For me, just having gotten off the con was other passengers. So many rude people that would just stop and stand in front of you while you’re sitting listening to music. Kids running around screaming with no parents around, kids pushing into the lines in front of you. That, I put a stop to immediately. I think and am afraid that since prices went so low, clientele decency went down too. 

I did enjoy the ship, though and the staff were extremely friendly and helpful. 

On 7/29/2019 at 4:44 PM, TXgalSAM said:

 

Bless you for thinking about us when you are on vacation!!!  Since you are from NC, I am assuming you have a regular US extension cord.  Thanks to your post, I will be sure to include an extension cord (or two). 

 

On other cruise lines, I have told the cabin steward, in advance, that I would not be purchasing any of the fridge stuff but wanted to use the fridge.  In some cases they removed the items from the room, and in other cases they just asked me to put them elsewhere in the room.  (The FIRST time, I didn't tell the steward ahead of time and got charged!  I was reimbursed, once the items were "found".)  I hope you have a great steward that will help you optimize that fridge!!!

 

Well, about the extension cord. Two of my bags got flagged for having them. They pulled our 2-suitcases and said I had extension cords, which I actually had one regular extension cord and one power strip surge protector with USB ports. When they told me to open up my bag to pull them out, it was a mess of me digging in my bag with about 100 people behind me. The poor guy just told me not to use them said the electricity could handle the extra. 

I was just on Armonia and with exception of losing Cuba, which we originally booked for (and through no fault of MSC) that was the only change to our itinerary. We were in our ports for exact times (sometimes longer) than what was posted. Only snafu we had was there was a medical emergency after we left Costa Maya to go to Cozumel, so we turned around and went back to Costa Maya about 2-hrs after we left. Still made it to Cozumel on time, though. 

We did not purchase a drink pkg as it seemed the brands offered on the easy pkg were not preferred by us and honestly, I wouldn’t drink enough to make it worth the price. But, maybe someone else can chime in on that. 

Just off Armonia and it seemed anything goes. We dressed up for elegant nights, I wore a dress that I would wear to a wedding, Dh wore a dress shirt with a tie and dress slacks. My girls (13 & 15) dressed, well 15 yr old wore dresses, 13 yr old doesn’t dress up so she wore a pant suit one piece one night and black pants, nice top the other with just black Birkenstock’s. We saw people in shorts on those nights, even ripped jeans, they were not denied access to the MDR. Screaming unruly kids were EVERYWHERE and nothing was said to them that I was aware of. That part annoyed me, trying to have a nice dinner and kids were screaming at each other and running across the dining room. I didn’t take my children on cruises at that age for a reason, obviously others don’t think that way. 

We also dressed for the theme nights, unfortunately they had gatsby night on elegant night, so we didn’t dress for that. We did white night, 70’s night, cowboy night, not so much pirate night. 

15 minutes ago, Bollinge said:

Ask your steward to unlock the fridge and fill it with what you want. We get orange juice from breakfast to drink overnight.

Oh great!! Will do, thanks for the tip! 

On 7/2/2019 at 9:18 AM, Essiesmom said:

This is my second attempt at this question...

We like a nightlight in the bathroom.  On our previous MSC cruises (Divina & Seaside) the outlet in the bathroom was not 'live' unless the lights were turned on. (This is true of Carnival ships also).  Is this also true for Armonia?  We are booked for August 26.   EM

Just got to our room on Armonia and for some reason remembered your question...the outlet in our bathroom (once I found it attached to hair dryer) does NOT work with the light off. We are Fantastica on 7th floor, ocean view if that makes a difference. Also, our mini bar/frig is locked, no drink pkg was purchased, so I am a bit bummed about not having a frig. And only 2 outlets in our room, but I brought a surge protector that has additional USB ports and outlets. Hope that helps! 

1 hour ago, OceansOfTravels said:

 

Can't answer either of these with full confidence - sorry! I did not use any sort of texting app, and I don't remember seeing one advertised. Maybe someone else will chime in. Also, I had a basic Bella interior, so no drink packages for me! Sorry I could not be of much help, and like I said, maybe someone else will chime in.

Great, thanks anyway your whole post has been very informative!

Oh good, someone to ask questions, I didn't see this before posting my latest thread.

1. Is there a texting app to stay in touch with other family members on the ship without the data plan?

2. Did your tickets state that you received the 'All in' drink package? We were told when we booked that we would receive it, but it doesn't state it anywhere on our tickets or invoice and I cannot get my TA to answer the question. We have 2-oceanviews Fantastica. 

TIA!!

I was wondering if there was a texting app that I could use on Armonia without purchasing a data plan?  We will have 6-family members on board and sometimes just a "where are you guys" text is needed. TIA!

5 hours ago, AerynSun_JohnCrighton said:

Not sure, I didn't attend any of them. Between time changes (go back 1 hour first night and another 1 hour 2nd night and go forward 1 hour 3rd night) and being a teacher I go to bed by 9 most nights... I just didn't make any of them.

That will be rough on me, too!! 

51 minutes ago, travelingtink said:

The flower power was a 70's disco theme. There was also a country & western night. 

 

On my cruise, the only party that really gathered a lot of participants was white night. Most people dressed in white for dinner and the party was on the pool deck. Some of the show dancers performed, as well as the entertainment staff led the passengers in several different dances.  The other 'parties' were 30 min dance parties with the entertainment staff in the Bar del Duomo. Fun but nothing I'd plan special outfits for, unless you have extra room in the luggage. 

Ahhh, gotcha! I had in my mind that people dressed like this for dinner and all. Thanks for clarifying!

Is the Flower Glory night just wearing floral prints?

Great, thanks so much!!

What are the theme nights on Armonia (7-night) cruise?  I know there is an elegant night, but are there any others? I've heard mention of a 'white night' is that on Armonia, too?  TIA!!  

My TA said he was taking care of ours and we sail in 2-weeks. I just sent him our numbers in.

The email I received had the bid minimums listed for each category. My SIL bid the minimum for balcony ($150pp) and it was accepted. My Dh and I have 2-rooms because of our 2-teens and want to keep our rooms next to each other, so I have my TA looking into it. 

17 minutes ago, harv2015 said:

MSC UK and MSC USA don't seem to be communicating!. I eventually got speaking to MSC UK `Operations Team' today who I've been told are dealing with enquiries relating to the Cuba sailings.  The person I spoke to from the MSC UK team was totally unaware that MSC USA have now posted revised Cuba itineraries up until December 2019.  UK office only aware of itineraries up to August 2019.  It's frustrating that MSC themselves don't seem to communicate with each other. What hope is there for us passengers.

I have not received a single email from MSC or my TA.  We sail July 29 and the only reason I am up-to-date is this forum.  TA literally 'just' sent me an email to get my SIL to do the online check in, but nothing else. And, my last question to him in May was, what is going to happen if they drop Cuba from itinerary? 

6 hours ago, cellfree said:

How do I sign up for “price alerts” on CC?

I think I stumbled upon a link here once, see if this works: https://www.cruisecritic.com/member-center/?tab=email&e=tdxKNm4h%2b5hi5B%2bOciEB1GZgBSC2t49Q&et_cid=3257031&et_rid=267115114&et_referrer=us_price_alert

If not, this is where it sends me when I click on the link in the email I received: https://www.cruisecritic.com/bargains/index_breakdown.cfm?itinerary=174&CruiseLineID=80&departurecity=Miami&departure_date=July-2019&et_cid=3257031&et_rid=267115114&et_referrer=us_price_alert

3 hours ago, AerynSun_JohnCrighton said:

Yes, check your TA website for prices... look for which cabins you want, I usually pick out which number... call the TA, mention the price drop and you want to change to whatever Cat you picked... they will out you on hold and contact cruise line to do it. With MSC, it can take an hour or so of hold time (My TA offered to just call me back after 30 min and coming back twice to confirm she was on hold with them) I watch prices like a hawk. We got a Fantastica Suite on Armonia for our cruise.

Thanks! I went ahead and emailed him. When we booked I called and he told me about the lag with MSC, so he just corresponded with me through email after that.  

I think I checked on the 7th and I was still able to pull up Armonia at least on my sailing for the 29th of July. When I tried again this weekend, they were gone.  I am signed up for price alerts through CC and they are still listed on that.  I got an email on that this morning. The most recent sailings have dropped up until my week...but even my week has started dropping.