chrisgp999

On 9/24/2024 at 10:52 AM, DaKahuna said:

@Best Cat Mom  please inform BCD that I agree with his assessment of Puerto Plata being “Puerto Hella” but am going to refer to it as ‘Puerto Sweatta’ since he has already coined the other term.  

 

 

Puerto Plata was the only port that DW and I really enjoyed on our most recent cruise.  We booked the "DISCOVER PUERTO PLATA TRADITIONS & FLAVOURS" excursion thru MSC.  The excursion started out slow, visiting some gardens to learn about local flora and fauna.  Then a ride to the downtown area to visit the local cathedral.  Then the fun began, visit to a distillery for rum tasting, the a cigar factory for puro tasting, finally a chocolate factory for, you guessed it, chocolate tasting.  Booked this same excursion for our next cruise on the Seaside.  Wish there was a way to skip the flora and fauna part.

On 9/23/2024 at 7:32 PM, morpheusofthesea said:

Yes. The captain's reception used to be held at 11 am and it was not appreciated that guests turned up in bathing attire. 

I'm personally glad that they moved this reception to late afternoon on Gala night.  The fact that this will encourage some attendee's to present themselves in formal evening attire, brings back a certain elegance that was slowly slipping away from the YC experience.

On 9/24/2024 at 4:42 PM, amurray88 said:

In fairness... The bag thing (not $5...but we did have to hunt the full length of Virtuosa for ours). They put them on the correct side of the correct deck...the rest really was a hunt.

 

It didn't bother us...but it wasn't the best first impression 

Sorry you had a problem with your bags.  I surmise that despite this problem you did not post a negative review on CC that 1.) purported that such an occurrence is standard operating procedure on MSC, and, 2.) this problem completely ruined your entire cruise.

28 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

MSC’s version of High Tea was held in the TSL this afternoon starting at 1530.  
 

 

 

 

 

and to time your tea, they had one of these on each table

 

 

I thought the scones were good.

 

Curious minds want to know - did you apply the clotted cream first and then the jam, or, jam first and then the clotted cream.  Apparently there are two very entrenched factions in the UK regarding this procedure.

On 9/20/2024 at 10:46 PM, Essiesmom said:

They will assign you a time when you book, although it may change.  But no one checks at the port, so time does t matter.  I like to show up around 1230 when crowds have diminished.  If you are driving to and parking at the port, the garage doesn’t open until after 1000.  EM

Note that the time shown on your boarding docs is a check-in time not necessarily a boarding time.  Boarding times can be affected by many factors beyond MSC's control.  The most prevalent is the requirement to get all departing passengers off the ship before new passengers are allowed to board.

49 minutes ago, MeiFong said:

DH and I really liked our cruise on Preziosa last July. It did take longer to find my way on the ship. If you look at the deck plans you'll notice, for example, that you can't get to the aft of deck 6 from the front of deck 6. But deck 6 also has the Phoenician Plaza and many passengers don't realise that you can get complimentary food there such as cakes and sandwiches (the gelato is additional charge).

 

Is the food on the ship exceptional? No, but as long a you realise it will not be the same as your favourite restaurant back home that can seat 40 people max at once (so set your expectations right), I doubt you will go hungry. And if there is something you don't like you can always get something else. That's the beauty of being on a cruise.

 

On cruises to Northern Europe most people will avoid the outside decks. It might, therefore, be busier indoors, but there are enough places to go if you are willing to look for them.

 

I didn't notice any unfriendly crew, as long as you are friendly to them they will be friendly in return. The waiters did always seem to time their 'Is everything okay?' at the exact moment when my mouth was full. Not sure how they do that, but I also often have that issue in restaurants on land 😉 

 

My advice is to take the reviews with a grain of salt. Especially reviews, like chrisgp999 showed, that are just plain lies. If it really is that bad the ship wouldn't still be sailing after all these years and not all passengers on Preziosa are first time MSC cruisers, some choose to return 🙂.

 

Enjoy the cruise!

Unfortunately the excerpts included in my post are only a small sample of what is posted on CC.

23 hours ago, Best Cat Mom said:

This was not the case for us. I'm sure we are all looking forward to MSC's new terminal opening and providing us with more permanent arrangements than all these differing and borrowed terminals that MSC is now using.

DW and I must have hit the lottery of pre-boarding experiences.  The only downside was the furnishings in the pre-board area.  Looked like a GenPop area with glass partitions to separate us from the less fortunate.  Seating was classic airport boarding gate style.  The upside was an endless supply of champagne and snacks along with a very congenial group of fellow YC folks.

23 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

There are two Owners Suites and two Royal Suites on Seascape. 

 

 

I am not sure if they are true doors or not.  We’ve only stayed in the YC1 and YCP suites which are single room with an open shelf divider. 

 

 

Can't speak for the Owner Suites but the Royal Suites have doors separating all areas from each other.

8 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

The more I find out, the less I know. Everyone associated with the port or the ship has a different opening date.

Remember this is still a government project.

4 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 Times had chanced .  I hunted down a Butler, gave him my empty glass and he did not even bother to ask me if I wanted a refill.  Just took my glass and walked away. 

 

 I was not impressed with boarding today.  Nor the process in the YC check in.  When we entered we were asked to take a seat so we did.  Others ahead of us and some behind were were also asked to take a seat.  Then other that came in after the seats were filled were allowed to go to the counter and check in.  At one point I saw a break in the line at the check in counter and went to approach the counter was again asked to take a seat.  Eventually us and the group that entered with us were allowed to check in and given our wrist bands.  I don’t think there was any rhyme or reason to the order people were seen and allowed to check in.  Eventually a large group of us where escorted up to where we presented our room cards to ‘ding’ onto the ship.  It was a little confused there as they were still processing a very large group of back to back passengers, though not yacht club so the Butler had them close one line of four and start letting the YC passengers through. 

From that point we went to the elevators, escorted now by two butlers and proceeded to our muster stations.  From there we were escorted to the Top Sail Lounge.  

 

 We hung out in the TSL until our room was ready and went put away and organized our carry on luggage and just hung out until lunch time. 

 

 When we returned to our room after lunch our bags were at our door so while I got out grandsons football game on my iPad, my DW started unpacking and organizing our clothes.   All our clothes were put away on hangers or stored in drawers before we sailed away. 

 

 We are not underway headed for Jamaica our first port of call on Monday. 

 

I guess this is just another of MSC lands being consistently inconsistent.  Once onboard they do a fantastic job.  Have a great cruise.

11 hours ago, babs135 said:

I've just seen a 7 nights cruise on the MSC Preziosa out of Southampton in a couple of months time for under £500 pp, but the reviews are not great for this particular ship.  Where there is a grumble, it is with the standard of the food, both in the mdr and buffet.  Would like to hear from anyone who has recently sailed on the ship and what their thoughts are.  

It may well be a great price, but have they sacrificed quality to achieve it?

While the Cruise Critic site contains many accurate reviews, do not believe everything you read.   Here are some “entertaining” excerpts from questionable MSC reviews that were posted on Cruise Critic.

“once you arrive to embark I was charged $5USD a bag just to put then in the trolley then don't expect to have your bag at the front of your room as other cruise companies do.  I had to walk around the floor looking for my bags they were piled up about 4 room away from ours . it was chaotic as every one was doing the same”

“food was very very basic everyday such as pizza chicken salad chips or deserts nothing really for adults”

“The buffet is mainly pizza and potato salad every single day, lunch and dinner the same”

“I never want to see a slice of pizza again. It was the only option at the buffet”

“No one really spoke English,  if they did they had an attitude or was clueless if asked a question

“Number 1 reason for not liking the cruise is crowd of people that are on board. Talked to multiple people who bragged about being in prison, selling drugs, or being part of a gang.”

“The shows were very sexual (there were many instances of pole dancing) and I would warn anyone with children to steer clear of them.”

Based on the above comments , embarkation day on a typical MSC cruise will be as follows:

Upon arriving at the terminal, MSC will immediately extort $5.00 per bag to move your luggage onto the ship.  You will then have to roam the corridors in search of your belongings and, when found, drag such belongings back to your cabin.   

Once the luggage task is complete, I’m sure you’ll be hungry so you can proceed to the buffet where all you will find is “pizza chicken salad chips or deserts nothing really for adults”.  Unless you happen to be there on the day when they are serving “pizza and potato salad every single day, lunch and dinner the same”. But you’d better move quickly.  They may run out of potato salad and all you will have is “pizza again. It was the only option at the buffet”

You may try to ask a crew member if there are additional food options.  However, you probably won’t understand their response since “No one really spoke English”

Of course you might be safer if you remained in your cabin and ordered room service.  This way you can avoid the “multiple people who bragged about being in prison, selling drugs, or being part of a gang.”

If you gather up the courage, you may want to venture out your cabin and enjoy the “very sexual (there were many instances of pole dancing)” shows in the main theater. Don’t bring the kids, but Gentlemen, please remember to bring a generous supply of dollar bills.

The review excerpts posted above were cut and pasted, as is, from actual member-written MSC reviews on Cruise Critic.  I did not edit or alter them in any way.  I tried to maintain the context of the review as best as I could.  I hope you’ve enjoyed this bit of humor, admittedly sarcastic humor.  That said, one must seriously question the veracity of these excerpts and of the reviews from which they were extracted.

8 hours ago, Best Cat Mom said:

YC tent is best accessed by the far right lanes and a wide left turn to the inner curb, as I detailed when @morpheusoftheseaand we boarded. They were white tents and quite easy to spot.

 

Make sure to await a butler escort inside, even if you're tempted to go inside yourself. The butler will eacort you to the front of the security screening, bypassing at least a hundred non-YC guests.

 

You and I will have have the same challenge this week as Morph and I did last week -- I envision our threads shall cross quite often.

 

[Someone should insert another Ghostbusters meme, this one about crossing streams, here!]

 

 

On our last seascape cruise YC passengers had a separate entrance to the terminal with its own security screening.  No GenPop allowed.

1 minute ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 You both are way ahead of me.  I managed three.  One ashore and two in the TSL, one of which went to lunch with me. 

 

I have to confess that this "record" was due to the fact that the ship was slow at zeroing out departing passengers causing a longer wait time in the YC pre-boarding area.  Butler kept on pouring and we kept on consuming.

6 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

Headed on board, but ship is not boarding yet. 
in the “holding area” with our first glass of champagne 

 

DW's and my record is 6 glasses of champagne each before lunch on embarkation day.

6 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

You have to turn your clocks back an hour tonight....

Are you talking about daylight savings time?  If so, an internet search shows that it ends at 2 AM  on November 3.

On 9/18/2024 at 5:32 PM, Georgia_Peaches said:

Sorry, not understanding how it's irrelevant.  While what you have said is true, so is the notion that booking early saves money.  It just does.  Confused.

When and how one procures a cruise, YC or not, is not irrelevant.  The complaints by those who chose to purchae their cruise at a certain time and in a certain way is the irrelevant part.  MSC, as most other enterprises, will price and market their product based on a number of economic factors.  Complaining that one paid more than someone else who purchased their cruise earlier or later or was blessed by the upgrade fairy, while being psychologically therapeutic, will not influence MSC's marketing structure one bit.   

6 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

There may not be any formal nights on cruise ships any more, but there are still many classy people that still dress formal on all cruise ships.

On our recent Seascape cruise Elegant/Gala night, DW and I were pleasantly surprised at the number of tuxedos in the YC restaurant, worn by passengers not staff.  We were even more surprised at the number of GenPop passengers that were dressed in some sort of elegant/gala/dressy/formal attire.

19 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 What of value has not increased in price over time? 

 

 

 Even as a previous YC passenger, I do not see any fairness in this.  Why should any one previous YC passenger get an advantage over another previous YC passenger.  As long as the price of the YC cabins are determined by supply and demand and I and my neighbor are paying a fair market price, why should someone be able to by their cabin at a discount versus offering everyone the discount. 

 

Here is a chart of the prices for the sailing I will be embarking on Saturday.  As you can see the Price for YC has varied over time and the realization that most frequent cruiser have that booking as soon as a sailing becomes available usually results in the best price appears to hold true. 

 

 

You want to save money, book early.  

 

 

While this is an interesting discussion it is also totally irrelevant.  MSC, like almost every other business enterprise, will set their price based on what they predict their target market will accept.  They will also adjust their price as market conditions vary.  I for one, hope that MSC is able to maximize their profit and thus continue to offer a quality product.  If at some future point in time I reach a situation where MSC's price is no longer attractive or affordable to me, I will make adjustments to my travel plans as required.

20 hours ago, rrraydon said:

I'm new to MSC so still learning the ropes. I have two sailings booked YC, one on Seaside and one on World. You mentioned a choice of a bottle of liquor, does this amenity come with booking YC or is this amenity as a result of a loyalty status (Diamond)?

 

YC amenity.

7 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Can't find any interlopers this cruise. Different group. Don't see any drunks in steerage either. We still have chair hogs in the YC even though I don't think it necessary with all the available lounges. Just those in the shade are being coveted. The bag on the one lounger is a Celebrity bag, which doesn't really explain much, but does remind us of the problem we always had in the Retreat with chair hogs constantly and the hosts not doing a thing about it.

That is why we always book a Royal Suite; reserved cabana is a must for me.

21 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Dear Professor, I just had a chance to stop back into the logo store and took a picture of the bathrobes and the towels for sale. Towels $31.50 each, buy two get 20% off.

Just noticed the bathrobe is generic. Will double check the towel as it was folded without the logo and DW is always in a hurry and rushing me when I am scouting for answers for CC. She has all the time in the world for her scouting.

On our Meraviglia cruise a couple of years ago our butler was helping us pack on the last day of the cruise.  He must have been very clumsy sine a couple of YC towels accidentally fell into our suitcase.  Unfortunately we didn't notice this until we arrived home and unpacked.

On 9/16/2024 at 4:44 PM, ocdb8r said:

Uh, yeah....when they clearly recognize you as a YC guest.  I have always been asked to produce a card unless greeted by name.  Based on my seven YC cruises I have seen ZERO chance a non YC guest makes it into the YC areas and is able to get food or drink. Anything is theoretically possible.

Had the opposite occur on our most recent Seascape cruise.  Witnessed a lady pounding on the glass YC entry door, very upset that her non-YC card would not let her enter.  Was even more upset with me when I would not let her in.  In a subsequent chat with the YC Matire 'd he mentioned that he removed a couple from the YC restaurant.  A check of their cruise card revealed that they were in a cabin on Deck 14.  Despite what you want to believe, interlopers do exist.  Also, check out the YouTube video I referenced in a previous quote.  This is not theory, it's observed fact. 

6 hours ago, mnpurple said:

It all looks so wonderful! Our first experience was Seaview (assuming a sister ship) and that room was very nice and spacious, which was maybe why when we went to Divina I was a little let down. Although then after being on Euribia, I realized the size of the actual lounge and dining room made that part feel more cozy. 

 

@Georgia_Peaches FYI, the AC in the inside YC room on Euribia was terrible and never something that was resolved. The only saving grace was in Northern Europe, the weather was still pretty cool. If we had been in the Caribbean, I probably would have been adamant about a room-change.

Seaview is a sister to Seaside.  Seashore is sister to Seascape.

21 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

@Best Cat Mom your stateroom 

 looks lovely. I hesitate to ask but how’s the a/c in the room?  Our room on Seashore was HOT and regardless of my pestering, it never seemed to get corrected. 

If your room is constantly hot, have your butler check if one the occupants of nearby cabins have a penchant for leaving their balcony doors open.  AC serves several cabins and will turn off if the sliding balcony doors are open.  Had this problem with our very first MSC cruise.

21 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Yes you are correct. The difference today were the addition of the lounge cushioned deck chairs on either end. I am not always succinct.

Cushioned loungers were in the TSL smoking area for our Seascape cruise last February.