The easy is just basically a well drinks package. I highly recommend the easy plus at minimum. That’s the sweet spot of value with a selection that won’t leave you feeling cheated.
MSC is more family oriented. Its value has replaced RCCL as our preferred option with the family. Celebrity is our preferred choice as a couple. When sailing X we usually go with Aqua class and MSC has the Aurea experience that is very comparable. Knowing what to expect and understanding it won’t be the same as what you’re used to is key to enjoying MSC.
It’s 4 courses with a short cartoon before each course. Everyone has to finish before they start the video for the next course. It can take a while, but we really enjoy it.
The prize is cold hard cash. The grand prize is free cruise. I’ve won $10 and $100 the 2 times I’ve done it. A guy won the free cruise on Ascent. There’s a discount in the cruise planner if you pre order the cards, but if you buy onboard a perk of captain club is a free extra card.
The special dinings you mention can be booked with an up charge. Included would be Eden, Fine cut, Rooftop Garden Grill, Le Petit Chef, Raw on 5. Lunch at Raw on 5 or Le Grand Bistro.
Everything with upgrade bidding is a crapshoot. I’ve read reports of people getting upgrades the day before embarking and many see the upgrade charge hit their credit card before they get official notification.
A clear card holder should work. I used a clear lanyard and they were still able to tap the card everywhere on the ship. I was asked to physically remove it in a couple of ports though.
On Ascent we used the Google messenger RCS app for texting and wifi calling with the premium wifi package. It worked fine with our Samsung phones. We were able to text and call our iPhone using kids with no problem