80sGal

First time MSC coming up in the Fall.  I had previously read on CC that our Easy Plus package was only good on the drinks at $10 or below, and if we chose a  drink on the premium cocktails list ($14) then the full $14 was charged, not just the 4 dollar upcharge.   But this menu pic appears to say the opposite .... that we will save $10 on our $14 drinks.   Can someone confirm which is correct?  

Spotted in the mail in KY today too.  Addressed correctly, location of presentation with address clearly listed but otherwise all the same mumbo jumbo reported by others.  

I too am new to MSC.  A few weeks ago I asked about this here on CC and was advised to call to get the 5% discount applied as we had just matched to Gold.  Strangely though no one mentioned exactly how it worked by calling after already booked.  What I discovered and may be helpful to others is that I didn't actually GET the full 5% discount because the cruise insurance increased from my original price.i even called back to talk to a different rep to verify the first one was correct.   Hypothetical with Easy Math:  Booked for 2000 fare, insurance at 150.   Total 2150.   Five percent discount should take 100 off fare for a new total of 2050.   But that's NOT what happened.   Instead:  Five percent discount was applied bringing fare down to 1900 but insurance was NOW higher because the insurance is based on the current prevailing rate of the cruise (which I did not know would happen) so now insurance is 200, so the new total is 2100.   So yes I saved 50 bucks over the original total but the insurance increase negated some of the 5% discount.   And I suppose if I had called even closer to the cruise I could have ended up worse off as rates increased .... which doesn't seem right .... but 2 reps both said it was.  

I have sailed Sunrise on a B2B in Dec/Jan 22-23, Oct 23 and again 3/24.    It's a great ship -- smaller than many, but nicely refurbished and rebranded.   The dining room/galley layout is not my favorite but I'm not cruising based on where I go up and down steps.   The staff and everything else was exactly as we find on other ships and in fact, the bartenders were possibly more friendly than some other ships.  

The Swedish Massages are traditional Massages, and the salt scrub starts off with the choice of fragrances for the scrub, then a brief massage follows.  I've had the Swedish Massages several times but have not done the scrub based on reviews ... some people love it, others comment that it can be a bit abrasive if it follows a day in the sun. 

We did our first European itinerary in 2022 and loved it so much we went back (from KY) last summer.  The first time we really enjoyed Portugal and France (Lisbon and Porto, Le Harve and La Rochelle) where the ship offered fantastic excursions at every stop.   Brussels was also unique and Spain was nice too.  Of you choose that area of Europe, I'd recommend itineraries that include Portugal and France.   Agree 100% with other posts that planning ahead for excursions is essential in Europe!!  The second time we did Rome pre-cruise and then sailed to various Greek islands.  Crete (Chania) was beautiful but we focused more on the Greek historical sites with the excursions in Athens and Rhodes.   Santorini gave us the classic blue domed photo but it is SO heavily tourist .... I would recommend Athens, early excursion before the crowds get too heavy .... and Sounio for some breathtaking scenery along the way.    Lindos in Rhodes  .... and if you choose Rome as your home port, a great hotel I found thru CC is Hotel Barocco.  It was a wonderful boutique hotel in reasonable walking distance of every major tourist site in Rome except the Vatican.   We are booked to go back to Europe for Round 3 in 2026.  

Count yourself lucky!  Sounds like you got the best of both worlds by booking both offers on the same trip!  We have yet to get ANY good offers except the early post-Covid Cheers deal and a one-time 100/pp offer that was only good on an Australian sailing even though we have cruised enough to be Platinum.  We are now trying out the other lines to compare since the algorithm doesn't seem to favor us, although so far we actually still prefer Carnival.   Have a great cruise! 

Wondering which is the best option for tendering at Cabo .... we are Platinum so I guess there's a priority line ... but we also chose an excursion.   Are excursion tix groups first or Platinum?  Just looking for the least crowded/crazy option!   

1 hour ago, cruiser man 60 said:

Not sure , I assume you could ring & ask to be downgraded back if you’re original cabin in still available.

We were in Aurea , were invited to bid for YC for minimum of £780 pp against advertised prices of extra £1500 pp.

However we didn’t bid but somehow got email with free upgrade confirming new cabin number etc

Interesting.   Okay good to know.   I'm imagining any YC would be better anyway ... but I'm sensitive to noise so I like to choose what's over and under my cabin.  Thanks for the reply!  

On 4/26/2024 at 1:54 PM, cruiser man 60 said:

We didn’t participate in bidding as they wanted £800 each for YC from Aurea, however we got email Tuesday confirming free upgrades to YC 😀

When this happens for free, do you still need to accept it or are you automatically moved?  And if it is by acceptance, you know the cabin before you commit?  First time on MSC coming up.  Currently have Aurea balcony in a preferred location to my liking, an upgrade would be nice though!  

We did the Horizon at New Years and didn't get off the ship til around 1030. Previous times we were off by 9 or 930.  But, that sailing, debarkation was slow-going so we hung out on Lido and waited.   

They will make other drinks found on the ship if you ask, assuming they have the right ingredients there.  We like the Pirate Punch, found throughout the ship.   

We are booked for the week of the 12th of October.  Stops are Newport, Bar Harbor, Portland, St. John and Halifax.   Rethinking that I need to change to the week of the 5th. Thoughts on the timing of fall colors at those ports?   This is likely a one-time cruise to these ports as DH prefers warmer climates.   

Reviving this thread!  Although I know there are no guarantees of weather -- is it still generally warm enough to do the long walk to the mansions in mid-October or has it become chilly and unpleasant by then?  (Temp tolerance varies based on what one is accustomed to ...  Kentucky gal here).   TIA!

On 4/13/2024 at 9:00 AM, Heartgrove said:

Once booked you are retroactively granted Status Match, which means the discount as well.

Wait, what?  Our status match went through about a month ago and our 1st cruise is in October.  My account still shows the same balance due as before we got bumped to Gold.   Do I have to call to have the discount credited?  

It doesn't look like you're getting many good vibes here.  Maybe you need some positive news which I can report.  We've only tried it once on Celebration in late 2022 but it was excellent.   We had the lobster mac n cheese appetizer which was delicious, and to be honest I'm not even much of a Mac n cheese person to begin with.  I would have had that dish every night of the cruise if I could have!   The seafood was also very good -- I prefer scallops and crabmeat or crab cakes, but DH prefers steak and "suffered" thru the seafood restaurant like a good sport.  Happily,  he said the steak that night was as good or better than the steakhouse.   I'm sure we ordered dessert but I don't recall which and I was likely too full to have more than a bite or two anyway.   I wish Rudy's would be added on more ships.  Compared to Emerils, which we tried on Celebration and from the MDR favorites menu on Horizon, it was a hands-down winner.    Enjoy! 

6 hours ago, Old Fart Cruisers said:

I often will fly in the morning of the cruise.  I have even flown to Rome (including changing planes in London), landing the morning of the cruise to make connections for the two hour transfer to Civitavecchia for a 32-day B2B2B cruise.  Although, I did get the airfare and insurance from Carnival that time.

You were VERY lucky with that dice roll. We were supposed to land in Rome this past summer around 4 pm on Saturday, with only one connection out of Chicago.  Thanks to a bad tire on the plane in originating city we missed connection, were rebooked and now connecting thru Chicago and Heathrow.  That Chicago flight was delayed by HOURS, actually rebooked a second time automatically by airline to make Heathrow ... and nope, it was late too.  Missed Heathrow connection ... and FINALLY saw Rome at noon on Sunday.   

You can put the cruise on hold at the end of the booking process then view the available excursions on that itinerary while it's on hold.  Go back into the booking and search Shore Excursions just as you would on a paid booking.  

Can someone explain to me how this is booked?  Do I book this in advance like excursions on the app?  Or on board?  I recall seeing something about "2 days prior to sailing" but I can't find that on my booking anywhere.   Thanks!  

Thanks to all who responded.  After another round of emails the issue has been fixed and status matched.  Perseverance pays, I suppose.  

Thanks.  Sometimes its just me and my college-aged daughter on Carnival or RC but for now we are just trying MSC out.  

New to MSC with cruise in October from Miami.   DH and I are both Platinum with Carnival so I filled out the online form, attached screenshot of cards, and subnitted.  The next day his was approved and I got a rejection note.  Seems like I accidentally loaded his card to both of our requests.  The email said to reply with accurate info ... which I've now done FIVE times over the past two months.   His took less than 24 hours!  How can I correct this?  I can't get through to a live person on the number for support.  It just redirects me to send an email to the status match address.  

On 3/2/2024 at 12:30 PM, TN Roz said:

Thanks. My only Havana experience was in a Havana Aft Balcony on I believe deck 7 on the Vista. There was no noise from the band at all.

 Had one of those on hold and let it expire.  I was concerned about the No Shade and Soot problems I've heard about.  What was your experience on 7 Aft on Vista?  

We just did this in July on Glory with friends who were new woth no good offers.  When we did the onkine check in, we made sure to specify the cards each person was charging to and NOT each cabin.  Took guest services all of five minutes to make new key cards for the two who needed to switch and the charge accounts stayed with the person.  It made no difference to guest services who was sleeping in which cabin.  

Try reaching out to John Heald in his official FB page.  It has a blue check mark by his name so you know its the "real" page.  I believe he's on Horizon this week but he appears to he very good at fielding these types of problems when someone is clearly frustrated and have done their best to fix an issue.  He perhaps cant fix the reimbursement question but he can at least likely address the legitimacy of those emails and reach out to the appropriate "beards."