joseph123

Thanks for the advice. I registered for the loyalty Program and took advantage of the Summer special running to book early for my May 2016 cruise and wow, did I get a fantastic deal! Balcony stateroom for a 1 week Mediterranean cruise for $1,075.00 per person, and each person gets a $200 shipboard credit, $50 drink package, and a free specialty restaurant dinner. I paid more than that for the first cruse I ever took almost 30 years ago. I have until Feb to cancel with no loss of deposit. So glad I booked in advance!

That is very good to know beamafar, and thank you for providing that input. I will look at having those additional outdoor areas and quick access to the dining room and buffet as an asset! Looking forward to experiencing an aft cabin on the Fantasia.

Thanks so much skier52, you have helped me make up my mind and ease my fears of being near the stairway. So funny the things some of us (Me) choose to obsess over! I actually found a video, believe it or not on youtube of someone going out the door on to the stairway on deck 9. Does seem like one of those heavier doors, so hopefully will not slam shut at all hours. I would love to have the deeper balcony, but that is yet a higher category and about $250 more than the deck 9 balcony, so not worth it for me. I am just excited to try the aft balcony for this cruise. By the way, they are selling the deck 13 cabins as outside vs balcony cabins, so it would cost approx $250 less than a standard balcony cabin.

Thank you so much for posting the pics! I will have to decide now if I should stay on deck 9 or move up to 13. Did you experience any noise above for the buffet? Being next to the stair on deck does have me a bit concerned but it is good to know that it does not get much use. I may just move a few cabins toward the center just to be safe. I would presume being closest to the center would be the most ideal, but then thought being on the end would be more private. If you could choose would take the end or a center cabin? Also, were people allowed to smoke out on those decks?

Just booked a deck 9 aft balcony cabin on the Fantasia, #9244 which is on the end next to the exterior stairways that are on the each corner in the rear of the ship that runs from top to bottom. I thought it might be nice to be on the end but wonder if there will be any problem with noise from the stairways. Does anyone know if these stairways get much use or have booked one these cabins before? The cruise is wide open at this point, so I could change the cabin if needed. I was also considering one of the cabins on deck 13 which actually is considered an outside so a few hundred dollars cheaper, but is is more like juliette balcony that you can't actually sit on, and it is directly under the pool deck so I was concerned that it could be noisy. Any advise on these cabins would be appreciated.

I would like to book a Mediterranean cruise for May and and wondering how soon I should book in advance, any recommendations? Will better pricing be homered if offered in the future? Also, any advantage to booking directly with MSC vs going with Expedia or Travelocity? Any advice would be appreciated.

Just wanted to let everyone know that I received my notification today that I was awarded Gold status after not hearing anything since submitting. I guess they were a bit backed up. I used my Hyatt Rewards Platinum card and they accepted and offered the Gold MSC, so I guess that is pretty good although I do agree with others that it doesn't seem to get you much.

I was able to submit mine but did not get a reply.

However I did get a call from a PVP so obviously they did receive it. Nothing in writing but he did tell me I would be Black.

Same thing for me. I applied almost 2 weeks ago and was able to submit the request, but have yet to hear back from them other than getting 3 unsolicited calls from the Sales team looking to have me book a cruise, so obviously they have received it. I tried calling MSC several times to inquire as to status and only get voicemail, so I decided to try sending them an email 3 days ago and have yet to receive a response to that. I have not had great experiences with MSC thus far in terms of customer service. I will report back when/if I hear from them on my status.

Great review, loved all of the pics!

I tried registering with my Hyatt Hotels Platinum card last week but have not heard anything from them yet. Anxious to see if they will accept rewards cards besides just from other cruise lines cards as their site state and others have posted here. I will let you all know when I hear from them.

Thanks all! Looks like the Zen area will be the place for me. Can anyone comment on the promenade deck and let me know if there is seating there? I always enjoy spending time hanging out there on ships that have the more traditional decks with steamer chairs. Many of the newer ships have abandoned this feature. Does not look like the decks on the Fantasia are wide enough to accommodate seating and I have not been able to find any photos, so I am thinking not.

Interesting that the library would be for Yacht Club members only, is there another one on board for regular guests? Also, does not seem to be many areas for outdoor dining and per the deck plan, the aft pool looks like it only has room for about 20 lounge chairs around it for a ship that can accommodate 4,000. The promenade deck also does not seem to be wide enough to accommodate any seating, are there any deck chairs on it? Have not read any real negative reviews regarding the outside space available, but it seems very limited in comparison to other ships on which I have sailed.

I agree. Do they even issue actual cards anymore? Seems like it is all online now. I have no actual cards to scan and upload.

In looking at the deck plans, I am trying to determine how much of the deck/lounge space is reserved for Yacht Club members. Is the Top Sail lounge and library on deck 15 open to all? Also, how about the Top 18 solarium? With lots of space off limits, does the ship feel crowded? Would love to experience the Yacht Club, but won't be able to it it for my upcoming trip.

I too will be going there just for the day late next May and have the same question. In doing research, it looks like getting to some of the other towns would be quite a hike and not very realistic for a day trip. There seems to be a really nice beach within a short walk of the downtown, so at this point I am considering making this a beach day and exploring the town vs doing an excursion, but will see if others make any recommendations here. Keep me posted on what you decide.

I agree, just changed my plans to instead take a cruise out of Genoa which avoids Tunisia in May of 2016. No desire to go to that port with all of the unrest and can't take a chance at this point that they will extend their change of itinerary into next May.

Thanks all for the hotel recommendations, they all sound wonderful especially the Savoia which is so close to where the ship will embark as well as the train station. The pics were also much appreciated! I will presume that the ferries that go to Portofino will be in the same general vicinity. Now all I need to do is figure out how to obtain an MSC transfer from Nice to Genoa, or if that is not possible take the train. Getting excited to visit Genoa now!

Can anyone recommend a pre-cruise hotel that would be walkable to both the city center and the cruise port in Genoa? Will be planning on checking in the evening before and would like to see a bit of the city and do an excursion the next morning to Portifino before boarding the Fantasia later the same day. Do the ferry or van tours to Portifino leave from the same general vicinity? Also, I will need to get to Genoa from Nice by train unless I can determine if I can get a shuttle through MSC, and would like to be able to walk from the train station to the hotel. Does anyone know if MSC offers a shuttle service? It is all going to be a bit rushed, so any suggestions to make this as easy and stress-free as possible would be appreciated since I have never been to Genoa or Nice before.

Yes, I am looking at the Spring 2016 itineraries.

Just wondering if anyone out there thinks there might be a chance that MSC will substitute the cruise stops in Tunisia with another one because of the recent terrorism and the deaths of MSC passengers from the previous violence there. There are several itineraries MSC offers that I would consider that stop in Tunisia, but I have serous reservations about wanting to visit there at this time. I am sure I am not the only one feeling a bit nervous about this and would think the MSC must be taking this into consideration.

FINALLY, Armonia Mediterrean cruises for 2016 were just added to the MSC website today. Unfortunatley for me they recently substituted Palma Majorca with Mahon Manorca on the cruise I was interested in, so now not sure if I want to do the itinerary that leaves from Marseilles and includes Malta. :confused:

Thanks for posting the info. That is the cruise I am looking to book but the problem is I can't see US pricing and cabin availability on the MSC and other travel websites until they somehow add it to their booking databases, so no way for my to access the info and compare prices. Why it has been available on the UK site for months is what no one from MSC is able to tell me, nor can they tell me when it will be available on the US site. Very frustrating. I would have given up ages ago if there were a similar cruise available on another line.

There is still no cruise itineraries/pricing available for May 2016 Mediterranean sailings on the Armonia on the MSC website, and no one at MSC is able to give me any explanation as to why. Never have I had such trouble accessing information from a cruise line who I am anxious to give business to belore, this is just insane! Has anyone else had any similar issues? I think at this point it is beyond their just not being too concnerned about the US market, I think there are issues with the website that need to be remedied. I am looking for a 7 day itinerary out of Marseilles in May that includes a stop in Malta that only MSC offers and want to explore all of the online booing options. Until they get the information into their database none of the cruises show up on Expedia, Travelocity, etc as well as MSC so I cannot compare pricing options. Help! Not sure how I can reach out to them to remedy this. :confused:

Yes, it is getting really ridiculous. If they did not have the only itinerary that I am interested in for May of 2016, I would never in a million years choose to book with this line. If they can't market appropriately to US customers than shouldn't do it. Their website is awful and they have a chat feature that is never working. If they want to expand so quickly they need to get it together to compete with the other lines. What could possibly be the logic for opening up booking for every other country month's ago but not the US? Plus their customer service tells me that you cannot book your air through MSC for Europe cruises, but not sure I am being given accurate information on that.

I don't know why it is taking MSC so long to post availability of their 2016 cruises for the 2016 season on the US site, I am about ready to consider booking another line! Anyone have any idea as to why they would be waiting so long? Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, and others have had their cruises posted on their websites for months now. No one at MSC can offer a clue as to why and their online chat is never functioning for me. Do they have customer service issues?