4sallypat

I hope non smoking casinos are done to the European sailings but I don't hold much hope as Europeans smoke a lot more than US folks.

Wow, I learned something! We had free bottled water at the MDR no matter what service (B, L, D) and we did not purchase a drinks package. Thanks.

Is this on US cruises ? When we took the Mediterranean cruise, we always had pitchers of water available at all meals in the MDR.

Juice only at breakfast - buffet or dining room. Lunch, Dinner, Late night - no. Must purchase separately.

If you have access to a lounge, it may be a great way to relax before your flight. We used the BCN airport post security lounge: Sala VIP in terminal 2 for free using the Priority Pass from our Amex Plat card benefit. Shower was very nice prior to boarding. They have relaxation areas for kids too. You can have you luggage stored at the airport too....

Fantastica experience also included free breakfast service too but the selections were limited. I enjoyed getting up at 6am, to photograph the next port, get my coffee and an MSC breakfast treat that just wowed me every single day. They didn't have too many put out so by 8am when everyone else was up, they were long gone. Anyone know what this is called ?

Since Aurea offers above the Fantastica experience, you should get free bottled mineral water at the MDR. Only European cruises have this. US sailings no.

Don't forget time change when cruising to Greece!

Oh no - risotto is gone? If this happened on a European cruise, Italians and myself would revolt and mutiny! Risottos are the best - had 2 plates every night!

That makes sense ! Does this happen on US cruises ? Have not seen this on a European cruise.

I enjoyed ordering 2 appetizers / salads and 2 entrees as the portion sizes were small on a eastern Mediterranean cruise I took in June '23. If the portion sizes goes up, then I won't have to order an extra salad and entree... The only surcharge I paid was the T-bone steak dinner I ordered - €15 extra. That was the only menu item that had an extra charge in the MDR. Well worth it - only needed 1 to fill me up. 😆

Recently returned from European cruise on MSC Sinfonia and we ordered multiple appetizer / salads as well as entrees because the portion sizes were very small. Unless MSC increases the size of portions, there will be an Italian mutiny as there are more Italians cruising Europe... I have ordered 2 risottos and 2 entrees without dessert.

If you disembark at 7am, your luggage will be waiting for you at the port. The longest time it takes is the line for the group to disembark - when we queued up, there were some who had to be the first in line so they ran from the meeting point to the exit gangway as soon as the group was called. Make sure you have your cruise cards as they will scan it as you leave indicating to the ship that you have departed.

Daily planner lists solo traveller meet up location and times:

While all their mains are good, my favorite was a side: risotto. MSC being Italian does make the best risotto. I had all their risottos at every meal: mushroom, seafood, vegetable, and my all time favorite: asparagus risotto..

Are you using a mobile or computer web to login/sign on ?

I have been looking at MSC Bellissima for my next cruise in spring 2024. Looks like winter 2023-2024 is set but further out I can not see any Asia cruises.

Increase Southeast Asian cruises. Add west coast cruises for west coast folks. Keep European standards and practice.

100% correct! The 3rd party company contracted with MSC lines people up for available upgrades. People do cancel last minute or move their cruise to another date / ship. The higher you bid, the more likely you will get the upgrade but once it's done, you can't go back.

Yes, I agree. It will be awhile. I would gladly take a cruise on MSC from Vancouver up thru the Canadian islands into the Alaskan inner passage and up to Anchorage. In the meantime, my next cruise in spring 2024 will be on MSC Bellissima - Japan - Okinawa - Taiwan...

Would love MSC to have a west coast port of departure! Living in California, I'd travel anywhere to Oregon or Washington if they would cruise here. Not interested in cruising from East coast or Caribbean / Mexico. Very interested in cruises to Alaska or Canada!

What is the MSC Bellissima category fall into ? I am looking at a fall or next spring cruise in Japan / Korea / Taiwan.

Split is a great port to embark - no boat tenders and not a busy port to start from. You will have the ship to yourselves almost all day as everyone else is off the ship exploring the town. Beware that your next stop in Venice, you will need to take your passports (never needed it at other ports) and the boat tender times are longest plus you will need to buy water taxi tickets ahead of time. Ship docks off Marghera island (commercial shipping port) and takes 20 minutes by boat to get to Venice city center. Returning though it may take over an hour as you have to take one water taxi to the MSC embarkation island and join tons of cruisers starting their cruise. Be prepared to be checked by Italian immigration, passport controls, TSA scanning of your belongings, metal detectors, and re-board another water taxi to your ship. Then the huge line of water taxis waiting to line up with the single water dock took a long time. IMPORTANT: Make sure you arrive in Split at least 1 day prior to your cruise date. Reason: some flights are delayed / cancelled this summer due to crew shortages, airplane issues, weather, and technical issues. We got delayed a whole day due to a lack of crew on our 2nd leg being cancelled. Luckily, I planned 2 days prior arrival for such an event and it paid off as we arrived at our embarkation port in Athens, Greece 1 day prior. I am still waiting for a large compensation check from British Airways under UK261 for the cancelled flight. We did however enjoy an unplanned day touring London... As for the drink package, make sure you understand to break even, you must order at least 5-6 drinks per day even on port days where you will be off the ship most of the day. I ended up not getting the drinks package because I am a light drinker and only one in our group that consumes alcohol. Even paying per drink on board, the entire week I paid €190 for alcohol plus whatever I paid at port cities. Saved me €700 ($800 USD) by not having to buy 2 drink packages. Venice port city: Wife bought $3000 handbag from LV in Venice for $2000 (costs less in Europe and you get the 18% VAT tax refunded): Short video on the water taxi from the island to Venice city port: IMG_8221 (1).MOV

@Kylo Ren We just returned from sailing the MSC Sinfonia last month and loved it. Which port are you embarking at ? MDR portions are small and just right - makes it easy to order additional appetizers, salads, entrees and my favorite risottos at dinner. We dined in the MDR most of all our meals onboard. Avoid the buffet - they are a zoo! MDR entrees may show up similar in the buffet but not the same as the portions in the trays are huge. Usually the breakfast and lunch items are more commonly seen in the buffet. Buffet does not stay open 24 hours - they have closing times (2am-6am and in-between lunch & dinner). For night owls, they have midnight bites that opens at midnight for a few hours. I loved the afternoon tea at 4pm just before buffet dinner started. Reminded me of the English style of high tea but on an Italian ship. No chef's table - no speciality restaurants on MSC Sinfonia (Lirica class = smallest, oldest ships in the fleet). Pizza bar is open lunch thru midnight. I loved it that when I asked for a cheeseless pizza they made it ! On the Mares outdoor bar, on the side, they would host special menu item made in front of you: Limoncello bar Pastry cake bar Pasta bar My review posted here: https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/getreviews.cfm?action=ship&ShipID=373

Water from the ship is very good - almost better than bottled. MSC has some extraordinary water engineering to provide a very tasty water from your tap, buffet, etc...