Stockjock

As discussed in another thread, MSC Bellissima is on the Port of Los Angeles' schedule, weekly, beginning October 4th, 2025. The Alaska sailings are the subject of speculation only, although I believe MSC has said publicly that's something they'd like to do, which probably means it will happen sooner or later.

Recently, we've discussed the fact that MSC will apparently soon be sailing out Los Angeles. I was engaged in a conversation here and elsewhere (Facebook) about this. I was contacted by a social media spy (my term) from MSC, who asked that I delete my comments on the topic, as they haven't yet announced that they'll be sailing from L.A. I didn't do so, as the cat is pretty much already out of the bag, in my view. Now if they offered me a free drink package, everyone has their price, right?

FWIW, early on, I ran into the hotel director who was hanging out with the finance director and I asked him about the Speakeasy. I didn't know who they were, but I figured they were senior officers. The conversation went something like this... Me: Excuse me, I have a question. Do you know how we can get an invitation to the Speakeasy? (They looked at each other) Hotel Director: Is this your first cruise on MSC? Me: No, we've been on a number of MSC cruises. Hotel Director: I see. And are you here alone, or do you have small children with you? Me: It's just the two of us. Hotel Director: I'll be right back. He returned a few minutes later with a couple of invitations.

Fall 2025.

I have not done YC. Did a Aurea Grand Suite over this past NYE and really liked it a lot. It was much cheaper than YC. The promo I booked included drinks and wi-fi, and we booked 3 specialty restaurants for $100 each ($200 total). We also got a 4th (out of 7 nights) specialty restaurant for being diamond members. In our case, our cabin was a lot bigger and nicer than many YC cabins, and because we ate in the specialty restaurants 4 out of 7 nights, we ate very well. We timed it so that 2 of the 3 remaining dinners in Les Dunes (Aurea restaurant) were on Gala Nights, with somewhat better menus. This worked out great for us and we saved thousands over booking YC. Plus, I don't want a butler escorting us around, but that's just me. That said, I know that many rave over YC, so in my mind, it boils down to personal preference.

I've sailed on World Europa, Bellissima, Virtuosa, Divina, Seaside, and Grandiosa. We have a cruise booked to the Norwegian Fjords on Euribia. How about you?

Let me add a 2nd question to go with the main question. Has anyone booked Bella and received a cabin assignment prior to final payment. Again, when did that happen, what did you book, and what did you get? It seems as if most, or all assignments, occur after final payment. I wonder if they ever do Bella assignments earlier?

Some gripes are legit (especially shoreside customer service), but generally speaking, I feel people are overly negative. I think we did our first MSC cruise in 2016 or 2017 on Divina and the reviews were awful. We had such a great time! I kept reading about how there was nothing to eat in the buffet other than burgers and hot dogs, which was totally false. The only thing (then) that was legit was that they had a very grumpy and unfriendly eastern European crew, but that's largely been resolved. I think people are more inclined to write a review when they're annoyed about something or other. MSC is a bit different than some other cruise lines, so maybe they didn't like those differences, or perhaps they went forward with the wrong sort of expectations. I've read some negative reviews for MSC and others and it felt as if I wasn't on the same ship, as their experience was so different from mine.

I also see MSC Magnifica in San Diego on Feb. 3rd, 2026. But it's a one-time stop. Could it be headed to Alaska? https://www.cruisetimetables.com/san-diego-california-cruise-ship-schedule-2026.html

Good catch. 7 night cruises out of L.A., likely to Baja California. I'm in San Diego, so that's fairly convenient. I've already sailed on Bellissima, but we had a nice time.

My father (RIP) was a professor of law and economics, and an NFL agent. I work for a big Wall Street firm and I know more about investing and making money than he did, but he knew far more about economic theories than I do. But dad loved to gamble. He had photo after photo of himself winning big jackpots on the slots and shaking hands with the casino manager. $10,000 here, $8,000 there, even $20,000. He loved showing these photos to others. In fact, I still have those photos, even though he's been gone for many years. It all seemed so simple. Play the slots and win a ton of money. But when he passed, I got to clean up his estate, which was not only insolvent, but quite messy. And despite all of those photos showing him winning, if memory serves, his actual losses were somewhere between $600,000 and $800,000 (closer to $800k, I think). His only saving grace was that he had a great teacher's pension to barely keep him afloat, but because the estate was insolvent, largely due to gambling, my sister and I didn't inherit a penny. Of course, that's not the main point. The point is that gambling is typically a losing proposition. The odds are often much worse on a cruise ship than a land-based casino, and of course those odds *always* favor the house. When dad passed, in with his belongings, I found about 8-10 small checks waiting to be mailed. $12 to Discover card, $16 to Visa, $8 to MasterCard. He was trying to pay at least a tiny bit on his credit card balances, but those small payments didn't put a scratch in terms of what he owed. After he passed, I checked his answering machine. I couldn't begin to count the number of messages from creditors due to overdue bills. It's hard to imagine how much stress this must of put on him. Dad, who was a smart, highly-intelligent, educated and charismatic man, was broke. I attribute this to gambling. Because I work for a big Wall Street firm, people sometimes think that investing in the stock market is gambling. I don't see it that way, because you can be wrong initially, but be right later. And a properly allocated portfolio stands a good chance of recovery, and then some, even in a lousy environment. But gambling losses tend to be forever. I do gamble every now and then, but not much. I think my last loss was about $120, which I can handle. Pretty sure I'll never be offered a "free" cruise by the casino department. And that's okay.

When did you book, when did you sail & when did you get your assignment?

I feel obligated to share that, yes, I too received this survey and completed it. I shall anxiously await the 1 club point that will hopefully be awarded. Woo hoo.

It seems like most of the upgrades occur after the final payment date, from what I can gather. That's still a nice upgrade.

I was on Eclipse 3 months ago, and also 7 years ago. The condition is on the better side of okay, but I'm comparing it to newer ships or ships that have been revolutionized. But okay doesn't mean bad and we had a nice time on Eclipse. Here's a video I made of our cabin, FWIW.

One of his hits, which apparently Don Henley once sang along with him. And if you can't tell, Mojo's music had a silly, joking, tongue-in-cheek tilt to it. But I remember his shows as being a lot of fun.

He died of a cardiac event, and I think the chartered cruise is still at sea. That certainly puts a dark cloud over the event. I remember him well, from his days performing here in San Diego. https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/mojo-nixon-unabashed-outlaw-cult-hero-dead-at-66/ar-BB1hWOL6

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but you booked Fantastica and you got Fantastica. BUT...because you are in the YC, they won't differentiate you from the other YC guests, as I understand it. So technically, Fantastica. In practical terms, I believe you get all YC benefits. To contrast that, years ago, I booked Fantastica and was "upgraded" to Aurea. And at that time, Aurea included a drink package. But I didn't get that part, as I had only booked Fantastica. BTW, I put Aurea in quotes, as the cabin itself was inferior to the Fantastica cabin I'd initially booked. In fact, later, they removed the Aurea designation from that specific cabin, which was in a bad location at the front of the ship. Different situation for you, I believe. Again, hopefully someone will correct me if this is not accurate.

When did you book, when were you assigned and when was/is the sailing?

When is the sailing? If it's outside of the penalty period, you could cancel and rebook.

Did you receive a complimentary upgrade or not? If so, what was it?

I've not done YC, but I'd like to at some point. I am far from poor, but generally, I tend to be frugal (not cheap, there is a difference). That said, their offer seems reasonable. I'd give it a shot.

Even though MSC customer service is highly variable, I've had disastrous encounters w/them, and other times when things went smoothly. Glad that they took care of you and sorry to learn of the decline in health of your wife.

I recently booked a Norway Fjords cruise at a pretty good price, but drinks and wi-fi were not offered as an included option. I suspect that will change at some point, so I'll just check periodically and rebook when I see that option. Pro Tip: Unless you have a cabin that you absolutely cannot lose, if you've booked Fantastica and later see a better promotion, you're usually better off cancelling the original booking (only if there's no penalty) and rebooking. That's because Fantastica allows for one free change. So if you change the original reservation, you've used up your one free change. Conversely, if you simply do a new Fantastica booking, you'll still have that one free change option in your pocket.

I think you should have gone on the cruise. I've read so many opinions that I disagree with, *especially* pertaining to MSC.