Stockjock

I am not sure but usually if you book in advance the gratuity is included and if you book on board it may not be.

Here are a few more photos for the heck of it…Here are a few more photos for the heck of it. Today we are off the coast of Portugal with a stop in Lisbon tomorrow. The weather has been decent, mostly cloudy although we had a warm day yesterday in Ferrol. We are doing the walking tour of Lisbon and wine tasting tomorrow.

Remember this is a European sailing so the rules may be different than out of the USA, but we had to have a negative Covid test taken no more than two days before boarding, which was really more like three, because the day of embarkation is not included. We found a test center that was about $20 US per person and gave us results in maybe half an hour. You could get a paper result and the euro digital certificate. When we boarded, they asked us for that proof of a negative result and they also asked us for proof that we had been vaccinated. And other than that, it was a very quick process to get on the ship.

We thought that the sweet show was poor and the string show was decent. But neither compare to Cirque du Soleil. Not even close.

We also get off in Barcelona. So far, we do like the ship. The service is not quite up to Celebrity’s standards, but it’s a big improvement since our last couple of Cruises on MSC.

I don’t know who most of these people are. The entertainment Director is kind of a tall woman from Germany but other than that I’m not really sure. We are not in the yacht club so I don’t know what’s going on there.

For anyone interested, I guess there are about 3800 passengers on board and I think this ship can hold somewhere around 6000 passengers.

It’s actually lobster and it is a $17.50 per person upsell in the specialty French restaurant. The choices were pretty limited on the standard tasting trilogy menu, so I thought it was probably worth it.

So far, everything has been very good. We are pulling into Ferrol, Spain this morning. We are in an aft cabin on the 14th deck. I have noticed definite improvement on board, in terms of the onboard experience. I will write a full review once I return, but if anybody has any questions, feel free to ask.

I’m certainly getting a lot of notifications on a thread about captains club power points, especially considering that there are no new offers for captains club power points. Each time I see that little bell I think “Oh boy, there must be some new PUP offers”, but that’s not the case. I suppose I am now contributing to that. Oh well hopefully there will be. Carry on.

Nobody knows, but I work for one of the big Wall Street firms in my job is all about odds. So I would say the odds are very good at eventually some of these offers will resurface.

Just a shout out to Skier 52. I hope you're doing okay.

It would be a Meraviglia Plus ship, so quite similar to Grandiosa and Virtuosa. Also very similar to Bellissima and Meraviglia, which are Meraviglia class ships (the plus are a bit larger, but otherwise similar). There are many YouTube videos that you could watch on any of these ships to get a feel for them. I would expect only minor and subtle differences Euribia, although obviously it's not sailing just yet.

Mixed feelings other than the cabin situation. As you mentioned, Virtuosa is newer with more amenities, but we really loved Divina and I think Preziosa is similar. Plus, our last 2 cruises were Seaside, Bellissima and Grandiosa coming up in a week or so. So as nice as the new ships are, sometimes it's nice to have something a bit different too. But it is what it is. If I don't like my cabin assignment, I'll discuss it with MSC.

I saw that after I posted. It hadn't been visible, but someone added a comment which bumped it up.

Guessing they'll eventually resurface, but who knows?

I have a booking on the ship and yes too early. Bear in mind that the deck plan on the booking engine is considerably different from the deck plan shown under "our ships", which is typical MSC. I assume it will be similar to Bellissima and other sister ships.

We have a sailing on Preziosa later this year. I was just informed that it's been moved to Preziosa. What's kind of a bummer is that I had booked an oceanview, but it was an aft cabin with a balcony. Because the balcony is so small, they sell it as an oceanview, so it was a great value and I like aft cabins. I hope that I get a decent assignment, as the cabin now shows as unassigned. September 1, 2022 Dear Valued Guest, Thank you for choosing MSC Cruises for your upcoming cruise vacation in Northern Europe. We are contacting you with an update concerning your cruise which is scheduled to sail from Le Havre, France on 12/29/2022 aboard MSC Preziosa. This is to inform you that due to operational reasons, the MSC Virtuosa will replace the MSC Preziosa during Winter 2022-2023. As a result, your cruise will now be aboard the amazing MSC Virtuosa, with no changes to your departure date or cruise itinerary. The MSC Virtuosa is one of our largest, newest and most innovative ships offering a variety of impressive guest facilities. It will now offer the planned seven-night cruise itinerary with calls at Hamburg, Germany; Zeebrugge, Belgium; Rotterdam, Netherlands; Le Havre, France, and Southampton, UK. If you will sail aboard MSC Virtuosa on 12/29/2022, no action is required on your part. We will automatically update your booking. Your additional options: If you choose not to sail on MSC Virtuosa, you can move your cruise to any alternative ship and sailing date currently open for sale. Change fees will be waived. Any payments already made towards your current cruise will be transferred to the new cruise. Please call your Travel Advisor before September 30, 2022 for assistance. If you booked directly with MSC Cruises, call us before September 30, 2022 at 866-420-3584 and reference your booking number. Our representatives will be happy to assist you. Please note, the prevailing rate of the new cruise will apply. Alternatively, if you prefer to cancel your reservation and request a refund in the amount paid to MSC, please call your Travel Advisor. Or, if you booked directly with MSC Cruises, call us at 866-420-3584 before September 30, 2022. Our representatives will be happy to assist you with the refund. We are confident you will have an amazing cruise vacation on MSC Virtuosa, and we look forward to welcoming you aboard! Sincerely,MSC Cruises USA

I believe the policy I have covers $500,000 and my American Express Platinum card covers up to $1,000,000. Between those 2, and my actual medical plan, hopefully I'm covered if something goes very wrong medically.

Just to elaborate on a point that I made in the original post. If you buy travel insurance and want cancel for any reason coverage, obviously it will be a lot more expensive, but importantly, it must be purchased very close to your original payment. While I didn't buy that, for me, my first payment was around March 2021, so if I had wanted that coverage, I would have basically needed to buy it at that time very close to March 2021. But, if you don't need that type of insurance, to me, it makes sense to wait until the final few days to buy the travel insurance. Most or all of these contracts have a review or free look provision that typically lasts from 10-14 days (check the terms on the policy you are considering). In my case, I bought the insurance 9 days before my trip begins. It has a 14 day free look period where I could cancel without penalty. But let's say I'd bought it 2 months ago (or whenever). The policy would now be non-refundable and even if there was a change in plans, I would not be able to cancel for a refund.

I would also cruise. I don’t think any of us wants to get anyone else ill. But I’ve been ill on vacations and cruises before and I did my best to stay away from other people and wash my hands a lot. It’s possible I got somebody else ill, but I tried to keep that from happening. I didn’t quarantine myself in a hotel for two weeks, but I tried to be sensible about things. When I got Covid, my symptoms were no more than a two on a scale of 1 to 10 and I felt perfectly fine, just very slightly under the weather. My girlfriend had a tickle in her throat but nothing else. She didn’t even feel bad, just cleared her throat a bit more than usual. Now some will say that you could give somebody long covid or they could become very ill, and I suppose that’s true, in the same context that if someone gets the flu they could get very ill and perhaps even die from it. I think that those with severe immune compromise should avoid any form of exposure to large groups of people no matter what. There are risks in life that we cannot get around. Eventually, every single one of us will no longer be on this planet. Every time you go to the store, somebody probably has Covid. Every time you go to a restaurant, somebody probably has Covid. Every time you stay in a hotel or go on a cruise ship or fly on a plane, somebody probably has Covid. This is today’s reality. The good news is that the current strains, for most of us, are much more mild than the original alpha or delta variants.

Here's an interesting question. What if one had a bad cold, would you still go? What about getting the flu, would you cancel just before your sailing? Possible stomach flu? I strongly suspect that covid will become equal to these things. For some, it already is, due to new and less severe variants coupled with partial immunity from vaccines, boosters and getting covid. I've had it and so did my GF. She was asymptomatic. For me, it was like about the mildest cold I've ever had. Folks say they don't wish to expose others to potential illnesses, but when the rubber meets the road, and potentially with thousands of dollars on the line, not to mention an opportunity to actually have a vacation for a change, I suspect that, all virtue signaling aside, most would actually do something different than what they say they'd do.

Sometimes I use one, other times I don't. I often don't when dealing with MSC, as I wouldn't wish dealing with them on my worst enemy! But when it comes to trip insurance, I would expect the insurance agent to be more well-versed than a travel agent. Probably more options too w/the insurance agent. I think my initial quote had at least 20-25 options, which were whittled down after talking to the insurance agent.

Soon, we'll be flying from the USA to Europe to start a 10 night cruise departing from northern Europe. My concern was, who would pay for hotel/quarantine if we tested positive for covid? I/we can afford to pay, but do we really want to, or would it make more sense to use the leverage of trip insurance? Let me start off by saying that I receive no financial benefit from any company, and I am not an expert in this area, so buyer beware and of course do your own homework. At first, I was getting quotes based upon the cruise price, the flight cost (some portions booked with frequent flyer miles) and hotel costs. But then, I realized that if I test positive for covid 48 hours before the cruise, I can get a cash refund from MSC and if I test positive day of the cruise, I can get an MSC FCC (that won't happen, as I'll test 2 full days before the cruise). So I really didn't see the need to insure the cruise portion specifically, because MSC mostly has me covered if I get covid and can't cruise with them. I lowered the total value of the quote a lot and ended up getting a very inexpensive trip insurance quote. Not sure that I can name the company that "insure my trip", but the policy I bought was a Travel Insured International Worldwide Trip Protector. What I liked about that policy was that for a $26 rider (my cost), I could add a inconvenience rider for bed rest. Basically, a physician would have to certify that I need bedrest or quarantine, but I'm told that's usually a simple certification to get if you have tested positive for covid. Apparently, they can cover up to $4,000 in related costs (you have to read the certificate), which should cover most of our hotel cost if we're stuck in Copenhagen for a week or more. For another $30, I added another optional "inconvenience" rider pertaining to flight delays, cancellation, missed port stops and such $250 per occurrence max of $750). Let me also add that "the devil is in the details", so don't assume any specific coverages without understand what you are buying. I made a couple of calls to their agents, as there are a lot of exclusions and such, especially pertaining to covid. There's a lot to it and obviously I won't pretend to go into all of the details here. But there are medical evacuation features, delayed baggage payment (only a 3 hour trigger, most are a lot longer), flight delays, death benefits, medical coverage, etc. Total cost of the insurance is about what we'd pay for a decent dinner for 2, so I think it's worth it. Let me also add that the policy has a free look period (I think it's 10 or 15 days) where I can cancel the contract for a full refund. Because trip begins within 10 days, presumably I could cancel the policy for a full refund if we can't go at the last minute. Just wanted to share some of my due diligence on this. In the past, I've typically gone without travel insurance, but I figured the cost was low enough to make purchase worthwhile