Sixtytwo

On 7/30/2023 at 3:28 PM, LHT28 said:

Are there places you are interested in seeing  like  Bruges or  other areas in the Netherlands ?

A train from Amsterdam  to Bruges   or Brussels  then rent a car to see some place in Belgium

train to France 

 

 

Rometorio.com is a good source  of different ways to travel to your destination

 

happy travels

 

I was going to also suggest downloading the app Rome2Rio. We have used it many times and would recommend it.

On 8/28/2023 at 2:03 PM, Hlitner said:

A terrific issue that we have mentioned to friends as a consideration.  For folks that tend to spend most sea days indoors (no matter the weather) there is seldom an issue.  But for those that enjoy spending a lot of time lounging around a pool (pool deck), they might want to look at ships that have a decent all-weather pool deck (such as the Queen Mary 2, Grand Princess, etc).  

 

We assume that most reading this thread are comfortable with lots of sea days.  If not, we would suggest some real soul searching before booking most TAs or Pacific crossings.

 

Hank

Good points, Hank!

Talking about upgrade offers, how long before cruise date does MSC stop offering upgrade bids? We are about 35 days out and wondered if there is still a possibility we could get an offer. 🤷‍♂️

Some pretty cool ships! Of course, I don't prefer those bellowing black smoke!

Seems to be a lot of mixed comments concerning MSC and Seascape. We cruised on Seascape in January, virtually new at the time. It was a most enjoyable cruise. Our mindset is that, as others have commented, a cruise is what we make it. We don't try to pretend we are on Oceania/Azamara/Crystal and make ourselves see the negatives to a mainstream cruise line. Seascape is a beautiful ship and we found no major issues that would deter us from booking it again. Granted, the MDR food does leave something to be desired, but take it in stride and it is bearable. There are lots of other options on board to fill the stomach void. 😉

Taking everything into perspective, yes, there are bumps and things one could say are much better on other lines/ships. But we find that the value is there for what you pay for a cruise.

On 7/23/2023 at 8:18 AM, JillK said:

I recently re-priced my cruise and was surprised to see the promo code below with new "add-ons" to my booking I wasn't expecting.

 

Code: VALUEPAC

Add Ons: 

1 x Bottle of wine

1 x Fifty standard photos

1 x chocolate covered strawberries

2 x $25 casino play

2 x Bingo - (2) Six games on one card ($39.99 value)

1 x Internet Package (200 minutes)

1 x $50 Spa Discount Voucher for Guests 1&2 (18+ years)

Jill, what was the benefit to "re-pricing" your cruise? Did you originally book through NCL or a travel site? We booked directly with NCL but did not use our NCL cruise consultant and wondered if there was any benefit to doing a re-price. Thanks!

22 hours ago, tomk3212 said:

a 100% occupancy rate

If I am not mistaken, the lines base occupancy on 2 people per cabin, not full cabin occupancy. I am guessing a lot of ships are sailing now at 100+% figuring those 3rd and 4th passengers in some cabins. I hope we will one day see a return to better pricing for cruises, but with the cost of fuel, wages, food, and other items rising, I would bet we just will have to accept the higher costs as the new normal.

43 minutes ago, Twolittleboys said:

 

Of course not! But I don't see noting deficiencies (or what someone might perceive as a deficiency) as "just complaining". If I want to just complain I will do so to my family...

 

I have two reasons when writing critical comments/"complaining":

a) I think it is important to be well informed to make any decision, including where to vacation/what to spend your money on.

So if someone reads a thread and thinks "Oh, well, I don't care if my cabin won't be ready until dinnertime. I like to hang out at the pool/bar anyway" then that is great. Someone else may hate the idea enough to choose a different cruise line (rather unlikely I think). And a third person may decide to board a bit later or have more or less carry-on luggage knowing that it may take a long time to get into the room. 

 

b) I enjoy cruising and want the cruise lines to be successful. 

Obviously, they want to/have to save money and that may include cut-backs. But how would they know if noone complains - either on the ship, in surveys or letters after or on the internet.

Let's say a cruise line makes changes a, b, and c and after a while bookings go down. How are they to know what is driving people away?

 

You make some good points Twolittleboys, I guess I just don't see the need to go on Cruise Critic or any other site and rant about something. We all find deficiencies on cruise ships from time to time, normally nothing that was life threatening or so gross it requires us to want to take their issue to a public forum to air our grievance. Life and cruises are what we make them. For me, I prefer to take the high road. 😉

11 hours ago, JinxyB said:

No one is forcing anyone to work on these ships

And the response is "no one if forcing us to cruise on these ships. 🤷‍♂️

22 hours ago, DeclanDiamond said:

Huh?

Oops! I think this was supposed to be a response to an entirely different post! My bad!! Sorry

Best guess, DeclanDiamond, is that it is MSC!

🤦‍♂️

How long after/before final payment date did the upgrade offer come?

This must be your lucky day! Just read another post that was truly horrifying concerning the same thing you did! Have a great cruise! We gotta wait until January to hop on Seascape!

Thanks, Dex for that information. I saw the post about the uncharge of $6400 to "upgrade" offered to one poster! That was quite ridiculous to even consider! I will assume that "offers" will come out after final payment date to whoever is selected to get one.

77Red96, maybe you will have the luck of the Irish! I am very excited to be porting in Dublin and Belfast on an upcoming NCL Transatlantic! I spent 2 years in England in the military and loved the country and the people. I have only been to Cork in Ireland and it was also a fun experience. Any pointers you may have would be more than welcome!

This may have been discussed at length, but I did not see the topic when I looked. My question is how does MSC handle their "Upgrade Offers"?  I am pretty familiar with how NCL does theirs but don't think I have seen/heard anything about MSC. Thanks for any information you can offer!

4 hours ago, PATRLR said:

The "free excursion" is a joke.  As others have said you get a $50 credit in each port for use by one passenger.  It's a struggle to find an excursion that costs less than $50, especially if you want an excursion that's worth going on. 

I have noticed that almost every excursion sponsored by the cruise line has gotten almost unaffordable. We normally like to go and explore on our own and use local transportation, if needed, so I am not too bothered by the costs.

From my one other MSC cruise, I honestly do not remember if the bow view is available. In fact, I don't recall watching the TV much at all. Too much to do on Meraviglia to be interested in TV.

15 hours ago, Selion said:

Rebooking typically doesn't happen after final payment date.  At most you may get some OBC or a category upgrade at little or no cost.  I'd gotten upgrades with Princess, Royal & Celebrity, but so far OBC fairy has missed me.

I normally do not put much faith in rebooking for an upgrade. But, in this case, I figured it was worth the try and, thankfully, it worked out for the best. We have a 2024 TA booked with NCL at what I consider to be a much too high rate. I will certainly keep my eyes open to an opportunity to either rebook or upgrade to a much better cabin.

We are also taking the BOGO flight offer on an upcoming NY to London TransAtlantic. We want to have a couple of days in London before flying back. At what point and how do I request the additional time in London? Thanks!

2 minutes ago, raitch said:

On this cruise. 

Thanks, raitch!!

One thing to consider...a studio is for 1 occupant. If you upgrade to a cabin that is meant for 2 or more, I believe you will have to pay for the "ghost" second passenger as well. Might want to be sure what the rules are. 

Does a "one time" price reduction FCC mean never again on any future NCL cruise or no more on this cruise?

19 hours ago, awhcruiser said:

Were you past final payment?

No. Cruise is Jan 8-15, 2023. About, give or take, 119 days, 1 hour, and 25 minutes out.

4 minutes ago, Elsammo46 said:

Did you have to cancel and rebook entirely? Or were you able to get an upsell on your original reservation? Do you remember exactly what you asked to get the upgrade? Forgive me, I’m just trying to figure out exactly what to say on the phone tomorrow 😂

Actually, I simply talked to a MSC rep and asked if I could change my reservation under the sale and the first one got part way through and I lost connection, or she hung up! I called right back and started over again and it was all handled in about ten minutes. Got out of the inside and into a balcony. I cannot say you will be successful repeating what I did, but it is worth a try. Good luck and let us know how it worked out for you.