rettiga

I've never been on a ship during a major sporting event when you couldn't watch it on every TV set in a public space. Plus they'll almost certainly put it up on one of the in-room channels so you can watch there and order room service if you like.

Of course, Sunday will be my first day on an MSC ship, so they might not do what everybody else does. Fortunately I'm a take-it-or-leave-it guy when it comes to witnessing brain damage, so it won't matter much to me at all.

Here's the good news: the cab driver or the van driver or the bus driver or whatever will see the signs and know where to go.

We've spent a total of about a year at sea, but never on MSC before. We're going on the Divina in February, and have no intention of changing, second-guessing or otherwise worrying about anything. We got black cards via status match, booked a nice suite, and have every expectation of a nice cruise. I believe that expectations pretty much come true. If you've read a bunch of negative stuff about the ship, you've got to understand that at least half of it is uninformed and/or unreasonable bleating. Some of it is legitimate, but often people don't take timely and appropriate steps to have problems corrected, which the staff is usually more than happy to do.

As with most other things in life, if you expect a lousy experience, chances are you'll have one.

Uhhh. . .since most people seem to have gotten their black status via status match. . .and since those who didn't are by definition ardent MSC fans. . .and although any line can changes its policies at any time. . .

Has it not occurred to anyone that if you got your card via status match and lose it because of the three year rule, you can simply apply for it again via status match. Or is there a one-time-only restriction buried somewhere in the boilerplate?

You do not HAVE to have one to board. Many people cruise every year without one and it is fine.

Happy cruising!

Perhaps a more accurate statement would be "You do not have to have one to board this particular kind of cruise." I know that a lot of people's framework for cruising is roundtrip Caribbean floats only, but you can be very sure that you need passports for lots and lots of cruises around the world, no question about it. And while it's also true that "Many people cruise every year without one and it is fine," it should be clearly understood that this statement applies only to a fairly narrow subset of the world's cruise itineraries.

Thanks to you both. I rummaged around some more on the website and finally found the info. Looking forward to a nice cruise.

We've had passports since we were teenagers. Here's the best reason to have one, whether you need it for a specific trip or not: Passports tend to fuel your imagination, urging you to travel every time you look at them. They're skeleton keys to the world, and at 65 countries and counting I'm personally glad that I never have to ask whether I need one. Pack the bag and go!!

Or, you could just use the old trick of covering the tags, both sides, with transparent shipping tape. Works fine.

First time on MSC this coming Feb. Never been on them before but used status match to get a black card. Got a suite on Divina with Aurea perks in addition to the black card perks. Two questions: can't seem to find any info about tipping, especially whether tips are added to the bill like just about everyplace else. And, I can't seem to find anything about a dress code. Any help appreciated.