NellieVA

We're on this cruise, too, and booked the Volcanoes and Waterfall tour with Big C Tours.  I'll write a review later, but we were VERY disappointed.  Can't recommend this company.

Morning!  Really enjoy reading your posts.  We're doing a lot of the same things as you, though we did Road to Hana a day earlier and did Haleakula sunrise yesterday.

Question.  Are you renting a car in Kawaii?  If so, where are you overnight parking?  We, too, did the Seaside in Maui.

Aloha!  We're on this same cruise and just found your postings.  Thanks.

Question.  We're coming into Maui now and overnighter.  Do you know why there is an all-aboard time of 5:30pm on our daily schedule?  I figured ww could record at any time.

Wondering if anyone has the answer to this.  Sai!ing on the Opera in December from Dubai.  On our return, we overnight in Dubai.  We have a 9:30am flight on disembarkation day.  As we overnight and disembarkation time is advertised as 12:01am, can we get off whenever we want?

The tour is called "Pearl Harbor & City Landmarks" by Personalized Hawaii Tours (phvforme.com).

thanks for all the replies.  Appreciate all the comments.  As a follow-up, we had considered the taxi/Uber option, but as we're going to have our luggage with us, we worried about storing that at Pearl Harbor.  I was successful in finding a private company that can accommodate our schedule, and the price is reasonable.

MOOLINE -- I was able to find a private company that can accommodate our schedule, and our flight is at 3:30pm, too.  If you want the name of the company, just let me know.  Their price is almost identical (a little less) than the tour/transfer offered by the cruise line, and they've guaranteed us Arizona tickets and drop off at the airport by 1:30pm.

We are returning on the NCL POA into Honolulu on 7 October and wish to take a Pearl Harbor tour after disembarkation, with a drop-off at the airport.  Our flight from Honolulu departs at 3:30pm.  None of the NCL-provided excursions would work for our flight timing, at least according to the NCL website.  Can anyone recommend a private tour company who can provide this tour?

What time is your flight?

 

I've only been to Montreal when staying the night, so I've never had this issue. A quick Google search brought up several frustrated TripAdvisor and related posts on the lack of luggage storage facilities in Montreal, other than in some fairly unique circumstances.

 

That could put you in the potentially expensive situation of booking a hotel "for the night" knowing full well you'd leave in the evening. Or, if possible, spend a day in Montreal and fly out the next morning?

 

EDITED TO ADD: Actually, it appears there is a luggage storage location. It may be relatively new, and I know nothing about it, but it's Canadian Luggage Handler, web page http://www.luggagehandler.ca/ Check it out and see, and maybe someone on here has used them.

Thank you SO much. This is exactly the type of service for which I was searching. Thank you!

We are arriving into Montreal in mid-July. We're looking at taking a night flight out, but am unsure what we can do with our luggage during the day. We were hoping to use the day to explore the city. Any suggestions for what we could do with all of our luggage for the day, until we head to the airport? Thanks in advance!

This is a copy of the email:

 

St. Petersburg is seeing the most visitors it ever has this Summer. This is great news on many fronts, and we are certainly happy more and more people are interested in coming to our beautiful and historical city.That said, we are obligated to inform you of one problem that has resulted. This Summer, for the first time ever,*the long queues and waiting times at Catherine’s Palace are becoming a problem, not only for us, but for all the tour operators and the groups that are brought to the palace, whether by other independent operators like SPB-Tours, or whether by the large groups organized by the cruise ships. While normally we could enter the palace within 20 minutes of arriving, the waiting time has now been approaching more like 45-60 minutes. Understandably, this has left many visitors frustrated.SPB-Tours always books special tickets to all venues with specific entrance times, so your waiting time is minimal or non-existent. However, in the case of Catherine’s Palace, this doesn’t matter. The Catherine’s Palace management has not organized themselves in a way that can accommodate the number of visitors it is receiving. *Due to the high demand, they are overbooking time slots.In a few cases, this has resulted in returning to the cruise ship a bit later than the scheduled time on day 1 (never on the day of your ship’s departure!). Our suggestion is not to book an evening option with the cruise ship that requires you to be back to the cruise ship too early. If you book an evening option with SPB-Tours, we can take you directly to the evening option venue after the day tour.I am sorry for the situation, but I feel obligated to tell you in advance rather than leave it as an unpleasant surprise on the day of the tour.Despite the situation, I am confident your time in St. Petersburg with us will be the highlight of your cruise[/font]

We got the same e-mail for SPB (visiting on the 18th aboard the Musica). Today we got an e-mail saying that Catherine's Palace has been completely dropped from our tour. The Amber Room was the one thing we truly wanted to see in St. Petersburg, and now they've taken it away completely. Does anyone have a recommendation for another company which can "guarantee" that we'll visit the Catherine's Palace? I have time to cancel the SPB tour, but don't want to do so without a viable alternative. I would have preferred if SPB adjusted other parts of the schedule -- such as shortening lunch or taking out the built-in shopping time -- so as to accommodate for any delays.

Hi Backbunny. Just curious if you booked through NCL or a TA? It's outstanding that you got multiple packages. In my looking, short of booking a suite, I don't see a way to get the multiple packages.

We're interested in an NCL sailing in Europe next year, but the itinerary is simply too long (12 days) for us to fit into our school/work schedules. Does anyone know if NCL will allow you to intentionally join or depart a sailing early? I'm certain we'll end up paying for the full 12 days, and probably the service charge for each day, but I'm just not sure if they even allow it. Does anyone have experience in this arena? Tnx.

Thank you so much for the information. I created a new account -- using a different e-mail address -- and it brought up my Club information. It does not offer the option of seeing statements or such, but at least I can see my point level.

Thank you for the recommendation. I always knew CC would come through while MSC "customer service" continues to fail.

Thinking I might have luck (dumb me), I just called MSC again. I navigated the all too familiar phone tree to finally get the MSC Club line. After the obligatory five-minute hold, it directs you to a message saying they are "on the other line" and providing their e-mail address. ...yes, the e-mail address to which I have sent countless unanswered e-mails. They also ask you to leave a voicemail message which "will be answered by close of business." I think I've finally figured out their ploy...they never specify close of business on WHICH DAY. There is their loophole!

thanks for the info, but my MSC account must not be linked to my MSC Club account. I can log-in, but I do not get directed to the MSC Club area, as shown on your account. The My Dashboard area has no information about my club membership or my past cruises. Any ideas as to how I can get the info linked or added?

I have been an MSC Club member for a few years and have never been able to access my club information. As MSC does not send out statements, it is impossible to know if points were awarded and what one's standing is. As best as I can tell, there is no way to log in and check this information. The MSC Club webpage does not offer a log-in function, and there is no way to link one's regular MSC log-in with your club membership.

Over the course of the last six weeks, I have called MSC countless times -- invariably ultimately directed to the MSC Club voicemail. None of my calls have been returned. I have also sent six e-mails (as of this morning) directly to MSC, and -- shocker -- I have not had ANY response of ANY kind.

As anyone figured out how to obtain this information? I'm at a loss at how to reach MSC customer service. It remains maddening...as does the long-promised webpage upgrade (now three years past due by my latest count)...

Any help anyone may be able to provide would be appreciated.

Nellie ... Good to hear you enjoyed the Norwegian cruise on the ship which we will be on in November to Dubai, the Musica class is our favourite of the three classes that MSC currently have. The review was a good read although once again MSC appear to have dropped the ball with regard to moving the ship and not telling you in advance, I cannot believe that you were left to get to Kiel by yourselves.

 

The shower doors on Divina have been there since the ship was built and were not installed when it got to Miami so not sure where the info came from that you posted.

 

When you say the ship was docked in Geiranger Fjord i am guessing you meant that the Tenders used the small pier which has three mooring legs or did you get to use the swing out walkway that is normally only used for Royal and Celebrity ships ?

Morning,

We used the swing out pier, so we were able to walk right off the ship.

There are relatively few postings from Americans about MSC cruises to Norway, so I thought I'd share:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=261395

Interesting question. We've sailed all of the main-line "American" cruise lines, and did the Divina out of Miami last December. We're sailing on the MSC Orchestra out of Germany later this month, so I'm sure the experience will be different than what we experienced on the "Americanized" Divina.

All that said, below are some comments I included in my Divina review, specifically referring to the "Americanization" of the ship and product:

"Our fellow passengers: Okay, here is where the debate may begin. Yes, MSC is an Italian cruise line and, yes, they are known to Europeans. I’ve read how people are afraid that MSC will “Americanize” too much and “lose its Italian flair.” To these observations I offer up the suggestion that it is the clientele which make the ship, more so than the cruise line. In other words, MSC will not “lose its flair” so long as there are so many Europeans on board. Conversely, it will “Americanize” only so far as the number of American cruisers increases. As noted, this was a Christmas cruise and there were a HUGE number of large families traveling. A member of the Cruise Director staff told me how the sailing before had been dominated by folks aged 65 and older, whereas the average age for this sailing was closer to 30, factoring in the children. That demographic shift will surely mean that my experience over Christmas is different than someone sailing the week prior. For our sailing, Americans were in the minority, if you lump all of the Europeans together. We heard countless languages, but the main ones were Italian, German, Spanish, French (to include French Canadians), Chinese, Hebrew, English (American, Canadian, Brits, etc.) and Russian. It was a true smorgasbord of nationalities. I, personally, am fine with this, though it was an admitted huge departure from all of our other cruises. That said, there are – shall we say – cultural differences that turned off many of our fellow passengers. Mainland Europeans are far less “anal” than Americans about waiting in line and, for example, allowing others off of an elevator before boarding or joining the end of a line at the buffet. My mother-in-law walks with a cane often and on only one occasion did someone stand aside and let her exit an elevator before people piled on. Having lived in Europe several times, I’m used to it, but it was obvious that many, many Americans on my cruise were taken aback and were all too willing to share their thoughts. “How rude?!” “There’s a line here!” “Did you see me standing here?” You can get the idea. Again, this is not MSC-centric, but passenger-centric. That said, Americans were far from model passengers, with teenage children among the worst “offenders.” I hesitate to write this, as it may give the impression that I did not enjoy our cruise. Nothing could be further from the truth. It was one of our most enjoyable cruises ever, and the ship is simply stunning. All that said, fellow passengers can make or break a cruise, and if you are looking for a homogenous “Carnival-like” ship-full of people, you’ll likely be disappointed."

As for smoking, the Divina had the best smoking policy I've yet seen at sea. Here are my comments from the review:

"Smoking policy – MSC, I LOVE YOU. As noted by others, MSC has amended their smoking policy for the North American market, making it the most restrictive among the big cruise lines, and I could not be happier. Aside from a smoking lounge up front, one small section of deck 16, and a one-side section of deck 14, there is no smoking anywhere else in the ship, including on balconies. In seven days, I smelled smoke only once, and that was in a designated smoking area. For a ship absolutely chock-full of Europeans, this was amazing. I recall a sailing on the EPIC, also with a healthy contingent of Europeans, and my suitcase reeked of smoke upon my return home. No such problems here. Bravo to MSC for this policy."

I hope this helps.

I see that the Divina has several "flipped" Inside cabins, which run 90 degrees from the majority of inside cabins. These cabins are:

12091

12079

12076

12064

11099

11087

11082

11070

10085

10073

10066

10078

9071

9083

9086

9074

I was wondering if anyone has experience with these cabins and, most importantly, pictures. We're trying to figure out if the layout has more space or other advantages. Thanks!

If this thread is still being monitored, does anyone have the dimensions for the following?

10085 (Inside, flipped)

8063 (Inside)

5043 (Inside)

8146 (Outside)

5041 (Outside)

Thank you!

Does anyone know when and how I access my cruise documents before a sailing? We sail on the Orchestra on 23 August. I have checked in on-line, but all that produces is the one page document -- I can't see where or how to access the actual cruise documents?

Does anyone know how far out these are available, and how I access them? I am not sure of the normal process, and -- of course -- the MSC website does not specify. We sailed on the Divina last Christmas and the documents had to be mailed to us by our Travel Agent because of some problem at MSC. I'm not sure, then, how it is supposed to work, particularly for European sailings.

Thanks.

TBH I can't remember how I registered. I'm sure there'll be others along who can help. In the meantime, I'll wrack the oul brain and see if it'll come to me :rolleyes:

I finally reached an MSC Club person by phone today and asked how to access my Club membership information on-line. The agent told me it is not possible. I pointed out that their own website says that there is an "exclusive" Members'-only area where you can access all of your account information. The agent seemed confused when I pointed this out. I confirmed that there is no way to see the information on-line, or even to link my Club number to my existing MSC website registration. She told me that the only way to get the point information is to call them.

Again...as much as I'd like to defend MSC, they REALLY need to get their website in order and build a true customer-service phone capability.

You could try www.cruisedeckplans.com they too are colour coded with a pop up box that tells you about each category.

 

This site also give average sizes of cabins and balconies.

I can find the category of the cabins without a problem. What I cannot find is something to describe which categories are superior and which are standard? I am in a B2 -- but nowhere does it say if this is superior or balcony. On cruisedeckplans.com, they average the size and don't have a key to differentiate between the cabin sizes.