Mark_T

They aim for 4-7 days after end of cruise so they are a bit late now it seems. 30 days after the end of the cruise the web account is disabled, so if the photos were moved to the cloud and it is just the email that has gone missing there is still some time to go...

... my biggest concern at this point would be that the photos are routinely deleted shortly after the end of the cruise, so if the fact that payment was actually made by a 3rd party after the onboard account had been closed is at the root of the failure to deliver the emailed link, the photos may already be gone...

I know this isn't helpful, but the only 'correct' way to handle this was to do it before you were in port and debarking, once that happens your onboard account is closed out so there really is no way for you to pay, this is why there are usually lots of warnings onboard to make sure you have made any purchases the day before you debark... Since you were leaving early, you wouldn't have had a specific warning like everyone else on the final day of the cruise...

Obviously there is no excuse for failing to provide you with the download link via email after your friend had purchased them for you, but for the initial problems paying for it yourself, did you approach the Photo Manager while you were at sea, or after you were already in port? Once in port, a lot of the retail services do shut down to avoid tax issues, and from a security perspective I can see why they would not want to take a copy of your card details to use later...

It is 5% discount from 100%, then 5% of the 95%, which is why I expressed it as they do, which is 5 + 5 rather than 10, so it was a good point to mkae 🙂 Not all OBC is applied that way though, the promotion that was on when we made our booking is specifically for double occupancy cabins, so a solo traveller would have received half...

... and very easy to book and pay for tickets on the Trenitalia app...

As long as you look straight out, then no... Not sure I'd say that down was much better than the others on deck 6 though as you can see from the photo... This doesn't really bother us much and we've had a couple of 'hump' cabins on deck 6

Depends on the ship and if it is full of course, as they will try to fit 3 sittings in on some of them and that does then need to start early.

It is still possible they are running 3 sittings, but the late one may be 'full' already... ... or they are just showing those two options and will adjust later... You can still go to the Maître 'd onboard and see if you can switch to the late sitting if you don't like what you end up with once you board...

Exactly, everyone has there own reasons to prefer one over the other, which is great, as otherwise we'd all be fighting over the same cabins 🙂

Personal preference of course, but we greatly prefer to have the bed by the bathroom as it seems to make the space next to the balcony feel larger and easier to use. The trade-off is that the sofa-beds are never as comfortable as a couch.

From the Celebrity alcoholic beverage package comparison page... Left side is Classic, right is Premium

There are many reasons to sail with Celebrity, but the 'lobster' really isn't one of them. Far too much excitement and angst over what is a very poor substitute for the real thing. The miserable little overcooked example in Murano on our recent cruise ended any pretence that there was lobster on the menu... Enjoy a real lobster on land, and enjoy the cruise for other reasons in our opinion...

It is usually the time when all food outlets are prepping for lunch and the vast majority of people have not long had breakfast, so seems very reasonable to have a service pause during that hour.

Currently $35 I believe, and that would be the one I'd expect to be open for lunch on embarkation, and any sea days. We used to enjoy the Murano lunch as well, but earlier this year on Eclipse we were told it had been dropped...

We were on Divina, cruising near Italy, so we walked through the ship each day to get to the Yacht Club restaurant. We only found it noticeably busy on the gala night, but there were so many bars, with different entertainment in each, that even then the people tended to spread out between them (all serve coffee as well). Didn't see an issue with finding seats or a table had we chosen to stay in any of them. General atmosphere was more 'lively' and culturally diverse than X. We never noticed any cigarette smoke even in the casino, and the one inside smokers lounge always looked empty as we went past, so I'm guessing we didn't have many smokers onboard, so every cruise is going to be different. I guess the big difference we noticed was the general ambiance, X can feel a little sterile at times, where MSC always felty like people were having fun, but there was both quiet and party spaces available just a walk away, never felt like we would have to hunt down a bar with space to sit as we have had to do on Silhouette or Eclipse at times. The atmosphere in the Yacht Club itself felt way better than the Retreat as there was some form of, appropriate, live music in the lounge every evening. The butlers also work in the lounge, so there is rarely a wait for table service. Can't comment on what it was like around the main pools on a sea day so it could well have been a bit more of a 'zoo' down there, but again quite a few different spaces including an 'adults only' are for those not wishing to deal with excitable children 🙂 If we had to sail outside the Yacht Club for a great itinerary I think we probably would still do it, but at current prices we would always be more inclined to book Yacht Club.

I'd forgotten about the cruise price discounts... They status match from most hotel/airline/cruise loyalty programmes and you can get 5% + an additional 5% if you book more than 6 months in advance. If you are 9 months in advance you get an extra $50 OBC as well. Also double status points + $200 OBC if you book onboard.

On our trial cruise with MSC we had a smoother pre-cruise and embarkation experience than you did, as there was an email asking for our choice of spirits and our newspaper preference. On the newspaper, I wouldn't ask for it another time as I was expecting the sort of small summary sheet that I've had on Regent in the past , but what we got was the whole thing, printed on A3 paper and about half an inch thick... far too much waste for comfort. Agree on the speciality restaurants, the price is very low compared to Celebrity, you were getting all 3 for around the price of one on Celebrity, but there is no need as the food in the MDR exceeds the specialities, in particular the fillet that is available every day was cooked to perfection and was probably one of the best steaks I've ever had, anywhere... I'd give Celebrity the edge on the entertainment, especially in Europe as the MSC productions try to appeal to a wide range of different languages, where Celebrity just target English in all markets, so they are more performance focused. ... but Celebrity could use a bit more variety in the production shows. Yes, we have booked with MSC again, can't argue with better than retreat service levels for Aqua prices...

It could be in a week or it could be after final payment is due, you can't rely on it being as quick as the last one.

From the link earlier, these are the suite amenities that you will get: These are the AI inclusions that you would get if you had booked the Retreat in the first place, but you do not get if it is a 'move up': If you are drinking in the retreat lounge you will still get whatever they are serving, it is only elsewhere on the ship that you will still just have the Classic beverage package. ... and yes, you will get billed for the difference in the gratuities for your original cabin and the RS.

That's the way I feel as well, adding a private island to the Caribbean cruise schedules helps them compete in a market where the islands are an expected inclusion. We don't want a beach stop so we do not usually do Caribbean itineraries. As long as they don't start trying to do the same all round the world there should still be plenty of interesting options. However, what they have done with the existing reservations at short notice is completely unacceptable and displays a causal disregard for their customers.

... one thing I do like these days, both in the US and UK , is the shelf-edge labelling giving price per oz or per 100g etc.

When did you last see MSRP on pre-packaged food products in the US?

Easy Plus... It is shown in the T&C link further down the page - https://www.msccruisesusa.com/cruise-deals/promo-terms-and-conditions

However, leaving the packaging visually unaltered so you still think you are buying the same quantity and then labelling it correctly in small print is entirely legal but still unethical...