nferr

Meraviglia, three night dining package $71.

Booked my package on the website a couple weeks ago for a January 26 cruise.

Yup, exactly. Maybe pay for one or two after using four vouchers.

About a year back I booked Oasis for this October, seven night cruise to the Bahamas. Inside room for two was $975 and I got $175 in onboard credit. Can't get close to that pricing now, everything is at least double. And I get the four free drinks a day since I'm Diamond. I'm actually cruising MSC in January, nine nights out of NY with the drinks package and wifi included for $1,020 and $50 on board credit, and that's solo.

That NCL price doesn't include port charges, fees and taxes. They don't include that until the last step in booking. And their fees and port charges are usually kind of high. Probably going to add $300 to $500 to your total price.

I really like the cover bands. Not too happy about this cutback.

I'm cruising out of Cape Liberty to the Bahamas next month. Got a great price because of "hurricane season". Do it often and have never had a cruise cancelled or make a huge change. I think once we missed a port to avoid a tropical storm. You're on a ship out in the ocean, you can hit bad weather at any time. Things can happen on any kind of vacation, you learn to roll with the punches.

I'm taking my first cruise on MSC in January out of NYC. Recent reviews I've seen have mostly been pretty positive. Nine night cruise to the Bahamas with drink package and wifi for $1,020 and that's solo. Three dinner specialty dining package for $71 including gratuities. I'll see how it compares to my Anthem cruise last December. The ships are about the same size and age. I'm cruising Oasis next month which is a much larger ship than the MSC Meraviglia.

The Key is $50 per day right now for my Oasis sailing! The internet is $19. $31 a day extra for the Key is insane for my uses. The internet went down $1 for the Labor Day sale and the Key price stayed the same lol.

Sure, but's that not what we were talking about. I agree, last year I paid $208 for the UDP on an 11 night cruise with six sea days on the Anthem. That's potentially seven lunches and eleven dinners which if you used them all is under $12 a meal. Now for my seven day Oasis cruise next month they want $288 when it's on sale. So maybe four lunches and seven dinners or $26 per meal at best. Yeah, I'm skipping it. I'll individually purchase a few lunches. I was responding to the idea that they're saving money by cutting back food they order for the MDR and Windjammer. I think there's so much waste of food that they really don't cut it this fine. You're talking about 6,000 passengers on an Oasis class ship. Actually, what you're paying for is more privacy, more attentive service and a more upscale experience in the specialty restaurants IMO. The food is a step above also.

People are funny on here. First, it's "nobody's eating in the specialty restaurants", then it's "they're saving so much money in the MDR because of people eating in the specialty restaurants. I see you're a joy to discuss an opposing view with. Good day.

If you think it's that exact...well. Have you ever seen them run out of food in the MDR? Like they know exactly how many entrees each person will order?

Yeah, but it's not like they're ordering less food for the MDR because you're eating in a specialty restaurant. Not to mention extra service and nicer ambiance.

216,000 GT versus 227,000 GT isn't really much smaller. Pretty much a wash IMO.

Have you seen the massive piles of food on some plates at the buffet?

If you're a light drinker it's OK. If you figure in five or more a day it adds up quickly. I'm cruising MSC in January and I got the promotion for the open drink package and free wifi. It came out to $40 a day over the base fare which is a good deal IMO. RCL wants almost $20 a day just for the wifi. My nine night cruise from NY to the Bahamas in January on MSC is $1028 which includes the drink package and wifi and that is going solo. It's Fantastica level also.

Or maybe their base pay is a lot more. Most bartender positions in the US get barely any base pay. They make their money through tips.

Exactly.

You're right of course! 😊

I took two RCL cruises last year, the first one I had the drink package. I turned Diamond after that one so the second cruise I used the four daily vouchers and bought anything over that. I pretty much almost always tipped an additional two dollars if they handed me a receipt to sign. A lot of times they didn't, and I don't carry cash around the ship. Prices have really have gone up on the package. In February last year I paid $62 a day for the UDP and Voom and Stream together. For my cruise this October they want $73 for the UDP when on sale and an additional $19 for internet. The February cruise was 11 nights and I paid $207 for unlimited dining. Now it's at $338 (I think $279 when on sale) for seven nights.

And in any case a one month cycle is far different than paying months or a year in advance.

Not to say it was a good situation, but all the mainstream cruise lines do this. Cancel an already booked cruise to take on a charter. I've seen it on the NCL and Royal boards too. I guess the cruise lines have their reasons. They always offer free refunds or switch to another date. I don't agree with the practice.

That's a hefty increase in one shot.

On the other hand I got a studio balcony on the Anthem for $775 last December. A regular interior room gty booked solo was $200 more. And my balcony was huge. The cabin itself had plenty of room for a solo.

Exactly. My experience has been very different.