tweakes

6 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Was hoping you would post about your YC experience as I remember your post a while back asking about YCI.  I agree, it's just great!  As for the casino voucher, they changed this a few months ago.  When we were on Meraviglia back in November I earned a 30% off voucher and immediately booked another YCI for this August.  Shortly after they changed it to disallow YC bookings using the voucher.  I suppose you could book the highest Aurea category and then upgrade but I don't even know if that would do anything price-wise.  It's too bad they changed it.  All that to say, I'm so glad you and your DH enjoyed your cruise!

I was told no to using my 30% voucher as well over the phone. I emailed the casino and they immediately accepted it - I sail on the Grandiosa is 3 weeks! Just in case anyone has any leftover 30% vouchers lying around. It is worth using them!

Casino is not worth playing in in MSC anymore. Odds are so bad, they reset jackpots regularly without people winning. I get free cruises on every line I sail on, but now I get so little from MSC. The 30% vouchers were nice and worth gambling for (but really too easy to get). I'm Diamond but will find other cruise options now. 😞

MSC is crazy with this stuff. I'm Diamond mostly because they have credited my casino purchases (on all but 2 sailings). In November I received 0 points from casino purchases nor onboard spending. I was in a solo cabin so it definitely didn't go to someone else. I'm Diamond already so there was no need to complain. Point is that anything related to MSC and customer service just does not exist (except onboard where I think the staff is amazing).

28 minutes ago, Nikita4 said:

 

The Visa ist 10.50, then 4.6 for the health assurance and taxes for 10.50 or so. 

I followed instructions and was never given options for insurance or other fees... I entered my data, got to the payment screen, and entered my card. Only 10.50... 😕

So I just applied for the visa following instructions from MSC... but it was only $10.50, not $22 .... what did I do wrong?? 😞

6 hours ago, lukeca said:

In my experience you can always do an alcohol drink and a water at the same time. However for two waters you would have to wait the 5 minutes. 
 

I would just get in the habit of grabbing a water, or Gatorade, from the coffee or juice place when I walked by and keeping them in my fridge. Then I would always have a couple extra ready to grab. 

This was also my experience in September. 

I even ordered an espresso and they rang it up... and then asked for a water. The system gave them an error, but they were override the error because it was water. They would not have been able to override another espresso order, according to what they told me. 

Each cruise line offers different experiences.

MSC caters to the European style of vacation which is centered around relaxing. There are not tons of activities everyday. Just relax and enjoy your vacation. That's not for some people. 

I'm Diamond with MSC and Gold with Carnival. Food on the Pride in September was the worst food I've experienced on any of my 19 total sailings, but MSC typically has forgettable food (but the steakhouse is great). 

My biggest issue with MSC is the lack of communication and all around disorganization. But it's an Italian company, and that's pretty much how visiting everywhere in Italy is too (I love Italy but that's still my opinion of the entire country). 

The Yacht Club on MSC is absolutely fantastic. It is the cheapest of the exclusive areas on cruise lines, and I found it truly amazing in all aspects. And considering I just paid the same price in the YC for an 8 night Christmas cruise as I paid for an interior room + Cheers on Carnival ... the YC was a MUCH better value. But I relaxed on that cruise, and I enjoyed that relaxation. For my 40th in April, I'm sailing Carnival because I don't want to relax - I want a party! 

MSC is a superb value. All their cruises now offer free drinks package and wifi. Although the drink package is limited compared to Cheers, it's a heck of a lot cheaper, too. I sailed in November for $500 for a solo rate (MSC is offering solo discounts through May). You just can't beat that value. But it's a different experience - understand that, and you will enjoy it. 

After all, if you don't enjoy your cruise ... the problem is not the cruise line. Just my two cents. 

I am on the same sailing, also in YC. We are staying at the Hilton Copacabana before the cruise, and I emailed and asked about options. They partner with a company who will do the tests in the lobby. 

These are the prices they quoted me:

PCR with result in 24 hours R$390,00 reals

PCR with result in 7 hours R$690,00 reals

Antigen Rapid Test with result in up 3 hours R$ 250,00 reals

The company's web site is c2rio dot travel, and they appear to be a regular tour operator. You could try to contact them to see if you have options for where you're staying. 

Look forward to seeing you on board!

-Todd

I know this is now later than you needed an answer but: You can either call the casino directly to apply the voucher (as you know), or you can make a regular booking online and call in later to apply the 30% voucher. 

I have been told the 30% voucher can be applied at any time. If final payment hasn't yet been made, no issues. If it has, I am assuming it would be rebooked and given as onboard credit but I have not done this before. I did recently change a YC sailing after final payment to World Europa and was given the option of receiving a refund of the price difference after the sailing was competed, getting the difference as OBC, or to keep the extra amount "open" where I could call in and book excursions or other services to take from the pot. I would assume OBC would be the easiest for the casino voucher, but since I haven't specifically done it, I'm not sure. I expect to do it in the next few weeks though! 

59 minutes ago, DrSea said:

Wow. I am surprised that this thread hasn't devolved yet.

 

I have seen people wear shorts and flip flops on elegant night. 

 

C’est la vie

I absolutely hate when people dressing comfortably makes me have such a terrible time on my vacation! My lobster tail just doesn't taste as good when I see someone across the MDR in shorts. Such a shame. 

I'm diabetic so always look for lower sugar. Grapefruit juice usually has lower sugar than other juices so I look for those... a sea breeze is not too awful (or at least doesn't affect my blood sugar as much as other regular cocktails do).

But my go to is vodka soda with a splash of pineapple. Just a little pineapple goes a long way, but any fruit juice splash is great. 

Outside of that, coffee with Baileys is a good way to start the day. 

Because MSC is not really great at anything other than their price point. It doesn't mean they're bad - I'm Diamond with them - but they are not really great at any aspect of cruising. Everything is mediocre. But their ships are beautiful, their staff is untrained, their food is fine, their entertainment is laughable, but when it comes down to it... if you can't have fun on a cruise, it isn't the cruise line's fault. 

Looks like our 7 November cruise was canceled and my reservation was automatically switched to 14 November. Just noticed in my profile now, no communication yet. 

2 hours ago, MeiFong said:

The Rotterdam schedule seems to agree with the Southampton scheulde, so in the second week of November, Virtuosa will take over from Preziosa.

 

https://www.cruiseportrotterdam.nl/cruise-calls/

 

 

 

 

Well this would mean the November 7 one on Preziosa I'm on from Hamburg would be canceled. It is supposed to dock in Rotterdam on November 9, but it is not showing on this schedule. 

I was scheduled for Virtuosa in January out of Barcelona. My reservation has been updated to Bellissima already and my room assigned (which irritates me because they changed it when they could have kept it exactly the same in the YC since the set up is identical). I was not informed of the change either - my reservations were just updated. 

I won $7500 from a machine 11 years ago and have only done a cheap 4day sailing since then. I still get great offers I including the 10day I'm going on in a few weeks (total $313 inuding taxes with $450 obc and drinks in the casino). Maybe the secret is winning and then they keep begging for their money back? 😉 

Each country offers their own promo btw. In Germany, only the easy package is included in a similar promo, but it's easy plus in the US. But it does show exactly what is included during booking. 

1 hour ago, fuddrules said:

Coffee

Iced Tea

Yeah, this is not really what I want to drink all day! Nor woukd anyone for that matter...

9 hours ago, Velvetwater said:

Maybe it's different in the UK and to the countries I've been to but I see lots of low carb drink options here. Not been to Germany since 2013.

 

Married to a type 1 diabetic and we always take no sugar squash or sachets. He also always orders wine and Manhattans/old fashioneds  onboard.

UK is usually a little different than the rest of Europe, and I've always thought there were lots of sugar free options there.

Germany is getting on board with the low carb deal; there's a noticeable difference between now and when I moved here in 2015. Some places - like Italy - forget about it. Carb and sugar central and absolutely no alternatives. 

I have drinks in the casino, but I was considering the drink package, but it would really make it worth it for me if I could stock up on non-alcoholic beverages ... but I don't want to just drink diet coke all day! I'll need to look into the different packets to take on board for hydration and energy - that's probably my best bet. 

I will be sailing on the Pride out of Rome in September. I can find lots of bar menus online, but I know Europe has not really gotten on board with all the sugar free drink options (I am a type-1 diabetic American living in Germany for the past 7 years).

Does anyone know if there are sugar free options on board for Europe sailings? Particularly interested in the energy drinks and gatorade. Thank you!

It's so interesting how some people absolutely hate interior rooms. I have always felt like when I book a balcony, I have to enjoy the balcony so I spend more time there than I should. But I don't want to enjoy the balcony; I want to enjoy the ship. The bartender in the cabin is too slow and doesn't offer much selection. 

The testing stuff is scary because of how inaccurate it is.

I tested positive on Tuesday. My husband had has had symptoms since Monday and was negative until today. 

Now I worry that when we sail in April (over 30 days from now) we will test positive because of this, although medically we would be the safest passengers on board. 

But what's the alternative? Stop testing and let it spread throughout all cruises and then it all shut down again? No thank you. 

I wore a (cheap) suit in the YC for Elegant Night in January and I was severely overdressed. I mean, I felt awkward. This was in Europe... I know US cruises are generally even more casual. 

I agree with the original post, but I also agree with the responses (at least the ones that were not condescending). 

We did YC for the first time in January. We enjoyed the quiet, relaxed atmosphere even though we like a more active cruise. We enjoyed always being pampered in the YC and went to the back of the ship for more fun music and events. Then we ended up back in the YC for a nightcap before heading to the room (yes, multiple not-so-sober pizza deliveries happened). 

Doing this, we were never bothered anyone in the YC, but the staff clearly knew us as enjoying some drinks. There are still ways to do it while being respectful to the rest of the passengers. 

That being said, a night or two of some more upbeat music before dinner would be fun (maybe on the pool deck?). But I also understand that the product of YC is not that. 

We are going for my birthday in April with a group of 8. Instead of YC, I opted for an Aurea suite so we can have a little more fun together. In December, it will be YC with a non-drinking couple. 

Seems you have your answer, but for those who do need a PCR:

Our results did say Rapid PCR for boarding in Barcelona (US citizens needed PCR not antigen), and the test was accepted without question.