sealynx

Sorry, I have no such tip for Marseille, but if your cruise goes via Genua and you would like to visit the countryside/nature there I do have a great suggestion, just let me know.

I might consider giving up a balcony for a YC outside, but never for a YC inside. I really appreciate daylight in my cabin. If the only alternative is a YC inside, I'd got for the Fantastica (or even Bella) balcony.

I know on Seaview all pools were deep all over. I'm 6 ft tall and I could hardly stand anywhere. You see a lot of people clinging on the side. I'm pretty sure the pools on Seaside are the same.

Wow, those prices are steep. I remember buying an MSC Seaview model for € 30, and not buying and MSC Opera model, also for € 30.

Yesterday the Dutch branch of Extinction Rebellion delayed the departure of MS Zuiderdam from the port of Rotterdam as a form of protest against pollution by cruise ships specifically and climate change in general. Protesters chained themselves to the mooring lines of the ship, unabling crews to let go all lines. Eventually polices officers moved the protesters by only a few meters, so the ship could depart. The eventual delay was about 90 minutes. News article in Dutch (google translate is your best friend here)

I might swap a Fantastica balcony for a YC outside, but never for an YC inside. I need daylight to properly wake up and I want to see outside right after I open my eyes and hug my husband to see where we are.

All Bella-cabins are guarantee-cabins. This means you will be assigned a cabin only days before departure. This could be any cabin left in your category, and will of course be cabin that no other passenger in the Fantastica-experience opted for. This means that the cabins assigned can differ from one cruise to another. You might end up with a very favourable cabin, but you could end up with indeed partial views (only seeing a lifeboat, which leaves space for daylight, but no view of the sea) or reduced size bed. These cabins are rare though, so the change is slim. According to the key on the deck plan all cabins have one double bed convertible to two single beds, except for 4 aft cabins that only have bunks. I imagine the chance of you getting one of these is slim, since they are connecting to the next cabin and perfectly suitable for families with children.

Interesting. I missed the news article where they relaxed their new policy a little, but you can find one here: https://www.cruisehive.com/norwegian-cruise-line-clarifies-about-popular-prohibited-item/97944

Difficult to conform, since you can only see available tours when booked and logged in on your MSC account. It is quite possible you are right though. With a 1,5 hour bus ride from ship to either place, the Vatican costing you at least 2 hours to visit either the museum or the cathedral (double if you want to visit both), and a visit to inside the Colosseum costing you also at least an hour (in all cases, only if you can skip the lines), them being just under an hour apart, and a 1,5 ride back to the ship, it would probably too much to fit in both in one tour.

Because several other cruise lines don't. NCL recently put them on the prohibited items list.

It differs from country to country. Roughly in the north people tend to eat earlier, from the south later. So on a Med. cruise the early dining is quiet, the late is busy, and I've read that on a cruise from Southampton (UK) it is the other way around. On all ships and sailings? I know this was the case on the Seaside/Seaview on busy sailings, because the MRD is relatively small, but I never heard of a third seating on other ships (nor have I experience that). I do know that dinners on MSC are a bit more rushed than on f.e. Costa, but that is also the case on sailings with two seatings.

Exactly my experience.

Most likely there will be just one elegant night. Other themed nights are often white, flower and/or Italian-colours. I've not been able to find logic in those themed nights though.

They are also decorated with elements resembling the cities they were named after. I believe that would not have worked in the European market, or especially the Italian market, since people from this part of the world are probably not interested in a cardboard version of their own cities. I am sure Costa/Carnival Venezia/Firenze are pretty ships, but Venice and Florance are prettier.

I'm now looking into a cruise for the summer of 2024, and MSC is surely on my list. But I have indeed noticed that where they used to be way cheaper than any of the competition, their prices have gone up significantly when I compare to what I've paid before. I'm now leaning more towards AIDA, who are just a little bit more expensive, but have drinks during meal times included and charge no gratuities. Costa seems to be even less expensive than MSC, but their product doesn't really appeal to me. I did notice that out side of school vacations (no option for us, since we have a school going child) the prices of MSC are much less than during school vacations. The difference for AIDA seems to be less.

So what is it that you did experience?

I haven't sailed MSC World Europa, yet and unfortunately, but I can answer from my experience on other MSC ships. I don't expect it to be much different on MSC World Europa. At MSC 'gala night' is called 'elegant night'. You see a lot of people dressing up, but also a lot of people not dressing up at all, and that is all fine. And that is really just about it. Everything else, is really the same as on other nights. Often elegant night is planned on the last day of the cruise for most passengers (not all, since you can board in almost any port), so this is often prior arrival in Genova. My advise would be to firt think about what you would want to see in port the day after gala night, and then decide (if the port is not to your taste) whether to stay up late and sleep in, or to go to bed early and enjoy port time. Staying up to the early hours can then always be done the night before you arrive back in Barcelona.

Thank you for your clear explanation. It does make sense now. Bummer for no longer having the perfect size ship, yay for the environment.

I've been on MSC Seaview, and there is no designated running track. I won't recommend running around the promenade deck, since there is space for dining outdoors. You might run someone over carrying their breakfast. If you wake up early, you might be able to run on deck 19 (around the glass roof) or deck 16 (around the pool), before they set up the deck chairs and before the crowds kick in. It'll be short laps though.

So apparently NCL is upsizing the last two of the class, to become the biggest NCL-ships in the fleet. I remember reading somewhere that one of the NCL-representatives explaining their choice for smaller ships said 'these ships are the perfect size' (I'll continue the search for where I read it, but haven't found is so far). So I guess, now with the ships in service, they don't seem to be so perfect after all? I am truly curious to what brought them to change their mind. https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2023/03/norwegian-cruise-line-reveals-upsizing-strategy-on-prima-class/

I believe there are only limited differences. If you like really slow zip lines, Seaside and Seaview have them, Seashore and Seascape don't. Seascape however has a human-scale cocktailshaker-VR-experience-wham-bang-O-thing (it probably has a name I forgot), might be a thrill if you're into that sort of things. If you like outdoor dining (at the buffet), Seaside and Seaview have a large buffet with a huge wrap around 'balcony' on deck 8 (and one side of the ship will always be in de shade). The outdoor area of the deck 16 buffet on Seashore and Seascape is much smaller (although it might be enough, I don't have the experience, and I don't know about shady areas). Then again, on Seashore and Seascape the speciality restaurants are on deck 8, and therefore have the possibility for outdoor-dining (although I personally think of luxury dining to be more of an indoor-activity). On Seaview and Seaside the specially restaurants are all on deck 16 (plus an extra buffet, with the possibility to take your tray to the adjacent Panorama bar area, which is semi enclosed).

I don't really mind either. I hope this helps to prevent excessive drinking, when fewer people take a drinking package (and less waste of half-emptied cocktails). Although, the people who are most likely to drink more than they should, will probably still take one, so it might not help at all.

In normal situations where your child wants to be picked up they'll call the phone in your cabin. If you're not in your cabin, then you (and your child) are out of luck. They will not call your cell phone. I don't know what they'll do in case of an emergency.

Costa has announced the 2024 program and has opened sales: Cruiseindustrynews.com In this news article I'm missing not only Magica, but also Fortuna and Serena. So I guess we still don't know for sure which they'll be selling.

Yes, I just checked the website. Its port fees indeed, not taxes. Sorry for the confusion.