sealynx

I believe the older two classes don't have these beautiful stairs. You can definetly find them on Fantasia and newer ships like Splendia, Seaview, Seaside, Meraviglia, Grandiosa, etc., but not on older ships like Armonia, Lirica, Magnifica, Muscia, Poesia, etc.

I took the risk of booking a cruise hoping these policies will be abandoned before spring next year. I have to admit, I'm getting nervous. I had expected them to waive they by now, with many European countries opening up.

On a two night Amsterdam - Hamburg - Amsterdam cruise I booked an inside and got a balcony cabin. Great surprise.

15 minutes ago, elbarney said:

I read this as applying to the US cruises, something like "differently to the cruises that have been operating in Europes, vaccinated guest on the US cruises can go ashore when they please." 

Ahh, yes, that is also a way of reading it. You are probably right, thnx.

About a week ago CruiseHive posted a news article about the new policies of MSC on vaccinations and insurance. This article also said the following: "A change to the cruises that have been operating in Europe is that vaccinated guests can go ashore when they please."

I have no idea how reliable this source is, but this would be fantastic news. However, I can't find the same information anywhere else. Has anyone heard about this as well?

https://www.cruisehive.com/msc-cruises-updates-protocols-with-pre-cruise-testing/54845

14 hours ago, CruiseIreland said:

Seaside is definitely great for the hotter climes, more outside dining area etc.

On Seaside/-view the buffet is on deck 8, with wrap around outdoor seating. The speciality restaurants are on deck 16, with indoor seating only. A second smaller buffet is on deck 16, also with indoor seating only.

On Seashore they moved the speciality restaurants to deck 8, where on Seaside/-view the buffet was, and they now have plenty of outdoor seating. The deck 16 buffet was enlarged by taking over the area that was speciality restaurants on Seaside/-view, but now there is only a small outdoor area on the back of the ship.

Having said this, the changes of you getting a outdoor seat at the buffet on Seashore might be a lot smaller than on Seaside/-view. Still, this class of ships seems to be the only class with any outdoor seats in the fleet.

My mum had the covid. My sister in law had the covid. A colleague of mine had the covid. A participant of the bootcamp training I give just every week had the covid. I'm almost fully vaccinated (second shot almost two weeks ago), but if I see what these people have been through, than I'm happy wearing a mask any day even if it is just only a minor extra protection against this virus.

I've never heard of honeymoon discount by MSC. Their prices are sharp already. Maybe onboard they'll treat you on something perhaps?

With no alcohol while in port, I do hope they won't plan any late stays. Because with my dinner I do enjoy a glass or two of fermented grape juice.

Question: Will the red sea be served by MSC year round, or just during the winter months when less capacity is needed in the Med? So far it's been the latter.

I see the cognitive dissonance against changes that might or might not impact ones personal lives is also strongly present.

According Cruiseindustrynews (click for article) MSC, Fincantiere and Snam team up to design a hydrogen powered cruise ship. No details about size, capacity, or anything else, probably because that is part of the design process ahead.

I think this is wonderful news. A huge leap to climate neutral cruising, with a lot less cognitive dissonance needed to justify cruising for anyone even remotely concerned about the world in general and the climate specifically.

9 hours ago, no1talks said:

Ooo, shots fired. Okay. How about 2020?

High score for you reply 🙂

But with Tangarine Speedo by Caviar (2000) saying "No woman can resist a man who looks good in a speedo" I'd like to make the point that music and lyrics aren't the best set of rules, no matter from what century.

My experience is that the longer you wait, the more expensive it gets. Specially when you buy it last minute on board, you'll pay like 50% more then when purchased during booking. In the end, we didn't get wifi (and were happy with our choice).

When on Seaview, every time we came back on board, there was a huge trash can filled to the rim with half empty water and soda bottles. I don't know if people were asked to dispose of their bottles, or did so voluntarily. Since we always use a refillable water bottle, we of course kept it with us and no one said anything about it (although filling directly from the tap in the buffet wasn't allowed for hygiene reasons, so we used clean cups that were provided and pored them over).

On 7/18/2021 at 7:41 AM, no1talks said:

The song doesn't go, "Every girl's crazy for a sharp-dressed man," for nothing.

I had to look that one up. That was 37 years ago. The nineteen-eithies. The former century. New generation, new rules, new definition of 'sharp-dressed'.

Haven't found a soft serve machine on MSC Seaview, but was very happy with the reasonable price for gelato in the ice cream shop near the aft pool. True Italian quality.

We used the seats on the balcony to dry our swim shorts on MSC cruises. Our cabin steward never said anything about it. A make shift clothing line might be a different matter. I do recommend you to bring some good big towel clips, so your possessions won't blow away.

It surprises me that some ports have these enormous terminal buildings (many of which seem even empty with the biggest of ships boarding), while other ports only set up some tents, even for the the biggest ships. And in the Mediterranean ports without terminals will also be used for (dis)embarkation. When I think of it, MSC even uses Cannes for (dis)embarkation, and that ports doesn't even have a dock. They use special suitcase-tender-barges and have the passport checks in a tent.

Out of pocket investment out of their deep pockets. Or just a massive bank loan, with interest. Or a pension-fund loan, with a nice ROI. Or a sell-and-lease-back. Plenty of possibilities.

MSC has its own signature cocktail called MSC Tiki Mule. It's delicious.

Don't worry about your Italian skills. MSC may originate from Italy, but is a very international cruise line. All announcements are done in multiple languages, often English being the first. All crew members speak English and often more crewmembers speak English than there are crewmembers that speak Italian (many Asian, South American and Eastern European crew members on board). Excursions were also available in multiple languages, always including English. That is not to say a hop-on hop-off bus wouldn't be a great alternative though. Often local excursions give great value for money. Locally there might even be a free walking tour (don't forget to tip). Or try a bike tour (think € 30-35 p.p. including bike and helmet rental). We've done one in Barcelona (and other cities, but not during a cruise) and really really enjoyed.

I'm confident MSC sees plenty potential for their entire current fleet to stay and to deploy their oncoming ships as well. They are market leader in Europe, but there are still plenty of other markets to grow or to enter. I can see them starting cruises down under, Alaska, expand their Caribbean presence, expand their Asia presence, maybe sail Bahama's from New York, etc. Their product has always been targeted at an international customer base, so it fits all markets with only limited alternations. This in contrast to most Carnival brands (and NCL + RCL too), which are more 'nationalised'. Costa = Italian. AIDA = German. P&O = British. Carnival = American. Princess = American. HAL = Mainly American/partly Dutch. Etc. Of course, with a different nationality you are welcome, but you will feel as a foreigner. On MSC everybody is a foreigner, and thus everybody is equal.

Yay, I like this name. The sound is Italian, it's unique and creative.

19 hours ago, Stockjock said:

Euribia, which apparently means "Keep them guessing" in Italian.

Eurybia was the goddess of mastery of the seas in Greek mythology. So this time no meaning in Italian, breaking 'tradition' to the first four of the class.

18 hours ago, Nunagoras said:

Due to the current market situations, am I the unique one wondering whether both World 2 and Mera+ 2 were rewritten for such a smaller new LNG powered new prototype ships? Obviously the options for World 3-4 were simply risked out from the order book?...

I don't believe MSC will cancel the last two World-class ships. The reception so far for the first seems to be good, and I'm pretty confident that there will be plenty marked. Maybe under the condition they can develop new ports and destinations.

I do like the idea of a new class with smaller ships, the size of the Fantasia-class maybe. Although MSc does need economies of scale to stay competitive price wise.

6 hours ago, sidari said:

Kids don't go for free in the UK unless they are under 2 years old.

ok, I admit, not free, but nearly free 🙂

I expected this for a very long time. So far AIDA was one of the few brands of Carnival Corp. that didn't loose any capacity due to the pandemic. Sad to see her go, but a 25-year career with just one company is a long time these days. I hope she has a great and long career ahead of her.