rojojacko

We've just returned from two weeks on Fantasia, having joined on 27/2/18. The nights are still exactly as described above with the Mediterranean nights rather than Italian nights. We had a great time and hope that you do too.

Hi. Not sure if you will get the 5% discount so close to sailing as you have paid the balance, but keep asking. Also, the obc isn't on every voyage, only the Voyagers Club ones. You should get some more benefits when you get on board. There is a list of the different benefits for each VC level on their website.

Rob

We too are on this cruise but starting from Barbados on the 2nd and disembarking in Southampton. Have done four transatlantic repositionings and been lucky with them all weather wise. Been with MSC five times but have splashed out on the Yacht Club (our first visit) for this one as the price was so good. Can't wait but don't want to wish our time away as we have many good things before then.

Just a thought!

If I, as a black card holder, take my wife, also a black card holder, to a specialist restaurant with my invite and we enjoy our meal. What's to stop my wife taking me as her guest with her invite a few days later. On previous occasions I don't recall them checking both of our cards, just one when it came to settling the drinks bill, or not as we always upgrade to a drinks package. We're on Fantasia at the end of next month and will probably do that if we don't take our friends with us to dine.

Rob

You're not alone. I have two pending cruises with MSC, both there, together with my past cruises, yesterday. But this morning one of the two had disappeared and, hey presto, this afternoon it's back. May be worth checking by entering the booking number, etc, because I always check using 'my account'.

Good luck!

Rob

You're right Bea. Sorry for the delay in replying. We are so looking forward to it, but before then we have several other trips to look forward to, including the Fantasia at the end of next month. We have been to all of the ports before but the Yacht Club came in at such a great price for this one that we couldn't resist it! Have been looking for an opportunity to try it for a couple of years.

Thanks Bea for your speedy response. Great news re the first three. This will be our third 'Grand Voyage' and we had discounted laundry on one but not on the other so we will see. It's not too dear anyway.

Really looking forward to it but don't want to wish our life away, so much to do before then!!

Rob

Hi

We have just booked the Yacht Club for the repositioning cruise from the Caribbean to the UK in April 2019 on MSC Preziosa. This will be our 6th MSC cruise but first in the Yacht Club so really looking forward to it. Just a couple of queries which I can't find the answer to on this forum.

Are the drinks available the same as those on the basic all inclusive offering throughout the rest of the ship or are they more in line with the Premium package?

What about the wines with lunch and dinner, are they the same as the normal AI package or is there a wider choice?

We know that lunch and dinner is in the YC restaurant, what about breakfast?

Should I pre book a laundry package or will I get it cheaper on board as a YC member?

Thanks for all of your help.

Rob

Thanks for the info. Our Caribbean cruise on Fantasia on 27/2/18 is all updated now. Some different ports but still something to look forward to.

Rob

Thanks Kathy. I think that I will wait until we board as there is no financial benefit in pre-paying.

Rob

Interesting thread as we are onboard next April in Alaska and do enjoy a glass or two of wine with dinner. Despite not cruising with HAL for more than 3 years, I was pleased to see that I am a 3-star Mariner and that gives me 25% off the two quoted wine packages, but with 15% surcharge on the full price if I understand correctly. If I pre-purchase the package, will I get my discount and can I avoid the surcharge by buying ahead as you can on a lot of cruise lines.

Many thanks.

Rob

Thanks Krazy Kruizers. That's useful to know. Really looking forward to our tour and cruise and our return to HAL.

Rob

Hi everyone

We have just booked a tour in Canada followed by a seven night Alaska cruise on Westerdam next spring and I have a couple of questions.

We are 3 star members of the Mariners Society from some cruises years ago and I see that I am entitled to a 25% discount on wine packages. Does this include the Navigators and Admirals choice packages?

I see that we are also entitled to an embarkation lunch and another brunch. We are travelling with three other couples who haven't cruised with HAL but have cruise history with Princess, Costa and P and O. Will this entitle them to attend those functions?

Lastly, is there a facility to pre-pay our gratuities to save money as there is on many other lines?

Many thanks for your help, I just need to do the sums with the drinks package versus pay as you go!

Rob

Good news re the dining. Once again. Thank you all. So looking forward to this cruise as we are travelling with two other couples and then we have two weeks in SA.

Rob

Thanks Bea and others. I did wonder why the price we paid seemed to be cheaper per day than when we did a seven night cruise, just thought that we had struck lucky!

Does anyone have any idea whether the anytime dining will apply to our Fantastica balcony booking on this cruise?

Rob

Hi

We have a booking on Sinfonia from Venice to South Africa this October and have pre-paid the drinks package. Looking at my booking the other day I saw that it had the following on the details; ALL-INCLUSIVE RESTAURANT & BAR DRINK PACKAGE A. Il codice già esistente è stato splittato per le crociere fino a 8 gg e da 9.

Can anyone help with what it means?

Also, we are in a Fantastica balcony cabin and have read that we will qualify for anytime dining, can anyone confirm this?

Many thanks for your help.

Rob

On the two MSC cruises I've been on in Europe, the only draft beer was Heineken.

Rob

Thanks everyone for your replies. It seems as though the MSC Petra excursion was well received so we will probably go with that. I'll book it as soon as I can but, as I say, there are no excursions at all shown online for this cruise, very frustrating.

Rob

Slightly off track but can I ask Willma how the Petra excursion went? We are on the October Sinfonia cruise from Venice to Durban and very much want to visit Petra from our call at Aqaba, however the MSC excursions just don't show up online, even after calling them twice. I am looking at doing the tour independently but some of the prices seem very high, over $200 US pp which seems high for a day trip of 1.5 hours each way! How was the ships excursion and can you remember the cost? Many thanks.

Rob

Hi

We are sailing on the Sinfonia Grand Voyage from Venice to Durban this October and we are calling at Aqaba amongst many other ports. Our must do excursion is Petra and I have some quotes from independent suppliers but some seem very expensive ($250US!) so I was hoping to price it up with MSC. Has anyone any thoughts as to when the MSC excursions become available to book, or what price we might expect to pay for this excursion.

Many thanks.

Rob

Hi Terry

Thanks for your reply. I think we have sorted ourselves out now. We have found a 6 day tour which interests us with a company rated highly on Tripadvisor and am actively emailing them to firm up the details. I also have an enquiry in for all of our transfers with another company.

Rob

It worked extremely well. We were able to stay on board and use all of the facilities, drinks package and cabin, etc until we met in the theatre at 2pm. We were then bussed straight to the airport where our hold luggage, which had to be placed outside our cabins the night before, was waiting for us to collect. We checked in and joined the flight as expected. Only hiccup was that we were all unaware of the arrangements until the day before disembarkation. The same arrangements were in place for those disembarking in Martinique and Guadeloupe to fly back to Europe. Thumbs up to MSC!

A group of 3 couples, in their 60's but active, have a week free from 5th to 12th November 2017 before flying home to the UK. Can anyone offer any suggestions as to where we may find a suitable tour for that time. We have heard of the Garden Route and wine areas and would also like to see some of the wildlife, appreciating that the Parks in that area are tourist parks rather than true safari parks. Any suggestions or recommendations would be gratefully received! We are in Durban at the end of a cruise from 30/10 to 2/11 before flying on to Cape Town from 2/11 to 5/11, when our free time will start. We have no transfers booked in Durban or Cape Town so would also be grateful for suggestions as to the most cost effective way to get to and from airports and hotels.

Many thanks.

Rob

We are flying from Gatwick to Genoa this weekend, then back from Barbados a few weeks later, both with BA. We have our flight locator but couldn't access 'manage by booking' as we are part of a block booking. I emailed bookingmanagement@msccruises.co.uk with my BA Executive Club membership numbers and asked them to add that and complete my API. They replied and also offered to submit my seating preferences to BA. I accepted their offer and we will see what happens when we get to the airport.

Rob

Thanks lopar.

We are flying with BA in three weeks time with friends and had expected to be able to check in and select our seats in the 24hr pre-flight period. We have been able to do so on other cruises with block bookings of flights so will await what happens with interest.

Rob