NCteacherlovescruising

None of the say when we arrive, just till 7 or 8 PM. Right In Europe, MSC lets you board at multiple ports. That’s pretty typical in Europe, isn’t it?

I posted this in the Italy forum, but wanted input from MSC specialist as well. We have never been to Europe and I've always wanted to visit Italy. We have a 9 night booked with Celebrity in the retreat with an awesome itinerary for next summer. Here's the itinerary: Barcelona At sea Marseille Villefranche Santa Margherita La Spezia (2 days!) At sea Naples Rome It's on the Equinox, so the retreat sundeck does not have a pool, which is someplace we would spend a lot of time on our sea days. As most of you in here already know, I recently booked our first MSC cruise. I've read so many wonderful things about their Yacht Club so we're super excited to give them a try. We have high hopes! It made us wonder how much we could save if we switched from X to MSC for Europe next summer and it's quite a lot. If we love it while we're on ship, we could go ahead and book. Here's what I have found that looks good to us (these are all 7 days, compared to 9 with Celebrity so it's not apples to apples, but still cheaper per day): MSC Seaview - Love the price and round trip from Rome, which is one of my must sees! (4K less than Celebrity!) Rome at sea Palma De Mallorca (I know nothing about this port!) Barcelona Cannes Genoa (Portofino) La Spezia Rome MSC Europa - I've heard great things about this ship! (Apx. $3500 less than Celebrity) Naples (Pompeii) - Another good place to be. Messina ( I don't know anything about this port) La Valletta, Malta at sea Barcelona Marseille Genoa (Portofino) Naples MSC Europa - Just getting on in Portofino instead of Naples (Price same as above) Gena (Portofino) Naples Messina La Valletta, Malta At sea Barcelona Marseille Genoa (Portofino) Are the MSC itineraries as good? I have already researched for the Celebrity cruise, but have plenty of time to research some different ports. The places I want to see most are Rome, Venice, Florence, and the Amalfi Coast. I realize Venice isn't near the other places. My thinking is with a shorter cruise, which is also less expensive, that would give us more time and money to see other places pre and/or post cruise. Would one of the MSC itineraries be any better than the other, especially as a starting point? For instance, for flying in and out of Italy (especially flight prices), and traveling by train to other areas of interest? Is the Europa worth spending more on than the Seaview? I see Rome would be closest to Venice, if we opted to take the train.

We have never been to Europe and I've always wanted to visit Italy. We have a 9 night booked with Celebrity in the retreat with an awesome itinerary for next summer. Here's the itinerary: Barcelona At sea Marseille Villefranche Santa Margherita La Spezia (2 days!) At sea Naples Rome It's on the Equinox, so the retreat sundeck does not have a pool, which is someplace we would spend a lot of time on our sea days. We recently booked our first MSC cruise. I've read so many wonderful things about their Yacht Club so we're super excited to give them a try. We have high hopes! It made us wonder how much we could save if we switched from X to MSC for Europe next summer and it's quite a lot. If we love it while we're on ship, we could go ahead and book. Here's what I have found that looks good to us (these are all 7 days): MSC Seaview - Love the price and round trip from Rome, which is one of my must sees! (4K less than Celebrity!) Rome at sea Palma De Mallorca (I know nothing about this port!) Barcelona Cannes Genoa (Portofino) La Spezia Rome MSC Europa - Awesome ship! (Apx. $3500 less than Celebrity) Naples (Pompeii) - Another good place to be. Messina ( I don't know anything about this port) La Valletta, Malta at sea Barcelona Marseille Genoa (Portofino) Naples MSC Europa - Just getting on in Portofino instead of Naples (Price same as above) Gena (Portofino) Naples Messina La Valletta, Malta At sea Barcelona Marseille Genoa (Portofino) Are the MSC itineraries good? I have already researched for the Celebrity cruise, but have plenty of time to research some different ports. The places I want to see most are Rome, Venice, Florence, and the Amalfi Coast. I realize Venice isn't near the other places. My thinking is with a shorter cruise, which is also less expensive, that would give us more time and money to see other places pre and/or post cruise. Would one of the MSC itineraries be any better than the other, especially as a starting point? For instance, for flying in and out of Italy (especially flight prices), and traveling by train to other areas of interest?

I had to go back to see what pic 42 was. lol

Total immersion could be a very cool experience! Thanks! I would miss having passengers to talk to! Awesome! I already have Celebrity retreat booked there, but thinking of canceling to do YC and save money. Thanks for sharing! I'm glad you had such a wonderful cruise! Does the guests getting on and off at every port impact your cruise in any way? Such as taking longer to get on and off at ports of call? Were you in the YC? The reviews for the YC seem to be much better. We have a Celebrity cruise booked for next summer in the Med, but are considering canceling it and booking the YC instead to save money, if the YC lives up to our expectations. We do love the itinerary we currently have booked with Celebrity! That will play into our decision as well. It's not just about saving money. The Seaview is one of the ships we're looking at. Rome is toward the top of our list so beginning and ending there would be great. MSC doesn't do the white tent in Europe of give us priority boarding? That would be disappointing! Good to know you liked them enough to book a third cruise!

Oops! Typo. It’s the 25th, not 15th, on the Seaside.

Yes, on the 15th!

Oh! I just found one on the World Europa! I know it’s their biggest and best. Would you pay the extra $$$ to sail on instead of the other 3?

Yes, but it also says, “ The following eligible fare types can be upgraded: Discount Economy with published fares booked in H,K,M,L,V,G,Q,N,O,S and Military or Government fares booked in Y Full-Fare Economy with published fares booked in Y Discount Premium Economy with published fares booked in P Full-Fare Premium Economy with published fares booked in W Discount Business with published fares booked in I Full-Fare Business with published fares booked in J, D or R” I don’t see premium economy to business listed here.

I’ve seen this before. I don’t see an option to upgrade from premium economy to business or am I missing something?

Pros/cons of each compared to one another. Looking at possibly canceling X and booking a 7 night Rome to Rome next summer, if YC blows me away. I do like the Celebrity itinerary better, but it would free up a few thousand to explore some areas by land.

I've just learned to pick my battles and bringing 12 suitcases on a cruise isn't going to be one of them. lol

Not hardly! lol We've been married nearly 29 years.

If you have sailed MSC in Europe and the Caribbean, was your experience as good in Europe?

My husband would forbit me from bringing that much luggage! lol He gets mad enough about having a suitcase solely for shoes. I assume you did not fly. I was referring to the staff checking them. You don't wear your wristbands?

Tacky! You would think they would be checking wristbands.

My husband and I enjoy nice wines, which are never included in any packages. However, you would think with this being an Italian company, they would offer some nice Italian wines.

Wow! I thought you had to have keycard access to even enter the YC area, let alone get seated. How embarrassing! I would never!! 100%!

Thank you! My husband has the Barclays card and I have Citi. It looks like we only have enough for one leg on each card. Hopefully we could book one ticket with each card and still get seats together. Or maybe pay cash for one category and upgrade with points/cash. Any idea how many points it is to upgrade from premium economy to business or from coach to PE?

Sorry, I do recall this now that your refreshed my less than stellar memory! Thank you!

Same question for both of you, what do you like better about MSC than X?

Wveeyone said the subway in NY was easy too but we couldn’t figure it out so we got an Uber. 🤷‍♀️ Is this a lot closer to Rome than Venice? I recall being told Venice was too far for a day trip. Would you recommend staying in Rome and doing day trips or moving around every 2-3 days? Great question!

Is this easy to do?

Sounds like a disappointing start. Do they have plenty of drinks and snacks while you wait?

I found out on here, but it seems like most of the cruises we've been on have had them.