Iluvcruising2

The trend seems to be adding more cabins to increase pax.

That sounds like a wonderful cruise. We would be interested for 2017. Royal Caribbean doesn't have their 2017 Europe schedules out yet -- but when I looked at the 2016 cruises I could not find a cruise that went to both Iceland and Norway from Southhampton. Sounds like Royal Caribbean may not offer that itinerary anymore?

 

Anyhow, thank you for sharing the details of your wonderful trip, I ended up going to the link to your "blog" and read the whole thing. Will save for future reference.

Thanks for your post! Well, I'm not sure the most current itineraries from Southampton. We did notice that the sailings from Southampton seems to have been reduced. Anyway, this particular itinerary was only offered once (or at most twice) throughout that entire year that we sailed, so in a way this cruise was very unique for us!

We'll be staying 4 nights at the Pan Pacific in March, thanks to Azamara shortening our cruise to rush the ship into drydock, so I will try to add some still photos when we return.

 

What are your thoughts on the Singapore zoo? (I sent you an email as well)

The Singapore Zoo and Night Safari are worth doing once! They now have the River Safari as well. Website - http://www.zoo.com.sg/

In fact, that entire area is going to be delivered into a huge eco-park of sorts.

The only downside is that the weather can get a bit warm and humid, so wear loose clothes, bring a cap, bring water, and be prepared for a good walk!

Still hoping they send back Mariner or Voyager to the US for Ovation.

Asia is still waiting for an Oasis-class vessel to come over!

Glad you had a safe cruise. After what happened to Anthem, better play it doubly safe.

Watching the Celebrity Millenium docked in Singapore makes me want to cruise on Celebrity again. Gotta plan something!! :)

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Wondering when I will sail on NCL again. Hmmm.. Should try their newer ships!

This video brings back fond memories - our penthouse suite!

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This should be interesting. Subscribed! :):)

For our 7N cruise from Genoa on the MSC Preziosa in Dec 2015, we paid 8.50 Euros per day per adult and 4.25 Euros per day per child. The 4 of us sailed in a Yacht Club cabin.

We would be doing the Caribbean itinerary.

Are the ships very small?

Any comparisons would be appreciated. Just hesitant to book on a line I have never heard of!

I believe it is the MSC Divina that sails to the Caribbean? Or which MSC ship? Their largest class of ships (Fantasia class, which the Divina belongs to) is almost 140,000GT, slightly bigger than the Voyager Class of Royal Caribbean.

This video shows you our boarding experience on the MSC Preziosa (same class as Fantasia and Divina). These are modern large cruise ships, no doubt about that.

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Looking back at this cruise, brings back memories. That time, Voyager of the Seas made big waves coming to Singapore. Now, Royal is sending more ships to Asia to serve the Chinese market.

They will pour the drinks you would get if you are eligible for the suite lounge on Oasis, even if it's past the cocktail hour. I don't know if anything is included for a JS guest who isn't D or above.

Oh, that is very interesting indeed. Thanks for the info.

Any complimentary drinks included in the Coastal Kitchen?

Great Review, Great Pictures!!!:)

Thank you! Re-reading my own review makes me want to go back..... :)

Was in Marseilles on a cruise stop late last year and I couldn't see any car rental company nearby. The walk out from the cruise ship to the cruise shuttle was already quite far. If you had success in renting a car, do share how this was done!

Here is a video of our walk from the ship to the free port shuttle bus stop.

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If you are a Celebrity fan, I don't think the typical MSC is suitable for you. Having sailed on the Silhouette once, I found the overall experience to be rather poshed and refined.

However, the Yacht Club on MSC is a different product altogether. We loved it and the pricing (for sailing out of Genoa) was really good!

The exclusive Yacht Club areas include the Top Sail Lounge, the One Pool, One Bar and the Yacht Club restaurant (menus change every day). Lots of complimentary drinks included too, so it is an all-inclusive experience.

Top Sail Lounge & drinks menu

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One Pool/One Bar

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Yacht Club restaurant gala dinner

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Full review on cruise critic of the MSC experience in my signature.

I booked Aurea after two Celebrity cruises (CC and AQ). The dining room on MSC was not as good as Celebrity. In the buffet I found more variety than Celebrity but the quality was hit or miss on both cruise lines. Bar service was outstanding on MSC, way better than Celebrity, but dining room waitstaff were not as good. Drink packages and a la carte drinks were cheaper too and the ship was very nice with a variety of lounges. Finally, the international crowd was welcoming and appealing to my wife and I.

 

People say MSC is cheaper, but it wasn't for my cruise, yet I still found it worth the money and would book another.

Oh, I'm surprised that you found MSC's buffet to be better than Celebrity's. My experience was on Celebrity Silhouette and MSC Preziosa. I thought the Silhouette's buffet was the best I've ever had on a cruise ship and it certainly beat that of MSC Preziosa. I have videos of the dinner buffet from both cruises.

Celebrity Silhouette Dinner Buffet

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MSC Preziosa Dinner Buffet

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I didn't even bother to follow the dress code for dinner on the YC and many passengers didn't either. We had 2 Gala evenings.

Of course, I didn't turn up for the Gala evening in a sloppy manner. I still wore a proper long-sleeved shirt plus dark pants. I left all my formal wear at home. Too much luggage to carry.

What is it, in particular, that makes the Yacht Club special?

Read my review. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2288693

Just a random video from my YC experience. Reading a paper from home.

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On the cruises that I have been on, they were very strict.

This thread prompted me the check my points. So I am at 121. Points not growing very fast now because we have started to cruise with other lines and also do land holidays (now that kids are a bit bigger).

But my next cruise is on Royal, so that should be fun.

What a great photo review! This looks like a beautiful area of the world, and I really would like to see it. Palawan has been on my list for a while, and Singapore looks breathtaking. I'll make my way out there sometime soon. Your pictures were great, and I loved you writing! Thank you so much! :D

Thanks for your nice comments! Well, please do come visit Singapore. Here is our tourism website - http://www.yoursingapore.com/en.html

We are famous for our food, not just upmarket stuff but simpler and cheaper hawker fare. One of the most famous dishes would be Hainanese Chicken Rice, which looks like this.

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I started cruising with RCI way back in 1986. Over the years I have seen a decline in services, policies, and the overall product.

 

Still I worked up the D+ the hard way, no suites and mostly 7 day cruises.

 

I am booked on the Serenade TA in April. It wasn't very inexpensive when I booked so only took an OV. Got a nice OBC though.

 

Now the price for a Balc GTY is about $500 less( actually mor with my Balc disc) than what I paid for the OV.

 

I KNOW there is no refund after final payment and that's fine. It is the policy.

 

But they want to take away my $200 OBC!! No amount of arguing by my TA made a bit of difference.

 

I think RCI is being really petty with some of their policies.

 

Makes me rethink being so loyal to them. GRRRRR.

 

OK rant over.

Don't need to be so hung up over being loyal to Royal. It is all a ploy. I have nothing against Royal, in fact my next cruise is with Royal.

But do try out other cruise lines too, if you haven't.

Re-reading my review, I went to check what itineraries they now have from Sydney. This one looks fun. Unfortunately, not on my plans at the moment.

Happy cruising!

Ok, maybe I have been living under a rock, but I've never heard of this cruise line until today. We have cruised on Celebrity, Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Princess - balcony room - 7 cruises total. How does MSC compare to any of these?

It doesn't appear that they do any time dining. Is that correct?

We would be doing the Caribbean itinerary.

Are the ships very small?

Any comparisons would be appreciated. Just hesitant to book on a line I have never heard of!

Like you, we didn't hear of MSC until about 2 years ago, after sailing many times on other cruise lines especially Royal. Until we read a review on MSC and were so intrigued that we tried their Yacht Club product last December, on the MSC Preziosa out of Genoa.

It was fabulous. Why don't you check out my review here - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2288693