seasidemama

Last three on Oasis, it was shoulder to shoulder in the pools and hot tubs unless it was a port day, and even then the pools and tubs were mostly full (except when the pools were closed due to poop/vomit, which happened consistently once or twice each day). We did not use the pools. Walking through the promenade at any time but early morning, you needed to pack A LOT of patience, especially in the evenings... Coco cay - we were the second ship to arrive and had to scour a couple of beaches to find three lounge chairs together. Only places that were pretty much empty on the ship itself were the specialty dining restaurants. Handful of tables occupied at any one time. Walked into vintages one evening. I was the only one there other than the bartender...

On my last two cruises this summer I had a couple of specialty dinners on each sailing (150/chops/giovanni/izumi) - all of the places only had a handful of tables occupied when I was dining.

Same. My last three with Royal had me thinking I was on Carnival (no offense just different than in prior years).

I haven't really looked at other lines before and didn't realize MSC has these sailing/planned. Didn't see the Europa either. Booking for next summer and getting sticker shock at RCI's prices I am very pleasantly surprised at options outside the loyal to royal group.. Funny thing, my last cruise earned me my diamond status, which I have been very much looking forward to, but with the all inclusive options MSC (and other lines) have on offer as part of or upgrade to basic cruise fare - these still come in at much much less than RCI's basic zero inclusion fares. I just looked at a World Europa video and it looks like they took all the best from Quantum and Oasis and packaged it into a really splendid and elegant looking ship. I guess I was just really surprised to see that a. MSC is copying RCI so much, and b. doing it in such a beautifully upgraded manner. Far cry from what I see Icon has in store..

Not that much smaller and about 150 less cabins. Also looks like there are a lot more open spaces to accommodate a crowded ship probably due to significantly less staterooms. The abyss slide doesn't obstruct ocean views on boardwalk balconies. Looks all around very elegant to me.

Yes, I know this is the RCI forum - but with RCI's current pricing shenanigans, I was looking at MSC sailings and came across this new ship that MSC is debuting 2025.. Preview video shows bumper cards, promenade like deck, Abyss like slide and Boardwalk balcony rooms... Certainly peaked my curiosity and looks a lot more inviting than the new icon... Thoughts?

Thanks, I'll try this.

Thanks everyone for chiming in. I'm going to book this and see how we like it. A week at sea is a week at sea and we do love to cruise. As far as wifi is concerned, I understand with their current promo, basic wifi is included and I can upgrade from there. I read conflicting experiences on being able to switch devices though. What I usually do is get 1 wifi package for 3 devices. We switch to our phones when roaming the ship so we could communicate and then switch to tablet/laptop in the room as needed. Is this possible with the MSC upgraded package or are we locked into whatever device we first use? I know that I would need to log in my kids into my account to use the 3 device plan. Not an issue.

Thanks for this! Yes, I did read the info on the website. I was wondering from personal experience what people thought about the programs. My kids generally only do late night at the kids clubs as we are always busy during the day and through dinner/after dinner show. I really like that there's a tweens club on MSC. Recent experiences on RCI's teen clubs with 12-17 year olds all in the same space did not go well for some from what I've read. I always did think putting 12/13 year olds with 16/17 year olds - when those at times can be a bit on the adult side is not very smart.

Thanks everyone. This does sound very promising. I think it's time to try out a different line. Hopefully someone can chime in on the kids/teens clubs or activities. I'm very easy to please but the kiddos need to be happy or my vacation will be more stressful than intended..

Never been on MSC before. Just reached diamond with RCI but they are effectively pricing me out of further cruises for the time being with their enhanced pricing experience.. Looking at next summer out of NY on the Meraviglia. Myself and my two preteens. We sailed on Navigator, Adventure, Harmony, Anthem and Oasis. How would the experience compare? Are the kids/teens clubs comparable. How does dining work - is it a set dining time or can you choose a time like my time dining? Happy to try a new experience but wondering what to expect. For the three of us, the price difference is about $3,000 in a balcony on the Meraviglia vs the Symphony for next August. I prefer not to fly so looking for NY/NJ local sailings. Are there enough after dinner shows and other day time activities to keep my kids from getting bored? Anything else you can tell me on what I could expect sailing MSC with two pre-teens in tow? Thanks!

Yes, you pay $3,000 more for a smaller suite to get limited drinks in a lounge. Compared to full Haven benefits with butler and unlimited drinks all over the ship (which include the haven lounge) included in the fare.

RCL is already a lesser cruise unless you are on an oasis/quantum class and book sky or star class which will cost you a small mortgage. Just for fun here’s a comparison. 8/11/24 freedom of the seas 7 nights owners suite, 4 people, no benefits (freedom class) pay for your own specialty/drinks/wifi. $11,113 cabin and taxes/port charges. 8/11/24 NCL Breakaway 7 nights the HAVEN, forward facing penthouse w/balcony. 4 ppl, gratuities/wifi/specialty/drinks/shore excursion credit plus all the Haven perks. - $9,106 all in. 8/18/24 Symphony 7 nights, 4 ppl, Junior suite (no benefits) $9,061. Jump to a grand suite for $12,087. So for $3,000 more you get four bottles of water, internet and coastal kitchen. No drinks. No specialty dining (is coastal kitchen worth $3,000??). Grand suite is also a smaller cabin but it’s the cheapest above junior suite. a no brainer really for those that cruise at those price ranges. none of these are in my budget, but if they were I know where my money would be going. I heard the Haven experience is really very very nice..

time will surely tell

I don't have any insider info - but I very much doubt that these Icon sailings are anything but hype and held back cabins aligned with the new and improved dynamic pricing.. I do not think the sailings are anywhere near full at all outside maybe the inaugural for die hard fans, or there is a mass booking craze at these insane prices.. What you see is NOT what you get.. Time will tell.

Profitability means not chasing away your customers. Their current strategy is very short sighted.

Just got off the Oasis. Another enhancement to the food offering from just over a month ago. Late night promenade cafe now only offers various cheese sandwiches or if they are especially generous with a meat option it was a ham and cheese sandwich. Not that I liked their late night sandwiches before, but this seems like a different brand than I signed up for and at three times the cost. Whether they change their CEO - only time will tell. I think if the brand sinks enough with bookings though, they will have an uphill battle to get back those previously loyal to royal who try other lines and like it. Plus - good reputation takes a very short time to destroy and very long time to build. While the current economic climate can explain some of the cutbacks and downgraded experience, they don't have the same liability/cost associated with staff - all offshore low salary staff and they are hiring less and less to man the ships, yet charging exponentially more and offering half of what they used to. Ultimately I think it's just pure greed that will bite them in the backside soon enough.

Yes, but you should take into account MSC (and NCL) offers all inclusive cruise fares for an additional charge which is less than what you would pay for the same with Royal. So, you would pay less, and while not having "status" would still have drinks/specialty and internet for much less than what Royal offers currently so you don't necessarily need the status perks..

Ugh, that's a shame. Would have been nice to get a couple more photos each cruise.

On the same topic, do Dismond kids get a free photo too?

We bought direct, off the cruise planner at $35.99 for July and were served half rolls for our "large plates". You only get full rolls if you purchase a la carte.

I can confirm, if you opt for the pre fixe it is now half rolls for the "large plates". This from a July 2023 sailing. It's also been mentioned on many boards so I'm assuming it's across the entire fleet and not ship specific. According to the cruise planner, if you don't want the pre fixe, you have the option of buying a la carte with a $39.99 credit. *For ships with this venue, Izumi Sushi is a prix fixe menu or $39.99 food credit

Was replying to an earlier post and didn't see that one yet. I also see the refund option now. At least they are offering a refund. Assuming travel insurance may cover cost of flights or other travel arrangements that may have been paid for. I do think RCI should have offered a refund off the bat and not offered it as a result of (probably) hundreds of complaints to the executive office. I also think they should give people the option to transfer the reservation to a different sailing at the same category cabin they had like they do with oversold ships. I don't know how much this sailing was going for, but booking now with current prices will probably cost OP and other much more.

Seems like NCL still cares about its customers. Then again NCL's CEO is not Jason Liberty..

Texts and other messaging apps work fine (whatsapp/imessage etc.). I never rely on the messaging feature in the app as it is NOT reliable and as others have mentioned, children are not able to use it.