Cruzlover7

Going for the first short cruise in December and have May and December of 2022 booked!   We have to fly too but, I  typically get great deals by booking 6 mo in advance. We also get a visit in with the parents who live in Florida. It’s a win, win. 

I’ll be sailing the Elation in December. Looking forward to your live review. Had so many sailings cancelled, I cannot wait to get on board.  

Yes, cruzlover7 was bored.  All inclusive was just not for me.  I simply enjoy cruising and getting to see different ports. I didn’t want to mention it, but I spent two of my four days there sicker than a dog. Not sure if it was montezuma’s revenge Or the food! The hotel actually charged me for the towels that I soiled from getting sick.  I also was not fond of having to wait in a tent to sign up for dinner at the specialty food restaurants. Perhaps I chose the wrong hotel for my first all inclusive. 

On 8/10/2020 at 8:47 PM, coevan said:

 

 

Cruiselover was bored? Wow, there activities day and night. don’t get me wrong, love cruising, but the food is miles above Carnival. Six or seven restaurants from all over the world. Free top shelf liquor, free WiFi, and satellite TV with real channels, swim up bars, tipping is prohibited, except the Spas. Sandals has free diving, snorkeling, sailing, SUPs, kayaks, water skiing, and more. We are booked December 10-20 in Jamaica for our son’s wedding, we live in hope.🙏

Did anyone else get an email from Carnival today about the new spring Ultra offers?  Mine said that early access will be in four days.  Did anyone get access to the new Ultra's?  Just wanted to know the dates and ports. Thanks.

I am thinking about giving up cruising for a little while for an all-inclusive. Has anyone done an all-inclusive I found one for 12 night for $3,500 with air is that good? In Punta Cana 

Firstly, just to clarify, I am a UK cruiser so different rules on cancelling cruises apply to us versus the US, but not sure if this scenario would be different between UK?US
 
Does anyone know if I 'move' a cruise from one itinerary to another literary (I'm looking at moving a booked cruise due to Covid-19) am I able to take with it the casino rewards certificate which has been applied to the cruise?  We have a cruise booked for July and even if it goes (unlikely) we don't want to go with it!  
However, the cruise has a $500 discount applied to it and I do know if I just cancel the cruise and get back the despot as a FCC, I will completely loose the $500 & it won't be re-instated for another cruise.  I just wondered if I called up and moved the date of the cruise to next year, will the casino credit move across with the booking?
 
Thank you in advance for your knowledgable responses.
 
Jean  

Check out Royals Press Release today. No cruises until June 12th.


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My DH and plan to cruise 1 to 2 times a year. No changes here.



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3 hours ago, ATG said:

Not unexpected, but I really wish I had booked May 10 instead of May 17.  The uncertainty is driving me crazy.  I guess I have to wait another month.

ATG, I too am booked May 17th. Still holding out hope. 

11 hours ago, Msett89 said:

Hi all. Obviously a lot happening right now but I am really hoping things improve and I can sail on the Harmony of the Seas in May. Prices are the lowest I have seen but with how things are developing, do you think they will go lower?

 

Currently May 16th 7 night Harmony of the Seas cruise is down to $516 from $549 just yesterday. Should I jump on it or could prices further decrease? Obviously I know either way it's a gamble.

 

Thanks! 

Do you mean May 17?  I’m currently booked on Harmony May 17 and hoping we still Sail.  Only time will tell. 

2 hours ago, Baowen said:

I assume refunds. I wonder if they will extend it. My May cruise is still happening.... for now


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I also cruise May 17. I am also anxiously waiting for that news. 

Thanks to this post, I checked my Mediterranean sailing in August and it went down therefore, I saved $442.00 on a large OV Balcony. Thank you OP. 

I agree with cruisegirl11 the BaHa Mar casino is beautiful and a nice change.  You can take the number 10 or 12 bus for $1.25 each way.  If time allows check it out.  

I just returned from Yacht Club on Divina and there was one occasion where a woman walked in behind a staff member and she was stopped before getting to the concierge. She didn’t understand English so they kept trying to explain to her what the area was.  She kept pushing to get by but eventually they got her to leave. I also saw one person getting a tour of the area.  

On 12/19/2019 at 4:00 PM, Hlitner said:

We just returned from an 11 day Divina cruise which was almost exactly a year after our first Divina YC cruise.  Here are a few thoughts about the cruise, some changes, etc.  Cruising in the YC is all about service and MSC continues to meet our service expectations on the Divina.  To choose a single word to describe the hard working YC Staff (Butlers, stewards, bar tenders, waiters, etc) it would be OUTSTANDING.  The YC facilities have maintained their excellence (with one exception) and we really enjoyed the cruise.  Le Muse (the YC restaurant) was somewhat improved (from the previous year's cruise) with a fantastic Maitre'd (Alin) who wowed us with his near nightly preparations of small pasta dishes (an extra at dinner) which he personally cooked in the restaurant.  MSC has really improved the quality of meats in the YC and the risottos continued to amaze as did some of the fish preparations.  In fact, a relatively simple grilled grouper (served over mashed beetroot) was absolutely perfect and would have been acceptable in even the best land restaurants.  Was Le Muse perfect?  No, but we thought it was vastly improved over a year ago.  In fact, we did not even avail ourselves of a free meal in one of the alternative restaurants since we could not justify missing a dinner in Le Muse.  One minor complaint about Le Muse would be the breakfast waffles which might double as hockey pucks.  For some reason the waffles continue to be rubbery.  Since they are freshly made and served hot our only conclusion is that the underlying batter is at fault.

 

DW and I have been blessed to have cruised on 16 different lines (of all classes) over more then 40 years.  We continue to think that the YC remains one of the bargains in cruising.  Yes, it is a lot more expensive then most of the non-YC options but the service, dedicated restaurant, private lounge and pool deck, and quiet spaciousness makes it well worth the investment.

 

Our major problem with the Divina's YC remains the One pool deck which is the YC's private sun deck, outdoor buffet and pool.  We do think that there should be cushions for the sun beds.  The outdoor buffet has really been degraded by the elimination of the previous cooking card which would prepare omelets to order and fresh pastas (to order) for lunch.  We were told that this large cart was removed for safety/health issues.  What remains is a small buffet with very limited offerings.  Senior staff assured us this would all be corrected when the Divina has its next major drydock...when there are plans to upgrade the buffet facility.    Another related issue (for me) is that the room service breakfast menu is relatively limited and one cannot order a full breakfast in their cabin.  At the high level that is called the YC....one should be able to order a full hot breakfast for service in their cabins.  And there is also the silly MSC policy where YC passengers can order room service pizza (only during the normal operating hours of the pizza facility located at the ship's wine bar).  But if a YC wants to go to the pizza place and order a pizza they would have to pay for the same pizza that would be delivered free to their cabin.  None of the staff can explain this ridiculous policy other then to say it is "cruise line policy."

 

The YC passengers are provided a reserved area for the nightly shows in the main theater.  That dedicated area is located on deck 7 and is a center section of the balcony.  Although we appreciated the idea of a reserved section we thought the seating location left much to be desired (often obstructed by bars and/or glass) so we simply sat in far better located seating on deck 6.  We always went to the 7pm shows which were never very crowded and then would go to Le Muse for dinner after the show.  We also enjoyed our first visit to Ocean Cay and its dedicated YC area (I mentioned this in another post).

 

Hank

Hank,

we must have have passed each other in the Yacht Club.  This was our first MSC sailing and we thought the Yacht Club experience was superb.  Definitely worth the extra money.  

On 12/20/2019 at 6:46 AM, dexddd said:

It appears Divinia still has the orange prison towels yet the new ships have the nice new blue towels.

I too just returned from the Divina. The Yacht club has the nicer blue towels.  We did notice the prison orange in other areas of the ship.  

2 hours ago, sidari said:

What is that Costa ship doing in the background ... 😂😂😂

Good eye!!

On 11/20/2019 at 11:14 AM, DCGuy64 said:

Back in September, MSC sent us an email asking if we wanted to bid on an upgrade from our current stateroom (YIN) to a YC Deluxe Suite. I bid a modest amount just above the recommended minimum, and to my pleasant surprise, I received an email earlier this morning saying that it was accepted. So not only will we be in the Yacht Club (for the very first time), we'll be in a nice room, to boot. Yay! 😁

Did you happen to get your updated Embarkation form and luggage tags?  I bid for the YC and got it as well. I have been on hold with customer service for quite some time and not only once but four times and I still do not have the correct embarkation form or luggage tags. 

On 7/8/2019 at 3:56 PM, plynn said:

What is it like to cruise from NYC? We are booked on the May 2020 cruise on the Legend out of NYC. What are some of the best Hotels to stay at ? Is it a rough ride from port to the open waters? Is there anything else we might need to know? How about the Legend...have you sailed her before? Thanks for your help!

I agree with the others sailing out of NY is great. Check out my pics. 

1 hour ago, Mike C said:

You still have to cash out your card balance at the end of the cruise at the casino cashier on Carnival.  When you download money from a slot machine onto your card, it stays there, it doesn't go to your account.  You can withdraw accumulated money from your card at anytime.

 

Mike

Yes, you are correct Mike, I stand corrected that the funds remain on your card.  As I stated above, I only have to go to cashier at the end of the cruise to get any money left.  Unfortunately, there typically isn’t any left to cash out. 

42 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

 

Probably to prevent people from using the machines as ATMs.

I actually like it that way better. You don't have to stand in line at the cashier cage until the very last day to cash out any remaining funds.

On 7/6/2019 at 5:19 PM, Beamafar said:

You don't load money back onto your card - you cash out and the machine prints a voucher which you can either use in another machine or bring it to the cashier to exchange for cash.

On Carnival you cash out to your account. 

Meaves Nana, you'll want to remember to be sure to load any money back onto your card before leaving a machine. You'll set up your players card with a pin and can get funds from your credit card to play with. The charges are shown as entertainment (Carnival) not as cash, which helps save on high interest charges if you don't pay off the balance right away.

7 hours ago, CCLcruiser91 said:

Update 5/29 to status match - After contacting MSC again, they have now matched Carnival Diamond to MSC Gold...

CCLcruiser91 I status matched CCL Platinum to Gold on MSC.  I’m surprised you were not matched to Black.