Nimloth

We were on the Bellissima last month and only saw our butler on the second to last night. We disembarked with a group of passengers and saw our butler then, though he didn't acknowledge us. We didn't give him his tip.

6 hours ago, abbeytravelstheworld said:

Does anyone know if the pricing they show for excursions online are in your local currency, eg. i'm in New Zealand and so i'm on the MSC NZ site. Does this mean they're in NZD? We're cruising out of Miami so i'm also wondering if it could be USD

I'm from NZ and the excursions I booked were in NZ dollars.

MSC Opera is in dry dock at Trieste at the moment. We are on her next month so are looking forward to a fresh new look. 😁

4 hours ago, electro said:

Same ship but getting on this Sunday, April 7th.

We are doing the ship excursion to Capri. It looks like it provides the transportation but the time on the island is on your own.

 

Have a great trip. Any feedback afterwards would be great. 😊

Thanks electro, that's an interesting article. We had Genoa as a port stop a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. So this time we are spending a couple of days there, after our cruise in May, to see more of it.

4 hours ago, electro said:

What ship/line are you on? We are in Naples during the same time, 11  - 7:30.

 

We are on MSC Bellissima in Naples on 13th May. What about you?

Thank you euro cruiser. I don't want to end up stressing about the time the whole visit. Maybe we will just stick to Naples to be safe.

Thank you dronnygirl and steamboats for your replies. Both very helpful.

We are in Naples port from 11am to 7.30pm and wanted to visit Capri and Anacapri, including the chairlift to the top. Are we going to be too pushed to do it with possible queuing for transport there and back? My worst nightmare would be missing the ship! Also, what is the best way to get between Capri and Anacapri? We are going in May. 

Thanks for the review. We are on her in May. I'm looking forward to reading more of your trip, including the ports. 🙂

We had the Aurea package on Splendida boarding from Civitavecchia a year and a half ago and there was no priority boarding there.

We prebooked a taxi, which was waiting when we got off the ship. It took us to the catacombs and we walked back to the port from there, which was mostly downhill. I think the taxi was 30 euro. It's well worth a visit.

8 hours ago, Findo said:

Hello and thank you for helping me out. We are taking a Cruise out of Civitavecchia on December 29th 2019 Looking for any info on the Excursions in Palermo, Valletta, Malta, Barcelona, Spain, and Genoa. 

Have you looked at the excursion lists on the MSC website? If you aren't planning on doing the official ship excursions, then the 'ports of call'  forums on this website might be of some help. 

Thanks for the review. It's a pity they didn't have English speakers catered for as it is widely spoken as a second language.

1 hour ago, madeleinesmommy said:

Thanks Markanddonna.  I'm just worried that we will find out our cruise booking gets voided or something.  I'd also like to book packages and excursions etc, but can't because of this issue.  Does anyone have any suggestion as to how to get them to fix the issue?  I feel like both people I spoke with just gave me the "oh don't worry, we will get tech to fix it" response, but I don't think they really thought it was anything to worry about.

I have had ongoing issues with their website since booking in May. I have done it through a TA so while I can't see my bookings, she has been in touch with them and confirmed our bookings. I too wanted to book excursions, so have downloaded their booking form from their website, filled in the excursions we wanted, scanned it and emailed it to their reservations email address. They have confirmed our excursions and we have had the cost added to our final payment due next month. I am more confident that all is ok because of our travel agent, but will want everything in writing when we make our final payment. 

Thanks for the review. 

Thanks for the review, I have really enjoyed reading it. 

Enjoying your review. 

22 hours ago, mvh said:

How likely is it to get an upgrade on MSC when the ship has several open cabins in just about all categories?  Do they ever call or is there any where to request an upgrade like RCI or NCL?  Do guaranteed rooms have a better chance?  I'm not expecting something for nothing, but it always nice to here from the upgrade fairy.  Yes, I do know the difference between an upgrade and an upsell.

We got upgraded from Aurea to YC at no cost, but we didn't find out until we were on board. That was on Splendida in the Med last year.

Thanks, I will watch them tonight. Just what I was looking for.

Thanks for a great review and pictures. We will be in Dubai for a couple of days next April and hadn't considered the Hop on Hop off bus as an option to get around. It is now definitely going to be on our list. 

12 hours ago, Cruzer Two said:

 

Yes, I think Taormina would be your best option.

If you are interested, you might be able to find a tour of Taormina that also includes a visit to the small, mountain-top, Sicilian village of Savoca that is located nearby. It was chosen as a stand-in for the real village of Corleone in the 1972 movie Godfather III because the village was relatively untouched by progress. Filming here included scenes at Bar Vitelli, where Michael Corleone, played by Al Pacino, asked the wrong man about a beautiful young girl he had seen, Apollonia Vitelli. The 14th century Santa Lucia Church is the location where scenes where Michael married Apollonia.

Enjoy!

 

 

Interesting! I loved those movies. 😊

Thanks Ron. It looks like Taormina is the place to be. Thanks also for the link, it looks very useful. 😁

We have Messina as a port stop on our cruise next May. Is Taormina worth a visit and how easy is it to get to from Messina?

We are booked to sail out of Venice next May. I can't wait!