galaxieman63

Was on Meraviglia at Cozumel on Mar 11 2022. They docked at Punta Lagosta. 

On 3/13/2022 at 8:25 AM, BVILady said:

what is BBB rating, where can I find these ratings?

 

The Better Business Bureau. It's a ratings agency for companies. Consumers can file complaints against companies. Corporate participation is voluntary. Take the ratings with a grain of salt. A high rating doesn't necessarily mean that disputes were resolved in favor of the company, just that the company responded and the BBB deemed the matter resolved. Businesses can also pay money to become BBB members, so there's perceived bias towards the company. That makes an "F" rating truly exceptional. Here's their profile:

https://www.bbb.org/us/fl/fort-lauderdale/profile/cruises/msc-cruises-inc-0633-14001025

It seems MSC doesn't even acknowledge the complaints, and there has been a flood of complaints due to the long refund times during the COVID shutdown. So what you are seeing is just one side of the story. It would actually be very easy for MSC to boost their rating. My guess is that someone in Switzerland who should be directing US operations to assign someone to handle these complaints probably doesn't know what the BBB is, or why it is worth their time to fill out forms responding to the complaints.

5 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

Interesting post and the second time in a couple of days I have heard of “sanitized cruising” Caribbean or otherwise.  Carnival is not on the largest cruise line in the world, they have that same moniker in the Caribbean with many ships and there are some limitations of ports (another way to say there are some key ports that many ships hit).  Just because it may not hit your or my warm spot, it does not degrade the experience.  Is St Lucia a better stop then HMC?  Is Grenada better then Cozumel?  Cruisers have options and they pick cruises based upon these.

 

The Caribbean not Europe, we found MSC (and it was a while back) to attract a large European crowd that came with all fixings (read that as smokers).  Having announcements read in 5 languages got old.  Service was at best OK.  You can say that is America first or the ugly American tourist syndrome, and there is some of that out there, but it is NOT Europe.  IF they really want to survive (kids sail free and honoring othe loyalty programs are gimmicks that work....for a while, then THEY need to adapt, not the American tourist.  Do not get me wrong, we travel to Europe a lot and enjoy the experience, but that said, when we sail in the Caribbean having that experience (if it is still happening) is NOT a plus, just the opposite.

I'm not saying one is better than the other, just highlighting the differences for OP. I enjoy both, and for different reasons. On my last MSC Cruise I very much enjoyed the stops in Cartagena and Puerto Limon; which aren't your typical Senor Frogs \ Diamonds International stops. Other times I very much enjoy the laid back private island experience. MSC only sailing out of Miami is a big drawback. I can drive to the nearest Carnival port in 3 hours, but Miami is a "must fly" trip for us. 

Honestly I didn't notice any more smoking on MSC versus Carnival, though the Casinos on both lines were stifling with cigarette smoke.

I will say that if MSC wants to be successful in the US they need to invest in two things: an American based marketing team and a website that works. I'd say that outside the community of avid cruisers, they don't have much brand recognition. Their commercials are generic. so they need to establish a brand identity.   

 

I've sailed both multiple times, and plan to sail both again in the future. MSC is very polarizing. My last cruise on MSC was a 12 night cruise that was the first cruise out of Miami following their repositioning cruise. Most of the crew came on the ship either for the repositioning or that cruise. There were definitely some new crew bugs being worked out. 
 

Communication on MSC ships seems to be lacking. I spent quite a bit of time in guest services the first couple of days for things that could have been fairly easily dealt with had information been more accessible. Even things like where to debark the ship in port weren't published. 

I'd say 1/5th or less of the people on the ship spoke English as their fist language, and a good portion of those that did were from the UK. 

Service in the dining room was typical of a restaurant in Europe. No one is really rushing, and the wait staff aren't overly friendly and talkative. It's a different experience than the staff in a Carnival dining room, for sure. 

The shows at night are really good, but they are definitely lacking for things to do during sea days. 

All of that said, I had a great time on my MSC cruises, but I mention them because nearly every American I spoke to seemed to be upset by those things, and I've had multiple American's tell me they'd never do MSC again. 

So, it's a question of what's important to you. With MSC I get a really nice cabin, really good food, good shows, and interesting itineraries, and a good price. I enjoy meeting and talking to people from other cultures, and I'm not offput that it's not "America First" on the ship.

Sometimes cultures clash. I witnessed some extremely rude behavior around elevators, for example. Service wasn't as friendly as on other ships. To me, I like that it's a truly international experience and it's not just a little bubble of America, hopping from tourist trap to tourist trap; but I can also totally understand people who have the attitude that they go on vacation to relax and know what's important to them to be able to do that.

In the end we took a cab there and paid the $6 per person entry. There are tour guides you can hire on the spot for $50 for a private group. We opted to skip the tour guide and just roam. It was less than half the cost of even the "non-premium" option from MSC. Next time in that port we'll do Kohunlich.  

Was on Seaside in April. Aurea Bar was where the previous poster described. Deck 18 forward, just aft of the YC area. Just a bar, no food other than the occasional app brought around by wait staff. It was always uncrowded despite the ship being full. The best reason to go would be to have a better chance at an uncrowded hot tub. 
 

For us the location was inconvenient. We were in one of the Miami beach condo aft suites on deck 13. There's no through passage to the forward sections of the ship. We had to go elevator down, then walk the ship, then back up. Not to mention it's a long walk from back to front and you'll pass a half dozen other bars on the way, all serving the same drinks and honoring the Aurea drink package. We only stopped in if we were already near the front of the ship for a show, or the spa, etc. The Aft pool area was our go to hang out, albeit a little crowded on sea days. We didn't hang out on lido at all the entire cruise. 

Apologies in advance if this is a repeat post. The site's search is still limited following the upgrade.

I''m looking to book an Excursion through MSC to go to the Chacchoben ruins from Costa Maya. Their is a standard option and a Premium. The descriptions don't give a huge amount of detail as to the differences, other than to say the premium excursion includes beverages during the ride (It's about an hour each way) and is "designed for comfort."

Has anyone done the "premium" excursion, and was the coach nicer than a standard excursion bus? Did you feel like the extra cost was worth it? 

Thanks

When I had the deluxe package, it covered the minibar, I don't know if that is still the case...

I just left Seaside the day you got on. It sounds like we had the same drink package (covered everything that doesn't have a star next to it on the menu) and my package did NOT include mini-bar. All we got out of there were two bottles of water, so it wasn't too expensive; but given the lack of clear documentation on the packages, someone could make and expensive mistake.

I'm enjoying reading the review, it's helping me cope with the PCD!

Short version, I booked an Aurea Suite on Seaside from next year on the msccruisesusa.com website on 4/3 (post update), and I chose to pay a deposit now, with the balance due Jan 2018. I completed the process, paid the deposit the website showed as required, and got the booking confirmation in email.

Fast forward to yesterday, I happened to check the website, and saw that my booking Status was "Option" with an expiration date of 4/10/18. The site shows the correct totals for everything, including the paid deposit, and the balance due in January 2018.

The call center was closed yesterday when I discovered this, so I waited until this AM and called. I was told that my booking was not confirmed because I underpaid on the deposit. He said the site charged me $49 per adult instead of $99. Note, that even this morning there was no indication of this on any paperwork, or showing on the website. If I go to make payment, it just shows me the total balance due.

Initially he said I would need to pay the additional $50 per adult to secure the reservation, but then he put me on hold and came back later saying that a supervisor was going ahead and marking it "confirmed" and I would not need to pay anything extra today.

All in all I'm very happy with them for quickly and easily resolving the issue. I'm just posting this as a warning to anyone else who may have booked around the same time to check your booking status and make sure it is "confirmed" before you hit a week and you lose your reservation.

Was on her in April. There's a DJ on Lido and there was a live musician nightly in the Atrium bar. Both were hit or miss.

The live productions were OK, but they just changed casts so I can't comment on what it will be like when you are there.

We just Did Blue Lagoon on Sunday. We came in on the Carnival Fantasy. It was a great experience and my wife hasn't stopped talking about it yet. She did the dolphin encounter and it was the highlight of her trip, if not the year.

To the transportation point: we booked directly through Blue Lagoon and received the instructions to get off the boat and take a taxi to their Ferry terminal on Paradise island. At the terminal they give you the wristbands you need to get on the boat and into the activities you paid for on the island. They told us to allow 20 minutes for the Taxi ride and to be there by 10 am for the 10:30 boat (which is included with the price of admission.) We got a taxi and were there in 5 minutes, but YMMV. The driver picked up another fare for Atlantis, but dropped us off first. Negotiate with your driver to make sure you are going straight there. We paid $4 per person for the cab ride.

When the boat picked us up at the ferry terminal it had just come from the cruise ships, loaded with passengers. They only pick up passengers who bought excursions through cruise lines at the cruise terminal. I'm guessing this has to do with the bands. The people who came from the cruise dock didn't have to get off at the terminal to get theirs.

The good news is that on the way back they take all cruise ship passengers back to the dock near the straw market. So you only have to do the taxi ride one way.

I hope that answers your question. It would be awesome if they added a kiosk near the cruise ships to allow you to pick up bands. All in all we lost about an hour of time in port to the extra hop and arriving at the ferry terminal 45 minutes early.

Just got back today. Yes, the waiters sing and dance in Celebration. It seems they do it about once per hour, so it's possible to show up just after they perform and be out before they do it again.

My 2nd cruise on Fantasy, so I feel I was a bit more critical of things, and I still had a great time. Both trips I did were 5 nights with stops in Nassau and Freeport.

Things to note:

My first sailing was late September, 2013. I stayed in an inside cabin on main deck aft. This time I stayed in an oceanview/upper/forward.

I read in other reviews some complaints of the windows being "dirty" as a negative. I'm not sure what people are expecting. It's a boat, on the ocean, which contains salt water. Yes, there was salt residue and moisture on the cabin windows. It was not obtrusive to the view, and the room window was cleaned while we were docked in Nassau.

The toilets on the boat irk me. In both cabins I had, the button to flush the toilet is behind the lid when up. I'm a large guy, so it was practically impossible for me to sit on the toilet without flushing it. As for lifting the seat, forget about it, the flush button causes the seat to fall back down, so a standing #1 is not really an option in the cabin.

In the main deck aft cabin I had great water pressure. in the upper forward cabin it was pathetic. Also, trying to shower the morning of port days is not wise. There was NO hot water and I had to take very cold showers. I suppose everyone is up early trying to get ready to debark at the same time.

The boat shows wear and tear in places, but to me that doesn't diminish the experience, it just adds character. September is supposed to be more rainy, but I had good weather on both cruises, plus the water temp is a lot cozier in September than April. Oddly I found the water temp in Nassau to be colder than off Lucaya (Freeport) this most recent trip.

September also had one huge advantage: fewer kids on board. Spring Break on Fantasy means tons of elementary aged kids. Lido was basically a no-go zone for me this time out. There was no enforcement of the age restriction on the 18+ hot tub on lido. Kids were packed into the hot tubs shoulder to shoulder, with parents nowhere to be found. The comedian on the last night referred to it as _Lord of the Flies_ up there. In September, by contrast, Lido felt roomy and the average age on the cruise was about 20 years older.

Mongolian Wok - I'm not sure what happened, but it seemed to really go downhill from 2013-2015. I don't know what changed. I ate there on Embark day and didn't go back.

I enjoyed the entertainment. Even though the big productions were the same, they were still a fun time.

We ate in the MDR every night. Those guys work their butts off handling a crazy amount of tables in conditions that would make Gordon Ramsey blush, yet still seem really sincere in their pleasant attitude towards the guests. It amazed me how rude some of the other guests were to wait staff.

The food itself was pretty good. The best thing I had in the MDR was the Chicken Tom Kha soup on night 4. I know everyone has their personal likes and dislikes, so I won't shout down something I didn't care for, as someone else might rave about it. For the most part, everything was good quality and well prepared, which is a feat considering the task.

The best entertainment for my buck was the comedy show. They had two comedians on the boat and a total of ten shows.

Hasbro the game show was a new feature since my first cruise, and I could have passed on it. The whole thing seems very rushed and they spend more time picking the teams versus playing the games. It seems like a good concept, but they need to wok on the execution.

Go to the Casino if you are worried about CCL's profit margins. Otherwise expect an ROI equivalent to throwing your $20 bills overboard and asking the fish to make change.