Happy New Cruiser

Do children outside of the YC receive wrist bands? I thought I read somewhere that children receive wrist bands at the kids club. Are these the same type?

Was it a mostly full sailing?

Great tip. Thank you!

I have always tried to get on board as early as possible in the past but I agree that it seems like instead of a few extra hours of vacation it means standing in line and chaos at the buffet. I’m thinking I might try to arrive on the later side next time. However, does anyone know if I arrive between noon and 1pm in Brooklyn if there will still be parking in the lot? That’s my big concern about not arriving early.

I am planning to use a 7” kids android tablet. I tested it this week at home and it can hot spot Wi-Fi to Wi-Fi. It’s a few years old so I don’t know if they still make them the same way, but if they still have the same capability it’s only $39 on Amazon for the device. Less expensive than paying for WiFi on multiple devices.

Has anyone checked this lately? I have an android tablet I was going to use as my device and keep in my room. It has WiFi-WiFi hot spotting. I don’t want to have constant connectivity my whole vacation but my plan was that I could check in with the outside world from time to time when in my stateroom. However, there is someone who posted in the fall and said hot spotting no longer worked for them even though they had used it in the past. I’m wondering if anyone has had recent success.

I’ll post an update when I see the refund. Also, I didn’t realize, but I received $150 onboard credit as well. Not a bad deal.

I did have to pay a new deposit. I didn’t get an exact timeline on the refund from the original deposit.

Thanks for the advice. I called my TA and she cancelled and rebooked the same stateroom today. Its only an additional $400 for 2 Easy Plus drink packages, 2 Minor drink packages and 1 device internet package. And we keep our room.

That would be me. Although I did use a TA. When I booked I had just replaced my furnace and was extremely concerned with getting the lowest price.

I guess I'm concerned because I booked a specific cabin that I don't want to lose. I am traveling with my wife and two sons and we have an OV on facing the bow (my sons' favorite). I feel like elsewhere I've read not to change anything unless you really need to, because everything can get really messed up.

Thanks for the replies. This is my first MSC cruise so I didn't really know how it worked when I booked. I was looking for the least expensive trip out of the Northeast for the week I am on vacation and saw this as much less than RC or NCL and booked it. In the past on RC I would book and keep checking for drink sales, although even with the sales I don't remember them being this low. On NCL they usually offer it "free" but then you pay gratuities which is hundreds of dollars anyway. I probably should have checked this forum before I booked so I would have understood how MSC works when it comes to the packages. I'm on the fence about the drink package so if it means rebooking I probably would just do without.

The price for my 7 days cruise is $322 for the EASY drink package. Is that a good deal? (I'm not asking whether the drinks package is worth it for me. I'm just wondering if that is lower than is typically offered). If so I may need to decide soon while there is a good price. Also, are gratuities included in that price?

I almost posted something similar before this thread took off. I wasn't going to comment on the class dynamic, which is clearly what has been giving this thread it's longevity, but I was going to comment on the fact that it does seem the MSC forum isn't as robust as some others. I went on Oasis of the Seas in 2022 and I felt there were so many new posts on the RC forum that I would have plenty to see even if I had checked CC only hours earlier. On the MSC forum I look every few days and I see a lot of things that don't seem to apply to my upcoming cruise, namely posts that are YC specific. I just skip over them and hope something more relevant shows up. I'm not sure of the intent of the OP but I did identify with the feeling that the percentage of YC posts far exceeds the percentage of YC cabins.

I’ve read elsewhere that an iPhone without an internet package can still use the messenger app to text anyone, even those who are not on the ship. Is that accurate?

Thanks for posting this kids club info. I find the kids club info difficult to find sometimes. Are these fairly current and are the “kids dailies” as well?

Thanks for your reply. This is my first time sailing MSC. I’m taking the negative reviews out there with a grain of salt but it does seem that the communication and attention to detail can be lacking. I’m sure everything with the pass will work out fine once we are onboard.

I pre booked a couples pass for the Thermal Suite on an upcoming Meraviglia cruise. I don’t know if anyone else found the fine print confusing, but I did. It says that the two people have to be assigned at booking but if I click on both people in the cabin it charges me twice. So I booked it in my wife’s name but it didn’t ask who the second person is. Does anyone know the details for its use? Will we both be able to go whenever we want or do I have to go with her because it’s in her name? Any guidance from someone with experience would be appreciated.