MandyMooToo

This is interesting! I wish all cruise lines would handle grats this way. We are sailing out of a US port so tips are something to consider. I didn’t want to not tip enough or go overboard, hence my question. Thanks for the response.

Thank you for this information, we are obviously first time MSC cruisers and I was not aware of this.

I feel like no one really read my question or comments. I read the website. I understand the tipping guidelines and do not plan to tip as we would on RCCL. My question was referring to the drink package and the grats that the website says are to be paid with the package, which we are getting “free” and the per drink gratuities the website says are added without the package. Since ours is not being paid for individually I didn’t know if I should tip per drink or what. I only planned to add the drinks tips and tip the butler/concierge/any staff that goes above and beyond, nothing extravagant.

I fully understand MSC is a European cruise line. I do not plan to run around dropping tips everywhere behind me. I asked about tips specifically for the drink package because, European or not, they do say on the website that tips are added to the drink package. Our drink package is part of the cruise fare in YC so I didn’t know if tips were “included” in that or if I should tip per drink since we didn’t pay for the package. I also saw on the website that grats are added per drink without the package so my question remained. In my initial post I mentioned paying the daily service charge and tipping the butler/concierge/anyone who does extra. I do think that’s appropriate on any line, if someone goes above and beyond. I obviously will not be insulting anyone.

Is it possible to bring a fan onboard? An actual square, box fan? We do this on our RCCL and Carnival cruises but I was not sure if MSC would allow it. We have a fan we use only for travel so it stays in its original box and it is UL certified so Royal and Carnival have always allowed it...

Yes, it seems tipping threads can become quite contentious (on all lines' forums). My concern was not paying the gratuities for the free or included drink package. I just wasn't sure if I was to tip per drink or if the grats were included in the free YC drink package and the daily grats would suffice. Thanks for the response!

Thank you! I have been looking everywhere for the answer. We usually tip the specific bartenders we spend more time with extra, above the daily service fee, but I didn't want to mess with any pool/group tips, etc.

First time MSC cruisers here and we went with a Yacht Club cabin. The drink package is provided so I am not certain how to handle tipping for it since normally the tips would be added to the drink package when purchasing. We obviously plan to pay the daily service charge and tip the butler, concierge (and anyone else that does extra for us/goes above and beyond) but what about bar staff with the "free package?" I have gone through quite a bit of the board and cannot find the answer (searching for drink package and tips is 😒too many responses). Thanks in advance, we re looking forward to our first cruise with MSC on Seashore!

How can I transfer a NextCruise open booking to a friend? We were told onboard we could do it but I am not sure how and want to have an idea before I go on hold on the phone. **And yes, I searched the forums before asking but NextCruise and transfer brings up an unlimited amount of posts to go through and many are several years old. Thanks!

Maybe not but it feels like a milestone for us. Who knows if we will ever make D+?? We may never go to another DL after the first time but the option is nice.

Awesome! We are pretty excited for a cruise over 600 days away😁

I hope not as we just made diamond this month and have not had a chance to darken the doorstep of a diamond lounge yet!!!

A 😝

We booked an Interior Plus for 8/17/24, our 20th anniversary. We will likely upgrade at some point but if not, we are good with an inside cabin. To compare with our Icon cruise (7 nights), we are paying $400 more for the Wonder NYE 2023 cruise (8 nights, also inside cabin), as our new TA had a great group rate on the Wonder cruise. Since we used a NextCruise cert that is about to expire we took the pricing we could get for Icon. Not really an apples to apples comparison but a holiday cruise on an Oasis class ship compared to a new cruise on an Icon class ship is as close as I have booked, lol.

Interesting to see so many comments saying invoices are not going out. I have always received one, booking or making a payment, so that is distressing! I like having a record of each transaction along the way.

I finally got a recommendation for a good travel agent and booked a NYE cruise on Wonder for next year. The price on Royal's site for an inside cabin, midship, was just over $3800. The TA had a group rate of just over $2900. Huge savings and she got me in one of the two cabins I was looking at. Small amount of OBC too but the savings were really what pushed me to try a TA again after so much time. She has been super helpful so far.

Just found this out today. We had a NC certificate that we needed to book with as it was going to expire. Finally decided to try a TA again and was recommended one. Contacted her and she had a great group booking rate but said it was a tossup as to whether or not she could get us the group rate if we booked on our own and transferred to her (she gave more details but...). Her group rate saved us over $700 and she tossed in a small amount of OBC so we chose to just book directly with her and use the NC certificate for a smaller, less expensive cruise next year. Heck, even if we let it expire we would still be saving a good bit!

C&A discounts are not always combinable with other discounts so if there is a sale going on right now the system is supposed to, I stress supposed to, give you the better discount of the two (or three depending on the discounts you qualify for).

They shouldn't be allowed to retrieve their items until all questions are answered 😆

We were awarded the double points for last week's sailing (last night actually) but not for the two nights the Captain said we would get when our cruise was extended. I messaged them and am awaiting a response. One person says they called C&A and were told they needed proof that the extra nights were to be awarded. Letters were sent to our cabins so most of us probably have proof but it was Royal's decision/offer to us so I don't know why they don't have it noted somewhere themselves!

We will find out in a few days I guess! I am sure that was not something they even considered when the days were being extended and I did not think Guest Services or the Loyalty Ambassador would have any idea at the time.

I am curious how the double points will be handled on the Mariner cruise we took last week. The Capt sent out a letter saying we would get points for the two extended nights and I wonder if they will be one point or points equal to the other five nights. This was our last double points cruise and we sailed in a JS so we would get 22 points (4 for five nights plus 1 point each extended night or 4 points every night equaling 28 pts or even 24 points at 4 per night for five nights and 2 per night for the two extended nights). Ugh, I feel a C&A call coming up 😁

We had 54pts before the (extended) Mariner cruise last week. It was booked during double points and we got a great deal on a JS so we should have at least 76pts when updated. The Capt. sent out a letter stating we would receive points for the extra nights so I guess if they honor the same points for each night (4 pts per night) we will have 82pts and skip over Emerald status straight to Diamond, but that was never specified so we shall see...

Considering a a cruise for 2023 on Wonder over New Years. I have never cruised over a significant holiday and wondered (no pun intended) what Royal does or may do. Are there a lot of children? It will be a few adult couples, no children with us. Would you say the NY cruise would be worth the large upcharge? Anything else advice wise??

I am sure someone will correct me if I misstate something here but I think they try to reserve those "family sized" cabins for parties that actually need space for four people. So if you have two people and you want to book and cabin made for four that party has taken up a 4 person cabin and that group will not fit in a three person cabin. Plus if it is a four person cabin they could get the fees for four people whereas a three person cabin gives fees for three people.