CTGirl74

I'm in mid-state CT and my cruise is 10/04 on the Meraviglia. I'm torn between Uber and driving. The plan is to drive down there at some point before the cruise and check it out, then make the decision.

I've searched the forum, but I'm not finding the answer to my question. Thank you in advance to anyone who can answer this for me. I'll be taking a cruise on the Caribbean Princess next year with a friend and four family members, so six women total. We plan to book two mini suites, as none of us want to be stuck in a bunk for a week. I found there are only four connecting mini suites on the ship, which are on the Dolphin deck. Does anyone know if any of the non-connecting mini suites have balcony dividers that open up? If we can't get connecting rooms, the next best thing would be connecting balconies. If that's not a possibility, then we'll just book two mini suites next to each other.

I'm booked in YC on the Meraviglia in October and decided to check after seeing this thread. Mine says the same thing. Yet if I check the page with the packages to purchase, Premium Extra says it includes all drinks up to $16. Can't wait to see how this goes. It won't matter for my husband because he only drinks beer. I don't drink much, but I'd be disappointed to not have a few of the $16 drinks included.

Thanks for posting! We're booked in this cabin type in October for NE & Canada--cabin 12003. Hopefully we don't have the hot tub issues! I'm happy to see they provide tissues. I've seen so many posts about MSC not providing them. It's the little things that make me happy. LOL

There were some articles posted last year. This is one of them: https://www.travelandleisure.com/cruises/msc-cruises-to-homeport-in-nyc-starting-next-year

Yes, that's exactly it for me--the feeling. Also, a duvet cover was never a thing for anyone I've ever known. I've always known "bottom sheet, top sheet, comforter/bedspread." I'd never owned a duvet cover until very recently, and the only reason I bought it is because it was the material as some VERY nice sheets I discovered and I wanted my comforter to match. Also, it's the same material as the sheets. Even though the cover would feel the same as that sheets in this instance and probably be okay, I find a duvet cover is a lot of work to try and get a huge king-sized comforter inside of it going in the right direction, without big wrinkles and folds.

And it freaks me out to see there won't be a top sheet when we go on the Mera in October! I'm so glad I saw this post. LOL I'll have to make sure I ask the first night--I can't handle 11 nights with no top sheet. Several nieces and nephews (all kids of one of my sisters) have never ever used a top sheet and every time I'd sleep at my sister's house I'd have to ask for one. And yeah, I need a wash cloth, too! 🙂

Good to know--thank you! We, too, are going on a cruise in October from Brooklyn (10/04). We're in CT and were planning to drive, so I'll have to see what the cost of Uber is vs. parking.

I have a question. I need to cancel one cruise because I decided to book YC instead. So I have two cruises for the same date and itinerary out there. I also want to make partial payment on the YC cruise. Should I do it in one call, or would I be better off calling to cancel the first cruise, and then calling back to make the partial payment? With any other company it wouldn't occur to me this could be an issue, but given all the customer service and repricing issues I hear about on here with MSC, I'm really worried. I'm also wondering if a partial payment would be too much for them to handle and I should just wait and make the full payment when I have it. I want to pay "cash" and not use my credit card; however, I guess I could use the card and then just pay down the card when the money comes in (waiting on a work bonus).

For adding the Voyager's Club number, they are very likely to tell you to email mscvoyagersclub@msccruisesusa.com rather than mscexistingreservations@msccruisesusa.com.

This is the only one I can answer since my first MSC cruise isn't until October. (Well, I've been once before, but it was 10 years ago and it was a themed cruise--Monsters of Rock--so I can't really count that as a real MSC experience.) I had exactly the same problem when I booked the October cruise. I tried many times over a few weeks. I finally emailed them at mscexistingreservations@msccruisesusa.com and they took care of it within a couple days. It can take them up to two weeks sometimes, though.

Yes. I haven't been cruising lately, so I can't comment on the staffing problems of ships; however, staffing problems are everywhere on land still, which logically would spill over to the cruise lines. This line right here is why I don't really give much credence to the review: "Heard on last day they were short 500 crew members - unacceptable!" Anyone who has simply existed in the world since the pandemic started knows there have been many staffing issues, supply chain dispuptions, etc. I'm not sure how much a cruiseline can do on short notice when they have an at-capacity holiday sailing and come up short on the crew.

Out of curiosity, what could I expect on an 11 night cruise from NY to NE & Canada (Meraviglia YC)? I'm booked for October 2023. I've only cruised twice, and that was almost 10 years ago. I'm guessing it would likely be maybe a more mature crowd?

Honestly, had I not been reading here for a few months, I wouldn't have a clue as to what to do with a butler. I've only cruised twice. Both times were almost 10 years ago and were in the standard cabins (MSC and NCL), so there's no butler. And it's not as though I have a butler at home. I booked MSC YC for a cruise next year and reading this thread has been informative for me.

Thanks! Yes, I can see the image.

Thanks! Yes, I will definitely need to plug in more than two devices. 🙂 I think was threw me off was the mention of an electric razor, which my husband uses. I don't use a blowdryer or any other electric grooming tools.

You posted a picture of the power plugs in your room--thank you! I now know which plug adapter I need to buy for our cruise next Fall. But I'm wondering if there is a need for a power converter. If so, when would something like that be needed? When I was looking at adapters on Amazon, many of them say that they're not power voltage converters. Here's an example: "This is NOT A CONVERTER. This plug adapter is only compatible for 110V-250V wide voltage device, If you want to use your hair dryer, straightener, electric toothbrush or razor, they MUST support 110V-250V Dual Voltage, otherwise you may need a power voltage converter." I feel a bit dumb that I can't figure this out, so any help you (or anyone else) can give me would be great. Thanks!

Thanks for posting that! I love that you walked through slowly and explained what you're seeing. I've seen several videos of this cabin type and they're set to music with a very quick walk-through--not all that helpful! 🙂 What kind of adapter do you have for the plugs? We'll be this ship next year and I want to start putting together a list of things to buy/bring. Thanks!

Oh, my husband would love that meatloaf! I often make mine similar to that.

What type of rock music do they have at the Born to Rock show? Meaning, what decade? 70s, 80s, 90s, etc.? We'll be on Meraviglia next October and I'm wondering if I'd enjoy this. 80s/90s, yes. 70s, probably not since I'm not likely to know the songs. Thanks!

Sorry, but he really needs to run a brush through that hair of his. He can't go around with that mess. LMAO 😉

I've been on only two cruises, both of which were in 2013. One was a themed cruise to the Bahamas from Ft. Lauderdale, "Monsters of Rock" with MSC. Four women in a balcony room, two of which snore loudly (me and my best friend), and two who loudly complained about it rather than putting in their ear plugs/ear buds with music. (That was fun...) I think the cost PP might have been around $2,000 (flight and hotel room for one night not included)? The second cruise was seven months later with my sisters, and it was to from Boston to Bermuda with NCL. It was one of those free cruises from the casino: free inside cabin for two people. Since there were three of us, we upgraded to a balcony and split the total cost three ways. I think it was around $1,800 PP (no hotel or flights needed). I booked a cruise for October 2023: Canada and NE for 11 nights on the MSC Meraviglia. It's my husband's first cruise AND we're going to be on the ship for 11 nights, so I splurged and went with the duplex suite in the Yatch Club. Total cost is about $11,000. Since we're sailing from Brooklyn, NY, and we live in CT, we'll drive down that morning, so no flight or hotel needed. He doesn't know what kind of room I got, so it will be a total surprise. And since he's never been on a cruise, he has no idea how small the cabins are compared to staying at a hotel. I'm probably creating unrealistic expectations by getting a duplex right out of the gate. LOL I'll admit I kind of winced at spending that amount of money for the cruise next year, and really didn't put much thought into it at all. But as the saying goes, you only live once. We don't have kids and we can pay our bills. It's been a crappy 2+ years between a pandemic, issues at work within my team (I'm a manager), my chronic pain issues that sprang up after lumbar fusion in 2020, loss of several cats, and the death of my 21 year old nephew from a car accident. We deserve to have a great vacation.

Not knowing where you live, I'm going to answer this as though you live in the US. I'm a banker and have exclusively worked at small community banks throughout my career. Some banks, even large ones, block certain countries or regions for debit card usage if they've experienced a lot of fraud coming from that area, or if the area is considered high risk for other reasons. Based on what I've read in this forum about MSC, it appears MSC runs all charges, whether in the US or not, through a non-US bank. So my guess would be that your bank does not allow debit card usage in that country/region. Check with your bank to see if this was the case. If so, make sure to notify them ahead of time if you cruise with MSC again. They may be able to temporarily allow these charges, although it depends on their reason for the blockage to begin with. Another possibility is the cruise deposit transaction triggered an alert for potential fraud if non-US transactions (or the dollar amount) are out of your normal pattern of usage. Banks will usually block any further transactions until they're able to speak to you and confirm it wasn't a fraud attempt. There could be other reasons, such as a daily limit. Daily limits vary from bank to bank, and even customer to customer sometimes. Typical limits at a small bank might be 400.00/day at an ATM, 800.00/day for purchases using a PIN, and 1,200.00 for non-PIN purchases (these would be purchases where you have to sign versus using a PIN).

Ah, that makes sense. I didn't start my banking career until 1996. I'm now in the department that investigates the people with "duffle bags full of cash." 😉

I know this isn't the point of your post...but I'm a banker and I am so, SO curious as to what "new regulation" would prevent the teller from processing your $10,000 cash deposit. I'm not questioning you. I'm giving the teller major side eye at that statement.