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UPDATED:- ALL the INFO (in table form) on EXPERIENCES, MSC CLUB, SERVICE CHARGES etc.


Skier52
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Many thanks for your quick response.

I asked the same question to my travel agent yesterday and he came back with that he was just off the phone with MSC and they said because I booked the drinks package before they introduced the service charges being included, so technically I would pay the service charge on the drinks I order.

I just called MSC and they said I don't pay the 15% as I booked the package before I board. I am going to stop using travel agents!!. I just called MSC a second time and I got a different person and they said the same as the first person.

 

 

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I omitted to say "Welcome to Cruise Critic"!

 

There are 2 issues being conflated here around the service charge - there's the DSC which has nothing to do with the 15% service charge that's added to drinks prices when you don't have a drinks package.  Once you do have one, you won't pay THAT service charge when ordering drinks.

 

However, the DSC is a different service charge and is divvied up among all the other crew such as your cabin steward and the servers in the Main Dining Rooms (MDRs are they are usually referred to).  That is added to your account (as I have outlined above) and has nothing to do with drinks, drinks packages, etc.  The DSC is now included in the fares for UK and Ireland, so will be moot for those booking from now on.  However, you booked before this came into being, so it is THIS charge that you will have to pay.

Edited by Beamafar
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Thank you.

It totally makes sense what you have explained to me, why would you pay more on top of a drinks package !!

We definately knew about the daily service charge for which we are quite willing to pay.

Looking forward to our cruise and the first time we will have had a minibar and looking forward to the Gelato.

This is our first time with MSC so hopefully it will be good. We sailed with NCL Getaway last year from Miami and thoroughly enjoyed it.

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Hope you have a wonderful cruise - we're boarding Meraviglia this day 2 weeks for our 23rd MSC cruise 😄

 

Here's a photo of what you can expect your mini-bar to contain (just make sure that you fill in the mini-bar form when you use anything so that your cabin stewart can arrange replacements - and make sure that he/she does!!!):

 

image.thumb.png.09774a06eb0a1960332e5503b56bf82e.png

 

 

If you don't like Bud (for example) just ask for more of the other brand that you'd prefer (within those that are supplied - so 2 Heineken, etc).  Same for the spirits - you can have more than one of each supplied and you can have all gin or all whisky or all vodka - but only the brands that are there already as that's all they would have in miniature.

Edited by Beamafar
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Wow 23rd cruise, that's brilliant. So glad you got back to me as you have a wealth of MSC experience.

Have you been on the Seaside before? if you have, did you enjoy it?

Do you have any experience of the Aurea package?

This is our first time with MSC as we sailed on the NCL Getaway last year for the Eastern Carribean which we enjoyed.

The Seaside looks more modern than the Getaway so we are all really excited.

Where are you cruising to?

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We've been on 11 different ships, including Seaside's sister ship, Seaview, last month ...  though not Seaside.  Seaview was not for us - we prefer some of the other class ships.  However, there are many, many positive reviews of Seaside.

 

We've had the Aurea Experience on occasion;  it's a great package with all the inclusions that come with it, such as priority boarding, access to the Spa thermal area and private sundeck, MyChoice dining and you'll also receive a nice reed diffuser with the exclusive scent MSC uses around their ships.

 

Our next cruise, on 18th October, is for 23 nights from New York and takes in Canada before heading to the Caribbean, ending in Miami.  Here's the full itinerary:

 

1190087816_ScreenShot2019-10-04at13_01_30.png.2fe9932a56ba244e53d126471eaf88fe.png

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Hi all. I'm looking for some info on MSC generally. My mom got a free cruise from her casino on MSC. About 90% of the cruises we have taken are on NCL which we love. We have never cruised with MSC and the only person we know who cruised with them did so years ago and wasn't happy with the experience.

 

If anyone has some comparison info between the two companies as well as what are some good itineraries and ships, I'd appreciate it. While we typically book a suite on NCL, we are not necessarily wedded to upgrading our free interior room.

 

Any advice anyone can give me would be very welcome. Thanks

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Beamafar that looks a fantastic cruise. I hope you have a great time. We watched a TV programme with a lady called Jane Mcdonald who cruised on different ships. The one we watched was on the Meraviglia - such a beautiful ship. 

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40 minutes ago, garrob said:

Beamafar that looks a fantastic cruise. I hope you have a great time. We watched a TV programme with a lady called Jane Mcdonald who cruised on different ships. The one we watched was on the Meraviglia - such a beautiful ship. 

 

Thank you!  We've been on Meraviglia before, so we know what to expect.  It is a beautiful ship and very different to other class ships.

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10 minutes ago, dwade1901 said:

yes, welcome to CC @garrob. I trust you enjoy your cruise! As for @Beamafar, one day I hope to have cruised as much as you - we have our 3rd coming up in January and I am totally hooked!!! 😉

 

It can be quite addictive!  When we did our first MSC cruise back in Nov 2011 (I rarely count our very first cruise in 2000 on Carnival  😱), little did we know, then, that we would do so many afterwards.  We were very badly bitten by the cruise bug, that's for sure.

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Don't know if anyone has had any experience on this. I tried to upgrade my room on the Seaside sailing 19/10/19 from an Aurea balcony to an Aurea grand suite - only 2 weeks ago. I did a dummy booking on MSC website for the 4 of us on the grand suite which came out at £300 more than what we paid. So I asked my TA to enquire for me and he came back with a price of £800 to upgrade. I was dissapointed and asked them the reason why - they said MSC go with the price the grand suite was when I booked my balcony.

I told them no thank you but I thought they would have wanted the extra money from me to upgrade for £300. Maybe the ship is sold out anyway now.

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  • 1 month later...
On 9/4/2017 at 8:10 AM, Skier52 said:

New TWO TIER DRINKS PRICES

 

 

From the UK 2018/2019 online brochure

page #214

 

bevrage%20packages.jpg

 

 

 

link to the brochure

 

 

 

https://www.msccruises.co.uk/en-gb/Brochures/Our-Brochures.aspx

 

 

 

And the USA version page 239 of 2018/2019 brochure

 

 

2%20tier%20drinks%20usa.jpg

I just got this far reading your post here Skier52 and really appreciate your time and efforts to inform us here on this board!  You've given me a world of information for my upcoming cruises aboard the Divina and Seaside.  Thanks!!!

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Many thanks for the info. I wonder if anyone can advise please. We are cruising from Dubai in February 2020 on the Bellissima. We have a cruise and fly package from Edinburgh. Does anyone know if at some point you can pick your seats on the plane? Also we land in Dubai at 06.30 am, can we board the ship that early? 

 

Kind regards. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 11/24/2019 at 8:01 PM, garrob said:

Many thanks for the info. I wonder if anyone can advise please. We are cruising from Dubai in February 2020 on the Bellissima. We have a cruise and fly package from Edinburgh. Does anyone know if at some point you can pick your seats on the plane? Also we land in Dubai at 06.30 am, can we board the ship that early? 

 

Kind regards. 

We used the MSC transfer to the port when we came in that early in Feb and was on board before 8

 

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  • 1 month later...

Hi! I have the non alcoholic drink package for my next cruise and it’s the first time I have this package. Can someone tell me for sure if non-alcoholic beer (Heineken 0) is included in this package or not? On every description I found about this package it clearly states that it includes all non alcoholic beverages without price limit and it gives many examples of the drinks included but none refer to non alcoholic beer.

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  • 7 months later...

I've booked my first MSC cruise (Meraviglia) for 14 days in Dec. and have a few questions for those with experience.

 

The prices for internet on the MSC For Me app show as $223 per person for two, "Browse" category devices for One Person (I find it odd that a distinction is made).  Is there any reason two people sharing a cabin cannot share this access? 

If anyone has used this and the next level of service "Browse & Stream" I would like to hear what the differences in speeds are generally.

 

SES is a company that is an internet provider for Royal Caribbean and Princess among others, and is the fastest WiFi I've seen at sea.  Does MSC have SES service on the Meraviglia or any ships in their fleet?  If not, does anyone know who the web provider on board might be? 

Is it possible to upgrade from Browse to Browse & Stream if the lower speeds of Browse are not adequate?

 

Edited to add:  Is it cheaper to book once on board your ship?  On some cruise lines waiting until the first full day can save 10-15% off of the prepaid rate.

Edited by draver
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  • 3 weeks later...
On 9/13/2020 at 6:43 AM, draver said:

I've booked my first MSC cruise (Meraviglia) for 14 days in Dec. and have a few questions for those with experience.

 

The prices for internet on the MSC For Me app show as $223 per person for two, "Browse" category devices for One Person (I find it odd that a distinction is made).  Is there any reason two people sharing a cabin cannot share this access? 

If anyone has used this and the next level of service "Browse & Stream" I would like to hear what the differences in speeds are generally.

 

MSC sells the packages per person and when setting up each device on the ship you must use that person's internet ID printed on that person's cruise card.  The number of devices allowed is stated in the package, there is nothing preventing you from buying only one package for one person and letting someone else's device use your internet ID and package and thus using one of the allowed devices.

 

SES is a company that is an internet provider for Royal Caribbean and Princess among others, and is the fastest WiFi I've seen at sea.  Does MSC have SES service on the Meraviglia or any ships in their fleet?  If not, does anyone know who the web provider on board might be? 

Is it possible to upgrade from Browse to Browse & Stream if the lower speeds of Browse are not adequate?

 

I do not know who MSC contracts for internet.  I've had good connection speed even at the extreme ends of the ship.  I have only had the "Stream" package once and I only got it for my adult children who are streaming addicts.  I usually only get the "Browse" package and have had no problems making voice calls over WhatsApp.  I have heard people say they were allowed to upgrade packages on the first day, but as with all things MSC that can vary ship to ship and by manager.  You will also pay the on board price.

 

Edited to add:  Is it cheaper to book once on board your ship?  On some cruise lines waiting until the first full day can save 10-15% off of the prepaid rate.

 

I've always seen the MSC prices to be higher once on the ship.  These unlimited data plans are new and seem expensive, but are not unreasonable for unlimited use over the number of days.  The old plans gave 3GB of data for about $90, and in the past if you ran out of data you could add more to your plan at very reasonable rates.  I never ran out but I can see these packages are better for the heavier users.

 

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  • 4 months later...

Hopefully I'm posting in the best/right place.  We just put a 24 hour hold on a cruise out of Miami.  We've never sailed with MSC, but the friends we're going with have.  

 

We were told last night that only water will be served at dinner, so no coffee or tea.  So the only way to get that is to buy a package.  Has anyone else heard this?  

 

Furthermore, we were told that everyone in the room would have to buy the same package.  I've heard that cruise ships were doing this, but hadn't experienced it yet.

 

But, wait, if we want to eat dinner with our friends, we have to be linked.   I get this, this is because of Covid.   However, if we link, then whatever package they buy, we have to buy and vice versa.   I don't get this, because we've linked with other couples and we/they weren't required to buy the others' package.  This doesn't seem to be covid.

 

And you can no longer cancel without penalties up to 48 hours before the cruise.  We have to cancel 90 days out.

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On 2/23/2021 at 9:59 AM, roses1007 said:

We were told last night that ....

I'll just add coffee at the dining table after a meal is not typically expected by MSC, but they will usually accommodate in the US market.  On the larger ships this might be easier if you pick the last dinner seating as frequently there isn't time to linger after the meal with earlier seatings.

 

MSC is strict about all people in the same cabin having the equivalent drinks package, that is pretty much the case across all lines.  MSC policy is that all seated at the same table have the same drinks package but I've not see that enforced.  It's definitely not the case when you are assigned table mates.  Perhaps MSC might catch it if you linked the bookings before the cruise.  I would link the bookings online to ensure the same table and see what happens.  If not you can see the maitre d' on the first afternoon to try getting a table together, picking the late seating on a US sailing will increase your odds of the change being granted.

 

Bookings made from August 5th through March 31st have the Total CruiseFlex protection that allows cancellation more than 48hrs before departure for a Future Cruise Credit to be used by the end of April, 2022.

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