By The Seaside

[chrystine]

So what happens when there are 3 Black card members sailing in one cabin? Can only 2 of them partake in the complimentary meal?

[cruisin' friends]

So what happens when there are 3 Black card members sailing in one cabin? Can only 2 of them partake in the complimentary meal?

 

No, it says that every black card member gets a meal.

[TravelinGert]

Sidari how is the rest of your cruise going? I hope well. :)

[sunny2runner]

Just off12/23 with Black card benefits . Both my husband and I have black card status. We used our black cards to have complimentary dinner at Butchers Cut. We were both able to get a free dinner for our kids so all 4 of our meals were complimentary.

 

We received our black card party invite on the 3rd sea day. This was likely due to Christmas Eve and Christmas Day being Sea day 1 and Sea Day 2 of cruise.

 

Free drinks and gift of chocolate molded Seaside at Back card party.

 

I think we received our chocolate strawberries and sparking wine on 3rd day.

 

Black card gift of hats and paperweight on second day.

 

We got to port early around 11:30am and they had already started boarding. We wish we would have gotten there even earlier seeing as they were boarding by 11am. We were boarded within 20-30 minutes from entering building. They were boarding both black card and regular at the same time. Very friendly crew at port processing documents and getting everyone boarded.

 

Our cabins were ready by the time we boarded as well. So we set our stuff down in our room and went to pool deck.

 

Walked off easily this morning!

 

Happy Sailing all!

Edited December 31, 2017 by sunny2runner

[CTBob]

Just off12/23 with Black card benefits . Both my husband and I have black card status. We used our black cards to have complimentary dinner at Butchers Cut. We were both able to get a free dinner for our kids so all 4 of our meals were complimentary.

 

We received our black card party invite in 3rd sea day.

 

Free drinks and gift of chocolate molded Seaside at Back card party.?

 

I think we received our chocolate strawberries and sparking wine on 3rd day.

 

Black card gift of hats and paperweight on second day.

 

We got to port early around 11:30am and boarded within 20-30 minutes from entering building. They were boarding both black card and regular at the same time. Very friendly crew at port processing documents and getting everyone boarded.

 

Walked off easily this morning!

 

Happy Sailing all!

Welcome back! Any hints for those of us going next week? Bob

[riclop]

What happened to Sidari

[sunny2runner]

Welcome back! Any hints for those of us going next week? Bob

 

Thanks so much for your kind reply Bob! It was a tremendous trip!

 

I would get to port early. We wish we had gotten their earlier than 11:30am but people on CC were saying not get there till after 1. They try to board as early as they can as they have 5,000 people to get on board.

 

Very nice outdoor seating on deck 8 if you want to sit outside on a sea day but not be with crowds on the pool deck.

 

We liked the 9:15 showtime versus the earlier showtimes as the theater seating options were much better. The crowds tend to do the earlier showtimes.

 

Have fun!!! :cool:

[CTBob]

Thanks so much for your kind reply Bob! It was a tremendous trip!

 

I would get to port early. We wish we had gotten their earlier than 11:30am but people on CC were saying not get there till after 1. They try to board as early as they can as they have 5,000 people to get on board.

 

Very nice outdoor seating on deck 8 if you want to sit outside on a sea day but not be with crowds on the pool deck.

 

We liked the 9:15 showtime versus the earlier showtimes as the theater seating options were much better. The crowds tend to do the earlier showtimes.

 

Have fun!!! :cool:

Exactly the type of info I was looking for! Thank you. Bob

[Lindagop]

I can see why there would be confusion, as that could be read two ways.

1) (as I read it) That the sentence "Members are entitled..... for 2..." is an elaboration on the previously mentioned "Tasting Menu” Dinner (no beverages)[black] per cabin. Meaning as long as someone in the cabin is Black status, the two of you get a dinner.

2) (not how I read it) It could be read as two separate, non connected sentences. This would lead you to think that you get three dinners. One per cabin and two per member.

 

The fact that MSC is a European line and that therefore their literature in English is clearly written by non native English speakers does seem to lead to confusion for many. They might want to hire some native speakers to write their literature for the US market. That said, I can't imagine being upset either way. Two free dinners seems a bit much for a status perk that is easily attained by many (mostly from other cruise lines.)

Agree with the above. You have been given a match by MSC which in itself is great and then the added a meal in a speciality restaurant free. Come on people say thanks and be happy

[LMaxwell]

They have not changed anything. The T&Cs which I have linked to have been in effect since 2015.

 

Anecdotally some have said it has been accepted as a 2 for 2 but I assume that it is just MSC incipience than anything else.

 

Show me a T&C that says it is per Black card member.

 

You linked the T&C from a non US site. The T&C on the US website was updated November 2017 to reflect the new wording. I do have the benefits grid printed from when I made a US based booking in May 2017 and it does NOT say per cabin and only references "members". I should note; on the Divina, when I made the future Seaside booking, where my wife and I each have a black card, we each had a dinner for two.

 

And I'll note this benefit was talked up big time by the onboard booking agent as a way to try the new specialty offerings on Seaside.

 

I agree a company can change its offering, but it leaves a negative impression when they use those offerings to "tip the scale" in their favor to get you to pay a deposit and then take those benefits away.

 

Here is a link to a Google cache of the T&C from the US site as captured this summer where it says "members" and not one per room

 

https://web.archive.org/web/20170711145621/https://www.msccruisesusa.com/en-us/Assets/16740_34_Terms_conditions_USA_1.PDF

 

I would like to add that wording in the 11/2017 update is very confusing as it states per stateroom, but then adds the line " Membersmay extend their invitation to one occupant of the same stateroom only once andonly if the stateroom occupant is not a Black member." This wording was NOT present in the previous T&C regarding status of second person. So basically if my wife is black card and I am black card, one of us can't extend the invitation to the other??? Makes no sense.

 

Like I said, I have the T&C's and the benefits grid from when I put my money down and I will press them to honor it.

Edited December 31, 2017 by LMaxwell

[sidari]

The future cruise rep Valentina showed me the changed wording from about a month ago saying 1 meal per cabin, I showed her my email from MSC UK from 2 days before our sailing saying 1 meal for 2 per Black card holder, a few days later we received 2 cards for 2 meals for 2 people with her name on it !

 

As Two of the people who had earned our black cards from 5 previous cruises with MSC we were totally peeved not to have received our invite to the Black card party and only found out about it the following day!

Edited December 31, 2017 by sidari

[NCMtnBoys]

We were on the 12/23 Seaside sailing as well. On Day 2, someone called our cabin to arrange our black level complimentary dining. She set us up for lunch in Pan Asian, and then without us even mentioning anything, she asked "both of you in the cabin are black card holders?" to which we replied yes, so she then also set us up for lunch in Butcher's Cut. Dinner was not offered as an option (and we didn't ask, as we didn't care - lunch or dinner, same taste menu). And I don't think we were given the option of all specialty restaurants, so they may have been full, not sure.

 

Two days later (Day 4) we received two formal invitations in our cabin for complimentary black card dining, and wasn't sure if this was two more or the ones we'd already done. So we called and asked and it was for the ones we had already done, and they said we should have received those invites on Day 1.

 

The food and service in both Pan Asian and Butcher's Cut was fantastic. Only a couple minor complaints - you could not get water out of a pitcher in Pan Asian - "we don't do that here" was the response. They were also out of one of the appetizer items (the pork bun - the one I would have ordered). There were three other options for appetizers, but nothing I would eat. I could order a different appetizer at half price to substitute. I didn't, though, I just did without the appetizer. In Butcher's Cut, they were out of one of the sauces for one of the items - of course the sauce I would have used. Then they didn't have the one side item I would have ordered, and finally, the dessert I would have ordered was unavailable. What I did end up eating was delicious, though. Huge tiger shrimp (five of them) on the shrimp cocktail, filet mignon was excellent.

 

We never ate at the specialty restaurant either time we sailed on Divina, but the diversity and quality of specialty restaurants on Seaside looks to surpass that of Divina.

[lucyglucose]

Thanks so much for your kind reply Bob! It was a tremendous trip!

 

 

 

I would get to port early. We wish we had gotten their earlier than 11:30am but people on CC were saying not get there till after 1. They try to board as early as they can as they have 5,000 people to get on board.

 

 

 

Very nice outdoor seating on deck 8 if you want to sit outside on a sea day but not be with crowds on the pool deck.

 

 

 

We liked the 9:15 showtime versus the earlier showtimes as the theater seating options were much better. The crowds tend to do the earlier showtimes.

 

 

 

Have fun!!! :cool:

 

 

 

What time did the ship sail? Would you still recommend 11am for a 7p departure? I am worried that they won’t let us on that early and we will be stuck there.

 

 

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