Comprehensive Reviews Please

[daisy-mae]

1 hour ago, Floridastorm said:

I'm wondering if this might be more prevalent on the European cruises as opposed to MSC's itinerary in the Caribbean or on a transatlantic. I know that Europeans and Asians look at things differently than we in the US do. Europe seems to be a very very liberal continent where children are brought up with less discipline. At least that has been my take over the years.

 

The school sponsored trips in North America usually lodge the students in hotels/motels; ditto for sports groups such as teams participating in minor hockey or baseball tournaments. Having stayed in some hotels during the school year I can say that the behaviour on this side of the pond is similar. I suspect that the students on the cruise were taking the equivalent of a "cultural" tour, but with better accomodation.

[Nashna]

33 minutes ago, Floridastorm said:

My take is that Celebrity and Holland America, and also some of the luxury lines, have very few kids on board especially younger kids. Their ships have none of the Disney World facilities that the other lines seem to have. Also, I don't believe kids ever cruise free of charge as they sometimes do on the others. I've cruised on both and the average passenger age is somewhere north of 60.

   It totally depends on the itinerary.  We were on Celebrity Summit two years ago on an early August Bermuda Cruise.  The ship was at peak capacity with children occupying the third and fourth berths.  The ship had a very small children's area so the kids took over the pools and hot tubs.  Even the Spa area was overrun with teenagers.  The cruise sailed out of New York so most passengers were local and drove to the port.  We were so happy to be in Aqua Class as there was no way we wanted to navigate the buffet or main dining room for breakfast or dinner.  There were just too many children who had too little to do on our four sea days.  Our complaint was with Celebrity as they did not have the staff or facilities to handle that many children. 

   Our Alaska cruise on Regent offered a children sail free option.  There were 75 children onboard.  Regent had special counselors onboard for those sailings to help entertain the children.  We found the children to be well behaved.  They had no negative impact on our cruise as the itinerary was port intensive and Regent kept them occupied.  

 

[cruisingnewtoit]

I decided to go from fantisca to YC on my Feb Caribbean sailing  This should give me some breathing room if the main ship is crowded with children.

[Nashna]

That sounds like a great plan.  Enjoy!

[CruisinMaterial]

I write pretty comprehensive reviews, some are actually novels! I tried out the MSC Seaside last October and wrote this review:

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=635840

 

I've written a lot of reviews throughout my years here on Cruise Critic and have been recognized repeatedly by Cruise Critic as Reviewer of the Week. While my reviews are geared to the younger, 20 (now 30) somethings generations... I do review everything.

 

On my sailing there were kids on the ship. In particular there was a kid who LOVED to ride the elevator. He only asked for the floor number. He appeared to have a disability but he was so well mannered and just loved elevators! On day 2 of the cruise, I tried to converse with him and found he only spoke Spanish. He wasn't causing trouble pushing all the buttons just for the sake of doing so either. I think he literally spent most of his day in the elevator. I saw him at lunch and at dinner at the aft elevators if I got into the right one. None of the kids on my October voyage were out of control. Kids will be kids but on the Seaside there is PLENTY to keep them entertained so they really don't get into mischief.

 

As for the ship being a hot bed of entertainment day and night! Indeed it was except this odd time around dinner service when, if you had the early dining time and show, there was this gap until the night parties started or the disco got going. However, not every public venue on the ship has something going on day and night. The Seaview Lounge was a great hide away during daytime hours for quiet in a public area. (Again this was the Seaside with a lounge titled seaview.)

 

Yes, there were some service hiccups but I think it had to do with the international crew mixture where English wasn't the primary language for them and perhaps they had a second language in one of the other 6-7 languages spoken on the ship. The Seaside reminded me of NCL's early years before they went on the stock market and became greedy. That's why I'm giving the Meraviglia a go and was originally scheduled on the MSC Seaview for Europe this past June. I switched to NCL Epic and spent far more and regretted it. Can't wait to get rid of those CruiseNext deposits.

 

If you don't like announcements, MSC keeps them at a minimum because of all the languages they announce in!

[SeaYa52]

I am a travel agent and have both sailed MSC ( twice on the Divina) and booked clients both with and without children.  School Breaks, Summer, and Holidays will have large numbers of children.  We sailed both for Spring Break and a summer cruise and yes there were a lot of children & teens (especially with the kids sail free program).  We loved the Divina - thought the food, entertainment,  and service was quite good.  If you are sailing off holiday and break dates - you should be fine....you should not have hoards of kids.  Yacht Club is wonderful - if you don't mind the extra cost.  My BFF, also a TA - and part owner of the agency, will only sail in the yacht club when she sails MSC - she said once you do, you can't go back.  (too expensive for me though)  My clients have all rebooked them also.   I cruise a lot - Princess, Royal, HAL, NCL, even Carnival - my experience on the Davina was equal to or better than most.  Only negative - and this was when they first started sailing in the US - and had not mastered the disembarkation ….it was quite a mess that first sailing, but was fine by the second time we sailed and no complaints from clients.  The Armonia is an older ship.....enough said

[Floridastorm]

Can one get Yacht Club status in any cabin or is it only available in Suites? I saw a posting where someone booked an inside cabin with YC status. Is it something that you can pay extra for if you are not in a Suite?

[cellfree]

There are a few Interior Yacht Club Cabins. 

[lakelorain]

The Yacht Club is an area separate from the rest of the ship.  It has several size cabins.  The Yacht Club has it's own restaurant, buffet, pool, and lounge.  Drinks and many extras are included.

 

 

Edited October 20, 2019 by lakelorain

[Floridastorm]

5 minutes ago, lakelorain said:

The Yacht Club is an area separate from the rest of the ship.  It has several size cabins.  The Yacht Club has it's own restaurant, buffet, pool, and lounge.  Drinks and many extras are included.

 

 

How does one book an Ocean View Cabin with Yacht Club privileges. Or, let's say, what cabins qualify for Yacht Club Privileges if you know?  Very interesting, indeed.

[lakelorain]

15 minutes ago, Floridastorm said:

How does one book an Ocean View Cabin with Yacht Club privileges. Or, let's say, what cabins qualify for Yacht Club Privileges if you know?  Very interesting, indeed.

Ocean view cabins in the Yacht Club start with a Deluxe Suite and up.  A Deluxe Suite is about the size of a Junior Suite on other lines.  There are also inside Yacht Club Suites.  Typically they are the on the top few decks forward.  The MSC website has a lot of information and pictures if you are interested.

[CGTNORMANDIE]

11 hours ago, cruisingnewtoit said:

Why Feb & April for 12 days or longer cruises? Lol I'm nervous because I'm booked on my 1st MSC cruise on the Merg in Feb leaving out of Miami.

February has school vacation around President’s Day.  Some schools go a week before and some a week after.  In April there is Easter vacation.  Between February and April we also have the dreaded Spring Break for all the college kids (aka party animals).  These months also provide the highest incidents of colds, flu and Noro virus.  Longer cruises are the solution.  Parents tend to stick to the 7 day or shorter cruises.  

[emmas gran]

Half Term – 21st October 2019 – 25th October 2019

Christmas Holidays – 23rd December 2019 – 6th January 2020

Easter Holidays – 30th March 2020 – 13th April 2019

Half Term – 25th May 2020 – 29th May 2020

Summer Holidays – 22nd July 2020 – 4th September 2020

 

This is the current vacation year for my local schools in UK,  Easter can vary as you all know.

[nikkiw60]

On 10/20/2019 at 3:23 PM, cruisingnewtoit said:

😱 Oh no I completely forget about that holiday. Our cruise leaves on the 16th. That's probably why the airfare was high.

 

It could also be the spring half term holiday in the UK that week.

[nikkiw60]

Also be aware when booking that the annual Vegan cruise is on the Divina the week of the 21st February....

[Floridastorm]

On 10/20/2019 at 10:33 AM, daisy-mae said:

With respect to children on MSC, we recently completed a Med cruise on the Divina with a large group of high-school aged youth. When I say large, according to the folks at customer service, there were likely about 100 students. About 20 or so kids found it amusing to roam the halls after midnight, chasing one another into the elevators and generally running riot, with nary a chaperone or monitor in sight. There seemed to be no help from security on our first night (after our call to the front desk); after our sleep was interrupted on the second night we spoke directly to customer service and explained that this type of behaviour was not commensurate with a cruise experience.

 

We were among a number of passengers whose complaints were finally acknowledged. MSC did compensate us with some OBC and treats sent to our cabin, and told us that the group was being relocated elsewhwere on the ship.

 

What concerns me is the fact that the cruise line would agree to transport such a large school group, likely at a reduced rate,  without any thought to the comfort of the other guests.

 

Hmmmmmmmm. Relocated elsewhere to bother some other unsuspecting fools I suppose. The cruise line should not be allowed to get away with it. In land based hotels you can simply threaten to call the local police if the hotel doesn't respond  to your complaints. On a ship you are at the mercy of whatever coward or incompetent that doesn't want to "get involved". I think I would have personally located ship's security myself and told them that a trip to the Captain would be next if they didn't resolve it. However, I can understand that many people are too polite to make an issue of it.

[Floridastorm]

37 minutes ago, ronbe65 said:

 

Hi Floridastorm,

Divina, Meraviglia, Armonia, and Seaside are absolutely different ships in size, design and amenities.

The two major things that make MSC so visibly different from Carnival, Princess, RCI, NCL:

1. Class division in your face (a big minus)

2. Theater shows (a big plus)

Additionally, keep in mind that this is a budget cruise line, so the food quality will be at the budget level.

On the positive side:

1. Their itineraries are second best in the Caribbean.

2. Prices are low.

Set your expectations accordingly and enjoy!

What MSC ship to choose?

MSC Seaside and only MSC Seaside.

I have tons of information for the most comprehensive review of the Seaside, but... no time. A real review takes weeks of work. Hope it will be out sometime soon.

Happy cruising!

 

 

 

Is there a reason why you would choose the Seaside only? If we did choose to do a Transatlantic instead of a Caribbean I believe only Divina and Meraviglia do the TA itineraries.

[Skier52]

On ‎10‎/‎19‎/‎2019 at 8:26 PM, Floridastorm said:

My wife and I are a couple of very Senior Citizens and are tempted to try one of the MSC cruises in the Caribbean. However, we have heard all of the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly about MSC. Notice there are 4 ships plying the Caribbean; Divina, Meraviglia, Preziosa, and Seaside. All seem to be about the same size, very large. There are positives that I won't mention as of course they would not be a problem. Some of the negatives I've read about are:

 

* Many kids on board and they sometimes run wild due to differing customs in some countries

* Many people are rude and inconsiderate in accordance with differing customs in some countries

* MSC ship's entertainment pretty well goes 24/7 which can interfere with quiet time.

* Staff can sometimes be indifferent, rude, and slow.

 

I am in no way making any judgements as these are not my opinions but the opinions I have read of passengers that have sailed on MSC ships. I am just relaying what I have read and asking if these opinions are endemic of the cruise line?

 

Thank you, in advance, for any and all information provided. 🛳️

here is a link to my review of a week in the YC of Meraviglia

 

http://www.cruisingmates.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=270&t=12438

 

hope you enjoy it

pete

[Floridastorm]

23 hours ago, Skier52 said:

here is a link to my review of a week in the YC of Meraviglia

 

http://www.cruisingmates.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=270&t=12438

 

hope you enjoy it

pete

 

On 10/20/2019 at 5:15 PM, lakelorain said:

Ocean view cabins in the Yacht Club start with a Deluxe Suite and up.  A Deluxe Suite is about the size of a Junior Suite on other lines.  There are also inside Yacht Club Suites.  Typically they are the on the top few decks forward.  The MSC website has a lot of information and pictures if you are interested.

On the MSC website I don't see where you can book Yacht Club specifically. It seems to allow booking of a certain type of cabin but am not sure how you would book let's say an Inside Cabin with Yacht Club privileges. If one books a Suite does it automatically come with Yacht Club privilege?  I'm also understanding that Ocean View and Balcony cabins cannot be booked with Yacht Club privileges. A little confusing. Maybe you can clear this up for me.

[lakelorain]

4 minutes ago, Floridastorm said:

 

On the MSC website I don't see where you can book Yacht Club specifically. It seems to allow booking of a certain type of cabin but am not sure how you would book let's say an Inside Cabin with Yacht Club privileges. If one books a Suite does it automatically come with Yacht Club privilege?  I'm also understanding that Ocean View and Balcony cabins cannot be booked with Yacht Club privileges. A little confusing. Maybe you can clear this up for me.

Yacht Club is a separate category.  Within Yacht Club there are various types of cabins.  It is possible that the Yacht Club is sold out for the cruise you are viewing.  Only cabins on the Yacht Club decks are classified as Yacht Club.  Cabins on other decks are either Bella, Fantastica or Aurea no matter what type cabin.

 

 

[Floridastorm]

3 minutes ago, lakelorain said:

Yacht Club is a separate category.  Within Yacht Club there are various types of cabins.  It is possible that the Yacht Club is sold out for the cruise you are viewing.  Only cabins on the Yacht Club decks are classified as Yacht Club.  Cabins on other decks are either Bella, Fantastica or Aurea no matter what type cabin.

 

 

Thank You. Now I get it.

[AviationInScale]

On 10/20/2019 at 5:15 PM, lakelorain said:

Ocean view cabins in the Yacht Club start with a Deluxe Suite and up.  A Deluxe Suite is about the size of a Junior Suite on other lines.  There are also inside Yacht Club Suites.  Typically they are the on the top few decks forward.  The MSC website has a lot of information and pictures if you are interested.

YC has no Ocean View cabins... only Balcony or Interior cabins. 🙂

[cruisingnewtoit]

There were very few YC cabins left when I decided to switch from regular cabin to YC. I picked 14003. Anyone know if the balcony wall is not plexi-glass? I want to be able to see the ocean when I am sitting down.

 

TIA

Edited October 24, 2019 by cruisingnewtoit

[BermudaBound2014]

1 hour ago, cruisingnewtoit said:

There were very few YC cabins left when I decided to switch from regular cabin to YC. I picked 14003. Anyone know if the balcony wall is not plexi-glass? I want to be able to see the ocean when I am sitting down.

 

TIA

which ship?

[cruisingnewtoit]

1 minute ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

which ship?

Oops Mergavilia 😊.