Drink package necessary & Q about fantastica suite on Armonia

[lflav]

We are sailing on the Armonia in a few months.  I'm looking for input on the drink packages.  Has anyone here not purchased it, did you regret it?    If you buy a bottle of Gatorade or two at the port, will they confiscate it?  If we bring Mio or Chrystal light when we board, will they confiscate those?   We don't drink a lot of soda or sugary beverages, usually milk, plain water, or water flavored with lemon or chrystal light.  I don't feel we'll get our moneys worth, especially with only two full sea days.  I understand there is teas, coffees, juices, & filtered water in the buffet.   We are staying in the last suite right below the buffet, so won't have to go far to refill.  

 

Also... I am finding conflicting information.  With Fantastica on the Armonia, do you get anytime dining in Pergola?  I know on other ships you don't, but I have seen it mentioned you do when traveling on Armonia.  Does anyone have reviews about staying towards the aft?  We are in the last balcony room, hopefully it won't be as loud as staying below the pool.  Does the boat sway a lot more back there? 

 

Thanks all for input.

[perakcruiser]

Don´t buy the drink package, no use for you. Choose a cabin as close to the buffet as possible, you did already, great. By the way, no "juices", only for breakfast. Fantastica Balcony should qualify for the My Choice restaurant, at least it did in 2018. 

Edited January 5, 2020 by perakcruiser

[aprilF]

I was on the Armonia last month.  On occasion there would be a juice label well past breakfast on the machine.  I dont know if there was actual juice coming out of the spigot as that was a crap shoot any time of the day and I didnt try for any of the breakfast juices past breakfast.  I had trouble getting either a green or herbal tea some days at breakfast.  I would be told they were out, only to see them appear later.  After the second time, I stocked up with enough for the cruise and brought them from my room when I wanted one.  

 

I didnt have any drinks/ liquors confiscated at any point by MSC.  In fact if there was a table to self report liquor I didnt see it, admittedly I didnt look too hard.  I actually boarded with some liquor as were were doing a land vacation after and I didnt want to leave it in the car.  It was not taken from me at Embarkation.  In Jamaica I purchased a couple Pepsis and rum cream, neither were taken.  On the second to last night I saw someone BYO Pepsi to dinner.  He happened to sit next to me at a show the next day so I asked if the staff was cool about that.  He said there was no issue and they brought him a glass and ice even.  So the last night I had my Pepsi with dinner.  It was a nice vacation treat.

 

I didnt have the drink package and didnt regret it.  Although I might just take some tea bags with me next time.  😉

[Até]

You used the word "suite", if you booked a Fantastica Suite then you will definitely get the My Choice dining.  On the US website there is still wording on the Fantastica experience description page that states Armonia Fantastica Balconies and Suites get My Choice dining, but this has been reported to not be true for the balconies.  If you're in a Fantastica balcony you can try printing the details on linked page below and see what you can get.  Click on the "Read more" tab for Fantastica and see the bottom *Extra benefit.

 

If I want a drinks package I would book the All In promotional rate which gets it at a discounted rate, purchasing the Easy package separately at $35pp/day is too much for what you get unless you drink a fair amount of the cheaper quality alcoholic drinks.  Non-alcoholic packages are an even worse deal at $29pp/day.  While you may have trouble bringing bottles at embarkation I've found MSC pretty lax about bringing beverages back from port, I wouldn't try bringing multiple bottles though.  Bringing a flavor mix should be no problem.

 

https://www.msccruisesusa.com/en-us/Discover-MSC/Our-Fares.aspx

Edited January 6, 2020 by Até

[aprilF]

I forgot to add, if you do bring any liquids on board be sure to hand carry them on as opposed to checking them.  Checked baggage is handled pretty roughly and you are just asking for a mess if you try that IMO.