All Things Virtuosa UK

[heatherb1958]

22 minutes ago, Couple-Somerset said:

A ship with 1,000 holiday-ready UK passengers each with a premium drinks passage - Butlins adult-weekends come to mind.

 

Now, normally I do prefer a laid-back, peaceful cruising environment - but as we're only on for 4 nights and pubs/restaurants will have only opened 3 days earlier..............I'm ready to PARTY !!!!!

 

Perhaps giving us a brand new ship wasn't the best idea lol

 

HOWEVER - being the party pooper - remember that we have to order drinks using the app or from a passing waiter - we cannot order at the bar - so that will limit consumption lol

 

Do you think if I take 3 smart phones I can trick them by ordering on all three? 😁

 Not sure of your MSC cruise history but on the new ships with the crew gadgets as soon as they order it goes through to the bar and then someone else brings your drink, fab system , just hope they have all the best, speedy bar tenders onboard 😆. 

[Addicted2Ships]

4 hours ago, heatherb1958 said:

Same here , you will find me at all the late night parties , white night, flower power night,  anything where there is music and dancing I am in . In my head I still think I am in my thirties until I catch a reflection in the pool deck window 😆. 
On Grandiosa they had a Space Odyssey night on the Galleria , fab night .

I'm even more excited now. Didnt think it was possible! 😀😀

[ziggyuk]

4 hours ago, Couple-Somerset said:

A ship with 1,000 holiday-ready UK passengers each with a premium drinks passage - Butlins adult-weekends come to mind.

 

Now, normally I do prefer a laid-back, peaceful cruising environment - but as we're only on for 4 nights and pubs/restaurants will have only opened 3 days earlier..............I'm ready to PARTY !!!!!

 

Perhaps giving us a brand new ship wasn't the best idea lol

 

HOWEVER - being the party pooper - remember that we have to order drinks using the app or from a passing waiter - we cannot order at the bar - so that will limit consumption lol

 

Do you think if I take 3 smart phones I can trick them by ordering on all three? 😁

 

I found my spot already.

 

[sidari]

23 minutes ago, ziggyuk said:

 

I found my spot already.

 

Ziggy ... Just order three drinks from one phone ... 😂

[ziggyuk]

9 minutes ago, sidari said:

Ziggy ... Just order three drinks from one phone ... 😂

 

One at a time is OK for me with Rob the robot looking after me 😁

[ziggyuk]

1 minute ago, Couple-Somerset said:

 

Well done for volunteering to buy your drinks while the rest of us watch lol

 

I wonder if its included in the premium plus?

They do say drinks in specialist bars are included with the plus.

[Malibustacey79]

Can anyone tell me if an upgrade to the drinks package, or speciality dining, can be bought prior to the cruise using OBC? Or would I have to pay upfront and keep the OBC for purchases made actually onboard?

 

 I’ve never had OBC credit before (and never actually cruised with MSC before, although this is the fourth I have had booked!) so I’m not sure how it works but I would like to upgrade the drinks package for the champagne and cocktails. 

[hamrag]

2 hours ago, Malibustacey79 said:

Can anyone tell me if an upgrade to the drinks package, or speciality dining, can be bought prior to the cruise using OBC? Or would I have to pay upfront and keep the OBC for purchases made actually onboard?

 

They can be purchased prior to the cruise, but not using OBC....it's what it says on the tin i.e. on board credit.

You can purchase those on board using OBC, but the drinks package upgrade would then be subject to gratuities (15 or 18%).

[Malibustacey79]

7 hours ago, hamrag said:

 

They can be purchased prior to the cruise, but not using OBC....it's what it says on the tin i.e. on board credit.

You can purchase those on board using OBC, but the drinks package upgrade would then be subject to gratuities (15 or 18%).

Thank you, much appreciated! And will this be the same for the dining packages (re: the gratuities I mean)?

 

So I need to work out if it’s worth the 15-18% uplift to use the ‘free money’!

[hamrag]

2 hours ago, Malibustacey79 said:

Thank you, much appreciated! And will this be the same for the dining packages (re: the gratuities I mean)?

 

So I need to work out if it’s worth the 15-18% uplift to use the ‘free money’!

I am not sure re the dining packages, but for consistency would imagine so....that said, MSC is known for it's inconsistency so it could be either.

[Malibustacey79]

20 minutes ago, hamrag said:

I am not sure re the dining packages, but for consistency would imagine so....that said, MSC is known for it's inconsistency so it could be either.

Haha fair enough. That’s kind of the overall impression that I’m gathering from these boards! But I’m fine with a bit of inconsistency, just want to get on that ship, cannot wait!

 

Thank you for your help 🙂

[hamrag]

21 minutes ago, Malibustacey79 said:

Haha fair enough. That’s kind of the overall impression that I’m gathering from these boards! But I’m fine with a bit of inconsistency, just want to get on that ship, cannot wait!

 

Thank you for your help 🙂

Hopefully someone will come along who has experience with this. We normally book Yacht Club, which is fabulous, and never felt the need to dine elsewhere. Nor did we upgrade the YC drinks package, but we heard from someone who did and they whined for days that they wished they had done so before boarding as they had to pay the gratuity.

 

Given YC pricing for the Virtuosa UK cruises there is no way we are paying such exorbitant rates, even with the 30% 'Health Heroes' discount we have! Looking at July, but going to wait and see if the rates come down in the coming weeks. There is much competition, and Royal Caribbean have announced their sailings today. It would not surprise me if NCL also decided to join the UK party.

Edited April 7, 2021 by hamrag

[heatherb1958]

9 hours ago, hamrag said:

Hopefully someone will come along who has experience with this. We normally book Yacht Club, which is fabulous, and never felt the need to dine elsewhere. Nor did we upgrade the YC drinks package, but we heard from someone who did and they whined for days that they wished they had done so before boarding as they had to pay the gratuity.

 

Given YC pricing for the Virtuosa UK cruises there is no way we are paying such exorbitant rates, even with the 30% 'Health Heroes' discount we have! Looking at July, but going to wait and see if the rates come down in the coming weeks. There is much competition, and Royal Caribbean have announced their sailings today. It would not surprise me if NCL also decided to join the UK party.

It was mentioned on social media the prices of the MSC cruises are fluctuating as travel agents held cabins for guests then they release them back . It pays to check constantly, also someone mentioned even if it shows a cruise sold out online to actually phone them up to check for availability.

We were lucky as the opposite happened to us , I saw the price in the morning which I was prepared to pay , checked again in the afternoon and the price dropped with a travel agent , saved myself  £376 ! .so glad I waited .

[hamrag]

1 hour ago, heatherb1958 said:

It was mentioned on social media the prices of the MSC cruises are fluctuating as travel agents held cabins for guests then they release them back . It pays to check constantly, also someone mentioned even if it shows a cruise sold out online to actually phone them up to check for availability.

We were lucky as the opposite happened to us , I saw the price in the morning which I was prepared to pay , checked again in the afternoon and the price dropped with a travel agent , saved myself  £376 ! .so glad I waited .

 

That's excellent, well done. For the cruise we are considering, because YC is way out the box, I got my TA to price for Aurea Balcony last week. We haven't yet booked, but later that day I noticed the pricing had dropped by roughly that amount  yours has and I am keeping a close eye on it!

 

Thanks for the heads up.

[Stu UK]

10 hours ago, hamrag said:

 

That's excellent, well done. For the cruise we are considering, because YC is way out the box, I got my TA to price for Aurea Balcony last week. We haven't yet booked, but later that day I noticed the pricing had dropped by roughly that amount  yours has and I am keeping a close eye on it!

 

Thanks for the heads up.

At some point the Aurea prices came down last week to reflect the UK cruises we’re all inclusive so no need for the drinks package element. 

[hamrag]

2 hours ago, Stu UK said:

At some point the Aurea prices came down last week to reflect the UK cruises we’re all inclusive so no need for the drinks package element. 

Indeed, although 24th and 31st July pricing is significantly higher in all experiences. Yacht Club pricing has not shown similar reduction, with the same drinks package element in play as Aurea.

[navyjas]

I booked the Virtuosa departing 17th July, on the Fantastica experience.

 

Logged into the website to view my booking and it showed premium drinks package for the 2 adults and the non-alcoholic for my daughter.  Fine so far...  

 

Then looked into the Aurea package more and the wife decided she'd like it, so called to upgrade.  I mentioned on the call with MSC that the website says Aurea includes the "easy drinks", and as we were already on "premium drinks", I didn't want to lose that.  Was confirmed we wouldn't lose it, so went ahead and upgraded to Aurea.

 

Logged in today to find that the booking now shows "easy drinks package"!  Also the upgrade cost to the "Premium Plus" drinks has jumped from £91 each to £308 - which again suggest we've been downgraded to the "easy drinks".

 

E-mailed them to ask and got no reply.  Why do they make it so difficult?  Now got  no idea what is happening. They confirmed we wouldn't lose premium drinks but we have... or at least it looks like it.

 

Meanwhile the website is still advertising premium drinks across all booking classes.

[Addicted2Ships]

1 hour ago, navyjas said:

Logged in today to find that the booking now shows "easy drinks package"!  Also the upgrade cost to the "Premium Plus" drinks has jumped from £91 each to £308 - which again suggest we've been downgraded to the "easy drinks".

All current UK sailings have Premium Drinks and Grats included so I'm sure you'll be fine. The website often does weird things.. 🤪

 

Also, there is a Roll Call for this sailing and a Group on Social Media if you want to join either, or both.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2776461-july-17-2021-southampton/

 

Andy 🙂

Edited April 9, 2021 by Addicted2Ships

[navyjas]

Hi Andy.  I literally just received an e-mail from customer services telling me otherwise.

 

Beware, if you booked the Aurea package this downgrades you from the premium drinks that is actually advertised as a benefit across all categories.

 

They then asked us for an extra £126 each to receive a benefit that was advertised as being included.

 

This is our first MSC cruise, we are left feeling conned.

 

 

[Addicted2Ships]

1 minute ago, navyjas said:

Hi Andy.  I literally just received an e-mail from customer services telling me otherwise.

 

Beware, if you booked the Aurea package this downgrades you from the premium drinks that is actually advertised as a benefit across all categories.

 

They then asked us for an extra £126 each to receive a benefit that was advertised as being included.

 

This is our first MSC cruise, we are left feeling conned.

 

 

That makes absolutely no sense! You have upgraded to the highest experience, with the exception of YC. I would be having strong words with them! Hope you get it sorted.

 

Andy 🙂

[navyjas]

Thanks Andy.

 

Am pursuing a complaint, but complaining before having even got onboard leaves a foul taste!  Am left feeling like I don't even want to bother with the cruise now..!

 

Just posting it as a warning to everyone else.  Cheers.

[Addicted2Ships]

1 minute ago, navyjas said:

Thanks Andy.

 

Am pursuing a complaint, but complaining before having even got onboard leaves a foul taste!  Am left feeling like I don't even want to bother with the cruise now..!

 

Just posting it as a warning to everyone else.  Cheers.

I would be interested to hear from others who have booked Aurea from the start, to see which drink package is showing.

 

Andy 🙂

[hamrag]

5 minutes ago, Addicted2Ships said:

I would be interested to hear from others who have booked Aurea from the start, to see which drink package is showing.

 

Andy 🙂

Indeed....methinks Navyjas may be on the wind up, only 4 posts total to the name and all in the last couple of hours! 😉

[navyjas]

30 minutes ago, hamrag said:

Indeed....methinks Navyjas may be on the wind up, only 4 posts total to the name and all in the last couple of hours! 😉

Huh?

 

See screenshots, it's not a "wind up".

 

Been a member since 2012, just never engaged in posting before, always been a lurker until now when I needed to vent at my frustration.

 

Posting this as a warning to others on Aurea to check their package and get told I'm on the "wind up".  The joys of internet forums, and wonder why I've never posted before!

Edited April 9, 2021 by navyjas

[heatherb1958]

6 minutes ago, navyjas said:

Huh?

 

See screenshots, it's not a "wind up".

 

Been a member since 2012, just never engaged in posting before, always been a lurker until now when I needed to vent at my frustration.

 

Posting this as a warning to others on Aurea to check their package and get told I'm on the "wind up".  The joys of internet forums, and wonder why I've never posted before!

There have been similar posts on the Book face group about this  situation.

Thank you for posting the warning for others here on CC
 

Edited April 9, 2021 by heatherb1958