NEW MSC Drink Packages (2021 onwards)

[Beamafar]

We’re very much hoping to sail the Western Med on Seashore from Barcelona.   We’re also booked again on her from Miami (in YC 😀) next March.   The light at the end of the tunnel seems much brighter, indeed. 🤞🤞

[MamaDG]

Sounds great - we’re also hoping to depart from Barcelona but on Virtuosa - it’s been so exciting seeing all the photos/menu’s/reviews over the past few days - not long for you to wait now either to see the info on Seashore 😎🤞🤞 

[hamrag]

3 hours ago, Beamafar said:

....DH also developed a fondness for Johnny Walker Blue 😂😂

On our last YC cruise, in Caribbean, one of the Brits upgraded to P+ and insisted on drinking nothing but JWB.....his rationale was it was the most expensive drink on the menu, and therefore gave him best value from the package! We encountered them occasionally for an hour or two post brekkie, before heading off into port, and he was drinking that stuff mid morning!

 

One night, when he was well OTT tipsy he admitted loudly to me that he preferred MaCallan Select Oak single malt whisky but since it was YC included he had to keep drinking JWB for fullest value from his ugrade! 🙄 🤣

Edited May 25, 2021 by hamrag

[Beamafar]

Sad, really.

 

I did try it but quickly reverted to good auld Jemmie (Irish pet name for Jameson) when having a whiskey.   Couldn’t understand what DH saw in JWB myself. 
 

As you probably know from my mentioning it on many occasions 🙄 I’m partial to a nice cognac but found that the most expensive one included in PP wasn’t to my liking.   Certainly wasn’t going to put myself through what your pal did!  😏

[Itchy&Scratchy]

I have just booked a 2022 MSC Seashore Caribbean cruise with a "Memorial Day special" - we got an Easy Plus package for 2 adults and a minor's package for $80 pp per week. We've never had a package before (on any cruise) because we don't really drink alcohol that much - maybe, a couple of drinks a day if we have OBC. But since a whole week of drinks and wifi is only $80 pppw, I thought it was worth it. 

 

It is my understanding that any drink under $9 is included in this package. Correct? We are interested in mixed drinks (cocktails),  beer and non-alcoholic concoctions.

 

I see that sp. coffee, soda and juice are definitely included. Out of curiosity - on other cruise lines we usually get hot tea/regular coffee with MDR dinner, and it's always free. It doesn't sound that like it's free on MSC, unless one has a package. Is it? This will be a US sailing, if that helps. My parents will not have a package of any kind, since they don't drink soda or alcohol, but they do like hot tea and coffee in MDR, that's why I ask.

 

Also, the package rules mention specialty coffees, but excludes Lavazza coffee shop from the package. Where would one go on Seashore to get a specialty coffee included in the Easy+? I know it's a new ship, but I would think it'd be similar to Seaside/Seaview/Meraviglia.

 

The minor's package also mentions free soft serve ice cream. On other cruise lines it's always free by the pool, so is it different on MSC? and how? My boys love soft serve. Our DS is thrilled to have all the soda... sigh.

 

Is it safe to assume that the drinks from the minibar are NOT included, even if they are under $9?

[Até]

3 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

I have just booked a 2022 MSC Seashore Caribbean cruise with a "Memorial Day special" - we got an Easy Plus package for 2 adults and a minor's package for $80 pp per week.

Your sailing under the All In rate will include the Easy Plus package that covers drinks up to $9, see the covered drinks list in my post #7.  Coffee at the dining table after dinner is a bit of a foreign idea to MSC but they are working to accommodate this expectation, I'd look for late dining as often there is not time to linger when another seating is waiting to get in.  Your parents may have difficulty getting free American coffee, coffees covered under a drink package is usually less of an issue.  Specialty coffees from Venchi and Jean Phillip are usually not covered, but for Easy Plus practically every bar on the ship has coffee making equipment.  Some ships have free soft serve for everyone, some don't.  Non alcoholic kids packages include soft serve, nobody knows the exact setup Seashore will have.  The minibar is not included with Easy Plus.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

10 hours ago, Até said:

Your sailing under the All In rate will include the Easy Plus package that covers drinks up to $9, see the covered drinks list in my post #7.

thank you, you are the best!

[kelleherdl]

On 5/25/2021 at 11:13 AM, hamrag said:

On our last YC cruise, in Caribbean, one of the Brits upgraded to P+ and insisted on drinking nothing but JWB.....his rationale was it was the most expensive drink on the menu, and therefore gave him best value from the package! We encountered them occasionally for an hour or two post brekkie, before heading off into port, and he was drinking that stuff mid morning!

 

One night, when he was well OTT tipsy he admitted loudly to me that he preferred MaCallan Select Oak single malt whisky but since it was YC included he had to keep drinking JWB for fullest value from his ugrade! 🙄 🤣

I remember him! He was definitely getting his money’s worth.  I was sticking to my Hendricks and tonic.
 

dennis

[Itchy&Scratchy]

https://www.msccruisesusa.com/on-board/dining-drinks/drink-comparison-chart

 

it looks like the list for 2022 has changed a bit since May 4, and Easy Plus package now includes frozen drinks.

[miataman19]

On 5/24/2021 at 2:12 PM, JAGR said:

My plan in our March cruise is to have a copy of my confirmation note.  It says available, and no mention of available at a given price point.

Just booked Yacht Club on Seashore June 2022. I have the exact same info in my Confirmation notes.

− Unlimited beverage selection in MSC Yacht Club areas and in all bars and restaurants
of the ship according to the drink selections available in the different venues

[Nunagoras]

On 5/25/2021 at 4:13 PM, hamrag said:

On our last YC cruise, in Caribbean, one of the Brits upgraded to P+ and insisted on drinking nothing but JWB.....his rationale was it was the most expensive drink on the menu, and therefore gave him best value from the package! We encountered them occasionally for an hour or two post brekkie, before heading off into port, and he was drinking that stuff mid morning!

 

One night, when he was well OTT tipsy he admitted loudly to me that he preferred MaCallan Select Oak single malt whisky but since it was YC included he had to keep drinking JWB for fullest value from his ugrade! 🙄 🤣

Wondering whether he was on a YIN cabin, coming from a free upgrade?

 

No matter what, for the abuses of some, all of us are paying now with the availability restrictions and the worsening Terms and Conditions on drinks packages... Even for non drinkers like me they used to be a plus. Not anymore!... If I happen to have one bundled on the price, OK. If not, I'd just to pay as I am and perhaps someday I can to splurge on the renting coffee and gelato venues!...

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

9 minutes ago, Nunagoras said:

Wondering whether he was on a YIN cabin, coming from a free upgrade?

 

No matter what, for the abuses of some, all of us are paying now with the availability restrictions and the worsening Terms and Conditions on drinks packages... Even for non drinkers like me they used to be a plus. Not anymore!... If I happen to have one bundled on the price, OK. If not, I'd just to pay as I am and perhaps someday I can to splurge on the renting coffee and gelato venues!...

There is not ONE drink package MSC offers that is worth it unless you drink at least 20 or more a day.

Weather it is soda at $2.50 or some other drink at $9.00 MSC offers nothing in the way of a deal. They make there extra by doing so. The ones that buy the package must have a reason to benefit them. I do not see one. 

[Nunagoras]

19 minutes ago, ALWAYS CRUZIN said:

There is not ONE drink package MSC offers that is worth it unless you drink at least 20 or more a day.

Weather it is soda at $2.50 or some other drink at $9.00 MSC offers nothing in the way of a deal. They make there extra by doing so. The ones that buy the package must have a reason to benefit them. I do not see one. 

Back in the day when Gelato, freshly squeezed juices and those superb non alcoholic coffee delights were included, even from a non drinkers perspective, that was pretty much a good value. Bundle a nice freshly squeezed OJ by the morning a few bottles of water, the odd soda or iced tea for meals, a nice gelato by the mid afternoon, a nice non alcoholic cocktail before dinner, plus some wonderful specialty coffees here and there... Wonderful memories!... Oh, and I only made it at my own reasonable consumption levels I have at home, not trying to abuse the system!...

 

Now it is a different story. The nice stuff can only to be obtained from renting venues or is out of the packages and the basics are very few, so...

[kelleherdl]

1 hour ago, Nunagoras said:

Wondering whether he was on a YIN cabin, coming from a free upgrade?

 

No matter what, for the abuses of some, all of us are paying now with the availability restrictions and the worsening Terms and Conditions on drinks packages... Even for non drinkers like me they used to be a plus. Not anymore!... If I happen to have one bundled on the price, OK. If not, I'd just to pay as I am and perhaps someday I can to splurge on the renting coffee and gelato venues!...

He was a very congenial fellow.  He was not ‘abusing’ the added charge to his already available Yacht Club drinks package.  He was definitely taking advantage of the offered premium selection.  While you or I may be paying $150 for a bottle of JWB, I am certain MSC is not paying that.  I actually thought it humorous, but it clearly was adding to his enjoyment of his holiday.  We were on the Preziosa, so I can assure he was not in  a Y1N, as the Preziosa does not have inside YC cabins.

 

Dennis

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

3 minutes ago, kelleherdl said:

He was a very congenial fellow.  He was not ‘abusing’ the added charge to his already available Yacht Club drinks package.  He was definitely taking advantage of the offered premium selection.  While you or I may be paying $150 for a bottle of JWB, I am certain MSC is not paying that.  I actually thought it humorous, but it clearly was adding to his enjoyment of his holiday.  We were on the Preziosa, so I can assure he was not in  a Y1N, as the Preziosa does not have inside YC cabins.

 

Dennis

There is a wine my wife loves that is very inexpensive. Most ships offer it my the glass. However on one ship you must purchase the bottle. Price was $65.00 at the grocery store it is $7.95

[hamrag]

3 hours ago, kelleherdl said:

He was a very congenial fellow.  He was not ‘abusing’ the added charge to his already available Yacht Club drinks package.  He was definitely taking advantage of the offered premium selection.  While you or I may be paying $150 for a bottle of JWB, I am certain MSC is not paying that.  I actually thought it humorous, but it clearly was adding to his enjoyment of his holiday.  We were on the Preziosa, so I can assure he was not in  a Y1N, as the Preziosa does not have inside YC cabins.

 

Dennis

Absolutely correct, and it varied between humorous and hysterical at times....he wasn't too keen on the taste of JWB, but considered he was getting best value for a drink he wouldn't otherwise have chosen.

🙄  

[FLCruZar]

Tried to decipher the included drinks with charts and menus.  Sailing in Dec 21 Caribbean with included easy plus package. Does anyone know if aperol spritz is included?
 

thanks

[AngryBirdah]

Gosh, this is all really, really confusing.  I was eyeing the Seashore out of Miami for Spring Break for my family of 5.  Thinking of one of those Whirlpool Suites.  Of course, those come with the Aurea experience, so it would seem that would mean the Easy package for the wife and I and the Minors package for our children?  I am fine with that being baked into the rate... doubt I'd purchase it otherwise.  It really does seem that the value of the Aurea experience and the drinks package has gone down compared to reviews I've been reading from pre-pandemic times.  

 

I noticed that the Minors and Non-Alcoholic packages include soft serve ice cream?  From what I've been researching, some ships have afternoon soft serve free for everyone... but not the 24 hour soft serve like you find on Carnival and others.  So where would the kids go to access this anytime soft serve?  Also, as the wife and I aren't big drinkers... could we actually downgrade our Aurea-included package to the non-alcoholic?  I'd rather ice cream and soda than beer and wine!

 

Safe travels!

[Itchy&Scratchy]

6 hours ago, AngryBirdah said:

Gosh, this is all really, really confusing.  I was eyeing the Seashore out of Miami for Spring Break for my family of 5.  Thinking of one of those Whirlpool Suites.  Of course, those come with the Aurea experience, so it would seem that would mean the Easy package for the wife and I and the Minors package for our children? 

Also, as the wife and I aren't big drinkers... could we actually downgrade our Aurea-included package to the non-alcoholic?  I'd rather ice cream and soda than beer and wine!

 

Safe travels!

Disclosure: This is our first MSC cruise, and I don't know much about Aurea.

I just booked a fantastica interior cabin through a Memorial day sale which added the easy+ drink package and wifi for about $80 pppw. Also for spring break! I don't know much about Aurea, but if the easy+ is built in anyway - I'd use it. We never ever get drink packages because we don't usually drink, but we do indulge in a drink or two and a soda for the kiddo a day while cruising. So, for us $80 per person per week is definitely justified for a couple of drinks and sodas a day, especially, since soda, non-alcohol cocktails, fancy coffee, juice and bottled water are included, and my kid can enjoy soft serve (both DH and DS are very fond of soft serve).

 

P.S. I just checked the Aurea pricing for our spring break cruise for a balcony, and it's an insane $520 pp in addition to the balcony fare of $514 pp. INSANE! I personally don't think what Aurea is offering is worth $520 pp, especially since the Easy+ package is now available through the memorial day sale for about $80 pppw. But that's IMHO, of course.

Edited June 2, 2021 by Itchy&Scratchy

[DCGuy64]

32 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

Disclosure: This is our first MSC cruise, and I don't know much about Aurea.

I just booked a fantastica interior cabin through a Memorial day sale which added the easy+ drink package and wifi for about $80 pppw. Also for spring break! I don't know much about Aurea, but if the easy+ is built in anyway - I'd use it. We never ever get drink packages because we don't usually drink, but we do indulge in a drink or two and a soda for the kiddo a day while cruising. So, for us $80 per person per week is definitely justified for a couple of drinks and sodas a day, especially, since soda, non-alcohol cocktails, fancy coffee, juice and bottled water are included, and my kid can enjoy soft serve (both DH and DS are very fond of soft serve).

 

P.S. I just checked the Aurea pricing for our spring break cruise for a balcony, and it's an insane $520 pp in addition to the balcony fare of $514 pp. INSANE! I personally don't think what Aurea is offering is worth $520 pp, especially since the Easy+ package is now available through the memorial day sale for about $80 pppw. But that's IMHO, of course.

Aurea is nice, but it all depends what you're willing to pay for it. We chose Aurea for our first MSC cruise due to the following:

1. Included drinks package, including minibar

2. Use of the Aurea spa + 2 included massages

3. Dedicated area of the main dining room

4. Use of the exclusive Aurea solarium with its own bar

 

Those things were worth the extra money for us. Your needs and wants may be different.

[optimusprime82]

23 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Aurea is nice, but it all depends what you're willing to pay for it. We chose Aurea for our first MSC cruise due to the following:

1. Included drinks package, including minibar

2. Use of the Aurea spa + 2 included massages

3. Dedicated area of the main dining room

4. Use of the exclusive Aurea solarium with its own bar

 

Those things were worth the extra money for us. Your needs and wants may be different.

 

Sounds similar to what we had for our Aurea balcony on the Divina back in 2017. I don't recall having the minibar being included and the massages were one per adult (which may have been what you meant). Back then the Aurea package also included gelato and all coffee. Sadly by 2019 on the Meraviglia the package wasn't quite as good. For us the Aurea package is still good value for money but it's no longer great value for money. 

[DCGuy64]

1 minute ago, optimusprime82 said:

 

Sounds similar to what we had for our Aurea balcony on the Divina back in 2017. I don't recall having the minibar being included and the massages were one per adult (which may have been what you meant). Back then the Aurea package also included gelato and all coffee. Sadly by 2019 on the Meraviglia the package wasn't quite as good. For us the Aurea package is still good value for money but it's no longer great value for money. 

Alas, yes, they've gotten somewhat stingy over time. The massages were 2 per stateroom, so in theory one person could have done both. But yes, the minibar is no longer included, as I understand, and the chocolate/gelato/crepe suppliers are now independent so also aren't included. However, that being said, we benefit from a 5+5% Voyagers Club discount and we're getting $250 OBC each for our upcoming sailing, so it's kind of a wash. And we're in Yacht Club, so there's not a whole lot we'll have to pay for out of pocket. For us, MSC still represents great value. Now if they'll just let us on! Still waiting for borders to open up so we can cruise with them again. (In Europe)

[Até]

7 hours ago, AngryBirdah said:

Gosh, this is all really, really confusing.

Unfortunately MSC has really been changing the drinks packages a lot over the last several years.  What's even worse is you really can't be sure what the drink prices on the ship will be and what will be covered under your package by the time you sail, but that has also happened to me with other cruise lines.  While currently Aurea gets the Easy package there's a chance your Aurea booking will include the Easy Plus package, currently this is mentioned on the Canadian website and I expect to see it appear on other websites by this Fall (a few country's site still state Easy though).  To my knowledge the included Aurea drink packages have never included the minibar.

 

No MSC ship that I know of has soft serve 24 hours a day but I'm pretty sure Seashore will have it available enough hours to satisfy most kids.  It's highly unlikely there is a way for MSC to "downgrade" your package.  Your package includes soda, perhaps you could go with the Italian theme and would like gelato.  Available for a reasonable charge.

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

1 hour ago, Até said:

Unfortunately MSC has really been changing the drinks packages a lot over the last several years.  What's even worse is you really can't be sure what the drink prices on the ship will be and what will be covered under your package by the time you sail, but that has also happened to me with other cruise lines.  While currently Aurea gets the Easy package there's a chance your Aurea booking will include the Easy Plus package, currently this is mentioned on the Canadian website and I expect to see it appear on other websites by this Fall (a few country's site still state Easy though).  To my knowledge the included Aurea drink packages have never included the minibar.

 

No MSC ship that I know of has soft serve 24 hours a day but I'm pretty sure Seashore will have it available enough hours to satisfy most kids.  It's highly unlikely there is a way for MSC to "downgrade" your package.  Your package includes soda, perhaps you could go with the Italian theme and would like gelato.  Available for a reasonable charge.

They have NO drink packages at any reasonable charge.

[Beamafar]

Just to clarify - the minibar was never included in Aurea, only in YC or with the upper drinks packages (originally Deluxe, then PremiumPlus).