Rare Stockjock Posted August 3, 2022 #1 Share Posted August 3, 2022 (edited) I've done prior Bella bookings where I got an upgraded cabin. But now, MSC has a paid upgrade program in place, so I'm guessing that they might be a bit more stingy with the "free" upgrades. If you've booked Bella fairly recently (after the upgrade program was rolled out), what Bella category did you book and what did you end up with? When was your sailing? Edited August 3, 2022 by Stockjock 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhuefner Posted August 3, 2022 #2 Share Posted August 3, 2022 (edited) We are on September 25 sailing of the Divina. Booked the Bella guarantee room and received the lowest category interior room, so no upgrade! Edited August 3, 2022 by dhuefner 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare erber Posted August 3, 2022 #3 Share Posted August 3, 2022 no upgrade for us either. We are on the Divina now in a junior interior room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaSwirl66 Posted August 3, 2022 #4 Share Posted August 3, 2022 Booked Bella balcony, was assigned Fantastica.. waiting to hear if YC upgrade request has been accepted... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annarack Posted August 3, 2022 #5 Share Posted August 3, 2022 We booked Bella Balcony and got just that, a partial view balcony, looks to have an extra large balcony though so that is nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Stockjock Posted August 3, 2022 Author #6 Share Posted August 3, 2022 From what I'm reading so far, in the past if you booked Bella, you had a pretty good chance of receiving a substantial upgrade. Even though we had to cancel, not long before the paid upgrade was rolled out, we booked Bella oceanview and got an aft veranda. Based on reading prior remarks, I'd estimate that before the upgrade program was here, one would have well better than 50/50 chance, and probably closer to a 75% chance, of an upgrade. Now that the paid upgrade program is in place, it seems as if there may be a far lower possibility of a significant cabin upgrade. Good to know. If that's the case, I'd now be far more likely to book Fantastica and make sure to get what I want from the onset. I didn't mind periodically rolling the dice before, but the result of the roll was often pretty good. It seems as if the odds of the roll may have changed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiseguyinorl Posted August 3, 2022 #7 Share Posted August 3, 2022 3 hours ago, Stockjock said: From what I'm reading so far, in the past if you booked Bella, you had a pretty good chance of receiving a substantial upgrade. That was correct. Wasn't uncommon for Bella Interior to receive a balcony. However, haven't seen any comp upgrades for my clients in many months. Bret 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
publicpersona Posted August 3, 2022 #8 Share Posted August 3, 2022 We had booked Bella balcony on Seashore for 7/30/22 sailing and was assigned a deluxe balcony on deck 13 in the hump section. We had to cancel that one. Then rebooked for 8/27/22 and also got a deluxe balcony on deck 13 but not on the hump. Both instances had glass balustrades. Looking at Seashore's official deck plans on MSC site, all balconies are either Deluxe or Deluxe Balcony Aurea. I would think the balconies with metal balustrades would be less desirable, as would any balcony on deck 9 or 15. However, they aren't called out as such on the MSC deck plans. But they are on other deck plans on the Interwebs, possibly ones that existed before all Bella were Gty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LatinaInTexas Posted August 4, 2022 #9 Share Posted August 4, 2022 6 hours ago, publicpersona said: We had booked Bella balcony on Seashore for 7/30/22 sailing and was assigned a deluxe balcony on deck 13 in the hump section. We had to cancel that one. Then rebooked for 8/27/22 and also got a deluxe balcony on deck 13 but not on the hump. Both instances had glass balustrades. Looking at Seashore's official deck plans on MSC site, all balconies are either Deluxe or Deluxe Balcony Aurea. I would think the balconies with metal balustrades would be less desirable, as would any balcony on deck 9 or 15. However, they aren't called out as such on the MSC deck plans. But they are on other deck plans on the Interwebs, possibly ones that existed before all Bella were Gty. Haven't cruised MSC before so wondering why balconies on deck 9 and 15 are less desirable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
publicpersona Posted August 4, 2022 #10 Share Posted August 4, 2022 10 hours ago, LatinaInTexas said: Haven't cruised MSC before so wondering why balconies on deck 9 and 15 are less desirable? It's a matter of personal preference, but in general I try to stick to decks that have staterooms above and below. Unless you enjoy the sounds of a jogging track at 5 AM, or hearing chairs being pushed around the buffet at 3 AM. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sealynx Posted August 4, 2022 #11 Share Posted August 4, 2022 17 hours ago, publicpersona said: Looking at Seashore's official deck plans on MSC site, all balconies are either Deluxe or Deluxe Balcony Aurea. I would think the balconies with metal balustrades would be less desirable, as would any balcony on deck 9 or 15. However, they aren't called out as such on the MSC deck plans. But they are on other deck plans on the Interwebs, possibly ones that existed before all Bella were Gty. Yep, that has been a recent change. All cabins are now deluxe or better on the newer ships. No cabins are pre-assigned Bella or Fantastica anymore. It really simplifies the difference between these two experiences, and it makes it more desirable to book Fantastica, since no longer people can choose the best Bella as a cheaper alternative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KINGBOBOFTHENORTH Posted August 4, 2022 #12 Share Posted August 4, 2022 It's worth the extra few bucks to bypass Bella and move to Fantastica and advance-choose your cabin. As mentioned above, that allows you to pick a cabin on a deck with cabins above and below you and not end-up under the Buffet or below the ship's theater. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
publicpersona Posted August 5, 2022 #13 Share Posted August 5, 2022 2 hours ago, KINGBOBOFTHENORTH said: It's worth the extra few bucks to bypass Bella and move to Fantastica I would normally agree, but on the last cruise I booked, the difference was substantial. In fact, the amount seemed to vary from time to time while the cruise price stayed the same .. must be dynamic pricing. Is there a known formula for the Fantastica pricing? I've done it both ways. Fortunately, the times I chose Bella, I got a desirable (formerly Fantastica) balcony anyway. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmp03 Posted August 8, 2022 #14 Share Posted August 8, 2022 Booked Bella interior for a 4 night cruise on Davina last month. Received an inside room on deck 8 - I believe this would have been the same room we could have selected with the Fantastica package so I assume it could have been considered an upgrade but it was above the theater so I assume during shows there might have been more noise - I don't think this would have bothered me since the shows are not super late at night. We bid the cheapest amount possible on an upgrade to a partial view balcony. We were assigned a balcony room on deck 11 (so I think it was an upgrade to a normal balcony without an obstruction since we were above the life boats but could still technically look down and see them) BUT we were assigned a room with a connecting door which turned out to be an awful room. Their connecting doors have an obvious gap around them so you can hear normal conversations and sounds from the other room the whole time. There were signs at guest services saying the boat was full when we tried to switch rooms but I asked if we could even switch to oceanview or back to inside just to not have a connecting room. They did end up moving up to another balcony room that wasn't a connection room and that one was so much quieter so it all worked out. So based on this experience, I will never do a paid upgrade (unless its to a category that has NO connecting rooms). I will also never book the bella experience again because I don't want to be a assigned a room that connects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinppu Posted August 9, 2022 #15 Share Posted August 9, 2022 Myself and two friends booked a cruise on Fantasia in February in inside cabins and we were all assigned an oceanview. Cruise is in September. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Native Floridian 26 Posted August 9, 2022 #16 Share Posted August 9, 2022 3 hours ago, Sinppu said: Myself and two friends booked a cruise on Fantasia in February in inside cabins and we were all assigned an oceanview. Cruise is in September. Great! When was your cabin assigned for the September cruise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruisinPedsNurse Posted August 14, 2022 #17 Share Posted August 14, 2022 First Seashore cruise booked Bella balcony. Was upgraded to Fantastica balcony. Next sailing 8/27/22 booked Bella, received balcony on the hump!! Both have been on floor 9, no issues with noise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blordos Posted August 14, 2022 #18 Share Posted August 14, 2022 (edited) Years ago I booked two Bella interieur cabins on the MSC Meraviglia and we got a free upgrade to YIN, Yacht Club interior with all the YC amenities. That was very lucky. We also had booked interior cabins on the Seaside on the TransAtlantic cruise and was upgraded to the Balconies. But that cruise was cancelled because the COVID. We made in total of 8 MSC cruises. A 9th MSC cruise is booked in October and we chose the unassigned Bella cabins. The booking were done directly on the MSC site. We let MSC decided the cabins. Fingers crossed. Edited August 14, 2022 by blordos 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinppu Posted August 23, 2022 #19 Share Posted August 23, 2022 On 8/9/2022 at 4:15 PM, Native Floridian 26 said: Great! When was your cabin assigned for the September cruise? I apologise for the late reply. The cabins were assigned in the end of June. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Stockjock Posted August 24, 2022 Author #20 Share Posted August 24, 2022 On 8/23/2022 at 7:56 AM, Sinppu said: I apologise for the late reply. The cabins were assigned in the end of June. Sounds like they're mostly assigned after final payment, which makes it tough to make a change if one doesn't care for their assignment. That's the nature of the beast, I suppose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigislandcuiser Posted May 15, 2023 #21 Share Posted May 15, 2023 On 8/9/2022 at 3:02 AM, Sinppu said: Myself and two friends booked a cruise on Fantasia in February in inside cabins and we were all assigned an oceanview. Cruise is in September. On 8/23/2022 at 7:56 AM, Sinppu said: I apologise for the late reply. The cabins were assigned in the end of June. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigislandcuiser Posted May 15, 2023 #22 Share Posted May 15, 2023 Hi Sinni, It has been a long time since we saw you and Lowry in Hilo on your 28 day to South Pacific from San Diego. I haven’t been on cruise critic for awhile so haven’t seen your travels. We moved to Las Vegas from Kona in Nov 2019. If you travel our way it would be nice seeing you. Gary and Julie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morecruisesplz Posted May 16, 2023 #23 Share Posted May 16, 2023 On 8/2/2022 at 10:47 PM, Stockjock said: I've done prior Bella bookings where I got an upgraded cabin. But now, MSC has a paid upgrade program in place, so I'm guessing that they might be a bit more stingy with the "free" upgrades. If you've booked Bella fairly recently (after the upgrade program was rolled out), what Bella category did you book and what did you end up with? When was your sailing? We booked an inside guarantee for May 7 cruise. We were assigned a really nice balcony on deck 13 very shortly. We ignored all of the bid to upgrade offers. Just didn't make sense $wise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellow-submarine Posted May 16, 2023 #24 Share Posted May 16, 2023 A related question: If you book Bella on a fully booked cruise, how many times / how often MSC changes your cabin number? Also what was the latest you been notified about a cabin change? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare 1kaper Posted May 16, 2023 #25 Share Posted May 16, 2023 Not my but my sister booked Bella inside, got an inside wheelchair accessible room which was nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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