Meraviglia no longer offering drink packages onboard?

[skyking]

Reading reports from people onboard that starting today drink packages are NO longer allowed to be purchased onboard. 

 

This is a current 3 day sailing, but can anyone confirm this?

[cellfree]

If I remember correctly, on a 3 day sailing MSC does not offer any drink packages, either before boarding or after.

[skyking]

1 minute ago, cellfree said:

If I remember correctly, on a 3 day sailing MSC does not offer any drink packages, either before boarding or after.

Not true at all, not offered online but available once onboard.  

 

 

Edited November 3, 2022 by skyking

[cellfree]

2 minutes ago, skyking said:

Not true at all, not offered online but available once onboard.  

 

 

Then my mistake.

[ricflyer]

I called MSC today with this question and was told you can get the package but must buy it onboard for 3 day cruises,

[skyking]

10 hours ago, ricflyer said:

I called MSC today with this question and was told you can get the package but must buy it onboard for 3 day cruises,

This has been the norm, but reports onboard the current 3 day sailing are saying that they no longer offer them on the short cruises.   

 

If you do not have a package as part of your cruise fare then its pay as you go only. 

Edited November 4, 2022 by skyking

[Nunagoras]

Drinks packages on less than 4 nights cruises on MSC are a ship by ship, sailing by sailing decision. They'll to decide within the demographic's count. Either way with all those fights & brawls topics popping up lately on the whole industry, It's not exactly a surprise to see MSC being now more restrictive regarding said offerings on the shorter runs. And even those "booze" promos out there for said cruises would be good to have an end, IMHO. MSC doesn't need more "bad press" these days if they want to remain competitive and attract such a slightly more premium audience their wonderful ships deserve.

[GA Dave]

I have spoken to several people currently onboard and a TA that deals exclusively with MSC.  Effective with the current cruise, they are no longer offering drink packages for three-night cruises on Meraviglia and Divina, unless it is part of the cruise package you reserved.  All drinks will be a la carte for those without the included packages.  People are very upset that there was no notice and many scheduled to cruise on the next several three-night cruises are trying to cancel.  Dumb move by MSC to do this with no advanced notice.  They keep talking about how they are trying to break into the US market big time but keep pissing poeple off like this.

 

[deliver42]

When it comes to dumb moves, nobody does it better than MSC. Remember the Aurea package thais no more?

[GA Dave]

59 minutes ago, deliver42 said:

When it comes to dumb moves, nobody does it better than MSC. Remember the Aurea package thais no more?

I just don't get it.  I think maybe this is one way that their European background hurts them.  As you can see in my signature, I love the MSC YC product, otherwise I would not have five more cruises booked with them in the next five months.  BUT, if they do not start understanding the American mentality of the typical mainstream market cruiser, they may be back to 10-20% capacity cruises like I saw late last year/early this year.  And there is no way they can make money that way, particularly with 5-6 large ships cruising out of the US.  I almost think they should hire some US-based hospitality management personnel and let them run the US based ships as they see fit.  Many major multi-national companies do that very successfully.

[deliver42]

I agree with you in everything you aid. We've been on 3 cruises so far and have another Divina cruise for May, 2023 in the YC. Yes they should hire American expertise, but I don't thing the family wants to give up the power, no matter how it hurts them. They'll either learn the hard way, or just keep struggling to fill the ships for as long as they can. Can't wait to sail with them again.

[skyking]

I have heard from several people onboard that bartenders are telling people this is about the fact that the ship has 4,000 onboard the current sailing and they dont have the bartenders to cover as needed.  This is is 100% on MSC and total BS call. 

[Stockjock]

I don't blame them for this right now.  Short, cheap, "booze cruises" with unlimited alcohol for 3 days is a recipe for bad behavior.

One reason I sail on MSC rather than CCL is that the passengers tend to be much better behaved.  I presume that they wish to keep it that way, and I support that stance.  Go riot and fight on Carnival.

[deliver42]

I have absolutely no problem with the change, just how it was done with no warning.

[styles27]

12 hours ago, Stockjock said:

I don't blame them for this right now.  Short, cheap, "booze cruises" with unlimited alcohol for 3 days is a recipe for bad behavior.

One reason I sail on MSC rather than CCL is that the passengers tend to be much better behaved.  I presume that they wish to keep it that way, and I support that stance.  Go riot and fight on Carnival.

Completely agree.

In our experience with 3

day cruises it was clear many were there for the “all you can drink” booze and it wasn’t pleasant to see adults puking by the pool and hottubs or so drunk they couldn’t walk back to their rooms. One idiot was knocking on every door on our floor at 2 a.m looking for his friends. 

It’s a very different (bad) cruise experience on the short 3/4 day itineraries.  
As I’ve mentioned on other threads, we will never sail for less than 7 days now.  

I support this decision by MSC but agree advance notice should have been given to those booked already. 

 

 

[Stockjock]

4 hours ago, styles27 said:

Completely agree.

In our experience with 3

day cruises it was clear many were there for the “all you can drink” booze and it wasn’t pleasant to see adults puking by the pool and hottubs or so drunk they couldn’t walk back to their rooms. One idiot was knocking on every door on our floor at 2 a.m looking for his friends. 

It’s a very different (bad) cruise experience on the short 3/4 day itineraries.  
As I’ve mentioned on other threads, we will never sail for less than 7 days now.  

I support this decision by MSC but agree advance notice should have been given to those booked already. 

 

 

I haven't cruised on Carnival too much, probably about 6 times, but I've never seen more rowdy behavior, especially on the shorter cruises.  On one cruise, I saw what appeared to be a gang member (I'm an ex-cop who has worked in a specialized gangs and narcotics unit) fighting and then physically resisting CCL security.  I think the last cruise, two men were screaming at and challenging each other in the restaurant, and then they took it outside where it got worse.  I've also seen other fist fights.  Never saw a thing like that on MSC.

Of course, I've only done one MSC cruise out of Miami, as the rest were European and they were longer cruises w/better behaved passengers.  But the Carnival "Fun Ships" have a reputation as being too fun for some, and while I wouldn't rule out a future Carnival cruise, they'd now be at the bottom of my list.

[styles27]

1 hour ago, Stockjock said:

I haven't cruised on Carnival too much, probably about 6 times, but I've never seen more rowdy behavior, especially on the shorter cruises.  On one cruise, I saw what appeared to be a gang member (I'm an ex-cop who has worked in a specialized gangs and narcotics unit) fighting and then physically resisting CCL security.  I think the last cruise, two men were screaming at and challenging each other in the restaurant, and then they took it outside where it got worse.  I've also seen other fist fights.  Never saw a thing like that on MSC.

Of course, I've only done one MSC cruise out of Miami, as the rest were European and they were longer cruises w/better behaved passengers.  But the Carnival "Fun Ships" have a reputation as being too fun for some, and while I wouldn't rule out a future Carnival cruise, they'd now be at the bottom of my list.

It’s awful. I think the longer Carnival cruises are probably okay but now that we’re “older”🥴 we tend to shy away from them. 
It’s the same at All inclusive resorts. We loved them but unless you book the 5+star more expensive resorts it’s the same clientele as the 3 day cruisers.
Actually witnessed a middle aged man open his bathing suit to pee in the pool. That was the last time at that resort. 
Some people shouldn’t consume alcohol they clearly can’t handle it. I expect that behavior from young adults but for some reason when a 50 something and older does it I have zero tolerance. 

[Nunagoras]

22 hours ago, Stockjock said:

I don't blame them for this right now.  Short, cheap, "booze cruises" with unlimited alcohol for 3 days is a recipe for bad behavior.

One reason I sail on MSC rather than CCL is that the passengers tend to be much better behaved.  I presume that they wish to keep it that way, and I support that stance.  Go riot and fight on Carnival.

This! And it's not only CCL, even though those riots, brawls, fights, etc. seem to be more prevalent there. MSC wants their experience to be at least a little bit more upscale. I score them as "affordable elegant cruising". They're having something on the likes both for US and UK sailings as reviews go, and they'll surely to call it a night on that. I once was a hard drinks packages supporter for account control on pax part. Now I'm not so much, other than for the premium suite guests, even on longer cruises. Why? Sadly; because massification for the good and for the bad is permitting just everyone aboard a cruise ship right now. The good, the bad and the ugly ones, sadly

 

Let me to have a break here: When I go to the Portuguese MSC website version and I see a winter weeklong cruise for less than EUR 500 with Easy plus, taxes and gratuities on one of the Meraviglia/Seaside class vessels out of Barcelona; me thinks: What am I doing here now that cold temperatures are arriving, if I could have been aboard one of those cruises alike? Sadly; it is because the flights to go from Lisbon to Barcelona and return plus the odd one night hotel before the cruise would cost me more than the cruise itself!... And I'm not even considering cruises on the older ships. Those are half the price at same terms and conditions!... At those rates, a week inside a cruise ship goes as cheap as it can be! Unless the companies make clear that the door is open, but it is not ooooopen, some bad behaviors on certain cruisers will to pop up. Sadly I have to agree with the more restrictive measures companies are implanting now to control their ships. How I understand the ones affected, but sadly for the sins of a few the ones who pay are most of the honest crowd.

 

A way forward to try to serve the honest crowd and at the same time enforce some rules would be to do what Virgin is doing: Sell a certain bar bill amount and let the client to use it as he pleases. EUR 125 for real EUR 100 good on any bar or restaurant for whatever else on menu. Finite set price block will pave the way for assertive consumption.

[mawvkysc]

At least the drink prices seem more reasonable than my last RCI cruise. 

[Stockjock]

15 hours ago, mawvkysc said:

At least the drink prices seem more reasonable than my last RCI cruise. 

A *lot* more reasonable.

[styles27]

21 hours ago, Nunagoras said:

This! And it's not only CCL, even though those riots, brawls, fights, etc. seem to be more prevalent there. MSC wants their experience to be at least a little bit more upscale. I score them as "affordable elegant cruising". They're having something on the likes both for US and UK sailings as reviews go, and they'll surely to call it a night on that. I once was a hard drinks packages supporter for account control on pax part. Now I'm not so much, other than for the premium suite guests, even on longer cruises. Why? Sadly; because massification for the good and for the bad is permitting just everyone aboard a cruise ship right now. The good, the bad and the ugly ones, sadly

 

Let me to have a break here: When I go to the Portuguese MSC website version and I see a winter weeklong cruise for less than EUR 500 with Easy plus, taxes and gratuities on one of the Meraviglia/Seaside class vessels out of Barcelona; me thinks: What am I doing here now that cold temperatures are arriving, if I could have been aboard one of those cruises alike? Sadly; it is because the flights to go from Lisbon to Barcelona and return plus the odd one night hotel before the cruise would cost me more than the cruise itself!... And I'm not even considering cruises on the older ships. Those are half the price at same terms and conditions!... At those rates, a week inside a cruise ship goes as cheap as it can be! Unless the companies make clear that the door is open, but it is not ooooopen, some bad behaviors on certain cruisers will to pop up. Sadly I have to agree with the more restrictive measures companies are implanting now to control their ships. How I understand the ones affected, but sadly for the sins of a few the ones who pay are most of the honest crowd.

 

A way forward to try to serve the honest crowd and at the same time enforce some rules would be to do what Virgin is doing: Sell a certain bar bill amount and let the client to use it as he pleases. EUR 125 for real EUR 100 good on any bar or restaurant for whatever else on menu. Finite set price block will pave the way for assertive consumption.

You need to get an airline credit card or one that gives you points for flights. 
We’ve flown 4 round trips this year so far and paid less than $100 total for both of us for all of those flights. 
We put everything on that card and it pays off. (Just don’t carry a balance because that defeats the purpose) 😉

[WoodyWindy]

I'm happy that MSC is different from the "mainstream" publicly traded lines. I do agree, though, that if they can't make the Euro-style experience work over here at volume, they should steer at least a couple ships toward some US-based hospitality management.

[GA Dave]

Just posted on FB by an MSC-exclusive TA:

 

Beverage Packages for US 3/4 day sailings

I know there has been discussion, but it is now official and confirmed...

Per MSC, effective immediately: Although you can book under a promo that may include a drink package, you are no longer able to book a drink package once on board, and our policy of not pre-selling drink packages on the shorter 3/4 day cruises is still in effect.

A new drink program is being evaluated and discussed for these sailings. More info to come.