Booking a single (actually B2B) 10 night vs. the same 4+6 ??

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

I'm looking at booking a second MSC sailing from Florida later this year or next (having not even sailed on our first yet - next month).

 

The booking options online are like a mix & match.

 

Is there an advantage to booking the 4+6 as the "single" 10 night... either due to price or by having a simpler process for the second leg (do you not have to get off the ship and go through customs, as is typically of other lines B2B's)?

 

I can't compare costs between the two because the 10-nt says the Yacht Club is "Fully Booked". Yet, oddly, I can look at each of the two legs and see the same YC cabins available. Why would it show the 10-nt as "Fully Booked"?

 

Here's an image of the cabins available (Seashore) for the 4 night and 6 night sailings. It's not like it's even close:

 

 

Obviously, there's still a lot more to learn about this line, as they march to the beat of a different drummer !

 

Tom

[Morecruisesplz]

3 hours ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

I'm looking at booking a second MSC sailing from Florida later this year or next (having not even sailed on our first yet - next month).

 

The booking options online are like a mix & match.

 

Is there an advantage to booking the 4+6 as the "single" 10 night... either due to price or by having a simpler process for the second leg (do you not have to get off the ship and go through customs, as is typically of other lines B2B's)?

 

I can't compare costs between the two because the 10-nt says the Yacht Club is "Fully Booked". Yet, oddly, I can look at each of the two legs and see the same YC cabins available. Why would it show the 10-nt as "Fully Booked"?

 

Here's an image of the cabins available (Seashore) for the 4 night and 6 night sailings. It's not like it's even close:

 

 

Obviously, there's still a lot more to learn about this line, as they march to the beat of a different drummer !

 

Tom

Watching 

[JT1962]

There is no rhyme or reason as to pricing / availability on B2B vs single combined cruise on MSC. Sometimes it is cheaper to book them separately and sometimes it is cheaper to book as one sailing. 
 

I booked a 7+12 day sailing as one 19 day sailing in October just for convenience. I probably will book them as B2B in the future, unless there is a substantial price difference. When booking as one cruise, I did not receive upgrade bidding offers and did not automatically get double Voyagers Club amenities. I did ask at Guest Services the 2nd portion and they added the Voyagers benefits to that portion, but I had to request it. 
 

You will still have to get off the ship and go through immigration whether you book the 4+6, or the 10 day as one cruise. Those sailing on the following cruise will be asked to meet at a particular location at a certain time, then, be taken off the ship to go through immigration, then wait in a separate location from new passengers, until the ship is cleared, then they will be the first to re-board. 

[Morgsmom]

There's no rhyme or reason to why some cabins are not showing as being available for a B2B -- that's poor MSC technology (and capacity controls).  There are several reasons to book as one B2B - you can (pretty much, but not definitely because, well, "MSC") be assured that you will be in the same cabin for both sailings.  If you have 2 bookings and 2 booking numbers there's the chance that your cabin could be moved without your consent.  It happens.

If you book as a B2B and you have Diamond Status you would have to ask to try to get the 2nd set of goodies (prosecco, specialty dining, etc) because it will be under one reservation number.  You may, or may not, get.  If you are in YC chances are better that you will get.

As indicated, you do have to do the whole get off the ship, walk back on, thing regardless of how you book.

[dolphin1313]

6 hours ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

I'm looking at booking a second MSC sailing from Florida later this year or next (having not even sailed on our first yet - next month).

 

The booking options online are like a mix & match.

 

Is there an advantage to booking the 4+6 as the "single" 10 night... either due to price or by having a simpler process for the second leg (do you not have to get off the ship and go through customs, as is typically of other lines B2B's)?

 

I can't compare costs between the two because the 10-nt says the Yacht Club is "Fully Booked". Yet, oddly, I can look at each of the two legs and see the same YC cabins available. Why would it show the 10-nt as "Fully Booked"?

 

Here's an image of the cabins available (Seashore) for the 4 night and 6 night sailings. It's not like it's even close:

 

 

Obviously, there's still a lot more to learn about this line, as they march to the beat of a different drummer !

 

Tom

My guess is that their system is setup to allow guests to embark at various ports which I believe is normal in Italy from what I've read.  So MSC allocates so many cabins to various ports.  Than at some point will re-distribute the cabins.

 

My personal experience was just the opposite.  When I was researching a B2B cruise, I was looking to book the same cabin and none were available but when I looked at the 14-day sailing there were a few available.  A few days later, I noticed that the cabin inventory showed a couple of the cabins that listed in the 14-day sailing were now listed in the 7-day sailing.  For this particular cruise, the 14-day solo price was much higher than the B2B cruises.  Not that I would say this is always the case, it's just the experience that I had.

[Best Cat Mom]

7 hours ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

Is there an advantage to booking the 4+6 as the "single" 10 night

Here is a scenario to consider: we booked a similar B2B as a single cruise in Sep 2022. When Hurricane Ian was raging in the Florida area, MSC cancelled the "first" part of the B2B, but not the second. Because we had booked as one entire cruise and not as 2 separate B2Bs, our entire cruise was cancelled, not just the beginning part. Not sure if that matters to you, but wanted to share our experience in case it helps you to decide.