MSC sale

[zinniagirl]

I've just started searching for a med cruise next May and have come upon the MSC current sale.  I just don't know if they raised prices for the sale or if it is worth booking at the sale price?

[perakcruiser]

Difficult to say. Usually their sales are very good and worth it, but sometimes not. 

 

You should write which ship and which date, then it can be answers if the price is "unbeatable" or not. If you want to go during Pentecost holiday it is better not to wait too long. 

[zinniagirl]

17 minutes ago, zinniagirl said:

I've just started searching for a med cruise next May and have come upon the MSC current sale.  I just don't know if they raised prices for the sale or if it is worth booking at the sale price?

Here are the details... 

7 night Europe

MSC Seaview

May 24, 2024 – May 31, 2024

Palma De Mallorca, Spain • Barcelona, Spain • Cannes, France • Genoa, Italy • Florence La Spezia, Italy • Civitavecchia, Italy • Palma De Mallorca, Spain

 

for $1535 Canadian for a balcony.

[perakcruiser]

For a balcony at this date this is a great price. I don´t think any future offer will be better except a last minute deal a few weeks before departure if the ship is not full. 

 

 

[alyssamma]

11 hours ago, zinniagirl said:

Here are the details... 

7 night Europe

MSC Seaview

May 24, 2024 – May 31, 2024

Palma De Mallorca, Spain • Barcelona, Spain • Cannes, France • Genoa, Italy • Florence La Spezia, Italy • Civitavecchia, Italy • Palma De Mallorca, Spain

 

for $1535 Canadian for a balcony.

Is this pp or total? Does this include drinks and wifi? What experience is this?

[zinniagirl]

3 minutes ago, alyssamma said:

Is this pp or total? Does this include drinks and wifi? What experience is this?

With the drinks/wifi package it is $1849 pp (before taxes).  I'm not sure I understand the second question.

[Bgwest]

7 minutes ago, zinniagirl said:

I'm not sure I understand the second question.

Bella

fantastica

aurea

 

[zinniagirl]

6 minutes ago, Bgwest said:

Bella

fantastica

aurea

 

Sorry, I'm still lost... how would I know this?  I am not even sure what it refers to.  

[perakcruiser]

20 minutes ago, zinniagirl said:

Sorry, I'm still lost... how would I know this?  I am not even sure what it refers to.  

During the booking process you will read if it is Bella or Fantastica and if you have to pay a small surcharge for Fantastica or not. The only real thing you need to know, if you want to choose the cabin number by yourself and not let MSC do it then you have to take Fantastica. Often only Fantastica is available anyway.

[alyssamma]

1 hour ago, zinniagirl said:

With the drinks/wifi package it is $1849 pp (before taxes).  I'm not sure I understand the second question.

@perakcruiser explained the 2nd Q...but based on what you said, I'm not sure that is a "great" deal...assuming you don''t need drinks/wifi, you are looking at like $2200 USD total before taxes. MSC Med cruises are often pretty cheap...here is an example:

 

 

Not the exact same, but you can see it's half of your price ($1200 USD vs $2200 USD). 

 

Point is...there are often good med prices...shop around...pick what you want exactly...

 

[zinniagirl]

3 minutes ago, alyssamma said:

@perakcruiser explained the 2nd Q...but based on what you said, I'm not sure that is a "great" deal...assuming you don''t need drinks/wifi, you are looking at like $2200 USD total before taxes. MSC Med cruises are often pretty cheap...here is an example:

 

 

Not the exact same, but you can see it's half of your price ($1200 USD vs $2200 USD). 

 

Point is...there are often good med prices...shop around...pick what you want exactly...

 

Thanks, Alyssa... I think the difference is that the price I quoted was in Canadian funds (sorry, I stated that in the original post but not the follow-up post)... which is about 35% more than the USD.  I just don't want to jump too soon, just because it is promoted as a sale.

[alyssamma]

1 minute ago, zinniagirl said:

Thanks, Alyssa... I think the difference is that the price I quoted was in Canadian funds (sorry, I stated that in the original post but not the follow-up post)... which is about 35% more than the USD.  I just don't want to jump too soon, just because it is promoted as a sale.

No, I understood that...see above where I did the conversion to USD. Your total price is about $2200 USD. What I found (after a very brief search) was something almost half of that.

[zinniagirl]

4 minutes ago, alyssamma said:

No, I understood that...see above where I did the conversion to USD. Your total price is about $2200 USD. What I found (after a very brief search) was something almost half of that.

My apologies, I see that now... where did you find this one?

[alyssamma]

2 minutes ago, zinniagirl said:

My apologies, I see that now... where did you find this one?

I just went to the site and searched for med cruises for Apr-Oct 2024. It popped up...along with a lot of others.

 

Bottom line, 99% of "sales" are garbage. Every once in a while there will be a good one...and with MSC, you'll find prices can vary without a "sale".

 

Also, make sure you join the Voyager Club...you'll get 5% off the fare.

[skipsaur]

Also, just looking back through my spam emails:

 

May 9 - "Last day of sale!"

May 10 - New sale starting!" (Same as yesterday's)

May 17 - "Time's almost up on this sale!"

May 20 - "Our Memorial day sale is here!"

 

Seems like just as one ends, a new "sale" starts. Seems like a bit of marketing, just like "free" drinks packages.

[alyssamma]

4 minutes ago, skipsaur said:

Also, just looking back through my spam emails:

 

May 9 - "Last day of sale!"

May 10 - New sale starting!" (Same as yesterday's)

May 17 - "Time's almost up on this sale!"

May 20 - "Our Memorial day sale is here!"

 

Seems like just as one ends, a new "sale" starts. Seems like a bit of marketing, just like "free" drinks packages.

This.

 

And the "free" drinks kills me...you pay a lot for those "free" drinks...

[skipsaur]

11 minutes ago, alyssamma said:

This.

 

And the "free" drinks kills me...you pay a lot for those "free" drinks...

Yep, "free" there basically means, "you're paying for it whether you want it or not"

[zinniagirl]

32 minutes ago, skipsaur said:

Also, just looking back through my spam emails:

 

May 9 - "Last day of sale!"

May 10 - New sale starting!" (Same as yesterday's)

May 17 - "Time's almost up on this sale!"

May 20 - "Our Memorial day sale is here!"

 

Seems like just as one ends, a new "sale" starts. Seems like a bit of marketing, just like "free" drinks packages.

this is exactly what I was wondering!

[zinniagirl]

2 hours ago, alyssamma said:

@perakcruiser explained the 2nd Q...but based on what you said, I'm not sure that is a "great" deal...assuming you don''t need drinks/wifi, you are looking at like $2200 USD total before taxes. MSC Med cruises are often pretty cheap...here is an example:

 

 

Not the exact same, but you can see it's half of your price ($1200 USD vs $2200 USD). 

 

Point is...there are often good med prices...shop around...pick what you want exactly...

 

I'm just realizing that this is actually more...perhaps you are mulitplying the Canadian cost at 35% or so?  If this is $1198US it will be about $1600 CA.  My original post would be about $1100 US for a balcony plus the drink and wifi package.

 

[alyssamma]

7 minutes ago, zinniagirl said:

I'm just realizing that this is actually more...perhaps you are mulitplying the Canadian cost at 35% or so?  If this is $1198US it will be about $1600 CA.  My original post would be about $1100 US for a balcony plus the drink and wifi package.

 

My cost is *total*...not per person 🙂

 

[zinniagirl]

2 minutes ago, alyssamma said:

My cost is *total*...not per person 🙂

 

okie dokie... I'll check it out!  Thanks for all your help!

[alyssamma]

3 minutes ago, zinniagirl said:

okie dokie... I'll check it out!  Thanks for all your help!

No problem.

 

It would help if you know what you want to see in the med, or don't care and just want a med cruise.

 

Also, each ship is different...some are older for example and may not have what you want. On the other hand, for the med, which is port intensive, maybe you don't care.

 

Also understand the different experiences (Bella, Fantastica, Aurea, Yacht Club).

 

Lastly, don't forget...Voyager Club = 5% off. That price I gave was without the discount, so it would be even cheaper in reality.

[zinniagirl]

1 hour ago, alyssamma said:

No problem.

 

It would help if you know what you want to see in the med, or don't care and just want a med cruise.

 

Also, each ship is different...some are older for example and may not have what you want. On the other hand, for the med, which is port intensive, maybe you don't care.

 

Also understand the different experiences (Bella, Fantastica, Aurea, Yacht Club).

 

Lastly, don't forget...Voyager Club = 5% off. That price I gave was without the discount, so it would be even cheaper in reality.

 

Sorry, I hit the wrong button... we are pretty easygoing about where we want to go.  We have done much of Italy (by land) so more of Greece, Spain, Malta perhaps.  We are also very simple travelers, we do want a balcony and we don't want to worry about the bill we are racking up with our drinks.  We want anywhere from 7-10 nights at the best price we can find!  

 

Edited May 30, 2023 by zinniagirl
sent the first draft too fast!

[alyssamma]

1 hour ago, zinniagirl said:

 

Sorry, I hit the wrong button... we are pretty easygoing about where we want to go.  We have done much of Italy (by land) so more of Greece, Spain, Malta perhaps.  We are also very simple travelers, we do want a balcony and we don't want to worry about the bill we are racking up with our drinks.  We want anywhere from 7-10 nights at the best price we can find!  

 

So, MSC *tends* to do 7 day med cruises...it would be hard to find Greece and Spain/Malta on the same itinerary. Even if you picked a different cruise line, you are prob looking at 10 days min to do all of that.

 

The below is an example. Cost is about $2500 USD total, or $3300 USD total including drinks and wifi with $100 OBC. This is *before* any discounts (teacher, military, or Voyager club).

 

Day 1	Tuesday, Mar 26 2024	Port: Genoa (Portofino), Italy	Arrival: -	Departure: 06:00 PM
Day 2	Wednesday, Mar 27 2024	Port: Marseille (Provence), France	Arrival: 08:00 AM	Departure: 06:00 PM
Day 3	Thursday, Mar 28 2024	Port: Barcelona, Spain	Arrival: 08:00 AM	Departure: 06:00 PM
Day 4	Friday, Mar 29 2024	Port: At sea	Arrival: -	Departure: -
Day 5	Saturday, Mar 30 2024	Port: Tangier (Tetouan), Morocco	Arrival: 08:00 AM	Departure: 06:00 PM
Day 6	Sunday, Mar 31 2024	Port: Casablanca (Marrakech), Morocco	Arrival: 07:00 AM	Departure: 07:00 PM
Day 7	Monday, Apr 01 2024	Port: Ceuta, Spain	Arrival: 09:00 AM	Departure: 06:00 PM
Day 8	Tuesday, Apr 02 2024	Port: Malaga (Granada), Spain	Arrival: 07:00 AM	Departure: 06:00 PM
Day 9	Wednesday, Apr 03 2024	Port: Alicante, Spain	Arrival: 11:00 AM	Departure: 09:00 PM
Day 10	Thursday, Apr 04 2024	Port: At sea	Arrival: -	Departure: -
Day 11	Friday, Apr 05 2024	Port: Genoa (Portofino), Italy	Arrival: 08:00 AM	Departure: -

[zinniagirl]

It looks like I can't sign up for Voyager unless I have either cruised with them before or booked a cruise?