New MSC Cruisers

[jdevine]

2 minutes ago, alserrod said:

 

 

 

There will surely be

- 1 gala night

- 1 white night (to dress full with white clothes)

- 1 fancy night

- 4 casual 

How dressy are these gala and fancy nights?

[alserrod]

57 minutes ago, jdevine said:

Alserrod: Thank you again for all the information this is great. The only question I had on your post was the six languages part. Not sure what you mean but this. 

 

Also, This will be the our first time in Barcelona do you have any must-sees or eat while we are in port? We do not have an excursion booked at this point yet. 

 

 

 

About languages, what I want to say is that MSC by his loudskeapers say everything in Italian, English, German, French, Spanish and Portuguese.... ending and maybe back to Italian with next message.

The order of languages is set just by the number of passengers with each native language. They assure all of them, not the order.

 

There are some cruisers that find it annoying.... but it is the reality in Europe

European Union = 27 nations = 24 official languages (plus a lot of unofficial but largely spoken languages) where most native spoken languages are (in this order) German, French, Italian and Spanish

[alserrod]

Just now, jdevine said:

How dressy are these gala and fancy nights?

 

 

Fancy night, I do not know

 

Gala night... I traveled in MSC a long time ago and a tie for gentlemen was almost compulsory

Today it seems it is acceptable just not to wear casual clothes

 

[jdevine]

2 minutes ago, alserrod said:

 

 

 

About languages, what I want to say is that MSC by his loudskeapers say everything in Italian, English, German, French, Spanish and Portuguese.... ending and maybe back to Italian with next message.

The order of languages is set just by the number of passengers with each native language. They assure all of them, not the order.

 

There are some cruisers that find it annoying.... but it is the reality in Europe

European Union = 27 nations = 24 official languages (plus a lot of unofficial but largely spoken languages) where most native spoken languages are (in this order) German, French, Italian and Spanish

Understood. Thank you for clarifying. 

[alserrod]

1 hour ago, jdevine said:

Also, This will be the our first time in Barcelona do you have any must-sees or eat while we are in port? We do not have an excursion booked at this point yet. 

 

 

About Barcelona

 

Have a look in THIS PAGE.

Atop you will see

 

• Home  >> Categories  >> Cruise Lines “A – O”  >> MSC Cruises  >> New MSC Cruisers

 

you may go to 

 

• Home   >> Categories   >> Ports of Call  >> Europe  >> Mediterranean - Eastern & Western  >> Spain Ports

 

and you will find a lot of information

 

I link you some of them

 

Customs in Spain. Those things to know first time you come to Spain

(95% are also valid for Italy and France)

 

 

 

How to move in Barcelona (by taxi, subway or whatever)

 

 

 

 

 

 

The most known area to visit in Barcelona. City centre and Gothic quarter. Recommendations

 

 

 

Another corner to visit in Barcelona (after Gothic quarter and Sagrada Familia)

 

 

 

 

If you want to do a day trip by train: Zaragoza

(hint, it is my homecity, if you need thousands of tips about it, do not worry)

 

 

 

 

How to move by train in Spain

(in Europe, movement among cities being not far is by railway, not by plane)

 

 

 

 

Hope they are interesting for you.

 

Please, ask anything INSIDE those threads

 

 

 

 

 

H

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jdevine]

55 minutes ago, alserrod said:

 

 

About Barcelona

 

Have a look in THIS PAGE.

Atop you will see

 

• Home  >> Categories  >> Cruise Lines “A – O”  >> MSC Cruises  >> New MSC Cruisers

 

you may go to 

 

• Home   >> Categories   >> Ports of Call  >> Europe  >> Mediterranean - Eastern & Western  >> Spain Ports

 

and you will find a lot of information

 

I link you some of them

 

Customs in Spain. Those things to know first time you come to Spain

(95% are also valid for Italy and France)

 

 

 

How to move in Barcelona (by taxi, subway or whatever)

 

 

 

 

 

 

The most known area to visit in Barcelona. City centre and Gothic quarter. Recommendations

 

 

 

Another corner to visit in Barcelona (after Gothic quarter and Sagrada Familia)

 

 

 

 

If you want to do a day trip by train: Zaragoza

(hint, it is my homecity, if you need thousands of tips about it, do not worry)

 

 

 

 

How to move by train in Spain

(in Europe, movement among cities being not far is by railway, not by plane)

 

 

 

 

Hope they are interesting for you.

 

Please, ask anything INSIDE those threads

 

 

 

 

 

H

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you very much for sharing. I will take a look at them all. 

[Essiesmom]

I have not sailed MSC in Europe, but my experience sailing from the US is that the non-North American guests seem to dress with more care than the locals, and may seem to be ‘dressed up’ for dinner even on non formal nights.  A lot of cocktail type apparel.  It makes for great people watching.  EM

[mscdivina2016]

2 hours ago, jdevine said:

How dressy are these gala and fancy nights?

Not much than any other night 

Men shirt and slacks, will add a tie. A few a jacket.

 

Women, more fancy dresses.

 

I have done Europe, middle east, and Caribbean all in the last year with MSC 

[Educatoria]

On 2/16/2024 at 9:52 PM, Preziosa said:

You have to prebook on the ship if you Will Be sure to have a Seat.

5 min before the shows They fill up with guests who did not prebook

I was wondering if you have to do prebook it every day for evening shows?

[alserrod]

1 minute ago, Educatoria said:

I was wondering if you have to do prebook it every day for evening shows?

 

 

Hello

 

AFAIK, yes you have to.

Every day and it means only allowance to entry, not to book a seat.

Seat works, first to arrive, first to choose.

 

five minutes before show everyone without booking can entry

[shipgeeks]

On 2/20/2024 at 10:49 AM, alserrod said:

 

 

 

About languages, what I want to say is that MSC by his loudskeapers say everything in Italian, English, German, French, Spanish and Portuguese.... ending and maybe back to Italian with next message.

The order of languages is set just by the number of passengers with each native language. They assure all of them, not the order.

 

There are some cruisers that find it annoying.... but it is the reality in Europe

European Union = 27 nations = 24 official languages (plus a lot of unofficial but largely spoken languages) where most native spoken languages are (in this order) German, French, Italian and Spanish

And I might mention that the multi-language messages are brief; only used for announcing that disembarkation is now open, etc.  There are none of the long spiels about bingo/art auction/jewelry sales/etc. that are so common on some other lines. So perhaps it balances out.

[Anastas617]

On 2/27/2024 at 7:44 AM, Educatoria said:

I was wondering if you have to do prebook it every day for evening shows?

Yes. I did Mediterranean cruise on Grandiosa this past October. Reservations for the free theatre shows opens at 6pm (If I remember correctly) the evening prior to the show so that the newly boarded passengers have a shot at reservations. Almost every performance eventually "sold out" when I was on the ship.

[Anastas617]

In addition to many of the other great tips provided, I would add that the events in the Mediterranean tend to happen on a later schedule than the U.S. sailings. I have no experience with Carnival, but a couple of examples are the "Silent Disco" started at midnight on Grandiosa, but 10pm on Meraviglia. Similarly, the White Night and other parties (I think one was neon or tropical themed?) start a bit later in the evening.

 

Barcelona was super quick to embark from, but a couple of the ports (most notably Genoa for my cruise) you may want to ensure you are budgeting some breathing room time-wise for getting back onto the ship.

 

Lastly, I'm a big fan of Hola! Cantina on both Meraviglia and Grandiosa. It's not included, but is relatively cheap for a different lunch/dinner option (I think you can get AYCE for 16.99 Euros on Grandiosa). Also, the British Pub has some bites you can grab for fairly cheap as a lunch or quick snack. They don't really do a good job of advertising that.

 

Oh, I almost forgot. Highly recommend the gelato shop. I had never had gelato before, but it was excellent. I think it's like 3 euros for a small cup or 5 Euros for an extra scoop (apologies if I'm getting my dollars and euros mixed up because the ships are almost identical)

[alserrod]

4 hours ago, Anastas617 said:

In addition to many of the other great tips provided, I would add that the events in the Mediterranean tend to happen on a later schedule than the U.S. sailings. I have no experience with Carnival, but a couple of examples are the "Silent Disco" started at midnight on Grandiosa, but 10pm on Meraviglia. Similarly, the White Night and other parties (I think one was neon or tropical themed?) start a bit later in the evening.

 

Barcelona was super quick to embark from, but a couple of the ports (most notably Genoa for my cruise) you may want to ensure you are budgeting some breathing room time-wise for getting back onto the ship.

 

Lastly, I'm a big fan of Hola! Cantina on both Meraviglia and Grandiosa. It's not included, but is relatively cheap for a different lunch/dinner option (I think you can get AYCE for 16.99 Euros on Grandiosa). Also, the British Pub has some bites you can grab for fairly cheap as a lunch or quick snack. They don't really do a good job of advertising that.

 

Oh, I almost forgot. Highly recommend the gelato shop. I had never had gelato before, but it was excellent. I think it's like 3 euros for a small cup or 5 Euros for an extra scoop (apologies if I'm getting my dollars and euros mixed up because the ships are almost identical)

 

 

Hi, 

 

when you say quick embark, do you mean people who is embarking (first night in cruise and crossing security control)? or people who has gone for a day visit?

 

[Anastas617]

19 minutes ago, alserrod said:

 

 

Hi, 

 

when you say quick embark, do you mean people who is embarking (first night in cruise and crossing security control)? or people who has gone for a day visit?

 

When I embarked (started my cruise) in Barcelona I went through the line, got my cruise card and was walking onto the ship with less than 10 minutes.

 

This is what I wrote when I started a trip report (that I never finished because I lost steam and got busy with work stuff):

 

"Embarkation in Barcelona: This could not have been any easier or quicker. From the time the taxi dropped me off ~11:45am to stepping on-board was less than 10 minutes. In fact, embarking was quicker than returning to the ship at most of the ports. I think Palma de Mallorca (replacement port for cancelled La Goulette) was the only port I'd say was a quick return to ship."

 

[alserrod]

15 minutes ago, Anastas617 said:

When I embarked (started my cruise) in Barcelona I went through the line, got my cruise card and was walking onto the ship with less than 10 minutes.

 

This is what I wrote when I started a trip report (that I never finished because I lost steam and got busy with work stuff):

 

"Embarkation in Barcelona: This could not have been any easier or quicker. From the time the taxi dropped me off ~11:45am to stepping on-board was less than 10 minutes. In fact, embarking was quicker than returning to the ship at most of the ports. I think Palma de Mallorca (replacement port for cancelled La Goulette) was the only port I'd say was a quick return to ship."

 

 

 

Thank you for answer

 

Cruises in western Mediterranean have several embarking ports, not only one.

Some people have wrote it is annoying but one of its advantages is people to embark is divided into several ports, thus in Barcelona not more than 25% of passengers.

 

I will embark in Barcelona in a couple of months and I hope no more than 30 minutes since arrival to the train until getting into the ship.

 

[NavyCruiser]

On 2/27/2024 at 6:46 AM, alserrod said:

 

 

Hello

 

AFAIK, yes you have to.

Every day and it means only allowance to entry, not to book a seat.

Seat works, first to arrive, first to choose.

 

five minutes before show everyone without booking can entry

 

You mean if we don't pre-book seats prior to shows, we can't just arrive at theater 15 - 20 minutes early, without pre-booking, they won't let us in until 5 minutes before show?

[mscdivina2016]

12 minutes ago, NavyCruiser said:

 

You mean if we don't pre-book seats prior to shows, we can't just arrive at theater 15 - 20 minutes early, without pre-booking, they won't let us in until 5 minutes before show?

You can just arrive and at 5 minutes they will let you in if there are seats.

[alserrod]

3 hours ago, NavyCruiser said:

 

You mean if we don't pre-book seats prior to shows, we can't just arrive at theater 15 - 20 minutes early, without pre-booking, they won't let us in until 5 minutes before show?

 

 

You do not prebook seats but just allowance to entry into theatre.

Seats goes on "first to arrive, first to choose a seat"

 

Five minutes before show all prebooks are gone and people waiting can entry

 

 

[alserrod]

And just to know, since what time it is able to book for next show?

[stefmaia]

On 2/19/2024 at 4:11 PM, dbrown84 said:

Anyone have experience status matching from NCL, platinum?  Wondering what you got matched to?

I am NCL Sapphire and got MSC Gold

[Mark_T]

18 hours ago, stefmaia said:

I am NCL Sapphire and got MSC Gold

Platinum should get Gold as well...

[jdevine]

On 2/28/2024 at 9:34 PM, Anastas617 said:

Yes. I did Mediterranean cruise on Grandiosa this past October. Reservations for the free theatre shows opens at 6pm (If I remember correctly) the evening prior to the show so that the newly boarded passengers have a shot at reservations. Almost every performance eventually "sold out" when I was on the ship.

How did you like the ship?

[Anastas617]

19 hours ago, jdevine said:

How did you like the ship?

The ship itself is beautiful. A few minor things I didn't like was the bathtub/shower combo and the minimal clothing storage in my studio balcony room.

 

It was much different than on Meraviglia (almost identical) since it was a port intensive cruise, so I didn't have as much lounging time, but I still never had a problem finding loungers on the Horizon deck (aft pool area) and they had plenty of entertainment during the day around the Lido Pool.

 

One thing that stood out to me was the hot tubs...seems like every time I walked through the enclosed pool area there was a line of people at least a dozen long waiting to get into the hot tub. Not sure if this is a European thing, but I've never seen a queue of people hovering over people in hot tubs before this cruise.

 

Went off-tangent, but based strictly on ship itself Meraviglia/Grandiosa are excellent if you are okay with larger ships (5,000+ guests). It's the other little things that seem to bring negative reactions rather than the ship.

 

*as someone that dabbles in the casino, I found Grandiosa to be very poor in slot selection, but it was also noticeably less popular than on any U.S. based cruise I've been on.

[jdevine]

On 3/5/2024 at 5:25 PM, Anastas617 said:

The ship itself is beautiful. A few minor things I didn't like was the bathtub/shower combo and the minimal clothing storage in my studio balcony room.

 

It was much different than on Meraviglia (almost identical) since it was a port intensive cruise, so I didn't have as much lounging time, but I still never had a problem finding loungers on the Horizon deck (aft pool area) and they had plenty of entertainment during the day around the Lido Pool.

 

One thing that stood out to me was the hot tubs...seems like every time I walked through the enclosed pool area there was a line of people at least a dozen long waiting to get into the hot tub. Not sure if this is a European thing, but I've never seen a queue of people hovering over people in hot tubs before this cruise.

 

Went off-tangent, but based strictly on ship itself Meraviglia/Grandiosa are excellent if you are okay with larger ships (5,000+ guests). It's the other little things that seem to bring negative reactions rather than the ship.

 

*as someone that dabbles in the casino, I found Grandiosa to be very poor in slot selection, but it was also noticeably less popular than on any U.S. based cruise I've been on.

Thank you very much for the information. I appreciate it. 

Edited March 7 by jdevine