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DGP1111

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About Me

  • Location
    Orlando, FL
  • Interests
    Travel; Online tinkering; Drum Corps/Winter Guard, Sports Fan.
  • Favorite Cruise Line(s)
    NCL
  • Favorite Cruise Destination Or Port of Call
    Eastern or Southern Caribbean

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  1. I've just now completed my binge-reading of your review, and certainly benefitted from the content, so a sincere Thank You for doing it. I will be embarking in two weeks for my 16th time on Norwegian Epic. I was on the final cruise that successfully started/ended in San Juan before 'cooties' shut the industry down. I look forward to seeing the onboard changes that have taken place since then, and . . . although I'm definitely still excited about the return to a favorite ship, I've absolutely lowered my personal expectations about the overall onboard experience. Your comments about several things seem to parallel those by others who've been onboard. Hopefully the willy-nilly assignment of beverage ingredients won't continue and diminish my Premium Plus purchase. I do anticipate the regular nightly confusion at the podium/table regarding if my FAS/Diamond is being applied for that particular meal (especially since you described the absence of the physical tear-off coupons). Will do my best to get clarity on arrival. You return tomorrow, so Welcome Back!! Thanks, again, for the great info. 😊
  2. As answered by cruizinisthebest, Yes you can . . . and I'd done it several times as well right there at the embarkation terminal . . . but would no longer recommend doing that. It was certainly an anomaly, but a big big big one. The agent goofed up the input, and when I was asked to sign the small receipt, I looked at it closely and started, "That's not me". It was a completely different name, and the agent and supervisor explained that a message would be sent to the ship, and it would be taken care of. "Don't worry". I advised that I was worried, but they were kind with the situation and the promise. The other passenger spent the (my) onboard credit very soon after boarding. Guest Services said they'd research, but eventually said it would have to be addressed with corporate after the cruise, since the error occurred shoreside. Had I done it all once onboard, the ship would have had total control for finding a solution. At the Diamond invite event, the Guest Services manager was quite apologetic, but said nothing more could be done, and added, "Good luck with getting that done once home". End result: Multiple post-cruise communications fell on deaf ears, and I was out the entire amount of intended onboard credit. Live and learn. 😟 😟 .
  3. Your Honor . . . I readily admit to being a total stranger knocking on the door of Tom-n-Cheryl in S2. Yes, it's true. Guilty as charged. And whoda thunk how that would impact the three of us over many years to come. 😄 😄 😄 .
  4. The pricing (previous of current) no longer matters to me, but I can offer a comment about the false/incorrect information presented above . . . . The joyful lady in red cheerfully applauding the fact the one in blue was able to acquire the real glass hurricane beverage, plastic straw, and paper umbrella with fruit garnish a few years after they were discontinued. She accepts defeat of only receiving the straw. A good sport indeed. 😄 😄 .
  5. It SHOULD not take long, but apparently it does. My call to them resulted in the answer "within ten days" My e-mail to them resulted in the answer, "per our policy, it can take thirty days". Absolutely nothing from my March 30 Mereviglia cruise is showing up in Voyagers Club. They truly are a mess in hospitality guest service if it is something about technology.
  6. March 30 Meraviglia was a rare port-side docking at Ocean Cay. I was disappointed that when I booked it all the starboard balconies were gone on a nearly sold-out cruise, but I took what I could get. Lo, and behold, that morning we pulled right in moving forward. Bonus!! Got to watch the second lighthouse show in my jammies from my balcony. 😀 .
  7. I also had several brief conversations with members of the Expedia Cruises group on all three days, and there was a definite 'theme' to the opinions voiced (albeit a very small sampling of the total group). If you were not aware, there was also the presence (at the invite of Expedia) of several competing cruise lines who had the opportunity to market themselves during some of the private sales meetings. Amy, thanks for that consideration, as it did impact others. I boarded about a half hour after Tom/Cheryl, and waited on them to advise me about some potential of us dining together in Specialty Restaurants we'd discussed. I was not in Yacht Club. It started with "full steam ahead", then morphed into "hang on, there might be issues" and eventually "Nope, ain't gonna happen for anyone". I had a pre-purchased dining package, and I went to the podium to find out how that would factor into my dining plans. To paraphrase, the initial reply was, "Oooo, sucks to be you". 🙁 It seems that my accepting response was different than most/all others onboard, and it seemingly made a difference. I've spoken with ship leadership praising one very helpful individual, and I intend to do a nice gesture for that same person in a few weeks when I return. I do know the number, but how about we call it 'Well beyond a baker's dozen' (heck three times last year alone -- mostly unplanned). Always always always a pleasure, my friends, and this time I get to sport the badge of Rescue Ranger!! 😀 .
  8. Untruth? Misrepresentation? (or any of a variety of synonyms to be used; I'm flexible) Most companies with an enforced policy can provide some sort of 'fine print' text to offer . . . something . . . anything . . . but it definitely appears that MSC does not offer that to the general consumer, or even their onboard personnel. The really nice lady onboard Meraviglia a few weeks ago squirmed uncomfortably with most questions about future cruises I was interested in booking (potentially three new ones). I thanked her for her time, offered my e-mail contact in case she researched answers, and I left the ship without booking anything. In a few days I will visit with the team member onboard Seaside, and perhaps book some future cruise vacations. Their marketing team is seemingly not as interested in a solos market as some of the other major lines are. That may change in the future, yet perhaps not. As you said, their rules to make (just be prepared to provide me the rules). For the record, my first MSC cruise greatly exceeded overall expectations once onboard, and I'm really looking forward to another positive experience later this week. Their pre-cruise booking process, e-mail communication, and online/phone support is a glorified turd in most instances.
  9. Personal opinion: A solo/single rate should be available on all sailings that have a cabin available for two passengers when the solo passenger is willing to pay the 200% If they want to increase/entice that solo market with occasional specials (smaller supplements) then that's even better for that market, but it certainly can't be expected. To remove complete categories of dual-occupancy rooms from view when changing the number of passengers to be 1 is the choice of the cruise line, and often it's a foolish one. I happen to think the online marketing team at MSC is pathetic at best. It turns quite a number of people away before they have the chance to experience just the opposite of that while onboard some magnificent ships, that can offer superior onboard service. Regarding the rates you mentioned for Meriviglia . . . for May and beyond are you finding anything less than 200% being offered?? When I very recently spoke with the onboard personnel selling future cruises, that person admitted they are often 'kept in the dark' about most things related to solo passengers. The individual was rather stunned by the number of solo cruises I've done on multiple lines and was open to my comments that my experience with MSC in planning was less-than-exceptional.
  10. Ditto that same result from my recent call to MSC. Once the agent eventually listened to my reason for calling and requesting assistance (described below) he attempted and failed as well. His reply after quite a while on hold was, "Oooo, that's not supposed to happen." 🙄 I fully understand that reply and agree that has been my own understanding as well, but . . . Oddly/ironically it is their requirement for me to select my dining time for the restaurant when placing the order online in advance, when clicking on "Add to my cruise". (I embark a week from tomorrow) For starters, the 2-meal description includes the name of a restaurant that doesn't even exist on the ship (Seaside). It's incorrect on the "See details" description as well. In order to add/purchase the package, I must choose a dining time for Kaito Sushi Bar, which is not even supposed to be one of the choices. I have zero intentions to eat a sushi meal (Bleech, for me), but no one could/would confirm that I could change it to Ocean Cay Restaurant once onboard. They truly are a pathetic mess with that online presence. << insert "La" song here >> You saw that one coming, didn't ya?? See you both soon. '
  11. That description of the classic favorite French Onion Soup definitely got my attention, as I've never once dined anywhere that included the addition (even a 'splash') of liquor. Interesting variation on a theme. 😀
  12. Oooo, I'm about to muddy the waters even more here . . . . During my recent 3/30 Meravigilia cruise, I was seated at Kaito/Teppanyaki with one solo passenger who definitely was using her Diamond meal perk that evening. Like those of us on the dining package who'd been advised a bit earlier, she agreed to a $10 surcharge for the overall experience (and would be allowed to order the Samurai meal), or could accept a $20 surcharge and choose the Emperor meal. From overheard conversation, it did sound as though she was a Yacht Club passenger as well. I'm fully convinced that MSC uses one of those old-style board game spinners to deliver answers. .
  13. That was my experience boarding Meraviglia on 3/30, after finally getting a quality photo taken, resizing it for being accepted, and uploading it to the app . . . the very sweet lady at the check-in desk advised, "Yeah, we do it all over once you are here". Smile / Click .
  14. Bon Voyage!! I hope you'll have the same overall wonderful onboard experience that I recently did (debarked last Sunday). It was my first-ever MSC experience, despite being a very frequent cruiser. The few onboard 'bumps' were easily overshadowed by other things of extreme excellence. The atrium Infinity Bar was always a quality experience, and less busy than I'd expected, but I found the best, and most attentive, service at the Casino Bar. Always felt welcome ... once I got past walking over that bizarre floor with the strange light effect. If you have the opportunity/time, I highly encourage catching the atrium stage performance(s) by the Italian jazz trio (vocal, piano, bass) who are simply magnificent. Enjoy!!
  15. I personally questioned this earlier as well. I couldn't find that venue on any of the deck plans online (the MSC site as well as popular sites specific to these). While speaking with an MSC phones agent last Monday, the day after returning from my Meraviglia cruise, I got a lot of non-answers to an ongoing inquiry, and then I asked where this restaurant is located onboard. I expressed great interest in booking specialty dining for this upcoming cruise later this month. The best answer I received was, "There may be an error".
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