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pdmlynek

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  1. Last week we did something similar, though not in Trieste. We arrived to board MSC Magnifica about 90 min before the sail time, or about 2-3 hrs after the check-in process was closed. The security did not want to let us through, but I had them talk to the crew, and was let on, and it was straighted out. I would not sweat it. 2 hrs should be fine.
  2. But couldn't that be said of every other posting as well? 🙂 There are only a few issues that would make a person stop cruising in the future, but there are dozens or hundreds of little issues each of which has a tiny impact on plans to cruise.
  3. Booked inside cabins, but was automatically upgraded to obstructed view cabins. MSC Magnifica, last week.
  4. Yes, MSC Magnifica last week did. I had no idea before sailing if there was one or not; I love MSC cruises, but their lack of communication sucks.
  5. Just got off MSC Magnifica. The final bill had a "hotel service charge" of 84 EUR. The guest services desk explained to me that it was a 12 EUR/day "gratuity". I told them, truthfully, that I already tipped my cabin stewardess 100 USD, and they agreed to take off the charge. And yes, I agree with others: I dislike forced tipping.
  6. Last week when we embarked on MSC Magnifica, they did not ask for the health questionnaire. I think that this is just vestigal from the Covid days that they forgot to delete from the embarkation forms.
  7. That was my understanding as well. Print out the questionaire and fill it out when embarking. I returned from the cruise last night, and when we embarked, nobody wanted the form from us. We did not turn them in.
  8. The point of this thread is that the information on the website is not correct. Thus, checking the website does not make sense. The website is not updated (or at least it was not when @lola4795 posted the original note).
  9. pdmlynek

    Valencia

    Well, sure, a cruiseship is easy to spot, but finding where to check in may not be easy. The cruise terminal in Valencia is actually several km away from where the ship docks. 🙂 Valencia is a working cargo port, and people can't just wander around trying to cut through a pier full of containers to get to the ship.
  10. Can you please let us know how you've fared? Were you successful in renting bikes?
  11. pdmlynek

    Valencia

    I totally agree. But here is what likely happened: Someone programming the computer that generated the ticket thought that he was being smart by including the coordinates of the port, and simply added the very approximate coordinates of the port, namely, quote 39°27'00N - 00°19'30"W" on quote. This is obviously an approximation, and the poor formating (namely, no double primes before N, and an extra double prime after W) shows that the service personnel either don't know how to use GPS or don't care. The coordinates 39°27'00"N 00°19'30"W are within the port, but far away from the real embarkation point, which is at 39.4549°N 0.3270°W (or 39°27'18"N 0°19'37"W). These coordinates provided by MSC are totally worthless. Any moron can google where the Valencia port is. What passengers really need to find out is WHERE in the port they are supposed to report to. Because Valencia is visited by cruise ships infrequntly, there does not appear to be a dedicated building to cruise passengers, so it took me some digging that we are supposed to go to a ferry building. Unfortunately, the directions provided by MSC to help people find the embarkation point by car are similarly useless. To wit: "Valencia Port is easy to get to and well accessed from the city center. Take the V30 highway if arriving from outside the city." Likewise, directions if arriving by plane: "Valencia’s Manises Airport is just 9 miles from the port. If driving, follow the airport road to the junction with the V-30 Madrid-Valencia highway, which will take you directly to the port." MSC does not seem to understand that nobody, I mean nobody, has a problem finding the port. However, nobody really knows where in the port to go. They are simply providing useless information, and useful information is not provided. I am not sure if MSC is so clueless, or if MSC is doing some sort of a favor to the Valencia taxi drivers (who obviosly know where the embarkation point is) . Anyway, I am looking forward to the cruise.
  12. There are a number of websites that tell you what ships are schedules in ports. I typically use https://www.cruisetimetables.com/barcelona-spain-cruise-ship-schedule.html
  13. Wow, I noticed that 2 days ago as well. I went to webcheck-in to change it, but in the web checkin they want it as MM/DD/YYYY, whereas on the ticket they want it in the DD/MM/YY format (just 2 digits for year), through they printed it as MM/DD/YYYY. I know that this is a really trivial error, that any official with two brain cells would understand, but I really don't like it -- this is how computer records get lost. I was planning on calling MSC today about several issues for our upcomming cruise, including this minor detail.
  14. Thank you for posting this. I was wondering if I was the only one who has read negative reviews online. However, I also agree with @morpheusofthesea, @KKB, and others, that these are inconveniences, nothing that would make not take a cruise. I am looking forward to my first cruise with MSC later this month. 🙂
  15. pdmlynek

    Valencia

    Yes, I've figured it out. No problem for me. I am just commenting that MSC services are not really all that helpful. 🙂
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