dianelevene Posted July 17, 2017 #1 Share Posted July 17, 2017 We are considering booking a 14 night cruise that visits St. Petersburg, some of the other cities plus goes to the fjords. We haven't seen another cruise that seems to combine both St. Petersburg and the fjords in one trip. But I've seen some mixed reviews of the Preziosa. Has anybody done this trip? What did you think? We are experienced cruisers and have cruised an almost all of the major cruise lines. How does it compare to Costa? We would be going with some family and we have one or two people who are kind of picky eaters. Will there be enough selection for them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuart2468 Posted July 17, 2017 #2 Share Posted July 17, 2017 We are considering booking a 14 night cruise that visits St. Petersburg, some of the other cities plus goes to the fjords. We haven't seen another cruise that seems to combine both St. Petersburg and the fjords in one trip. But I've seen some mixed reviews of the Preziosa. Has anybody done this trip? What did you think? We are experienced cruisers and have cruised an almost all of the major cruise lines. How does it compare to Costa? We would be going with some family and we have one or two people who are kind of picky eaters. Will there be enough selection for them? I'm not sure how anyone could give a bad review of Preziosa. I've sailed her twice and think she's a beautiful ship. I haven't done the itinerary but you cant fail to be impressed by the ship. I'm fairly open to trying food so was never a problem for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CruiseIreland Posted July 17, 2017 #3 Share Posted July 17, 2017 We are considering booking a 14 night cruise that visits St. Petersburg, some of the other cities plus goes to the fjords. We haven't seen another cruise that seems to combine both St. Petersburg and the fjords in one trip. But I've seen some mixed reviews of the Preziosa. Has anybody done this trip? Hi Diane. I have not done that trip but sailed on Preziosa a couple of years ago. It's a beautiful ship. It's kept very clean and is very stylish. As to food, that's very subjective but I think it's MSC's weakspot. MSC used to serve a 6 course diner in the main dining rooms but have changed it lately to 3 courses. Now, you can order as many courses as you wish but not everyone knows that or are inclined to do so. The buffet is ok, limited enough but the allegations that food is cold is generally not true. I have never sailed Costa but I believe that MSC is a cut above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dianelevene Posted July 17, 2017 Author #4 Share Posted July 17, 2017 I am relieved to hear some positive thoughts on the ship. We are pretty experienced cruises/travelers and know that some things can and will go wrong on any trip. We can roll with that. But having an overall negative experience (especially when it will cost quite a bit) is something we want to avoid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nealjr Posted July 17, 2017 #5 Share Posted July 17, 2017 (edited) I'm glad to hear some positive remarks concerning the Preziosa because we are booked May 20,2018 . We are also going to St. Petersburg as one of the stops but our cruise is only 7 days. We went ahead and booked into the Yacht Club and will compare it to the Haven with NCL. We do like the idea of having our own little hide a way when needed plus I'm guessing the selection of foods will be different as well. Time will tell if we made the right decision. Edited July 17, 2017 by nealjr change wording Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Essiesmom Posted July 17, 2017 #6 Share Posted July 17, 2017 My only reservation about that itinerary is that it does not overnight in St. Petersburg. One day barely scratches the surface of SPB. EM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nealjr Posted July 17, 2017 #7 Share Posted July 17, 2017 My only reservation about that itinerary is that it does not overnight in St. Petersburg. One day barely scratches the surface of SPB. EM I know but what I'm reading about the independent tour groups being phased out starting next year doesn't sound promising either. It's my understanding that the management company who handles the tour ships into the port has changed hands and they are forcing out the independent tour companies and will make the tours from the ships handle all tours!! That way they can get a cut of fees collected by the ships.:mad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dianelevene Posted July 17, 2017 Author #8 Share Posted July 17, 2017 I know but what I'm reading about the independent tour groups being phased out starting next year doesn't sound promising either. It's my understanding that the management company who handles the tour ships into the port has changed hands and they are forcing out the independent tour companies and will make the tours from the ships handle all tours!! That way they can get a cut of fees collected by the ships.:mad: That's a good piece of information to know. We are just getting started with looking into and booking a trip for next summer so I haven't done a ton of research just yet. We are picking this trip because we are kind of thinking of it as an overview of the places that we want to visit. Hopefully we will go back and do a land trip to a couple of the places that DH and I like best. The family we are going with has already visit a few of the places so they are less concerned about where they go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nealjr Posted July 17, 2017 #9 Share Posted July 17, 2017 That's a good piece of information to know. We are just getting started with looking into and booking a trip for next summer so I haven't done a ton of research just yet. We are picking this trip because we are kind of thinking of it as an overview of the places that we want to visit. Hopefully we will go back and do a land trip to a couple of the places that DH and I like best. The family we are going with has already visit a few of the places so they are less concerned about where they go. I have names of several tours companies that have great reviews but won't do anything until early part of next year. Hopefully by that time we will know what's going on with the tour companies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dianelevene Posted July 18, 2017 Author #10 Share Posted July 18, 2017 So if we decide to go ahead an book this cruise, most people generally book directly with MSC or do you book through a travel agent? The cruise travel company that we generally use, doesn't do MSC cruises. I'm not sure if I am allowed to ask for names of reliable travel companies that book MSC cruises. If so, I'd love some recommendations. Obviously, I don't want to break any rules here though but asking for recommendations if that is not allowed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nealjr Posted July 18, 2017 #11 Share Posted July 18, 2017 So if we decide to go ahead an book this cruise, most people generally book directly with MSC or do you book through a travel agent? The cruise travel company that we generally use, doesn't do MSC cruises. I'm not sure if I am allowed to ask for names of reliable travel companies that book MSC cruises. If so, I'd love some recommendations. Obviously, I don't want to break any rules here though but asking for recommendations if that is not allowed. We booked directly with MSC via their website, didn't have any problems at this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dianelevene Posted July 20, 2017 Author #12 Share Posted July 20, 2017 So we ended up booking the cruise last night. I am glad that we called because they only had 4 balcony Fantastica cabins left. I am surprised since it is almost a year until the cruise. I didn't think it would be so booked up already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nealjr Posted July 20, 2017 #13 Share Posted July 20, 2017 So we ended up booking the cruise last night. I am glad that we called because they only had 4 balcony Fantastica cabins left. I am surprised since it is almost a year until the cruise. I didn't think it would be so booked up already. Well by doing that you lock into the current pricing and if the pricing lowers you get the opportunity to rebook at the lower price. Also worst case you can cancel and get your deposit back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruisingFox27 Posted July 23, 2017 #14 Share Posted July 23, 2017 We've sailed with both MSC & Costa, MSC is far superior. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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