Beamafar

What's a queue?

 

 

 

 

 

 

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HaHaHa - love it!!!:D:D

May I refer you to a very similar discussion on this subject.

 

I have had recent, unjustified success :).

Thanks for the link to the previous thread on this.

I had considered purchasing one of these vouchers on my upcoming cruise when I came across them being sold on Splendida in February. As I'd already booked two further cruises at the time it wasn't practical to get one then. At E10 each they seem like great value but, going on others experience, maybe they're not such a good deal after all.

We had a very eventful time in La Goulette in Feb 2013. We booked one of those taxi tours which they sell at the port "Shopping Centre". The driver tried to rip us off by trying to charge extra so we insisted he return us to the ship which meant we were back in time to have lunch onboard. While in the MDR the ship broke free of its moorings and drifted across the port 'til it hit the pier on the other side and broke it. Three people were on the gangplank when this happened but luckily they weren't injured. Others who were returning from shopping expeditions were seen running down the pier thinking the ship had set sail without them! In the meantime, a polititian was shot dead in Tunis that same afternoon. I've always been amazed since that cruise ships still visit there.

And if you're looking at a Lirica class ship, some have the pre and post stretch plans too!

Good to know. Must have a look as I fancy giving a repo a try next year. I've only been on the Fantasia class ships so far. Hopefully the balcony cabins will be a bit more competitively priced.

I know the info re the timing for the stretches was posted here. I'd saved the info on my laptop which has since decided to die so I'll have to trawl back to find it.

I am scheduled to have port call in Tunis on the Splendida next month. In light of the NCL incident, what are your thoughts on MSC also dropping this port call? Where would you like to see them stop instead if you were scheduled for Tunis?

 

Technically, I am not allowed to disembark there for other reasons (please don't ask-OPSEC) but I am disappointed to miss out on Carthage. Personally, I would like to visit Valletta again.

I think they sail to North Africa for duty-free reasons and so would have to find a suitable alternative. I'm open to correction on that. Valleta would not suit if that's the case.

Surely you'll miss out on Carthage anyway due to you not being allowed to disembark.

I see on the MSC website they have the deck plans for Winter 2014/2015 showing the cabin categories relating to the new price structures. And just when I was getting familiar with the recent balcony rating of B1, B2, B3.:rolleyes:

Here is some more info I got from another forum posted by a very knowledgable and respected cruiser

 

 

 

And here is a link with excellent info on taxis from izmir to Ephasus

 

 

http://www.cruises.co.uk/321-introduce_yourself/36025-izmir.html

 

Pete

Really appreciate this, Pete. I usually trawl through the forum pages in search of anything that might help to enhance my trips. Unfortunately my laptop seized up recently and the netbook I'm using keeps freezing:eek:

Izmir is set on both shores of a large estuary with the cultural area on the southern bank and the modern city / shopping area on the northern bank

 

At Izmir there are very few options

the excursions were

A) City tour; 3.5hours

B) Ephasus; 5 hours (within that 5 hours are 2 x 1hr coach journeys)

C) St. John's monestary and Mary's House 5 hrs

D) Ephasus and Mary's House. 5.5 hrs

 

The ship docks on the South side of the inlet where the museums are. The museum of history and art , which was on the city tour, has some interesting artefacts particularly in the Gold jewellery section. the tour then went round the bay to the shopping district and from there it was a ferry ride back to the ship. A pleasant, though not terribly interesting, way of passing 3 - 3.5 hours.

 

The other major Site is Ephasus. We have been there when having a land based holiday.

It is a fascinating place which is vast and really needs a whole day to see it properly. but if you've never been it is well worth a visit even if you only get 3 hours there.

As to whether it is easy to do DIY I can't really say.

There will be a lot of walking involved in a visit to Ephasus.

 

 

I haven't been to Mary's houe so have no idea as to whether it is worth sacrificing time in Ephasus to visit it, I would suggest not.

 

If you are planning a day on the ship and using the spa facilities this would be the place to do it. especially as they had some special offers on that day on our cruise.

 

Hope this gives you an insight to Izmir

Thanks a mil, Pete. I hadn't expected to get half the info you've given there.

THe official visitor sites take any of the three currencies you mention , so for access to the main sites use the currency you prefer for the cruise, For local spending (cafes bars souvenier shops) I suggest you use Turkish lira.

if you are going to use the local tram system to get around you wil need LIra ( I've included some links to some excellent guids on how to get baround Istantbul using the localtransport. I copied the salient points and found it very easy to get to the sites i wanted to visit)

 

Below is the price list for the Audio guide for Harem at the Topkai palce where they show the prices in the thee currencies.

 

LINKS:_____________________

 

http://www.cruises.co.uk/1228-istanbul_turkey/32311-one_way_do_istanbul.html

 

http://www.cruises.co.uk/1228-istanbul_turkey/32531-one_way_do_istanbul_second_day.html

 

http://www.cruises.co.uk/1228-istanbul_turkey/32152-getting_around_istanbul.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An image of the tramway system map showing the stops for the docks and the Blue Mosque and Topkapi palace, ( on the BLUE line, only 4 or 5 stops apart

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope you enjoy Istanbul .We loved it

 

Pete

Pete, as always, a gem for the info, links, photos. Would love your thoughts on visiting Izmir.

We were on the Divina in January and the weather was quite warm.

I was sharing my experience of the Yacht Club on Splendida which was a Mediterranean itinerary and so was Winter in Europe.

Thank you for your comments I would love to hear some comments about the variety and selection of food on offer (also drinks as well)

 

Really looking forward to the YC.Apart from excursions do many people leave the area?

Here's a link to one member's review of their experience. http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=110148

As has already been advised, if you use the search facility on this site you'll get links to lots of threads on the subject.

We are sailing in mid April and have upgraded to the YC we would love to hear anybody's experiences

You're in for a real treat. The things that stand out for me are:

The Top Sail Lounge - what a viewing point!

The Afternoon Tea service therein.

The dedicated restaurant with its wonderful menu and ambience - Be aware that you have to travel to the other end of the ship to access it. This entails going down to either Deck 14 or 7 and walking the length of the ship and taking an elevator (or stairs) back up to Deck 15 where the restaurant is located. This wasn't an issue for me or my family as we needed the exercise!!

Your choice of daily newspaper delivered to your cabin every morning.

Priority elevator service on the elevators either end of the ship for quicker access to and from the Yacht Club (I personally couldn't bring myself to use the over-ride facility).

As it was February when I was onboard I didn't get to experience the pool area bar or private sundeck so can't comment on these.

Yes. I think we agree, but the OP asked about pre-paying. Afaik you can't pre-pay gratuities, but you can pre-pay for drinks vouchers or packages. That way you won't get the club points, that's what happened to me.

I've prepaid the gratuities on my upcoming cruise which I'd have preferred not to do as I'll lose out on qualifying onboard spend. But the trip I'm doing includes some land-based time and the TA has booked us with MSC as part of a group travelling so we have to prepay. I also can't pre-book my drinks package for the same reason and have no choice but to order onboard and pay the 15% service charge. I rang MSC directly today and they couldn't preorder the package through their system, either.

No (although some people have had luck getting them added, myself included, after a lot of emails!)

 

Club points are awarded for ON BOARD SPEND.

 

Pre-paying is not on board spend.

 

IMO pre-booking and paying onboard is the best way, I wouldn't want to have to chase points for pre-paid services again.

You're right there - I'd misread it as pre-ordered and posted accordingly.:o

Beamafar-

Thank you!

You're welcome. You may need to check your account to ensure the correct amount of points are added. It takes MSC a number of weeks to update your records. They only awarded me 8 points for my recent cruise instead of 15! I rang them this morning and they rectified this.

You can visit their website and register your account under the MSC Club heading. Then you can keep an eye on your points total.

Will these point be awarded as well if you pre-paid your spa and drink packages via phone?

Points will be awarded to your membership card after your cruise when your account has been settled.

"Excursion packages"... First time I read about that

I've just had a look through my Daily Planners from my recent cruise and found the info regarding these. The name of the package is "Explorer Formula" whereby if you purchase 3 excursions you receive a discount. This may only be available on Med cruises. The price was E192.90 instead of a total of E222.70 if bought individually.

I think I've seen it mentioned on the Ireland MSC website. Not sure about anywhere else.

That is very valuable information, thanks again!

 

One more question: is there a difference in terms of number of points between buying onboard and pre-booking (ie: buying vouchers for drinks pre-cruise, booking excursions on-line, etc.). Does money spent on excursions counts for points???

If you pre-book drinks packages, excursions, etc and pay onboard that will qualify towards points. If you prepay for gratuities, packages, excursions it won't. If you wait 'til onboard to buy any of the drinks packages you will incur a service charge of additional 15% so it's best to pre-order these.

Remember, you receive 1 point for every 200(Euro or dollars) spent on board. The gratuities added to your account also qualify. MSC also adds 1 Euro/Dollar per person as a Unicef donation (this can be removed) which makes a total of 100 Euro/Dollar spend per couple on a 7 night cruise ie 7 Eur/Dol per person per day tips plus 2 Eur/Dol donation.

To sum up, it's best to pre-order and settle the account onboard except excursions which I think don't incur the added 15% so won't matter if you wait 'til onboard to buy these.

They also offer excursion packages - again, check out their website re this.

A point is awarded for every night onboard. I believe you can only claim these points individually eg I share a cabin with my DH and we each receive 7 points for a 7 night sailing as we are both registered members.

The points qualifying from onboard spend are awarded to the member who settles the account at the end of the cruise. In our case, I always pay the bill with my credit card and so I collect the greater number of points overall.

Where can I see the benifits of becoming a member and how many points it takes to reach each level?

Check out the MSC website. There's a heading for MSC Club with a drop-down menu including a link which outlines membership benefits.

It' still a good deal though. I'm at the second highest level with Costa (equivalent to MSC gold tier) but the cruise discounts with them are so paltry, you barely notice. Was looking at a 7 day gulf cruise yesterday and the price dropped from around £1200 to only £1159 when I said I was a Costa member. On my last cruise with them, it was £200 cheaper not to be a Costa member (so needless to say I booked it as a non member). They are very smoke and mirrors about the discounts. At least MSC publish what you get off any cruise depending on your level and you get it.

Certainly agree with you there. No matter what the price of the cruise the discount gets applied without any problems.

For my September cruise my TA is negotiating some onboard credit with MSC to match the extra discount I'd receive if I were to book at the time of attaining Gold. They seem amenable to this but we're waiting 'til the points are correctly added to the account before pursuing it.

Yes always best to. Heck what ever level you're at.

 

I'd gotten about lazy about it after reaching black! but with this talk of a higher level! I'm back to making sure I get all the points I'm due!

You were lulled into a false sense of security when you got to Black;)

I thought I'd made it to Gold following on from my last trip. While it doesn't make much difference for discount on future trips as they were booked beforehand it will for onboard services eg laundry.

The odd thing is that they added 8 points to my account for a 7 night cruise!

I believe I should have received at least 4 points for onboard spend. As I settled the account for another cabin my onboard bill actually shows an amount which would qualify for 8 points. I must check to see if my travelling companions were awarded their points.

Also keep in mind that the benefits for the different levels are revised and diluted as more members attain higher levels. It's thought that a new level will be introduced in the coming months which could impact on more of the benefits. I discovered this only recently that priority boarding is only available to holders of Black Cards. It used to apply to all card holders.

I would agree about keeping an eye on points awarded. I've just had my latest applied to my card from my recent cruise and have been left short of a couple.

Don't want to take over OP's thread, but this discussion leads me to a question. When I booked I had a choice of 3 balcony categories: B1,B2 & B3 (YC not included).

 

This seems to differ from everyone elses experience. I've heard balcony categories ranging from 6 - 12. Did MSC change their cabin catagories recently?

Yes, only very recently. One of the more knowledgeable posters (I can't remember which one, offhand and don't want to guess which one in case I get the wrong one!) wrote about it. If you check out the deck plans of the ships on the MSC website you'll see the different categories and the colour codes applying to the each cabin.