DisneyDatknee

I got Covid on my cruise in May and have yet to receive a refund. I think it’s ridiculous they cannot refund my credit card. It has been 132 days since the last day of my cruise. 

So we booked three cabins for December on the Sunrise. It appears that the people in our group that didn't get cheers on the last cruise were the only ones to have the cheers to you rate in their promos. We did some room swapping so now we all have Cheers for $90 each. The drinkers (including myself) are winning, but even the light drinkers will still win, as they usually get 2 drinks a day, which goes over breaking even.

4 hours ago, variable283 said:

Something you might try for the people who DON'T have the offer is to add a bunch of the other offers to your card, (you obviously don't need to use them). Then refresh the page, or log out and back in, it should repopulate the offer list back up to 100 offers.

 

Who knows you might get lucky

Did it on both my cards and nothing 😞

Rivera is the way to go. You barely feel the motion down there. The only other OVs I would stay at would probably be the ones on the Promenade Deck. 

Taking the same cruise compared to last year, prices did go up a little like $100 each for an oceanview on the same ship, but we got good VIFP promos, one cabin with $500 OBC and the other with cheers package for $90 upgrade each. 

I never cruise with more than one or two people, so never encountered this problem on my many cruises. 
 

Our little family/friend reunion is experiencing growth with new SOs wanting to be added, and that’s kinda ruining the arrangement also difficult to change due to offer restrictions. 
 

Once on board, can we swap rooms without having to carry an extra key? 

Checked my platinum delta & cash magnet card and no luck. Only have an NCL offer on one of them. 

When I was on it Dec 2021, Aft dining room was YTD, forward was set dining. Breakfast was served in the back one.

Off the ship now. We were taken to a cargo entrance and waited for a customs officer to just look at our passports. 
 

MSC provided a chauffeur to our house. The other passengers who chose a hotel accommodation are unfortunately having to stay at a Rodeway Inn by the airport…

So seems like a lot of this quarantine cabins are filling up with both crew and staff. Not sure how many are infected, but I would definitely be cautious if you’re cruising soon. Let my guard down as it felt like cruising back to normal. We asked a crew member staying below us how many crew were out sick, he said too many. Fortunately, they are still paid if they are sick. 
 

We are feeling better, but still stuffy and coughing. Some of my friend’s taste is back. We are at Ocean Cay today and still have not docked due to a strong current.

My cabin mate unfortunately fell ill last night and tested positive for COVID. I tested negative twice, but I chose voluntarily to isolate with her instead of doing the rest of the cruise alone. I had to pack the room up and move down to Deck 10 FWD to another balcony. Room is the same but the bed is by the bathroom instead of by the balcony door. I prefer the bed next to the balcony as the closet is right up against the bed, making it difficult to use. However, since we are in isolation, changing clothes isn’t a huge deal anyways. 
 

The staff in the medical center didn’t really know what the procedures were except that we just had to move into a specific room. A COVID team which is just two people followed my friend up to the room spraying disinfectant. 

We were called by the guest services manager about our vaccines and our travel arrangements, as my friend cannot fly back home to Atlanta for 10 days according to CDC guidance. Given that I live in Miami, we do not have to isolate in a hotel that MSC has offered to pay for. 
 

Room service called us to take our dinner order. The lady in charge of COVID orders does not speak English well, so our orders are always slightly wrong and she misunderstood something. 
 

We were given a fully stock minibar and the ability to order any food and drink from anywhere on the ship. We do have to pay for speciality meals if we want those, but I don’t think I will be using the rest of my dining experiences on room service as my friend cannot taste foods. 😕

We can watch any movies on the TV for free but the selection is a little random. Since we already have wifi, we don’t need the free package that was offered to us.

Anything we need is just a call away. I guess there isn’t a better place to be isolated if we can relax on the balcony with free room service. 
 

Anyways, not the best end to the cruise. I will have to get the refunds sorted out.

This is the 4th cruise I have taken since cruising resumed. I guess it was bound to happen.

Cheers!

9 minutes ago, JAGR said:

I'm curious about how the package worked at Teppanyaki.  I've never seen a Dining Experience menu for it, but now that they are offering it as a package option, what is included?  I'm assuming it means you probably only get their lower-priced Geisha selection.  Any insight you can offer would be appreciated.

Sencho is included. You can pay extra for the next level. 

32 minutes ago, mafig said:

Lots of kids onboard?

Not really. Only toddlers and little kids who aren’t really in school. Lines for kid-dominated activities such as water slides are non-existent. Definitely much less kids than when I went on the Merevilgia in Mid August last year. 

5 hours ago, Oxo said:

Thank you for taking the time to describe your adventure. Stay Safe & Happy Cruising!

 

You bought the Duo Package and will be eating at Teppanyaki and Butcher’s Cut.

 

Please let us know what you were able to order with the Duo Pkg. From  what I understand is that there is only a selected portion of each menu you may order from without paying an upcharge of 50% of an item that is not included in the selected portion of each menu.

 

TIA

You can only order from the dining experience menu, usually the first page of the menu. 

4 hours ago, MANDMTRAVEL said:

Thanks for the review! I need the bartender names or nicknames...lol  We will be sailing very soon and have the same offer you got.  Do we need to reserve any shows in advance?

Ronnie in the Casino Bar, works in the morning and the evening until 12-1ish am. Shows in the main theater need to be reserved, but they were never fully booked.

3 hours ago, OllieS0806 said:

I am also planning on ordering the Easy Plus drink package. Good to know about the "$9" version of the drink. 

 

Do you feel like you are missing out by not being in YC? Also, I thought the Fantastica experience got you anytime dining. Is that not the case?

 

Not really. We saw YC folk around the ship (could tell by their card). The only thing is that the front part of the ship is closed off to YC and Aurea guests, so it limits your “outdoor space” to the Long Island pool on the aft of deck 18 and the infinity pool and the side pools on deck 8. Jungle pool is on deck 16, but it’s pretty humid since it’s almost all indoor.
 

Fantastica have a choice of dining time, early or late, but not the anytime dining like aurea.  

Got on Saturday. I’m going to be honest, I was going to cancel this cruise because I was worried about how the experience was going to be, but I’m glad I didn’t. Embarkation was a little crazy at first with the massive line for clerks to check your vaccine card and COVID test. The line was huge and they clearly did not have enough people to check documents. There was a priority line, but I was not sure who qualified. After going through that line, you check-in for the cruise. There is a priority line for diamond and aurea members as well as YC. That line was pretty calm compared to the main line. Rooms were ready @2 PM.
 

We are staying in a balcony on Deck 12 FWD. I purchased the all-in offer with Easy Plus, Wifi for 2, and $50 OBC. Currently looking out at Saint Thomas.

We thought about upgrading to the Premium Package, but don’t bother. Unless you like expensive wines and spirits on the rocks, there is no reason to upgrade. You can ask the bartenders to make a “$9 version” of a more expensive cocktail if you become friendly with a bartender. I love how MSC you can order two drinks at a time (or a double shot) and you don’t need to sign for a drink with the package like other lines do. We  have had the best bartender since Day 1 and I’ll reveal her later at the end of the trip 🙂. Some B2B cruisers we met said the best bartenders are in Le Cabaret Rouge. I saw someone last night order a double shot of Jäegermeister on the rocks… could feel the memories of college come up in my throat. 

The food has improved since our last MSC cruise in August, however the dining room is still very hit or miss and service can be very slow. I don’t like how anytime dining is an aurea only experience, as some days I don’t want to eat as late or as early. The buffet has gotten better, so we have been eating there. We have had breakfast in the morning in the dining room each day, but one of our waiters was pretty rude and messed up our entire order. 

We bought the Duo Package and will be eating at Teppanyaki and Butcher’s Cut. We ate at Kaito Sushi last night since a la carte at multiple speciality restaurants was 30% in port while in San Juan. Sushi was excellent, except we were the only couple there. It seemed dead normally throughout our cruise so far, but two couples came at the end of our meal. It’s pricey, but we ate very well for a bill of only $70. You can use your drink package there. 
 

It’s been super super windy these past few days so it’s been hard to enjoy the pools. The hot tubs on the sides of Deck 8 are the place to be. The ship is absolutely gorgeous and it definitely takes the cake as far as design goes on cruises I have been on. However, I don’t like how there isn’t really a “main pool” area. There are many pools, but it just doesn’t feel the same with a main central area to hang out in. 
 

Getting off the ship in San Juan was a mess. Not really clear where the line was and people started yelling in all different types of languages. One guy was telling everyone that Royal Caribbean is better and that they would never sail MSC again. I thought it was very dramatic. IMO, would sail MSC over Royal any day.. You will see the crowd onboard is primarily European and Latin American. However, not impossible to find Americans. Primary languages used on ship are English, Spanish, and Portuguese. There are a lot of French passengers I’ve noticed. When we checked in at the terminal, the clerk said around 3000 passengers were on board.
 

Enough of my rambling. If you have any questions, feel free to ask! So far, I’m enjoying the cruise even with the negatives. Cabin is super clean and cozy. I’m happy to be able to cruise this week 🙂

Wow... hopefully simple grilled chicken or some salmon is available. Crazy.

To me it would make more sense to get the Non-Yacht Club suite with the whirlpool tub on the balcony.

You're paying for the yacht club experience, not the room and you wouldn't be able to enjoy it with your family at all if they were booked in a room outside of YC.

Cruise food is going downhill. I would say MSC & NCL is better than Royal, but Carnival is better than all three. Carnival beats all three hands down with Guy's Burgers & BBQ, Blue Iguana Cantina, their Pizza, and the MDR has good american food (except desserts are Carnival's weak point).

The problem I have with MSC is the lack of variety. Some of their food is actually pretty good, but the buffet is really lacking in choices. MDR menu is small too, with the italian night menu actually being the worst in flavor (and I've been on the Mere twice and the italian night was just as bad as the first one).

We've eaten at the speciality dining on MSC and it's very good, but it sucks you have to pay a good chunk to eat good food.

4 hours ago, abe3 said:

And what type of cabin will you get for the 30k?  

Interior as I believe past 30k, the more your play, the higher your room will be and you can max out at Yacht Club.

I saw a video of a recent travel vlogger on the Mere and they were having mojitos and other drinks every night. Last time I was on the boat in August, I thought we could only order wine and beer that was on the QR code. Has this changed?

I believe it's $2.50 - $3 a point regardless what type of game you play. Points don't move from cruise to cruise. 

I hope your refund doesn't take long. Lmk when you get it.

Paradise.

I went on the Mere last year with the old packages. I know that Easy Plus comes with $9 drinks, but where are the cocktails above it? Wine is a not a deal breaker for me, but I am just curious where you can find the premium cocktails on the ship. 

It was deemed a prank by whoever was called "someone overboard". The headcount confirmed everyone was on board. Crazy how someone thought this would be funny ruining everyone's last night of the cruise.

Thanks for your review. It's really realistic about what MSC is. I still sail on MSC when I can find a deal as I can go with the flow, but I know which cruise line to book when I want a perfect vacation.