Morgsmom

@wgeddings so depending on your itinerary if you are on a 7 nighter with a stop in Cozumel you literally will dock right across the street from the Mega supermarket. There you can pick up a six pack of soda and bring it back to the ship with you.  (No, they will not stop you, they only will at original embarkation.) So if you are a light soda drinker you could purchase as needed for a few days and buy some mid way at a port of call.

MSC is flush with cash from their shipping operations; as such they do not need to offer discounted gifts cards.  In addition, they tend to "sit" on money in terms of not issuing refunds for an extended period, thus capturing even more interest on the $$.... So, no, they don't have discounted gift cards.

3 hours ago, devolve said:

Can equipment be hired on board ie steriliser, can baby go into bars, theatre etc. is there a baby room in kids club

No sterilisers onboard.  While a baby CAN go into a bar and theater.... why would you unless they were sleeping?  (Which they won't be in the theater with all of the noise). 

Best bet is to let him be a no show.

1 hour ago, Travelbugs2.2 said:

Hi

we haven’t sailed with MSC before, so we’re just trying to understand the differences between the different ‘experiences’ to choose from.

 

The fantastica experience says it includes speciality restaurants package - but I’m not sure what that means exactly?

Does it include free speciality dining, or just a discount ?

Also - is the Aurea experience the only one that allows anytime dining

Fantastica includes the ability to "request" your preferred dining slot - early or late.

It does not include any specialty restaurants.

20 hours ago, B_A_H said:

I booked two Bella guarantee balconies on the Seaside for October a couple of months ago.  It was two separate reservations and I was assigned two Fantastica balconies near each other within 24 hours.  

 

If you booked directly with MSC, every time there's a change to your booking, whether you do it or they do it, it'll automatically send you an e-mail.  If you booked via a travel agency they'll receive the e-mail and hopefully forward it to you. Mine didn't and I found out by seeing the cabins on the reservations on the website. 

Keep in mind that while your cabins might be "fantastica" your experience will still be Bella.

Yes, there is a kids menu (same every night) with suggestions by ages.

1 hour ago, peder said:

RE: charters. Is there a way to know if your cruise has a chartered group aboard? Seems like something that could be nice to avoid, assuming that areas of the boat would be reserved for guests of the charter.

The cruiseline will not tell you. The best way I've found is to google the date and name of ship and add "charter" or the like.  (Ditto with looking for a "book of the faces" group using that date and ship)  If it's a charter they most likely have a webpage or FB group.  

In the past I've found myself inadvertently on a Swinger's Cruise, on a ship with 2000+ High School graduating seniors from Canada (no thank you!), and twice on a "Goth" cruise (the Divina) which was great fun. The biggest issue is that these groups tend to overrun the place and close down venues that you would otherwise have access to.

50 minutes ago, tampadee said:

We rented a scooter that is supposed to be delivered to our cabin on embarkation day.

 

I was told by MSC that we will have a wide door because we booked in the Yacht club.  

 

Thanks for all you replies.

Someone correct this old gal's memory, but the YC doors are the same size as regular doors (??) unless you are in a Handicapped Cabin in the yacht club.

It's very common with MSC; normally it takes 2 months for a refund. Yes, that's why they have lots of $$$$$$

1 hour ago, cbfb said:

Celebrity has Anytime Dining and you don’t have to pay an additional $400/per person to get it. I really don’t understand why that wouldn’t be available to everyone or at the very least be able to choose your dining time when you book. But that’s just me. 

Well Celebrity's prices are MUCH, MUCH higher than MSC.  You are paying for it in the base fare.

If you book Fantastica level on MSC you can indicate if you want early or late dining.  If you mean you'd like to indicate that you want a table every night at 7:30, that's a logistical nightmare that MSC would not be able to accomodate.  

Yes, DH has been able to watch NFL football on MSC ships while in the Caribbean. If it's a BIG game (like "the Big Game") they will show on the big screen.

11 minutes ago, ChattTenn said:

We like MSC enough to cruise with them but not too happy on some of their ways of doing things such 3 MDR seatings and $5 charge for another entree etc.

Just curious, how is this different than many other lines who have fixed dining times?  You can always upgrade to Aurea or Yacht Club if you want to dine at will.  As far as the $5 charge, it's new.  And it's really to discourage the massive amount of waste.

It REALLY depends on the Dining Room Mgr/Maitre D'.  I've seen gents turned away for wearing shorts, and others sporting ball caps in the dining room at dinner 🤢

On 8/12/2023 at 11:20 AM, south-carolinagirl said:

Are there beach lounge chairs on Lighthouse Beach on Ocean Cay? Not just the bean bag chairs and Adirondack chairs, actual loungers with umbrella stands for rented umbrellas.

No beach chairs however the umbrellas on Lighthouse Beach are free and first come, first served

There are many reports of the Dysons not working properly or short-circuiting due to amp issues.  Wouldn't risk it personally.  

98% of the time the Starboard Cabins "face" the island.  

20 hours ago, ISABELLA said:

I was considering our first MSC - YC cruise. We only want balcony suite. Can MSC change our Balcony suite to an inside?

chances are .0000001%

26 minutes ago, MaisonRose said:

Well: my long term (11 yrs) agent managed to change our friends cabin back to the original 11191 and now we are 12133 on different decks.

 

I’m Diamond, this is their second cruise ever. So obviously this is totally arbitrary. We would be best on the same deck, right?

Yes.  You’d be better on same deck. 

20 hours ago, MaisonRose said:

MSC ORCHESTRA NOV 9 from Marseille.

i just received my new invoice and in checking details my cabin #  11191 has been changed to cabin #12133.

our travel companions have been moved                 from cabin #11189                                                 #12134

 

 

The only good thing is that there is a hallway / passthrough right outside your cabin to go across the deck to their cabin

To note, smoking of weed is NOT allowed ANYWHERE on the ship.  To many (me! me!) it's gross.  You wan't to F* yourself up without messing up the air that other people have to breathe, then go for it.  Shove that $..t up your nose, swallow a gummy, whatever,  but the minute you put your weed smoke in the air it's now my problem.  I'm expected to inhale that air so that you can get an (illegal at sea and violation of MSC rules) buzz on. Gee thanks.

In addition, smoking (cigarettes or doobies) in a cabin in a violation of the no open flame rule as well as jacking up the cabin for the next person.

I have found it to be a BIG issue in the YC and agree that nothing is being done about it. 

Oh, man... we are going on our first NCL cruise (and on the Joy) in a few weeks.  Now I'm leery. Actually I have been since I found out that I can't get a bottle of water or espresso with our beverage package...  To note, the Veuve issue on NCL is not a supply issue - the menu was re-written to exclude Veuve.  It's not like it's listed and they say it's out.

As far as Rudolf on the Mera - sorry, but I've cruised with him twice and had exactly the opposite experience.  He actually challenged me to a blind tasting once when I refused to drink from a $3 bottle of Mondavi that he produced.  

53 minutes ago, xcell said:

Connecting rooms are not that bad.  I had one with our friends (we still kept the door shut) and parents (open) and had no issues.  It's only a door when used, a wall when closed...

I actually find connecting rooms creepy.  I know, I know, it's irrational but 🤷‍♀️

11 hours ago, arboreal said:

Hi everyone!  It's been 10 years or so since I last cruised with MSC, and I remember there being a binder of shore excursions that were offered exclusively to yacht club, that could be accessed thrrough the concierge. 

Exclusive YC experiences/excursions are a thing of the past... their ship has sailed 🙂

13 hours ago, Ron777 said:

Is there any way I can obtain a complete invoice from my last cruise, less than one week ago?  I either accidentally discarded or otherwise lost the invoice they gave me.  There seems to be somewhat of a discrepancy between my bank statement and what MSC invoiced.    Thanks.

Likely not possible, unfortunately.