twangster

I'm a frequent Royal cruiser who has also done Carnival, Princess and Celebrity since the restart. I've come to appreciate that MSC has not jacked up pricing like some other cruise lines. I just sailed Meraviglia for the second time since the restart and I've sailed Divina. I have more cruises booked including one in an interior and one in Yatch Club both on newer amd larger MSC ships. There are some differences but I choose to embrace the differences and go with them since the pricing is attractive. I feel like MSC sometimes will get a poor review from some folks who are used to the their primary cruise line and had their expectations set that it would be very similar but not everything maps between MSC and other cruise lines in that manner. Some people don't research and find themselves locked out of my time dining for example because they book the wrong MSC experience. That's not MSC's fault, the 'experience' concept isn't used by other cruise lines so it's different and for some people different equates to bad. The new muster drill isn't as smooth as Royal's new eMuster but it's not the old stand for 20 minutes at your muster station either so it's okay. I enjoy Meraviglia. It's a nice ship. The Easy Plus package is okay but it does prevent some better whiskey that I prefer for example. Decent beer choices. Very drinkable but not superb wines are included. Drinks like Margaritas and Mojitos are included. Easy Plus is better than the basic Easy package and I manage to find something to drink even if it's not "my" preferred whiskey. The basic wifi appeared to be speed limited to around 2 mbps down but Meraviglia uses O3b, a newer satellite technology so it's not terrible internet that is included in some cruise fares. It's promoted as basic wifi and that's what you get. They do lock their wifi package to the first device you log in using unlike some other cruise lines so pick your device carefully. Keep an open mind, don't make assumptions and research. If they fine tune a few things they'll become a real threat to the competition in the mass market cruise segment. They are moving in the right direction.

See this PDF: OC Excursions .pdf

As long as people are booking at the new rates Royal will charge them. A lot of companies are bracing for a turn in the economy. Perhaps Royal is as well. May hay while the sun is shining.

Early in the restart I canceled 2 cruises and was due partial refunds. After 2 months I gave all my documentation and screen shots to me credit card company for the dispute I eventually filed. At one point they told they had issued the refund but Amex holds refunds for 30 days. I included this in my dispute. Amex sided with me. It took several months to run its course after canceling but I prevailed. Despite that I have more booked with MSC. Other cruise lines have also delayed refunds since the restart. If I hold that against a cruise line there aren't many that didn't do this so it would be hard to cruise.

MSC Match thread with lots of recent feedback: (it's pinned to the top of this forum)

My kids are all grown up so I didn't pay attention to the kids club. There was this on Meraviglia this weekend for a port day in Ocean Cay:

I boarded Meraviglia last week. The ship was late coming in and slow to debark guests. I didn't know that and I had a 12:30pm - 1pm arrival time slot so I arrived on time. If I had known the whole process was delayed I would have arrived later. No communication from MSC and no one was outside to let us know what was going on. Word passed down the line as new guests joined the misery. The line was very long and not moving at first. In this photo the line on the left doubles back (the line on the right). This picture was taken from the area where the line did the 180° turn. When I joined the line it was near the crosswalk from the garage. The line didn't move for an hour when I joined it. Only once the line started moving and I reached this turn did I take the picture. It was slow going and there was no Diamond shortcut until after security. After security you enter another zig zag rope course which took about 25 minutes to reach a point where there were two terminal reps directing guests so at that point I asked and was able to go left towards the YC and Diamond check in queue inside the terminal. It took me about two hours to reach the point where Diamond could leave the general queue. I'm guessing the Diamond queue saved me about 30 - 45 minutes given that general queue went into another zig zag rope course that wasn't moving very fast when I left it. Once in the Diamond check in queue I was next up and on board within 10 minutes. I had friends that had arrived early. They were let into the terminal but had to wait in the terminal for several hours. They got on board just after 1pm I think. So while they waited in the terminal I waited outside. Fortunately it wasn't raining. I had sunscreen and a hat in my carry on and I was very thankful for that as the sun was cooking us all. Everyone behaved and no one threw a fit. It was miserable but everyone recognized it was miserable for everyone. There are restrooms outside in a couple of places. The first restrooms I saw were about 250 yards down the line in the picture at the end of the terminal building. Another set of restrooms are outside, closer to the terminal entrance. For YC guests there is a covered canopy tent host station at the bottom of the escalators at the terminal entrance. YC guests should not get in the general queue seen above. Security is just inside the terminal at the top of the escalators. YC have a separate queue at security and after security there was someone waiting there to drop the ropes and let YC through to bypass the general check in queue. I boarded Divina here last year and on that occasion they lost network connectivity in the terminal during check in so it halted for a long time and I had another miserable standing for hours in lines experience at the same terminal. I have more booked so maybe my 3rd time will be a charm.

Go to the YC tent at the bottom of the escalator near the terminal entrance.

$18 on board price now for the current sailing,

I've been Funderstrucked. No Tshirt though.

I bring my luggage with me. It arrives to my cabin as I do. This solution doesn't work for everyone. It works for me. I tip myself in bar drinks. My luggage is a 26" spinner. It has to be checked for a plane ride. It does not have to be checked at cruise terminals. It fits through the x-ray.

There is no dress code on Royal. There are suggestions that are loosely enforced. If you try to wear something wildly inappropriate they may something.

Saw several people in line with BC & DL this weekend. Short Bahamas cruise.

Pinnacle on Royal, nearly Platinum on Carnival, Diamond on MSC through status match. Currently on Meraviglia sitting at the OC lighthouse bar approaching sunset at I type this. Second time on MV. MSC is different but that's okay. Different is good. Your features or entitlements will vary based on your booking. Bella, Fantastica, Aurea, Yatch Club. No my time dining with some of them so that's one way they differ. That concept doesn't map to CCL or RCI. MSC doesn't use a lot of salt so their food can seem bland, add salt to your liking or enjoy lower sodium dining. Royal always feels like home to me since I've obviously sailed them a lot. I still enjoy MSC. Meraviglia is a great ship I'll book again. I have more Royal bookings at the moment but I have several MSC too and may add some more since their pricing is attractive. They are relatively new to the US market and if they fine tune a few things they'll be a serious threat to Royal.

14 has a door to the general elevator lobby with card access.

Yes they are. Discussed in this thread.

It depends on the scenario and the timing. In many cases after final payment due date there is no advantage to canceling one person on a booking but there are some cases where that is leaving money on the table.

Currently on Meraviglia with an included browse plan. Choices on board: Getting roughly 2 x 2. Slightly less during this test. This is a 2 night cruise and they aren't being kind with drink package upgrades either. My cruise came with Easy Plus.

PCN today:

Diamond drink vouchers and drink packages work at Labadee. Full suites have access to Barefoot Beach.

It's a sign to me they don't fund IT properly. It happens in lots of companies especially when IT reports to the CFO.

Alianz fought me at every step. I eventually prevailed but it took months. They try to make it difficult and they contradicted themselves multiple times. They wanted me to give up. I didn't.

Splurging may not be an option for many years to come. Survival comes first.