kittinfeld1966

18 hours ago, erby2283 said:

Waiting "im"patiently for August to open up in a couple days. Did I read somewhere that if you choose the audio guide and one tower, you get to choose which tower to tour? Those that have been to both towers, which one do you recommend? We plan on going the morning of embarkation (9:30) as we will be arriving a few days early in Barcelona and the hotel has lockers to hold our luggage. Then we can head over to the ship for a smooth embarkation after the morning rush. 😊

Yes you can chose which tower- we chose Nativity. Will be there Saturday morning 😊

3 hours ago, SailBreakaway said:

Hey gang, can’t find the link or page on MSC site to pre-pay the grats/svc chg. I can book excursions, dining etc but nothing for the svc charge. Am I totally missing where to do it?

I believe you can do this online during your initial booking, thereafter it can be done only by calling customer service (my experience on US website).

Thank you for the review.  In which ports did you have the gala nights?  

5 hours ago, Beamafar said:

 

You don't indicate where you're posting from.  For UK and Ireland bookings, MSC began including water, tea and coffee in bookings made from May 1st 2018.  This would be denoted on tickets, regardless of experience booked, despite the fact that these would automatically be included, anyway, for Aurea and YC and those with drinks packages either included due to a promotion or pre-booked.

 

I'd noticed that those from the US were reporting that they were no longer getting bottled water included (which they had been);  this leads me to wonder where you're booking from.  If you're in the US, it would seem that MSC has since reconsidered its withdrawal of the benefit.

We are in the US 😊

6 minutes ago, ssmea03 said:

Interesting point, yes voltage converters do (rather inextricable)  break hair dryers, curlers and in particular straighteners or flat irons. And it doesn't matter which way you are converting your voltage. 

So yes, there are a pair of 120v North American receptacles, and there is also a ships hair dryer in the desk drawer. I'll  attach a picture too.

Ok good!  Thanks for the picture, looks like USB ports as well?

Thanks for the info!  Do you know if the chat and/or people locator function was working on the "MSC for me" app during your sailing?  

1 hour ago, PTC DAWG said:

Why the need to know where everyone is all the time?  What am I missing? 

For me it's peace of mind as I am travelling with four teenagers! They like doing their own thing and I am fine with that, but I would love to keep tabs on them if possible.  Hopefully this feature will be available on our Seaview cruise next month

19 minutes ago, Até said:

On sister ship Seaside I experienced a fair bit of noise from that location.  There is seating against that wall and on our sailing people gathered there until about 2am every night and talked loudly.  Then around 5-6am every morning they moved the seating around while cleaning the area, that furniture moving noise lasted for about five minutes then they moved along.

Thanks for the info- my 16 yo can sleep through anything but my 19 yo gets very grouchy if he gets awakened by noise, guess I will have to invest in some ear plugs!

Ok good, thanks for the reply.

My adult/teen kids are in 18045 near the jungle pool, which boasts parties after dark.  Does anyone know if their room will be affected by noise?

Are the "embarkation form" and "E-Ticket" two different documents, or are they one and the same?

On 10/8/2018 at 7:48 PM, 2013cruiser2013 said:

We had pre-booked for Barcelona and Marseilles on our cruise in April. We were going to be using motorized ebikes for both. The Barcelona option disappeared before we were able to book it and the Marseilles tour was cancelled onboard. When we inquired we were told that Meravigilia was going to carry the bikes on the ship and they had not been delivered yet. The Borgo of Framura Bike ride tour option for Seaview in La Spezia doesn't mention motorized bikes, so I am hopeful that it will run.

As mentioned we pre-booked the bike tour in La Spezia, and now the option has disappeared from the list of offerings.  I would be grateful if you would let me know if your tour ran as promised.

On 3/5/2019 at 3:50 PM, 2013cruiser2013 said:

I noticed that some of the excursions listed for our Seaview in April are now gone. Not sure if they are full or they are not being offered any more.  Can't imagine they would be full already. 

We sail on Seaview in June and pre-booked a ship excursion which had since disappeared from the list. I am wondering what this means as well, since I would like to know if I need to find another tour.

5 hours ago, staceyeileen said:

Oh no!  This has me worried as we will also be in Rome on Wed June 5 (MSC Seaview).  Does this only affect the Coliseum? 

Saint Peter's Basilica will be closed until 1:00 PM due to the Papal Audience on Wed mornings.   

1 hour ago, euro cruiser said:

In Italy, free days are free for all and travel companies have no influence and do no work on those days.

 

The first Sundays program has changed, the new government isn't funding it anymore but each region is doing something on their own.  Therefore, don't count on the free day being the first Sunday each month, you need to research the particular venue.

Yes, the free day falls on a Wednesday during our visit.  Also, I have confirmed no tours running and no skip the lines for cruise ship tours - in fact our cruise line removed the tour from their offerings.  So unless we get lucky with the lines, looks like no inside viewing for us this time around. 

May is open

I had the same question regarding my excursions on Seaview.  Here is the thread.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2625227-seaview-shore-excursion-questions

Thanks for the info everyone.   I hope our biking excursion doesn't get cancelled as well!

We booked a couple of shore excursions through MSC for our June 2019 Med cruise ( La Spezia and Cannes).  I was wondering if the excursion times are posted anywhere?  I can't seem to find any info other than how long they run.  Also, I have seen mentioned in a few posts issues with cancellations of excursions due to low turnout.  Does anyone have any insight into how often this happens?  

We are a family of 5 in same predicament.  We are using Joe Banana Limos and they also require cash the day of. Its good to know there are ATM machines close to the port.

18 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

The only way to see the Sistine chapel is through the museums and it does take a long time, even if you go on your own and make a beeline for the chapel. The museum is so crowded that often you are forced to 'go with the flow' of the crowd, which may be pretty slow.

 

This made me laugh because I saw a picture someone had just posted of their visit to the museums and the crowds were insane ( in November!)  and I joked to my husband that even if we just do a "drive by" of the Sistine Chapel (ala  the movie vacation when they stop at the Grand Canyon for 2 seconds) we will still need two hours to push our way through the crowd.  I think we will skip it this time around.  Thanks Cruisemom42

19 hours ago, Hlitner said:

You answered your own question (you cannot see it all).  So you must prioritize and make choices.  My first trip to Rome was about 35 years ago on a cruise...so we still remember the frustration (not just about Rome but about Italy).  Since then we have spend many months in Italy and driven more than 10,000 miles around the country!   So my simple answer is pick and choose and come back to Italy on another trip.

Sound advice!  I think I will skip the museums this time around and just explore the city for the day.  My Hubby really wants to see the Colosseum so we will hit that for sure.  Thanks for your help Hank.

We have 10 hrs in Civitavecchia and have booked a private tour of Rome through Joe Banana Limos.  They offer the option of booking a three hour tour of the Vatican museums, and also offer skip the line tickets to the Colosseum.  They warn that the wait times can be long at the Colosseum even with a ticket, given the new security measures.  The tour includes stops at several other points of interest, time permitting.  Given the short time we have to spend, I am leaning towards skipping the Vatican.  My family loves museums, but I am not sure if it is the best use of time?  An alternative would be to book skip the line tickets to the museums and St. Peter's and do it on our own (to shave off some time). I would like to see the Sistine Chapel and St Peter's from the inside.   I guess I am just having a hard time accepting the fact that I can't see it all!  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

3 minutes ago, kevinrobedm said:

I did see that but it just points to inconsistency in what they are posting when it says one thing in one spot and something else somewhere else.

 

Maybe they are just slow in getting all parts of the site upgraded.

 

It would seem that for what you pay to stay in the Yach Club it should be the premium plus.

Their website drives me crazy lol. Someone on another thread said she called and confirmed YC will get premium plus.  She asked if gelato is included and they said it is not.  She asked if people who already paid will get "grandfathered in" and the person on the phone was not sure.

2 hours ago, kevinrobedm said:

I just logged into the USA site for our cruise leaving on Sunday and it still shows the Deluxe Packages for the Seaview.

 

It seems that the USA site has NOT been updated to reflect any changes yet.

 

I know that some people have been posting from the UK but it really does not seem like there is anything official from MSC directly just what people have been told or have “heard” or “seen” posted somewere.

 

It really is sad that MSC didn’t just be upfront about the changes and post it on their website(s) so that it was clear what direction they were going.

 

I guess we all just have to wait and see what “officially” ends up on the website.

 

I honestly do not trust anything I get from calling into MSC as it seems that most people that work there aren’t even on the same page either.

It has been updated under "experiences" and indicates YC will have the premium plus package.  In the fine print it also states that tobacco, ice cream menu and retail items are excluded which would seem to include gelato