JamieLogical

I have sailed both MSC and Celebrity several times since the restart. Increased pricing on Celebrity drove me to MSC. I have mostly sailed in Balcony cabins on both lines (did one sailing in Retreat on Celebrity). For me, the main differences are assigned dining times, more crowded ships, and more children onboard. Some things that are better about MSC are clearly the pricing, the fact that Bailey's is included in the Easy Plus package (have never found a need to upgrade to the premium drink package on MSC), and the ships are generally newer (I never sailed on any of the Edge class ships).

I have heard there have been cuts on Celebrity since I last sailed with them in September 2022, so I don't know how it would stack up now, but I would say that if pricing were equal, I would probably sail Celebrity over MSC. However, the pricing is nowhere even close to equal so MSC is a MUCH MUCH MUCH better value for my dollar these days.

Another thing I really dislike about Celebrity is the non-refundable deposits. In the first year or so post-restart, Celebrity's deposits were still non-refundable, but you could transfer them to a different sailing if you needed to without penalty. Now that is no longer an option and I find the non-refundable deposits to be a real deterrent for us.

1 hour ago, capriccio said:

So true but as someone who lives just up the beach from Fort Lauderdale, here in south Florida spring break season is the entire month of March with the highest number in the middle of the month. 

 

We will not drive anywhere near the beach in March.  We learned that during our first year here when it took forever to get down A1A (the beach road that separates the beach from the hotels and restaurants) because of jaywalking beach goers.  Once they got to the beach, in some areas it was standing room only!

Right, college spring breaks can be pretty much the entire month of March and into early April. It the public grade school breaks that are a little more consistent and predictable.

10 minutes ago, dbrown84 said:

So should I also ignore on my booking confirmation where it says early dining requested?  I found this funny because I never spoke about dining with the agent doing the booking so I personally didn't request anything 

Yep!

Well you can completely ignore whatever it says on the website. You will not be assigned a dining time until you check in and receive your key card.

24 minutes ago, TYMZ2973 said:

My time says 13-15??????

Where are you seeing this?

3 hours ago, peder said:

 

School districts stagger breaks throughout the entire Jan-Apr period.
 

And also, more and more parents will take their kids out of school without worrying about missed days.

While it's true that a lot of schools have a February Break, usually around Presidents' Day, you can definitely count on more concentration of breaks around Easter for grade schools at least. Now, if you are trying to avoid college Spring breaks, that is much more challenging as those are all over the place!

1 hour ago, kernie968 said:

I guess on the ships we have ever sailed the buffet always opened at 5 or 530. Also on all the other ships there was always a food option somewhere in the ship. We always had an early buffet dinner to avoid the crowds. Openings at 6 makes avoiding the crowds even harder.

Looking at the Dailies from my last Meraviglia sailing, it looks like lunch went until 4:00 and dinner starter at 6:00, but grab-and-go items were supposed to be available between 4:00 and 6:00 at the grill and pizza stations.

I am sorry for your health situation and that the effective treatment for it is not currently legal in many places. The issue here will be crossing international borders. Neither the US nor Canada allow for the transport of THC into our out of the country, even if it is legal within those countries. Because of the varying international laws, to my knowledge, ALL cruise lines ban it from being brought onboard.

13 minutes ago, Pat said:

It seems like it is almost impossible to avoid a "spring break" now.  The states are all doing their breaks at different times.  It used to be okay to sail in March because the Elementary, middle and high schools were on break in February and April and the colleges were on break in April........now it doesn't seem to matter what week I pick in March or April,  some schools are on break.    

After the first week in April, it is usually pretty safe. It mostly depends on when Easter is. Last year, Easter was April 9 so many Spring breaks began the week prior and ended with Easter. This year, Easter was March 31, so most spring breaks started with Easter and ended a week later. This is all public grade school Spring Breaks, of course. College Spring Breaks are all over the place and usually happen earlier in March, because most colleges don't get a February break around Presidents' Day.

You also have to be careful with Summer break. Here in New York, public school summer break doesn't start until the third week of June. Many schools around the country start their summer breaks with Memorial Day or even sooner.

43 minutes ago, Ed342 said:

That was the procedure on the Merivglia last November.

I was on the Meraviglia for Halloween and they were still making us watch the video in our room, dial the number, then get called down to our muster station by deck... all at a set time. So, if that changed on the Meraviglia, it must have changed VERY shortly thereafter.

OMG! They cannot make this change fleet-wide fast enough! This was one of my few gripes about MSC. I could not understand why their process was so convoluted when all the other lines had a much more streamlined process post-restart.

30 minutes ago, deliver42 said:

We've been on 3 MSC cruise (U.S.) with a 4th one booked. Never had inedible food. Every line has food you might not like, MSC included, but we've never starved. We also never ran into rude crew members. Some were standoffish, but most were very friendly. The only problem i found with MSC is their land based customer service, which to put it mildly, stinks. If you call about any change, i guaranty your booking will get messed up.

I highly recommend that when you call about a change to your booking, you have your current booking right in front of you and then after the call, when they send the new confirmation, compare them side-by-side, line-by-line.

7 hours ago, gizfish said:

Spring break is horrible on any cruise line with kids. It doesn't compare to Thanksgiving.  To take a week long cruise around turkey day, the kiddos have to be pulled from school for at least 3 days.  Less parents book at that time.  Also turkey day is more of an extended family eating traditional food type holiday, again meaning less kids than spring break.

Exactly. Thanksgiving and Spring Break are apples to oranges.

13 minutes ago, memoak said:

I am not sure I would call them professional photographers 

If you get paid to do a job, you are a professional. That doesn't mean you're good at it.

1 minute ago, cruisebeachgirl703 said:

The television options IMO are not very good. Hope at some point it improves.

I don't watch much (any?) TV on cruises except NFL football during the season. I was excited to learn on October cruise that MSC carries every single NFL game. A whole bunch of extra channels will show up on your cabin TV when the games are on, one for each game that is going on. This is a VAST improvement over Princess where I was onboard the Enchanted Princess for two regular season Bills games and missed them both because Princess only showed 1-2 NFL games per time slot.

The handful of times I have wanted some TV on in the background on MSC sailings, I have been perfectly happy with the Navigation channel or HGTV.

33 minutes ago, Drew B 58 said:

So the cost differential between Plus and Premier is $140 pp for a seven day cruise.  The two specialty dining meals cover $92 of that ($39 + 18% x2).  If we do casual dining more than twice, that will cover more.  What tipped the scales was the photo package.  You get 3 prints plus ALL of the digital copies.  This seems like a bargain for < $50…

 

Again, I have never actually SPENT $50 on cruise photos.  However, getting them as part of the package adds a lot of value…

 

Also, I drink whiskey and it might be nice to try some higher-end brands!  🥃

The photo idea is intriguing. We never let the ship's photographers take our photos, because we know we will never purchase them. We have Premier for our May sailing on the Enchanted and I plan to get our photos taken anywhere and everywhere since we will get all the digital files included. I don't care about the prints, but I do like the idea of having some professionally taken digital photos of us.

I should have mentioned that I don't recall having had any issues with rude crew. Some are more personable than others, obviously, but none have been rude. I have had great luck with room stewards who are always friendly and hard-working. I always leave a $20 with my note for any special requests (extra hangers, extra towel, empty mini-fridge) on the first day and receive outstanding service throughout the cruise. Some bartenders are less friendly than others, but I always seem to find the best ones! I have also had good luck with MDR dining staff at my assigned tables for dinner.... service at breakfast and lunch has definitely been very hit and miss.

If you status match from whatever cruise line you have sailed before, you might get matched to Diamond, which includes a free specialty dinner. Use that on one of the pricier options and pay a la cart at Hola! and Kaito Sushi. They both have very reasonable a la carte prices and, if you are super hungry, you can do all-you-can-eat at Hola! for only $18.

26 minutes ago, Mark_T said:

Go read one or two of the excellent 'Live' threads from @JamieLogical then set your expectations accordingly.

 

You don't have to pay for Yacht Club to get a good cruise on MSC.

Here are the links to my MSC LiveBlogs in order from most recent (2/2024) to oldest (4/2023):

As you can see, I have been overall very pleased with the value proposition of MSC. I have another sailing booked in October and then another in January. I have sailed NCL, Celebrity, and Princess and so far, I definitely feel that MSC is the best value. I love that you still get twice daily room cleanings, free room service breakfast (with Fantastica and above), and the buffet is nearly always open, unlike the other three big cruise lines that have cut all of those. I also love their pizza and feel like the included drinks and wifi are a fantastic deal compared to the "included" drinks and wifi on some other lines.

1 hour ago, 1kaper said:

 

The app doesn't work for all ships.  Divina is one of the ships it doesn't work for.  Or at least it didn't when I sailed and a quick search says it still doesn't. 

You can also log into your reservation on the website and look at excursions there to purchase before hand.l 

The app works for Divina now. I used it the entirety of my 12-day sailing in February.

I feel the same way as the OP. I don't want to have to keep a running total in my head (or the app) of every drink purchase or other little thing adding up. One of the things I loved about going on a cruise the very first time was how there were no prices on the menus in the MDRs. I am one of those people who will go to a restaurant on land, want to order the steak, but end up ordering the burger instead because I just can't justify the splurge. So I know I would hesitate to try a drink I might not like or get a nightcap if I were paying per drink. I have never sailed without a drink package, which is probably a huge part of the reason I love cruising so much! It's also the reason I won't even consider Virgin Voyages because they don't even offer a drink package. They offer a pre-paid bar tab, but that's basically just an OBC and you have to keep track of how many drinks you are running up against it.

29 minutes ago, Wishing on a star said:

I would be afraid of any confusion or misinformation.  Things could have changed, and Princess is known for not being consistent.

Did you book thru a TA, thru Princess, a Princess Planner?   Have you contacted anyone?

Will the system online allow you to change passenger information?

 

If your Husband is the primary passenger on the booking, I would be afraid that this could not be changed????

I am the primary passenger on the booking, so that will help at least. We don't know for sure yet if he will have to go to the conference, but he is trying to find out before final payment is due.

8 minutes ago, Iamcruzin said:

 All of the other main stream lines have managed to add a love seat and a larger shower to all staterooms why can't Princess?

They have done that now with Sun Princess, just took them 20 years longer than all the other lines.

My husband and I booked a cruise in August. It now seems that he may need to go to a conference for work during that time. Is it possible to swap him out for another passenger and keep the same booking? We haven't made final payment yet, but I would prefer not to cancel and rebook, as the price has since gone up.

10 hours ago, Greg901 said:

I was wondering how much time you spent exploring the botanical garden?

I think I spent about an hour there each time. Definitely could have spent a bit more time there to see everything.

24 minutes ago, cruisebeachgirl703 said:

I am sure you have posted somewhere before, but what are your specific favorites again?

The El Chapo dip, Chipotle Carnitas taco, and Nachos with Chili Beef are my favorites.