KyloRen

Hi guys! I was just looking at Cheers and it told me the price is rising soon. so I quickly added it to all 5 of my sailings. 
 

Does anyone know when the price of the Cheers package will go up? 
 

thanks!! 

21 hours ago, UGACamper said:

Carnival is throwing offers at us right now; Elite, Free Suites with Fun Play, $2000 OBC...  How do you resist not booking under every "deal"?  At this point we have 5 cruises booked... and an RV for sale since we won't have time to use it next year! 

Yep.. I just keep booking em..  I’ve set up payment plans and have 8 different billings a month because I booked so many cruises xD

2 hours ago, jsglow said:

Wow there's a lot of 'misinformation' in this thread.

 

1) Paper Fun Times, delivered to your cabin, resumed recently.

2) There's no such thing as traditional 'Midnight Buffet' anymore.  What has returned are some decent late night food offerings besides pizza. That happened in July.

3) There are not table cloths on the vast majority of Carnival ships, even on Elegant Night.  You get a lovely little seashell on the table! 

4) At no time in the last 20+ years of cruising have I ever witnessed 90% of cruisers in suits/sportcoats in the MDR on Elegant Night. Collared shirt and khakis would be mostly the norm.  Doesn't matter if it's 3 nights to the Bahamas or a 14 night Journeys. 

orrr things change pretty darn fast and this is a really helpful board to learn whats new as of this month ^.^ I sailed 6x since restart on carnival but haven’t been on board in a couple months

6 hours ago, Joanne G. said:

I received a paper Fun Times every evening in my mailbox on my Pride cruises last month.  But it was definitely slimmed down. 

 I hated having to go to the Coffee stop to pick one up,  that’s awesome to hear they are back!!  I didn’t get one in June or the 5 sailing before that. Really glad they restarted! Thank you 🙂

3 hours ago, PrincessArlena'sDad said:

Midnight buffet is back as of this month, actually.  But, I don't know how it compares to the old one.

This month?! Yesssss!! TiL

3 minutes ago, TravelGirlinDallas said:

Oh, they only serve drinks with flavored candy straws now, which can melt before you are finished drinking the beverage. 

I HATE THOSE STRAWS! I bring my own straws on board (then forget them in my cabin) lol I’d rather have paper straws than those, 

it’s so fun to get a lime straw with my mudslide! /s

 is afternoon tea a post 2017 addition? I do not recall it back in the day

 also no more chocolate buffet on I think it’s 5d or less and no more midnight buffets (those mayb have been tossed pre 2017)

I went through all the replies and

 Attire is much much much more laxed, they will no longer turn you away for any attire on formal night they will just remind you that it’s formal night, they stated that on Princess well 

They have slimmed down the fun times a bit and they no liver give paper ones, there’s waaayyy more trivia now than there was in years past

51 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Not all of the menus that you see online are still valid.  The G&T menu has changed, there was also a smoked cocktail menu that has been totally eliminated.  Well liquor only comes into place if you have the Easy package or if your clueless and have the Easy Plus package and just order a screwdriver instead of a Tito's and OJ.  If you order a screw driver or any other drink without specifying your alcohol brand, you will get bar liquor, which was Skol vodka, Skol rum and other rotgut.

It costs 20.00 a day to upgrade from Easy Plus to Premium ahead of your cruise.  In order to make it worthwhile, you would need to drink 7 of those 13.00 drinks everyday and your drink choice would be limited to those 7 drinks or a la carte options that are over the 10.00 Easy Plus limit, like having Grey Goose instead of Tito's.  Or Zacapa 23 rum instead of Myers.  

Thanks for this info!! This is perfect and for what type of drinker I am I think I’ll get a good value for my money, I got the drink package with my Aurea suite and then I only paid 250 for the hubby and I too get the premium drink package. 

my cruise is in 25ish days so I’m really excited to see what they have. I’m going in with as open of a mind as possible. I wish they had YC on this boat or any of the speciality restaurants. I think I’m going on one of the smallest and oldest ships they have in the fleet. :x The boat is about the size/age of the Miracle (which I love the size, but oh my gosh I hate the Miracle!) I hope/think this boat will be nicer. 

I upgraded to the premium a few days ago, after my room upgrade bid was accepted. I can’t stress enough how much I loved the premium on Princess. It truly made my cruise. This is gross to admit but I drank the boat out of their monkey and the Botanist in most their bars (I’m sure others were helping!)  I’m a massive speakeasy, bespoke cocktail and tiki fan so I’m going in hot. The ability on the Princess app to just order the best (ok let’s be real most expensive) booze was fantastic. I get a lot more wuss about asking for what I want in person so

 I’ll see how this goes! I know this isn’t a Princess discussion but the MSC booze package seems equivalent in price/ value. 
 

ps: what!? That menus  already changed! Those photos from the MSC are only from April the site says 😮 damn it I would have loved to try spiked cocktails. They better still have that pepper martini I’m excited to try that. 
 

One of us should make this thread on the MSC forum. I wish it was more active, curious what they would say. Some of these responses have been very thoughtful and have a lot of good information on MSC. 
 

Booze Packages:  I noticed someone said upgrading to the premium drink package was a waste of money. I just returned home from a 17 day cruise to Hawaii and I purchased the top tier drink package and I think it was well worth it to be able to get the premium alcohols. I happened to enjoy things that aren’t just well cocktails though. I think that’s where I like Carnivals drink package, there is only one price and the

 minimum for drinks is much higher as I basically live at Alchemy bar. You couldn’t get a drink anywhere near that on MSC I think is my issue and why I ultimately upgraded. I am not going to want to drink well cocktails, pina coladas and Miami vices all week. 

https://profcruise.com/msc-bar-menus-and-drink-prices-2023/

On 7/21/2023 at 8:02 AM, TreyB said:

Hates Carnival

 

Has never sailed on MSC

 

Already prefers MSC

 

Okayyyyyy…

That’s the only person in this whole thread that seems to actually prefer MSC 

On 3/17/2017 at 4:18 AM, bnorris10 said:

I went on MSC Divina in December .... I will not ever go back on that brand boat again

 

Now we were in the Yacht Club ... Love the service you get up there - We made good friends on this boat staff and others

 

With that being said for us personally the boat was not our style - First thing we have 2 kids neither one of them enjoyed the kids program they went the first night and never went back - my kids absolutely love the kids program on carnival - Another issue with my youngest whom is 11 - since its a european boat many of the guests are there and now my child is certainly not a trouble maker or anything like that her voice is just a little loud and she likes to goof around and have fun and we kept having these older european couples stare at us like shut her the hell up (Not MSC fault -- Now the staff loved my daughter)

 

Secondly the hubby and I love the piano bar that is where we spend every night - needless to say there is no piano bar like what you find on carnival - there piano bar involves a guy sitting at a piano playing music - no requests no jokes no group of peopel singing along - for that matter the guy did not even sing

 

Third - hands down I prefer the food on carnival - I am a picky eater so not their fault but because of their lack of choice on the dining menu each night i literally ended up eating the same thing every night for dinner - even going into their lido buffet the food just was not that great my husband eats everything and was excited a little bit to have some variety but he even agreed he prefered carnival food better

 

Fourth - nothing beats 24 hour availability of good ice cream - msc ice cream is not as good as carnival's - not to mention its only open for a few hours a day so you have to make sure you find it and miss it

 

Fifth - I liked that they had ton's of pools but what I did not like was that they were salt water

 

Now one thing I will rave about that I am sad and wish the other boats did was the picture packages and the spa packages -- I pre-ordered pictures and got 100 pictures of small and large sizes for $98 - I also pre-ordered a spa package as we never do the spa stuff but I thought since it was christmas and first time on the boat not to mention I just graduated that I would splurge as they had a package for $475 - which gave 2 people 3 massages each - So that was amazing

 

Anyways - after going on that trip and not really enjoying the boat we decided that we are just going to stick to carnival - Why waste our time on other ships when carnival has everything we love (LOVE CLOUD 9) and we can rack up our days to become platinum/diamond members - Not to mention honestly you really can't beat the price we have found they have the best rates and what i would pay to cruise on another line i can generally get another cruise out of the savings from carnival

I love this honest review, I’m platty on Carnival and taking my first MSC (7d mediterranean) in an Aurea Suite at the end of the month. I upgraded to the premium booze package cause I want to have a good time. I’m so curious about all these aspects and really appreciate this post. 

10 hours ago, 4sallypat said:

@Kylo Ren

We just returned from sailing the MSC Sinfonia last month and loved it.

Which port are you embarking at ?

 

MDR portions are small and just right - makes it easy to order additional appetizers, salads, entrees and my favorite risottos at dinner.

 

We dined in the MDR most of all our meals onboard.  Avoid the buffet - they are a zoo!

 

MDR entrees may show up similar in the buffet but not the same as the portions in the trays are huge. Usually the breakfast and lunch items are more commonly seen in the buffet.

 

Buffet does not stay open 24 hours - they have closing times (2am-6am and in-between lunch & dinner). 

For night owls, they have midnight bites that opens at midnight for a few hours.

 

I loved the afternoon tea at 4pm just before buffet dinner started.

Reminded me of the English style of high tea but on an Italian ship.

 

No chef's table - no speciality restaurants on MSC Sinfonia (Lirica class = smallest, oldest ships in the fleet).

 

Pizza bar is open lunch thru midnight.  I loved it that when I asked for a cheeseless pizza they made it !

 

On the Mares outdoor bar, on the side, they would host special menu item made in front of you:

Limoncello bar

Pastry cake bar

Pasta bar

 

My review posted here:

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/getreviews.cfm?action=ship&ShipID=373

I LOVEEEEE THIS! I cant wait to read your review! I am sailing out of Split, Croatia, We are headed to two stops in Italy and two in Greece.

I'm the least picky person ever. (but also LOVE high end food) and these pictures look GREAT!

I'm a Carnival cruiser mostly so my expectations are not high..( I like the food on Carnival) I always think the MDR food on Carnival is to large so that's GREAT to hear about the portions. I just dont wanna look like the fat Americana ordering half the menu. But hell, when in Rome!?

I've heard the pizza is prenominal. Cant wait to dig into numerous slices. 

I'm going to be upgrading my drink package from Plus to the premium version I realized on the last Princess Cruise I was on just how much better the "good" cocktails were.

OH MY GOSH THEY HAVE AFTERNOON TEA?! Yesss!! 

I don’t want to look like the fat and greedy American here.. but I’ll be sailing MSC for the first time (7 day Mediterranean Aug 22- Sept 02) and I am quite curious about a few things food wise that I’ve seen or done on other cruises.

1. Does  MSC do half portions of main entrees? I really get FOMO from not getting a little bit of everything. 
 

2. Do main entree items show up at the buffet? 
 

3. Do the buffet stay open late? 
 

4. Does MSC have chefs table?

 Thank you so much all!
 

2 hours ago, cruisingberger said:

Sorry is these have been asked and answered. I was unable to find the answers.

1. Can you book Chefs table before you get onboard thru the Medallion App? If not, how do you book?

2. Is Chefs Table done each evening?

3. We will be on Discovery Princess. If you couldn't get the Chef's table, and you are a party of 5, where would your second choice be?

 

Thank You!!!

-No you have to book when you get on, call dinning from your phone.

- No they only have a couple, on our 17d there were only two and a waitlist of over 80 people on stand by. There’s only 12 spots 

-Crown grill

16 hours ago, JoeMo said:

Been there, did that,

On 6/22/2023 at 7:25 PM, Old Fart Cruisers said:

I had pictures of my wife and me that we took on the Carnivale in 1982 prior to having a VIFP account.   I wasn't on another Carnival cruise again until 2014.  After a few more cruises, I submitted the pictures in 2016.  The pictures showed the dining room decorated with balloons printed with advertising for the soon to be introduced Tropical, so they were able to verify the approximate date, so credited my account for a 7-day cruise taken approximately cruise 32 years earlier.  So, it definitely worth a try.

 

 

 

i seem to have a balloon photo myself! Mines from 1986 but wow it’s crazy seeing all the things that cruise lines used to do! It triggered so many memories. I recall skeet shooting, talent shows (why don’t they do those anymore?) I loved the midnight buffets! So many themed parties (more so than now). 
I remember throwing streamers off the side of the boat and so much cultural appreciation, that definitely borders (if not full on) appropriation at this point.

 From deep research (watching way too many videos and looking though old photos)  it appears as though I took 7 Tropicale cruises and 1 Jubille. 
 

All Mexican riviera and all from San Pedro/Long Beach
 

Does anyone happen to know if those were all seven day cruise is between the years of 1984 and 1993?

33 minutes ago, notscb said:

I went on a cruise in 2009 and could only remember the ships name, rough month and the itinerary. When I booked a cruise last year, I noticed that it was missing from my account. I called Carnival and the customer service rep was able to find and confirm my sailing and learned that I had an older VIFP number, so she put in a request for the account I had now to be merged with that  old account. That process took about two weeks but it eventually happened and I was bumped up in status.

 

She did say that some of the cruises pre-2000's might not be in their system, but it's worth trying if you think it'll bump you up in status.

Yes!  I’m 9 days shy of plat. I’m itching! I can’t stop booking cruises I want it so bad. 😄 and thank you so much for that info! 
 

also I meant to say “prior 2001” not per in my title, whoops! 

Hi all! I sailed a lot as a kid and I would like to try and get my days at sea on my VIFP acct. anyone have experience getting days? What info did you use? Did you have to be very specific? 
 

I mailed them before and I was unsuccessful but now I’ve got a bunch of photos. I don’t have exact dates is the issue (I know the years) 

thanks for any help!!

I had this to! Turned out it was a unpaid excursion

On 9/12/2022 at 9:03 AM, sonomaphil said:

So no one flame me for this generalization but here is my opinion.  It depends. 

 

If your usual land restaurants are places like Outback Steakhouse, Olive Garden and Applebee's you will think the Chef's Table is the greatest meal of your life. 

 

If your usual land restaurants are places at a higher level than those I mentioned above you will be disappointed.

 

We've done it once, would not do it again.  And yes, people at the table were raving about the meal being the best they have ever had. 

I needed to hear exactly this. Thanks!!

2 minutes ago, cavecreekguy said:

I don't think anyone can answer that. It varies by cruise. Probably varies based on cruise length and how booked each category is on that particular cruise. It probably also varies by what you have reserved vs. what you're bidding on. Are you in an inside bidding on a mini? Or a balcony bidding on a mini?

You can only seem to go two categories up I think? 

aka: a Interior can’t bid on a premium balcony or higher

I (premium balcony)  can only bid on a mini and a vista

and my interior can only bid on a window or balcony

2 hours ago, Teechur said:

What would be a min or max bid? We are in balconies now and would like to move to minis if not too expensive. We are on a 14-day cruise, and 4 of us each have our own cabins. (MTFBW us.)😵‍💫

From premium balcony to a mini is only 530 per person on my 16d cruise. I have a feeling I could have probably booked the mini for cheaper if I would have done it originally! 
 

the minimum bid I did was a interior to a Ocean and that’s only 75 bucks. I doubt I’ll get that one! 

Thanks you guys!!!

On 5/2/2023 at 11:10 AM, memoak said:

The first night specially dining for full suites is good on cruises over 5 days if I am not mistaken. There is no need to book in advance the hold out tables for suite guests. In March on the Emerald I even got a call from the dine line to book while I was on board. You can go to the venue you want prior to sailing to reserve or call the dine line or if you are on a Royal class ship just call the suite concierge 

I’m going on the emerald on June 01! Does this count for mini suites as well? Or just full

I am max bidding on a mini suite, does anyone have experience winning (or even not winning)  a bid on a better room? We also minimum bid on an obstructed room for my kids. I really want the mini suite! Thanks for any help.

12 hours ago, theloo said:

  I'm enjoying the food photos since that will probably be similar to my upcoming cruise, with some regional additions for Hawaii, hopefully.

 😧

yes and the menus! I’m on the June 01 Hawaii sailing and I don’t recall the food looking this good when I went on the Hawaiian cruise years ago. There’s defo going to be Regional stuff (they roasted a pig on deck one evening).