MonsterJoe

None?

26 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

No, I meant still available.  EM

Oh OK, sorry then!  It looks like the cruise is pretty much fully booked right now.  I still don't understand why I got that upgrade, if the ship is full.  The balcony is huuuge

On 8/4/2023 at 11:24 AM, Essiesmom said:

  After I won my bid, I went back again and everything but YIN was available.  EM

Did you mean to write "unavailable?"  Because that's what it looks like right now - Everything is sold out except Yacht Club Deluxe suites.

Which seems weird to me, having just won that lowball upgrade.

aurea deluxe balcony. Seaside. The bid was 90 (x2)

Many restaurants will keep a number of tables available for walk-ins.  So being 'booked up' doesn't mean there are no tables necessarily - just that the ones they set aside for reservations are.

Also - there is probably a 'towel on the pool lounger' element to it where people book things so they don't miss out, and may or may not use it.

We just won ours for the 8/13 sailing in the middle of the night with the lowest possible bid.

11 hours ago, Elkins45 said:

When we were on the Celebrity Equinox this summer we could get iMessages even though we didn’t have the Internet package as long as we were logged into the ships network to use their app. Does anyone know if it’s the same on MSC ships, specifically the Meraviglia?

I believe not.  The idea is that the MSC for Me app is supposed to have inter-app messaging...but that is currently disabled in order to conserve bandwidth for the contact tracing in the bracelets

Nice video!  I wish I could have found one like that before my cruise.

The buffet food looks very similar in variety and quality to the food on the Mera when we sailed in late September.

Having never cruised before and not knowing what to expect - I was pleasantly surprised.

Oh - the smoked salmon was available pretty much all day, everywhere on that cruise - I know because I ate my weight in it that week. 🙂

I agree with the comments above about the YC grill.  The food was good - but there was nothing special to distinguish it from the main buffet and I was disappointed by the lack of variety.  I ended up there, eating a late breakfast of Hash Browns and Roasted Tomatoes (both were great, imo) most mornings.
 

Robbie was super cool!

On 11/18/2021 at 5:06 PM, buckeye25osu said:

 

 

Hello!  Did anyone find out what is actually offered?  JAGR, like you I want to book the trilogy package but see the Italian instead of seafood.  I'm maybe fine with that but I'd like to see the menu.  I believe the MDR has Italian night and buffet also has pasta so am I just going to end up with something I could have gotten for free?  Now, for $77 it includes Butcher's so maybe just worth it, but I'm not one to take gambles with my money on something like this.

It is Ocean Cay (the restaurant), Butcher's Cut, and Kaito Teppanyaki.

The website is famous for being complete crap.  Eataly is long gone...so is Cirque du Soleil

On 11/13/2021 at 11:41 PM, buckeye25osu said:

1.  We're booked Ocean View, Fantasia experience.  Balcony was $280 more total.  Can bid on balcony for 85pp.  Was just thinking of going minimum.  Worth it?  We are active and will be happy either way but a bit nicer cabin with fresh air would be nice I think. Will I lose the Fantasia experience?
2.  Looking at the "Tryptic" dinner package.  On brief description it says it includes Butcher's, Kaito Sushi, and Ocean Cay seafood.  However upon trying to book it, it has reservations for Butcher's, Kaito Sushi, and Eataly Italian.  The Eataly I don't even see as a specialty restaurant and I can find no menus, including a "dining experience" menu for that one.  Anybody seen this yet?  The prepay price is $77 so for $26 each I'm leaning towards doing this but would like more info on the Italian restaurant option.
3. Does the new winter "Easy Plus" drink package allow you to get drinks $9 and under at the specialty restaurants?
4. Tips for Costa Maya and Cozumel for active hikers/adventure lovers?

Congrats!  We just got back (late september) from our first cruise for our first anniversary, so here's my input, based on my similar experience.

1) I see you've already decided to bid, but I'll just add that I think it's a good idea - as first time cruisers it may come in handy to have fresh air, not knowing how you'll handle cruising.

2) We didn't book any in advance and didn't end up going to any once on board either. We thought the food was good to very good all over the ship, including the buffet.  It's not 5 star dining, but neither is it Applebee's...which is why it doesn't always get good marks from Americans.  That said - I heard the sushi is very good...and the taco place is a great value.

Eataly was replaced by the taco place.

3) This was answered.

4) This was answered - I don't recommend wasting any time checking out the port, though.




 

56 minutes ago, dexddd said:

For us, the Mera LCD show was a big let down.  I saw videos and it seemed they ran shows all day long, maybe they did but recently they had a couple late afternoon shows lasting maybe 5 minutes. 

I didn't even watch the shows beyond maybe 1 minute of the first time after we got on the ship, but I found the static LED ceilings that were always on, absolutely beautiful.

43 minutes ago, Paphillyguy said:

As my mother said to us when we were young , being bored is an insult to one's self.   I am sure there are a lot of people that will not find it boring even if they are not beach people.  I for one am not necessarily a beach person but in looking at the island it seems like a great place to eat and take a nice walk. 

It is indeed a nice great place to take a walk.  The paths are lined with great sounding speakers (not too loud...ambient) and just about everywhere you look is a great photo opportunity.

 

5 minutes ago, KennyFla said:

The other problem is that docking there is not a sure thing.  On the Oct 17 Divina cruise, we were supposed to be there Monday and Tuesday, but could not dock Monday morning.  In my opinion the weather was not that bad.  We went back the Saturday for the day.

 

That crazy turnaround inside the ship channel is probably to blame.  That is just crazy.

We were a few hours late in docking the second day we went.  The weather seemed fine to me.  The CD explained that the person-dug channels to the dock are so precise that any strangeness in the tides and/or wind can make it difficult to navigate safely.

We love Ocean Cay - We would book a 7 day cruise that only went there.  It'd be a great place for a small AI, too. 

Oh the drama.

I don't doubt lots of people didn't embark...but that happens on every sailing.

Hand written lab results from CVS? I suppose there could be a legitimate reason, but it sounds absurd to me.

We brought our own disposables on Meraviglia - but I forgot them sometimes.  Any staff behind a desk - including bars and Ocean Cay, has them if you ask.

23 minutes ago, cheeseheads4ever said:

From what I’m reading and other experienced cruisers who have sailed on MSC May chime in.

if you do specialty dining like the offer on their site which is $77  for the 3 restaurants. Butchers Cut, Oyster seafood restaurant, then the Sushi Restaurant you have a select menu to pick from.

Everything else is alacart. So you couldn’t get a t bone, ribeye unless you paid an additional cost above and beyond the $77 price.

Same with the Oyster Seafood restaurant no lobster unless you pay extra.

I hope I’m missing something here. If anyone has any additional help that would be great..

 

I think you understand it correctly.

Each specialty restaurant has a "Dining Experience" option available to everybody and that's what comes with the package. 

You can replace one of the courses in the experience for something of that course off the full menu for an additional 50% of that replacement's price.

You can obviously order anything else you want for full price.

ex:

You order the experience for $47.  You sub a T-bone ($66) as your entre and now your experience is $47 + $33

Not trying to speak for KFla, This is what we had at Ocean House.

It was all very good, though I wouldn't put it above YC Dining Room, which was all very good also.

Worth noting - I am from New England, so I have high standards for Lobster Rolls.  This wasn't anything like I'd get at home, but I still liked it - especially for the Caribbean.

Not pictured is the Crab Ceviche.  It's not pictured because it may have been the most disappointing thing I ate all week - including from the Main Buffet.

The crab was that fine shredded canned stuff.  Still tasted fine - just not elevated enough for the YC menu, IMO.


Carne Asada Salad


Lobster Roll

Caramel Creme


Mango Cheesecake

1 hour ago, karmamule said:

 

I wasn't able to view this, but it looks like that group is by invite-only so I requested to join and hopefully will be able to see this after that's done! I'd love a sneak preview of our future room. 

I was able to join immediately.

Maybe you were too?  Bang on this video link and see if it loads for you:

https://www.facebook.com/khbarrass/videos/3007776459539870

9 minutes ago, ddlb said:

We won a bid to upgrade to a YC deluxe suite on the Mera at $5 over minimum bid. This is our second cruise with MSC. I’ve been reading everything I can about the YC experience and I am beyond excited.  Very helpful info here!

 

I have a couple questions. When we were on our first cruise the area beach for YC members was closed at Ocean Caye. Do you know if it is open now?  Would you be able to get drinks over there or anything else special?  I know there was a special YC cart for people to take.

 

Is it two devices per person for the Internet Wi-Fi?

 

I want to tip correctly and for good service so do we do this at the end of the cruise?  For example if we get room service breakfast every morning do we wait to the end of cruise to hand out tips?

 

I’m a bit confused on the spa too is it anything like what NCL has on their some of their ships with their whirlpools etc.?  

On our first MSC  cruise we had a handicap balcony and taking a shower flooded the whole floor in the bathroom very hard to keep pushing the water toward the drain. Has anyone stayed in the YChandicap cabin 15039? I’m wondering if the shower drain works good.

 

Last question can you get yummy drinks like mudslides and strawberry daiquiris?  And are drinks outside of the YC bar included?

 

Any comments welcome I really appreciate reading everyone’s experiences.

 

 

 

Ocean Cay: The YC beach is open...there is beach service.

Internet: It is two devices per person.

Tipping: Everyone does it different.  We tipped our Assistant Butler throughout, but everyone else at the end.  I recommend not waiting until the very last night, because you may not see someone you want to tip on the last night.

No spa experience

No handicap shower experience - though the other one could get a little messy

Frozen Drinks / Outside YC: Yes you can...and yes they are.

Enjoy - it's amazing. 🙂

 

26 minutes ago, alyssamma said:

LOL, I love all of these secret codes. It's like cheat codes for games...left-left-right-up-up-down to skip the message 🙂

 

unlimited lives never made Contra any more fun.

1 hour ago, Native Floridian 26 said:

It depends how far in advance you book.  Final payment is usually due 60 days before sailing date for shorter cruises (4 nights and less) and 90 days for 5 days and longer cruises. So you if you book in advance of those dates, you only pay a deposit at time of booking.  Then when the final payment date comes, you pay the rest.

 

So if you book say 30 days before the cruise, you have no option other than to pay in full.

Ok, that makes more sense, thanks.  I was looking at a short late December cruise and it seems that comes right up to the 60

I am curious what everybody means when they say "Final Payment" - I have never seen any option other than pay in full.  ??

17 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

If I weren't on CC, I wouldn't know anything about MSC's shortcomings. Nothing.

I can see it both ways - I'm totally the type to seek out these types of places when I'm planning....and that's also almost a curse because my true nature is really very easy going.

With some of the snafus I experienced on my maiden voyage, I don't think I would have been bothered so much if I wasn't so  hyper-connected to these types of places.

...and that's not at all to marginalize other people's experiences...because I've seen some doozies.