ferretktf

Unlikely. 4 times on virtuosa in 18 months and still same shows …. Different cast though

sorry, i may not have explained it clearly You could go in anytime after 6pm (first sitting) or anytime after 8pm (second sitting) but when you arrived at the desk they told you if they had any tables available. The later you arrived the less chance of getting a table. So it was "anytime dining" but with some constraints

True, but they still have two notional sittings (starting at these times) and we regular saw people being turned away if they arrived 'anytime' but there were no 'anytime' tables left

the two sittings last month were 6.30 and 8.30 (6pm and 8pm for the AUREA restaurant) when we left the ship they were preparing for 3 sittings the next cruise, which were 5.30, 7.30, 9.30 which set of sittings depends on how busy your cruise is. outside of these hours you have the buffet of course

It varies constantly right now on MSC Virtuosa it is Lanson Black Label with Laurent Perrier also being used for Champage Cocktails

All airlines permit exceptions for duty free bags … it’s part of their agreement with the airports. But other than duty free bags, it is one item only (if they choose to enforce, which is quite rare, and only usually on very full flights)

Marella is mid priced because it is all inclusive if you always take a drinks package then Marella is cheap … but if you are not a heavy drinker then not so much

If you link then EVERY person in EVERY cabin has to have a drinks package if one has it. very few PROs in linking imho

Re. Fridge you can empty the fridge …I leave the contents on the top shelf above the fridge ( will make sense when you are in the cabin) and put it back on the final day. n.b. Put it back at lunchtime on the final day as the fridge is checked and locked late afternoon (so that final bills can be generated) Currency for Southampton itineraries this year was GBP, but it’s pretty much a cashless boat, everything gets booked to your cabin card and you settle up on the card you registered when you came on board.. can’t answer re lactose free milk or speciality restaurants, but I have spent 5 weeks onboard Virtuosa this summer. (May, July, September) so can help with other questions as they arise .

It was when I was queuing to get back via the tender in May !!!

It’s docked in NordFjordEid which has a floating pontoon with some serious number restrictions for safety. the pontoon is actually closed more often than open …the slightest bit of wind (rocky) or rain (slippy) means that tender boats have to be used ( I went there on Virtuosa in May and was tendered off and on) the sheer number of people on virtuosa this week (~5600) coupled with the number restrictions on the pontoon has led to long delays both getting off the ship, and getting back on. essentially, this port cannot handle these numbers unfortunately

Never seen MSC reduce the price of drinks packages between booking and sailing

Prepaid Vodafone card is your answer….works throughout the Caribbean…25gb data …£34.99 …valid for 1 month https://www.sims4travel.com/plans/?c1=55

Big assumption. The reality is the opposite. It’s all computer scanned, hence why Chronomics given you the result within seconds of upload, and Randox and Chequp within minutes. Only if there is a problem does a human get involved.

Yes, the easy package covers most “basic” drinks …house lager, house wine, house spirits and mixer (nb still things like smirnoff, Bacardi and Gordon’s) easyplus gives you a bit more variety, particularly on the beers side

Plenty of the champagnes fall outside the package …in fact usually there is only one champagne that falls inside

ANKER are the leading brand and arguably the best. Available from amazon

Drinks bought on board without a package attract a 15% convenience charge with this, approx prices are Draught beer - £7.50 large glass (400ml) bottled beer - from £8 for 330ml or 500ml house wine - £7.50 Prosecco -£8 spirit + mixer £9 coke - £3 coffee - £3.50 cocktail - from £7.50 to £14 (and higher!)

Apologies, I didn’t see the US part. On the uk forums this question comes up 50 times a day, hence being 99% certain of the answer. fortunately I left myself that 1% margin to save my blushes!

The two most common reasons for this are if you booked through a TA 1: the TA has not passed your insurance details to MSC (90% probability) 2: your payment is still sitting in escrow and has not been passed to MSC (9% probability)

Can’t do it on iOS, only Android ….but any modern Android

Yes

800 children out of the 3600 onboard currently so quite a few 3 and 4 berthers being utilised in full

in actuality, it is more like 40-55% dependent on the itinerary. 3600 on the current voyage which, apart from the 3 day stag and hen booze cruises, is the highest of the summer. With a capacity of 6334, that is 54%

MSC Virtuosa …. One of the biggest ships in the world, successfully navigated the Fjords in May …. Only one tender stop (due to high winds) …. So it’s not size that is causing the issue