TheycallmeDrew

Also from the Ottawa area on the Quebec side. Have to let me know what you think of the MSC Europe experience as I have a trip in October on MSC Poesia. Have only done 1 other MSC cruise on the Meraviglia and loved it.

"Somewhere around day eight, I started looking at MSC in the Mediterranean.  Unfortunately, they only have seven day cruises, and the itineraries don’t vary.  If they had longer cruises in the Mediterranean or they had back to back cruises where the itineraries were even slightly different, I’d try to convince Cathy to cancel Virgin for another Yacht Club experience.  "

I am not sure if it's because you are looking at YC but MSC has tons of cruises longer than 7 days in the Mediterranean. We have an 11 days booked on Poesia in Oct and it's only 11 days because I wanted to get on and off at the same port. You might want to look at a different booking site if you are only seeing 7 days. I also liked this smaller ship because it's going to a bunch of ports I have not seen offered by other cruise lines.

Thanks for the review. I am surprised they only had O'Sheehans open for lunch as when I travel with my wife for food allergies she has to pre-order breakfast, lunch and dinner and eat in the main dining rooms.

As for spicing the food preferences for passengers differ depending on where you come from. US residents generally want more salt in their food, Europeans prefer less and a lot of asian and south american residents want spiciness. The cruise line generally goes a bit more bland and you can add salt, hot sauce ect depending on your taste. I haven't found the food to be bland to my palate but that is my personal taste. 

I enjoyed Q when I went there and left stuffed. I have heard that you should save a dining credit and go a la carte especially if you are not a big eater as the prices are cheaper than other specialty restaurants. I can't say for sure as I used a platinum voucher when I went.

Well it's never happened for me so I have no idea lol!

there are the standard ones that are the same on most ships. Last February I know Epic had only 1 Munchkinland (my favorite) that I could find.

Not sure about tacos but I did a tequila tasting which  was really informative and found some tequilas that I actually liked.

That would make more sense. What site are you on? I posted what is displaying on the site I am looking at. There has already been 1 itinerary change maybe this one has not caught up yet.

9 minutes ago, perakcruiser said:

Impossible. But you need to give the actual dates for the cruise if you want to know why it states 1-4.

Oct 23, 2024 sailing out of Barcelona

20 hours ago, Cashsmoney said:

Really you think so? In what way? What other lines have you sailed? I hear others saying it’s better yet i haven’t seen anyone give explanations. Other than Buttler is “the best” or something like that. 
 

 The physical space of the YC pool deck is one of my favorites. The rest I think is below the others. 
 

  Food in the YC restaurant is better than MDR, still not as good as either NCL haven or RC coastal kitchen. On the Haven well the menu is fixed (same men items the whole cruise) it’s fantastic, Lobster tails, filet mignon, steak tartare. Costal kitchen I feel has a better menu but that’s highly subjective. They do have a lobster night, something not offered on MSC.

 

  In order to contact the Buttler I have to go through the concierge, other lines I could just pick up any phone and call them directly, and if my personal Buttler is off the phone is forwarded to whoever is covering at that time. 
 

  Yes the pizza is good. However I’m not going on a cruise for pizza. 

 

I did 11 night MSC and on gala night even the non YC dining rooms got free lobster. I found the pizza on MSC better than NCL and Royal, NCL has had better Indian food. I found MDR on MSC better than NCL recent cruises but I do enjoy the any time dining that comes free on NCL but a charge(Aurea experience) on MSC.

I was just looking at our cruise on Poesia in Oct 2024 and according to latest itinerary(it's changed once already) Genoa is 1pm - 4pm. Anyone else have such a short port? By the time you got off it would be time to line up to get back on!

Been on both and Epic bathroom doesn't bother me much but Escape being a newer and larger ship has more amenities and would be a better experience for a first time visit. Escape is probably my favourite NCL ship and I have been on every class of ship they have.

1 minute ago, graphicguy said:

Spa employees sometimes play fast a loose with charges.  But, I do remember some verbiage surrounding any discounts offered (i.e. discount for spa services on port days) can only be applied to regular spa prices.

 

It's been a while since I had any spa services for this very reason.  It's hard to tell what the rules are, sometimes.  Like anything else, there are good masseuses and there are questionable ones.  The "new" ones usually push the elixirs and multiple spa treatments.  The ones who are veterans seem to know when to back off.

 

That being said, the tips are clearly marked on the receipt.  Anything over and above that (or nothing at all) is optional.  I don't believe those extra tips go to the spa, but to the individual.  If in doubt, give them cash, which they'll gladly accept, too.

 

 

I was told by someone who used to work in the spa that the added gratuity was the only pay the spa person received aside from quotas on products that they push which is why the upsale is so high on spa visits. So on a let's say $200 service the person doing the treatment on get's $36. That is why I tip extra for good service. Also the tips are not pooled like they are in the shops.

I go to the spa often and I think you may be confused on 1 point (pardon me if I am understanding incorrectly). You said you took the special of the day correct? This is an already discounted deal and not subject to the latitudes discount which is against the regular packages. It's an either or situation. I have had this happen before and you have to figure out which is the better deal. Often it is the deal of the day so they may in fact have saved you some money if they gave you the port deal and ran it through later to save you taxes.

My wife is gluten free and soy free. The gluten is done well but sometimes the soy is missed since it can be added to things no ones thinks about (it was in the earl grey tea for some reason!). My wife advises and the only issue is usually embarkation day as she has not had the opportunity to pre-order that days meals. You order the next days meals the night before and they can often make things gluten free pretty easily unless it is a pre-packaged item that is delivered pre-prepared frozen like a dumpling or spring roll type of thing. Be careful in the buffet. For soy the chef in charge of the buffet told her he would make her something to order since they were using vegetable oil on grill and in fryer but gluten free would be easier. She did get soy poisoning on our last cruise and no one could figure out the source so we went to Le Bistro instead of MDR and got a nice surprise as they picked up the check. We didn't raise too much of a fuss as we were more concerned with locating the area of issue than finding someone to blame so it was a nice surprise.

5 minutes ago, mvh said:

Does the $10 limit on the Easy Plus cover the Margarita's in Hola now? Can you pay the difference now or no drinks pkg allowed? Still getting mixed answers or opinions.

I can only tell you when I was there not only could I buy the margarita  with my easy plus package but they let me buy it for my dining companion since I was not having an alcoholic beverage with my meal.

25 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

If this was the 11 day out of Port Canaveral to Brooklyn on 4/9, I was onboard with you! I agree with everything you said. The crew and service were fantastic. The Rock Circus show in the Carousel Lounge was one of my favorites I have ever seen. Embarkation/Debarkation were slow, but steady.

 

The only thing I disagree with you on is Hola! losing money on the all you can eat price. I made the mistake of doing the all you can eat on my first visit there and was hard pressed to order $18 worth of food, since their prices are so low. I ended up eating there about 6 more times (I was on the following sailing as well) and only spending ~$7 each time. Their food is delicious and Henry, my server there, was amazing and adorable.

No this was last November but I enjoyed reading your trip review! And for Hola... you have not seen me sit down and destroy some tacos ... and Guac and chips .. and Queso ... with a burrito followed by some Dolce du Leche ... you get my point.

I have seen a ton of posts with peoples negative experiences and I am not discounting them but since most folks post about the bad stuff I thought I would do a brief post on my positive experience with MSC. I will try to be brief. I did a solo 11 day trip on the Meraviglia out of Port Canaveral in fantastica inside cabin.

Pre-embarkation

- I booked through a TA who used the US site and this caused issues since I am Canadian and could not enter my address information because even though this is a mostly positive review the truth is MSC needs to work on their web sites.

- Customer service was friendly but hit or miss trying to resolve this issue but got it fixed

Embarkation

- no issues and was typical to my Royal, NCL and Holland experiences

Cabin

- a bit smaller than some but suited my needs and I don't spend much time in my cabin except to sleep so was just fine

Crew

- fantastic. Cabin steward though I didn't see him much was friendly and quick to provide me what I needed. Bar staff were super friendly and if had time would have real conversations and share their lives with you. I am now facebook friends with some and may try to see them if our schedules permit. Entertainment staff came and hugged me as I was leaving the ship. Dining manager super friendly and when he found out I was a fan of the Indian food on board offered to bring me some in place of what was on the menu the next night. I would say 95% of my crew interactions were super positive

Food

- found the food to be better on average than my last couple of NCL main dining room meals. Buffet was good though I usually only ate lunch there or pizza at night. For specialty dining only did Hola twice and with the all you can price they lost money feeding me! 

Entertainment

- having read reviews of MSC I had been prepared for non-speaking shows due to language but for this cruise in US waters all the shows were in english. I loved the Carousel shows

Disembarkation

- I self disembarked with my luggage and though line was long it moved steadily so no issue

So there you go. Just my experience. Doesn't make anyone else's experience wrong. But if you were to ask me if I would sail MSC again? I would say Already have my next trip booked for 2024!

5 hours ago, CruisingFox27 said:

It will be small, we've used the spa on a sister ship and on the next up size of ship. Its pleasant with a sauna, steam room, relaxation area and whirlpools but that's all. They are not like the thermal area on the newer ships.

Try YouTube for videos on sister ships, that may help. 

Thanks! Found a review of orchestra spa and a video of Musica spa!

Anyone have experience in the Poesia Thermal spa? Can't find any videos or reviews that detail it but the few glimpses I have seen and looking at the floorplan it looks awfully small and I am wondering if a thermal pass would be worth it?

Le Bistro is our favourite but I am going to go out on a limb and stray from the herd and recommend Q. I have only been once to the one on Encore but I really enjoyed it. The food was good, there was a lot of it (I got the platter) and service was excellent. They also had a band playing so it was like dinner and a show.

4 minutes ago, complawyer said:

if you dont want to be nickel and dimed, dont buy  the nickel and dime stuff.

 

i think, what i get when i book a cruise/cabin with ncl,is reasonable for the price i'm paying.  no more/no less

 

if i think something  falls under the nickel/dime category, and i dont feel it's necessary, i dont buy it. 

 

only product  that annoys be for paying extra is a "can" of soda. im addicted to cola (prefer pepsi, but those ncl days are gone, so im stuck with coke) for $3.00 per can.

 

in all my posts, i seem to write like an ncl cheerleader. that's not totally correct, but for 13 years of cruising with them, and 24 cruises, (I dont know, maybe i'm just lucky, or have low expectations) i have found very little to complain about (other than soggy hamburger buns)

 

the only actual disappointment we ever really had was the inaugural southeast asia cruise from hong kong to singapore. When we got on the ship we were advised that there were mechanical problems and we couldnt get to some ports.  Taipei, hanoi and cambodia. As a vet, i wanted to see hanoi. In exchange for the missed ports, ncl offered the following: full refund, but we were already in hong kong and booked into a hotel in singapore 2 weeks later, so that wasnt an option, or, a refund of 1/2 the price of the cruise we were on, and 1/2 off any future cruise.

 

we were in a suite with my wife and grandson, and my sister in law and her husband were in the adjoining suite, so to accept this offer was a no brainer.

 

say what  you will about nickel and dimes, ncl (imho) really stepped up to the plate to fix this one.

 

OMG I was on that cruise! We knew about the issue ahead of time only because of cruise critic and that communication was a big failure on NCL's part. We chose to go knowing what they were offering but I felt bad for those who found out when they went to get on ship. At the same time I felt less bad for those who got on ship and then proceeded to complain and make the staff (who had nothing to do with it) and other passengers around them's life a living hell for the trip. My wife was disappointed with not going to Cambodia but we took the money that was being refunded bought spa passes, I got 3 massages, we went to dinner and made the best of it. Oh and booked our discounted next cruise while on board!

2 minutes ago, shof515 said:

the nickel and diming comes from things that used to be free/included with your cruise fare to now being an extra cost at a price that always increases 

In some cases yes but beverage packages were never included and there have been several complaints lately about why they aren't just rolled into the total price.

My personal choice(and why Norwegian was my preferred choice until recently) was get me on the boat with basic fare and meals for as cheap as possible and let me easily add what I wanted to spend my money on. Want all you can drink get the beverage package, want to sit in spa add spa package, guaranteed deck seating get a vibe pass. All these things cost and rolling it into the price would make it cost prohibitive for my friends to join me who are on a budget and don't want to drink, are happy to eat at buffet and like to sit in a crowded pool on main deck meeting people.

I keep seeing posts about how Norwegian nickels and dimes everything and why don't they roll it into the price? At the same time people complain about being charged for things they don't use. You can't have it both ways! 

I myself prefer to have all the costs separate so I get to choose what I want to pay for. When I go solo I get the drink package. When I am with my wife who isn't a big drinker we pay as we go. Rolling the extras would cost me a lot more when travelling with my wife.

I find it also allows me to shop around more as I can compare cruise per cruise, itinerary by itinerary and look at adding extras later.

I wish all lines did it and brought the actual cruise fare down.

What do you all think?

Didn't hear back but booked the rooms anyway. Hopefully it won't be an issue.