carlmm

My first answers as somebody who has sailed Cunard regularly for many years, MSC in the last couple of years and others in the past: They are very different. You must go with the wish to appreciate what is special about Cunard. My first and prefered line is certainly Cunard and I am sure many people who live Cunard would not enjoy eg. MSC. I do, but because I treat them as two different types of vacation. You, @Stockjock, are coming the other way around, new to Cunard, but that is may basic advice. I pack differently, the demography is different, expectations are different. Some details: Cunard is much more formal. In many regards. Dinner service. Passengers are adressed with surname and proper titles. Dress Code. Jeans will not do. Many people wear jackets and ties on non formal nights, tuxedos are the norm on the gala nights. There is drink package offered but only very few people use it. Very different to the the other lines where almost everybody has one. Thus eg. much more eine by the bottle is drunken, and Cunard has an excellent extensive wine list.

No, other lines do not do this. Alcohol is served on other ships, thus it cannot be due to "local laws" as NCL claims. Just like stated by previous posters NCL is notorious for not serving drinks in many ports where other lines do. Why? Good question and up to speculation. Anyway a reason to avoid this NCL which puts customer service at the back.

I am sorry for the OP to have felt so many bads and uglys. Thank you for balancing with the goods. My experience has been different or I just had a different approach. Anyway to assist potential passengers to make their informed decision, here is part of my perspective: The terminal was mentioned in my paper work, somewhere hidden at the end but still there black on white. From reports here it seems to be (almost?) always to be terminal E for the Divina in Miami. Anyway your driver should get you to the right terminal as there are signs he hopefully might read. Do not bother with linking you credit card befor the cruise. There are many machines and you have all the time to do so. There is a lunch buffet on Ocean Cay not only food trucks ( yet often with long lines). Normally there is a soap pump next to the sink. Easily overlooked but there. (Still I'd prefer individually sized Soap and shampoo.) The app is not needed to check the menus. Just scan the QR code for the dinning room menu once and safe the link. The link does not change but you can access the individual menus each day. Unfortunately MSC is just one of many lines charging for special seats on deck.

Good to hear from a local. I would like to ask the question just the other way around: Where can I (solo) go later in the evening, like after 10.30 pm, and stay far beyond midnight?

Walked all around Palermo many times.

Palma: City centre maybe 40 minutes walk or less than 10 minutes bus ride.

"Everything is dumped down" is unfortunately true for Cunard, too. Still, I would recommend you try it. Compared to the dumped down Princess experience it will probably a nice experience. I have sailed Fort Lauderdale to LA a couple of years ago and it was lovely. Indeed a lovely cruise with many seadays.

Who knows. Last year I was there in early October and spent a couple of hours on the beach. It was hot, crowded with people sunbathing and the water was really warm with many people swimming.

As the OP asks about "everything": No. Eg the one hour thermal spa is for the member only.

In my ecperience there is no difference between Bella and Fantastica: They will try to accomodate your preference of time and table size. No guarantee, but as close to your wish as possible, if you niecly ask in person.

To add: The only place with problems was on the balcony. In the cabin and the public areas it was fine

It was perfectly fine for all my purposes in the Carribean in March. Transatlantic the satellite connection can be weaker or even off.

At meal times you can get cappucccinos and such in the restaurant and certainly also for breakfast in the Lido. Other times I do not know if they charge in the Lido.

Coffee is free at breakfast i.e. in the morning. You may even have it delivered to your cabin free of charge. Actually tea and coffee are free - for all meals in all restaurants - via room service for breakfast - at tea time in the Queens room - all day long at the buffet - all day long by using the kettle provided in your cabin

Yes, there are pizza and other snacks all day long in the buffet.

Yes. It even is one of the benefits that officially may be extended to your cabin mates.

The diamond party on my March Divina cruise out of Miami was attended by maybe 60 to 80 people. For embarkation I used the diamond line but it did not really make a difference - both lines were short

Camps, attractions and a huge love for children.

Where are you sailing? In Europe? The wine offerings are different in Europe and on US sailings. In Europe Easy Plus had some nice wines. Sailing from Miami, I found it hard to find a decent wine even on the Premium package, certainly not below that (for me).

Having said that, the drinks you describe are partly covered in Easy but probably most in Easy Plus. The quality of available wines increases with the package but I cannot judge your needs in this regard.

Which package suits you, is less a question of moderation or of how much you drink but more about what kind of drinks you like to get. On MSC all packages allow for an unlimited number of drinks. If you are happy with the drinks included in Easy it might take you four to five drinks for it to pay off. You prefer drinks at the upper limit of the Easy Plus or at the upper limit of the Premium? Same game, four to five drinks to make it pay off. Not counted for water and similiar.

Probably there will be two formal nights.

Other musings You are right there was no enforcement of even a minimum of dress code. Yet it had been necessary. Much worse than on any other MSC cruise (all in Europe) I have been on, or any other cruise for that matter. The behaviour of some guests was disgusting. It tells story that in the daily program they had to put a line to remind people of standard conduct rules like not to remove your shoes in the public rooms and not to lay your bare feet on the furniture. The live music was varied and the production shows mostly good. Yet, most entertainment stopped much earlier than in Europe. Eg. the few deck parties on this cruise were scheduled from 10.30 to 11.30 pm, in Europe they continued until 1 am. Still, a lot of good music all around the ship.

Ports Yes, great ports. In Jamaica I joined an MSC tour: Dolphin swim and Dunn's River Falls. The dolphin swim was a wonderful experience. I had been to the falls a first time about twenty years ago: It is much more developed and touristy now. Too many people and the quality of the experience depends on the guide, which route he chooses. The overall tour guide was basically desinterested. Maybe she had a bad night before. Cartagena is beautiful, taxi were plentiful. I would love to go again. The visit to the Embera Indians was much better than expected. Here I was afraid it would be to touristy and fake, but it did not feel at all like that but authentic. The people were friendly, interesting and welcoming. Unfortunately MSC cancelled my debarkation day tour what cause me a lot of headache. It took too much time and money to organize transfers, luggage storage and sightseeing all on my own. One further negative point was the unavailability of wifi outside of the terminal in Miami, thus no way to use a ride share (for people without an American phone/data plan).

Of course I cannot comment on butlers or any other YC services. From the "regular guests" perspective there was mostly no in your face discrimination and thus no problems. The only time when the preference for YC guests was really annoying was on Ocean Cay: There is supposed to be a shuttle service to the further away parts of the island. While there was a shuttle for YC guests like every 5 minutes, sometimes more often, often only for one couple with empty seats, we "normals" had to wait more than 35 minutes and when the shuttle finally arrived, it did not even go to the stops on the schedule but just one closer by.