alyssamma

No worries and enjoy!

Wow. Shocked you got this done in a day...congrats for sure!

I booked this. I'd have preferred to be on X, but they don't offer it. That being said, cruise lines all have their specific itineraries...I'll still sail X when I can.

Not sure what you disagree with... You agree that off season it's much cheaper. You say this is a good price - and I never said it wasn't. Just said it wasn't a good *sale* as this type of price is what you can expect for this time of year. If it was a good *sale* then this would be a price you wouldn't normally see. If that is the part you are disagreeing with, then we can just agree to disagree. I, too, follow MSC prices and this seems pretty normal to me. Med prices are always low for them.

Yes, I understand different countries have different rules for quoting fares. That doesn't change my point, thought...still much cheaper. The OP wanted to know if the "sale" was good...the point is, it really isn't a sale. These are pretty much the prices you can find regardless of "sale" or "no sale". That being said, if you are flexible in dates, you can find *much* cheaper.

You are not. MSC makes things very difficult. Here are the steps... 1) Book cruise 2) Join Voyager...use status match if you can. NOTE - joining "normally" is instant, status match takes a while (can be weeks), and you *have* to stay on top of it. You have a 50/50 chance of it working correctly the first time...but do it anyway if you can because it's worth it. 3) Once you've joined, call in (or have your TA call if you book that way) and get the discount. NOTE - if you (or traveling companion) is a teacher or in the military you can get a good discount.

Correct...but you can book, sign up, and then get them to apply the discount. If you have status with an airline, hotel, or other cruise line, do what @Selion said...

So, MSC *tends* to do 7 day med cruises...it would be hard to find Greece and Spain/Malta on the same itinerary. Even if you picked a different cruise line, you are prob looking at 10 days min to do all of that. The below is an example. Cost is about $2500 USD total, or $3300 USD total including drinks and wifi with $100 OBC. This is *before* any discounts (teacher, military, or Voyager club). Day 1 Tuesday, Mar 26 2024 Port: Genoa (Portofino), Italy Arrival: - Departure: 06:00 PM Day 2 Wednesday, Mar 27 2024 Port: Marseille (Provence), France Arrival: 08:00 AM Departure: 06:00 PM Day 3 Thursday, Mar 28 2024 Port: Barcelona, Spain Arrival: 08:00 AM Departure: 06:00 PM Day 4 Friday, Mar 29 2024 Port: At sea Arrival: - Departure: - Day 5 Saturday, Mar 30 2024 Port: Tangier (Tetouan), Morocco Arrival: 08:00 AM Departure: 06:00 PM Day 6 Sunday, Mar 31 2024 Port: Casablanca (Marrakech), Morocco Arrival: 07:00 AM Departure: 07:00 PM Day 7 Monday, Apr 01 2024 Port: Ceuta, Spain Arrival: 09:00 AM Departure: 06:00 PM Day 8 Tuesday, Apr 02 2024 Port: Malaga (Granada), Spain Arrival: 07:00 AM Departure: 06:00 PM Day 9 Wednesday, Apr 03 2024 Port: Alicante, Spain Arrival: 11:00 AM Departure: 09:00 PM Day 10 Thursday, Apr 04 2024 Port: At sea Arrival: - Departure: - Day 11 Friday, Apr 05 2024 Port: Genoa (Portofino), Italy Arrival: 08:00 AM Departure: -

No problem. It would help if you know what you want to see in the med, or don't care and just want a med cruise. Also, each ship is different...some are older for example and may not have what you want. On the other hand, for the med, which is port intensive, maybe you don't care. Also understand the different experiences (Bella, Fantastica, Aurea, Yacht Club). Lastly, don't forget...Voyager Club = 5% off. That price I gave was without the discount, so it would be even cheaper in reality.

My cost is *total*...not per person 🙂

This. And the "free" drinks kills me...you pay a lot for those "free" drinks...

I just went to the site and searched for med cruises for Apr-Oct 2024. It popped up...along with a lot of others. Bottom line, 99% of "sales" are garbage. Every once in a while there will be a good one...and with MSC, you'll find prices can vary without a "sale". Also, make sure you join the Voyager Club...you'll get 5% off the fare.

No, I understood that...see above where I did the conversion to USD. Your total price is about $2200 USD. What I found (after a very brief search) was something almost half of that.

@perakcruiser explained the 2nd Q...but based on what you said, I'm not sure that is a "great" deal...assuming you don''t need drinks/wifi, you are looking at like $2200 USD total before taxes. MSC Med cruises are often pretty cheap...here is an example: Not the exact same, but you can see it's half of your price ($1200 USD vs $2200 USD). Point is...there are often good med prices...shop around...pick what you want exactly...

Is this pp or total? Does this include drinks and wifi? What experience is this?

I think there is a misunderstanding. The point is this website is the middleman...that is what is being cut out. Think of it this way...I'm a TA and if you book with me, my contract says I pay the cruise line 100. But if you get my name via this website, I have to pay the cruise line 100 *and* pay 10 to the website...so 110 in total. But I want your business, so next time you book *directly* with me, I pay the cruise line 100 and the 10 I would have paid the website, we split. So you get 5 and I get 5 and everyone is happy It's the exact same agent and agency, so whatever they had before they still have.

You will see a white tent for YC. Your driver should be able to drop you off right in front or very close to it.

Agree with what @Essiesmom said. However, I will add that I've used Happy Hour shuttle and was VERY happy. It is a private shuttle, fyi. Really like a prepaid Uber. If you Google them you'll see great reviews.

Sorry you feel that way. I certainly dont think that and made it clear that there is a trade off in both time and convenience...using a PCC is absolutely perfectly acceptable IMHO. I think above @donandmelissa said the same thing. Everyone has different priorities and things that are important to them. If someone chooses to stay in a suite that is certainly more than an inside, but they aren't stupid for doing that. Book how you want to...that's why PCCs are there to begin with. Obviously a lot of people use and like them.

I think as @donandmelissa said, YMMV, but more importantly, once you get an agent and BYPASS that site you get great savings. I personally use it as a benchmark to see what most will give me. I almost always get a better deal with one of my normal agents, but every once in a while I'll get something incredible from that site. I might have missed that specific point, but I am one who said 10% and I compared it to a check after the cruise. I think if you get X as fare reduction or X after the cruise it's the same. I agree neither are as good...or the same...as OBC, unless it is refundable. If it is refundable, then there MAY be a slight insurance cost, but at least with the carrier I use, they go in blocks of 1k and is usually pretty negligible. I can also specify the cost. If my cruise is 2134, I can say 2000. You can specify you only want non refundable...or specify you want both to see the difference.

Sorry, I know you didn't ask me this, but I wanted to add something. Often you may not get this deal initially, but if you keep.checking a price drop or new sale will come along. If you want to get the really good deals you have to keep checking your reservations.

It is 100% agency specific. Like I said in an earlier post, I rotate between 3 TAs...each has their own specialties. If you have a TA who helps you a lot, then it makes sense to be loyal. My TAs simply push the buttons I tell them to... I do all of the research. As such I don't have loyalty to any specific one. It's a lot of work, so I get why some don't want to do it. A good place to start is with that site that others have mentioned that lets TAs compete for your business. Another good place is simply google...go through the first 10 or 15 agencies that pop up and see what pricing you get. It all depends on how you value your time. I search for travel deals while watching TV, so pretty easy for me 😀

Ack...sorry! Typed the above when I was trying to disembark. The HAL cruise was just under 7k, not 4k.

Not sure if the OP is in YC or not, but for YC you don't need luggage tags. I understand that doesn't help with the cruise docs, tho.

Unfortunately, this. Sometimes you can print on your own and sometimes you can't...like all things MSC 😀 Bottom line, like others have said, use your TA if you can't do it yourself. But even then it is not a problem if you show up without them...they will just process you at the pier.