alyssamma

Yes, again, I understood what you said. You are making a claim I am not . Go back and read what I said carefully. I gave an example almost like yours, except instead of 150 and 100 I used 100 and 50. You are arguing a point I never said. You can believe it not believe, but I'm just talking math. 150 before vs 150 after is the same. That's just a fact and it's true whether or not you believe it Please go back and read what I said carefully. And my only claim.was that you can get about 10% off with the right TA...I am not the only one on this thread making that claim, so I'm not even close to the smartest cruiser, lol. TAs are all very different and some work closely with certain lines. Shop around if you want to get the best deals. You gave me a specific example so I will give you one. For my 14 day midnight sun HAL cruise I am getting off of today, I paid just over 4k total for 2 people for a verandah. Another 420 for CO to upgrade that to a VB category for the extended balcony. This included HAI with prepaid gratuities. On top of that I got 1350 in OBC. On MSC in July I'll take a 21 day cruise to Iceland and Greenland for 4500 total for 2 which includes wifi and drinks...but no gratuities...and 300 OBC. Great cruise deals are out there. I spent a LOT of time to get those deals, but travel (not just cruising) is something I love and the time spent is fun to me.

We are in complete agreement.

Lol, you can disagree all you want, but you aren't disagreeing with my point. You are really saying that you don't BELIEVE my point. You are basically saying getting 100 off the cruise rate is better than 50 after the cruise. Duh 😀 However, given 100 off the cruise rate vs 100 after the cruise... mathematically it's the same. Yes, technically you are putting more upfront and then have to wait to get it back, but overall it's a wash. If you want to say you can no longer find those deals...fine. that's unfortunate for you. But that isn't my argument so you are disagreeing with something I never said.

I'm Cleveland and before that upstate NY so I understand snow. But I love it. I melt in the sun and can't stand heat. I'll take a cold snowy day over a hot humid one any day of the week. And yes, I understand 99% of you will disagree with me 😀

So, are you in the YC on MSC? If so, I think you'll like it. That being said, we kind of left MSC for Celebrity. We found the food better and dealing with customer service was 10x easier. Basically, MSC screwed us one too many times, so we switched. But..lol, that being said, we are about to sail on the Poesia in July and then again in Sept 2024. Both because they are itineraries we can't find on any other line. We are also doing Seascape in Jan to celebrate a friend's wedding. So somehow we can't quit MSC 😀 I completely understand about being burned out on the Caribbean...we are too. We are looking now at more exotic itineraries and that is why we picked HAL and why we are doing the Poesia.

It is on our sailing

Lol, we have that cruise booked so will be onboard with you if you take it. With club orange we booked an obstructed balcony and upgraded to an aft balcony. I only have one data point but I'm shocked (in a good way) about the dress code. Even in the specialty restaurants people are wearing jeans and normal shoes. Some are dressed up but most are extremely casual. That being said, everyone is dressed respectfully...no ripped clothes, etc. I've been wearing tennis shoes to dinner and no one has looked twice at me. As for the demographics...yes, most people onboard have children my age...I'm 57. But everyone is really nice and easy going.

Yes... actually on ever other line I've cruised...Royal, Carnival, and X, you can see the entire menu. I think you can on MSC also but always in Yacht Club there so it's a little different. As I said it's annoying, but in no way will affect our booking future HAL cruises. We've already booked NS for a TA next April. HAL also has way better itineraries than most other lines...MSC is the only other line we've seen with the same level of European itineraries.

Oh, I agree 100% with this. I use my TA to give me perks and nothing more. I do all the research and determine exactly what I want. I then have 3 TAs I'll get a quote from and use whoever gives me the best deal. They each are better at different lines, and will sometimes have good group deals. There is only one TA I have that I would call good, but unfortunately I rarely use him because he gives the worst perks. I don't need a good TA, I need a TA who will give me stuff 😀 That being said, I've referred my good TA to several people I know who either don't want to or can't do the upfront research and they've been very happy with him.

Also, fyi, you can do CO and a new booking at the same time. I look to see what cabin I want and give that info to my TA. She books my cruise and adds CO with my preferred cabin at the same time.

You are missing my point. I am saying if you get X off the fare or X after the cruise it is the same. If you aren't getting the same discount now as you were before, get a new TA. My discounts haven't changed and there is no reason for them to.

Whether you get a reduction or post cruise check it all works out the same 😀

The fares aren't carved in stone 😀 Like.i said, my TA is normally 10% less than HAL. The fare they have to pay HAL is different that what I have to pay. Part of that difference they give in a fare reduction. Part they give in OBC.

The VAST majority of their business is shipping...it's the S in MSC 😀 Add that to them being a privately owned Italian company and they really don't care. Not saying I don't agree with you...I do. And in NO way defending them...but lots of people...esp in Europe...will continue to sail with them. Now...you've hit on something which drives me crazy...free drinks and wifi. NO NO NO. You are paying several hundred per person for their "free" promo. I get that you realize this...it annoys me to no end. They do still have some great deals out there, but you have to look hard to find them. And if you can live with an inside cabin, the YC is super attractive.

I have found a good TA can get a lower price often...and when they can't, OBC always makes up for the difference. My TA will typically be 10% cheaper that the HAL rate.

And THAT is the difference 😀 MSC just makes the change. And as @Stockjock said above, it can be severe. Lots of lines will drop or add a port, or *maybe* have a day added or dropped occasionally, but it seems that only MSC can do a major itinerary change and NOT tell you. And not just that. During the pandemic they dropped everyone's cabins without telling them. That's really the crux of it... complete lack of communication. And when the OP called they wanted them to send the reservation??? What type of rinky dink crap is that?

Did they tell you upfront or just let you figure it out on your own?

Really? I'm not one of those who have sailed 100 times, but I've never heard of another cruise line doing this.. especially without notice. On the other hand, I've read many many instances of MSC doing this. I think you'd be hard pressed to find more than one or two cruise critic posts on this for other lines.

Honestly I hesitated saying anything about Tamarind.bwcause food.is so subjective...and if we came back we might have a completely different experience. I agree the ambience is strange, esp with the sushi place in the middle. And the restaurant is impossible to find. Our waitress was great, but completely understand that is the luck of the draw. As for the app...I didn't really talk about it because all ship apps suck. This one keeps disconnecting and I have to restart it. Menus are downloaded as PDFs instead of just being able to see in the app. Finding hours things are open is for.aome reason under itinerary and not under the venue. If I want to easily see what's open now for food or drink I can't. Also, the hours posted seem to be wrong. But I can say similar things about other lines.

I have an allergy so they will give me the next day menu if I ask, but that doesn't really help. If I'm booking a specialty for a few days from now, or want to know when the special nights are in the MDR. For example, tonight is Gold Gala, but unfortunately I'll miss it because I have Rudi's booked. This is a minor thing. As I said it irks me. But it won't stop me from.booking again.

This is my first HAL cruise...I'm on the 14 day midnight sun cruise. TLDR, happy overall with the product and would definitely sail again with the right price point. In fact, I have the same ship booked.for a TA next April. For background we sail many different lines, only have status on MSC. Our current favorite line is Celebrity, but because of price increases we decided to try HAL. Pros: Club Orange. The room upgrade alone paid for this, but really enjoy eating in the separate dining room. We've never had a wait for more than a minute or two and most times are seated immediately. The extra entree is a nice touch also. Food. While we don't think it's as good as X, it's otherwise the best we've had at sea. We really enjoy the uniqueness of some.of the offerings. The pizza place serves breakfast food, popcorn, wings, sandwiches, etc. The burger place serves hot dogs and sausages. And, IMHO, these are all high quality items...not like other lines where the burgers, for example, are what you'd find in the buffet. Staff. Wow...top marks all around. Bar service. Other than the yacht club on MSC, first time I've never really had to wait more than a couple of minutes to be served. Outstanding attention and the drinks are very consistent and very good. Room. We have a verandah. This will also get a con below, but the pro is the layout...very ergonomical, lots of storage space and huge shower. We also have a massive balcony thanks to the CO upgrade. BB Kings...simply the best band I've ever seen at sea. Tamarind...part of food, but this is the best restaurant I've been to at sea. Still have to do Pinnacle and Rudis, but this was blew us away. Laundry service...my shirts have never been this wrinkle free before. Didn't even realize they could be, lol. Consistently get back next day. Price was 147 for unlimited for 14 days and we were able to send some out on embarkation day. Beware however there will be tiny stickers in them...hard to find sometimes. Crowds...I think the ship does an excellent job of handling a full load of passengers. Are there some places where it's hard to find a seat? Of course, but there are a zillion nooks and crannies...always a place to chill...and never really long lines for anything. Cons: Ship layout. Simply has to be the worst layout I've seen ever. Surprising for a new ship. Very hard to navigate from one place to the next. Some things are tucked away in areas that if you don't take the correct elevator you're screwed, etc. Room...while it uses the space well it is small. And while clean overall, the rug is filthy and needs a good cleaning. Buffet...very poor design. Only.one passage to cross sides and that is where ice cream.is and creates a choke point. There is also a specialty restaurant there which is a weird experience when eating inside of it. Also, some stations are duplicated on both sides, but some are not. Not enough water stations. Only.place to get silverware is on the tables, so if you are taking food to go you have to steal it from a table. Entertainment...like high school productions. Very disappointing. Menu...it irks me I can't see the menu until the day of. This means when I book a specialty restaurant, I'm hoping the MDR won't be serving something I like. Events... virtually no notification until right before the event. The orange party wasn't announced until the day of and then no real.details given until the afternoon of. Yes, the app has some.of this, but the app sucks. Seems to be common for all cruise lines so didn't even explicitly list it as a con. As I said above, overall very happy with this cruise and will definitely sail again. But, if the price was the same, I would choose X...but just barely.

So does anyone know what is available in the buffet to drink?

Yes, unfortunately MSC does this. If you read the forums you'll see many cases of this. I would suggest calling...emails will not be that helpful.

Thank you SO much for this detailed answer. It really helps me understand the actual differences. Lol, the whale swimming under the zodiac might make my wife not want to go though 😀

Thanks. I know we get free bottled water (not sure how much tho) but was wondering about the other stuff. I assume you can go an get tap water throughout the day when the buffet is open?