Greygooser

12 hours ago, NCMtnBoys said:

Tip - Pack your patience. The area around the port is not built to handle the amount of traffic generated from people disembarking the ship and the next group embarking the ship. We were on Meraviglia May 21-28 and it was gridlock both the 21st and the 28th. 

I am coming into Penn Station and taking an Uber/Lyft (tomorrow) Is the traffic so bad it makes more sense to go down to lower Manhattan and take the Ferry? I figured the quickest way would be going directly to the port via Uber/Lyft

1 minute ago, mackfam said:

They do list the times for the YC venues (but also all the other venues) on the back page. Maybe this is different from the regular dailies as the front page with the YC logo and back page are one piece and they insert a loose ‘daily planner’ page in the middle

Cool, thank you. Hope you enjoy the rest of your sailing!

Just now, papafred said:

We would appreciate if you would post the Daly Planners………. Thanks

Depart 7/16.  

Will do. I plan on doing a “live” thread as well. My first time with MSC

1 minute ago, mackfam said:

Currently in the YC. Other than having the Yacht Club logo on the upper right corner of the front page, there is no difference that I’ve noticed, as most activities take place in the main part of the ship. 

Got it, makes sense. I was under the impression they’d have the hours of the YC facilities as well

Hello all- Going to be in the YC on the Meraviglia next week (very excited) Has anyone ever posted the YC dailies here? It's my understanding they are different from the regular dailies given to the rest of the ship. If not, I will post them from my upcoming trip!

17 hours ago, Mira28 said:

 Thanks for this! Yes, the ferries sound good. I'd be coming from Manhattan, but I think that's also pretty easy to and from Red Hook. Sounds like you had a great cruise!

I'm also coming from Manhattan. Uber/Lyft or taxi seem like the way to go.

@AtSeaWithChris a question if you don't mind.. is there a comedian on the ship? also to everyone, has anyone posted the dailies from this Meraviglia itinerary? I'll be cruising 6/11 

On 5/26/2023 at 9:45 AM, 1025cruise said:

Thank you for the live report. I'm considering booking the Meraviglia last minute and only YC is available at this point. Just waiting for my status match confirmation to come back. Picking this cruise because I can easily take the train to NYC.

I'm also taking the (acela) train into NYC (from BOS). Once we arrive at Penn Station, I figure the best way to get to the ship is Uber/Lyft.

Thanks for all that info. Was there a comedian on your sailing?

4 hours ago, hamrag said:

If your cruise is 7 nights, I'd suggest not. If it's 14 nights, then it gives variety every 4 or 5 nights and $71 is very attractive! Although the YC menus change every day, that is on a rolling 7 night basis so across a 14 night cruise each menu appears twice.

 

Drinks are included in specialty restaurants for guests with the Premium Extra package, which is essentially what the YC package includes for drinks.

1 hour ago, sbcs5390 said:

On my 7 night and first time, I didn’t do any specialties and didn’t miss it. The YC menu is interesting. There are always available like an excellent filet mignon without feeling like you’re asking for a special favor. Conversely, lots of folks are happy to pay for the Butchers’ Cut restaurant if not in YC because they can get a filet there (amongst other things). In most cases with the limited menus in specialities, I think I would feel like I was paying to get a lesser meal. YC restaurant is reportedly happy to oblige with other items with a day’s notice usually. Next MSC cruise is 11 nights and I don’t think I really feel a desire to book specialties - if I did it would be on the repeat days. I am curious about Hola!, the Mexican place which people seem to like. I might do that on a rainy day lunch when the pool grille restaurant isn’t an option but still it is $18 I don’t really need to spend. On both X and MSC, I prefer not having a schedule on vacation (open seating) and with specialties for dinner, you feel like you’re on a schedule due to the reservation time. 

I am on a 7 day cruise on the Meraviglia, and that's what I was thinking as well. We might end up doing the taco place because that could be fun. Otherwise the YC restaurant and pool deck seems more than adequate. Appreciate the feedback, sometimes I just need some reassurance even when I'm 99% sure it's the right call!

Appreciate all the details! Looking forward to my Meraviglia YC cruise in a few weeks :)

Curious what everyone's opinions are as far as getting a specialty dining package when staying in the YC. I can get the 3 meal package for $71, which seems very reasonable. I understand the menus are limited and there's a surcharge for the Teppanyaki. Just not sure if it's worth it since you have access to the YC restaurants.

Also, if you go to a specialty restaurant with a package (as a YC guest), are the drinks included? 

I just did this yesterday. I booked my first MSC cruise with a "concierge" a few months ago and was paid in full, then did status match to get to Gold status with MSC. They applied my 5% discount, and then re-issued my booking and it was $800 higher! They had taken the 5% off the current rate, not what I paid. Concierge had to submit to a manager to get a price adjustment. After some of the horror stories I've heard about MSC, I was worried I was going to get screwed over. Thankfully, they made the adjustment. Now my booking says I've paid $60 more than I owed. Not sure if that will end up as OBC or I'll get a refund.

On a side note, if you don't have a travel agent (like me) and are booking with MSC directly, I would definitely recommend going through a concierge. On the MSC homepage, scroll to the bottom and there's something that says "AN MSC CRUISE CONCIERGE CAN HELP" with a button "Request a Call". One will reach out to you, and you'll have their direct contact info if you have any issues. My upcoming cruise will be my first with MSC, but if I like it I would book directly with my concierge again.

On 4/30/2023 at 8:31 AM, 8420PR said:

Some data I found:

 

MSC is offering 3,162 cruises to solo passengers, out of a total of 3,390 cruises offered to 2 passengers.   

 

Solo passengers:

 

Two passengers:

 

If you dont mind me asking, is that a consumer travel site? Or a travel agent tool of some sort? It's hard to filter down specific cruise results with MSC. Looking for solo rates in the YC.

On 5/13/2023 at 6:39 AM, xcell said:

Minibar snacks "refills" not included

I was told they will replace all snacks except for the Toberlone bar at no cost. If you eat a second Toberlone, expect to pay for it.

23 hours ago, Erekosse said:

December 2022 cruise on the Escape, and they refunded the unused OBC in cash. I didn't really spend too much time trying to get it refunded to a card instead, so it may be possible that way will refund it that way.

On 4/30/2023 at 6:09 AM, fstuff1 said:

you sure about refunded to another card at end of cruise?

i was told by ship finance that they pay out cash at end of cruise.

 

i prefer not to carry more  cash, especially when i'm debarking in a foreign country.

Just an update. I found where I read that you can get it back on whichever card you use for your onboard account. It was in the Amex offer from last year. Here's the post:
 

17 hours ago, Daniel A said:

 

I don't know if this will help, but here's a thread from last August.  Read posts #'s 12 & 13:

 

 

Wow, thank you! For anyone else, post #92 covers the debarkation experience in Civitavecchia as well.

38 minutes ago, fstuff1 said:

you sure about refunded to another card at end of cruise?

i was told by ship finance that they pay out cash at end of cruise.

 

i prefer not to carry more  cash, especially when i'm debarking in a foreign country.

I have never done this myself, I just remember reading that here at some point. I believe the context was someone bought OBC with one card, but then put a different card on their onboard account once on the ship. It's distinctly possible they used to do that, but no longer do. To me it makes much more sense as more and more people carry less cash. Logistically, there's no reason they couldn't refund to any card you choose. If anyone else can chime in with personal experience, that would be great.

3 minutes ago, Wordyways12 said:

Wondering if you have any feedback from your Haven embarkation Rome query.  We are sailing 6/24 and curious what to expect. Thank you for any feedback!

I have not learned anything more. I’m lucky that we aren’t going until the end of August, so hoping to get some feedback from other roll calls with a Rome embarkation/debarkation port.

3 hours ago, laudergayle said:

I love these offers…I did not get one…perhaps because I got one in October and used it. 😕

Same with me. Guess they know we'll use it again! Worth mentioning, despite saying it only qualifies via NCL phone agent/NCL.com, almost any travel agent bills the same way and the offer should apply. I've also been told if you already have a cruise booked, you can add $1k of OBC and get it refunded on another card at the end of the trip.

I am sailing with a buddy who does not have any kind of status (has not traveled much). If I just had him sign up for Hilton Honors account to become a "Member", would MSC match with 1 point so he can get the 5% discount? Or is there any other account he can sign up for the achieve the same goal?

2 hours ago, rccllovergirl said:

Call them. I applied for the match. They said it might take 7-10 business days to process my request. I told them that I don’t want to wait that long and want to book it now. They said that after status match I can call them back and I would have two options. Either they send me a check (that might take time) or I choose on board credit for that 5%. 

Thank you. I'll try the MSC number and maybe I can explain to them. I'd be fine with OBC, as I've read that's what others have received.

2 hours ago, mscdivina2016 said:

Concierge..... LoL.  They won't do anything on board.

Can you cancel and rebook?

 

They will tell you that you need to talk to land operations 

When I say concierge I mean the MSC equivalent of NCL's Personal Cruise Consultant, not the concierge on the boat. You can request one call you to book a cruise, and I am under the impression they are separate from the agents you speak to when you call the generic MSC number. And as far as rebooking, I am past final payment, and even if I could cancel the price for my YC cabin has increased dramatically.

Hello all-

I booked my first MSC cruise for this June. Of course, I didn't learn about the status match program until afterwards. Now, I have successfully matched to MSC Voyagers Gold level. I did not get the 5% discount when I initially booked, since I was not part of the Voyagers Club. I have read that you can get the 5% back in OBC. Is there a process to this? Does it happen automatically? Any insight would be appreciated. I booked with an MSC Concierge and they don't seem to understand my inquiry and can't give me an answer....

9 minutes ago, PompeySailor said:

You don’t need to lose any cards 

 

Just use an old hotel card or ask steward, room attendant (butler) for a piece of blank plastic 
Basically any credit card size piece of plastic will work, all you are doing is blocking a sensor, it is not very high tech.

That was my experience on NCL as well, I only ask because earlier in the thread someone said you need an RFI card. I'll bring an old NCL card just in case.