travelberlin

Yes, this promotion is valid until February 23rd. Good that Diamond members at MSC are being offered benefits on Explora. Ivi

I am also interested on the answer Ivi

I am also interested on the answer. Ivi

Azamara charges US 75 administration fee if we cancel a cruise before penalties apply. The rest of the deposit is refunded immediately to our accounts. I am fine with that. Ivi

I had two bookings in November this year, 15 days apart with a 5 stars hotel. Non refundable. Because of political disturbances in the country where I had this booking, I was unable to go. The hotel refunded everything. They said to me I had to cancel and request the refund before 24 hours of the date I was planning to stay because after that, my credit card used to hold the reservation, would be automatically charged. I was very impressed with that Hotel, which refunded a non refundable booking without hesitation. The political disturbances lasted one month! Very hard for those service providers. I will try to book as often as I can with that hotel chain. Ivi

I wonder how the bookings are doing for Explora. There is not much movement on this board 🧐 Ivi

Thanks, but I wonder how realistic that is. Exora is not offering cruises for July in its web page. Ivi

I have noticed that. I hope more offers will come. Ivi

Thanks. With another price increase, I will. not hurry to book. The current per guest prices are already too high (more than US 1200 per cabin per night for a simple itinerary?) Ivi

I was trying to plan my cruises next year with Azamara but I see that there are no solo offers listed for most of the year 2023. Any idea when those solo offers will come? Ivi

Bergen can be done on your own. When we were there the weather changed suddenly and it started raining within seconds. Very strong rain and we had to go back to ship because we were soaked. Concerning the crab safari, we have avoided it. As much as I enjoy eating crabs, we did not want to go to catch them and then to see how they were cooked. If you enjoy eating crabs, there are lots of restaurants close to the market area in Bergen which serve them. Ivi

Here is also some information: but like I have written before confirm with the cruise line. https://www.hafen-hamburg.de/en/vessels/?schiffe=169804&kreuzfahrt-segelliste=169806 Ivi

MSC usually uses Cruise Center Steinwerder. However it is better you confirm with MSC for the exact date of your sailing. The Port for your sailing could be a different one. Ivi

What is the policy for the cancelled cruises? I am looking at one cruise for August 2023 and I am afraid it might be too soon to book Explora. I do not like cancellations. Is there a definite date when Explora will start? Ivi

Excellent! Thanks for posting. Ivi

Looking at Explora, I see all their prices are per person not per suite. Have that change overtime? Ivi

Is Heike? One more reason to cruise with Explora… Ivi

Thanks I will have a look. Is this on their webpage? Ivi

I am very glad to see how Explora is developing. We are Diamond members with MSC, but we do not like very much that the company is making larger and larger ships. In a couple of months we will be cruising on the MSC Fantasia in Yacht Club, which for that category of ships is lovely. However, we do not want to go on the larger MSC ships not even on Yacht Club. Since we like the Italian Way of Cruising, Explora is definitely a good option for us. I wonder if there will be any kind of reciprocity/benefits for Diamond members with MSC in the Explora Cruise Line 🧐. Ivi

MSC takes very serious the issue of Gluten sensitivity. My husband had the diagnose of having Gluten allergies before a cruise with MSC. We have informed the cruise line and he was served from a completely separated menu and with one person bringing his food to the table. They did everything to avoid contamination. It was a lot of effort from MSC because in case of a real allergy it can be life threatening. Fortunately a couple of months later another diagnosis for my husband found out that he did not have any gluten allergy. Unfortunately nowadays doctors are diagnosing this condition everywhere and it is not always the reason for the symptoms. In your case you said, you are not really sensitive to Gluten but prefer not to eat food containing gluten. Maybe you could find out at the beginning of your cruise if that food is going to be available, for example because other guests do really need to eat gluten-free. In that case it might not be too much extra work for the cooks to prepare one more gluten free food for you. If there are no other guests with the condition, you might want to reconsider, for the sake of the crew involved in the cooking and serving the gluten free food, if you could not renounce to your preference for the time of your cruise. The crew at MSC ships work a lot and anything we could do to relieve them from additional work is a good action. We try to relieve them from additional work for example requesting, that no turn down service in the evening shall be done in our cabin. It is nice to have everything fresh made when you return to your cabin, but we do not really need it. Just my humble opinion. Ivi

I wish you a good recovery. Do you have the insure against COVID from MSC? Ivi

I was thinking exactly the same. That download speed is impressive… Ivi

Thanks for posting this. I am glad that MSC takes into account that their prices in Yacht Club can’t be discounted without limits. This is fair to all passengers who pay full prices. Ivi

Thanks for posting your experience. In your case, you were already in yacht club. Even though it was an inside cabin. The upgrade was not from a fantastica or bella or aurea experience to the yacht club but from one cabin to the other inside already of the yacht club. My friends experience was from a balcony fantastica to a yacht club cabin including the experience. They paid the full price. Ivi

Phil, is this Joao, Joao Junior who left to work for the now bankrupt Crystal? Is he back on Azamara? Ivi