Mark_T

Exactly, if we sailed expecting excellent wines we would be mostly disappointed, regardless of it being MSC/Celebrity/Regent etc., but sailing to enjoy the ambiance and the service with drinkable wines tends to leave us much happier. I have a colleague who has invested much time and a lot of money over the years in developing his palate and his deep knowledge of the vineyards... ...he now professes that he cannot drink most wines below $100 a bottle and only really enjoys those at significantly higher price points, I'm not sure that his time and money was well spent 🙂

We have made a careful note of their names and will be looking for them in 3 weeks time when we are onboard... 🙂

He really does seem to be delivering excellent service for you. Has he been able to do this within the YC drink limits or have you let him go outside of that to deliver so much choice and the right pairings?

I'm not too worried at this point, we are checked in and we have our boarding passes in the app. Plenty of time to sort it out...

Regrettably I don't think this problems is browser or OS related, I've tried Windows 10 & 11 also OSX and iOS. Also tried Safari, Edge, Firefox and Chrome without success. I've deleted cookies and changed privacy settings, but still get the same problem. ... just a matter of waiting till they fix it I think.

That is for the initial boarding on the first day only. Gold Voyager status or above would get you priority when using tenders to get off the ship, but you will not have any priority when returning, and otherwise no priority when tenders are not involved.

The rules here prevent TA referrals, but there are plenty of experienced MSC cruisers around, so just ask your questions and let's see who can help you get the right answers...

Here we go, I found the one for the Dolphin Mall... MINI MIAMI TOUR & DOLPHIN MALL: ENDS AT MIA AIRPORT Add a final treat to the last day of your cruise by making a date with the vibrant city of Miami on this coach-based sightseeing tour, which ends with your transfer to Miami International Airport. Apart from a chance to enjoy views of the splendid Miami Beach, you’ll also get to enjoy some retail therapy at one of Miami’s largest shopping centres: The Dolphin Mall. With more than 240 retail outlets divided into three distinct zones – Playa, Ramblas and Moda – this is the perfect spot to pick up a souvenir. Please note: this tour is intended for guests disembarking from Miami who are booked on a flight from Miami International Airport departing after 15:30 hours/3:30 pm for domestic flights or after 16:30 hours/4:30 pm for international flights.

Yes, they still offer both of those, but the required flight times are a little later and vary depending on domestic or international. I'll post again to confirm once the MSC website is behaving as we have the details for those two on our cruise next month...

Hopefully all went well, this is another one of those occasions where AirTags (or Android equivalent) are a great stress reducer.

As far as I can see from the deck plan and the technical sheet, all cabins in that category can sleep up to 4. Exactly how would be a good question as it doesn't cover that on the deck plan, but it is listed as being for up to 4 occupants.

Yes, you do not have to provide CC information in advance. We just completed the check-in this morning and did not enter a payment method as we know the online system doesn't handle the debit card we wish to use, but onboard it isn't an issue.

MSC is a little unusual in the way it sells cruises in multiple different segments and in those cases then yes, how it was booked makes a difference between being a single cruise or a B2B. ... but with most cruise lines each leg of a B2B is treated separately and the OBC isn't transferred.

That is irritating, but far from unique to MSC, so it is advisable to ask that question whichever line you are sailing with...

Our Butler made that point when offering us a choice of bottles, he suggested keeping whatever we chose unopened to take home as he would be more than happy to bring anything we wanted during the cruise to the cabin.

We never book Club Europe with BA, as you say it is just not worth it given the relatively short flights and no significant improvement in the seat. You can get cheap upgrade offers though, but even then it is rarely worth it.

We couldn't complete the photos until we tried again in natural daylight, the color cast in artificial lighting seems to confuse it even though we use bulbs in the daylight range.

Have a great flight! Perfect timing to be heading out of the UK as the already cold weather is set to go even lower over the next week.

Every review has a different perspective, always worth reading, so we look forward to the 'views' from your inside cabin 🙂

These days there are no miniatures in the mini bar, and you get to pick one full sized bottle of spirits (or wine). So there will typically be beer and soda in the mini bar...

We look forward to your experiences, as we too share the same concerns as we have always avoided ships of this size and wonder if the YC experience is just too diluted when the size of YC is expanded...

Given that each person can only match once and that status on MSC expires if you do not complete a cruise within 3 years, it might be worth holding his match in reserve for the future. Few of the benefits make much difference individually as most are extendible to the cabin or are only allowed once per cabin. Then if you don't cruise often enough with MSC you've still got a second chance to match, but if you do cruise often enough you'll find the points build quite quickly anyway...

Have a safe journey home and thanks for allowing us all to vicariously enjoy the cruise with you. Just over 30 days until we will be boarding Divina, so your reviews have helped to remind us of what we will soon be enjoying again.

No changes here either, I wonder if this is specific to the Ocean Cay cruises?

As far as I am aware, there is no special diamond discount, nor is there an 'onboard' 10% discount, it is just the same 5+5% that all Voyager members get for booking more than 6 months in advance. ... or there is the 'Senior' discount, Military discount etc.