CarolR

We just had our white pass/salmon bake excursion canceled without notification.  My husband happened to look at our credit card statement and noticed the refund.  When I called holland america I found out the excursion is still available so I have no idea why it was canceled.  I rebooked and had to pay an additional $20 per person. Needless to say I will be calling back to get the $40.00 refunded since they canceled for no reason.

10 minutes ago, shirley valentine said:

First I’d like to Thank You so much for always being a valuable person on this CC site .God Bless you for that .
 As for testing I guess it’s about convenience and how much am I willing to pay $$ for that . Such a first world problem eh ! 
 

We are flying to Vancouver from Ontario mid May for our Alaska cruise and thought it would be as simple as it is here to book a test - as little as $17.00 at Costco. Was I in for a surprise when I saw that wasn't the case and most prices are upwards of $100. We did book an appointment at the switch health clinic in Richmond for $39.00 for aeroplan members. 

On 3/24/2022 at 4:45 PM, Fouremco said:

According to their website, the price for Aeroplan members is $39 (presumably plus tax). Did you provide your Aeroplan number when you tried booking?

 

https://switchhealth.ca/en/partners/aeroplan/

Thanks. I found it and booked our tests for $39.00 at the clinic.

Does anyone know if the aeroplan price of $44 for switch health applies to testing at their clinic in Richmond. I tried to book an appointment but the price is $75.00.

We flew a max 8 just before the second fatal crash happened. I remember getting on the flight and noticing it was a brand new plane and saw Max 8 on the seat pocket safety card.  I remember that because I never heard of that plane before. I cringe when I think about what could have happened. 

14 hours ago, ilovetotravel1977 said:

ParoDeeJay are my absolute favourites!

Me too. I just love watching their videos. Such a natural fun vibe to them. No pretension.  I just discovered Don a few months ago but  now we really get no info from him. Just whining and ranting. I don't mind La Lido Loca. 

We were supposed to cruise RCI in November.  My husband received the Pfizer/Moderna combo.  Myself and our adult son who was joining us had Pfizer exclusively.  My son is an amputee and requires an accessible cabin. My husband's vaccine was not acceptable as it was over 42 days between doses. We called RCI to cancel but they would not refund our money and we had to accept a future cruise credit.  We escalated it to a supervisor but they would not budge.  We had a carnival cruise booked for next fall so essentially we swapped cruises as Carnival is fine with our vaccine regimen. We are in a wait and see mode right now. Will the border open and will they accept our Canadian vaccine strategy. I'm not sure I even want to go to Florida at this point. I think our government did the right thing by getting doses into more arms.

As of today Royal Caribbean removed the paragraph from their website advising that mixed vaccines are considered not vaccinated.  I'm sure they got wind of the issues this caused with Canadian and European passengers. 

We just got off the Meraviglia.  We boarded on September 21st in Kiel, Germany for the crossing.  Embarkation was a total disaster.  I've never seen anything like it in the 27 or so cruises I've been on. When we got to the port there were hundreds of people lined up outside and that turned into thousands.  It was chaos.  Then some busloads of people arrived who proceeded to run and cut through the lineup and push others out of the way.  Through all this you had to drag your luggage unlike the US where the porters are there immediately to collect luggage.  About an hour and a half during this process, they told Canadians and Americans to come to the front to another line for some reason.  We then were able to check in.  I can't imagine how long it took to board the other thousands of people.  

We boarded the Horizon from NYC a few years ago and there were no issues.

We just got off the transatlantic sailing of the Meraviglia. We are seasoned cruisers on several lines and can unequivocally say we will not give MSC any more of our money. That being said we overall enjoyed the cruise as the itinerary was amazing.  The ship is stunning and the food was good. Service in the dining room was ok after the first few days but tended to be on the slow side. The poor waiters were running in with the printed menus and trying to put them together while people ate already seated at their tables. 

Wash clothes are not available until requested and paper products in the bathroom are not plentiful.  We needed to ask for toilet paper a few times.

Once we left iceland for north America no TV was available.  I guess for some it doesn't matter but we like to retreat to our cabin at the end of the day to catch the news or watch some sports.  The internet was painful at times.  Calls to guest services did nothing. 

We had aurea cabins with spa access. For three days both therapy pools were not available. One of the steam rooms wasn't working for a few days and when I mentioned it to the spa staff they said it was because I apparently didnt close the door properly?? 

We enquired at guest services about shuttles to LaGuardia and self debarkation. We were told there was no shuttle available until after 9 and they dont have self debarkation.  Lo and behold they called self debarkation at around 7 and the first shuttle was at 7:30.

My overall impression was one indifference. We spoke to so many North Americans who said this was there first and last MSC cruise.

18 minutes ago, SirWolf said:

I agree, 4GB shared with DW was not even enough for a 7-night cruise. Unfortunately MSC didn’t offer Unlimited Internet on their USA website for our Baltic Sea cruise. I learned later that the Unlimited Internet package is limited to 1 device but we were online quite a lot at the same time with 2 devices, especially on days at sea. I have not used FaceTime but highly doubt that the speed supports video and audio in real time.

We are just finishing up the 18 day crossing from Germany to N.Y.  We purchased the 'unlimited' package but it was limited to 10g so we were careful not to stream video etc and kept it to reading news, Twitter facebook  etc.  The speed was extremely slow so you couldn't do much anyway.  

2 hours ago, HLR said:

 

Hi Carol! I am looking out my office window at the ship right now. Has the speed increased now that you are in "The New World"? Will be boarding tomorrow.

 

Howard

Hi Howard. Speed is better right now. It was terrible since we arrived in Canada but seems better now.  Enjoy your cruise.

On the Meraviglia now just about in New York.  The wifi has been painfully slow - the worst I've ever had.  It was better when we were still in Europe but terrible in North America. Pictures simply wont load. This is the first time today that cruise critic would actually load. Hopefully it improves.

On the Meraviglia now just about in New York.  The wifi has been painfully slow - the worst I've ever had.  It was better when we were still in Europe but terrible in North America. Pictures simply wont load. This is the first time today that cruise critic would actually load. Hopefully it improves.

On her now and we are actually in St. John New Brunswick heading to Halifax tomorrow.  

40 minutes ago, jabarnard11 said:

CarolR - it's funny you say that.  Celebrity is getting too spendy, and that's our line of choice so I'm looking at MSC.  However, in May as we were leaving our last cruise, we were talking to another couple just off of an MSC cruise and they said the EXACT same thing you did, but nothing positive about the service.  The towel situation was terrible without any sort of assistance and the service overall was just bad.  As you said - they said they either didn't care or were made to feel as if they're a bother.  I have to say, Celebrity has always made me feel pampered and spoiled and I'm not sure I'm willing to settle for less when spending so much money on a vacation.  I'm not caring for this corroborative feedback so I'm going to officially pass on MSC.  It's too bad because the ships look fantastic.  

 

BTW, their ship was a Caribbean sailing... not sure if that makes a difference to your future plans.

Every north American we spoke to had the same observations.  The ship is lovely but all of the many small issues add up to a lot of frustration. I think it's the indifference when you asked a question that was frustrating.  

On the Meraviglia now and generally works fine but there have been a few glitches. You book shows on their touch screens located around the ship. We always booked for both of us but the app would only show one seat booked.  We still got into the shows though.  The app would not show our charges on the app on our phones but you can see them on the TV version in your room. Other than that it seems to work fine 

16 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

I wasn't aware they made you pay for bottled water on MSC. (We were in Aurea and had the Premium drinks package, so that wasn't an issue). Was it pricey? We've always had to pay for bottled water on Costa, RCCL and Carnival unless we had a drinks package. Actually, that's one of the reasons we started getting them. Bottled water can add up fast.

We have the aurea package as well so we are not paying for water. We have never paid for bottled water in the MDR before and always drank the water they served in pitchers. The maitre d told us they dont even have water  pitchers right now for the MDR  on the Meraviglia  but apparently they do on the US based ships. 

51 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Actually, a lot of the MSC staff are expected to know not just English, but German, French, Italian, and Spanish, as well, given the mostly European profile of the passengers (yes, even including cruises leaving from Miami). We haven't cruised Princess yet (hoping to in 2021), but we can say that MSC definitely has more of a European vibe, which we very much like. And as for getting cappuccino at dinner, all I can say is that you'd never do that in Italy. Ever. I think their constitution stipulates you could be deported for even considering it.  We never had a problem getting regular coffee in the MDR while on the Seaside last year. I can definitely see a problem with asking your dinner service water to leave the MDR to fetch a specialty coffee drink while he's trying to serve you and several other tables their food. If I absolutely HAD to have a cappuccino, I'd go fetch it myself, whilst hanging my head in shame. 😉

I did not hang my head in shame!! Specialty coffees are offered on the MDR menus on all other cruise lines we've sailed so of course I asked on this one.  End of story!!

7 hours ago, capriccio said:

Ah but that isn't Italian 😉!  Cappuccino is a breakfast or morning coffee break drink and definitely not served after dinner!  We are on our first MSC cruise in January but we lived in Italy for 5 years in the 1970s and 1980s.  This was my husband's reaction, not mine since I don't drink coffee.

 

I told him that we should have no problem on MSC even though we are elite on Princess and accustomed to their offerings.

As I am Canadian of Italian heritage I do know that cappuccino is a breakfast drink however we happen to enjoy it with dessert.  We tried to order regular coffee for the next few nights and it caused so much confusion that we gave up the ghost and headed up to the buffet for a cup of coffee. 

1 hour ago, perakcruiser said:

This is the old problem, you expect personal treatment, the Europeans (and Asians) expect "do your job, be invisible". I don´t think that any Non-American cruise line encourages this, definitely not in Europa or East Asia. 

 

And yes, also many would think it is very rude to annoy a superbusy waiter at dinner to go to the next cafe and bring a cappuccino. But for Americans this is totally OK, these are the differences. 

 

For many US cruisers MSC (or any non-US cruise line) is not a good choice, but for some it is great. Just try, they are much cheaper than others and also have lower additional costs on board. 

Asking for a cappuccino with dessert is not rude. I would think it is part of the service we paid for. 

11 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

remember, MSC offers upgraded service only in YC class. If you are a mere mortal in a non-YC cabin, you will get a lot less service on MSC than on Princess.

That said, we are trying MSC next April. Only because it was a bit cheaper than Princess and Princess keeps sailing to the same old destinations during the 2 times a year we can actually cruise, while this particular MSC Meraviglia cruise will take us to slightly more exciting locations for a little less money.

Agreed. Most of us are not sailing yacht club so to compare that with a regular princess cabin is not realistic. General service on princess is far and above what we've experienced on MSC so far.  Apparently asking for coffee with dessert is an issue and they outright refused to bring me a cappuccino saying it would take too long. If you're not aurea or do not have a drink package you pay for bottled water with dinner. Cruise may be cheaper but you're going to pay one way or another.  However I would try them again in north America 

29 minutes ago, CGTNORMANDIE said:

Comparing apples to oranges...MSC has a lower price point and delivers a good product that can be erratic.  You will be sailing with a much more diverse population as the majority are flying in from Europe and elsewhere.  The new ships are upscale, gorgeous and dazzling The food is more Euro and can be great or can be lackluster.  The entertainment is very good but different from the American counterpart.  The new ships offer Cirque Soleil.  MSC offers The Yacht Club for those who are willing to spend triple the basic cost.  The YC beats anything Princess has to offer...hands down.  The YC features an entire section of the ship with separate pool deck, huge lounge and separate dining room and is all-inclusive.  The level of service in the YC is beyond anything you will find on Princess.

 

Princess offers a great middle of the road product.  Their food is very good...on average.  The Princess buffet is always a notch above the others.  Princess offers good entertainment and nice facilities but none of the upgraded service and facilities that MSC offers.  Princess has a very limited suite experience with no benefits as compared to MSC.  

 

The experience on MSC or Princess is different from each other.  I would say Princess is steady and MSC is a bit of a walk on the wild side and can be erratic.  Princess is an established line and MSC is a work in progress that continually surprises and in some cases disappoints.  

We are on the Meraviglia now crossing the Atlantic.  You comments are right on. We are not yacht club but did book Aurea which gives you access to the spa and a limited drink package.  We are enjoying the cruise overall and are not complainers. However the service is at best erratic and it seems that some employees just dont care.  Some days we get wash cloths and a bathroom floor mat and other days we dont. We have to ask for toilet paper when running low. Others had to beg for a box of Kleenex.   That being said I would try them again in north America to see if the service improves.  

We are on the Meraviglia now from Kiel Germany to NYC.  Booked thru the US site last year. It was a nightmare from the beginning. Could not make our final payment online. Had to call. When we booked excursions online we got confirmations for some and not others. Had to call to ensure they were booked. When we got our tickets they showed we canceled our Iceland tour and internet. I called and someone said we cancelled them in January. I called the next day and got someone else who said all was fine.  They still have a lot of work to do on their website services. 

Don't give up on the status match.  We booked a European cruise with MSC on the US site and it took about 10 emails and a few phonecalls before we got confirmation that we had the status match.  The people on the phone were nice enough but their website is an unmitigated disaster.  If they want to make inroads in North America then they need to overhaul their website so it works.  We have to keep resetting the password to sign in and then it does not work . We are trying to prepay the WIFI and when you click on that tab all you get is info on the spa services.   If it wasn't for the amazing itinerary, I would have canceled and rebooked with someone else and lost my deposit.  Thats how frustrated we have been with their ridiculous website.