janj01

12 hours ago, Whatsmyline said:

I booked a MSC cruise several months ago.  Then I started lurking on this board and reading all the information.  And now I wish I had not booked this cruise.  Because I didn't book the Yacht Club.

 

So many posts say the only way to cruise msc is in the yacht club.  That they wouldn't do any other cabin.  Questions about regular cabins get answers about the yacht club.  It's mostly yacht club in the subject lines of posts.  Its yadda yadda yadda yacht club.

 

I feel like a 2nd class guy who is going to have a 2nd class, lousy time.  Sorry if I sound bitter, but a lot of the posts here have made me feel that way.  

I did my first MSC cruise last September on the Sinfonia. Also read bad reviews about everything on the ship including the food. We were pleasantly surprised. Food was great and loved everything about the ship. Drink packages were realy cheap compared to NCL who we always cruise with. We had a Suit which is just a normal balcony cabin with a larger bathroom. It wasnt yacht club. I wouldnt pay for yacht club. It costs twice as much as normal balcony cabins. Its the same as people who fly saying they wouldnt fly if they werent in business or first class. I will never be able to afford that and if I could would rather fly economy and go twice for the same price. Dont be put off by negativities. I am sure you will enjoy your cruise. We booked our 2nd MSC cruise whilst onboard doing our first. 

On 8/19/2019 at 12:09 AM, crazyboutdisney said:

We are booked on the Epic out of San Juan in March. Flights are WOW expensive. Traveling with friends and really want to go so we are considering changing our booking to Sail Away to save the money for airfare. We like the drink package but knowing its a port intensive cruise we arent too upset about losing the offers.

So I am just curious on peoples experiences with Sail Away. We really arent that picky about our room location. Close to elevators wouldnt bother me etc. The only thing that might is all the way forward. 

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance 🙂

We had a balony cabin with all perks booked and when saw sailaway cabins drop heavilly in price we decided to forfeit the perks and save $1200 each and get the sailaway. We have our cabins and got deck 10 midship which is almost the same position we originally booked. Very happy

37 minutes ago, Caymus88 said:

Is the dress code strict?

 

i read no jeans after 6 pm

DH will not wear anything more fancy than dress jeans

I am interested to hear answers to this question. My partner also wears dress jeans when cruising on NCL. We are doing a European  cruise in September. Our first with MSC. Wont be our last if all goes well. Great prices and they matched our NCL status

44 minutes ago, cruisefanatic16 said:

Previously I used to login with the voyagers club number and now it keeps asking for the booking code :(which I do not have since we book with an agent 

Ask your agent for your booking number. It should be on the paperwork the agent gave to you

What perks do a MSC Black Card holder entails?

I am platinum with NCL. MSC gave me black which is the highest. They dont offer much compared to NCL. With NCL we get 2 nights specialty restaurant dining, a bag of laundry each free per cruise as well as heaps more. Just want to try out MSC as they were $1000 cheaper than NCL for same cruise. I waited 1 week for my price match and then rang them and it was done within the next few days. They gave me 5% discount on the cruise I had booked a few weeks earlier. Just hope Sinfonia isnt as bad as a lot of people are saying. I tend to have an open mind and make my own opinion

On the NCL Board you do hear a lot of...."Food is subjective".

 

That's because NCL used to have really awful food....thus "subjective". Really for about 10 years the food was terrible, the dining service was terrible and terribly slow (you would have to block out 2.5 hours for dinner and sometimes have to leave dinner before dessert just to make your show. That's after sitting there for 2 hours!) terrible. The food product didn't used to compare to the other major lines. That's why NCL had the reputation, well deserved, as the worst food at sea!....Subjective.

 

But, in the past 2 years I would say, NCL has done a complete turn around in everything food. The quality they purchase is better. Choices are more interesting, even forward style restaurants, I'm thinking Food Republic, etc. For awhile, lobster was on most menus and it was well prepared (I'm from New England so yes, I can say that!). Then probably a year ago, lobster disappeared from all menus and I think the food quality declined slightly in general.

 

But it's still good food! Don't pass up NCL because you think the other lines are offering better food. I think all the lines have turned to the food budget as a way to cut costs. But they are learning. You can only cut into the food budget so much without getting the horrible reputation like NCL....The worst food at Sea!

 

And yes, food is subjective but you don't hear that when the food is good. Only when the food is mediocre and gets bad reviews do posters here justify the term subjective.

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I am in Australia. We travel every year to Europe to do 2 cruises. We always book at least a year ahead using our next cruise deposits that we purchase whilst cruising. There have always been big price drops and I just ring NCL and tell them the price has gone down and they adjust the price each time. Have done it 3 or 4 times on each cruise sometimes

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We just took our first Royal Caribbean cruise and, having never experienced towel animals, thought they were a little spooky.

 

One or two were cute, but then there was the first one that was supposed to be a swan, but looked like a snake...:eek:

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Hi...an additional related question...the excursions need to be booked at the excursion desk to get the silver or gold excursion discount, correct? Not be confused with the $50.00 per stateroom excursion discount per day.They cannot be booked online or via your room to get the discount, because you need to show your key card. Please correct me if I am wrong. We missed out on this discount in our recent Bermuda cruise because we booked the excursions from our room.

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Bergan was great! From the dock they have a free shuttle into the town center that ran every few minutes. I noticed that a Costa and Viking ship docked on the other side of town however I would expect you to dock where we did. From the shuttle they have little arrows and circles leading you to the city center. About a 10-15 min easy stroll and you will be near the fish market. It rained while we were there but it was enjoyable. It's a shame the weather was bad for us because I think it was our favorite city to walk around.

Thank you for that info. We are leaving in 2 days

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Greetings Everyone,

 

Just returned from the Norwegian Jade after a wonderful 15 day trip (2 days in Berlin and 2 days in Hamburg before boarding the Jade for 12 days) and would be happy to answer any questions.

 

First off the Norwegian Fjords are beautiful. They reminded me of cruising around Kauai and other Hawaiian Islands and have attached a few quick images. We lucked out with the weather and enjoyed several days of the "midnight sun" without seeing the sun set.

 

The new Jade is beautiful and they did a wonderful job. My friend and I shared a ocean view cabin and were pleased to see they added several power outlets and USB ports by the bed. Our friends were in one of the Garden Villas and they did a wonderful job on those also. The carpet in the living areas was removed with great stone/tile floors.

 

 

Service was some of the best I have had at sea. If you have Cagney's breakfast, lunch or go for dinner make sure you get Genavive (spelling might be wrong) since he was one of the best Servers I have ever had at sea. Zach who runs the steakhouses did a wonderful job also. The casino staff ensured our drinks were always full and provided smiles and help whenever needed. WARNING: The Jade slot machines are tight, very very tight, probably the tightest I have encountered.

 

Please feel free to ask any questions and I will be happy to start answering them!

 

I would do this same exact itin again in a heartbeat.

 

James

 

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We are doing the fjords on the 30th but will be boarding on the 16th doing the iceland one before as well. What was Bergan like. We have it on each cruise. Doing a tour on the second cruise but on our own on the first. Is that where the big fish market is

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Greetings Everyone,

 

Just returned from the Norwegian Jade after a wonderful 15 day trip (2 days in Berlin and 2 days in Hamburg before boarding the Jade for 12 days) and would be happy to answer any questions.

 

First off the Norwegian Fjords are beautiful. They reminded me of cruising around Kauai and other Hawaiian Islands and have attached a few quick images. We lucked out with the weather and enjoyed several days of the "midnight sun" without seeing the sun set.

 

The new Jade is beautiful and they did a wonderful job. My friend and I shared a ocean view cabin and were pleased to see they added several power outlets and USB ports by the bed. Our friends were in one of the Garden Villas and they did a wonderful job on those also. The carpet in the living areas was removed with great stone/tile floors.

 

 

Service was some of the best I have had at sea. If you have Cagney's breakfast, lunch or go for dinner make sure you get Genavive (spelling might be wrong) since he was one of the best Servers I have ever had at sea. Zach who runs the steakhouses did a wonderful job also. The casino staff ensured our drinks were always full and provided smiles and help whenever needed. WARNING: The Jade slot machines are tight, very very tight, probably the tightest I have encountered.

 

Please feel free to ask any questions and I will be happy to start answering them!

 

I would do this same exact itin again in a heartbeat.

 

James

 

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I can see them fine

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Us Brits also have drink grats included and our cabin prices are very comparable with the US.

 

I worked out that based on what I am paying for my cabin for ten days, along with taking off my free general gratuaties I am paying about £15 ($19) a day for my drinks package.Bargain!

Way to go 😊

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Free vs Fresh

I know there is free juice at breakfast but it wasn't fresh juice .

I was able to get fresh orange and grapefruit juice on Celebrity .

 

I'm glad gratuities are included but if previous Aussie gripes are correct , you pay dearly for this

inclusion as reflected in your cabin rates .

Nope our cabin rates were exactly the same as the US rates when converted and the juice we got at breakfast WAS the fresh squeezed one

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Exactly . Plus the NCL package doesn't include bottled water , "fancy" coffee, canned soda or fresh juices like Celebrity does . For us, the NCL "free" drink package is just barely worth it .

It is however worth it for the OPer if they drink 6-7 drinks each .

It does include fresh juice. We get free juice at the buffet at breakfast every morning and also because we book in Australia there are no gratuities added

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Of the 5 free benefits offered which is considered the best value? My husband & I will drink 6-7 alcoholic beverages a day. We are traveling with 2 teenagers.

We always take the beverage package. Cant beat it especially when its free. Here in Oz we dont pay gratuities on complimentary dring packages but I believe elswhere they do. Still much cheaper than paying as you go. Those cocktails are yummy and go down pretty easily 😊

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Hi...an additional related question...the excursions need to be booked at the excursion desk to get the silver or gold excursion discount, correct? Not be confused with the $50.00 per stateroom excursion discount per day.They cannot be booked online or via your room to get the discount, because you need to show your key card. Please correct me if I am wrong. We missed out on this discount in our recent Bermuda cruise because we booked the excursions from our room.

I have the $50 per cabin shore excursion credit the same as you. I am platinum and booked my excursions online and the 10% automatically came off before I payed it. I rang NCL Australia to find out when we would get the $50 per port and they told me that it would be refunded to my onboard account. If you are in the states and you ring to book the excursion they will deduct the $50 at the time of booking. Thats what they told me anyway. They said it wasnt possible to have it deducted in Australia att time of booking because I payed in Australian dollars and the $50 to be refunded was USD

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We are sailing Norwegian for the first time. Have always sailed Carnival before and are looking forward to exploring this new Cruise Line. Our extended families stay in another continent and we have used the Carnival internet plan for $5/day to stay in touch. Norwegian's lowest per day rate is $29.99 for our cruise (Pearl). This looks atrociously high to me. For all of you who have used internet - I need Facebook and Whatsapp only to connect with my family through messenger - Please tell me which plan you used and how much you paid.

Thanks!

Never use ships internet. Far too expensive. Whilst in port look for a restaurant or pub that has free wifi and have a drink or coffee and get your internet stuff done there. Free wifi signs are all over the place on shop windows

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Hi All!

 

We have cruised HAL, RCI, Princess & Celebrity and loved them all for different reasons.

 

Hubby and I have never cruised with NCL. We are looking at a 7 night round trip Barcelona on Epic in October 2018. What about this ship is a must do/try? Are reservations required for shows? Are the complimentary eating venues good? Which pay restaurants are good.

 

 

I would appreciate any info you could provide. Thanks a bunch.

 

 

Cheers, Betty

As far as I am concerned NCL is the best. I would say it is in the same category as RCL but fòd in main dining rooms is much better. Epic has a great buffet restaurant with so much food it is unbelievable. Its a great ship but being so big you do have to prebook the shoes which is a pain but its the same on all huge ships. I a not a fan of dining in specialty restaurants when there is excellant food available for free so cannot commdnt on that subject. I will be trying a few specialty restaurants in 3 weeks time on the Jade but only because we hot a dining package free with our booking

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Do Royal Caribbean do a shuttle from Sydney Airport to the cruise terminal? If so how much.

I agree!:D

 

I don't recall getting any towel animals on a Princess cruise' date=' even when my girl was little (she was 5 on our first Princess cruise). Always on Carnival. But definitely not important, especially when stewards are getting more cabins as time goes by. And I certainly wouldn't hint to a steward to make one of them for us, just as we don't make special requests.[/quote']

Same here. I have never hinted but always show appreciation for anything the steward does.

 

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Yep.

 

Tom

Thanks for agreeing Tom

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This thread is funny.. I can't believe some people have such a strong opinion about towel animals that they have posted in this thread over ten times.. ROFL..

Thats what threads are for. If everyone just looked and didnt write there wouldnt be a thread

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It only takes 30 seconds to clean a toilet or wipe down a sink also.

Lets see, given a choice which one would I rather have done?:confused:

Well if it only takes you 30 seconds to clean your toilet I wouldnt be sitting on it when visiting you. Cleaning a toilet doesnt mean just wiping it over

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Can't believe grown adults are fussing about not getting, or not getting enough towel animals. Yea they are cute but get a grip folks.

For me it isnt about getting or not gerting towel animals. Its the attitude of some people on here moaning about grtting them. Even insisting the cabin steward take them away after he has made them. Some people are just unapreciative grouches that dont realize if somebody does something for you the polite thing to do is smile and say thank you

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