JT1962

Reminds me of a neighbor from years ago. Every time I saw him he was telling me a story about how he got a free meal and coupons for a future meal by complaining at a restaurant. He did this everywhere he went and told everyone he came in contact with. Needless to say that I, and most everyone else in the neighborhood, avoided him if at all possible. Constantly complaining may be “profitable” by getting a few free items, but it’s definitely not profitable to one’s well being, mental health or social life, especially when it is the same issue over and over.

This will help:

I think your response just proved my statement. Continuing to hold on to anger, telling everyone about how you were wronged and trying to destroy the one someone feels is responsible only makes that person bitter and does nothing to resolve the problem. No company is perfect and MSC definitely isn’t even close. If I have a bad experience with any company (or person), I choose to not to business with them in the future and move on, lesson learned. Some seem to sadly make it their life’s mission to get “even” and destroy the one they feel wronged them rather than moving on and enjoying new experiences. If MSC is so terrible, I would not take 3 more cruises with them. I would just cancel and do something I enjoy. This is a good article that would help everyone: https://www.thesimplicityhabit.com/why-you-need-to-let-go-of-anger-to-improve-your-life/

I’m hoping the testing requirement for Grand Voyages ends before my May cruise from Miami to Barcelona on May 15. I am on the Seascape May 7 - 14 and don’t want to have to find a place to test as soon as I get off the ship so I can board the TA the next day. If still required, I can hopefully use an online proctored test, if those are still offered and accepted.

What a pathetic statement. Maybe some anger counseling would be in order. Hoping to destroy a company because it didn’t meet your expectations leads to a miserable life.

Royal Caribbean and Celebrity have allowed you to pre-purchase items for use onboard (excursions, dining packages, etc.) prior to sailing using your OBC for several years. Carnival started allowing this in the last year or so as well. Not sure about NCL or other lines. MSC does not allow this yet, but I’m hoping they do at some point.

Good to know. Hopefully you won’t have to follow up with the maître d’ once you arrive on board, but don’t be shocked if you do. 😊

MSC charges double your bid for an upgrade, if accepted, regardless of the number of people in the cabin (1, 2, 3, etc). With MSC, it’s best to book what you really want originally rather than hope for a deal on an upgrade bid, especially if solo.

Inaugural sailings rarely goes smoothly. Hopefully being a seasoned traveler, you had a good travel insurance policy that will reimburse you for some of the issues.

I just logged in and checked my booked Cruises. I have a cruise in May of this year from Miami to Barcelona and April 2024 from Dubai to Rome that were both listed as a Grand Voyages that now shows POS. I assume that means rePOSitioning. Maybe the longest segment possible is still called a Grand Voyage and the shorter segments of the same cruise are called POS for repositioning. The name change could also be a marketing change since people may search for a repositioning cruise and not realize it’s called a Grand Voyage on MSC

mscexistingreservations@msccruisesusa.com Hit or miss whether you will get a reply or they will honor your request. If not, just see the maître d’ on the first night of your cruise and see if you can be moved.

I was just on the Divina for seven days two weeks ago and for 19 days in October and loved it. Still in great shape, perfect size, lots of entertainment options in the evenings, etc. There is a charge in the sports bar for food ( $ 5-6 for wings, I think), but people said they were great. I assume we had the new menus, since they were different than Meraviglia last January. New items included chicken & waffles, meatloaf, pulled pork Mac & Cheese, etc. They also had classic items listed each night at no charge - shrimp cocktail, N Y Strip Steak, etc. Some of these had a charge on Meraviglia in Jan 2022.

That’s what I have considered trying, but I have not done it yet. It would just be much simpler if they would let you book solo and charge you double. But nothing is simple with MSC.

I had the same issue when trying to book the Divina May 15 TA as a solo in December. It would not let me book solo online or by calling MSC. . I contacted a travel agent and she was able to get me booked after several calls and eventually getting an MSC Rep who said she knew the “trick” to get it booked. Most of the reps appear to just see the same availability we see on the website, but a few that are more knowledgeable have learned to override some of the issues. The problem is, travel agents or callers cannot request a specific person when calling, apparently, and it may require multiple calls to get connected to someone who can actually assist. I also do not understand MSC‘s policy on solos compared to other lines. They seem to either offer a great discount or won’t let you book at all. Most cruise lines charge solo cruisers the full double occupancy rate for the cabin, but MSC doesn’t seem to do that, even if cabins are still available. There are times that I would be willing to pay the double occupancy rate, but have been told that they would not allow me to book solo, even if I paid the double rate. Another quirk of MSC, I guess.

Several issues going on currently with the MSC website for me, as usual. Web Check In does not seem to be working properly, some cruises I was looking at are not showing as available, others will not allow solo booking at any price, etc.

It will be interesting to see if the other itineraries remove Skagway. It seems the ongoing rockslide issues affecting the Railroad Dock may affect 2023 cruises as well. https://www.cruisehive.com/holland-america-cruise-no-longer-visiting-popular-alaskan-port/93931

That seems to be another glitch in the infamous MSC website/ IT systems. I have 4 current bookings, all showing the same message, but Early Dining was requested and listed on the booking confirmation email. The same thing happened on my recent Divina sailing, but I was assigned Early Dining on the cruise.

They usually have organized games for kids on South Beach. The times / location will be listed in the daily planner for Ocean Cay on the day you are there. You can rent mats or two are included if you get a cabana. Rentals are up to 20% cheaper if you book online before your cruise.

there seems to be a current issue with the web check in on the MSC site. Another of the infamous MSC IT issues.

The same thing with one of my upcoming cruises. Two that are later in the year show that I am all checked in and just waiting for the 20 day window to get the documents. The one that is much closer says I have not entered all information yet, everything is in there. I called MSC and they told me there is a second passenger listed in the room that is not completed their information and I needed to call my travel agent. It is a . I called MSC and they told me there is a second passenger listed in the room that is not completed there information and I needed to call my travel agent. It is a solo booking. .

Glad you enjoyed it and only had minor issues. Your experience was similar to mine on the Divina last week. Not perfect, but nothing worth dwelling on. I still am at a loss for why so many people do not care for the food on MSC (and other lines) and say there was nothing to eat, and/or they had the same thing every day. Unless they only went to the one same section each day, there was always plenty of variety. I suspect it is more that they are fairly picky and are unwilling to try something new or different, more than the fact that there was literally the same foods every day.

Yes, many still do.

The only requirement for “Elegant Night” on Divina last week was no shorts, flip-flops or swimsuits.

I would base my decision on whether to do both at once on how the customer service rep you receive handles your first request. If they seem to know what they are doing, I would probably do both at once. If they don’t seem to have a clue or struggle with the first request, I would only make the one request or hang up and call back. There is a wide variety of competence and experience with the MSC customer service reps. If you get a good one on the line, try to get all of your requests done in that call.

It was on the Divina last week. I had some extra OBC left after gratuities and charged that much to my card at a poker machine, then cashed out and got the cash at the casino cashier.