MSC Bargains Thread

[anniegb]

A real bargain Venice to Dubai, Cruise,Flight,Transfer.. Inside cabin at £1199 pp

 

Cruise only ... £2399 ..... :eek:

 

Tim ... I think someone at MSC has lost the plot.

 

Pete ... I believe that only happened in the last 2 or 3 weeks re the Solo prices.

 

Your recollection of the Opera solo price release date matches mine.

 

I believe MSC may release unsold cabins at attractive solo rates in the future on a last minute basis. However that does not suit everybody.

 

My 2015 vacation plans are all land vacations booked with no solo penalty.

 

Annie

[AmoMondo]

Agree Annie, not all of us. An wait until 2-3 weeks before to see if we can get a reasonable price. Maybe different when I'm retired but getting 3 weeks off for a repo at such short notice is unlikely.

 

 

I'm on a big land trip now because the price for Autumn repos was ridiculous back in Spring. Having an absolute ball and am seriously tempted to return to Oz next Autumn. Only thing I miss is the company you get on a cruise, particularly with traditional dining. There are ways around that though. Went on a schooner for the day yesterday and met some great people from all corners of the globe.

[Skier52]

Sidari wrote:-

 

Pete ... I believe that only happened in the last 2 or 3 weeks re the Solo prices.

 

THe ship was nowhere near full, it only had 1554 guests (capacity is 1756 Double Occupancy / 2100 All berths). In fact our steward had only16 of his 21 cabins occupied. So they could have offered the discount to solo passangers a lot earlier

 

 

Pete

[sidari]

I will never understand the mentality that allows a ship to sail with empty cabins rather than sell at a lower price and earn some money! it reminds me of Narrowboat operators in the UK who would rather have their boats moored up at base rather than reduce the price and have it out sailing and earning some money ... :rolleyes:

[anniegb]

I will never understand the mentality that allows a ship to sail with empty cabins rather than sell at a lower price and earn some money! it reminds me of Narrowboat operators in the UK who would rather have their boats moored up at base rather than reduce the price and have it out sailing and earning some money ... :rolleyes:

 

What Pete reports confirms a discussion I heard recently on another cruise line.

 

Cruise lines would rather sail with empty cabins as they often obtain a higher rack rate on the cabins they do sell.

 

If this is true, this policy could have implications for everyone.

 

Annie

[AmoMondo]

The bean counter in me, agrees that there is a point when it is better to be empty rather than not be able to charge enough to cover the variable cost of occupation and something towards the fixed costs of a sailing. Perhaps repos are a different from round trips. They are inevitably breaking in new crew and letting experienced ones go or about to go, so perhaps they don't mind not having a ship as full as possible. Certainly none of the repos I've been on (7 in total) have been anywhere near full. One was less than 50%, (Livorno to Durban) although we took on almost 1000 passengers for the final 3 days.

[anniegb]

The bean counter in me, agrees that there is a point when it is better to be empty rather than not be able to charge enough to cover the variable cost of occupation and something towards the fixed costs of a sailing. Perhaps repos are a different from round trips. They are inevitably breaking in new crew and letting experienced ones go or about to go, so perhaps they don't mind not having a ship as full as possible. Certainly none of the repos I've been on (7 in total) have been anywhere near full. One was less than 50%, (Livorno to Durban) although we took on almost 1000 passengers for the final 3 days.

 

I agree Amo.

 

I have only sailed 3 MSC repos. 2 of the ships were returning to Europe after wintering in the southern hemisphere and the staffing levels especially in the Entertainment dept reflected that.

 

The exception was the Lirica which was relocating to Dubai for the start of the winter season. It easily had the largest and busiest entertainment team on any ship I have sailed and the ship was pretty full.

 

If I was ever to book a MSC repo again, I would take that into account.

 

Annie

[Skipper Tim]

Also from memory MSC USA no longer permits non-NA residents to book via the USA.

 

Annie

 

They never have but it does not stop US TAs taking bookings from non NA residents. The US TA I have used in the past now even has a UK telephone number.

[Skipper Tim]

My 2015 vacation plans are all land vacations booked with no solo penalty.

 

Annie

 

Same here for the Winter 2014/15 'season'.

 

Regarding sailing with empty cabins, MSC can 'yield-manage' to fill the ship without dropping fares below marginal on-costs simply because of the revenue generated onboard. They choose not to because they want to create the impression of a valuable product. It is a reverse-marketing attempt to fulfil the adage 'you get what you pay for':

 

You get what you pay for AND it is expensive THEREFORE it must be good.

 

To lower fares and/or remove sole-occupancy supplements creates the impression of an inferior product. I am not fooled by this old-school marketing and, like Annie, will continue to vote with my wallet.

 

This crass price-manipulation to create brand-value appears to be a UK-only experiement at present. Consequently it is hardly worth looking at MSC UK fares to obtain a 'bargain'. I would love to see the sales numbers for MSC UK pre and post Giles Hawke's arrival.

[sidari]

As far as i recall the Divina repo last year to Miami was full but i did not go and check every cabin LOL ... there was an animation team of 13 people after one joined the ship in Madeira which seemed to be around the same size as Poesia the year before and opera last year.

[anniegb]

As far as i recall the Divina repo last year to Miami was full but i did not go and check every cabin LOL ... there was an animation team of 13 people after one joined the ship in Madeira which seemed to be around the same size as Poesia the year before and opera last year.

 

The Lirica animation team was larger than 13.

 

The same size of animation team irrespective of ship size??

 

Annie

[sidari]

Hi Annie ... No idea how they decide on the numbers, we had the same guy Claudio from Italy in charge on Divina who had been on the previous crossing on the Poesia.

 

The reason i remember the number is because it was one of the quiz questions ... :D

 

It will be interesting to see how many they have on the Orchestra in a few weeks time.

[AmoMondo]

Same here for the Winter 2014/15 'season'.

 

Regarding sailing with empty cabins, MSC can 'yield-manage' to fill the ship without dropping fares below marginal on-costs simply because of the revenue generated onboard. They choose not to because they want to create the impression of a valuable product. It is a reverse-marketing attempt to fulfil the adage 'you get what you pay for':

 

You get what you pay for AND it is expensive THEREFORE it must be good.

 

To lower fares and/or remove sole-occupancy supplements creates the impression of an inferior product. I am not fooled by this old-school marketing and, like Annie, will continue to vote with my wallet.

 

This crass price-manipulation to create brand-value appears to be a UK-only experiement at present. Consequently it is hardly worth looking at MSC UK fares to obtain a 'bargain'. I would love to see the sales numbers for MSC UK pre and post Giles Hawke's arrival.

 

Very true Tim.

 

I also think the bargain basement prices being seen on the Divina mean that other more established countries and pricing on the rest of the fleet are cross subsidising the attempt to increase US market share. They appear to have had some success there, but not as much ass intended otherwise they would not have done a U turn on the Divina been based in Miami all year.

 

Guess we once had the bargains, but these are now gone. Dare say they'll eventually start increasing prices in the US too, if they haven't already with the experience racket.

[glittergal1]

hi All Im looking at Splendida February amazing fly cruise price for solos , Its around Italy Sicily Tunisia France spain just wondering what the sea will be like ?

[Beamafar]

hi All Im looking at Splendida February amazing fly cruise price for solos , Its around Italy Sicily Tunisia France spain just wondering what the sea will be like ?

 

Having done it three years in a row in February there was only 1 sailing with rough seas and that was only over 2 days of the 7 - it was the first of the 3 - Feb 2012 which didn't put us off doing it again the following Febs of 2013 and 2014. We even had some very pleasant weather at times eg we sat out on the balcony while in port in Civitavecchia last Feb in glorious sunshine!

[glittergal1]

thanks thats positive

[glittergal1]

wooo hooo Ive booked at what I think is a great solo deal Im happy any way (unless it gets cheaper)

[Beamafar]

wooo hooo Ive booked at what I think is a great solo deal Im happy any way (unless it gets cheaper)

 

Good for you - hope you have a wonderful cruise. You get great value in the winter months for Med cruises as long as you're not too pushed about the weather - the ship can be a destination in itself - generally it isn't full at that time of year so the crew seem a lot more relaxed and are more attentive to you.

[glittergal1]

would be great if I had a visit from the upgrade fairy too :)

[Beamafar]

I wouldn't hold my breath on that one - I don't think MSC have an upgrade fairy - unless you're in the US, that is, where they're giving all sorts of sweeteners that we, this side of the pond, have never seen the likes of :rolleyes: Even those on Black Card tier in the loyalty programme haven't experienced upgrades despite it supposedly being one of the benefits at that level.

[sidari]

Bea ... We got an upgrade on the Opera to an Outside behind the Lifeboats, had we known the size of it in advance we would not have taken it! hence the review we wrote called live from the Broom Cupboard ... :D

[Beamafar]

Bea ... We got an upgrade on the Opera to an Outside behind the Lifeboats, had we known the size of it in advance we would not have taken it! hence the review we wrote called live from the Broom Cupboard ... :D

 

Hardly an upgrade so, Dave........were you being punished for something?;)

 

Seriously, though, how did you manage that? I got the impression MSC don't do upgrades (but if they did, unlike Carlsberg, they'd probably NOT be the best upgrades in the world according to Sidari :eek:)

[Skipper Tim]

Hardly an upgrade so, Dave........were you being punished for something?;)

 

Seriously, though, how did you manage that? I got the impression MSC don't do upgrades (but if they did, unlike Carlsberg, they'd probably NOT be the best upgrades in the world according to Sidari :eek:)

 

If you book an inside guarantee, you are very likely to get an upgrade simply because there are so few insides available. The risk is that you will get one. If you can live with that, then an inside guarantee booking can be the best bargain.

[Beamafar]

If you book an inside guarantee, you are very likely to get an upgrade simply because there are so few insides available. The risk is that you will get one. If you can live with that, then an inside guarantee booking can be the best bargain.

 

I hadn't considered that, Tim, although that may be because Glittergal didn't mention if she'd booked a guarantee - I was going on the assumption that she didn't - hence my response. Even Mairi (Amomondo), with the number of points she's accumulated, has said she has yet to experience "Best Category Upgrade" in all the time she's been at Black Card level despite it being a "benefit" of that tier. I wonder if that will change with the new "Experiences" pricings eg if you book Bella would MSC upgrade you to Fantastica? I must check that out when I'm onboard Fantasia next month as I reckon I'll attain Black next March :D

[Skipper Tim]

I hadn't considered that, Tim, although that may be because Glittergal didn't mention if she'd booked a guarantee - I was going on the assumption that she didn't - hence my response. Even Mairi (Amomondo), with the number of points she's accumulated, has said she has yet to experience "Best Category Upgrade" in all the time she's been at Black Card level despite it being a "benefit" of that tier. I wonder if that will change with the new "Experiences" pricings eg if you book Bella would MSC upgrade you to Fantastica? I must check that out when I'm onboard Fantasia next month as I reckon I'll attain Black next March :D

 

Somewhere in the depths of MSC booking conditions it does state that if you are upgraded to a better cabin, normally associated with a 'higher' 'experience', you still get the experience that you booked.

 

To me, the experiences and MSC Club benefits are now at cross-purposes and the number of dimensions to consider when booking with MSC has gone beyond human comprehension. I have made the study of 'how to confuse a cat (or person)' a lifetime's work and MSC currently excel in this regard.

 

As for "Best Category Upgrade", I cannot see this as a benefit. MSC arbitrarily categorises otherwise identical cabins on higher decks higher. In the old days of liners, the best cabins were low and mid-ships to minimise movement. As I have a preference for the longer repos, I am not sure I would take too kindly to being moved higher in the ship for a long ocean passage as an 'upgrade'. Inside to outside or even balcony is fine but these are not 'within category' and so the MSC Club perk would not apply. It is a highly dubious perk and it appears that it has quietly been dropped in practice.