New MSC Cruiser: Several questions

[shipgeeks]

And reef-safe sunscreen and/or swim shirts ("rash guards").

[Homosassa]

2 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

thank you! Same with Princess Cay. Now that our then 4 yo sliced his foot open on a sharp rock on the first day of the cruise and then refused to get in any water (ocean, shower, pool), we always wear water shoes there. Now we'll wear them at Ocean Cay as well.

The first time we were at the beach at what is now called Princess Key was on a cruise on the Regent Rainbow in 1992.  Rights to use the beach had been acquired by Regency Cruise Line just several days before.

 

The day was suppose to be a day at sea, but the night before an announcement was made that arrangements had been made to stop at a deserted island beach for a beach party. The trip was offered at no cost, however to go one had to be able to climb down into the dories used as lifeboats and go over the side to wade ashore.

 

We (DH and our then seven year old daughter) immediately signed up.

 

The several hours were special. We waded ashore in sandy bottom water to a beautiful wide sandy beach. The only vegetation was the scrub that would be common on a barrier beach. There were hundreds on sand dollars in the water.

 

The crew bought charcoal grills ashore and grilled hot dogs and hamburgers. Potato chips were the "side." Beverage was water from the multi gallon insulated jugs.

 

The only facility was a pit privy (still on Princess Cay but hidden behind plantings where guests are not permitted to go).

 

To go back, we waded back out to the boats and had to climb up and over the sides of the boat. The crew gave a boost if necessary to the adults and lifted the smaller children into the boats.

 

Regency Cruise Line went defunct, its assets were acquired by Princess which was acquired by P&O. When P&O sold Princess to Carnival, passenger loyalty credits for previous cruises were retained. (We became platinum on Princess with never stepping on a Princess ship thanks to our Sitmar, Regency and Premier cruises).

 

It is unfortunate that the development of Princess Cay with its breakwaters and dredged out channel for tenders interrupted what had been the natural ebb and refurbishment of that beautiful wide sandy beach and resulted in that rocky bottom and inability to walk into a shallow stretch of sandy bottom water.

 

Who knows? Maybe the island ravished for its sand and then sold to MSC was the source of the sand fill for Princess Key.

[hmwende]

11 hours ago, styles27 said:

Did you book direct or use a travel agent? 
I would call if you booked direct but wait til tomorrow.
I have noticed the reps on the weekends aren’t the greatest. 

 

I booked direct. I will call tomorrow and see what happens. 

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

On 11/5/2021 at 1:20 AM, hmwende said:

1. Any theme parties we should be aware of?

There always seems to be a White party on MSC cruises so bring some white jeans and a white top. There also always seems to be a 70's Night so bring some bell bottoms and platform shoes!

 

[Gatordad1967]

You have that many questions, and booked anyway?  What did your travel agent say?
 

[hmwende]

1 hour ago, Gatordad1967 said:

You have that many questions, and booked anyway?  What did your travel agent say?
 

We are avid travelers, pretty resourceful (i.e., members of sites like this), and as a result, rarely use an agent.  We also prefer to go with the flow as flexibility leads to the best travel experiences.  Our philosophy is that "if we don't have a good time, it's our own fault".  We wanted to try a different cruise line, but still have questions in preparation. Thankfully, there have been numerous folks on this thread willing to answer my many questions and I am grateful.

[hmwende]

On 11/7/2021 at 8:36 AM, styles27 said:

Did you book direct or use a travel agent? 
I would call if you booked direct but wait til tomorrow.
I have noticed the reps on the weekends aren’t the greatest. 

 

Excellent News!  I can't thank you enough for your assistance.  I contacted MSC and spoke with Shakira (Shakira LOL) and she was amazing!  Our original booking was a port side Fantastica balcony without alcohol or wifi (free balcony upgrade).  Without question or penalty, she switched our booking to "all-in & wifi" Fantastica balcony on starboard side so that we can see the light show from our room.  What would have cost well over $1000 to include alcohol and wifi separately, now added a total of $563.  "But wait, there's more"! She offered an additional 15% discount because we had just joined the Voyager program.  Our original booking (two adults and one child) including taxes and fees was $482 pp and now we are paying $569 pp for a large Fantastica balcony room with All-In alcohol/soda package and Wifi.  I have to admit, I had little faith after reading all the negative reviews about the Customer Service on MSC.  Shakira stayed on the line until all my questions were answered.  I was skeptical and awaited email confirmation, but everything is in order!  I am THOROUGHLY impressed!  Can't wait to sail on MSC!

[styles27]

12 hours ago, hmwende said:

Excellent News!  I can't thank you enough for your assistance.  I contacted MSC and spoke with Shakira (Shakira LOL) and she was amazing!  Our original booking was a port side Fantastica balcony without alcohol or wifi (free balcony upgrade).  Without question or penalty, she switched our booking to "all-in & wifi" Fantastica balcony on starboard side so that we can see the light show from our room.  What would have cost well over $1000 to include alcohol and wifi separately, now added a total of $563.  "But wait, there's more"! She offered an additional 15% discount because we had just joined the Voyager program.  Our original booking (two adults and one child) including taxes and fees was $482 pp and now we are paying $569 pp for a large Fantastica balcony room with All-In alcohol/soda package and Wifi.  I have to admit, I had little faith after reading all the negative reviews about the Customer Service on MSC.  Shakira stayed on the line until all my questions were answered.  I was skeptical and awaited email confirmation, but everything is in order!  I am THOROUGHLY impressed!  Can't wait to sail on MSC!

I’m so glad it worked out for you!!
This is why I’ve been on Cruise Critic for so long, the people here have really helped me over the years so it feels great to pass that on to you and others! 

I’ve had good luck when I call MSC only one time the gentlemen couldn’t answer my question or help but even his supervisor was stumped so they at least tried. (I wanted to upgrade our browse WiFi to browse and stream for this cruise coming up Sunday) but not a huge deal if my DH has to miss watching RedZone for 1 week 🙄😬

 

 

So happy for you guys!