MSC Cruises for Solo / SIngle cruiser

[mowogo]

1 hour ago, dexddd said:

You mean 'Free at Sea'?  Where 'free' means fees on free packages?

I prefer to call their packages 'Fee at Sea.' Especially when booking rates good enough where that fee is more than the cruise fare

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

12 hours ago, dexddd said:

You mean 'Free at Sea'?  Where 'free' means fees on free packages?

This is probably a subject that belongs on the NCL boards but I do want to comment on it. The FREE drinks are very expensive because of the gratuities they add on assume you'll drink yourself into oblivion, lol. But the FREE specialty restaurant gratuity we paid was $35.60 for 2 people for 2 meals which I think is very good. The FREE internet is free. The BOGO airfare is a huge good deal; we're getting Orlando-South America-Orlando coming up for $999 for the first person, the second person FREE and that includes all international taxes. The FREE shore excursions, well that's just a $50 discount off the lead passenger. I'll take the discount but $50 excursions are few and far between. Bottom line, if you can avoid the "free" drinks, NCL's Free at Sea is a pretty good value.

[nferr]

On 8/1/2022 at 6:53 AM, dexddd said:

You mean 'Free at Sea'?  Where 'free' means fees on free packages?

 

Yeah there's fees, actually gratuity charges, but $20 a day for unlimited drinks (well anything under$15) is pretty darn cheap. And the solo studio cabins always come with the package. There's other perks too. 

[dexddd]

19 hours ago, nferr said:

 

Yeah there's fees, actually gratuity charges, but $20 a day for unlimited drinks (well anything under$15) is pretty darn cheap. And the solo studio cabins always come with the package. There's other perks too. 

Ok, there is already a DSC which they increase nearly every Spring.  Advertising 'free' when charges is pathetic.

[nferr]

3 hours ago, dexddd said:

Ok, there is already a DSC which they increase nearly every Spring.  Advertising 'free' when charges is pathetic.

 

Every cruise line has DSC. The gratuities fee on the drink package is for the drinks. If you order drinks separately without the package  there's a gratuity fee anyway. They're not "charges" they're gratuities.

 

MSC hits you for all the upgrades too. And their "free" wifi and drink package is far from free. I know -  I've been pricing that "deal". All the mass market cruise lines are basically the same.

Edited August 5, 2022 by nferr

[Raddo]

On 7/13/2022 at 10:54 PM, KINGBOBOFTHENORTH said:

Nearly every cruise line charges 2X for single cruisers. I know some NCL ships have some inside cabins for singles that they charge somewhere between 1X and 2X for.  Two single cruisers on our last MSC cruise said they chose MSC because they were not charged 2X. Not sure if that's true or not but if they don't charge double for singles, that would be huge.

I have booked 2 MSC cruises as a solo traveller and the cruise fare stayed the same with no additional charges and that's for a normal inside/ocean view cabin.

 

[cruiseelady]

I am a solo cruiser and switched to MSC last year.   The prices for solos are amazing, if they keep prices so low I will continue cruising with them.  My 7 day cruise out of Port Canaveral for September 4 for balcony was 497 plus taxes and fees.  That's crazy cheap prices and included 200 OBC.  

I also booked an 8 day cruise for next year out of NYC, price was also pretty amazing.  

[papadave]

At the moment, the cheapest solo cruise I have found is MSC, Seascape from Rome to NY.  If you include airfare it does up the price a bit, but I'm lucky enough to have accrued enough miles points for a free one-way ticket to Rome.    I started taking solo cruises at around age 40 and enjoy doing so.   MSC may be a little bit tricky, if there is a language barrier.   I'll find out for myself soon.

[blueslily]

Solo cruiser here. MSC is as fine as Royal or NCL for solo cruising. It's about the person sailing, not the brand. Price wise, I never pay a full single supplement and I dont limit myself to solo studio cabins. I usually book closer to sale date because 5hat works for me. I only sail in balconies now and only 7+ night sailings. If you check prices, they can be cheaper than those tiny studios. MSC is running solo specials now. Language has not been an issue for me on MSC. Your son can do his research, book a good deal, and go do on the ship what matters to him. 

[greg_atlanta]

On 7/14/2022 at 6:50 AM, dexddd said:

NCL has studio cabins on some ships. Not double price as inside but still a premium.

 

I looked at the studio cabins on Meraviglia but each one had a sofa bed and wasn't sure it would be as comfortable as a normal bed.  It was only about $150 more to go from cheapest inside to choosing my own balcony, so decided to live it up and get the balcony.

 

Also I noticed that a lot of the studio cabins were connected to one or two other cabins (so they could be combined to a mini-suite) and I know from experience connecting cabins are a bad idea.

[nagster]

On 7/13/2022 at 5:54 PM, KINGBOBOFTHENORTH said:

Nearly every cruise line charges 2X for single cruisers. I know some NCL ships have some inside cabins for singles that they charge somewhere between 1X and 2X for.  Two single cruisers on our last MSC cruise said they chose MSC because they were not charged 2X. Not sure if that's true or not but if they don't charge double for singles, that would be huge.

I just did a solo Princess cruise with no supplement and MSC in Feb was no supplement as well. I was excited to see it becoming a little better.

 

[Newleno]

42 minutes ago, nagster said:

I just did a solo Princess cruise with no supplement and MSC in Feb was no supplement as well. I was excited to see it becoming a little better.

 

Yeah the splendida currently has no supplement for the current middle east cruise schedule.