Questions from a First Time MSC Cruiser

[JamieLogical]

I have sailed many times on NCL and Celebrity and once on Princess. I have some questions about MSC that I was hoping someone could answer.

 

1. Do they do both an early room cleaning and an evening turn down?
2. Is continental room service breakfast free when you fill out the door hanger cards (if they even have those)?
3. Is there a way to pre-pay the daily service charge?
4. Is the buffet open for afternoon and late night snacks?
5. What is the current muster situation?

[Morgsmom]

1 hour ago, JamieLogical said:

I have sailed many times on NCL and Celebrity and once on Princess. I have some questions about MSC that I was hoping someone could answer.

 

1. Do they do both an early room cleaning and an evening turn down?
2. Is continental room service breakfast free when you fill out the door hanger cards (if they even have those)?
3. Is there a way to pre-pay the daily service charge?
4. Is the buffet open for afternoon and late night snacks?
5. What is the current muster situation?

answers:

1- Yes

2- Yes unless you are in Bella class; otherwise continental room service breakfast included

3- Yes, but you or your travel agent have to call and pre-arrange

4- Yes, and the pizza is da' bomb, as far as late night it is pretty much pizza and some sweets, nothing too elaborate

5- watch muster demonstration in stateroom on tv, call the phone # you are told to "confirm" you watched video. GO in person to muster station (no life jackets) to have cruise card scanned.  

[Itchy&Scratchy]

can I pay the grats in cash by adding it to the account onboard? I've read that there will be a foreign currency fee added if I am using my US visa credit card to pay for onboard charges (in the Caribbean).

 

I found this online, but I want to make sure:

 

Alternatively, you can leave cash deposit at the Reception – Guest Service.

Settling Your Final Bill

 

You can settle your final bill in any of the following three ways:

By credit card

By debit or prepaid card 

Cash

Any amount deposited in cash and not spent during the cruise will be reimbursed in cash at the Reception - Guest Service on the final morning before disembarkation. Please note that personal checks are not accepted. For cruises in the Caribbean, South America and South Africa, as well as MSC Grand Voyages going to Europe and to Australia, the onboard currency is the US Dollar ($).

Edited January 24, 2023 by Itchy&Scratchy

[Nunagoras]

3 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

I have sailed many times on NCL and Celebrity and once on Princess. I have some questions about MSC that I was hoping someone could answer. - While I haven't cruised any of those cruise lines, me thinks that NCL would to be ne nearest product wise to what you will see at MSC. X and Princess seem to be a superior product, IMHO.

 

1. Do they do both an early room cleaning and an evening turn down? - Yes.
2. Is continental room service breakfast free when you fill out the door hanger cards (if they even have those)? - Yes, unless you're baseline Bella category. Price difference from Bella to Fantastica, the second category is generally very small.
3. Is there a way to pre-pay the daily service charge? - Yes. You can pre-pay the daily charges at booking time or later. In some jurisdictions like mine it is bundled on your base fare by default.
4. Is the buffet open for afternoon and late night snacks? - Yes, It is usually open some 20 hours a day, even though with very small variety at less popular hours. Late afternoon or late night snacks consist usually on Pizza, some cookies and probably any dessert leftovers from the last main meal time till they go.
5. What is the current muster situation? - You see a video on your in cabin TV, call a number to confirm you have seen the video, and then go to your emergency meeting point to have your cruise card scanned. Things may vary as time goes, though.

Have your answers in Blue and have a nice day!...

[GA Dave]

3 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

I have sailed many times on NCL and Celebrity and once on Princess. I have some questions about MSC that I was hoping someone could answer.

 

1. Do they do both an early room cleaning and an evening turn down?
2. Is continental room service breakfast free when you fill out the door hanger cards (if they even have those)?
3. Is there a way to pre-pay the daily service charge?
4. Is the buffet open for afternoon and late night snacks?
5. What is the current muster situation?

Jamie,

As an experienced NCL cruiser and now a huge MSC fan, I would highly recommend that you go Yacht Club if there is any way you can do it.  I have found the MSC YC to be a superior experience to the NCL Haven experience and it is much more reasonable.  Everything is included in the YC fare, from premium drink package to 2-device wifi per person to an exclusive beach and restaurant area at Ocean Cay.  The YC crew is just amazing and has met or exceeded my expectations every cruise.  Example:  This past weekend, I was on Meraviglia as a solo.  I commented to the Sommelier how much I enjoyed the very high-end Italian wine he chose for me for dinner.  When I returned to my cabin later that evening, there was a full, sealed bottle of the wine in my cabin for me to take home.

[shipgeeks]

55 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

can I pay the grats in cash by adding it to the account onboard? I've read that there will be a foreign currency fee added if I am using my US visa credit card to pay for onboard charges (in the Caribbean).

 

 

We've always used credit card for all cruise expenses, and have never been charged a foreign currency fee.  I can't guarantee that it wouldn't happen, but our experience (49 cruises) is that it's not a problem.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

6 minutes ago, shipgeeks said:

We've always used credit card for all cruise expenses, and have never been charged a foreign currency fee.  I can't guarantee that it wouldn't happen, but our experience (49 cruises) is that it's not a problem.

it may be because YOUR credit card doesn't charge the foreign transaction/currency conversion fee. Mine may.

[GA Dave]

1 hour ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

it may be because YOUR credit card doesn't charge the foreign transaction/currency conversion fee. Mine may.

My card I used this past weekend charges the foreign transaction fee.  It came to a charge of $2.28.  I just don't worry about it.  Much less stress than waiting in the Customer Service line to put cash on my account.

[shipgeeks]

How would one determine, in advance, whether their card might incur such a fee?

[Itchy&Scratchy]

26 minutes ago, shipgeeks said:

How would one determine, in advance, whether their card might incur such a fee?

read your card's terms and conditions. Or call customer service.

[Two Wheels Only]

2 hours ago, GA Dave said:

My card I used this past weekend charges the foreign transaction fee.  It came to a charge of $2.28.  I just don't worry about it.  Much less stress than waiting in the Customer Service line to put cash on my account.

 

You could have given the cash to the Yacht Club concierge to put on your account and he/she would've refunded any extra cash on the last night. 😁

[doones2]

4 hours ago, GA Dave said:

Jamie,

As an experienced NCL cruiser and now a huge MSC fan, I would highly recommend that you go Yacht Club if there is any way you can do it.  I have found the MSC YC to be a superior experience to the NCL Haven experience and it is much more reasonable.  Everything is included in the YC fare, from premium drink package to 2-device wifi per person to an exclusive beach and restaurant area at Ocean Cay.  The YC crew is just amazing and has met or exceeded my expectations every cruise.  Example:  This past weekend, I was on Meraviglia as a solo.  I commented to the Sommelier how much I enjoyed the very high-end Italian wine he chose for me for dinner.  When I returned to my cabin later that evening, there was a full, sealed bottle of the wine in my cabin for me to take home.

I understand that being in the Yacht Club is a superior experience, but what bothers me is that almost every review is lousy unless your in the YC.  Cruises shouldn’t be like that.  At least us common folks should still have a wonderful experience in the general population.  I hope this isn’t a sign of changes in cruising.  It reminds me of what I have read about cruising back in the 1920’s.

[Two Wheels Only]

23 minutes ago, doones2 said:

I understand that being in the Yacht Club is a superior experience, but what bothers me is that almost every review is lousy unless your in the YC.  Cruises shouldn’t be like that.  At least us common folks should still have a wonderful experience in the general population.  I hope this isn’t a sign of changes in cruising.  It reminds me of what I have read about cruising back in the 1920’s.

 

There are plenty of great non-Yacht Club reviews out there.

 

MSC being "different" is often the cause of the bad reviews. There are legitimate complaints and there are "...my favorite cruise line does things differently so I'll never sail MSC again..." complaints. It's important to separate the two.

[GA Dave]

46 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

You could have given the cash to the Yacht Club concierge to put on your account and he/she would've refunded any extra cash on the last night. 😁

I save all my cash on cruises for the crew.  If I cannot afford the $2.28 fee, I should not be cruising.

[GA Dave]

33 minutes ago, doones2 said:

I understand that being in the Yacht Club is a superior experience, but what bothers me is that almost every review is lousy unless your in the YC.  Cruises shouldn’t be like that.  At least us common folks should still have a wonderful experience in the general population.  I hope this isn’t a sign of changes in cruising.  It reminds me of what I have read about cruising back in the 1920’s.

I cruised on Meraviglia back in October on a completely sold-out cruise in a basic interior cabin. I knew going in that it would not be anything like my YC cruises, so I tempered my expectations to what I had paid ($223 for three-nights). I had a great time. Met some wonderful people during my four-hour wait on line to get on the ship, ate mostly at the buffet, got off early at Ocean Cay and got a nice Adirondack chair with an umbrella, took part in all the events in the Galleria, etc. 

For that money, I will do it over and over again. It's less than the cost of staying at a Motel 6 and it comes with food, entertainment, etc.

The photo is my dinner the first night in the buffet.  I thought it was really goods.

[doones2]

1 minute ago, GA Dave said:

I cruised on Meraviglia back in October on a completely sold-out cruise in a basic interior cabin. I knew going in that it would not be anything like my YC cruises, so I tempered my expectations to what I had paid ($223 for three-nights). I had a great time. Met some wonderful people during my four-hour wait on line to get on the ship, ate mostly at the buffet, got off early at Ocean Cay and got a nice Adirondack chair with an umbrella, took part in all the events in the Galleria, etc. 

For that money, I will do it over and over again. It's less than the cost of staying at a Motel 6 and it comes with food, entertainment, etc.

The photo is my dinner the first night in the buffet.  I thought it was really goods.

Thank you.  

[shipgeeks]

We have sailed only Bella, and plan to continue to do so.  No complaints, great cruises.

[JamieLogical]

18 hours ago, GA Dave said:

Jamie,

As an experienced NCL cruiser and now a huge MSC fan, I would highly recommend that you go Yacht Club if there is any way you can do it.  I have found the MSC YC to be a superior experience to the NCL Haven experience and it is much more reasonable.  Everything is included in the YC fare, from premium drink package to 2-device wifi per person to an exclusive beach and restaurant area at Ocean Cay.  The YC crew is just amazing and has met or exceeded my expectations every cruise.  Example:  This past weekend, I was on Meraviglia as a solo.  I commented to the Sommelier how much I enjoyed the very high-end Italian wine he chose for me for dinner.  When I returned to my cabin later that evening, there was a full, sealed bottle of the wine in my cabin for me to take home.

 

If I had a dollar for every time someone suggested I sail in the Yacht Club, I might actually be able to afford to sail in the Yacht Club. While YC might be more affordable than the ship-within-a-ship experiences on other cruise lines, like Haven on NCL and Retreat on Celebrity, it is still a HUGE disparity in price versus a normal balcony cabin. It is hard to ever justify that kind of jump in price and if I did so, I would have to cruise less, because I could not afford to cruise as frequently as I do paying YC prices.

 

As it is, for our upcoming Meraviglia sailing, my husband and I did splurge on a balcony suite with a hot tub on the balcony. It was ridiculously expensive and the sort of decision we would only have made after a few drinks, but it was still a lot cheaper than the cheapest YC balcony cabin without a hot tub on the balcony. And we do at least get the Aurea experience. I don't think it's the kind of thing we will ever splurge for again, but ever since the first time we ever docked next to an MSC ship and saw that some of the balconies had hot tubs on them, we have dreamt that would be us someday and now it finally will be at least once.

[styles27]

36 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

If I had a dollar for every time someone suggested I sail in the Yacht Club, I might actually be able to afford to sail in the Yacht Club. While YC might be more affordable than the ship-within-a-ship experiences on other cruise lines, like Haven on NCL and Retreat on Celebrity, it is still a HUGE disparity in price versus a normal balcony cabin. It is hard to ever justify that kind of jump in price and if I did so, I would have to cruise less, because I could not afford to cruise as frequently as I do paying YC prices.

 

As it is, for our upcoming Meraviglia sailing, my husband and I did splurge on a balcony suite with a hot tub on the balcony. It was ridiculously expensive and the sort of decision we would only have made after a few drinks, but it was still a lot cheaper than the cheapest YC balcony cabin without a hot tub on the balcony. And we do at least get the Aurea experience. I don't think it's the kind of thing we will ever splurge for again, but ever since the first time we ever docked next to an MSC ship and saw that some of the balconies had hot tubs on them, we have dreamt that would be us someday and now it finally will be at least once.

I love your posts you always get me to literally lol which results in my husband asking what made me laugh on CC? lol

 

Please report back about the hot tub on the balcony room. 
After only being able to get into a hot tub 3 times in 14

days on our last cruise we thought the room you chose would be a good compromise. Also like the anytime dining option. 

After a few spine surgeries relaxing in the hot tub is something I look forward to on vacation but when a ship is booked to capacity the hot tubs look like huge human soup pots that are over flowing. 😏

 

[JamieLogical]

23 hours ago, styles27 said:

I love your posts you always get me to literally lol which results in my husband asking what made me laugh on CC? lol

 

Please report back about the hot tub on the balcony room. 
After only being able to get into a hot tub 3 times in 14

days on our last cruise we thought the room you chose would be a good compromise. Also like the anytime dining option. 

After a few spine surgeries relaxing in the hot tub is something I look forward to on vacation but when a ship is booked to capacity the hot tubs look like huge human soup pots that are over flowing. 😏

 

 

Yeah, I can almost never bring myself to get into a public hot tub on a cruise ship. If you are lucky, you can catch a pretty empty one on a port day, but that's about it. I'm looking forward to having access to the Thermal Spa as well, but I know to temper my expectations a bit, as I have been spoiled by NCL's Breakaway and Breakaway Plus class Thermal Spas.

[Tierun]

On 1/25/2023 at 8:37 AM, JamieLogical said:

 

If I had a dollar for every time someone suggested I sail in the Yacht Club, I might actually be able to afford to sail in the Yacht Club. While YC might be more affordable than the ship-within-a-ship experiences on other cruise lines, like Haven on NCL and Retreat on Celebrity, it is still a HUGE disparity in price versus a normal balcony cabin. It is hard to ever justify that kind of jump in price and if I did so, I would have to cruise less, because I could not afford to cruise as frequently as I do paying YC prices.

 

As it is, for our upcoming Meraviglia sailing, my husband and I did splurge on a balcony suite with a hot tub on the balcony. It was ridiculously expensive and the sort of decision we would only have made after a few drinks, but it was still a lot cheaper than the cheapest YC balcony cabin without a hot tub on the balcony. And we do at least get the Aurea experience. I don't think it's the kind of thing we will ever splurge for again, but ever since the first time we ever docked next to an MSC ship and saw that some of the balconies had hot tubs on them, we have dreamt that would be us someday and now it finally will be at least once.

My wife and I always book Aurea. The priority embarkation and my time dining is so clutch. Also enjoy the thermal suites. 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

On 1/24/2023 at 7:32 PM, GA Dave said:

Met some wonderful people during my four-hour wait in line to get on the ship

that's not acceptable even for a $200 cruise. If you are alone and able bodied and you can wait - ok, but if you have your kids and mobility challenged elderly diabetic parents - it could become very old very quickly.

Edited January 26, 2023 by Itchy&Scratchy

[KKB]

On 1/26/2023 at 4:08 PM, Itchy&Scratchy said:

that's not acceptable even for a $200 cruise. If you are alone and able bodied and you can wait - ok, but if you have your kids and mobility challenged elderly diabetic parents - it could become very old very quickly.

Things happen.

In 23 cruises we have had 4 hours waits to board twice.

Once computer system went down, woman at the front of the line had a medical emergency which held the rest of the line up.

Once a line decided 16 hours before boarding that everyone boarding needed a COVID test b4 boarding (this was summer 2021, a few weeks after start up). Needless to say the company they hired to do this at the port was in no way prepared to do it & people began boarding at about 3PM.

Again, not the norm, and no cruise line wants that but it happens.

[Justmekaren918]

On 1/24/2023 at 1:53 PM, GA Dave said:

Jamie,

As an experienced NCL cruiser and now a huge MSC fan, 

Jamie, long time RC, but tried to do 2 Haven cruises, unfortunately both canceled! I've been looking @ YC and really reasonable. I'm thinking a solo trip in April! Curious when Disembarkation out of YC & butler takes you to the podium to show passport & then you go to luggage area! Curious if there is a reserved area for YC luggage or you really have to play find & seek? Might there be luggage valet in Miami now? 

 

I understand the main YC restaurant in back of ship on Divina, but can you get it for in Cabin or even to top sail? Can you prearranged with butler to get MDR to cabin? 

 

Thinking of 5n solo mobility challenged YC Deluxe to Bahamas & MSC Pvt Island! TY 4 any help!

[Markanddonna]

Day number 16 on the Divina. On sea days, the pool areas look like a refugee camp. Too few chairs with people sitting on the deck floor, or any ledge they can find. I have never seen a pool area this full and that is with people actually occupying the seating, not just towels. It has produced a surly group of passengers.