Live from MSC World Europa. NYE Cruise, December 29, 2023 out of Barcelona.

[Stockjock]

1 hour ago, RICHARD@SEA said:

The Italian officers are the best...in many many ways.....LOVE THEM!!!

I'm half Greek, so I have to say that the Greek officers are also quite good.  But the captain of World Europa seemed like a good guy.  I got the feeling that he really enjoyed interacting with the passengers.

[sidari]

4 hours ago, Stockjock said:

I'm half Greek, so I have to say that the Greek officers are also quite good.  But the captain of World Europa seemed like a good guy.  I got the feeling that he really enjoyed interacting with the passengers.

Is it Marco Massa still ?

[Stockjock]

2 hours ago, sidari said:

Is it Marco Massa still ?

On World Europa, the Captain/Master is Dino Sagani.  He is a 4th generation Captain, formerly with Princess Cruises and was also in the Italian Navy previously.

Not the best photo of moi, but it is what it is.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/cruises/articles/meet-dino-sagani-fourth-generation-captain-latest-star-the-cruise/

Edited January 7 by Stockjock

[sidari]

3 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

On World Europa, the Captain/Master is Dino Sagani.  He is a 4th generation Captain, formerly with Princess Cruises and was also in the Italian Navy previously.

Not the best photo of moi, but it is what it is.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/cruises/articles/meet-dino-sagani-fourth-generation-captain-latest-star-the-cruise/

We have a photo with him when we sailed on the then brand new Majestic Princess.

[Stockjock]

MSC Crew Talent Show.  We thought this guy out of Bali was pretty good.
 

 

[laudergayle]

@Stockjock not to turn this into a tipping thread, but I have a question.  We typically cruise NCL which operates on USD onboard.  We are average tippers at bars, restaurants and room steward.  We took one MSC cruise this past summer to the Bahamas…where they operated on USD and we tipped like we normally do.

 

We have booked World Europa for November.  Two questions.  1). Since this is a European cruise, is tipping still a standard protocol?  2).  If tipping, is Euro the currency used?

 

One more question…did you get free access to Aurea Thermal Spa.  Did you use and did you have to reserve in advance?

 

thanks…and your review helped us decide to upgrade to Aurea Grand Suite.

 

 

[alserrod]

1 hour ago, laudergayle said:

@Stockjock not to turn this into a tipping thread, but I have a question.  We typically cruise NCL which operates on USD onboard.  We are average tippers at bars, restaurants and room steward.  We took one MSC cruise this past summer to the Bahamas…where they operated on USD and we tipped like we normally do.

 

We have booked World Europa for November.  Two questions.  1). Since this is a European cruise, is tipping still a standard protocol?  2).  If tipping, is Euro the currency used?

 

One more question…did you get free access to Aurea Thermal Spa.  Did you use and did you have to reserve in advance?

 

thanks…and your review helped us decide to upgrade to Aurea Grand Suite.

 

 

Hello

Keep two things in mind

- In Europe people usually tip much less than in the United States. In exchange, all prices are considered to have the service included. People prefer to know the price they are going to pay with tip already included.
There are generally no problems with tipping. Of course, in some well-known monuments I have seen written that employees cannot receive tips or other gifts from visitors.

- If you tip someone, including someone who works on board the ship, they will probably use the money on their next purchase instead of using your card. Think to see what currency you will pay it in...
Therefore, if the cruise only makes stops in ports that use euros, the correct thing to do is pay with euros. If you stop at a port with another currency, you can take the opportunity to give the money you have left as a tip. Whoever receives it will use it in that port.

[Stockjock]

1 hour ago, laudergayle said:

@Stockjock not to turn this into a tipping thread, but I have a question.  We typically cruise NCL which operates on USD onboard.  We are average tippers at bars, restaurants and room steward.  We took one MSC cruise this past summer to the Bahamas…where they operated on USD and we tipped like we normally do.

 

We have booked World Europa for November.  Two questions.  1). Since this is a European cruise, is tipping still a standard protocol?  2).  If tipping, is Euro the currency used?

 

One more question…did you get free access to Aurea Thermal Spa.  Did you use and did you have to reserve in advance?

 

thanks…and your review helped us decide to upgrade to Aurea Grand Suite.

 

 

We just did the standard automatic tipping, which was in Euro.  But certainly you could tip extra, if you decided to do so.

I believe the Aurea Thermal Spa is included, but someone can correct me if I'm wrong.  I know we get at least some of that w/our Diamond status benefit, but we didn't use that benefit.

Most Aurea services are roughly 40% off if booked online in advance, and the prices should already be adjusted accordingly, so I'd take a look and pre-book any services that interest you.

[Stockjock]

Even though I added the Speakeasy entry video in a separate thread, I think it's also appropriate to add it here.

 

[Stockjock]

Some of the NYE entertainment in the MSC Speakeasy...

 

[Stockjock]

Getting served a smoked, craft cocktail in the speakeasy...

 

[Stockjock]

I finally got around to posting my "official review".  There's a lot more info in this thread, but of course the review is a lot more concise.

Disappointing that World Europa is currently rated 2.8 stars by those who have sailed on it.  Things are never perfect, but we had a nice time.

I uploaded quite a few photos, all of which failed.  Also, it shows me as a first time cruiser, when I've probably been on at least 20-25, but here's a link for anyone interested.

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=712444

Edited March 3 by Stockjock