Spa access gone from Aurea!

[sidari]

Doing a dummy Aurea booking today it looks like the Spa access has been removed for new bookings, the UK, US and Canadian sites all show the same.

The free delivery of food and bath robes also appear to be gone.

Aurea has now become pointless having just the sun deck and my time dining included in what will now be over priced cabins.

[Morgsmom]

WOW. That would be a big change!  

[maehara]

Well, that seems to be the case. 
Makes going Fantastica next time we book far more likely. More money for other things, I guess. 

[nikoo.s]

It's a bit confusing, someone shared this conversation on one of the Facebook forums, so it seems like everyone is getting mixed messages. I hope they don't remove it as there's not much point in calling it the AUREA package without the AUREA spa included!! 

[peder]

Exactly, the name would make no sense without the spa package.

[Pookie2u]

I have my 1st MSC cruise booked for May and it's in an Aurea suite.  I double checked my reservations to ensure my booking shows thermal suite access and it does.  I also did a mock booking of the same category for my cruise and there's no mention of the thermal suites now and the price is higher than when I booked.  What the heck makes it Aurea without the Aurea Spa?????
Does anyone have experience with this type of change?  I expect them to honor my reservation with the thermals, do I have any reason to worry that MSC will not?  

[maehara]

Once you’ve made a booking then the terms that applied at time of booking would need to stick. Concern would be for new bookings from the point of the change onwards. 
 

Online details for our 2024 & 2025 bookings, both in Aurea, is still showing the newly-missing perks. 

[perakcruiser]

4 minutes ago, Pookie2u said:

I expect them to honor my reservation with the thermals, do I have any reason to worry that MSC will not?  

No, MSC will honor. The changed things so often already. When they moved away the free Fantastica photo, people with old bookings before the change had a * on the cruise card to show that they were qualified for the free photo. Maybe they will handle it the same way this time. 

[sidari]

2 hours ago, nikoo.s said:

It's a bit confusing, someone shared this conversation on one of the Facebook forums, so it seems like everyone is getting mixed messages. I hope they don't remove it as there's not much point in calling it the AUREA package without the AUREA spa included!! 

Nikoo ... A few minutes ago I read a post on that platform from a person in Germany who says that they have been offered the option on the App of buying a Spa pass despite having an Aurea booking. Once again MSC proving that the Left hand is still refusing to tell the Right hand what is going on! Another post from someone in the UK who has just booked Aurea via a TA has been told that the Mini bar is included with her Aurea booking! that has not been the case for at least 5 years, also that the Spa is included despite what the MSC UK website says.

MSC also did the same when they removed the Drink package and Massages from Aurea, changed the website and Failed to inform people so people were booking thinking they still had them only to find out onboard they had been withdrawn.

Edited January 6 by sidari

[ChrisCJR]

I think it's very likely to be a simple website issue on MSC's end. I actually cannot get any of the experience details to load on MSC's main website.

When I look at the Aurea benefits on the travel agent website (I'm an agent), it says: "Access to thermal area (for adults only, upon reservation)". I believe that's the same wording that it had before, so hopefully that will put you at ease. If they removed it from our end, I would be more concerned, but I do agree that it wouldn't make much sense to remove the benefit from the experience.

[jcollin]

We are booked in an Aurea balcony in April.  Then main reason to get it was spa access.  Where in my reservation can I see that it's included?  I want to print that off and bring it with me just in case it's needed.  Thanks

[maehara]

1 hour ago, jcollin said:

We are booked in an Aurea balcony in April.  Then main reason to get it was spa access.  Where in my reservation can I see that it's included?  I want to print that off and bring it with me just in case it's needed.  Thanks

Log into the Plan My Cruise section of the website, then click on the Booking Details tab.  Under the Included in My Booking part, there'll be a + sign against 'Aurea Experience Benefits' - click that to expand the full list.  Should be same as / similar to this:

[sidari]

48 minutes ago, maehara said:

Log into the Plan My Cruise section of the website, then click on the Booking Details tab.  Under the Included in My Booking part, there'll be a + sign against 'Aurea Experience Benefits' - click that to expand the full list.  Should be same as / similar to this:

Anyone who booked prior to the change last week as shown higher up the page will or should have what you have posted, trouble is people do not always check what is included after they have booked and only find out via social media or once onboard that what they thought they had paid for is not what they are getting. Our next MSC sailing booked late last year is in the YC and I have taken photos of what is included just incase they begin tinkering with that again as they did a year or two back.

Edited January 8 by sidari

[jcollin]

thanks, we booked in middle of December.  When I go to the MSC site the page with plan cruise, cruise details etc all show nothing on the page.  MSC site stinks.  I also reached out to my TA to have her confirm.  I want something in writing before we leave.

[steveknj]

We upgraded to an Aurea balcony on our upcoming cruise (18 Jan) and it's indeed confusing.   Looking at my check in papers, it shows it as an Aurea balcony and lists the Aurea benefits, but it also shows the "experience" as Fantastica.  So I hope we don't get screwed out of what we paid for.  It does show that same paragraph as posted by @maehara so if they give me a hard time, I'll show them that.  We went for the upgrade for two reasons, the spa access and "Anytime dining" which is something I'm used to on the other cruise lines I've been on. 

[nikoo.s]

This always happens when you upgrade. Aurea should show up in your documents under purchased extras, show that at check in to skip the queue, and then when on board go to guest services to get your card changed to avoid any potential issues during the cruise 🙂 enjoy the upgrade! 

[freeon]

On 1/7/2024 at 9:15 PM, ChrisCJR said:

"Access to thermal area (for adults only, upon reservation)".

So you have to reserve time slots to access the thermal area? Hate being on schedule and would prefer to be able to just go when I feel like it. Hard to plan ahead when I'm going to feel like going to spa. 

[mets07]

6 minutes ago, freeon said:

So you have to reserve time slots to access the thermal area? Hate being on schedule and would prefer to be able to just go when I feel like it. Hard to plan ahead when I'm going to feel like going to spa. 

We did not have to on a recent Aurea experience. Just showed up and checked in at front desk. They will also take a reservation .... not sure if necessary on some ships. We were on Meraviglia.

[Tierun]

Depending on the ship they may require a reservation during peak times like sea days.

[jcollin]

when can reservations be made?

[Tierun]

Onboard 

[BDL]

I just booked Monday for August.  Usually we are in YC but going with a relative now that doesn't want to spend the money for it.  Booked Aurea and on line it says here below.  I've printed it to bring it with us to make sure we get these benefits. 

 

Aurea Experience Benefits: opportunity to choose the cabin and its location, 1 free cruise change (Terms and Conditions apply), modern ships and elegant cabins, MSC for ME (where available), Suites and Balcony in the best locations, Welcome Package (Prosecco + chocolate), 24-hour room service (delivery for free), breakfast in cabin (delivery for free), discounted drink package option available at the time of booking, extensive Buffet with a wide array of cuisine, Main Restaurants serving gourmet meals accommodating a variety of dietary restrictions, free time dining with My Choice dining in a dedicated restaurant or area, 20% discount on a dedicated specialty restaurant prepaid package, varied programme of Broadway-style Theatre shows, pool area, open-air sports facilities, well equipped gym with panoramic view, entertainment activities for adults, infants and children, recreational activities for children, free access to the Top Exclusive Solarium, relaxation amenities in each cabin (including bathrobe and slippers), pillow menu, access to Thermal Area (for adults only), 40% discount on a dedicated Spa Prepaid Package, 10% discount on all Spa treatments purchased on board, qualified multilingual personnel, priority boarding & luggage drop off, MSC Voyagers Club points

[sidari]

Looks like MSC have rectified their mistakes. See post number 3

Edited January 12 by sidari

[nikoo.s]

On 1/9/2024 at 9:50 PM, freeon said:

So you have to reserve time slots to access the thermal area? Hate being on schedule and would prefer to be able to just go when I feel like it. Hard to plan ahead when I'm going to feel like going to spa. 

Depends on how busy it is, only reason for this is to control the numbers so the spa doesn't get too crowded. It's a good thing. If it's a quiet day or a quiet ship you can usually just show up when you want to.

[sidari]

On 1/13/2024 at 12:32 PM, nikoo.s said:

Depends on how busy it is, only reason for this is to control the numbers so the spa doesn't get too crowded. It's a good thing. If it's a quiet day or a quiet ship you can usually just show up when you want to.

The grid now specifically says upon reservation.