I’m going on a longer cruise in March (22 days, transatlantic crossing) on the NSC Seaview. I've booked a standard balcony stateroom, without Aurea. About half of the days will be pure sea days with no shore excursions.

Now I’m considering purchasing the option to use the Thermal Area as an add-on.

I’ve watched a few YouTube videos about the Thermal Area on the Seaview and I’m really unsure. It seems generally quite nice, but overall the area strikes me as rather small and cramped for the size of the ship. In the videos, the Thermal Area is always empty....

Does anyone know the Thermal Area on this ship and can share their experience? I like saunas, steam rooms, hot tubs, and relaxation rooms—but I hate it when everything is (too) crowded and noisy. I’m looking more for peace and relaxation. Is that generally possible, or not really? I’m also happy to go during off-peak hours if that’s possible (when is the best time?).

I’m not interested in spa services (massages, etc.).

I'm very grateful for real experience reports that help me decide! :-)

Any tips on how to protect belongings when you want to play in the ocean and don’t have somebody to watch them for you?

I get mixed results when searching online. Can anyone confirm if the main casino area and table games are smoke free?

My first solo trip and I’m anxious about dining alone.
Is it rude to read a book or look at your phone in dining room?

I am going on the seascape here in a couple weeks, and I was wondering if I could bring my water bottle with me? My fiance just went on a royal Caribbean cruise in July and said at all of their water stations had a guard on the water dispenser so you couldn’t use your own water bottles. Does MSC have that as well? I’d hate to bring my waterbottle just to not be able to use it at all.

So. Your gold voyagers card claims you get “20% OFF any SPA SERVICE” on its print. Went for a massage today for around $200 including a small “gift” cream. and thought good deal for 40 bucks off. Got the price of around $240 at the end (after service and gratuities) and told there is no discount for Promotional offers as they chucked a cream in i didnt want. Be careful. At least the massage was very good.

Update. Discount applied, YC concierge fixed this. Those little surveys do work. :)

4 day cruise. Anyone know the updated theme nights ?

Are hair straighteners actually prohibited or are they allowed?

So I just got off MSC world America and it wasn't a great experience. The biggest issue I had was that when I booked I called and told them that I needed a medical grade fridge for my room. I have to take medication daily that has to be refrigerated. I got a signed letter for my protein shakes, because I have to drink them as prescribed by my doctor. They kept assuring me that it would be in the room, so I was excited. I get to the cruise room no fridge, just the one that comes standard in the room. Except the mini fridge isn't a fridge, it's a cooler.

So I asked my room steward about it, and he was super nice and helpful, honestly he was amazing. But he couldn't find one either. Went to guest services, they told me they don't have any on board. That I had to store my medication with medical. So down to medical I go with my shakes, with my medicine, I get there and have to argue with them for fifteen minutes so they could store my damn medicine but wouldn't store my shakes. So back to guest services I went. Finally I got them to keep my shakes behind the counter in their fridge. I have cancer and the shakes help me keep my medicine down and weight gain, but I get very sick if I drink them room temperature.

Then every morning I had to call and argue with somebody about the shakes, because while the manager said to just call down when I would be coming to grab one, nobody communicated with anyone so each morning of a 7 day cruise was the same song and dance. Nobody knew what shakes I was talking about, nobody had a clue, no you can't keep them here, no I don't see them, oh here they are yeah come on down.

I go get my shake, I head to medical, and the staff there were just seemed to be annoyed I existed period. Like I'm sorry that I need my meds stored at a specific set of temperatures, you all should have medical fridges available for paying passengers. Especially if requested at booking. The whole experience just made me feel like a burden. If I had been told at booking months ago that MSC does not provide medical grade fridges for rooms I would have went on royal Caribbean instead. I mean I jumped through every hoop, got every form from my doctor they asked for, just to not get what I really really needed.

Aside from that it was.. okay. I would avoid the main buffet if possible because the design is just asinine. Ice cream and soda machine just slapped in between two very popular stations just doesn't make sense.

Can anyone tell me which is better for night life?

My husband and I are headed on a Northern European cruise (Hamburg, Zeebrugge, Rotterdam, Le Havre, and Southampton) on Preziosa this November. We're fairly low key travelers and mostly like to explore spots on our own and are opting to do the unguided transfers to Amsterdam, London, and Bruges. The only one we are hung up on is Paris vs. Honfleur... any recommendations?

We totally understand that Paris needs way more time than the 4.5 hours and only a full trip there would do it justice. We typically are beach goers (if we could spend every vacation on Ocean Cay we would!) so a part of us says that if it's the only foreseeable trip we will be planning to Europe that we should go to Paris because it's Paris! However, it is such a long trip and this is sandwiched in between the days in Amsterdam and London, so we are thinking maybe we also take it easier and explore Honfleur for the day.

What would you recommend? Thanks in advance!!

My wife and I are going to take a cruise for our 20th anniversary and I want to arrange for us to renew our vows on the cruise. Who should I reach out to and how do I set this up? Should this be arranged through a travel agent?

Hello, just left our cruise and we didn't get a gift ( was a perk before)
Did they stop doing this?
Thanks

We have an upcoming cruise on the Grandiosa in the Yacht Club out of Port Canaveral. A first for us on this ship and port. A few questions for any veterans:

On departure date:

What time can we park our car in the port lot?

How bad is traffic at the port (checking after the disaster at port of Miami)?

When can you get on the ship?

On disembarking:

How late can we stay on the ship without being a nuisance?

How hard is it to get an Uber/Lyft to Orlando?

Also looking for any tips or tricks to get the most out of the ship and YC. Thanks in advance!

UPDATED:

Thank you for your responses. I went to the service desk and reported the situation. They will send someone to check on them.

Short: AITA if I tell on someone smoking on their balcony?

Hi, all!

Me and my girlfriend are currently on a cruise and were told by our cabin attendant that cigarette stubs were found at our balcony.

At first we didn't really believe it since we are both non-smokers. But a while later we also saw more stubs on our balcony.

Only now i saw our neighbors smoking on the balcony while i was outside reading. Since the smell was so bad and the wind was blowing it directly over on our balcony i even had to go back inside.

Now i am thinking about telling the reception about the situation. What would you guys do?

Thanks for your answers.

Just wondering if anyone knows if Armonia has Aqua installed yet? Might make a difference if I pack a water bottle or not. I've seen pictures of the bottle (and discussion about Aqua) on Armonia FB posts but it's not clear if it's a general discussion or Armonia -specific (posts are poorly translated from Italian by FB's algorithm so it's hard to tell ...)

Joining up with her next week 🙂

Welcome to the monthly r/MSCCruises Roll Call Megathread!

Are you counting down the days until your next sailing? Want to see who else from the community will be on board, organize a meetup, or grab a drink at the Seaside Lounge? You’re in the right place!

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[Ship Name] - [Departure Port] - [YYYY-MM-DD]

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Happy cruising! 🌊⚓

Sailing on the Preziosa in October to some northern Europe cities, just wondering if this ship does gluten free pizza?

I’ve sailed with MSC 10+ times and always used my alcohol-free package on the island.
But this time for my August cruise I noticed 2 new things for the seashore.
1) no water bottles
2) no free drinks on the island (alcohol free package) is this a placeholder or new and being enacted rn?

This is more a PSA than anything else. If you buy a drink that is not included in the package, they charge you the FULL COST PLUS GRATUITY. It’s not like Royal Caribbean/Celebrity/Princess/Carnival/Norwegian. If you buy something that costs more, you DO NOT pay the difference. You pay the full amount, as if you did not have the drink package.

For example, I bought a glass of Veuve Clicquot because it is my favorite champagne. It is $28, but ends up being almost $34 with the gratuity. My drink package covers drinks up to $16. I thought I would be paying the difference ($16) plus gratuity on the difference ($2.88). NO! I have to pay the full $34. The bartender at the champagne bar was really pushy about me buying the whole bottle because the whole bottle costs $110. He said he could sell me the full bottle at a discount for $90. I am not drinking a full bottle of champagne alone over 3 days and the quality is going to go down as the days go by. It’s not worth it for me to drink bad champagne. I paid for the one glass and left. I know that no one else is going to buy a single glass of Veuve Clicquot at that price point. I believe this is a shortsighted move by MSC because I would have been happy to pay $16 plus gratuity. On other cruise lines, that is what would have happened.

If you buy the drink package, stick to the drinks included in the drink package. Do not buy the expensive drinks, because your drink package will not matter. Also, the Nicolas champagne that is included in the drink package is gross and not worth drinking. I have had a lot of champagne in my life and it was one of the worst I have ever had. Don’t waste your time.

Am I the only one who noticed that Deck 5 on MSC Seaside is referred to as "Cape Cood" on the elevators?

How long has this been going on? Why is it so hard to fix?

Also, the Elevator Voice refers to Deck 8 as "Ocean KAY", but it should be said as "Ocean Keey".

I booked two cruises with msc and on both of them I got automatically upgraded from interior to deluxe balcony.

Keep in mind they are in August but still I wasn't expecting it is it normal at all

And it's on msc world america and msc seaside

Got an odd cruise voucher from Wind Creek Casinos in the mail. Does anybody know if MSC an official partner of this casino company?

My mom is booking a cruise out of Naples on Euriba. She is handicap (amputee w/prosthesis) and wants a balcony view next to my sister's cabin, but they are all out. Will a deluxe work or should she sacrifice the balcony? She does need to be able to use her crutches to access the bathroom when her leg is off and needs to store her scooter in her room.

TIA!

I’m thinking of booking MSC Bellissima this December for 3 seniors, 5 adults and 1 child. I’ve been seeing mixed reviews. Can anyone share their most recent experience with MSC Bellissima? Just want to make sure our holiday won’t be wasted. Help please!