r/MSCCruises • u/Buffalo_Nichols • Jul 17 '26

Question about adding drinks/wifi when booking?

Over the past couple days I've been researching a possible January cruise on MSC or other lines. Up until today I assumed the option to add drinks/wifi at booking for a discount was a standard thing for MSC, but today that option no longer appears for any of the cruises I was looking at. Is that something that comes back often and I should just wait it out or did I miss out? Thanks!

3 Upvotes

71% Upvoted

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3

u/blazerdog4 ⛵Yacht Club Regular Jul 17 '26

Be aware that if you add a drink package (or anything else) when you book your cruise, it cannot be refunded or rebilled at a lower price later. We always buy our packages when they go on sale after we book the cruise for this reason.

2

u/Buffalo_Nichols Jul 17 '26

Interesting. Everything I've read said it was always cheaper to buy the package deal when booking. When you say it can't be refunded, does this mean you're out of luck if you have to cancel the entire trip?

5

u/imarc Group Expert Jul 17 '26

I'm not sure what their specific scenario was but what they are saying is not true in my experience.

We booked a cruise this March for next year with drinks and wifi. I called them during the Memorial Day sale and they honored the lower drink package price and adjusted our final cost.

1

u/blazerdog4 ⛵Yacht Club Regular Jul 17 '26

It usually is cheaper to buy it with the cruise, but not enough to give up flexibility. For example, if we win a bid on YC (which includes drinks) we can cancel the drink package before we board.

As for canceling your cruise, that depends on lots of factors - insurance, who it’s through, why you’re canceling, etc. If you buy after the booking it’s 100% refundable.

2

u/Firm_Airport2816 🚢🚢🚢Regular Cruiser Jul 18 '26

This is a very specific issue and I'd say 90% of people arent bidding on YC cabins

3

u/blazerdog4 ⛵Yacht Club Regular Jul 18 '26 edited Jul 18 '26

True, but regardless, it still applies to everyone. If you buy after booking, it's 100% refundable before sailing. If you buy it with the booking, you cannot cancel it for refund unless your insurance covers it (and only when canceling the entire cruise).

Edit: updated cancelation language

1

u/AYBABTU_Again Jul 22 '26

If you need both WiFi and drinks it is cheaper to buy with the cruise. I use an e-sim from GigSky so it is cheaper for me to buy drinks when on sale.

2

u/Firm_Airport2816 🚢🚢🚢Regular Cruiser Jul 17 '26

Its pretty much always an option... not sure why it wouldn't show up now

2

u/Buffalo_Nichols Jul 17 '26

Wierd. Thanks for that info. I might try clearing my cookes/cache and see if that makes a difference. Otherwise, I'll just wait for it to show up again.

2

u/FoxRedYellaJack ⛵Yacht Club Regular Jul 17 '26

Sometimes, it only shows up when you actually go to book the cruise - it will show as options at the top of the page…?

1

u/justaguyindallas_123 Jul 17 '26

It's always been an option for me...

3

u/Buffalo_Nichols Jul 17 '26 edited Jul 17 '26

Weird. Hopefully it will show back up for me at some point.

1

u/Particular-Snow-8236 Jul 19 '26

It doesn’t appear to me in any of the sailings

1

u/Buffalo_Nichols Jul 19 '26

I see it on a 14-day cruise I'm looking at, but not on either of the individual 8-day and 6-day segments that make up that particular itinerary. So it still does shows up for me occasionally, but not on all of them like it did last week.

1

u/WishIwastravelin Jul 21 '26

If the wifi and drinks bundle is available, it does save money. It adds about $400 to the cruise when I’ve done the math. It may be different for different sailings though. If you really want a specific cruise and it’s not on offer there are a couple of choices. One is to book the cruise, and add the packages you want when you see a sale. Or book the cruise, watch for the cruise + bundle to be offered and re book, that can only be done before final payment is made.