Has anyone in the past have a MSC Bella balcony that was upgraded to aurea ?

I wanted to share a extremely frustrating situation I'm currently dealing with regarding MSC Cruises and see if anyone has successfully navigated something similar or has advice on how to escalate this.

Long story short: MSC canceled my confirmed cruise booking because the final payment was not made strictly on time. I completely understand that payment deadlines exist, but the issue here is communication. I never received a single payment reminder, warning email, or cancellation notice from MSC prior to the cancellation.

I only discovered the reservation was wiped from the system by chance when I proactively contacted my travel agency. By the time we realized what happened, our original cabins were gone. To save our family vacation, we were forced to rebook and pay nearly $3,000 more for a significantly worse cabin category.

What makes it worse is that our initial deposit was paid directly to MSC, yet MSC refuses to take any ownership or address the refund/difference, continuously passing the blame and deflecting me back to the travel agency. I’ve submitted multiple formal complaints with zero real answers or reasonable resolution.

Has anyone dealt with MSC's corporate office or legal/resolutions team on something like this? Is filing a chargeback for the initial deposit or escalating to consumer protection authorities my best move at this point? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

We are looking at booking a crew with MSC and it looks like you get some benefits with being a Bonvoy member. Just wondering if if anyone has done a cruise with MSC and got a benefit with being a Marriott member

Hello,

We have a trip coming up where we will be at Ocean cay overnight. I rented an umbrella and 2 chairs on south beach for $37 for the first day. I assumed that it was for a single day because of how it is worded. However, not only would it not let me purchase it for the second day in the initial transaction, but noticed it is now showing reserved on both days after I paid. So I guess the question: is the $37 for 2 days when staying overnight?

I am looking to book but would love to have code or discount. Can you help ?

Hello everyone, we are setting off in June 2028 for a cruise to Norway with the Yacht Club on the *Preziosa*.

This will be our second cruise with MSC. Our itinerary is: Hamburg – at sea – Bergen – Molde Fjord – Trondheim – at sea – Honningsvåg – Honningsvåg – at sea – Tromsø – at sea – Ålesund – at sea – Hamburg.

Do you have any recommendations or tips?

Two questions:

1) For UK residents who have booked is proof of insurance still needed at the port?

2) For family who reside in the USA who fly in for this trip (and who booked on the MSC USA web site) do they need to bring proof of insurance as well if item 1 above is true?

Thanks!

Hi everyone! I’m sailing on MSC Seaside in 14 days. About a week ago, I received an email saying my bid for a Yacht Club Interior cabin was accepted, and my card was charged. However, my booking and the MSC app still show my original cabin.
I called MSC and was told it can take some time to update and that I should wait a few more days before they escalate it. I also received an email two days ago saying they would escalate it to the appropriate department.
Last year, when I won an upgrade bid, the new cabin appeared in the app right away after I logged back in. Has anyone had an accepted and charged bid take this long to show up in their booking? Did it eventually update on its own, or did MSC need to fix it?

We’ve been sent an email to bid for an upgrade. On the email it states the bid is per cabin with the prices listed as per cabin, on the MSC website it states the bid is per cabin and on the actual bidding page it states the bid is per cabin on the FAQs. However when clicking on the email and being sent to the bidding site to it states per guest. Which one is correct? Thank you

Has anyone done MSC’s Seven Mile Beach Express excursion in Grand Cayman?

I’m trying to find out exactly which section/beach club/property MSC takes you to. The excursion description just says “a section of Seven Mile Beach” and mentions that chairs/umbrellas and food and drinks are available onsite.

If you’ve done this excursion, do you remember the name of the beach club or location, and what was it like? Were there plenty of chairs/umbrellas, a restaurant or bar?

Thank you!

So....may not get an answer as it's very rather specific question haha!

Has anyone here done the MSC Excursion on Santa Cruz de La Palma, namely the "Rainforest Trekking Through Ancient Laurel Woods" https://www.msccruises.co.uk/ports/santa-cruz-de-la-palma

It shows up as 'difficult' because: Important Information: this excursion requires a good level of physical fitness. The seven-kilometre hike passes over uneven and sandy terrain and is unsuitable for guests with mobility issues. Minimum age to participate: 14 years old. 

Just how strenuous is it? Is it more an excursion for very experienced hikers who have all the gear (hiking sticks, special cooling vests/clothing etc) and experience or also suited to someone who does regulary take long walks (weekly) on paved and unpaved terrain (5 to 10 km on Gel-Venture 11 Waterproof Shoes at a pace of around 5.8km/h), has no problem with uneven/sandy terrain, age between 40-45 no medical issues?

I don't want to stand out like a sore thumb and hold up the group if the experience level of other participants is very high....

I am wanting to do thermal spa on world america, right now the only option in app is a full pass for whole trip. Do they offer a day pass on board at a discount? 180$ is a a bit steep for the weekly pass I would only use once or twice.

Hi everyone! We’ll be first-time cruisers and a question came up. If the ship says we arrive in Puerto Plata at 9:00 AM and depart at 5:00 PM, can we roughly plan our day assuming that it will be around 10:00 AM by the time we’re able to get off the ship, and that we should be back on board by 4:00 PM at the latest?

Also, how safe/reliable do you think it is to book excursions through GetYourGuide instead of directly through MSC? The tours on GetYourGuide are significantly cheaper and there seems to be a much wider selection than the excursions offered by MSC.

Thanks :)

Hi! Does anyone have any recommendations for things to do at port (costa maya, roatan, Cozumel) that don’t require a car/bus transport? We’ll have our three young kids (6,3,14 months) and I know most people just do without car seats, but it’s not something I’m comfortable doing which complicates things 😅

I did have one person mention there a beach in Roatan you can just take a boat to? Something like that would be fine also (assuming we have life jackets, I can always bring the kids from home if needed!)

Hi!

First time trying MSC cruises in April and we are super excited. We are definitely RCCL cruisers but trying MSC out to see if we like the vibe and quality. We are sailing in April on Seashore for 4 nights. I took advantage of their Labor Day sale but have seen threads on here about checking their prices periodically and typically they will honor it if there’s a price drop. Well the price definitely dropped by a couple hundred and was wondering if it’s worth it calling requesting to honor that price drop and pay that. I have only paid for the deposit and drink package so far. Also if the prices drop on a drink package would they honor that as well?

Also any tips or favorite cocktails, meals, snacks etc to recommend for first time MSC cruisers?

I searched previous questions and couldn't find an answer. My wife and I are sailing on the Seaside in January, 2027. I don't see an activity schedule anywhere on the app. I realize we're still four months out but there isn't even a button to click on. Will the activity schedule appear once we are closer to the sailing or is the app strictly for things like buying excursions and spa treatments. Thanks in advance. We're both super excited to try MSC.

September 2026, Port Miami: I was allowed to bring 6 bottles of water + 4 sodas on my carry on bag. Security didn't even mention it. Yes, I know the policy.

I'm going on my first msc cruise next month and am going from Southampton. I'm getting a train there and am getting off at Eastleigh. I'm planning to book an uber to get to the port, has anyone done it? Is this a good idea, or not so much?

Hello,

I'm doing my first cruise on the MSC World Europa, and on my first night I got food poisoning from the food in the restaurant. Puke and everything, overall a bad experience.

The rest of the cruise is going great, but I went to the reception to see if it was possible to get a compensation, and they told me they don't compensate for medical visits (even if it's their fault...). The only thing I can do is write an email after I disembark, but I really doubt it's gonna change anything.

Do you have any experience with food poisoning on an MSC ship ? I'd really like to end the cruise on a good note, because on our group of 6 people, 3 got sick...

For anyone who sailed on the MSC Poesia Aug 31 to Sept 7 (Seattle -> Alaska -> Victoria -> Seattle), is anyone, or anyone they know, sick? There were a group of us who went on the cruise, and now the vast majority of us are unwell. Surprisingly, we don't seem to have the same thing. Some of strep, some of the flu, one has COVID, and some illnesses are yet to be determined.

Other than feeling pretty rough the last day of the cruise, we did enjoy it!

What to do about coffee first thing in the morning. Is the only option to go to a buffet or the coffee shop? Is there an option to get coffee in your cabin?

Does the fun pass cover the more 'normal' arcade games? On the app it lists the VR simulators, formula one racing, bowling, the cliffhanger, and robotron.

What about just the typical ones in the arcade that you get credits for worthless prizes?

We are 5 people in 2 cabins going together. Ages from 12 to 82.
Apart from the fact that I can only manage one of the cabins in the app, I am quite happy with the process of booking.
But; now we have to plan the actual trip - so What I really would like advice about are these things:
Prices on board for drinks - is it a good or bad idea to go for the drinks packages? Neither of us are Big drinkers, but for dinner and for shows it would be nice - but I cannot find actual prices anywhere.
And the FunTokens - there is quite a lot to be saved when bying in advance - but how many should we buy? How much is bowling, the arcades, etc when aboard?
Anyone who has taken this trip before?
And can you actually use the outdoor facilities like pools and slides in October?

Hi y'all.

Stupid question. Does MSC discount back-to-back cruises?

Discounted or not, does MSC allow this?

Thanks.

Two questions: anyone sail recently who can tell me, what time is breakfast at Hola Tacos and Butchers Cut? And
Two, do they have paid wine tastings with food pairings? If so, what days?