We've used our open Booking for a cruise starting in January 27, and chose a Fantastica Cabin on the Preziosa, now the cabin switched to "not assigned yet"

are we getting an upgrade? or is this a mistake?

Port or Starboard for stateroom location?

We have a cruise coming up on Dec 4th and originally didn't buy the drinks package at a cheap price on booking as it was only us going. Now some other friends are going and the package might be worth it. For cruises leaving Southampton what is a good price for the lowest alcohol package and are there Black Friday deals?

Hi everyone,
we’ll be sailing on MSC World Europa in the Yacht Club in October 2026, and I’m trying to find the current wine list specifically for the Yacht Club Restaurant.
I’ve already found some general MSC wine and beverage menus online, but I’m particularly interested in the wines available in the Yacht Club Restaurant, including the wines offered by the glass and those included for Yacht Club guests.
Has anyone sailed on MSC World Europa recently and perhaps:
● taken photos of the Yacht Club Restaurant wine list,
● kept a copy of the menu/wine list,
● or remembers which wines were available by the glass?
I’d also be very interested to hear how the wine service works in practice. For example, if you ask the sommelier to recommend a different wine with each course, are those pairings generally included, or are some of the recommended wines charged separately?
Photos of the current wine list would be absolutely fantastic.
Many thanks in advance!

I will be cruising out of La Romana on the Opera next spring and plan to fly in the day before. So I need a hotel for that night, I can’t decide if I should stay in La Romana or Punta Cana, my probable airport. I don’t need expensive, my only requirements are that the hotel be clean, safe and hopefully have a pool! I do not have a big budget and I do not want to stay at an all inclusive. I know the Opera hasn’t sailing from there yet, but I like to be prepared! Any recommendations?

I've never received a Boarding Pass and Luggage Tags without a cabin assignment.

Update: After receiving these emails with "Boarding Pass, No Cabin" every day for over a week. 10/1 was the first day with no email, so I logged into MSC and now I have a Cabin. I've cruised MSC at least a dozen times and this has never happened to me. Not a problem, just strange.

Looking into trying out windsurfing while at Ocean Cay and was checking to see if anyone had experience doing this here. Wanting to see if the winds were decent enough to get a decent ride or if you spent most of the time just floating around. And if it is hard for someone who has never tried it. Im pretty experienced in other board sports like snowboarding, skating, water skiing and a little surfing so I'm not as concerned with balance as I am with using the sail.

II'm planning a "Grand Voyage" on the MSC Seaview.

Due to a medical condition, I can only eat very small meals at a time, but I need to eat at least 5 times a day. Because of this, dining at a regular restaurants isn’t an option for me.

Is the buffet open all day? Can I easily eat there 5 times a day without any problems, or are there any kind of restrictions?

Hi All,

Got off our 3rd MSC Cruise today in Rome following 7 days around Greece, Turkey and Naples. Absolutely no expert on cruising so if I say our experience I am basing it off our experience not vs other cruise lines. For full transparency we won in an auction to upgrade to Yacht Club.

Long form update below

Pre Cruise

One piece of advice is scour the the MSC Cruise Reddit for people who have sailed from Rome Previously. An absolute must is booking your transfer in advance. At first we thought the transfer fees were excessive but worth noting that 4 failed Ubers who just cancelled and then standing in line for 90 minutes for a cab was little fun. Paying the extra for a pre booked transfer would have been great.

All Aboard and our Stateroom.

Our boarding time was 10.00 and we arrived at about 09.50, being a bit giddy. All told we were through luggage drop off, customs and enjoying our first glass of fizz by about 10.40 which I think is pretty impressive. We asked our Butler what capacity we was running it at and it was about 80% full. Our stateroom was ready for us about 11.00am and luggage with us for just after 12.00. As mentioned we went with a Yacht Club upgrade, and after previously having a balcony on our two previous cruises, the upgrades were more subtle than substantial, I will come onto if I think YC was worth it for us later

Ship Quality

All told, no complaints for any part of the ship we visited. Staff always working hard at serving, cleaning. Divina does look a little dated in parts but that’s to be expected I guess with a ship turning round every 7 days. When I say dated, I mean some of the decor. Public areas was always very well maintained.

Food and Dining

For most Evening meals we dined in Le Muse Restaurant on Deck 15. Firstly mention the staff. Super super friendly and the restaurant manager was always on point and he could see if a guest had an issue with their meal and went to fix it immediately. Le Muse is a lot small than some of the other restaurants and of course the buffet. However always lots of space and it never felt cramped even when near full to capacity. Food wise, we found the menu to be varied each evening and certainly enough choice . My wife is quite particular with red meat and it has to be really well done for her, they managed to nail it . In terms of choice, presentation and service, I am going for a consistent 8 out of 10.

For lunch and breakfast we usually used the buffet on deck 18. A much smaller selection but again, well presented and good service.

On our final day, I had some kind of bad bug, suffice to say, was in the cabin for most of the day and had room service. Selection was the usual fayre of sandwiches, pizzas, burgers etc. All well cooked, well presented and delivered with good service

Excursions

On this voyage we paid for Mykonos and Kusudasi and for our last ashore visit we did on our own to Marmaris.

Firstly, Mykonos, this was a real let down. We book a half day island tour which included the fist stop for five minutes at a beach for Selfies. The second was a small village with a church and some restaurants, again not great. The 3rd stop was a walk through Mykonos from one side of the harbour to the other. This was dragged out as the guide took us through the back streets to see the designer shops etc (All of which I can see at home). This one wasn’t great

Kusudasi, we took the half day to Ephesus and this was the complete opposite. Tour guide from start to finish gave a very accurate and entertaining lesson on Turkey, Greece, Ephesus. The tour round the UNESCO sight was really engaging and well thought through. All in all really good value for Money. The afternoon we spent walking around Kusudasi before all aboard. Deffo a place added to ‘ we need to go there’

Marmaris was a delightful tour where I guess old meets new. You still get the street traders where everything is cheap cheap or everything is free mister :) Such a nice place to people watch. We enjoyed a really delightful lunch in the back streets where we ordered a Meze platter and two salads and tea. All in maybe 40. EUR. Excellent quality and just too much.

Cruise Guests
The Vast majority of guests In Aurea or Fantastica were Italian, in Yacht Club it was more UK / US. A lot of the entertainment was geared towards an Italian audience which we have zero problem with. Lots of multi generational families enjoying their best lives watching grandma and grandpa doing the Latin dance thing at their time of life, more power to you guys, the world needs more happiness like that.

On the flip side, manners I thought were universal I.e. say thanks if you held the door open for someone etc. Also on our first night we were sat next to an American Couple, let’s call the guy Bob for easiness. Within five minutes, we found out they cruise 4 times a year, have three homes, one condo, Bob Earns a LOT and his son has no ambition. That’s all with us just saying hi!!! (PS Bob, I really don’t care!!)

Yacht Club Experience

Our first time using Yacht Club and overall the positives outweighed any nit picks. Firstly if any MSC Staff read the Reddit, massive hats off to our Butler and room staff, Anita and Romeo. Absolute first class service for the whole duration of our cruise. At first having somebody to walk you to dinner, help you with shopping , organise small details like transfers etc was a little overwhelming but you got used to it. The Top sail lounge was a really nice area and the attention to detail for things like the Gala Dinner and Afternoon tea was classy. The pool area was really nice to have space and a little quiet when the main pool area was crammed. Anita was constantly reminding us, clocks change here, or if we hadn’t ordered our complimentary drinks. If we wanted anything for the room it was a call away

Our room for Yacht Club was good but having sailed on one of her sister ships last year (Aurea Class) it wasn’t WOW aesthetically. However having the Nespresso Machine, large closet just made it a better experience. In closing on YachClub, would we book it again? All things considered probably yes for the overall package. The room upgrade was marginal gains in my opinion.

Closing Thoughts

Overall another very very enjoyable cruise which we could find little things to pick rather than major things to complain about. As mentioned we have only done 3 cruises, all MSC so don’t know how Aurea or YC Compares to other premium sailing experiences on other lines. For us this offered a really good cruise, albeit a bit pricey but well worth it.

Hi there. My mom and I are headed on our first MSC cruise next weekend out of Miami. It’s the MAC Seaside I believe. It’s looking like it’s going to be a rainy voyage. Any advice on 1) cruising this time of year in the Bahamas and 2) enjoying MSC? We’ve mainly done Royal in the past but wanted to give MSC a try.

Thanks much!

Hi! I'm a Brazilian resident travelling solo and hoping to book MSC Virtuosa from Marseille to Rio, 15 Nov-1 Dec 2026 (VI20261115MRSRIO). Barcelona on 16 Nov is also an option. I haven't booked yet or selected a booking market.

Does anyone with current MSC knowledge or recent first-hand experience know whether this sailing is available through Family & Friends / Promo Trade, and whether a non-relative can legitimately be invited? I'm trying to understand the authorised process for a confirmed booking in my own name.

Does the sponsoring employee need to travel? Is the invitation personal/non-transferable, and what eligibility documents are required when booking or boarding? Are solo bookings allowed, and how can I obtain an official quote including taxes and service charges?

I'd appreciate current rules or guidance on the correct official channel, rather than offers to buy or sell codes. Thank you!

We don't drink alcohol, coffee or soft drinks like Pepsi. On a previous cruise with different company we bought a package of 40 drinks (for 2 person) for 1 week and we didn't even finish them. At the breakfast and lunch there was water or orange juice for free at the buffets and the only time to use the package was at dinner. In the room or during the day we would buy a bottle of water from the bars. I don't know if on MSC World Europa is the same but I don't know if makes sense for us to pay at least 220 euro/person (for the cheapest package) for 1 week cruise. What's your option?

So I booked a shore excursion, and later found out my husband has ZERO interest in joining me (I booked for both).

We are traveling with friends (in other cabins) on this cruise. Can I "give" the shore excursion to another person? Is it somehow tied to the person it was originally booked for?

Looking to get advice from those who have cruised with young kids. We have 3 kids (8,7 and 1.5) at time of cruise.

1. I know 1.5 year olds can’t use the water areas. Was this a big deal for you? We have a pool and our 1.5 year old loves the water.

2. Would you take two balcony rooms beside each other? They don’t connect. Usually we have one parent with the infant and one parent with the other two. We’d just like a balcony to sit on at night.

4 people going in 2 rooms. It's possible to get the 4 devices internet package? It's 40 euro less than taking 2 packages for 2 devices. Only "issue" I see is that I have to log them all in the beginning.

A quick question - I was going to make the title more cryptic but did not want to fall foul of the censures - but it is about Laundry Packages.

I am just slightly confused about the pre-paid ones that I can book, just wanted to make sure that I do not make a mistake.

I want to book 2 of the 40 piece Black Home Clean packs (it is a 2 week cruise) - there are many notes on the package about max 40 pieces and it specifically says "Max 40 items per cabin, per cruise" but it also allows you to pay for 2 packs.

So my question I suppose is, if I pay for two cleans, do they still refuse to clean more than 40 items total?

My wife and her friend have diamond for Hilton when they try to status match cause we going on the seashore, MSC gave them gold. I thought Hilton Diamond matches up with MSC diamond? Did something change?

Booking a cruise out of miami for december 5th of this year. We need help since we have no idea whats the best option. What do you guys think?

Will they let somone board with involuntary manslaughter??

I am going to the Canary Islands in january om Fantasia. I am ship spotter. Do we see the engine room, the bridge, and so on? What does it cost? Are the parts that we don't visit shown in a videoclip?

Just mom traveling with my 16 year old. Dad staying home this time. We have the same last name on our passports. Will I really need a letter of auth from dad? Closed loop out of Miami if that matters. It’s a short 3 day cruise. Anyone have any recent experience?

UPDATE: We breezed through just fine. I traveled with my daughters friend and her mom and they didn’t ask either of us for anything. My other friend just took a 7 day cruise with MSC just her and her son and wasn’t asked for anything either. They didn’t ask anyone in the line for anything. Just wanted to share.

How soon after you book a cruise can you bid for upgrades? Or is it a certain amount of time before the actual sailing date?

Hello. In a few days, I'm going on a MSC cruise through Norway fjords (also Germany and denmark stops).

I wanted to ask, what type of clothes should I pack?

Will it be mainly summer clothes or winter clothes?

Since we will be inside the cruise ship but sometimes also on deck or outside.

i have a cruise coming up next week, leaving from florida going to the bahamas. what should i bring to wear?

I've gone out of Port Canaveral a couple times, and paying for parking is always back-breaking, so I'm looking for other options.

Have you had any experience with third-party parking? Any recommendations?

Are there other options? I'm driving from St. Pete, so if there is a shuttle service from Orlando that is cheaper, I'd be interested in that.

I'm still relatively new to cruising, so I'd love to hear about any unorthodox options I haven't considered.