This is a rip off

Excellent tips, thank you and I will be reviewing your other videos. Thanks again.

We were on the Iona in July 23 and the dinner queue was the single most stressful thing of the cruise. We wanted to have a table at 19:30 and joined the queue on the app at about 19:00 and all the main dining restaurants already had loads of people in front of us. We chose the one with the shortest queue, but we still had to wait ages. When we got to the restaurant, it was half empty. So we couldn't understand the long wait. The following day, it was the same sort of thing and we gave up and went to Keel and Cow and was given a table straight away. We didn't bother after that and went to the Epicurean and the buffet. Talking to some people who told us that people would join the queue for ALL the restuarnts, and then go to whichever one comes up first. So the long queues were probably not really that long. I don't remember the option of a pager. Joining a queue at 18:30 doesn't always work if you want to go to the show before dinner. We are on the Arcadia soon and it will be interesting to how it works. I was also irritated that you couldn't just order any drinks from any bar. Even a simple cocktail like a Moscow Mull had to be hunted out.

Chris should go and do some training to become a real captain.

Hi, for PLUS package -- 2 casual dining, what are the venues on Royal Princess and if PLUS package members have to pay additional when going to casual dining? Thanks

Sailed on the Arvia from Southampton to Barbados on a re-positioning cruise in January 2022. Absolutely loved the ship. Yes, I can be frustrating at times getting a seat for the free to dine restaurants but I didn't have to wait too long. Always found a seat in a bar. Maybe it's just the time of year which is the issue.

So if I want a long island iced tea for example does every shot cost me one of my 15 drinks?

It’s a Carnival line. Carnival itself has a basic alcohol package that covers alcohol only, and cost $65 US per Person per Day. Never thought we could come out on it. Princess has a more straightforward standard, no alcohol package, and the plus rate which is $65 per day per Person, and includes WiFi, gratuities, and alcohol. Then they have the premium package which includes all that and premium wines and top shelf liquors. It’s $85 a day.

I assume most people commenting about not being able to take spirits on board haven’t looked at the room service menu. We buy Corvosier VSOP on board for £36 and Bombay 1ltr £28 - both cheaper than in Tesco at the moment!

We booked for our last cruise in Iona b4 they changed the rules, however we managed to smuggle on contraband quite easily, loads of tips online, great policy to put you off P&O

Xx

wtf are you dressed up as a captain?

Shame that if your sharing a cabin you are forced to be on the same drinks package should you choose to purchase one! Considering that each package is unique to the person cant see why all cabin members have to be on the same thing if at all.

Very helpful Chris

If your not on the drinks package ...can you get water and tea and coffee in the main dining room whilst eating ? ...

How much mixers/soft drinks/squash can you take on board? It will be our first cruise and we don’t drink alcohol so would be looking to take just those. Thanks

Do you get a tax deduction receipt for the donation?

Do msc take £250 pending from bank card and is this per person or per cabin . If you load card either cash on board does this still apply ? Kind regards

I’m a shareholder and receive £150 credit per 14 day cruise I bought 100 shares two years ago at £6.20 wish I had bought 10000 as they are now £11 The last cruise we had in February we bought 3 litres of whiskey at Lisbon nobody checked our bags (if they had would have been ok as it was last port and was for home use )

We have a 17 year old and she has a free drinks package with our drinks package 👍

Hi Chris, I am exploring options similar to what P&O has to offer at similar price points. It seems like dining options are limited unless I am ready to spend more with MSC. Is this a MSC norm or specific to particular MCS ships? Thank you for the nice and informative video!

I am on the Arcadia in September, they changed the rules after we booked it. This will be my last cruise with P&O, THEY ARE A RIP OFF.

Hi Chris, We did the 2 night cruise to Cherbourg last week just to try the ship out. I was not sure but my wife really fancied trying MSC and for us it worked out really well. We paid extra for the Aurea experience as we expected there to be loads of children so wanted the opportunity to have access to the thermal spa and top 19. We embarked at 11am and was on board in about 15 minutes, so no issues there. The crew were lovely and we had no issues getting service. Although lots of families we had no issues at all, only the usual with the hot tubs being permanently filled with children so felt too uncomfortable to use. The food was great in the mdr & buffet although the latter can get very busy. Several have commented that if you go aft in the buffet it's quieter and we found that to be true. Our only criticisms were the app which dropped out repeatedly, and the 'West End' quality shows were not a patch on other cruise lines. We paid for the festival productions which were awesome. Top 19 wasn't adult only and the hot tub is much smaller than it appears on video (and was out of action when the weather was good enough to want to be out). Overall, we enjoyed the experience and we would cruise with MSC again, mindful that unless you stick to what's included in your cruise fair, it is no cheaper than the other cruise lines. Enjoy your videos, cheers.

Not being a big drinker usually I only have a couple of beers a day when I cruise. That's far more than usual when I'm at home anyway. I guess cruise lines don't want a lot of passengers getting drunk.

Great info, thank u so much. We have just got back from a week on the virtuosa and absolutely loved it. Now have just booked the arvia in March for 17 days on a Caribbean cruise, do u think the ship has enough for 4 kids to do for this amount of time or will they get bored . Thank u again

Bought the package on Anthem of the Seas last year. 14 night cruise.Broke even on day 9😵‍💫

Cheers won’t be booking P&O

Are there kettles in the cabins ? ...

The lift issue was the only thing that annoyed me on the ship, we were on iona and on harbour days it took ages. Such shame. Everything else is great

I bought a drinks package and it really couldn't have been a bigger waste of time - the lack of staff meant that you had to wait forever to get a drink anyway; you can't even go to the bar and buy a drink as they only 'make' the drinks and need to be passed on from a waiter. Furthermore, things like a drink at the theatre now means getting a drink before entering, as staff no longer take orders from the theatre (and when the bar is full you're left standing around trying to catch a waiter to place an order). I for one have been so disappointed with the cutbacks that I'm now looking to other cruise lines in future - might as well pay cheap(er) for rubbish service!

If you have easy plus or higher package and want something that is above the price limit, you only need to pay the difference in price. Example: You have easy plus that covers drinks up to 10 and want class of champagne that is 14, you only need to pay 4 for it. That makes the easy plus package sweet spot for me. All bars have really good specialty coffees. Its Italian line. So I will have cappuccino instead of regular coffee. There is always a bar that also have some snacks and desserts available, but not regular free coffee. Having coffee and snack is free with package. That is a luxury that I would not do (or at least did less) without drink package. Also with drinks package you get bottled water. So every time I get off the ship I get couple of them in the backpack so I don't have to buy any water when I'm on port.

Book way in advance then you save more in general. Particularly going with the Easy Package on your booking.

Very useful video. Two small points to add: 1) Most MSC cruises sold in the UK offer the Premium extra package at time of booking for c £36 pppn which is even better value & 2) Yacht club also includes the mini bar and one bottle of spirits/wine per cabin.

When your video's came up on my feed, I thought it was a bit naff... but I was wrong. Not only do you have clear information about each cruise subject, but you also 'do the math' and illustrated what things actually mean, such as how much (in reality) you have to drink for a drink packages to make sense. Top mark for the video and top marks for you background work and evenclear presentation. I am now officially a fan!!!

Do you get a free glass off wine at dinner time.

If you order a double vodka and lemonade would they give you 80ml (two measures) on a premium extra package and would the price non package be £8 twice plus £3.50 for the lemonade?

Can an adult buy the Kids package? And do both the kids package and Alcohol free include ice cream?

I allwhys buys the drink package if we did not we have a big bill end of the holiday 😂

Hi Chris, we've booked a 2 nighter because we're not sure what to expect. As P&O Cruisers we expect great service and quality at a reasonable price. However, we want to try MSC so found your video interesting. We upgraded to Aurea because we fancy the spa and thermal area. This quickly made this short cruise quite expensive. That said, we're looking forward to the sparkly ship and try not to spend too much extra. Cheers.

Can you still buy a bottle of spirits on board for your cabin? Any idea what irish whiskeys they have in bars on board?

Thanks for this. We have never tried MSC, but I fully expect that we will be tempted when the right itinerary comes along.

This will cost P&O in the long run.... hopefully. It's getting out of hand. We had already booked before this nonsense was announced, but out of principle it will be the last we book with P&O.

do they check for spirits when you board? say i put spirits in a coke bottle?

Not a shocker at all, it's what most cruise lines already do. Last year Princess made much more significant changes than this After customers like us had already paid in full for the cruise.

Great video, Virtuosa is gorgeous and love the Swaroski stairs. Thanks for the tip 👏

We have just come back from two lovely weeks on Arvia, can definitely recommend this ship! Everything was fabulous! 😊

No not on their website

I’ve booked my cruise with the deluxe package for2025