hi everyone I’ll go ahead and restart the cruise calendar for 2025 for now. It can give people ideas and might help members meet up!

Two essential rules: don’t “quote” the calendar when replying—this’ll avoid any confusion and if you can, list your cruise in this example format: enter the month first, then date /username / SHIP / number of days / destination / departure port

FEBRUARY

14/02- poupou10 / CELEBRITY INFINITY /11 days / Greece Turkey Cyprus / Piraeus (Athens) AUGUST 01/08- poupou10 / REGAL PRINCESS /13 days / British Isles / Southampton YOUR TURN 😉 NUMBER OF CRUISES 2025: 2 JANUARY FEBRUARY 14/02- poupou10 / CELEBRITY INFINITY /11 days / Greece Turkey Cyprus / Piraeus (Athens) MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUGUST 01/08- poupou10 / REGAL PRINCESS /13 days / British Isles / Southampton SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER

hi there Here’s the cruise schedule for 2026. It’s a great way to get ideas and maybe even meet up with other members. 2 essential rules:

1) never "quote" the calendar when replying—this’ll avoid any confusion 2) follow the format below DD/MM - username / SHIP IN CAPS / number of days / cruise title / departure port DON’T FORGET THE SPACES between the / /

REMINDER Despite my requests, few people follow the requested format. Cruises that stray too far from it won’t be listed anymore—sorry!PLEASE respect the templates! COPY AND PASTE THE FORMAT BELOW AND REPLACE WITH YOUR DETAILS IF YOU’RE STRUGGLING DD/MM - username / SHIP IN CAPS / number of days / cruise title / departure port DON’T FORGET THE SPACES between the / / It takes time to fix mistakes, so THANKS TO EVERYONE for your help!

YOUR TURN 😉

NUMBER OF CRUISES 2026: JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER

Hello, We’re back from this cruise. Boarding in Dunkirk: The doors opened around 12 PM. Since we were a bit early, I asked if my husband, who uses a walker, could wait inside instead of outside. I left him with the two suitcases and our two backpacks in the small hall while I parked the car in the reserved CFC parking lot for 10 € per day. The shuttle that was supposed to take people from the parking lot to the model pavilion was supposed to arrive in 5 minutes, but after 15 minutes, nothing. After waiting 15 minutes, I saw a man walking and asked if I could follow him. In 15 minutes, we arrived, and still no sign of the shuttle—it must have passed us. Arrived at the model pavilion. My husband had already checked in the suitcases with the help of a CFC staff member. The remaining formalities were completed quickly. We were on board by 12:15 PM. Headed to the buffet on deck 11 and waited in a lounge to access our cabin. At 2 PM, we discovered our balcony cabin on deck 9 at the rear: spacious with a large balcony compared to MSC/COSTA. Since we were at the rear, cabin 9202, there was always an issue with elevator number 4: "priority." Elevator number 2 stops at deck 10... and elevator number 3 was often out of order, leaving only number 1 for those with mobility issues to reach the buffet, especially for people who struggle with stairs. Note: only one child on board and lots of "gray hair." DAY 2: At sea. Lots of activities offered. Day 3: GOTHENBURG (Sweden). Sunny, 19°C at 11 AM. Excursion booked with CFC: Gothenburg and Haga for all. Interesting visit with a great guide. The HAGA district, in our opinion, is full of cobblestones and nothing special, not suitable for people using a cane or wheelchair. Elevator number 3 was out of order again. Day 4: Copenhagen. 15°C in the morning, showers in the afternoon. We didn’t book an excursion since we’d already stopped here with CFC in 2025, and based on advice from this forum, we took the hop-on/hop-off bus right in front of the ship. I still went to see the Little Mermaid again. No TV, but the elevator was fixed. DAY 5: At sea. Still no TV. DAY 6: GDANSK (Poland). 15°C, rain all day. There’s a shuttle to get to the city center. We took the excursion: Panorama of Gdansk. The guide left us at the entrance of the city center for 45 minutes, telling us what to visit. Meet-up for the rest of the tour at 3 PM. The bus left at 3:15 PM to cover 10 km to see St. Mary’s Cathedral. We arrived at 4:16 PM... The guide said there are often traffic jams in that direction. We had 10 minutes on site before heading to see the lighthouse and the Westerplatte monument, where we also had 10 minutes. Many of us wondered why we didn’t do the tour in the opposite direction since they knew there would be traffic... I went to reception to complain about the organization. The staff member read me the program: we were supposed to start with the lighthouse, then go to the cathedral and stay for 30 minutes before heading to the center of Gdansk for a short guided walk with some free time to buy souvenirs, etc. The guide did the complete opposite of what was planned and didn’t even give us a guided tour—just dropped us off in the city... DAY 7: Bornholm Island (Denmark). 14°C, a few sunny spells. We saw in the excursions that there was a walking tour of RØNNE. So, like many others, we explored on our own. There was a small orchestra welcoming us at the port and two people with city maps. We took the shuttle to leave the port—it ran every 15 minutes. The tourist office was next to the "shuttle bus." A pleasant visit at our own pace. DAY 8: KIEL (Germany). 18–23°C, nice weather. We took the "Kiel for all" excursion. Great guide and interesting visits. The port is in the city, and in 10 minutes, we were in the city center by following a blue line on the ground from the port. Elevator 3 was stuck again... and the TV was back. DAY 9: At sea. Elevator 3 works. DAY 10: At sea. Elevator 3 is out of order again... DAY 11: Disembarkation in Dunkirk. Cabins had to be vacated by 7:30 AM. Buffet open until 9 AM. Elevator number 1 was "reserved," leaving only number 2, which doesn’t go up to deck 11... a problem for people with mobility issues who had to cross the entire deck 11 and try to use one of the four working elevators at the front, which were crowded. My opinion: Interesting stops. The onboard staff were always welcoming, smiling, and mostly French-speaking. Evening shows were better than in March/April 2025—better singers, dancers, and presenters, and the costumes were improved. I liked the "magician" shows less. There were three onboard lectures by a very cultured person, but they went off-topic and were too historical for my taste. I didn’t attend the other two; my husband went to the second but not the third. For this cruise, there was a bridge theme, but we’re not players or interested. We didn’t take a drink package on board—water, coffee, tea, and herbal teas were available.

We had a water leak in our cabin the night before disembarkation. We reported it, and after the technical staff came (with a translator who didn’t speak English), we were asked to leave the cabin for a while for repairs. We went to a lounge, and after 1.5 hours, I checked in at reception. The repair took longer than expected... we had to change cabins... not ideal the night before disembarkation. No balcony cabins were available, so we got an ocean-view cabin, 6075, with a bathtub (impossible for both of us to use). We packed our suitcases, took a shower in our cabin, and moved to the new one. Noise from chairs until 12:30 AM because the cabin was under a lounge, and constant ventilation noise in the hallway... sleep was hard to come by. Disembarkation: Well organized. We were helped with transporting the two suitcases and bags to the waiting room while I took the shuttle to get the car. Guylène

😉Hi there, A few months ago, CFC put the EN VOGUE experience on sale, departing from Dunkirk. I booked this package to test the boat and onboard services for myself. I’d read a lot of reviews mentioning numerous issues on board, so I wanted to see for myself what it was really like…

Okay, I’ll stop rambling… The package included boarding at 6 PM on Friday, dinner, a show, an overnight stay, and breakfast. We chose an interior cabin for this experience—since the boat wasn’t leaving the dock, we didn’t see the point in paying more… All in all, it cost 130 € per person. My mom joined us; she got the same cabin for 130 € with no single occupancy supplement.

We’d checked in online to board faster. We took the train to DUNKIRK, then a taxi to the shuttle pavilion—7 € for the ride. When we arrived at the pavilion, we were told to wait because there was a connection issue with check-in. Great start… After about ten minutes, we were finally allowed to proceed. At the counter, they said they didn’t have our cabin cards and no record of our check-in… Very odd. With no solution, they put us on the bus and said we’d sort it out at reception. Perfect. We went through security, and they confiscated our water bottles—never seen that before! Then they said my mom had a corkscrew in her bag, so they searched it… but there was no corkscrew. Total amateur hour… They eventually dropped it.

We got on the bus for a ten-minute ride… We boarded the ship with a crew member and headed to reception. Turns out, we weren’t the only ones in this situation. The nightmare began… Only two staff members were handling all the issues, and everything seemed complicated. They told my mom her cabin had been given to someone else 😲. That was the last straw…

It took forever—they had to redo the entire check-in. Finally, they told my mom her cabin was good to go; they’d mixed her up with someone else… After a solid half-hour, we could finally head to our cabin.

I’m determined to test everything: the pool, jacuzzi, show, restaurant, spa, etc… TO BE CONTINUED

Hi everyone, I’m leaving at the end of March 2026 with 8 friends to celebrate an event on the MSC World Europa. I’ve been cruising for over 20 years with all kinds of companies and under many skies, but I’ve never traveled on a ship this size (6,800 people), and some specific info about this ship would be really helpful. So, to those who’ve been on this boat before—thanks in advance! SHOWS: Is it true that you have to book the evening show?... Just to secure a spot, or is it an internal rule? THE SPA: Are the saunas and hammams mixed-gender? Are there several of them? Which pools are available? SPORTS: Are there any “spaces” where ball sports like volleyball or basketball can be played? Finally, is the management of passengers flexible and friendly, or quite strict? Thanks! Happy cruising. Francis.

Hello everyone,

If you'd like, I invite you to join me for a week-long cruise to northern Greece, visiting ports that are often less crowded with cruise ships.

Itinerary: Athens, Skiathos, Volos, Thessaloniki, Kavala, Limnos, Hydra, Athens

Hi, I'm looking into a cruise for May 2026. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the MSC Preziosa ship. Thanks, Diane

Hello, I’m going on an MSC Norway cruise in May, and I’m a bit lost when it comes to choosing excursions 😅 Here’s my itinerary: Hamburg, Ålesund, Honningsvåg, Tromsø, Trondheim, Molde Fjord, Bergen, Hamburg. I’m looking for advice and opinions: must-see places, and is it possible to organize excursions independently from the cruise line (there are 4 of us)? All your experiences would be super helpful 😊 Thanks in advance

MSC Orchestra cruise from October 11 to 22. 8 travelers, 7 got sick with 2 bedridden for 2 days, no port stops, no restaurants, and a medical center that told us our COVID and flu tests were negative—but in hindsight, without showing us the results. When we got back, we all went to see a French doctor (plus 100 € for the onboard consultation and medication costs), and we’re still sick more than a week later. I’d like to share my experience with other cruisers to see if they’ve been ill too, because I doubt the legitimacy and honesty of MSC’s staff. This was our 5th MSC cruise, and we were disappointed by the drop in restaurant quality and the same old entertainment—same groups at the same bars. I think this’ll be our last MSC cruise, and I’m looking forward to hearing about other companies’ experiences.

hi there

we’re heading out in November and have a stop in Limassol. The port seems pretty far from the city center—what’s the best way to get there? I’m guessing there’s an MSC shuttle, but they’re usually really expensive.

Hello everyone, So happy to be back on this Forum! We’re heading off on another cruise—our 7th—after a 5-year break... We’ll be leaving from Venice on April 26th with stops in Kotor, Mykonos, Santorini, and Ancona. Could you help me plan the stops by sharing tips, tricks, and advice? For those who already know me, you know we prefer not to take the cruise line’s excursions but instead organize everything ourselves. Thanks in advance to everyone, and looking forward to chatting with you all!

Hello, We’re taking a cruise to Northern Europe with a stop in SOUTHAMPTON. We’d like to visit the Stonehenge site. Is it possible to get there on our own (my husband is a wheelchair user), since the MSC excursion to Salisbury is priced at 127 € per person? There’s also a stop in Rotterdam, and it seems there’s a "miniature village to visit" nearby. Has anyone here been there, and if so, how did you get there? Thanks so much for your tips. Mum49

hi, we’re going on a cruise with MSC Virtuosa in the Caribbean. Has anyone done this cruise before and could give us some tips for excursions on the different islands? Thanks for your help

Hi everyone,

Would you have any tips for excursions on the MSC Splendida cruise: Marseille / Livorno / Cagliari / Palermo / Malta / Barcelona

Is it possible to do some excursions on our own?

Thanks in advance,

Have a great evening

Patrick

Cruise on the MSC Virtuosa with stopovers in Pointe-à-Pitre, Antigua, St Kitts, Philipsburg, and Tortola from March 8 to 15, 2025. Is it better to book MSC’s excursions, or are there easy ways to explore on our own in some ports?

Thanks for your feedback!

Danielle

Is there a way to visit New York from the MSC cruise terminal?

Hi there, We’re joining an MSC Preziosa cruise in early July from Hamburg via Iceland. The MSC shore excursions are way overpriced, so we’d like to book through Get Your Guide or Tripadvisor. Even though we’re seasoned travelers, this is our first cruise, and we’re not sure about docking durations, arrival ports, disembarkation times, or how far excursion meeting points are from the ship... It’s a bit tricky to plan visits outside the cruise line’s options while making sure we’re back on board in time. Any advice? Thanks for your tips! Danielle

Hi everyone, Here’s a little story about what happened to me—I was supposed to go on a cruise on the CELEBRITY INFINITY on February 16th, but nothing went as planned 😕 We left for Athens on February 14th, had a good flight, and stayed at the same hotel as last year, the PHIDIAS PIRAEUS HOTEL, which we really liked. But this year, it was disappointing—no upgrade from BOOKING, so a smaller room and, above all, noisy because of a compressor sound.... Anyway, we arrived in the late afternoon, took a walk, and found a really nice restaurant in the pedestrian streets of Piraeus. The next day, the 15th, we maybe thought about going to the island of Aegina, but we got up a little too late, so we just went for a walk. We came back to the hotel for a break, then got ready for a massage I had booked online. I absentmindedly checked my phone… an email from CELEBRITY announcing the cancellation of the cruise!!! That’s a first for us—we were a little shocked by the news 😕 TO BE CONTINUED....

hi, I got back on October 22nd like you, and just a quick question—was your bank card debited? Because for me, still nothing so far.

I’ve just returned from a cruise on the COSTA DELIZIOSA and wanted to share my thoughts for anyone considering this cruise line.

**Boarding in VENICE:** AVOID – it took a total of 3 hours before we could finally board!

**CABINS:** Our group had booked cabins with portholes. These were on the first deck, around cabins 1230 to 1257, and they were fine—no complaints. BUT some of us had cabins in the 13xx range, and that was a completely different story. These were right next to the engines, with an UNBEARABLE noise level!!! Those guests had to fight to get their cabins changed. One couple, after two days of hassle and endless discussions, finally got a balcony cabin. However, another couple was DOWNGRADED to a tiny INTERIOR CABIN—even though they had originally booked a porthole cabin!

COSTA clearly doesn’t care about its customers. Of course, these guests are still pursuing compensation, but their cruise was ruined.

Now, let’s talk about meals, the MY DRINK package, and the shows.

**Self-service meals:** NOT GREAT AT ALL. The buffets were chaotic—no pizza buffets like on MSC (because if you want pizza, you have to pay for it!). No pasta buffets either, unlike MSC.

**Restaurant meals:** Overall, they were okay, but whatever you do, don’t order the "3 Chefs" dishes—you’ll be very disappointed! And if you dine at the 3 Chefs restaurant, the menu costs 59 €!

**MY DRINK package:** In theory, ALL DRINKS ARE INCLUDED except for certain alcohols. They leave a large bottle of mineral water in your cabin, but if you drink it, they charge you for it despite the package. And on top of that, you’re only allowed 7 small bottles of water, while the number of alcoholic or non-alcoholic cocktails is unlimited?????

**SHOWS:** HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT! They only lasted half an hour, with no elaborate costumes, no real choreography—just one or two singers or a juggler on stage performing the entire evening’s show.

And the sound system? UNBEARABLE—so loud!

We had dinner during the second seating—which we really didn’t appreciate—and since meals ended at 10:30 PM, we’d look for a quiet spot afterward, but there wasn’t one! Music was blasting everywhere, and it was WAY too loud!

Another issue: The satisfaction survey. **Would you recommend COSTA to your friends and family?** Then the presenter gives you this whole speech about how the staff works 24/7 and that if you say you’re not satisfied, you’re punishing the hardworking crew. It’s emotional blackmail—unbelievable!!!

The staff, though, was absolutely lovely—housekeeping, waiters, everyone was so kind!

**Final verdict:** NEVER AGAIN with COSTA. For them, it’s all about MAXIMIZING PROFITS. If I ever go on another cruise, it’ll be with MSC or another line.

Hi,

Is it possible to get promotions on the MSC Yacht Club section? What strategy should I adopt to get the best prices: book in advance or at the last minute? Is it better to book directly with MSC or through a third-party provider to get the best value for money? Thanks

Hi there, We’re planning an MSC cruise departing from Dubai. On MSC’s website, it says we need to take out health insurance for Doha. The issue is that some insurers are asking if we’ve got a visa, but French citizens don’t need one. Has anyone had a layover in Doha? What’s the deal with this health insurance? Thanks so much!

Hi everyone, I’ve booked a cruise on the Preziosa to Brazil in October 2025. I’d like to know if we can get a taxi right from the ship to São Paulo airport from the port of Santos. Our flight is scheduled to leave at 2:40 PM, and we dock at 8:00 AM. MSC has an excursion planned, but we’d arrive at the airport too late. Thanks to anyone who can give us some info. Best regards,

Hi there, I just applied for an ESTA since I’m leaving in February on MSC, and my request was approved. I just noticed I put “transit” (we arrive from France the day before and spend one night at the hotel before boarding) instead of “stay.” Does this matter, and I don’t know how to change it? Thanks for shedding some light on this! Best regards to everyone

Hi, I couldn’t find it in the existing discussions, but I thought there was a bus from the cruise port to a beach in Olbia—does anyone have any info? We’ll be there on a stopover and only have a few hours. Thanks for your help!

Provence04

Iceland cruise on MSC PREZIOSA I'm looking for excursions to do from the cruise ports of REYKJAVIK, ISAFJORDUR, and AKUREYRI without booking through MSC, thanks

My wife and I are going on the "Christmas and Holiday Traditions" cruise from December 22 to January 5. This is our first time with CFC. We’ve done dozens of cruises over the past 35 years—including three world cruises with Costa—but we’re tired of the Italian attitude. We’ve also done 3 or 4 with MSC, Club Med 2, and a long time ago, the Mermoz with Croisières Paquet, in short… Given the reviews, we’re wondering about the all-French aspect, since the Filipino crews are nice but French is complicated for them. And the comments about the food aren’t exactly reassuring. Yes, the drink packages are way too expensive. We’ll have to wait and see how much the excursions cost… It’s an old ship, so let’s hope everything still works. See you soon!

Hi everyone, I’m starting to look into small solo cruises, for now in November. It’s my first cruise, so I’m a bit nervous. Anyone potentially interested in 7 days in Italy, Tunisia, and Spain? If you’ve got any tips, I’d love to hear them. Looking forward to reading your replies

Hi there! We're going on an MSC cruise and will be stopping in Genoa, Civitavecchia, Palermo, and Ibiza. Could anyone tell us how to do excursions on our own? Thanks for your help!

Hello

We’re taking an MSC cruise in May, and after the Cinque Terre, we’ll be stopping in Naples. We’d like to know if it’s possible to walk out of the port quickly and reach a nice area of Naples on foot (we’re two older people). While we’re at it, I’ll ask the same question for Palermo, since we’ll be there the next day. Thanks for your replies.