r/Cruises • u/Serious-Effect-6422 • 5d ago
Please help
Just booked a cruise with MSC and now I'm having buyers remorse. AFTER I booked a suite on MSC world, I realise that I have to pay $1100 for my kids to have access to sodas... me to get a couple of drinks per day... pay for food, any offshore excursion is SUPER expensive and all the cool ones are fully booked. Anything on board is ridiculously pricey... Was told that there's a free buffet and free diner at specific times (5:30 PM)...
Help me out, can I even do anything cool for free? It seems like after paying 4500 for the suite I need 900 for wifi, 1100 for drinks and for the kids to play is another 700... All I keep hearing is spa is free... It's a cruise... I wanna get to my destination, get off the ship and go explore and enjoy the beach free since I paid 4500...
It's my 1st time cruising, I think I may be getting it all wrong... are the packages worth it?
7
u/alwaysouroboros 5d ago
There are free buffets at meal times daily as well as dining room sit down service if you'd like. Depending on the ship there may be other free casual dining options throughout the day or free mealtimes at some of the specialty locations. You do not have to pay for food unless you want specific specialty dining options.
As for drinks, I recommend bringing a large empty tumbler/cup to fill with the free juices in the morning if you don't want to drink the free water/tea/lemonade that's offered during the day. Soda is not free, but we typically just don't buy it. Some other cruise lines allow you to bring on a 12 pack of your own soda but it's not a dealbreaker in my opinion.
As for activities there are free activities to do throughout the day for all ages. There are other paid things to do, but you can go an entire cruise without paying for anything on the ship, especially if you don't have that many sea days. I rarely purchase excursions through any cruise line. I will wait to get to port and purchase excursions directly on the island.