Bluewake

We have sailed on a number of different lines, including multiple cruises on MSC. Please don’t be dissuaded by a few negative reviews about MSC on cruise critic. When you consider how many thousands of people cruise each year, a handful of negative reviews on CC doesn’t constitute a critical mass of opinion upon which you can rely. Similarly, condescending posts on cruise critic which imply that unless you’re in the yacht club, you are somehow sailing in a garbage scow or are of lesser social status are equally insipid. We’ve sailed in the yacht club on MSC as well as outside the yacht club. I don’t doubt there are cruisers who are very much drawn to the milieu of the yacht club and/or the individualized attention and services. However, because what is offered by the yacht club is not of particular importance to us, we simply don’t see the advantage in paying the additional cost. In fact, we actually have found some aspects of the yacht club experience not to be to our liking. In my opinion, it’s about objectively deciding what is important to you and then doing your research to determine whether or not a particular cruise line or ship is a match for those expectations. For some, that certainly will mean the yacht club is the only viable option. For others, not so much.

I greatly appreciated your description of Cartagena. We will be on this same MSC Divina cruise in April and it will be our first time visiting Cartagena. We've read about the relentless vendors in Old Town, including "rappers" who supposedly come up and loudly "rap" in your face until you give them money to go away. Not sure if that is a myth or not! Although we often book private tours, we decided to go with a cruiseline excursion in Cartagena that spends only part of the time in the Old Town so that might help to mitigate the stress for our first visit.

A description of the two piers can be read at: https://www.iqcruising.com/ports/caribbean/jamaica/ocho-rios/overview-ocho-rios-cruise-port.html

We are new to Princess and are looking at a cruise on the Island Princess. We are trying to decide whether to go with the standard option or the plus option which would give us two “casual meals” during our cruise. This brings up the question of what are the casual dining venues aboard the Island Princess? And are the casual dining venues the same thing as “pop ups” or are those two entirely different things? Advice is much appreciated.

We also were there on the Grandeur in 2005. The port area was very different...much smaller than today. We went to the village of Mahajual and had coconut shrimp at the Cat's Meow. Then, we spent some time on the beach. It was such a relaxing port experience. We went back in 2006 and took the Native Choice tour with Ivan and David to Chacchoben before heading to the village for a while. Another great time. In the years since, we've been back several times. In fact, we were just there last week. Unfortunately, the village of Mahajual is very different from our initial visits. After two or three experiences involving vendors lined up and relentlessly coming one-after-another to sell you the same souvenir items, asking to braid your hair, or to give you a massage, we stopped going to the village. Yes, I know they are just trying to make a living and a polite "no thanks" was usually sufficient but we found we had to do that about once every 3-4 minutes while at the beach or walking along the malecon and it became onerous. Our next couple of trips, we either took an excursion or just stayed at the port area which was less intense. However, it wasn't long before the port area involved dealing with vendor after vendor who wanted to put some sort of lotion on you and pull you into their store. We tired of their lines (e.g. "are you a movie star"? because I was wearing sunglasses). So, when we were there last week, we went to Maya Chan, a private beach oasis about 4 miles below Mahajual. It was wonderful! Okay, the water is a bit more murky than the blue water by the port and the beach isn't anything to brag about but the overall experience of having our own private cabana set between palm trees and tropical plants, limitless food and drinks, no vendors, and the most polite staff we've encountered in the Caribbean was great.

Yes. We just returned yesterday from the Constellation's Jan 3rd New Orleans & Western Caribbean cruise. I heard there 70+ cases of Norovirus but I don't know the actual numbers. The Captain alerted passengers to the outbreak about 2/3 of the way through the cruise and addressed it a couple of additional times in subsequent announcements, hand sanitizer dispensers popped-up all over the ship, and the buffet switched to where all serving was done by staff members...there were no stations with self-service, including beverages. It really gets you thinking just how easy it is to touch something that another passenger or crew member just touched such as stairway railings, elevator buttons, drinks handed to you by a waiter, grasping a chair to pull it up to the table, the table itself, menus, etc. It's impossible for the crew to disinfect everything before another person comes along! A friend who was aboard was stricken with Noro - pretty serious symptoms - and had to remain in their cabin for 2 days. And, it wasn't only Noro. Two other acquaintances aboard came down with some sort of respiratory virus and had to be treated by the ship medical staff. One said it was covid but the other said it was something different. We were fortunate and managed to avoid getting ill. I have to think that is because we were very careful about what we touched, washed and sanitized regularly, and avoided close crowds such as in the casino which looked like a virtual germ distribution center to us!

Thank you. Perhaps I didn't word it correctly but, by no means, was I suggesting "no cell phones whatsover" on the ship. All I meant to suggest was whether people might support designating 2-3 small areas of the ship [such as a particular lounge, the library, an area of chairs on the Promenade Deck...just like the smoking area is set up, etc. as "Quiet" areas where cell phone conversations, facetiming, playing music or videos by speaker, etc. would not be allowed...and I suppose loud conversations could be included. This simply would afford those who want to read or relax to have some places to do so without being subjected to another passenger's very loud phone conversations, videos, and other noise producing actions. Nothing would prevent a person from using their phone to text or watch videos with earphones or even to receive an incoming call in these areas provided they took that call to another location. They would have the majority of the ship to do that.

At the risk of sounding petty... We just returned from a short Celebrity cruise that was wonderful in most ways other than one exception. In four days, we encountered 6-7 situations in which we found a quiet place to relax but, within a few minutes, someone a few chairs away was on their cell phone engaging in one or more of three behaviors: (1) talking very loudly...really loudly; (2) using the speaker on the cell phone to hear the other party...many such exchanges seemed to involved "facetiming"; (3) watching videos on their phone with the speaker at max setting. These were not emergencies in any way. I know that because the entire conversation from both parties was clearly audible to everyone within a 10-20 foot radius. And, at no time, did the party on the ship seem to be concerned that they might be bothering anyone. It's hard to believe we are the only cruisers who find this somewhat disturbing but I have to acknowledge the possibility that others simply aren't bothered by it. If so, it's my problem. However, it got me thinking. If cruise lines can have smoking and non-smoking areas, why not have certain areas where cell phone conversations are not permitted and videos/music can only be watched with earphones? Of course, nobody cares if someone is texting...it's the noise polution that is the issue for some of us. So...am I being a curmudgeon and unreasonable?

I've sailed out of Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Port Canaveral, and Tampa and drive to all of those ports so flights are not a factor for us. In my opinion, there are four main considerations: 1. Getting there - If you are flying, hardly matters, I suppose. If you are driving, I've found getting into Port Canaveral very easy. Fort Lauderdale is pretty much a straight shot from the Turnpike and fairly easy access. Tampa is a little bit tricky due to some recent construction taking place and getting through Miami can be a pain in the neck because of the traffic and people darting in and out of lanes depending on when you travel. 2. Baggage Drop and Parking - Once again, baggage drop and parking at Port Canaveral has always been painless. The main garages are pretty near the terminal. Fort Lauderdale isn't too bad for the same reasons...the terminal staff seem organized and parking is fairly close. Because of so many ships boarding at once, Miami can be quite congested and we've ended up parking quite a distance away from our ship. Tampa isn't bad..not too far from the terminal to the garage. Of course, you always have the option of parking off-site and taking a shuttle. It can make a difference to have someone else do the driving! 3. The onboarding process - I can't say we've noticed a difference among the various terminal staffs. I tend to like Ft Lauderdale's organization. Same for Port Canaveral. Our longest waits have been in Miami and Tampa. 4. Disembarking and Getting out of the port - Port Canaveral wins this one "hands down". Getting out of the port and on the way is easy. Now, Miami - at least for us - is a totally different story. I'll bet we've missed the signs to get out of the port at least 3 times (which says a lot about our ability to read overhead signs I suppose!) and had to circle back into the line of those coming into the port for the next cruise. For some reason, we are baffled by the roadways there. Tampa and Ft Lauderdale are about equal for us...although I think I'd give the edge to Ft Lauderdale. Of course, all this is totally subjective and those with greater navigational acumen might have very different ideas!

Good to know about sticky buns in Baccio! I won't be on Equinox again for a while but will soon be on the Silhouette and, in January, the Constellation. I absolutely will try to track some down. Maybe it will bring back memories of State College.

Not quite like going to the Phyrst to hear the Physt Family or hanging out at the Corner Room! (Couldn't help but notice your CC "name" - Pennstatedj) Wouldn't it be great if Celebrity offered "sticky buns" in the Buffet?

On our last cruise (which was on Royal Caribbean), I had a chance to ask the Cruise Director why no educational, cultural, or information programs such as "Beyond the Podium" were offered. He very politely responded that it was because there just wasn't any interest. I found that surprising. Okay, such sessions might not pack the theater but we had an opportunity to attend a couple of sessions (one was famous sea disasters...somewhat of an interesting choice for a cruise!) last year on Celebrity and there were 50 or more in attendance. In 2018 we were on a Carnival cruise that stopped overnight in Havana and an enthusiastic speaker did multiple sessions on Cuban culture, etc. that were very well attended. We will be on Constellation in January and I'd love to see something similar.

We really liked Taino Bay. As C4HCG wrote, TB has bars, shopping, and a nice swimming pool area...however, no true ocean beach access when we were there. Here is a video from Youtube that shows what it's like: Amber Cover is similar but we liked TB better. Lots of shopping and a pool area but not as nice as TB...at least we didn't think so. Here is another video that shows AC.

Totally understand. If someone had told me what you were told, I'd have done just what you did. You probably are correct that he had a bad experience that colored his view and he passed it on. I suppose we all have a story about a port where we felt "ripped off" or unsafe. I once had such a "moment" on an excursion in Falmouth, Jamaica that left me nervous about that particular port. However, I'll bet others would find my concern totally misplaced! I hope you can give Puerto Plata another chance. It's not my favorite port but I didn't find it to be as that other cruiser portrayed it to be. With that said, however, any port can present criminals with opportunities so it's always wise to be cautious.

We've been in Puerto Plata three times in the last 12 months - docked twice at Taino Bay and once at Amber Cove - and went to the historic downtown area all three times. We also never felt unsafe. Our second time at TB, we walked from the port to the historic downtown area, along the beach near the fort, and back. Other than being approached right at the port exit by mildly persistent people trying to get us to take their taxi or a private tour, we had no issues whatsoever. We went in several stores in the downtown area and were never "pressured" to buy anything. Can't believe someone told the OP that they were "locking people in shops until they bought something"! In fact, I've actually felt more pressure at the straw market in Nassau and from the guys standing outside the jewelry stores in Charlotte Amalie (St Thomas) and Phillipsburg (St. Maarten). On just about every corner along the way from the port to the downtown area in Puerto Plata, there are "Tourist Police" who stop traffic to allow tourists to cross and do a good job making tourists feel comfortable. Of course, maybe there is a need for such police but, if so, we didn't see it.