RalphWiggum

I have noticed that when you call customer service and are put on hold, there are usually adverts with a British female announcer, or if you watch some of the Cunard QV preview videos, esp. the ones with the same female narrator, she pronounces it as queue-nard. Which always sticks out to me since that’s not how I hear it pronounced when on board (short que / long nard).

It’s not too soon. The Christmas decorations were put up the day after Thanksgiving on the Meraviglia this year. I only took one photo though as I thought the decorations were nice but not otherwise noteworthy. However couldn’t resist snapping this photo of a baker working on this large chocolate nutcracker soldier.

For future Thanksgiving cruisers out of Brooklyn who search this site, I just wanted to post the menu from the complimentary dining rooms on Meraviglia this Thanksgiving. I did a search before my thanksgiving cruise this year and found a menu from another MSC ship, but I, like many on board, including some of the staff, wasn’t sure that MSC would be serving a traditional menu. Thankfully they did, and thankfully it was actually pretty decent. The menu doesn’t note this but the turkey dish also came with stuffing. My only complaint was the portions of sides were tiny (1/4 cup each). Also, in the rotisserie section of the buffet, they were carving whole roast turkeys and had some sides like mashed potatoes - but I didn’t notice any stuffing, or sweet potatoes but I might have missed those as I was passing by. Oh, and for those who care, there was NFL football galore. Not my thing, but the games were well attended.

I have booked directly online and on third party sites linked to the big box member stores. In all sites you can see a Sailaway fare for each category and that fare is generally 100$ less than the cheapest Free At Sea fare. If you select a FAS fare, you are usually brought to another screen, and you will also see the four components of FAS and that you also will be charged for drinks package tips and tips for dining at the specialty restaurants but on that same screen you can deselect the dining package and/or the drinks package, and the tips will be deleted from the price. I don’t need airfare but I’m pretty sure that’s a separate offering than the four components of FAS (drinks, specialty restos, Wi-Fi and 50$ per excursion per cabin credit). The Sailaway fare is just the cabin and no extras.

I was debating between last week’s Manhattan sailing of the Norwegian Escape to Canada and New England, and opted for the Canada and New England sailing on Emerald Princess that sailed a day before out of Brooklyn. I actually agree with almost all of your points, but, as you noted, my mileage varied and I’d probably not likely sail Princess again. I agree that the food is better on Princess and I’m sure Princess pays more per passenger on food and it shows. Service was better too (although I think Princess like all the other lines are having issues with attracting new employees as I overheard so many crew conversations (both managers scolding servers and servers talking back and inappropriate crew chatter) in the dining room and buffet). And yes there was so much more seating available - everywhere on the ship. Loved all the pool areas and just how uncrowded they were. We had nice weather and it was such a pleasure hanging out by the pools, none of which were remotely crowded unlike on NCL. Don’t often spend time indoors but, when I walked through the Emerald I liked the cafe-like atmosphere of decks 5/6/7 by the atrium. That said, I just couldn’t get over how limited the entertainment options were. I only tried the first evening performance, which was Rock Opera. The 7:30 showing was packed so I had to stand in the back, which i didn’t mind because it allowed me to I leave after the third song. I don’t really care for that type of standard cruise show, although the singers and costumes were fine. After that I generally watched the first evening showing of MUTS and loved that. Even if I had seen or did not love the movie, there’s nothing like sitting on those padded benches in the evening, wrapped under a warm blanket or two and nibbling on some popcorn. That said, I didn’t find much not do afterwards and generally turned in early. I like NCL because there is so much going on the evenings, and it feels like your exploring an energetic city neighborhood with restaurants, shows, clubs and decent people watching. I generally don’t ever turn in at 10 on a NCL ship. The second biggest annoyance with the Emerald Princes was tendering in Bar Harbor and Newport. NCL was much better at this last year on the Breakaway. NCL also uses life boats as tenders but their lifeboats are much larger (I believe 200-300 capacity) and they don’t crowd you in each one. On Princess, it took forever to get on a tender after getting your number and you were expected to wait until your number was called. On NCL you got a tender ticket first thing in the morning and then could grab breakfast. I tried going early before the morning rush times or departure rush times as suggested by the cruise director, but I guess so did everyone else. I liked my Princess cruise. I picked it over the NCL Escape even though NCL would have been $500 less, because I had already tried NCL last year on the same itinerary, and thought that even with the $500 difference, the Princess cruise was more of a deal because it’s more a premium line, like Celebrity or HAL. I also knew this was a port intensive cruise so that most of my waking time would be spent in port. I also love the sea and don’t mind reading a book on a deck chair so knew that there was no way I would have a bad cruise.

I believe my 2022 EB had a British Theatre Week/Olivier awards theme. I didn’t book it because of the theme but once onboard was thoroughly impressed by the caliber of performers and cheerful onboard experience. I am sorry but I didn’t keep any of the dailies, so this is from memory. I recall that all of the featured performers were at least West End veterans and many had won Olivier awards or were previously nominated. Which is why I actually attended evening shows, which I seldom do on Cunard. One night was twelve or so different artists singing a Broadway tune that they found meaningful. Other night featured a subset of artists singing songs with a different theme, like Lloyd Webber musicals or male singers. Amazing performances by very, very talented artists. Such a joy to watch. Instead of ballroom dance lessons, each day a West End choreographer taught a different dance sequence from a musical (like Grease, Chicago, etc.) and at the end of the week there was a passenger performance, which I didn’t attend. I don’t recall what show the choreographer was currently working on - it was a well known one - but do recall how young, handsome, high energy and gracious he was. I also recall wondering if he hated having to teach uncoordinated passengers to dance but duringthe last lesson, he mentioned how much he loved it as well as the energy of the passengers who would stop to talk to him and his husband all week. Also some of the performers would have more intimate cabaret shows upstairs in the [blanking on the name of the venue near the buffet] on deck seven later in the evening. Plus there were large replicas of Olivier award statuettes in the Queens Room and elsewhere. And I’m sure the lectures were on theme as well. I just didn’t attend them. I vaguely remember contemplating attending a talk by a costume or set designer. I do remember that there was a lot more to do each day than on other TAs I’ve been on. That said, I’m not in the habit of attending everything, but what I did show up for, I enjoyed. Glad to see Cunard is doing another TA cruise with this theme. And I say this as someone who found both a RADA-and a Royal Shakespeare-themed TA disappointing.

I also would go with Anthem. I have not been on the Prima but have been on the Anthem. I also do lots of TAs, and am considering both ships for next year, as well as the QM2 to Hamburg that sails around the same time. I am leaning towards the Anthem over Prima for two main reasons. The first as noted above is the much larger indoor pool and solarium areas on the Anthem, both of which were very spacious. Plus, the Anthem itinerary is more southern, so you should also probably be able to use the outdoor areas as well (although TA weather is very variable). In contrast, the itinerary for the Prima is a very northern route. It is very likely to be very cold, wet and windy, probably every day but the first day out. (On my July TA this year, we had 1 nice day out of seven where you could sit out by the pool). And I’ve read too many reviews about the poor passenger flow and spacing on the Prima, which could be miserable if the ship sails close to full, as it is likely to do since demand has really been up for all cruises, even repositionings. I don’t think NCL offers much to do during the day for the number of wet and cold sea days you’d likely experience. The second reason is that I really was impressed by how well designed and well run the Anthem was. It’s a huge ship with a large passenger load, but I felt the ship was easy to navigate, had lots of impressive onboard activities during the day (bumper cars, surf and skydiving simulators, the Northstar, etc) that even if they’re not your thing, meant that many passengers would be occupied, minimizing demand in other areas. It’s not a brand new ship like the Prima, but felt fresh and new. Again, the Prima reviews describing overcrowded areas that are too small for their purpose have put me off a bit. For me, the selling points for Prima are the better itinerary, esp. the overnight in Iceland, the Manhattan departure, the chance to sail on a new ship and my desire to try out the new Prima restaurants. But unless the Prima TA was significant cheaper than the Anthem TA, I’d pick Anthem over Prima.

Aren’t the itinerary names provided by the Cruise Critic website? When you write your QM2 review, you get asked what sailing you are on. If you select July 28, the site populates the itinerary automatically, with 14 day “Europe - Western cruise”, even though it sounds like this cruise sailing date could be taken as a 7 day. I did not complete this test review but it is likely that the site later converted it to the itinerary title you see now. Perhaps the reviewer was able to override it but I don’t see how. At any rate, this reads like a pretty standard disgruntled review. I personally wouldn’t give it much attention because the things mentioned usually wouldn’t bother me. Although I was on the July 14 sailing and remember thinking how limited the buffet selection was in contrast to prior sailings (that was on the only day I tried the buffet for lunch as I usually went to Golden Lion but that day it was packed and couldn’t find a seat). Again I wouldn’t doubt this reviews veracity solely due to the itinerary name, unless the reviewer specifically mentioned visiting ports not included in their review, which is not the case. I also don’t think it’s unusual to write your review so soon after your cruise ends. For me, if I don’t do it right away, like on train home, for instance, I will never get around to it.

I had this issue on a Holland America cruise to Bermuda years ago. As you noted the closed loop exception is available. Your husband can bring his birth certificate and a drivers license and you’d be able to use that to board. Also, any valid US passport (heck, even a recently expired US passport) would also satisfy the closed loop exception since it is being used not for travel abroad but for proof of US citizenship. The problem with this, and the arbitrary “six or three month rule”, which some airlines and cruise lines sometimes insist on across the board because a few countries require it, is that ultimately it is up to the folks who work the NYC port to apply the law. So you can argue that the the passport with less than six month expiry will work. Or show proof that Bahamas doesn’t require six months on passports, but the person at the gate might insist anyway. I wound up using my passport and was fine with the Manhattan agent (Brooklyn uses the same company to field port agents). But I also had my drivers license and birth certificate with official seal as a back up, but didn’t need it. After my passport expired I waited a couple of years before getting a new one. I took a cruise using my birth certificate and drivers license. One cruise line did make me sign an acknowledgment that if i for whatever reason missed getting back on board at a foreign port, that I was on my own. Not sure if MSC does this as well.

I can buy the easy plus package for $969 this is for a 19 night sailing.

I also try to take two TAs (out of and returning to NYC) each year and prior to Covid, the TAs that I was looking at, as well as the ones I ultimately picked, did not sail full at all. Which was wonderful. It also allowed me the flexibility to book last minute, which I prefer to do. Last year, I took two post-covid TAs and not only were TAs not sailing full, the prices were ridiculously low. Earlier this year, when I started looking seriously into booking for this year, I was surprised by the unusually high number of TAs this year from the NY area in April and May and thought I would be able score another deal. I was wrong. My first choice TA out of Manhattan was fully booked six weeks before sailing, my second choice (out of Miami) also was completely booked by that time, and then my third and fourth choices (out of Bayonne) charged a single penalty (that is, it was cheaper to book two people in the same cabin then to book it as a single). Strangely, NCLs four TAs out of NY had rock bottom single prices but they all left too early for me. So it’s MSC out of Miami for me this year. Fortunately, at a good price. My WB TA is also pretty full already, but it’s still open to book. So IMO I do think the TAs are sailing full or pretty close to full this summer. I hope this is due to a backlog of FCCs because it’s so much nicer when the ships aren’t full.

I have an upcoming TA on QM2 and was wondering if the thermal spa still has the policy Cunard adopted (presumably for Covid reasons) where you have to reserve a specific block of time with the thermal spa pass. I seldom stay longer than two hours, so that’s not the issue, but having to plan ahead really negates the benefits of the spa pass for me.

Até, This is the second MSC question of mine you’ve answered, and I appreciate your very helpful answers. Yes, my transatlantic is next month and departs from Miami. I do hope I can buy bottled water. This Divina TA is part of a larger Europe land tour and I will take another transatlantic back to NY in July. So I travel light. I cannot justify bringing a 64 oz water bottle with me. I apologize for all of the questions. But I’ve been a cruise critic member for years and have seen enough mixed MSC reviews (that is, people either seem to love it hate it) to maybe think the haters might not like it because MSC looks like a US mainstream line but has quirks that they weren’t expecting. So I’m trying to be as prepared as possible because I’ll be stuck on board MSC for a while (almost 3 weeks). I do try to find the answers myself before posting Qs but MSC is little confusing.

Again, I said I would soldier on. But I’ll note most cruise lines have 8 oz water glasses. And I drink a lot of water (>64 oz) with each 90 minute workout, so to have to fill it up that way is inconvenient, esp since I would just reuse standard water bottles, which have narrow tops. Plus the tap water is not at room temperature so I’d have to plan ahead. And I’m on vacation. I know you don’t see a need for water bottle packages, but for me it’s vacation convenience . And, frankly I use filtered water at home because I’m cheap, but it’s worth it to me to pay for the convenience of boxed water in my cabin and at the gym. again, you might see a need for it but there is a need for it for some people. Viva la difference. Which is why other lines offer them and which is why I was asking whether MSC did. And it sounds like they do not, so thanks for answering.

Thanks for prompt replies. Sorry about getting the name wrong. I guess all the board comments about asking MSC the same question three times and getting four different answers is correct because the MSC website lists a Galaxy Kaito restaurant as one of the Divina restaurants and when I did a search for menus using that term I found Kaito menus for other MSC ships, but not Divina. Will look again with the correct name. I would imagine that water is free. Not just in the MDR but in the buffets and that there might even be a water fountain in the gym. But I work out every day and like to have a water bottle with me when I do. And the cruise lines generally don’t let you refill water bottles. And I drink a lot of water and like it at room temp. The free stuff with meals and i guzzle it down at the gym. So that’s unfortunate. But I’m sure I’ll survive …somehow 😂 Found some links online and on YouTube to aquacycle classes previously being offered on Divina but they were old. Precovid times. And given that the MSC website still has some stray Eataly pics I just thought I would check the board for some current info.