Hlitner

WOW! This is tough. Just about everything at this port involves walking (sometimes a lot of walking). Just thinking out loud, but you might want to think about some kind of wheelchair or scooter that can enable you both to visit places like Ephesus. Certainly, consider posting this issue on the CC "Disabled Cruise Travel" board (under Special Interest Cruising) to get some feedback from folks familiar with how to deal with mobility challenges. Also beware that visiting the Terrace Houses (an extra site within the ruins of Ephesus) involves many steps (up and down). Hank

Like many things in the cruise world, HAL is a follower and not a leader :(. Most cruise lines have clearly posted their health protocols and regularly updated them as they implemented changes. With HAL is has been somewhat of a guessing game. But cruisers/travelers need to be cognizant that protocols and various country rules are constantly changing and what you see today may be different tomorrow. As one who never stopped traveling during the Pandemic, we have had to deal with the constant changes be it on a Caribbean cruise or a trip to Europe. Folks are well advised to do their daily due diligence checking out the cruise line, airline (if flying outside the USA), and the various countries involved in the trip. And even than, there may be uncertainty. When we left on a month long cruise in late April (heading towards Europe) we could not be certain what the rules would be by the time we reached Europe (where we spent 3 weeks doing independent travel though several countries). We knew all the rules the day we boarded our ship, but several of those rules actually changed during the cruise! We urge our CC friends to read, with interest, all of the opinions of folks but always conduct their own due diligence. Do we trust HAL? Heck NO! Our next HAL cruise is a cruise around Japan (March-April 2023) that HAL continues to sell. However, the Government of Japan currently has rules that would absolutely prohibit that cruise (or the entry of the cruisers)! HAL does not acknowledge these "minor" issues on their web site and continues to accept bookings as though everything is fine. There has been no attempt by HAL to keep customers appraised of any new developments, trends, etc. An ignorant cruiser might book that cruise today, book non-refundable air, and think all is fine. HAL does not issue any kind of warning that booking non-refundable air to a country that you cannot enter (unless on some non-HAL tours) for a cruise from a country that currently does not allow cruises. So, if HAL is dishonest (by omission) on this issue, why would we trust them on any issue? In defense of HAL, they are obviously hoping (yes, hope springs eternal) that circumstances will soon change for the better. But the reality is that they continue to book cruises that, under current rules, cannot happen! Hank

As always, we appreciate the truly educational posts from ChengKP who has taught me a lot, over the many years we have been around CC. His info on water/fluid retention is interesting as it is the first time we heard lack of magnesium contributes to the problem. After looking at a list of food products rich in magnesium, I suspect I will just have to live with that issue :). But we think there is another major contributor to many of us having water retention problems on ships. We are all eating commercially prepared food (many of us too much) and professional cooks/chefs love to add salt to just about everything! After about 50 years of cruising (extensively) and having my share of swollen ankles, we have found two solutions that work with varying degrees of success. Probably the most important is to simply drink more fluids. This helps to reduce excess sodium in our bodies. The other idea (told to us by an orthopedic surgeon we met on a cruise) is that one can spend a few hours just standing in one of the swimming pools. The water pressure in the pool increases with depth and helps decrease swelling in one's extreminites. I do not know if this truly works, but it does feel good on a hot day :). We once met a fellow cruise passenger who had another idea about swollen ankles. Her solution is to drink more booze so she just does not care! Hank

I agree with the OP's outrage. For decades, I have been critical (here on CC and elsewhere) about cruise lines booking large groups onto cruises and not allowing other passengers (non-group) to be informed of this fact, the nature of the group, and giving folks the option to cancel or reschedule their cruise. Like large groups, filming a TV show is going to be somewhat disruptive. While many may find it interesting, there are others who simply want a normal cruise experience. What happens when you have a large group (and possibly the filming of a TV show) is that public parts of the ship can sometimes become "private" to meet the needs of the group (or TV crew). When this happens, it can be a real bummer. Hank

We have cruised on 16 different cruise lines and DW tells me she has taken her curling iron on all with no problem. Hank

In terms of "regrets," DW said it best when she remarked that our only regret is the cruise not taken! In more than 45 years of extensive cruising (and dozens of transatlantics and a few transpacifics we have never been on a cruise that we regretted. And that even includes the one cruise (on Celebrity's Meridian) when we cruised through hurricane seas (excess of 40 foot). Hank

We have never had a problem such as yours. And you are correct that the cruise line should fix their error. And I hope you get them to understand the error of their ways. If not, you need to consider some other options. In your situation, I would have wanted that MSC clerk to send me something in writing that my cruise was cancelled. Failing that, I would document the phone call in a memo. Failing any rapid solution from MSC, I would contact my credit card company and put the charge item into dispute. Keep in mind that credit card disputes do have a time element, so if in doubt you would want to get the item in dispute which stops the clock and opens a file. Of course, that would leave you without a reservation and I guess you could then rebook (once you have your money credited back to your credit card account). Curious minds do want to know how your booking got cancelled. That should trouble everyone! Hank

Noooo. Not quite. I am saying if you book any cruise line through a decent cruise/travel agent you will be better off....both financially and mentally (less stress). I do not want to pick on MSC (we have cruised on 16 cruise lines) as, these days, just about every line has customer service issues. We, as amateurs, can choose to deal directly with cruise lines and their relatively low paid reservations clerks or we can choose to use a professional travel/cruise agent (who works for us) as an agent to represent us with the various cruise lines. What makes this a "no brainer" for me is not only do I get a professional to deal with the cruise lines, but these agencies actually pay me! So, on an upcoming MSC cruise our cruise agency has given us $450 of OBC (this is actually not a particularly good deal) that we would not have received had we booked directly with MSC. On some of our other cruises with other lines we have received thousands of dollars of OBCs and other amenities simply because we used decent discount high volume cruise agencies I will add that if you are booking a low priced MSC Experience than using an agency is not going to get you a lot (everything is based on percentages). On the other hand, if you book a World Cruise with a decent cruise line, having the right agent can save you $10,000+ My advice, for over a quarter century has always been the same. Shop around among decent, reputable cruise agencies for their best deals and then compare it to what it would cost you to book direct. It never hurts to shop around (other than the need to spend some time doing your homework/due diligence). Hank

If the reservation was cancelled, MSC should be able to tell you who cancelled and when. It does sound like a mess. Another reason why we use a decent cruise agency/agent to handle all of our bookings (with many different cruise lines). If something goes wrong, the agency/agent deals with the issue. Funny thing is that my favorite cruise agent says she does not have problems dealing with MSC (she might be the only person on earth to say this). Hank

Your post got our attention as we will soon be back on Ocean Cay (our third visit). We only recall one beach set-up for the YC folks (it is to the right of the restaurant) and we had to be on that beach if we wanted the usual YC service. But the YC is actually on a separate island (from the main island) and there are two other beaches, The one on the internal lagoon side is called Great Lagoon Beach and I recall that it was pretty sandy with the benefit of a sheltered lagoon for swimming. The other beach is Ocean Beach which is open to the sea (we never walked out to that beach). Our visits were all soon after Ocean Cay opened and if we had gone anywhere but to the YC Beach (which is certainly not the best beach) there would have been no YC service/waiters. Hank

Istanbul (one of our favorite cities to visit) is fine for DIY, but you really should have a game plan. It is also helpful if you are good walkers since one can cover a lot of ground by walking. You also need to consider that many of the most popular sites will take more time than one might expect. Topkaki is an expansive site that can take hours to explore. In fact, one could make a case to go to Topkapi, than walk over the Blue Mosque, and if you still have time you might want to head towards the Covered (Grand) Bazaar area for some fun. And this is just scratching the surface of what this city has to offer :). For those who have previously been to Istanbul and the usual sites we also like the Underground Bascilica Cistern. DW and I had been in Istanbul 3 or 4 times (including some multi-day stays) before we finally ventured down into the Underground Cistern and we could not believe that we had somehow ignored this interesting place on all of our previous visits. Hank