Itchy&Scratchy

just use your passport, and bring your naturalization certificate with you just in case. You cannot fly back with the naturalization certificate in case of an emergency, as it was already pointed out. We are naturalized as well, but we never bring our certificates with us on a cruise. We cruise only closed loop Caribbean itineraries up to the expiration date of our passports and then apply for renewed passports.

kids' passports cost more because they are only good for 5 years instead of 10 and because you must apply in person and pay the acceptance fee, but not because they are not considered renewals. Adult Applicant: Passport Book DS-82 $130 Child Applicants: Product Form Application Fee Execution (Acceptance) Fee Passport Book DS-11 $100 $35 Our adult passports took 8 weeks this summer without expediting. @DimSum We tried to be proactive and went to apply for our kid's passport last week but the USPS lady wanted to take DS's current passport and told us it'd be cancelled right away anyway. So, we kept his current passport expiring in January for our November closed loop cruise in 10 days, and we'll apply for a new passport when we come back.

with 4 months remaining on the passport? what issues?

OP is not talking about an Alaska cruise with a Canadian passport with 3 weeks of validity left. He/she is talking about a closed loop sailing out of FLL on a (supposedly) US passport with 4 months left on it.

you don't need to renew a passport for this December sailing if it expires in April 2024. I wasn't even denied boarding with a passport which expired 1 day before the return date. Also closed loop.

what a wonderful, detailed review! I look forward to reading the rest of it!

then you could do a cabin for 3 (parents + 1 kid) and an adjacent cabin for 2 (gma + 1 kid). Sometimes it's difficult to find a single supplement cabin on such a short notice, so I'd do 3+2. That said, just in case MSC is stubborn about a child traveling with a non-parent, I'd get passports for the kid traveling with grandma AND bring a birth certificate. You never know what MSC staff is thinking.

how is everyone related and where will the kids sleep? how old is the infant? what cruise are you looing into?

if a cruise line decides to charge extra for something that has always been included before, it is the very definition of nickel and dime tactic.

MSC has different levels of cabins/service. You start with Bella which is pretty much a no frills Guarantee rate. Level up - Fantastica (interior, OV, balcony). You get to choose your cabin and early/late dining preference. You get one free cruise change. Aurea is a level up from that and has nice benefits (available with suites). MSC Yacht Club is the top level experience and is a ship-within-a ship concept: https://www.msccruisesusa.com/cruise/experiences-staterooms

we would now since DS is 12 (considered an adult by RCI), but not when we sailed before. I do agree that post-pandemic pricing got out of control for the other cruise lines, but it only started this year. Pre-pandemic I booked an MSC cruise out of curiosity rather than it being twice as cheap as other lines (it wasn't), but it was cancelled due to the pandemic just starting. But we all could do all the carousel rides, all the zip lining, all the ice skating, all the surfing, all the rock climbing, etc. as many times as we wanted, and eat all the MDR food on RCI and NCL, and it was all included. You get what you pay for, I guess.

still doesn't make any sense. She needs her own country's passport for sailing, but it alone doesn't mean she will be allowed reentry to the US.

other companies already know and use the AI model. Like I said RCI includes all the fun and all the MDR entrees you want. We also didn't have to pay extra for the rock climbing wall or trampoline on NCL.

there are 5 of us, so it's not $35 for the whole week. And you are right - it's "funny" that a cruise line would charge more money for additional entrees after people have already paid thousands for the cruise to have unlimited MDR meals they have been accustomed to throughout many years. It will become even funnier when people start cancelling because of the excessive nickel and diming. I prefer to pay a bit more but have every MDR meal included, along with all inclusive fun activities like on RCI.

oh, no!!! I am so sorry!

we are going to be on deck 10 forward, deluxe balcony, fantastica experience. 2 cabins - one for 2 and one for 3 people. I do enjoy reading all the other Seascape reviews, like this one.

funny ha-ha. MSC introduced the $5 charge after the final payment but before my cruise. It would be very stupid to cancel a cruise after the final payment date because of the extra entree charge. But I already cancelled the next one, because it's before final payment, and I don't like nickel and diming to this extent, especially since the general consensus for a steerage class on MSC ships is that it's below average to average (according to the latest reviews).

it doesn't make ANY SENSE. Zero. Nada. Not at all. Unless she isn't actually a permanent resident (aka, green card holder), especially since the last sentence says that she is still trying to get a green card. What category did she get her permanent residency under? There is no such thing as "restarting the time for a green card" unless a permanent resident leaves the US for a long time, loses their permanent resident status, obtains it again and THAT restarts the time as a permanent resident.

bolo for my review after our Thanksgiving sailing in the same class. 🙂 I'll be very thorough and fair.

we love going to the beach in Costa Maya. It's safe and cheap. People who cruise a lot sometimes choose not to do anything in a port they've been to many times before, but we don't cruise often and LOVE going to the beach in every port, unless there is a particularly fun non-beach excursion available.

but one could assume that they would be able to look it up.

but cruises don't. And especially, to your room. Hotels put a HOLD on your credit card, which is not the same as charging $250 to your cabin. Obviously, you haven't dealt with the MSC customer service yet. 🙂 wait till you see a photo/video of the 2+ hour embarkation line in Cozumel. 🙂 A lot of people traveling in YC come back very happy. Some people traveling in steerage class come back unhappy. Most people traveling during non-holiday weeks at less than full capacity appear happier than people dealing with the crowds during school holiday sailings. I am sure we'll be unhappy about some things and happy about other things when we sail in Seascape in 3 weeks. I do know I am already unhappy about the $5 additional entree charge in MDR. Also, my mobility challenged father will have to wait for the elevator. And they are turned off completely during muster drill.

OP wasn't the one to start calling people names.

no, it doesn't. As an immigrant with immigrant parents who barely speak English, I am very happy that the doctor's offices, clinics and hospitals here in the US provide interpreter services absolutely free to all who need it. Multiple languages too! Yes, the actual medical care is super expensive, but at least my parents can understand the doctors and the doctors can understand them, since I can't go to every appointment of theirs. Even if the medical staff can't speak your language, they have an efficient way to communicate with you. Calling someone an entitled ugly American is ugly.

it never showed up to pick us up. And we are by far not the only ones. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2930782-oasis-april-2-9-2023-a-wonderful-cruise/page/2/#comment-65239610