GA Dave

One more thing to understand about this cruise.  I spoke to many people on this cruise who said it was their first-time cruising MSC, and many more that said it was their first time ever on a cruise.  It appeared to me that everyone's expectations were set way too high. 

I actually saw one woman tie up the sole bartender at one of the pool bars for at least 15 minutes with all kinds of special drink orders for her whole entourage.  When he finally finished with her, there were at least 15-20 people waiting to be served.  He started working his way down the bar when she had a guy run up to her and ask her to get him another drink.  She started yelling to the bartender "hey, hey, I need another".  He told her he was working on the other guests' drinks and would get back down to her, and she threw an absolute fit.  She even called him an "a-hole" and stormed off, yelling "I will never cruise MSC again!!"

Hopefully, she will follow through on that threat.  There is no need for that kind of behavior on a mass-market megaship.  If she wants constant special service, she needs to rent her own yacht instead of paying $170 for three days.

I had a table for one this weekend in the Panarama MDR on Meraviglia during a sold-out cruise.  Should be no problem for two.

48 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

What a great perspective, GA Dave!  So if I may, I have a few questions...

1.  How did you find the interior stateroom and more specifically, how was the a/c?  We have booked one in the YC for next month and picked interior because I'm hoping the a/c may be better than it was last time in our balcony stateroom....

2.  Did you visit the casino?  if so, was smoking allowed?

Hi GA Peaches!  Good to hear from you again.  I have not been on here much.

1.  I found the interior fine.  Plenty of room, they have two different porthole camera views on the TV if you need to see outside.  When I got there, I turned the AC temp down all the way as I usually do.  After dinner, I went back to get something, and it was FREEZING!!  I had to turn it up to a notch or two below the "middle" setting to make it comfortable for me.

2.  Yes, I walked through the casino a few times.  There were a few people smoking but I really did not find it bad at all.  I am very sensitive to it as a former smoker (30+ years ago), but it really did not bother me.  They have very good ventilation.

BTW, the attached picture should give everyone a good idea of what I talked about related to being used to waiting on lines.  This was today at Universal just to ride that one ride.

I was also on this cruise.  I normally cruise in YC but decided to make this my "retirement experiment" cruise.  I booked a basic interior cabin on deck 11, no wifi, but I did buy the drink package once I boarded (Easy Plus).  I also waited three hours and forty minutes in the lines to board.  It was not pleasant, but I think I may be immune at this point to any "pain" people find doing this as I am also a huge Universal Orlando fan and find 2-3 hour waits on top attractions all the time.  I did also think the $50 OBC should have come sooner, but I just used it to offset part of my drink package charge. 

Overall, I had a pretty good time.  Obviously, it was nowhere near as wonderful as all of my previous YC cruises, but I went in with very low expectations and came out pretty happy.  I learned to avoid the front area in the buffet and always went straight to the back for my food and sat out on the outdoor deck behind the buffet to eat (usually pretty much alone).  The diversity of food was more than I thought it would be, and I had things like Prime Rib, Pork Loin Roast, many grilled vegetables, etc. that I never expected.  I also found the bars on decks 6 and 15 to be packed all the time, so I just went up to the Sky Lounge on deck 18 when it opened and enjoyed a mostly empty lounge every evening.  Knowing that the ship was at lifeboat capacity, I got off at first announcement for Ocean Cay and got a wonderful spot with an Adirondack chair, table and umbrella right by the bar at the Lighthouse Beach.  For disembarkation this morning, I was at the buffet for a quick muffin and coffee at 6:00 AM and got onto the line to disembark at 6:20 AM.  Spent the waiting time talking with many wonderful people, and I was off the ship, in my car and traveling down A1A/FL528 by 7:50AM.

Sometimes when everyone else is zigging, you need to zag.  😁

FYI for the Meraviglia cruise tomorrow.  This is from somebody on the ship doing a B2B:

"Just a heads up for those who are intending to arrive early hoping to get on early. I am on the ship now and staying on for the next 10 days and they told us that we will have to get off and no one will be allowed back on until after noon. So, I am assuming that no one new will be embarking before that either. They are doing a full Coast Guard inspection since the ship just arrived back in US waters, and they also have to convert the entire ship over to US dollars from euros. Every single menu, sign, banner, price tag, online stuff in the app and anything else you could think of. It’s going to be a frenetic day for them.  Honestly, I won’t be shocked if boarding isn’t delayed even more. It’s a lot to do in a few hours.

On 10/10/2022 at 6:37 PM, greg_atlanta said:

1) is there a steamroom and/or sauna which is free to everyone in the fitness center?  or is this only available in the spa?  (on most ships the fitness center and spa are on the same deck, but different on this ship)

 

2) i booked a starboard-facing balcony closest to the bow, it looks like this has a solid railing (steel) instead of glass.  will i regret this since i won't be able to see out while lying down?  or do some prefer this?  (a little more privacy in port perhaps)

 

3) i'm assuming not many kids on transatlantic and not sure what to expect from Nov 6 sailing from port canaveral, but is there a mostly-adults pool/sun lounge area?  i read elsewhere there's not an official "adults only" part of the ship.

1).  The Thermal Spa on Mera is one of the best at sea.  But you do need to buy a pass to use it, unless you are in a Yacht Club cabin, where it is included for the length of the cruise.

2).  No idea how these cabins are.  Have you searched YouTube for a video of that cabin or a similar one?

3).  The Horizon Bar and Pool on decks 16-18 aft are supposed to be adults only.  Unfortunately, that rule is not always enforced. 

Caught you all on the webcam in St. Maarten today.  Cannot wait to board Mera again this coming Thursday!  And a bunch of times after that!!  😁

10 minutes ago, Mhl76 said:

Thank you all for your thoughts. Does anyone have a copy of a daily planner from a USA sailing?

If they do it would be dated.  Meraviglia has been cruising in the Med since May of this year.

7 minutes ago, kristapb said:

Thanks GA Dave and coscab.  And we'll do our best to dodge that nasty virus when we're on the Meraviglia in a couple weeks!

I just cruised on Divina three weeks ago.  Did everything I wanted to do, including dancing in the nightclub, dining all over, etc.  The following weekend, my daughter and I went to a jam-packed Universal Orlando.  They were filling every attraction as tight as back in 2019, with no open seats, etc.  Tested every day for the week after both the cruise and Universal.  No Covid.

I believe that is a hold-over from the European requirement that they had to get re-vaccinated after six months.  I have not had any issues cruising on MSC this year and my last booster was quite a while ago (I was in the first groups to receive booster #2).

17 hours ago, GonzoWCS said:

Well they still at sea for a bit so the Customer Service folks might sort it.  Be nice to know but not a show stopper.  We getting on anywho!

 

Cheers

Just an FYI:  I am on the October 13 three-night cruise and we have a very active FB group.  Someone who said they are currently on the trans-Atlantic quoted crew members as saying that the Oct. 13 three-night is expected to have 5,200 passengers and the following cruise is expected to have 2,200.

I loved the food in YC restaurant on Meraviglia and Divina.  Butcher's Cut and Kaito Teppanyaki were both very good on Meraviglia, but I found the YC restaurant to be better.  They even fulfilled a special order for three of us on my March cruise.  Both plates were mine!  😁  Desserts were incredible too.

YC Lobster Roll.

4 hours ago, Seadweller001 said:

We sailed 4 months on a competitor starting in MIA,  to SA, thru the Panama Canal, up the coast of Calf, to Hawaii, to Tahiti and surrounding French Polynesian Islands, to Australia (all over the continent), to New Zealand, Isle of Pines, Vanuatu, to Indonesia, (Bali) , Viet Nam, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong and a few more places (mid Oct 2012 to mid Feb 2013).

 

We planned our 120:days for a year prior to boarding.  We had so much luggage we had to fly First Class since the extra 4 suitcases were extremely expensive.  First Class has it luggage privileges. 
 

Unfort, we did not have the same suite on all cruise segment but the Butlers took care of everything making the move seamless.

 

It was exciting everyday visiting many cities in countries we have never been too.  We took 4500 pics.   
 

We used a discount TA who netted 50% of the commissions against the fares.

 

It was a once in a lifetime experience.

 

Since Covid we have 14 cruises repeating the same PC to OC to Nassau to Cozumel to Costa Maya ad naseum but its better than being home.  Just a let down when we think about our 2012 late retirement celebration cruise.

 

Was it worth the cost of a new 911 Turbo S?   1000% yes.  The memories are indelible and will stay forever.

 

Poster, dont procrastinate, have a great time! 

 

 

Thanks.  It sounds like you had an amazing adventure.  And I know exactly what you mean about the PC to OC to Nassau ad naseum.  Five of my last six cruises have been three days just like that!  Unfortunately, with my current work situation, I can only do three-day weekend cruises, which really limits your port destinations!

I am dredging up this thread as it seems to be the closest existing thread to what I have to ask. 

I am looking at booking at least 90 - 120 days on an MSC ship out of the USA for when I first retire.  Due to the length of time I am looking at, I obviously would not be looking at a YC stay (if I had that kind of money, I would charter!).  Does anyone know if that is even feasible with MSC's systems?  Would this be something you would try and do via the website, via their call center, or via a TA that usually handles MSC reservations?  Still a ways off, but I am trying to get some preliminary plans started.

Any previous experience with B2B2B2B2B2etc. planning is appreciated.

17 hours ago, KyleClark said:

So if I sail on Saturday I have to be tested anytime from Weds or Thursday?

Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.  Theoretically even Saturday would work.  My last test was a Zoom meeting, test took ten minutes for the test and I had the pdf of my test report fifteen minutes after that.

MSC Health & Safety measures | MSC Cruises (msccruisesusa.com)

Beginning August 8, 2022:
 

• For fully vaccinated guests sailing 5 nights or less from U.S. ports, COVID-19 testing within 3 days of embarkation is recommended, but not required.
   
• Fully vaccinated guests sailing 6 nights or longer from U.S. ports must show proof of a lab-administered negative COVID-19 viral test (NAAT or antigen) taken within 3 days of embarkation.  MSC Cruises recommends vaccinated guests to test within 1 day of embarkation, when possible.
   
• Unvaccinated guests 2 years and older must show proof of a lab-administered negative COVID-19 viral test (NAAT or antigen) taken within 3 days of embarkation for all cruises from U.S. ports. MSC Cruises recommends unvaccinated guests to test within 1 day of departure, when possible. These guests may undergo an additional COVID-19 test at the terminal prior to embarkation provided by MSC Cruises, free of charge. The only exception is that no pre-embarkation or embarkation testing is required for guests under 2 years of age. 

2 hours ago, F27TW said:

That they should have sections for smoking-permitted on balconies.    I completely understand nonsmokers not wanting to smell smoke coming from the balcony next to them, but if they just had one section of cabins together, say, on the rear of the ship that allowed balcony smoking, that  would be a nice thing. 

 

 

The ban on smoking is not really about bothering other cruisers, it is a safety rule put in place by SOLIS.   

I go to the pool at sunrise when it's empty (see photo).

I never attend the ship's sail away party, usually held at the main pool.  I always find a place at the aft or forward end of the ship for this (see second photo).

11 hours ago, negn said:

Noticed your balcony had a port hole and door but not a sliding door.   Is this the usual set up for the Sky?   Never saw anything like that before

Yes, it is.  The only balcony cabins are on decks 9 and 10, and the balconies were added after the ship was built and floated in 1999.  It originally started construction as the Costa Olympia, but the shipbuilder went bankrupt, and Costa walked away from the partially built ship.  NCL bought the partial and had it completed as the Sky.

12 hours ago, CruisinMaterial said:

I think COVID was the death blow to Cruise Critic. Before COVID a lot of people were setting up ones on other social media sites. I have always enjoyed a lively roll call but it seems social media has killed this site quite well. It still has it's regulars (me being one of them) but not as many new people or it's a question answered and to never be seen again. Sad because this used to be a fun place to check daily...

100% agree.  For several years I virtually lived here on CC and never joined any cruise related groups on That Other Site.  But, due to too many people being openly hostile to people expressing their opinions, and never having anything done about it when reporting it to the Site Administrators, I dropped off of here right before the pandemic hit.  I am slowing starting to come back to CC, but the bulk of my cruise discussions are now on That Other Site.

8 hours ago, QuattroRomeo said:

Thanks for the review and great photos! We haven't been on the Sky yet or to GSC so it was nice to see them. The ship looks like the kind we like: not too big, and the Great Outdoors area looks wonderful.

 

Was there a shelf under the sink in the bathroom?

Was your lunch in the Cabana specific to the Cabana service or could you get it at a kiosk? ( looked pretty yummy).

 

Strange to see such empty beaches and restaurants! But all of the food and drinks looked good; must have been fun to be spoiled in this odd time of  cruising with everything half empty!

There are a few small shelves on each side of the vanity mirror in the bathroom, as well as one or two small shelves below the vanity countertop.

There was a food truck located right next to the cabana area that contained the foods noted on the menu pictured (post #14 above, photos 2 & 3).  There was a large "picnic" pavilion located at the first large beach near the island entrance that had a more diverse menu, plus several more of the food trucks located around the island.  I found the food to be very good.  The Bahamian Rum Cake was excellent!

My son was with me on Divina last month and we had the internet package included with the Yacht Club, which I believe is just the basic, except we could each log in two devices.  He was able to Facetime with his girlfriend in KC later in the evening.  As with all publicly used systems, during busy times the speed slowed down quite a bit, but early in the day and after 9:00 PMish, it seemed pretty solid. 

Just a word of warning.  My disembarkation yesterday in Miami on another cruise line did not happen until well after 8:00 AM.  I was the very first person in line to disembark around 7:00 AM.  A man and his teenage daughter walked up at 7:15 and asked the Security person handling the line when they could leave.  She told them she had no idea, as we had just tied up to the pier and now it was up to CBP.  He seemed a bit upset so I asked "early flight?" and he said "yeah, 9:15".  As I said, I was the first one off the ship and I was pulling out of the garage in my car at 8:17. 

I don't think he made his flight.

12 minutes ago, SeaShark said:

 

There is nothing wrong with what you are doing...UNLESS...you are using CC and/or CC's connections to set up your M&G and then inviting people outside CC to attend. However, if you contact NCL and tell them you want to set up a Facebook (yes, you can say the name on CC...you just can't provide links to, or direct people to join your group there) M&G and they agree to do so, there is nothing wrong with doing that.

My M&G's have all been completely independent of the ship and CC.  We just pick a nice spot with a bar and tell everyone to meet at a specific time.  It's worked out great.