Cruising Lynne

I think you may see a disproportionate amount of posts about the Yacht Club for two reasons. One being that it is not the "usual" cruise experience so people have a lot of questions about how things work. The other may be that people are excited that they are having or going to have a more exclusive, luxurious experience in the Yacht Club and want to share their excitement (and maybe brag a little). I will be taking my first MSC cruise very soon on Meraviglia. We will be in a regular Fantastica ocean view cabin. I will report back our experience, and may be some comparing to NCL, which has been our most frequently sailed line.

That is exciting. We enjoyed an anniversary cruise on Pride of America back in 2011. It was a very enjoyable trip, even though Pride sometimes get bad reviews I would enjoy going on her again. My husband and I are not quite up for the long flight from Massachusetts again. Our first cruise with NCL was also in Hawaii, Wind back in 2006. This trip had me hooked on NCLs Freestyle dining and laid back vibe.

My grandparents would have loved this cruise. They used to spend the summer at a nudist camp in the the Berkshires back in the 70's and 80's. I never went, just not for me. I agree with the comment about having seen it all before. We encountered a group of nudists on a special snorkeling excursion at an island off St. Maarten. We were there on a "regular" ship excursion. They were not quite nude as they all had on masks and flippers. It was quite interesting people watching! We had been forewarned of there being possible nudity seen on this excursion. I believe we were on a Royal ship at the time.

Best wishes to you both. We are hoping to be able to cruise as long as you have. Becoming Ambassador seems like a goal I would like to achieve. It is great that you were able to enjoy so many cruises before now. Whenever some one I know seems surprised I am going on another cruise, I tell them that I am enjoying them well I still can. Enjoy all your great memories!! Are you doing a Canada/New England cruise? We just made final payment on one, out of Boston in September.

I wouldn't get back off the ship in Manhattan, unless I wanted to go to the Intrepid Museum, which is right next door. The earliest we have seen boarding start in Manhattan was 11:00 for Haven and shortly after that handicapped people board. Being Sapphire Lattitudes we have boarded by about 11:30.

Agree. It may help if other people stop complaining about how crowded the atrium is when they hold games there. Some people do not read the Freestyle Daily and having it in the atrium may attract spur of the moment players who see the event while passing through. Having a game in the theater during the day is okay, but I enjoy a show or some other type of performance at night. Wheel of Fortune is not a good replacement for a show.

Loving the picture of your breakfast. On my last cruise I enjoyed a pina colada with my breakfast. My husband was a little surprised when I headed to the bar, but it goes very well with the fresh fruit! Not a bad idea on a sea day.

I hope that whatever they do, they update the website to reflect any changes. Sometimes they aren't very good about that.

Thanks Radio for posting all the awesome pictures. We were on Joy last September and really enjoyed it. I watched you back away from the pier yesterday on the Port New York webcam. So exciting and I wished I was there. Have a great trip!

Leaving from Manhattan, I believe the Statue of Liberty is on the starboard side. If you go to an upper deck you can also watch as you go under the Verrazano Bridge.

I hope they don't remove them. Some day I may be lucky enough to enjoy them. I would love to have my own private whirlpool. I enjoy a nice bath, and do not like the trend of hotels going to just showers and not the tub/shower combo. Having a tub option on the cruise ship is nice for people who want to soak their sore muscles or bathe children.

Glamping could work for me.

We can always drive to Bar Harbor from Massachusetts, but I enjoyed the two times I stopped there on cruises. Once on a Boston to Bermuda cruise, and once on a Canada/New England cruise. Hubby wants to camp up at Acadia, but I tell him my idea of roughing is when we get an inside cabin instead of a balcony!

The Icon class ships really bother me. I am sure they are fun to be on, but I feel that they give cruising in general a bad image. They dump too many passengers into a port all at once. It is ships like these that help lead to all these restrictions and bans. They also cause damage to port areas and lead to more dredging and need larger piers built to accommodate them.

Id love a fourth day in Bermuda. Unfortunately, they have to get out of there to make room for the next ship to come in. Maybe NCL hopes that Bar Harbor will change the restriction by 2025. I think they should raise the number of passengers allowed and just ban the really big ships. Less than 1000 passengers is ridiculous. Many of the businesses in Bar Harbor would agree.

LOL We often (not always) tip the bartender extra, and do not get preferential treatment. I have seen it though. I wonder how much those people tip? It absolutely should be first come first served at the bars. I think it is the heavy drinkers who get recognized. You know, the people that park at one of the bars all day. We are too busy for that. I often get drinks from one of the drink servers so I do not have to deal with the crowds at the bars. Tipping them extra does help ensure that they return promptly to see if I need another drink. I do not like to worry about having cash for tips every time I leave the room, but will tip if I have some bills on me .Again, not always, and not the amounts that some people claim to tip.

We are getting off the day you embark. We usually do Boston to Bermuda that week, but are making the leap from NCL to try something new. We are in Massachusetts, and school does not get out here until June 12th. This is a little early due to the lack of snow days this year. The Seniors get out earlier. This should help keep the number of families with young children down. You may have an increase in college age kids. A ship as big as Meraviglia should have some quiet spots to get away from the crowds. We shall see. I have wanted to go on Meraviglia ever since it was new. The ceiling in the Promenade and the Swarovkski Crystal stair cases seemed like something I would like to see. I recognize you and Jamie from the Cruise Critic boards, but not on board ships. Happy sailing!!

Yes, I misunderstood. Not doing your room at all is not right at all. I would not have appreciated that either.

If you are leaving from New York, starboard side is better. You will be able to see the Statue of Liberty from your balcony when you sail away from New York. In Bermuda the ships are one in front of the other, not side by side. So another ship in port does not block which ever view you end up with. Check out the Port of Bermuda webcam. Getaway is there right now. So jealous!!

I like milk in my coffee, so I grab some from the breakfast buffet to keep in the room fridge. I think you could get half and half at the buffet also. My husband just uses the provided coffee mate liquid or whatever brand they may have. It was never the powder creamer.

Sounds like you had a great family vacation over all. Thank you for posting your review, and including the pre and post cruise info. FYI on NCL they no longer make up rooms twice a day. You can contact the steward or leave him a note to get more towels. Nice job earning a club balcony comp. Now you get to have fun again!

What a tease!! I thought the hockey puck hash browns were back. Can't wait for my next NCL cruise to see what kind of hash browns I can find. I had some round (or triangular?) hash browns on our Holland America cruise in November, but they did not taste as good as the ones NCL used to have. They tasted like the oil needed to be changed. The hunt for good cruise ship hash browns continues...

It is still a pretty good deal. Just think how much a land based trip for that many days would be. Hotel prices are ridiculous, and when you add in food, drinks, and entertainment definitely costs more than the cruise. Plus on the cruise you will have that nice ocean view balcony!

This is a good idea. I will get a card next time I renew my passport. This will give me more peace of mind to have the card when I get off the ship in ports. I don't bring my passport ashore because I don't want to be worried about it getting lost or stolen.

I always tell my husband to never turn away the drink servers by the pool or in the lounges. Even if you do not think you are ready for a drink, get something and this way they know that you will be wanting more drink service. If you say no to them, they will not come around as quickly. They will approach people they know are drinking (and tipping) first and more often. Even if you do not have cash on you to tip them, they will come back if you do not turn them away the first time. If you tip, they will come back more quickly!