no1talks

3 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

"...offering 'make your own Bloody Mary' and this afternoon  'make your own Sangria cocktail'."

I assume those without a drink package could seamlessly make a purchase. MSC needs those impulse buys to offset the low-cost fares.

1 hour ago, Best Cat Mom said:

"However, I've heard some people say that in the afternoons the butlers sometimes bring cups of it to the One Pool deck."

Have seen this and can verify. (It was sooo tasty.)

34 minutes ago, MsTabbyKats said:

"MSC is very frugal with ice cream."

All the better to drive gelato sales.

It is my considered opinion that MSC relies heavily on passenger spending on the ship and close-to-the-bone staffing levels to make their business model work.

Whatever they give that most other cruise lines don't (honoring drink packages on their private island and letting you convert OBC to cash in the casino, as examples) has to be made up elsewhere.

4 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

I Thought they were expanding the pier, maybe room for two ships?  Anyone know?  I agree with the overnights here, very enjoyable. 

Preparing for the larger World group of ships, I think. It would be nutty to have two ships call on the same day.

Imagine 11k passengers swarming Ocean Cay from two full ships. 🤯

44 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

"It's always a 'touchy' situation if the people you ask about turn out to be ne'er-do-wells and the drink on his tray doesn't 'accidentally' fall off his tray into my lap."

This is an excellent point.

No one wants to unwittingly say to a crew member, "By the way, that mustache-twirling villain who made your life difficult three cruises ago says, 'Hello.'"

14 minutes ago, KeepCalmBearOn said:

 

To me, Tiptoe Through The Tulips means one thing and one thing only. Tiny Tim.

 

 

Oddly enough, T. Tim's peculiar rendition was not the most successful release of this song.

The original was released in the late 20s by Nick Lucas, a performer not unlike Rudy Vallée and the song was #1 for more than ten weeks.
 

Going out on a limb here...
 

• They are not very good. Clearly not MSC house musicians.
• Probably brought on board as a trial gig.
• Based on the looks of the passengers, I'd say this is a Med cruise.
• MSC's Med cruises embark and disembark throughout the cruise, so even better for a quick on-and-off for some trial entertainment.
  
  How did I do, Stockjock?
  

1 hour ago, morpheusofthesea said:

"...and a gambling den."

To this day, I'm still shocked, shocked about that. 😉

28 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

"Streisandish"

Barbra Streisand Streisandish, or Robin Williams Streisandish?

1 hour ago, morpheusofthesea said:

"I will need my head examined..."

That's the "psychotically affected" thing I mentioned earlier. 😉

8 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

"This cruise community is psychically connected."

Either that or psychotically affected. 🤪

33 minutes ago, kelleherdl said:

Cyrano’s soliloquy was one of my grade school attempts at thespian immortality.

''Tis a rock!... a peak!... a cape!  A cape, forsooth! 'Tis a peninsula!"

17 minutes ago, Best Cat Mom said:

"No clam-gate here"

Good one!

10 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

I was thinking mostly of Cyrano's repartee. In this life we see you opted more to keep the wit and add a touch of Greek god to your features.

Modesty forbids me any affirmation as such.

Even though ol' Cyrano would have had the upper hand at crossing swords, I have bested him in one significant way.

He didn't even make it to middle age, the poor fellow.

26 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

"I think you will find, if you ever find yourself regressed, is a past life as Cyrano de Bergerac."

You flatter me, kind sir. However in mindfulness of your observation, I must admit to owning a genuine rapier.

(For ren faires, not dueling.)

5 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

"In Victorian times, tulips were seen as a symbol of love and passion."

Not to take away from Victorian sensibilities, Morpheus,  I think the Greeks of antiquity had the right of it when it comes to understanding love.

They defined seven types of love, from the juvenile to the sublime, which I will leave for interested readers to investigate. (Some scholars say the ancient Greeks recognized eight types, adding mania.)

Accordingly, both the tulip and the rose can shine in their respective significations of love, neither being superior to the other.

1 hour ago, Morgsmom said:

"Once Explorer Journeys starts regular stops at the island it might be...."

I quite agree with your take on the issue, Morgsmom.

Unfortunately, the loss of those overnights will be one more example of discontinued things that allowed MSC to stand out from other lines.

13 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

"The same suites are commanding double this on other supposedly luxury cruise lines."

But, objectively speaking, these are not the same suites. The suites on luxury lines have much better stuff. 

I could not recall whether you stayed in a Grand or Grandeur Suite, so I watched tour videos for both. Those suites have many features lacking in both the Owners and Royal Suites on MSC.

Of course, it is perfectly reasonable if full-suite features existing on Regent or Crystal or Seabourn are not wanted and therefore not missed in an MSC full suite. However, Regent and the rest will still charge a fare reflecting the availability of those features.

If we were currently retired and spending the nest egg, we'd find that room more than satisfactory. We won't be quite so well-heeled to stay in that level of accomodation frequently. However, for a particular itinerary or special occasion, count us in.

Out of curiosity, I did a test booking for a Grandeur Suite on Grandeur, one-week Miami round-trip, early December of this year. Total for the two of us was $17,193.10.

12 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

"I recall early on a YC director boasting that the Owners Suite was now commanding $14,000 for one week."

I know YC Royal and Owners suites have devoted fans. That being said, these suites are just not equipped in the manner I would require for a real suite. I'd only want an actual suite if the itinerary is suitable for entertaining guests for before-dinner cocktails, a meal at table, or a card game. Unfortunately, Royal and Owners suites lack a guest bathroom. I would not dream of having guests without a tidy bathroom free of all the stuff we all generally leave on the vanity during a cruise.

The real gems from my point of view are the YC duplex suites. One can keep the lower half-bath free of toothpaste tubes, mouthwash, and razors and have the butler put things in "entertaining mode" with a stack of hand towels, a diffuser air freshener, and the proper liquid soap & hand lotion I'd pack if planning on having guests. (MSC's is okay, but I think we can do better.)

The duplex suites on World Europa are even nicer, since there is an upper level on the balcony providing enough outdoor space to take a small party outside as well. I assume World America's duplex suites will be similar.

1 hour ago, morpheusofthesea said:

"'The Love Boat' was true for all those on board, except the passengers."

Thank you, Morpheus, for adding color to my analytical musings.

I, too, find the increasing "Americanization" of food and entertainment offputting. However, there is an itinerary I want to try as soon as the timing can be made to work.

MSC has a Lesser Antilles run in the Caribbean that equally splits the embarkations in 2025 between Martinique and Guadeloupe. Americans have a harder time getting to those two islands than Europeans might.

Three French airports have direct flights to Martinique and Guadeloupe, but in the US, there is only Miami. (In the case of Guadeloupe, New York has seasonal direct service.)

This difference in direct flight access causes me to hope those cruises still maintain more of the original MSC experience.

2 hours ago, tfred said:

 "Second was enough kids that made a big difference on a small ship."

We've not been on a river cruise, but I've studied the subject a bit. I get the impression the small area of these boats makes for a somewhat regimented experience until one is off the boat and seeing the sights.

4 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

"As much as we 'think' of ourselves as the end all be all of mankind, these new found 'friends' forget us the moment we get off the ship. I have found that even a frequent cruiser like myself has to wave some $$ to refresh their memories (and even then I think they feigned recognition)."

Having spent quite a few years in the hospitality food and beverage sector, I can state for a fact the majority of HFB service professionals are not as enamored with us as we may be with them.

There are, of course, exceptions that extend beyond the workplace. They are rare.

5 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

"If the processing of each one of us becomes a more enjoyable procedure, some of us might linger longer to absorb a 2nd or 3rd glass of Champagne before being escorted to our cabins."

As I recall, MSC is building the place to park three big, honkin' ships at once. In round numbers, that's up to 6k on and 6k off each of those ships. While a relaxing, no-rush space would be sweet, I don't foresee MSC doing much to encourage any lingering.

4 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

"I remember Princess dumped a bus load of us off at the curb in Australia to fend for ourselves with luggage and no porters in sight 30 years ago and we never forgot that."

30 years ago, I was a newlywed dad and not close to being able to get on a cruise ship. Nowadays, I study the history of cruising to be a better-educated passenger.

Please correct me if my interpretation of cruising history is off the mark because, afterall, I wasn't on the ships.

I don't think shoddy treatment should have been a shock on a Princess cruise 30 years ago. The brand had a huge expansion in the 80s. Owners P&O rebadged some of their own ships over to Princess to accommodate the growth. P&O acquired another cruise line and rebadged more ships to Princess. Then the 90s started.

Recession. Oil spikes. American cruise market maybe not so hot. Now, Princess ships are getting transferred to P&O. No sooner does the century turn than P&O spins-off Princess into a standalone and Carnival grabs it just a few years into the millenium.

Again, those who were cruising and following the industry closely back then can point out my errors, but I think your Australian experience was simply a case of a cruise line that was losing its way after a decade of Laissez les bons temps rouler.