Nashna

Did you notice the egg on my face? A month ago, I created a cruise critic storm when I posted that I would not sail on Explora because I feared that I would not enjoy sailing as a passenger in steerage after experiencing the YC. In addition, our cruising budget would not allow for a suite; we would be sailing in a standard balcony. Well...I failed at interpreting Explora's advertising. I neglected to notice the "per suite" pricing and doubled the amount I thought would be charged. While exploring 2023 Canada/New England options today, I went back to Explora. I was delighted to realize that the fare was quite reasonable for the experience. In addition, Explora's pricing was lower than Viking & Oceania for a similar category. Therefore, we will take a chance on the new line at this price point. I sincerely hope that Explora offers all its guests an excellent quality experience.

I love that stateroom! It is the biggest bargain on the seas. I reserve it whenever it whenever I can. It is an amazing spot for the Ultimate Dinner.

Thanks for the suggestions. I have been checking my waitlist online with Princess, so checking availability will be easy to do.

We decided at the last minute to join friends on a Canada/New England cruise. The cruise shows "unavailable." The cruise leaves in 20 days. We have been on the waitlist for a week now for several different stateroom types. I'm attempting to determine when we should consider this a lost cause. I noticed that similar sailings on Princess are also showing unavailable. Has anyone recently cleared a waitlist?

Native Rhode Island here...Do not go to Providence. Especially if you have never been to Newport, it simply isn't worth it. Keep in mind that most of the shops and museums do not open until 10:00am. You might want to hire a driver to take you around town to see the charming Newport area. Go by the White Horse Tavern and through the narrow picturesque streets to get a feel for historic Newport, then pass the Tennis Hall of Fame and slowly go by the amazing mansions, keep on going on Ocean Drive to see where Jacqueline Kennedy lived, stop along the waterfront to take photos and continue on past Castle Hill. Perhaps, you might wish to drop in for coffee to sip outside on their beautiful lawn. Return by 1st Beach to see the beginnings of the Cliff Walk and dip your toe in the sand. By now, the shops and museums will have opened so may have your driver bring you back to the mansions or wharf area. If you decide to visit one of the mansions there is a trolley to take you back to the wharf area. The mansions are absolutely amazing...inside and out!

Do not miss this. Cliff Walk is beautiful. If you can't walk well, at least take the drive around as the view from the road is still amazing. A fantastic way to see the beautiful coast is to have lunch at the Castle Hill Inn which is right on Ocean Drive. Reservations are a must. If you just have time to visit the Wharf area it features wonderful restaurants and great shops. Make reservations to dine out at the Black Pearl or The Clark Cook House. I was born and grew up in Rhode Island and married in Newport. I truly believe it is one of the better ports in the U.S.

My first cruise was on Home Lines in 1985. I wish some line would bring back deck stewards to help you choose a deck chair to camp out in for the week.

We were exactly 30 minutes. Typically, grabbing a salad at the buffet takes just a few minutes, due to crowding it took longer. The couple was actually getting settled as we returned. The nice passenger who informed them that we were coming right back said that they were standing there checking their watches. She was quite upset and made it a point to address us later in the day. At the time, we said nothing, retrieved our belongings, and retreated to a table to eat our lunch. Another passenger, who had witnessed the exchange, approached us to let us know she thought the chair takers behaved rudely. I have never removed anyone's personal possessions to take a chair. If I were so inclined, I would wait at least a few minutes over the time period. My point is not about rude chair takers it is about the fact the service was slow, the lines were long, and the ship was too crowded.

Thanks for noticing! This is what happens when you don't recheck well after correcting.

The Holland America twelve-day ABC Cruise occurred in January 2020. It had been 20 years since we last sailed on HA. We found in the MDR, the service was rushed, and the wine steward was non-existent. We had nightly reservations and still waited in line for 30 minutes. The lack of disorganization by the crew was appalling. Night after night, we watched walk-ups escorted to their table while the reservation line snaked out of the room. The buffet was disorganized. After We left our solarium seats to grab a quick salad to bring back to eat, it took so long that in the 30-minutes we were gone, someone had dumped our kindles and bags on a chair. A woman sitting at an adjacent chair was ignored when she told the two ladies that we said we were coming right back. We were shocked at the rudeness of people on the ship as we recalled the pleasant experiences we had previously had with HA. The ship was at total capacity, which might have contributed to the rudeness caused by overcrowding. Theatergoers arrived 30 to 40 minutes before the show began to get a seat. We sailed on Celebrity and Princess this past January. On Princess, we sailed in our favorite two-room suite. It features a huge wrap-around balcony directly over the bridge. In the past, we enjoyed sailing in Club Class and would reserve a cabana for the week. On the new Princess ships the cabanas are no longer poolside. The cabanas are in a windy location which made them uncomfortable to use. Also, dining in Club Class no longer felt special. Our sailing was at 47 percent occupancy, but the lower occupancy still didn't give us that pampered experience. So that sailing knocked out Princess from our options. In comparison, our 7-night sailing on Celebrity was fantastic. We felt that Celebrity gave us that special pampering we had missed on HA & Princess. Our future cruises will be on Celebrity, Oceania, Viking or in the Yacht Club. It will be interesting to hear how you enjoy Explora. I'll be checking cruise critic after Explora 1 launches to hear guest's reactions.

Thank you for asking. We have sailed on 58 cruises from Carnival to Seabourn, NCL to Regent. When we were younger, long lines and buffets were fine. We enjoyed our cruising in steerage. Now that we are older, we look for cruises with excellent service, no queues, no chair hogs by the pool, and no waiting for a table in the dining room. We were alerted to MSC Yacht Club while on a Holland America cruise that had long lines, chair hogs, crowded shows, and 30-minute waits for dinner. We vowed that we would not go back to that type of cruising. On the other hand, we truly enjoyed the Yacht Club. No waiting, butlers who indeed served, private dining, reserved seating for shows, luggage accepted curbside, then delivered right to your stateroom, plus a fantastic captain's cocktail party in the private lounge. There is no way that MSC Europa can give that unique experience to a ship full of passengers. We enjoyed a recent sailing on Celebrity as their retreat is similar to YC. We have two more planned on Celebrity and have just put a deposit on Oceania sailing. We would consider a future sailing in the Yacht Club on MSC if the itinerary is interesting.

This is why CC is losing posters. Snarky people post without adding anything meaningful to the conversation. I guess they feel better when they insult and denigrate others. What a sad way to live.

The accommodations might be the same as the Yacht Club. However, do you believe that the top suite passengers will receive the same treatment as the basic suite passengers? Seriously, if I were in a top suite, I would expect to receive additional benefits.

We have paid our dues. We have sailed all sorts of different cruise lines in the past. When we were younger, we had different requirements and enjoyed cruising in inside, outside wherever we could get it accommodations. Now that we are older, we are willing to pay a reasonable amount to have a place to sit by the pool, receive extra service in the restaurants and experience expedited boarding and disembarkation. Frankly, we are not able, nor do we wish to, wait in long lines to embark or disembark, use the buffets or wait to enter a restaurant. So, the Yacht Club worked for us. Not because we wanted to feel privileged, but because we needed those extra services to enjoy our cruises. The Europa appears to very much be a typical class structured cruise option. Since we need additional service, and we can only afford the basic standard stateroom, it appears that Europa will not be our choice.

We loved sailing in the Yacht Club. Now, we are looking at the Explora 2023 sailings and I'm underwhelmed. The increased cost for the basic Explora suite is way more than Oceania, Regent or Viking for similar accommodations. We can actually upgrade to concierge accommodations on those lines for a lower price point. One of the features we loved about being in the Yacht Club was the experience of access to a special quiet oasis, civilized boarding and disembarkation. There is no way that we will pay the outrageous price increase to upgrade from a regular suite on Explora to one of the premium categories. Understandably, those premium categories are going to come with enhanced boarding and experiences that the regular suites do not. Since we have no interest in feeling like steerage passengers, MSC Explora is not going to be on our cruise options in the future.

I had the same question regarding non-alcoholic wine. Good to know we can request it. My husband can't drink alcohol for health reasons. He has discovered several non-alcoholic wines and spirits that are very close to the alcoholic options in taste. The non-alcoholic gin he now enjoys allows him to sip a martini again. We just booked a January 2024 Vista cruise. I'll wait closer to our sailing to check on the availability of non-alcoholic wine and spirits onboard.

There is no place like home. I hope time will help heal all you have endured, and you are soon laughing about your adventures as a sea based..."Charlie on the MTA". Stay well and thank you for sharing.

Evana...Thank you for sharing your story. I have been following since the beginning and am so sorry for all you have been through. Seriously, you have been amazingly calm during this entire episode. Life has thrown you way too many lemons and you are dealing with the onslaught so well. Please know that many of us on Cruise Critic are following and wishing you and your dear husband well. I have to admit that I would be totally using that Classic Drink Package. Take care.

Has anyone recently gone to Taino Beach?

‎Wow... not only chair hogs! I count 7 towels.‎

I totally agree with the OP. MSC simply doesn't do GF dining well. We have been on eight different cruise lines since my husband was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. We sailed on Princess, RCCL, Holland America, Seabourn, Regent, NCL, and Azamara. MSC was the only one that did not offer GF pizza. We were also in YC and addressed this issue with the hotel manager as well as the captain. They both said that they had reported cruise passengers' remarks regarding GF pizza to headquarters and they hoped to offer it ""soon". This was on The Davina in January 2020. Our B2B MSC cruise started with the first four nights in a suite. The second portion of the cruise we were in YC. I totally agree with you that the MDR dealt with GF meals much better than YC.. The Yacht Club was simply not up-to-par when it came to GF service. Interestingly, Prime Rib was served in the MDR on the GF menu. The YC never gave diners the option of ordering it. We were dining with friends in the YC and we all ended up ordering from the GF menu to get the Prime Rib. It was delicious. We had an excellent butler. We asked for GF crackers for our afternoon cheese plate. Our butler appeared 30 minutes later and apologized for being late. He had to search the ship for GF crackers. He brought us an entire carton and asked us to keep it in the room for the cruise duration as he feared he wouldn't be able to find them again. Time and time again, my husband was told that he could not eat items like vanilla ice cream and potatoes which we knew to be false. He was basically told that the salad bar was off limits and fruit was his only option at the buffet. The abundance of caution MSC staff exhibited restricting GF options was comical. I have heard comments about "catering to GF passengers" as though it was an entitlement. It is not. Those of us who are or live with a person who requires a GF diet, know how easy it is today to prepare GF meals. My husband is fine with frozen muffins, bread, cake and even pizza. Food is an important part of the cruising experience. Ten percent of the population either must follow a GF diet or lives with someone who must do so. It makes good business sense to make sure that those customers are well taken care of.