Nashna

We will be on the Mera for eleven days in October on a Canada/New England cruise. Since the weather is so iffy and we are trying to keep the suitcase weight below 50 lbs, we are considering having laundry done onboard. The last time I tried having the ship do my laundry on X, it resulted in two ruined tops. Has anyone had experience with knit tops or pants being washed or dry-cleaned on MSC?

I hope it works out by our October cruise.

Good to know. We like to prepay as much as possible. Of course, we tip extra to the YC staff who help us during our sailing.

Bravo! Sometimes you just want to splurge for that special glass of wine.

I agree...no more comments from me...

I truly do not care what people wear, just as long as it is clean. I

I'm old enough to remember when ladies did wear hats at formal lunches and always in church.

BTW...It was a straw visor with a cute bow in the back...no way it could be confused with a baseball cap.

It could be. I always follow the rules, and it never occurred to me that I would be the one to need to be reminded. I asked about wearing any hat and was told none were allowed.

On a recent Celebrity cruise, I was stopped and asked to remove my hat at breakfast in the MDR. Frankly, I was shocked. It was a port day, and we had an excursion planned. I dressed in capris and a nice top for the day, placed my golf visor on my head and went to breakfast in the MDR. The waiter escorting me to the table stopped mid-aisle to inform me that I needed to remove my hat. Seriously, I didn't know the no-hat rule applied to ladies. This was not a ball cap. I was flummoxed! Let's be honest; my hair looked a lot better in that visor than it did without it.

We are docked in Portland from 7:00 am until 7:00 pm, which gives us plenty of time to walk around the city. We are looking into the mailboat ride spending 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours sailing around the islands. I would love to hear from others who might have done this cruise. Frequently Asked Questions - Casco Bay Lines

Ladies have had a much more relaxed dress code. We can wear pretty much whatever we wish. We don't have the closed-toe sandal, tank top, or long pants rule.

We ended up not booking Explora. This is mainly due to the great price we got on MSC in the Yacht Club, which has a Canada New England itinerary we like better. I do think Explora looks amazing, and we are waiting for an itinerary that works for us.

I don't wear baseball caps. At our club, women always wear visors at lunch after golf, while men never wear baseball caps at lunch.

Typically, those rules have not applied to ladies. My goodness. I just bought a fascinator to wear to a Kentucky Derby Dinner.

I consider myself rather fashion-conscious. I always try to dress appropriately and wouldn't be caught dead wearing inappropriate clothing in the MDR. Something that happened to me on a recent Edge cruise still bothers me. We typically had breakfast in the MDR. This morning, we were leaving for an excursion right after breakfast. We were being escorted to our table when the waiter stopped and asked me to remove my hat. My hat was a tennis visor. When I expressed surprise, he said, "hats are not allowed in the dining room. You need to remove it." Of course, I complied, but I had never seen the "no hats" rule applied to ladies. Is this a new trend?

We did this. We hopped in a taxi and said we knew this wasn't the best ride for them and would tip accordingly. The driver was friendly and said no problem; he would pick up another fare when he dropped us off. Taxis have to take you.

Our last day of the cruise flight was a 6:00 am non-stop to San Juan. I had a work-related must-attend event the day before and thought I had no choice. The flight took off on time, but the ice sensor wasn't working, so we turned around and flew back to Dulles. We were told it could be a serious delay. We deplaned, and folks went running to try to make other arrangements. I knew our original flight was the only way to get to San Juan on time to catch the ship. So we stayed in the boarding area hoping for the best. After a harrowing 30 minutes, we got the go-ahead to reboard. The flight arrived about an hour late in San Juan. About a third of the passengers had chosen to take other flights. Never again would I subject myself to that anxiety.

We have done many things in Boston...but 50 years ago almost doesn't count. Historical sites haven't changed, but I know the city is totally different from what I remember. Believe it or not, we were staying for a business conference at the Parker House the night John Lennon was killed. That was our last stay in Boston. I think we will take up the suggestions for riding the T into the Commons and walking around finding a great restaurant, having lunch, checking out to see if Faniel Hall has changed, and then walking around until we get lost.

Thank you all. We are looking forward to the mail run in October. We are in Portland from 7:00 am until 7:00 pm, so we should be able to do the mail run and explore quite a bit of Portland.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that O does the right thing. If it's any consolation to you. I flew to Bermuda and spent three days in March many years ago, and the weather was dismal. Bermuda is worth the trip. We went in mid-June a few years ago on a cruise, and the weather was delightful.

We had a nice hot pot of coffee every morning without charge as continental breakfast is free. In fact, since we always got a call a few minutes before room service arrived, we used that as our wake-up call. Just be sure to order it the night before.

We were on deck 7 on the Apex and 12 on the Edge this January. We did have a big issue with soot on the Edge. Our balcony was power washed mid-way through our cruise, and the soot was back on the chairs the next day. We had soot on a garment that had to be specially cleaned. Despite the soot on the Edge, we absolutely loved the Sunset Veranda and would never cruise in an infinity balcony again. Eden was not a problem on the Apex. Because of the way that the ship's balconies are staggered, we made friends with those above, beside and below us.

I'm sorry this happened to you. However, you should be thankful that you were not in that storm. We have been on sailings when things did not go as planned, and later on, during the sailing, a compensation announcement was made via a letter delivered to each stateroom. I would not be surprised if this happened to you.

Premier Parking looks to be about $150.00 cheaper than parking at the pier in Miami. Has anyone used their services?