UPNYGuy

it has usually been the most forward starbord one right off the theatre

I did notice that the tubs look a bit different.

If you are referring to “Aurea suite with whirlpool bath” on the exact corners where the ship narrows, this entire cabin set-up has flaws. It is long and narrow, and reminds me of a hallway. The balcony is somewhat narrow to have a decent sized jacuzzi tub on it. The ones that are out there are not actual hot tubs, but bathtub types. And, if you are in the aft facing cabins, the pool deck can look directly into your balcony. You get plenty of gawkers going “omg they have a hot tub” , and stuff like that. DW and I got “upgraded” into one shortly before the bid process started, and I would have rather had my aurea balcony.

kind of like when NCL re-did the loyalty tiers back in the late 2010's. I have platinum, which (at the time) was the highest tier on the NCL loyalty totem. You could get 4x points per day by booking certain cabins, certain destination offers, enough time in advance, and something else I am forgetting. NCL ended up with a very top-heavy loyalty program, so they made platinum the mid point. I matched in (I think) 2017, and got black (now diamond). Two years later, a woman next to me on seaside was being insistent about her match not being done properly while I was trying to book another sailing with the FCC. She was platinum on NCL and was matched to gold. I kept my mouth shut, but started wondering if MSC was doing the same thing and re-evaluating the matches.

I myeslf have accidently stepped in the elevator with y/c guests when I havent been staying in, and I have also had the reverse happen. I have had people step in and disrupt the priority service for me as well. There have been times I have gone up the glass elevators midships and walked across the deck to avoid this.

avoid short cruises and you generally avoid undesirable clientele.

DW and I were in a suite with a hot tub on Seaside some time ago. we honestly never used it. The layout of the balcony was terrible for the hot tub.

Ive had Holland America do this to me twice, Oceania do this to me once, and NCL do this to me twice, as well as MSC 3 times before the bid process -50 cruises here, this is common in the cruise industry

The promenade does not wrap. It is enclosed at the bow and stern.

hate to be "this person" but.... COVID is *never* going to go away.

i have done it over the phone. just make sure you have a confirmation email sent.

try Sobieski for an inexpensive, yet very good vodka. I actually prefer it to Belvedere.

I have found I can get a good martini on Royal Caribbean and MSC as well, and with minimum difficulty.

this is exactly why MSC rolled out the Meravigila the way they did. The hull is 'short and fat' so to speak, relative to the pax load it carries. It was deliberately designed so it could fit in ports that ships that had a similar capacity could not go. MSC explicitly mentioned Alaska several times during the build-out, so it wouldn't surprise me to see Carnival take a similar approach to this.

this is the other reason why I find it tough to get a good martini on carnival. I prefer a classic, london style dry gin. I ask what type of gin they are using before I order, and more often than not it is a new-world style. Some are ok, but bulldog (all over the carnival ships) is horrible. I'll take bombay original if I can find it.

I can go to Brazil and order a caipirinha and it is made with cachaca, as it is on MSC and Royal Caribbean, and IMO the proper way. However, I can go to the D.R or Jamaica, and have it made with rum, which would be a local interpretation. Cachaca is a type of rum made from the sugarcane itself, whereas what most people know as rum is actually made from molasses.

DW and I have run into this exact thing repeatedly. We have been told by bartenders (and observed firsthand) it has to do with people not knowing what they are ordering. Someone orders a tom collins and (correctly) wants it made with gin, and the next person comes up and orders it because they saw it on TikTok, but assumes it has vodka in it because it was in a trendy video. and what they are seeing is a vodka sour, not a tom collins. I almost always have an issue when I request a dry gin martini, up with a twist. I always get asked if I want vodka or gin, and then I repeat myself. I dont blame them for going on autipilot, especially when you are serving a large population that *thinks* that knows what they are ordering, but in actuality is getting the drink order incorrect. I have also witnessed someone trying to order a 'tequila sour', and confusing the bartender. They were next to me, so I went 'that's more commonly known as a margarita".

lolll... I'll be 62, so hope I'm still here. ...now if we post this in the HAL and Cunard forum...

Hell, there were people on the HAL forums that were ranting about the 'mega ship' size of the HAL vistas and Signatures when those first came out. FWIW, those are the same size as a Spirit class.

That's what they did on Freedom on the 3 and 4 day cruises when the ships first started sailing again

correct. My agent has never had an issue with booking me on MSC.

You can also select your dining time with Bella. Fantastica just gets priority

MSC considers flexible dining a perk of higher end cabins. They do NOT charge a fee to let you select your dining time. They simply do not permit you to select flexible dining unless you are in an Aurea level (or Yacht Club). They assign an early or late seating.

DW and I cruise on MSC, and quite enjoy them. If those in this thread are new to them, PLEASE pay attention to the Bella, Fantastica, Aurea, and Yacht Club levels. Bella is guaranteed only, and (interestingly enough) only the Aurea and Y/C permit flexible dining. MSC is good about laying out the inclusion levels.

Off of goccl.