Meraviglia this Sunday

[Cruzinforpeace***]

Here’s a picture of the pizza I just gobbled down.  Pardon the bite.

[pamelanj]

6 minutes ago, Cruzinforpeace*** said:

We are currently in Miami waiting to depart for Nassau tomorrow.  It was absolutely gorgeous today.  75 degrees and mostly sunny.  The captain made the right call skipping Cape Canaveral and the private island (it was too windy).

Great pics. How was the first day at sea? Was it freezing? Were the hot tubs hot and in use?

[Fissues]

When you go to Panorama, don’t get in line with the rest. Go right to the front and they will seat you. Plenty of two tops. Aurea rules. 

[pamelanj]

Another question…

 

tips… do they automatically charge the room daily? I wasn’t given a prepay option when I booked. 

[Beamafar]

Just now, pamelanj said:

Another question…

 

tips… do they automatically charge the room daily? I wasn’t given a prepay option when I booked. 

Then it’ll be added to your daily account. 

[Cruzinforpeace***]

20 minutes ago, pamelanj said:

Great pics. How was the first day at sea? Was it freezing? Were the hot tubs hot and in use?

I just wrote you a whole long answer and the ship wifi went out.  I have no idea if it posted so apologies if this is a repeat…

 

The first 2-3 days at sea are still cold.  It does start to warm up as you get south but we had chilly weather until today. Miami was warm but we still needed a sweatshirt most of the day because the humidity is lower this time of the year.  Not swimming weather.  I would pack layers and some sweatpants and sweatshirts for during the day.

 

We didn’t use the hot tubs outside but my son said they weren’t very warm.  We used the spa Monday and Tuesday which served as a great relaxing distraction.  The therapy pools in the spa are warm.  Highly recommend the salt room after your various room/treament visits.  My husband and I both thought it was like an “anesthesia” type sleep we sunk into.  Very otherworldly.

Edited February 7 by Cruzinforpeace***

[pamelanj]

1 minute ago, Cruzinforpeace*** said:

I just wrote you a whole long answer and the ship wifi went out.  I have no idea if it posted so apologies if this is a repeat…

 

The first 2-3 days at sea are still cold.  It does start to warm up as you get south but we had chilly weather until today. Miami was warm but we still needed a sweatshirt most of the day because the humidity is lower this time of the year.  Not swimming weather.  I would pack layers and some sweatpants and sweatshirts for during the day.

 

We didn’t use the hot tubs outside but my son said they weren’t very warm.  We used the spa Monday and Tuesday which served as a great relaxing distraction.  The therapy pools in the spa are warm.  Highly recommend the salt room after your various room/treament visits.  My husband both thought it was like an “anesthesia” type sleep we sunk into.  Very otherworldly.

Did you need to make thermal spa appointments? If so, did you set it up on day 1 for the week?

[Beamafar]

4 minutes ago, Cruzinforpeace*** said:

I just wrote you a whole long answer and the ship wifi went out. 

I’ve had that happen to me before so I sometimes write my thoughts out in Notes, then copy and paste them on here. 

[Cruzinforpeace***]

38 minutes ago, pamelanj said:

Did you need to make thermal spa appointments? If so, did you set it up on day 1 for the week?

You make the appointments the day before each appointment except for port days.  No appointments needed on port days.  You make the appointments in person at the Aurea Spa on deck 7 forward.

[JamieLogical]

49 minutes ago, pamelanj said:

Another question…

 

tips… do they automatically charge the room daily? I wasn’t given a prepay option when I booked. 

 

They actually charge the DSC to your account in one lump sum at at single point during the cruise, not each individual day. The only way to pay it ahead of time is to call the customer service number, but with you sailing in 4 days, I wouldn't bother. Just be sure to link a credit card to your onboard account at one of the kiosks once onboard.

[JamieLogical]

1 hour ago, pamelanj said:

I love Mexican food! I will definitely try that one out. Any reservations for that? Are they open for lunch?

 

You will probably want to make reservations, though you don't usually have to make them more than a day in advance or even early the same day you plan to go, if there are only two of you. They are open for lunch most days. Since your sailaway is 3:00pm, they probably won't be open for lunch on embarkation day, unfortunately.

[pamelanj]

Could someone explain the WiFi situation to me. We are gold and Aurea. Not sure if that matters.  Does this mean that only one device between the two of us will have WiFi? Or do we each get WiFi on one device for a total of 2 in the cabin?

 

My husband needs to bring his laptop to work which will be the priority. I know we cannot switch devices (weird).

 

im not too worried about being without WiFi so I could give him mine. I can still text on iPhone; right? 
 

Reading about lots of complaints about this.

[JamieLogical]

28 minutes ago, pamelanj said:

Could someone explain the WiFi situation to me. We are gold and Aurea. Not sure if that matters.  Does this mean that only one device between the two of us will have WiFi? Or do we each get WiFi on one device for a total of 2 in the cabin?

 

My husband needs to bring his laptop to work which will be the priority. I know we cannot switch devices (weird).

 

im not too worried about being without WiFi so I could give him mine. I can still text on iPhone; right? 
 

Reading about lots of complaints about this.

 

Did you book with drinks and wifi included? If so, you get wifi for one device per person (so two devices total). As you said, you cannot switch devices. Sounds like you have an iPhone so you cannot connect your iPhone and then hotspot it the way some android phones can. Does your husband have an android phone? No matter what, you will be able to connect to the ship's wifi to use the app, you just can't connect to the outside internet without the wifi package tied to that device.

[pamelanj]

5 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Did you book with drinks and wifi included? If so, you get wifi for one device per person (so two devices total). As you said, you cannot switch devices. Sounds like you have an iPhone so you cannot connect your iPhone and then hotspot it the way some android phones can. Does your husband have an android phone? No matter what, you will be able to connect to the ship's wifi to use the app, you just can't connect to the outside internet without the wifi package tied to that device.

We both have iPhones. If he didn’t need to bring the laptop and conduct business, we would be fine with the drinks/wifi that we purchased.

 

I’m reading that his laptop may be able to be a hotspot. I will test this tomorrow.

 

i don’t tend to pick up my phone while cruising except sometimes at night so I guess DH will be gobbling up the devices on this cruise since he is self employed and has to be reachable for work.

 

Thanks so much for answering all my questions! 😊

[BookBikeBeyond123]

Nice! Do you know where you are going to park?

[pamelanj]

3 hours ago, BookBikeBeyond123 said:

Nice! Do you know where you are going to park?

We decided to get car service because when I priced out parking it was quite expensive anyway. We live about 1.5 hrs from Brooklyn.

[PistolPete13]

Here is a link to a photo album of my 11 day sailing last month from NYC including some food photos. 

Let me know if you have specific questions!

https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjB5C8d

 

[pamelanj]

47 minutes ago, PistolPete13 said:

Here is a link to a photo album of my 11 day sailing last month from NYC including some food photos. 

Let me know if you have specific questions!

https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjB5C8d

 

Wow! Thanks for sharing your album. You are an amazing photographer! The bird in flight pics were awesome.

 

What dates were you on your cruise? I love the snow vs 84 degree variation.😊

[PistolPete13]

29 minutes ago, pamelanj said:

Wow! Thanks for sharing your album. You are an amazing photographer! The bird in flight pics were awesome.

 

What dates were you on your cruise? I love the snow vs 84 degree variation.😊

Thank you.

 

I was on the Mera from 1/15-1/26. 

Cozumel, Costa Maya, Ocean Cay, and Miami were the major stops.

Feels like a long time ago now!  LOL 

Edited February 8 by PistolPete13

[pamelanj]

3 minutes ago, PistolPete13 said:

Thank you.

 

I was on the Mera from 1/15-1/26. 

Cozumel, Costa Maya, Ocean Cay, and Miami were the major stops.

Feels like a long time ago now!  LOL 

Did your itinerary having you do 2 days at sea on way back? Just wondering if that first day is still somewhat warm? Hoping to have some warm days.

 

Was this your first MSC? I saw on your profile that NCL is your favorite. How did MSC compare?

 

We were on NCL NYE cruise out of FL and it seems like months ago!  

[PistolPete13]

6 minutes ago, pamelanj said:

Did your itinerary having you do 2 days at sea on way back? Just wondering if that first day is still somewhat warm? Hoping to have some warm days.

 

Was this your first MSC? I saw on your profile that NCL is your favorite. How did MSC compare?

 

We were on NCL NYE cruise out of FL and it seems like months ago!  

Lot's of details on my semi-Live thread below:
 

Unfortunately we sailed out during one of the strongest cold snaps of this winter so far.  It was both the temps and wind that made it uncomfortable to be outside until we were south of Florida and only then barely warm (see the photos of me on deck with sweats and a hoodie).

But typically on winter sailings (I've done 3 from NYC now) the first and last 2 sea days don't expect too much time outdoors.  One of the reasons I decided a balcony was not worth it this time of the year.

[buffet24]

On 2/8/2024 at 10:16 AM, PistolPete13 said:

Here is a link to a photo album of my 11 day sailing last month from NYC including some food photos. 

Let me know if you have specific questions!

https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjB5C8d

 

Damn... your camera is like the ICON of Cameras...  🤣   Awesome Pix!!!

[mets07]

Just wanted to add our experience with Aurea and dining on Meraviglia in November. We had absolutely no problem getting a 2-top and we never had a line. We always had a table in a nice spot. I think we typically went between 6:45 and 7:15pm.

 

Have a great time!

[sammee]

On 2/8/2024 at 10:16 AM, pamelanj said:

We decided to get car service because when I priced out parking it was quite expensive anyway. We live about 1.5 hrs from Brooklyn.

I sailed the Jan 26- Feb 4 cruise. I'm also Jersey Shore area. We ended up getting a family member to take us. We are in Manchester Twp. The prices of legit uber/taxi/shuttles were not a money saver for us. There were a lot of cheap car services, but they aren't legit. People are using their private cars, making up business cards and fb businesslike pages to advertise, some trying to say they are x-uber drivers to show experience.
My sister in law wanted me to go with one. As soon as I looked it up, I knew. Problem with that is, if they get pulled over, you aren't going to make your trip. If they get in an accident, insurance can say no payment. Modern day gypsy cabs, lol. It's your choice, but I figured I should say something since there's so many of them in our area.

[pamelanj]

On 2/12/2024 at 3:41 PM, sammee said:

I sailed the Jan 26- Feb 4 cruise. I'm also Jersey Shore area. We ended up getting a family member to take us. We are in Manchester Twp. The prices of legit uber/taxi/shuttles were not a money saver for us. There were a lot of cheap car services, but they aren't legit. People are using their private cars, making up business cards and fb businesslike pages to advertise, some trying to say they are x-uber drivers to show experience.
My sister in law wanted me to go with one. As soon as I looked it up, I knew. Problem with that is, if they get pulled over, you aren't going to make your trip. If they get in an accident, insurance can say no payment. Modern day gypsy cabs, lol. It's your choice, but I figured I should say something since there's so many of them in our area.

Oh no, we used a legit car service that we have used for years. It was more money than paying to park but the stress free ride was worth it to us.