Elvisfans

On 11/26/2023 at 6:27 PM, ChiefMateJRK said:

Thanks.  It looks like this would work as well:

Port of MIAMI (US MIA) details - Departures, Expected Arrivals and Port Calls | AIS MarineTraffic

Port of Miami is better. Embarking today, says B  very clearly.  Thanks so much for the info

On 12/2/2021 at 10:27 PM, Crew News said:

I will pass on your cons to Vanessa, Guest Relations, tomorrow since I am 

Hi.  This has nothing to do with this particular post, but I ve been following your excellent reviews and you are very knowledgeable.  We're boarding the NS next week on the 12th for a 2 week B2B. I seem to recall seeing your post re Grand Turk canceled the week of the 19th. Do you know what port they replaced it with? I've been trying to access their website all day and it seems they're doing some work on it, it's been inaccessible all day.

Steve

On 12/3/2018 at 4:55 PM, TnTom said:

Day 5

Thanks so much for posting,  TnTom. We've  never been on MSC and were wondering  what activities  were on offer. Seems similar to what we've  experienced  on other lines.

Looming forward to meeting you all.

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I , too have the same question re which is better. sorry I can't help.

But I have my own question. What do you do with your stuff while you're bathing? My wife and I would like to bathe together but are worried aboutr someone making off with our stuff ( yes, we're from NY :-( )

I read posts all the time about what to pack, how much to take, and what not to forget. Most of them seem to be from a lady’s perspective, so I thought I’d write a post from my male perspective.

 

We were recently on the Celebrity Reflection (7 days, Eastern Caribbean), and I’ve cruised about half a dozen other times, so I do have a reasonable amount of experience. All cruises have been to the Caribbean, so I can’t really offer much perspective about what to take to Alaska, the Med, or Europe.

 

As a bit of background, I typically dress business casual for work (slacks and polo or open collar button down shirt). I wear a sport coat/shirt/tie combo some days, too. I own two tuxes because I do attend the occasional black tie event and I just would rather own a tux than rent. I own two because for some reason, clothing tends to shrink if it sits in the closet for too long, so one is a little too snug!!  LOL

 

I believe in respecting the cruise lines recommended dress codes and would rather be overdressed than underdressed in any situation.

 

So here’s my packing list from our recent trip, and I’ve also noted what I actually wore.

 

Shaving kit with the essentials…. Travel size toothpaste, hair spray and hair gel, cheap electric toothbrush, deodorant, hair brush. Disposable razor, Small quantity of Tylenol and 10 days worth of prescription medication (7 day cruise, but wanted to have extra just in case). I’m fine using the ships shampoo, conditioner, soap, lotion, etc. No need to bring those along. We also had two bottles of sunscreen that we shared.

 

Tuxedo (jacket, pants, shirt, bow tie, cummerbund. – Although there were two formal nights, we planned to eat in a specialty restaurant one formal night, and the attire for those isn’t formal on any night. On formal nights, about 5% of the guys had tuxes, and another 20% had suits or sport coats with ties. Many of the rest had jackets with open collar shirts, and some just had slacks and a polo or button down.

 

Slacks – In addition to the tux pants, I took a pair of nice khakis, and two pair of black slacks. I wore the khakis and one pair of the black pants.

Sport coat – I took a black sport coat that I intended to wear to dinner most nights. I wore it one night, but could have (and should have) just left it at home.

 

Shirts – I took five button down long sleeve shirts, four Tommy Bahama shirts, three polo shirts, and three T-shirts. I wore one of the long sleeve shirts (with the sport coat) and two of the Tommy Bahama shirts, all of the polo and T shirts.

 

Tie – I brought a tie, just in case I wanted to wear it with a sport coat one night. I never wore it.

 

Shorts – I took four pair of shorts (and had another pair on when we boarded). I wore two pair.

 

Bathing suits - took two and wore them both.

 

Baseball cap - great to have on excursions.

 

Shoes – black dress, brown dress, crocs, flip flops, and I wore Sperry Topsiders on board. I wore everything but the brown dress shoes (opting for the Topsiders with my khakis).

 

I also brought enough underwear, a T-shirt to sleep in, and socks. In my case, it was one pair of socks because I hate to wear socks, but I thought I’d wear a pair with my tux!! 

 

Dinner attire was typically slacks and a Tommy Bahama or Golf shirt. We ate in either the main dining room or a specialty restaurant every night. If I wasn’t pool side or on an excursion (we did snorkeling and boating), I had on shirts and a golf/polo shirt. I’m not one of those who roams the ship all day in a bathing suit and a t-shirt.

 

Everything I brought fit easily into a larger (27”) rolling suitcase. All my dress shirts, slacks, sport coat and tux, were each left on hangers and packed in individual plastic dry cleaner bags and folded neatly into my suitcase. Doing this prevents 95% of the wrinkles and avoids the need to have items pressed or worn looking wrinkled. Having most of my clothes on hangers makes unpacking really easy, too. Don't be worried about wearing the same thing more than once (assuming it's clean). Nobody will care, and most likely nobody will even notice.

 

 

If you’re putting your bags out the last night before departure. Here’s a tip…….. pack everything except what you’ll be wearing in the morning and what (if anything) you’ll be sleeping in. Go ahead and pack your shaving kit, too, but leave out the products you’ll need in the morning. When you get dressed in the morning, just throw away what’s left of the travel size stuff. I even throw away my toothbrush. My girlfriend does the same, except for her cosmetics.

 

When we walk off the ship, all we have is a very small carry-on with her cosmetics, whatever we wore the night before, reading glasses, and our electronics and paperwork.

 

I hope this helps! Enjoy your cruise!!

Thanks for the post, we're leaving in 2 weeks and I've been losing sleep over what to pack.

Steve