Love2Cruz2015

44 minutes ago, bowlinmoe said:

Thanks for the pics.  My wife and I did the Vista last year and we are doing the Horizon next month.

 

Did you try Guy's Pig & Anchor?  Is the pizza still good?

Pizza still good.  I did try Guys bbq, pretty good,  it I’m not a big bbq person in general..the roasted chicken was good imo.

Review:

To sum up in one word- AWESOME!

Similar in layout to Vista with a few upgrades...

Elevator is computerized now,  much less waiting .

Schwartz was our cruise director,  very cool, reminds me of Matt  but.    

Matt is still the best.

food quality was great

waterpark was awesome I did both slides and I turned 50 on this trip 😎 and became a PLATINUM member 🥳 love the perks!

Any questions, feel free to ask.

.....a few more

Spring Break on the Horizon 

A few pics:

I like that I booked a massage and get thermal area access for the week. It is not cheap but the throw in of spa access makes it worth it. Haven’t seen pics of it yet, if anyone has photos please post. I know there are different rain showers, salt room, thallotherapy whirlpool etc, I’ll be spending lots of time there while my kid enjoys the kids club.:D

I’m a non YC cruiser and since I cruise several times a year I choose not to book YC. However, I was on the orchestra and thoroughly enjoyed my time in Europe. I disagree that the staff doesn’t care, I thought the crew went above and beyond. my opinion.:D

Congratulations Love2Cruz2015! Enjoy your cruise!

 

Worth keeping in mind, that even though you've had a cabin upgrade, it doesn't mean you now get the Aurea 'experience' - you will still have the Fantastica one (at least this is my understanding)

Yeah I figured as much but still happy with the upgrade. I might buy a spa package on board that gives me accesss to thermal area. Want to takealook at it before paying for it. I will definitely have one or two massages for myself and daughter.

This is a surprise Spring Break cruiseformy daughter. I bet you hekidsclub will be packed and she’ll make friends.:D

So I booked a guaranteee OV Fantasdtica cabin last night on the Seaside for Spring Break 2018 and a day later I was assigned an Aurea balcony on deck 13!

And I will be starting a live review from the boat.

Can’t wait!!!!!

When I sailed from Venice last year, I got them at check-in.

Great pics! Keep them coming!

BTW...if you look at the deck plans on cruisedeckplans.com, the two decks are differerent in the aft section, cabin placement of the last cabin starboard side. The stairs are in a different place too.

Maybe I just need to book and find out for myself.:cool:

It's not an outside as there are 10 balcony cabins next to 9282 on the deck plan and there are only 10 balconies when you view cabins in an image of the ship. I've marked the 10 balconies on deck 14, which is the same as deck 9.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pete

Thanks Pete I knew I could count on you....since it's so close to the outdoor stairs, I'm tempted to book at a fabulous price. I never do inside, but I might make an exception here as outdoor access is right outside the cabin.(according to the deck plan)

When I sailed on an aft balcony on Orchestra, we were next to the public space with the stairs....it was very accessible to those in the aft section of the ship. I know this is a different design, but looks like they kept the aft staircases.

Can anyone tell me about this cabin on Deck 9?

It's the last inside cabin starboard side. It looks like there is open space next to the stairs.

Is it one of those hidden "secret" outdoor cabins for inside prices?

Thanks for the review.

I agree with you on the food at the MDR...but the buffet more than made up for it imo. After 3 nights in the MDR, we had the rest of the meals in the buffet and a specialty dining.

I might wait to sail the Meraviglia until she is in Miami.

Hi folks,

Been so busy haven't posted much, but I will be embarking on my second Vista cruise this weekend on a 6 day Western Carib itinerary.

I've already posted a Trip Report (link below) so will not be doing so this time around. I will however post anything new that I didn't get to experience the first time.

I think Matt will be our cruise director unless he's still galavanting in Alaska.:cool:

Woo Hoo Can't wait to board!

I'm a fairly regular Carnival cruiser, and as far as design and decor goes, Carnival can't hold a candle to MSC, and I'm including their newer ships like Breeze and Vista which I have both sailed. Food wise, I'd say it's similar although obviously more Italian influenced which I loved being Italian myself.

I have only been on orchestra and not on the newer Divina but planning a Seaside cruise for next summer.

Expect to be wowed by the MSC beauty and elegance.

I'm happy for Mike Pack, sailed with him twice, and he's my second favorite after Matt.

Matt sure is easy on the eyes though....:hearteyes:

I'll be on the Horizon in March of 2019 so ways to go!

Any news on her? Is she a Meraviglia sister ship? Deck plans or unique on-board experiences announced yet?

I've booked from 6th April for 2 weeks out of Marseille. Booked a super family cabin which are like gold dust!

Please let us know how you get on. We too have to sort cabin number out later... bit worrying as invoice says decided on embarkation.

So excited 23 months to go!

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That's awesome, I expect chaos so maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.:p I plan to arrive at least 2 days early so I'm calm and not sleep deprived for embarkation....lol

I did hear embarkation at Genoa is very organized as it's their home...but I'm expecting there to be hick-ups with service. At least I get to check off another item on my bucket list.:)

Wow, I'm glad I came onto the site this morning and just learned about the Bellissima. I booked a balcony cabin and took advantage of the extra discount. One of the things on my bucket list is to cruise on a Maiden

Voyage, this happens to fall on a milestone birthday so it's perfect timing.

They did screw up the stateroom number on the website but I can call later and get it fixed. Also like that we got a Cirque show and dinner included. Ways to go...but as always, CC comes through with great info.

Anyone else booked?

What to expect on a maiden voyage? I expect there to be a learning curve with new crew and all...but the idea of being the first guests to sleep in a brand new bed and be the first to shower in a new bathroom is alluring to me....:cool:

On an Italian ship, there is no deck 17. It's superstition, like 13 in our culture.

And 13 is good luck in Italy.

This just popped up on one of my feeds. Very inspirational, with very good suggestions for anyone thinking of any sort of dietary change.

 

Venus Williams Opens Up About Going Vegan to Fight Her Autoimmune Disease

http://motto.time.com/4634460/venus-williams-autoimmune-disease-vegan-diet/

And I recently learned Tom Brady, the best quarterback in the NFL is also a Vegetarian/vegan.:D

I had a wonderfully easy time finding vegan food on a visit to Rome- in every restaurant I went to, the waiters were very familiar with the vegan diet, and were happy to make suggestions from the menu and also offered off-menu selections. Yummy vegan gelato was everywhere, too. What a terrific surprise! Later I found out that many Italians are lactose-intolerant so restaurants and even local pizzarias are used to diners requesting no cheese on their entrees!

 

I realize it won't taste the same, especially at first, but there are a lot of great vegan cheeses around- maybe experiment a bit, starting with half regular and half vegan cheese in a recipe, and see if you can get used to the taste?

I was in Venice last summer and no where did I see vegan gelato...but I wasn't looking for it either, so maybe that's why. :o I know I can just order spaghetti marinara or with garlic and oil...but then I'd miss the grated romano on top lol.

I did try almond milk and though I would probably be okay drinking it on it's own, I hated it in coffee, warmed up as a substitute for fat free milk in a cappucino.

I also read as far as healthy diets go, "they" rank vegetarian diet to be healthier than vegan. Not sure why, but I read that in a lot of places, it could be that the dairy and eggs provide some nutritional value that a purely plant based diet doesn't. I don't know. I just started this less than a month ago so I am still learning. I'm still just proud and even surprised myself that I could even go this long without touching meat or fish so maybe it's a journey that would eventually lead there at least for the majority of meals...who knows.

I have indian food about twice a week, I'm loving it..My favorite so far is saag paneer and vegetable korma. And veggie samosa.

I don't think I can ever go full on vegan, though I'm certainly open to having vegan meals. Though I'm now vegetarian for health reasons, it's a plus that I am not contributing to unethical treatment of animals...though I've been a meat eater all my life, so I wouldn't judge anyone. I also reconcile with the fact that milk and eggs are byproducts of animals...but again, don't want to turn this into an ethical discussion. My reasoning is strictly for health reasons, but it does make me feel good too for no longer eating meat or fish. Fish is now farmed and it comes from less than sanitary regions of the world, I started getting turned off to it for a while now, especially things like shrimp and tilapia which are farmed in Indonesia and China. Meat and chicken is injected with so many growth hormones and other junk that it too has turned me off.

I want to cut more dairy but I am working on it...I'm Italian and love all things with cheese :o But that's a work in progress.

Very interesting discussion. I have recently switched to a vegetarian diet myself for health reasons, I still consume dairy, though trying to limit due to high cholesterol and I still have my morning cappucino, but with fat free milk instead. Not going to exclude eggs either, but reducing.

I have since found there are SOOOOOOO many options for vegetarians and I am loving the way I feel. Some of my meals are vegan but not most.

I also have a new found fondness for Indian food. They really know how to cook interesting veg meals so I'm delighted to read that I can get Indian food at the MDR.

Do I just speak with the waiter on my first night, or can I note it somewhere on the reservation?

I don't miss meat at all...I do miss sushi, but I've adapted well, looking forward to seeing my lab work next MD visit to see if it has made an impact. I think this is a long term thing for me.

Also to add to the discussion, from what I recall, there is always a vegetarian option on the MDR menu...but may not be vegan.