17 minutes ago, tonyfall1 said:

Yes we were on the same cruise. Bad planning on my part I assumed most kids would be in school but I found out, New York, Georgia, Michigan and others were off for the week.

We were on the same cruise as well. This was our third February winter break cruise with MSC (my boys are 14 and 17). We did Easter last year. This year was the most amount of kids I have seen on any of our MSC cruises. I think people are starting to discover MSC. We heard many around us complaining and comparing to Carnival. I’ve done one Carnival cruise and will never do again. But that’s just me. Our balcony faced Carnival’s ship in Nassau and the Meraviglia shone like the star she is. 
 

Your review was spot on. Our main complaint was Elegant night dining. We had the same seating and dining room as you. We were last to leave the dining room. Our waiter was bombarded with tables as he also had the Aurea diners as well as his assigned tables. Other waiters were standing around and one was even preening in the mirror. We spoke to the manager regarding this and tipped our waiter well at the end as service was no fault of his. He really busted his back trying to serve the back corner. 
 

I look forward to going back to Ocean Cay as we discovered the beach you spoke of after DH and I took a walk. Definitely quieter! 
 

Thanks for your review!

9 minutes ago, Diver2014 said:

Since Daytona is about halfway between Jacksonville and Pt Canaveral, there's going to be lots of traffic in either direction on I 95.  It took us 2 hours to drive from Jacksonville to Pt Canaveral last month and that was with light traffic.  If I were you, I'd be on the road by 8am at the latest.

Thanks! I’m pushing for 7:30. This makes me feel better. 

We are driving from Buffalo to Jacksonville next Saturday for Sunday cruise out of Port Canaveral. What will be morning traffic be like with the Daytona 500? We’d like to be at port by 11. DH and I have a difference of opinion on when to get on road! 🤣 Thanks. 

11 minutes ago, craigtompkins said:

When doing the web check-in the MSC website assumes everyone is traveling with a passport.  My wife's passport is being renewed so our cruise in just over 2 weeks she might have to use a birth certificate instead of the passport.  Is there any way to do the web check-in using the birth certificate?  Do we need to call? Or just check in at the port? (Port Canaveral)

Call. My husband and I have passports but I had to call to have them override fir my children . It took less than 5 minutes. I was able to then print out our tickets for our 2/19 sailing. 

I miss MSC’s old drink program.. the vouchers .

10 hours ago, JT1962 said:

Parking at the port is the best option. No waiting for shuttles to offsite locations. Only $ 17 per day, including first / last day. Pay for 8 days on a 7 day cruise.

Agree! And much more affordable than Miami port. This is first time we are cruising out of Port Canaveral where we have to park. Just for convenience the extra cost is worth it versus getting shuttle to and fro. 

3 hours ago, gcruse7 said:

Has anyone had trouble getting on the www.thenativechoice.com website recently?  I looked at tours back at the end of December, but today (Jan 15, 2023) Chrome can't load the website.  It says 

 

This page isn’t working

www.thenativechoice.com redirected you too many times.

 

We just did a booking on their website the other day with ease for next month. Maybe it’s just a glitch. 

When you are on MSC website and looking at cruises to book, there is a box that’s asks if you’d like someone in concierge to call you. You’ll fill out your name, email address and phon number. There is a Dropbox that lets you pick when you’d like a call. 

I just booked for the first time with the concierge this morning for February 23 sailing. My other MSC cruises I either called directly or booked online. I filled out form last night for a call today between 9am and 10am. It was a great experience. I felt she was experienced and answered all my questions without hesitation. This is first time I booked with less than a 6-12 month window and  had a few concerns. We had an awful experience with MSC service our last sailing and decided to give them one more go (though they did make up for the bungled reservation with add’l discount and OBC). 
What is the most appealing aspect of using the concierge service is that I have a direct contact number for her. Should any issues/questions arise, I can reach out directly to her. She is available Mon-Friday 9-5. 

We used it for our 4/9 sailing. So easy and worry free. 

2 hours ago, NCTribeFan said:

Can't believe I missed the omelets after all that circling of the buffet stations!

 

Looks like Divina will be in Miami by next January.  Of course, that's all still subject to change!  I may book her if my DD wants to go.

 

Yes, I've often had servers who seem to assume that I must be waiting for someone to join me.  They should ask, though, not assume.

 

Actually, the first night at the Shine Bar (where I had to teach the bartenders how to make a Dark & Stormy), a guy selling dining packages walked up and the first thing he said was "why are you alone?"  My response was "what?"  He repeated it.  Uh, because I'm sailing solo!  And he again said "but why are you alone?"  BECAUSE I WANT TO BE!  Maybe some of these folks are just from highly patriarchal societies where they just don't see women out by themselves.  But if they're going to be working with people from different cultures, they should be made aware that this is not all THAT uncommon these days.  I'm not sure whether I actually saw anyone else on the entire ship that appeared to be solo, ,though.

 

Does MSC send out emails for feedback after their cruises?  I can't remember whether I got them in the past or not.  There were several things I wanted to share with them.

I got a survey.  It allowed for a brief comment at the end. 

5 hours ago, NCTribeFan said:

No masking on Summit.  As we walked onto the ship, we were told we could remove our masks.  

Had it been necessary to muster on Summit, I would've kept a mask on while the masses were packed onto the staircases.

 

The thing with Seashore was that everything prior to sailing, and onboard the ship, stated that masks were required.  If you aren't going to enforce that, then take it out of all the documentation.

 

My issue with it was that everything SAID we were to be masked yet very few were actually masked, including small children in crowded areas, who I'm pretty sure weren't vaccinated.  Just enforce your own rules or eliminate them!

 

I wore a mask in the airport and on the flight home.  There were many small children on the flight, also.  I haven't been this careful for the past 2+ years to end up getting sick now!

We were on the April 9th sailing. We’ve sailed Seaside and Divina. We had cruises booked on both Armonia and Meraviglia but both canceled during Covid. 
We enjoyed our cruise very much. I believe we had around 3100 passengers and didn’t feel as crowded on as our full sailing on Seaside in 2020. There were lots of empty seats at the shows (we rotated the early and late shows). My husband and I went to Le Cabernet nightly and enjoyed it much more than the main theater. 
We wore our masks whenever inside. My 14 year old was the most vigilant of us. Both my husband and 17 year old came down with sore throats on Friday and when we got home Sunday night, they tested positive for Covid. Several others (from a group Facebook page) tested positive as well upon return home. 
We went 2years and four months avoiding Covid. Fortunately both only had bad head colds and somehow my 14 year old and I remained negative. That’s even after driving from Miami to Buffalo! Our MDR server went missing after 3rd night without explanation so we think that could have been our exposure but who knows. We did take taxis in Cozumel and Grand Cayman (but we were masked). 
MDR was fine, nothing that knocked our socks off. Buffet was as expected. The omelet stations were at the back. My husband had one most mornings. 
We went to Sports bar a couple of times and service was iffy as well. Bartenders were arguing with each other our second time there. 
We had so many issues prior to booking with MSC we said we likely wouldn’t sail again unless they cruise experience on board  made up for it. It did. MSC gave us additional OBC to what we already had (to make up for their many blunders… like canceling our reservation the day before we were to leave)! We ended up the last night struggling to spend it. Husband went to duty free and we are stocked up for the next year in tequila and gin🤣. 
I like the smaller ships as well as that’s how I was introduced to cruising. Kids like the bigger ships as there are more bells and whistles for them. 

We just got off Seashore. We originally booked an ocean view room that was switched to a GTY a few weeks later with their new room assignments/designations. The last week of March we were finally assigned our room which was a fantastica balcony. It’s the only time we’ve been upgraded. 

13 minutes ago, seapad said:

May I ask what's the expiration for your kits?

5/2/23. I didn’t even think to check so thanks! 
 

9 minutes ago, seapad said:

We are going on the Seashore in April. Planning to purchase the Covid test kits doing the proctored EMED test. Wondering what everyone else has been doing? 

Just to see if there are better or more price efficient options.

By the way, where I live, the local pharmacies do not offer rapid antigen test, so that is not an option for me.

 

Thanks, 

My eMed kits just came today. I ordered for the same reason. The local pharmacies around me don’t offer rapid test results. I’m not sure if the availability is low as they were available this past winter.  We are driving down to Miami and I don’t have time calling urgent cares and labs in hopes of finding rapid tests. I gave up after one urgent care told me that testing for travel does not qualify for the rapid testing. This was the easiest option to me. 

5 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

YES !

My 14 year old said thanks!

Does anyone know if there are volleyball nets on Ocean Cay? TIA!

You are sailing now? 

Thanks! My boys are 16 and 13. They have learned the hard way when the FunPass credit is gone, it’s gone! (Like on day 3 of a 7 day)!

I’ve bought the FunPass in the past prior to the sale date. I cannot remember if the deal is better to purchase ahead (with the extra credit) or if it’s the same deal on ship. Can anyone answer? We have a lot of onboard credit and if deal is the same, I’d wait and buy onboard.  Thanks! 

5 hours ago, juancarlosgarciasanchez said:

If I may suggest. Most Walgreens in Florida have Rapid COVID test centers via their drive-up pharmacy service  window.  The online appointments open exactly seven days @ midnight and you will have the opportunity to secure an online appointment for all your friends for free. Additionally, Walgreens is a very reliable pharmacy chain and your rapid test results will be available by the end of the business day. Just load-up your car, save your time, energy and money and make the drive to Walgreens and avoid these profit-for-covid test centers. 

Most of our Walgreens are  24-48 hour returns. I’ve tried. 

2 hours ago, cherylnj said:

Rapid tests are getting pretty scarce around here (Sumter County). Not taking any chances and ordered more Emed tests. I sail on the 27th. 

Appointments around us are getting scarce as well as places are cutting back on testing. The trying to find an appointment for four, worrying about getting results in time or driving 23 hours to take a chance and get tested morning  of cruise (when we get to Miami) are not worth the anxiety. I decided to order from Emed for my sanity (and avoid driving husband and kids crazy). 

47 minutes ago, momrox1 said:

I have friends joining me on a cruise in two weeks.  I cannot for the life of me find a rapid antigen or rapid naat test appt. within 50 miles of their residence as I try to make a mock appt.  I try cvs and walgreens with no luck.  they only have the pcr which is running beyond two days.   My question is will MSC test them at the pier if they have no other options?  And what would the charge be?  Please only respond if you know first hand...things change .. I was on MSC this past week and also in January...in January with 500 guests they tested us at the pier but last week there was no testing with 3500 guests.  I was told it was because there were "too many people".  So that is not the test I'm inquiring about...I'm asking about the required test results taken within 48 hours that you do on your own. Thanks! 

I am somewhat in the same boat leaving in three weeks. We are driving from western New York to Miami with a limited time frame and concerned about not getting the results in time (turnaround is 1-2 days but not guaranteed). 
You can purchase Abbotts Binax home monitor test at eMed.com. Six tests are $150. You have your results in 15 minutes and it’s proctored. We recently did this for a trip to Hawaii but tests were provided by my husband’s employer. I’m leaning towards doing this for the cruise … I think the cost is worth avoiding my increased anxiety. 🤣

4 hours ago, bigblue1952 said:

Does anyone know if the 5%+15% voyagers club discount can be applied after the cruise has been paid in full?  Thanks for your help.

 

Forrest

I think some people have said they’ve received the credit in OBC. 

1 hour ago, SUSIEK said:

I am ok with it too..... BUT I live 1 1/2hours  from the port.  If, for some odd chance, I test positive at the port after testing negative 2 days before, I turn around and drive home.  Think of those that are flying in.  That's a huge hassle and anxiety for those people.  I can understand that. 

Or as a family of four, driving 23 hours because holiday (Easter airfare) was astronomical on top of cruise!! Our schools just lifted mask mandates but I have kids still wearing to avoid any potential risk of infection.