BikiniBlonde

This is good advice. I was going over the fine print of my third-party travel insurance policy (John Hancock) and it stated that the death benefit wouldn’t be paid for heart-related ailments. Not something that would matter to everyone, but exceptions for anything are something a traveler should learn. The exact wording was: “No benefit is payable for loss resulting from or due to stroke, cerebral vascular or cardiovascular Accident or event, myocardial infarction (heart attack), coronary thrombosis or aneurysm.” But it will pay for dental care if you get your teeth knocked out, so there’s that. 😄

I didn’t read every reply, so someone may have mentioned this already. I wanted to recommend the CruisePlum website for finding solo cruising deals. There’s a search function where you can narrow down deals, for example, based on room type or region. Someone recommended the website on the Solo Cruisers category here on CC. For the past couple of years, I have cruised mostly solo on MSC and have yet to pay a single supplement. I cruised solo on a 10-day S. Caribbean on Celebrity in September and my single supplement fare was about 10% . MSC was just starting in the US market when I first started solo cruising and then COVID happened, so both of those things may have caused me to have good fortune in booking solo deals. For instance, I booked a 25-night cruise TA to the Caribbean AND Europe for May. I used a 30% off coupon which I got from playing poker games on an iPhone app (no money, just playing for fun), so I DID have some help, but the total for a solo, balcony room, was around $1700, with $500 OBC. I hope you will continue to cruise, as a solo. I cruise for the same reasons you do: the solitude of a balcony room is wonderful, but if I feel sociable, I have several choices just outside my door. I gain a sense of pride for doing things in port that I never thought I would do without a partner. I mean group excursions, not exploring on my own. I’m adventurous, not foolish. 😉

This thread is def skewed toward YouTube-haters. 😂 I get that, but if you look at the number of views travel vloggers have on YouTube, you can see there are multitudes who watch, and there is competition for watchers. His video started off a little negative, but he wasn’t hating on his entire cruise. He pointed out several things he liked, such as the design of the ship, so he wasn’t doing a hatchet job. He wasn’t complaining about kids in the disco as an annoyance. He was warning MSC, the biggest European cruise line, that its entry into the US market could spell disaster if a minor was sexually assaulted. Besides Covid hurting their business for a few years, cruise lines are often in the news for negative reasons: service cuts, price hikes, passengers and crew publicized fights, and suicide/accidental falls overboard. His opinion was that minors in a nightclub especially without parental supervision, could lead to more bad publicity. Of course he wants cruise lines to be successful — part of his income deoends on it. He’s not a vlogger who fawns over new ships. He’s willing to share the unsavory side of cruising. Based on his cabin, an inside, that his travel-agent sponsor paid for (probably a freebie) it’s safe to say he’s not getting the Owner’s Suite for his reviews. I wish all the vloggers success, except when their vlogging interferes with passengers trying to enjoy their cruise. SMH at the horrible, entitled behavior others posted about.

About 15 minutes

In December, in St. Kitts, I went to Palms Court Gardens. It was a restaurant with beautiful gardens, pool, with view of the ocean (and cruise ships). I was able to walk there from the cruise ship. The setting was tranquil; only a few other guests, who were quietly enjoying themselves. I had a lobster roll and the best plantain chips ever for lunch. They have a gift shop, too. It was the best excursion of my 10-day cruise on Equinox. They responded quickly to my email. www.palmscourtgardens.com IMG_1935.MOV

I don’t fault MSC for the price of drink packages, not when cruise prices are so low and value high.

I’m not complaining, I’m just amused that drinking aboard my cruise costs more than what I paid to eat, sleep and be entertained on my cruise. I’m a lightweight drinker, so I will not be signing up for this package. 😊

Fishfan0073, in your very first post, you mentioned you didn’t see many reviews with photos. Since you haven’t cruised in a long time, you may not know that everybody and their brother has a YouTube channel about cruising. So if you’re curious about what your MSC cabin will look like, or the restaurants, head over to YouTube. Bon voyage.

Not sure about all the MSC ships, but on the Meraviglia, there are many hand washing stations at the entrance of the buffet. You don’t have to push any bathroom doors open to wash up, and sinks seem low enough for those in scooters to navigate. I really like this encouragement to wash hands and not just use sanitizer. The crew is accustomed to handling people on scooters. Your questions aren’t silly. Don’t hesitate to ask. Also CPAP machines are given special consideration. For instance, you may need an extension cord, which passengers normally aren’t allowed to have, but you can. If you search with keyword CPAP, you can find more advice. Good luck, and I hope you have the best time ever!!