markwfpb

Aha. I don't blame her with that double whammy! Especially being in the nicest cabin on the ship! We had the opposite - Sailed the Nieuw Amsterdam in fall '21 when passengers and crew all had to be vaxed and have a negative covid test 48 hours before the cruise (remember those days?). Then we were tested every 4 or 5 days on board (it was a 17 day Panama Canal). No masks needed! Never felt so safe as that bubble - even packed into tour buses. It was almost eerie feeling that freedom at that time in the middle of the pandemic - like we were on another planet. Cut to last March on the Divina. From the flight there (including a terminal change in Atlanta) and all the time on board, virtually no one wore a mask. We did mask due to caregiving duties back home - didn't want to return with anything. But after three years of avoidance, we both got it. Both were relatively mild cases, but it was a terrible way to spend our one week of vacation for the year! I must say it was nice being in the Yacht Club at least - spending some time on the balcony.

Thanks for all your responses and everyone else's as well! On Divina, we enjoyed Top Sail and the pool but it's not like they were THAT amazing that it would be worth breaking the rules (let alone a lock!). I think the Yacht Club can have such a buildup that people may expect it to be much more than it really is. All things being equal, I'd rather be back in a HAL Neptune suite on the Nieuw Amsterdam where's nothing "extra" to even break into other than the Pinnacle Lounge with no windows or real reason to hang out in! We loved the crows nest, music row, restaurants, etc. - all of which could be accessed by anyone! Maybe my opinion will change after sailing Seascape!

Hi, I've seen various references in different posts about "interlopers", officer family/friends and plain old sneaky people finding their way into the Yacht Club. Having sailed on the Divina three times over the past five years, I've never noticed it all. But we'll be on the Seascape early next year and it sounds like it's a whole different ballgame on that class of ship. So I kinda want to know what to expect to level my expectations - do the Top Sail and pool areas get overly crowded? Is there a wait in the dining room? Do kids take over the place?! I know every experience is different (YMMV) but is there a consensus if this issue really affects the YC experience for the average passenger? It seems like if the ship's officers and families are there, it's a perk of the job (I don't know if that's the case), but people just strolling in seems like a different thing altogether. Thanks!

Yes, there is an annual Holistic cruise that is usually hosted on MSC that most likely fits what you're looking for. The next one is March 2024. I don't think I can "advertise" it on here, but it should come up pretty high on a google search.

Yep, I get it. I've had many friends over the years who smoke (and three who have sadly died from cancer years later - ugh). I'm not against smoking areas on ships at all. But when people don't follow the rules, that's the problem, of course. I simply don't understand HAL's policy on enforcing the rules. Like I said, the people I reported it to were somewhat appalled that it was even happening. But it seemed like it was up to that cabin's steward to enforce the rules (that's who guest services called, at least) but maybe I'm wrong. Shouldn't it be escalated to Security rather than a lowly steward working for tips? There were several times when a pack of Marlboros (and a yellow pack his wife smokes) were on the balcony table during the day. And to clarify, the smoke was very noticeable even though it was a few balconies below and forward. I'm not highly sensitive to smoke - but our balcony seemed to be in the perfect draft for the smoke. I was told other people had reported it as well, for what it's worth.

Throughout our 17 day Panama Canal cruise on Nieuw Amsterdam, there was a guy a few balconies below ours that smoked day and night. I complained to our cabin steward, concierge (we were in a Neptune suite) and guest services. They all seemed to take it very seriously, but in the end there was no resolution. I think the guy was truly addicted. When we were in line at Half Moon Cay for our excursion, he was (the only one) smoking away seemingly unaware of everyone around him. Sad.

Great, thanks for pointing out where to find that kind of thing - I'll look at the Florida board!

We did a 17 day Panama Canal (San Diego to Ft Lauderdale) in Oct 22. I was surprised the shows and menus repeated weekly (so on a couple days, the shows were on for a third run that trip). But I realized the previous cruises and the ones following ours were all 6 - 7 days. So they didn't change things up for this one repo cruise. On another note, I've often thought of doing a B2B on two different lines - like sailing into Ft Lauderdale on one cruise line, then out the same day on a different one. How great would it be to leave one ship and board another (after hanging out for while waiting for boarding, of course!)? Anyone ever done this?

I've searched (and searched) to find what hotel Charla recommended - which one is it? (if that doesn't violate some CC rule.