Abaddon

I have to ask it. How much is Passport cost in USA and how much problem it is to order it. WHY??? Why Americans on this forum always have problem with passports?

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Hi all, I hope I have placed this question in the correct spot...!

 

The vast majority of my cruises have been Celebrity Solstice class (5x) and RCCL Oasis class (4x). Also one RC Freedom and Norwegian Breakaway. As you can tell, my hubby and I tend to go for the newer, bigger ships. Also, I think we have become accustomed to the Celebrity/RCCL feel. We are mid-40s, no kids, active and really enjoy the dining aspect and public spaces while cruising. Does MSC have an appreciable difference in feel from the ships we’ve most often sailed i.e. service, communication, more or less formal, more of a party-ship, etc? I’d love to hear from people with similar sailing experience, or those of you who have sailed recently with MSC. Thank you!

I just got off the Seaside on Saturday, and it's a beautiful ship but if you are looking for a fun ship this isn't it lol. It is very heavily European influenced and some of the shows are in other languages. I can remember sitting on deck 16 eating breakfast the morning we were in San Juan and a Carnival ship pulled in...and you could see everyone was having fun over there while everyone on the Seaside was just sitting watching them lol. Never saw anyone playing basketball on the Seaside because they were always playing soccer on the basketball court. At 7pm the pool area on deck 16 that has a bar and all is a ghost town, something I've never seen on a cruise before. I was actually able to get in the hot tub on this cruise which is a first also. You can't really tell that there are 5000 passengers on the ship which is a good thing but it makes it feel kind of boring. Every cruise I've been on has felt like a non stop party until this one, I didn't even know who the cruise director was until the 3rd day. They said most of the passengers were American but I couldn't tell, everyone was speaking different languages and let me tell you I've never encountered so many rude people in my life. Me and my family still had a great time though, just won't be cruising with MSC anymore, and like I said there's nothing wrong with the ship itself but the shows and entertainment won't be what you're used to on other cruise lines. 3 of the shows were great, Timeless, Peter Punk and Fly, everything else was meh, and those shows were towards the middle and end of the cruise so those first 2 sea days were so long and boring.

For kids, does it include Gelato (instead of the non-alcoholic drink)?

Yes it does!

On MSC Meraviglia they told us that the digital photos are only low resolution intended for online use, and not to do printouts from them.

If you want high quality you have to buy the printouts.

 

Resolution is ~1000x~2000px but jpeg compression is very high with visible compression artifacts on color gradient backgrounds.

 

But if you buy the vip sea pass with digital versions, there are offers that gives you 60% off on printed copies, so maybe also a good deal if you buy printed copies.

The funny thing is I bought the printed copies lol.

I just got off the Seaside this past Saturday and I only bought a few photos but the quality on them isn't that great imo. I'm no professional photographer but I could have taken better shots with my D5500.

Found a few people who said they just get in the ferry line to get there passport stamped and then get out of line.

On my last Carnival cruise I realized they have the same exact food in the buffet that the main dining room serves. So instead of waiting and sitting with random people we just eat at the buffet and don't have to waste 1-2 hours. I love meeting people but when eating I like it to be just me and my family.

Anyone know where to get your passport stamped in St Maarten?

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Are you sure that both 3rd & 4th beds are pullman beds and not bunk beds ?

Sofa: converts into bunk bed (3rd & 4th beds)

Pullman: lowered from ceiling

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It does seem to good to be true, but it will be a while before you truly find out lol. For my 7 day cruise the taxes for my 2 kids were about $107 each, and add another $87 each for the daily service charge.

Thanks Andrew and Graminator!

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Our 3 grandchildren cruised on the Divina last July and they do not have passports . They are ages 5, 7 and 8 . We only had their birth certificates, and experienced no problems . They will sail with us on the Seaside on a few weeks and we will only be bringing birth certificates .

Awesome, just what I was looking to hear so now my wife can cool out lol. You wouldn't happen to be on the 5/26 would you?

If you go to your MSC web check in page you can see it offers passport or Photo ID/Birth Certificate, stipulating ID/BC is for closed loop Caribbean only. If you choose the BC option it also has a mandatory field for the Photo ID expiration date suggesting they require both. Passports are still the safest option.

 

ETA: *United States citizens on a roundtrip cruise departing from one United States port, sailing within the Western Hemisphere and ending in the same United States port can use a government issued picture ID along with proof of citizenship in the form of an original or notarized government issued birth certificate or original Naturalization certificate in lieu of a passport.

The only thing the website doesn't clarify is the age, only kids 16 and older need a photo ID. Also the MSC website states that if using a birth certificate to put any date in that field. I just called MSC again to confirm this. But I would like to hear from people who have already cruised on MSC before with kids under 16. This will be our first time on MSC.

Your wife will believe internet strangers over you? :confused:

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Play it safe....call the passport office.

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So I know the answer to the question but my wife isn't taking my word for it. Our son is 12 years old and I'm telling her that all he needs is a birth certificate to cruise. She thinks he needs a state issued ID. Me and my wife have passports but since we've never taken the kids before she is worried. Can anyone chime in and give her peace of mind lol. We will be on the Seaside going to Nassau, San Juan and St. Marteen. Thanks

From what I've read you can do it at either one. My cruise isn't for another 19 days.

Does the kiosk accept cash or would cash require a trip to guest services?

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Cash works also if you did have any issues.

Then don't call back. It's all up to you.

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My sister and I are on the Sept 29 sailing and had the same 12 vouchers.. I called last week and they changed it with no problem.....

 

Call back...

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safecruiseparking was the one i was looking at...it has pretty mixed reviews. how is it getting a shuttle? is it pretty fast?

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I normally use safecruiseparking but this time I think I'll park at the port. There is a pretty big price difference though, only $55 for the week compared to $154 to park at the port. I guess the convenience is worth it. Although I've had no issues parking off site, I just want to park my car and walk to the ship this time and when the cruise is over to do the same.

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So I just called and they said it has to be booked under the drinks on us package and can't be changed. That's pretty lousy since I booked this cruise a year ago and only get the 12 drink vouchers while everyone else will be drinking like crazy...

Hmmm, my cruise is on the 5/26, do you think I can get the drinks on us? I'll call in the morning and see what they say.

I myself pay the gratuities up front which for a family of 4 was an extra $350 so I don't plan on tipping any extra while I'm on board. I'm from the US and I see it just like when you go to a restaurant with a group of 4 or more friends and they automatically add a 15%-18% tip onto your bill, I don't tip on top of a tip. The only person I may tip is my room steward, like when they make it a point to remember my whole families name individually and just simple things that make the cruise more enjoyable.

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