Homosassa

Twelve year olds will need to have a parent or guardian with them to use the attractions for the Fun Pass. Besides the signs at the attractions stating an adult must be present, there have been posts on this board that purchases of the Fun Pass are loaded unto the adult card, not the child's.

Maybe, just maybe, you need to learn that MSC is European cruise line that does international cruises around the world with an international passenger make up. Consistency in the on board experience, no matter where the cruise is occurring, is a standard that all cruise lines try to meet. The USA is just another international set of ports for MSC that they have set itineraries for and deliver their on board experience for their international passenger base..

Your situation is different from the OP's situation. He will receive taxes and port fees back due to his cancellation of his cruise. You are talking about the return of a port fee due to the cancellation of the port while on the cruise. On any cruise line, a port fee may or may not be refunded based upon the port fee pool from which port fees for that cruise is being paid. If there is a deficit, no fees will be returned (and you will not be charged additional money). If the money in the pool is adequate to cover the remaining ports, a port fee will be returned. Somehow there seems to be ignorance among cruisers on how port fees are calculated at the time of booking and the misconception that they will be refunded if a port s missed.

Many of the complaints about food are from folks are surprised to find that the Italian cuisine on an Italian line is nothing like the Olive Garden /Pizza Hut/ quasi Italian American food that they think is Italian. (No meat balls, garlic bread, butter automatically offered to destroy the flavor of the freshly baked bread, etc,) There is also less sugar used in recipes . There is a wide range of food offered in the buffet, including cuisine from any country of which there is a group on board. Get past the limited American offerings up front (hamburgers, fries, hot dogs) and try something new.

I know the market demographic Styles27 cruise with in January. I have run into the same type of behavior from that demographic in Walt Disney World during the summer (had to yell for security a a night time parade because a woman was attacking and pushing my daughter and I out of the way so her daughter could shove her way in) and in Cancun in January. While I enjoy the international clientele on MSC, there are some that need to learn basic manners.

Breakfast tip: On the pizza section in the buffet at breakfast, there should be freshly baked sticky cinnamon buns. They go fast, so you may need to wait for the next tray to appear.

I just signed in with no delay. Must be a localized problem.

MSC enforces its rules.

You can get the items o the NCL website by boarding a cruise on MSC. A selection of anti pasti is available in the buffet during lunch and dinner (limited to a few items during breakfast).

The NCL reply does not appear to be a response to the refund of port charges ( which the experienced cruiser knows may or may not be refunded based upon many factors), but instead appears to be a response to a request for compensation over and beyond a port fee refund.

The fun pass may be "unlimited," but wait time may be long. Children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian to use. I believe the Fun Pass is per person. Have you tried a mock booking to see how you purchase the pass?

Constellation has been doing the cruises with port of call in NOLA for several years. There is one itinerary that has the ship docked in NOLA for three nights for the last two nights of Marti Gras.

OK, people, wise up. The OP is having fun at your expense. Don't keep giving the OP more reason to keep going.

Again people, for US citizens arriving by air into the Vancouver airport, there is a US I&C booth after the luggage claim but before leaving the airport. Canadians citizens and people from countries other than the US, were directed to the exit after clearing Canadian I&C, US citizens were directed to the US I&C. Maybe the US I&C booth is not manned for arriving passengers at all times, but it was definitely open when we arrived this past July when we arrived for our Millennium cruise (one night pre embarkation hotel). We were surprised to be directed to US I&C upon ARRIVAL into Canada at the airport, but the US officer told us that we no longer had to go through at the embarcation port in Vancouver or arrival in Seward.

LOL - my federal agency gave no advanced warning. We just showed up and said "We are from the government and are here to help you" (or something like that).

Just a FYI for anyone flying into Vancouver for a cruise: You clear US Customs and Immigration at the airport when entering the country. The procedure is clear Candia I & C, pick up luggage, then clear US I & C before being allowed to leave the airport. As your passport has been scanned by both the Canadian and US officials, that information show at the port check in. No need to see any US officials at the port.

I am not a die hard. I just cruise enough different cruise lines to know that not all operate the same way. When I book Viking Ocean, I know and abide by their final payment schedule (six months to one year in advance of the cruise) and other more stringent policies about cancellations and changes. In many ways, Viking and MSC are similar. They have policies that ensure that the passenger knows the price they will pay (no fare churning) and, therefore, the the line knows the per diem basis that they can use for onboard and shore expenditures.

My travel agent also works well with MSC. For truth in posting, there was a limited time period toward the end of the Covid sailing period that his agency suspended routine booking of MSC cruises. At that time, MSC was changing almost daily the policy for booking and cancellations because of Covid They would do it if the client insisted and signed an agreement that they knew the conditions under which they were booking and would not hold the agency responsible for any problems with their booking.

Perhaps if you thought of the MSC business model as a different culture that you are voluntarily choosing to deal with, then your thriving in different cultures would work in accepting MSC procedures and not have you insisting on their need to change to meet your expectations of how a cruise line operates.

LOL - I stand corrected. I was thinking of the continental land mass that contains Canada and USA. I don't see the Saint Pierre and Miquelon which is a self governing French territory. Looks like the UN's list may be incomplete.

And in a nut shell, there is the limited horizons of some MSC passengers. There are many countries that are "American" with different cultural background and traditions. North American actually has two different countries. As for citizens of the USA, there are many of us that realize when we step outside our home, things can be different. MSC suits us just the way it is with its international passenger make up and business model that keeps fares low and quality up. My theory about homeporting the Meraviglia in NYC is not so much filling the ship with passengers from the US as being a more convenient port for those international passengers that often arrive at JFK and then have to travel to Florida for their cruise. I would expect to see many of the European and Asian travel groups that are on air/cruise packages on board the ship.

Your wife is correct that low down (and hopefully, amidship) is the way to go to lessen any motion. Oceanview on deck 2 will give you an amazing view of the water from your cabin window. You will be able to see things that passengers up on higher decks will miss. Don't count on having endless goodies available at all hours. The Windjammer and other food venues will be closed up tight at times. Room Service (with a fee) is available.

Any one cruising on MSC should educate themselves by reading the Terms and Conditions and Conditions of Carriage on the MSC website. It is what you have agreed to follow when you put a deposit on a MSC cruise. It would prevent the whining about what is done by some other cruise lines. MSC is a European based cruise line that offers international sailing around the world. Those international sailings are also offered from US ports to a passenger base that is international in score. MSC does not need to change to meet the limited expectations of a certain national population. By the way, there have been some interesting changes to the Conditions of Carriage and Terms and Conditions that reflect the recent experience problems that MSC has had on some sailings. Alcohol consumption is addressed and direct supervision of minors by parents are two of the changes.

On the other hand, having your allergy on record can work for your benefit. We were on a NCL cruise with a port stop in Aruba. We had an afternoon excursion booked. My husband has a mushroom allergy that will cause severe gastrointestinal symptoms about two hours after eating a mushroom. We stopped to eat lunch at one of the alternate eatery on board ship at the time (can't think of the name) and before ordering, had the waiter check with the kitchen to make sure that no mushrooms were in his order. He was assured his selection was mushroom free, ordered, started to eat and after several bits saw a big mushroom on his plate. He immediately called the waiter over who called the restaurant supervisor who immediately called down to medical for my husband to see the doctor. Knowing what was in store for him gastrointestinal wise in about two hours, the doctor called the excursion desk to have a medically necessary cancellation of the excursion. The cost was refunded instead of us losing the money.

I hope you research any requirements for passports to some Caribbean islands, closed loop cruise or not. If you don't, you will be left on the pier at embarkation for some close loop itineraries if you don't have a passport