no1talks

No, but among the varied hats I've worn is that of hotel security. I'm familiar with the technology involved and how to mess with it. If a cruise company is on the ball, the material used in these envelopes would thwart most forms of mischief that would leave no visible sign.

Forget about the naysayers who discourage extra tipping in YC. Tipping staff there is completely normal. In fact, the YC concierge desk has tip-sized envelopes available upon request.

That Premium Plus access costs. NCL doesn't include a drink package with Haven, but it's easy to cruise NCL with a Free at Sea "Unlimited Open Bar" package. Then, you would pay $34.80 per person per day, which includes the service fee on the upgrade, for access to JW Blue. So, you would likely pay significantly more to be in Haven in the first place, compared to YC. Then, you'd pay for a drink upgrade that would mostly cover three daily JW Blue upcharges of 11 buck plus service fee if you're on MSC with their Premium Extra package. That's the package YC includes, by the way. (Of course, prices can go up without notice and the $11 JW Blue difference could expand.) Well, if you hang with drink-buying ballers, it doesn't really matter and you should cruise where they cruise.

Due, no doubt, to the blended scotch hounds who drank each cruise dry. 😂

Lord no! Even luxury lines don't offer JW Blue as an included liquor if you check their listed brands. However, if you are on an MSC ship that has rolled out the pay-the-difference pricing policy, you'll just pay an up-charge. Yacht Club gets the Premium Extra package, which tops out at $16. JW Blue goes for (I think) $27. That would leave you on the hook for $11, plus service charge on the difference.

Potential result of mischief done by a passing knucklehead. Also easily perpetrated by prankish dopes going down the hall. Bringing the flow of embarkation to a halt, thanks to the hijinks of others who should know better. Except in this situation, instead of a finite number of employees, an indeterminate number of fellow cruisers are added to the mix. How many of those passengers might think it hilarious to mess with cards on the doors as they walk past during embarkation? Would there be different levels of risk for key-related shenanigans between a costly luxury cruise filled with seniors and a mass-market ship packed with spring breakers? Probably.

While there is video camera coverage in cabin passages, would not unattended and activated key cards on the doors create an opportunity for mischief, if not outright criminality?

With 40+ cruises, getting the private island names mixed-up is probably a given. 😄

I, too, look forward to this miniseries. I enjoyed the 1980 miniseries when I was a lad.

This is a bit disconcerting, as we are planning to be on Divina in '25. My wife and I have very different tastes regarding wine. This prevents us from having a bottle of wine at dinner. Because of this, we always let the YC somm surprise us with their choice of wines by the glass for the appetizer and main courses. It is also the sommelier's choice for our drinks while we peruse the menu and to accompany dessert, all within YC inclusion. (I don't need a surprise serving of "Louis Tres.") We have yet to encounter a somm who didn't light up when offered this carte blanche.

I'm busted.

They will be more abstemious once they are older.

This is why I'm looking forward to cruising non-US MSC itineraries after my retirement.

In all seriousness, if we ever found ourselves staying on board for some reason and not going to OC, we would eat at the main buffet just for the capriciousness of it.

Don't say that! They will raise the prices.

Quelle horreur!

Not "ghost cruise," but rather, "ghosted" cruise, using the slang term for disappearing without any communication. I guess it will be known if the cruise is still happening once the final payment date passes.

Well, if this is a ghosted cruise, MSC needs to let several TA websites, as well as their own IT department know about it.

We cannot go until I have retired and no longer have to worry about catching up at work after a long vacation. When that time comes, I hope MSC will still have cruises like this October one.

At this time, Splendida is handling short cruises along South Africa and Mozambique. It is slated to return to the Mediterranean in April, via the Red Sea. Also in April, Musica is scheduled to return to the Mediterranean from South America. In early November, she leaves Europe for South Africa, via the Red Sea. Then, it's the usual short African cruises, except for a single, 12-day, closed loop cruise, late this December. It includes three days and two nights in Mauritius. As near as I can tell, this itinerary is a once-a-year thing. The question is whether MSC will leave Splendida in Africa to cover Musica's latter assignment, conduct the needed repositioning cruises along Africa's west coast, or just ditch South Africa and vicinity until ships can be repositioned from the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal without added worry.

But, on the portion of their website on which "Experiences" are explained, the items are still missing from Aurea. For new bookings, cruisers will have to rely on their cruise documents. As usual, MSC's website is not quite firing on all cylinders.

Given the you-never-know factor regarding soot, we won't book a cabin that isn't forward of the funnel.

😅 😂 🤣