mowogo

It is a 4 hour flight from Denver to Orlando or Miami. Vs a 2 hour flight to Houston with emergency option to drive. Texas adds some major media markets which make justifying national ad buys more reasonable. Enters the logical next large market and helps build anticipation and customer base for West Cost debut.

The 3/4 days out of Miami/Canaveral are the table stakes to get people introduced to the brand because many aren’t willing to gamble on MSC for a 7 day cruise sight unseen, especially with the mixed reviews on food. I know a cheap holiday weekend 3 day is what convinced me that the quirkiness would work for me on a longer cruise.

I did a divina 3 day, and the crew said it is a very different experience on a 7 day than the 3 day. Actually just booked a 7 day on the Mera for February since the fare was good, and the itinerary held some interest.

The rooms are not Aurea rooms. They are rooms reserved for prebooking when you select the Aurea experience. The aurea experience is an "add on" to the reservation, not an inherent benefit of the cabin.

You don't take out 4 ships in quick succession if the line is healthy. Only reason I can see the launch of Costa by Carnival in the US is to be able to launch with zero renovations vs. the partial conversions they just rolled out

Costa is a dead line walking, just a matter of how it dies, and how the 4 ship experiment works will really determine which route. They are really testing to see how little work they have to do to move the ships from Costa to Carnival and it not draw complaints (I'm already seeing the complaints of no Guy's)

I was seriously looking at the first Mera cruise out of NYC, but found the trip of Canaveral, Nassau, and Ocean Cay an extremely depressing cruise compared to the Miami and Canaveral departure options.

Princess is going larger because Carnival Corporation believes that they can work the Princess experience on a ship that large. They will succeed and be years ahead of X, or fail horribly and significantly tarnish the Princess brand.

That is why I enjoy MSC, and MSC really needs to be pushing that before Carnival really grows the concept through their Conversions and Americanized Costa sailings. MSC is definitely gaining some traction from the seascape launch in NYC, but is still not really explaining their differences and just trying to compete on price.

Just be ok with the form being happy and fully filled out and still failing. The form has a record of not working for a while, and then starts working again.

I enjoyed the Filet, and in some of the discount packages I can justify it. If you are able to match up in status having a complimentary premium meal is definitely a good experience.

Agree 100% on it being essential, though with the pricing to visit based on how they priced it with the ride to the airport it might be worth buying from MSC.

I’m someone that has enjoyed Carnival but not loving them (sailed twice this year). I really enjoyed my one cruise on MSC, and the status match can seriously elevate your experience in ways that can change the calculations on some trips. In the US I’m finding MSC offering exceptional solo rates on ships over a decade newer than Carnival (With Divina up against Conquest and Spirit class being the nicest comparison for Carnival). Even on a sold out holiday weekend booze cruise, I really didn’t have a problem dealing with people being too drunk. With recent hours cutbacks at Carnival, MSC provides much better support for dining after 8pm with buffet and pizza options. You generally won’t be waiting in a long line to get pizza later in the evening with MSC like my experience with Carnival. If you are a soft serve addict, then Carnival gets the nod with soft serve being available 24/7, vs paid and/or limited hours that it is offered with a staff member serving. The entertainment is extremely different, as the shows of MSC are singers with dancers and circus performances all mixed together vs the Carnival shows where the singers are the dancers for the show. The pre-show is also different with Carnival having performances related to the theme of the show while MSC will have cirque style clown play pre-show. Having said all that, I’m currently in the process of debating between booking an upcoming Seascape sailing for my birthday, or booking the first departure from NYC of the Meraviglia

Realistically, I would expect the excursions to be Beach and Kennedy Space Center. When you figure any excursion to Orlando would have to leave closer to 2 anyway just to allow for passengers getting off. With an hour drive it means 3pm before arriving in Orlando for the activity which doesn’t allow for much activity time. As a timing reference leaving after a cruise from Canaveral, I debarked from the ship a little after 8:30am and was able to depart Orlando airport with a rental car at 10am using the go port shuttle (I had a late flight and MSC cancelled the post cruise excursion to KSC)

Simulator time can definitely add up

And having done the purchase onboard on these short cruise, you will fill out a form and they will take your card to have it reprinted with the indicator for the drink package you have.

Considering the media event, they likely will do it in NYC so they can have guests tour the ship.

Virgin has a match offer if you are booked with them in preparation for program launch next year.

The crew on my Alaska cruise this summer on the Carnival Spirit said it best, calling gambling in the casino donations.

They have lots of cabins available based on what I'm seeing price wise on the itineraries listed. I actually ended up on this thread after having received the offer and only signing up through a Facebook form with them a few months ago

If you can get to Hyatt Explorist (30 nights) you will have MGM Gold

Cruised the Divina a couple weeks ago and they weren’t strict when I arrived around 12:30 and my appointment was at 2 and was allowed straight in and onboard by 1

TV was working labor day weekend on the Divina.

Think about ordering from the edge of the adult pool sitting on one of the pool benches and not having to fully get out to get your card. Also, if you are prone to misplacing items or your card then the band which you can keep on you at all times is easier for around the ship.