CruizinSusan70

That would be interesting since no other ship I'm aware of is stationed in Galveston during the winter and then goes to Alaska and the west coast. The NCL Bliss is stationed in Miami during the winter, does the transit of the canal, a few west coast sailings and then the Alaska season. In October, she just retraces her steps and is back in Miami for the late fall and winter again. Once MSC establishes itself in Galveston, they will probably have 2 or 3 ships permanently there. A smart move would be to have one ship do alternating 10/11 day sailings that could reach other ports than the same old same old ports that the 7 day cruises embark to.

The European schedule has been out for a few weeks up to and including the western TA that arrives in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday November 16. The Star Princess arrives in Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday November 5 after her initial European schedule. Will be interesting to see if they both do 7/14 schedules or if one will do 10/20?

They did in fact have the elevators shut down. As soon as we hung up the phone after watching the safety video, my DH walked down from our stateroom on deck 8, which was the closest cabin to the rear set of elevators, to our muster station D, which was on deck six. He took both of our cards, got them swiped and was back in the cabin in about 5 minutes. Over the next half hour there were constant reminders from the CD for people to report to their muster station and if they did not do so would be relegated to going through the procedure on Monday morning.

Well, we embarked on the Majestic in May out of Vancouver with the Plus package. For some reason we had to pay for the medallions to be shipped. Mentioned it to guest services and the next day we were given a 10.00 credit on our account. When our final bill was emailed to us, the 10.00 credit was gone. It's been six weeks since we got home and we're still waiting for our refund check.

Whoever did it obviously wasn't aware of the Barista station in the bakery area on the Royal Class ships. We got it with no problem on the Discovery for 14 days in April of 2022 as well as the Majestic for 14 days in May and June of 2023. Another poster mentioned it was available on the Sky. All 3 of these ships are Royal Class, so they are all similar for the most part.

That would make sense since the Majestic and the Discovery, as well as the Sky are all Royal Class ships and are all based on the same basic schematic. Had read somewhere that the Sun and Star will have a Nitro coffee station. If this is indeed true our future Sphere Class sailings will contain an uptick in caffeine consumption.

I would venture that it will be a while before MSC plants a ship in California. They already have their footprint solidly in Florida and recently added Brooklyn to the mix with the Meraviglia. Next up would be placing multiple ships in Galveston and then of course multiple ships to sail Alaska. The question would be where are they going to reposition the Alaska ships for the six months they would not be in Alaska. They could be competition with the NCL Bliss that does some west coast and usually four Panama Canal cruises when she is not in Alaska.

You said that you booked the Seaside because the cost was too good to pass up. You're correct. A Bella booking for the most part is the cheapest cabin that you can get the majority of the time versus what's available on say Carnival. MSC is a four tier class system. Class one is the Yacht Club, that has it's own dedicated restaurant, pool deck and lounge. Class two is Aurea, which has upgraded cabins and flexible dinner dining in the MDR. Class three is Fantastica, which is usually 50 bucks pp more than Bella. With Fantastica you can pick your own cabin and select early or late dining and you're usually given preference over Bella, which is Class four. MSC chooses your cabin and you're left with the scraps with your MDR assignment. There are many that sail MSC and love it since many want a more European flair to their cruising experience. Others will only cruise on MSC in the Yacht Club since they like the ship within a ship concept and don't like the general kaos that can sometimes occur in the general population. Go into it with an open mind and you may be pleasantly surprised or you may go screaming back to RCI.

They must have been on one of the rust buckets in the fleet since we had zero problems getting specialty coffees in the bakery area of the buffets at the Barista station on the Discovery as well as the Majestic. We had the Plus package and these drinks were included.

In doing our research for our cruise on the Meraviglia, we found out that MSC is currently doing things a bit differently than their competitors on this side of the pond. Everyone needs to watch a video in their stateroom about the same time and after watching it, enter a code via their cabin phone and then everyone goes to their muster station at the same time. But at this time the elevators are supposedly shut down. If this is the case, then how does someone get from point A to point B in a scooter drop down X number of floors to go from their cabin to their muster station. Post COVID we have been on Carnival, Royal, NCL, Princess and Celebrity and none of them do it this way. I will assume it's just another of the various differences between a US based versus European based cruise line. But even the most loyal MSC cruiser can't convince me that this method is better than the procedures currently in place by the 5 US based lines. So, does my DH take my card and walk the steps to our muster station, or is there a single dedicated elevator or two for those in scooters. If there is, it will be a cluster you know what. I've seen YouTube videos and we are not looking forward to what will transpire on Sunday afternoon in Brooklyn. With our luck we'll get stuck on an elevator post drill with YC members that will wave their magic band and we'll whisk right past our floor so that they can get to the Top Sail Lounge as quick as possible to grab a drink. 🍸🍷🥃

There is a difference between those that cruise in the general population and those that cruise in the ship within a ship concept. It of course is on Celebrity with the Retreat, RCI with the Star Class, MSC with the Yacht Club and NCL with the Haven. Those that prefer the exclusive locations can at times be very demanding because of the premium that they paid for their cruise.

Celebrity has had a few years and three different Edge Class ships to hone their skills with the Retreat. I would wait to judge Princess until the Star comes out so that they have a chance to get acclimated to the ship within a ship concept on the Sun. But if you jump the gun and don't like what Princess offers, then you can always stick with Celebrity or jump ship to the Haven on NCL or the Yacht Club on MSC.

If you have never considered MSC in the past and you have heard horror stories regarding the food and the entertainment, what was the impetus to have you contemplating going on the inaugural sailing of the World America? Personally I would give it about 4-6 months of reviews that would come in from the World Europa and of course make up your mind whether you'll be staying inside the YC or in the general population, assuming of course the reviews that you read meet your expectations.

The Island will be 21 years old and comes in at 92 K tons. Versus a brand new ship that is 175 K tons. What is the largest cruise ship you have taken in the past? The Sun will come in around the 18th largest when she debuts. The Island is around 85th. New ships have growing pains, but no where near the problems of ships that are over 20 years old. The ports are one aspect of your trip, the vessel that gets you to each port should be just as important. But if a 175 K ton ship scares you, enjoy what you're accustomed to.

Go to Catch By Rudi. Far from mediocre. And there are more than just two specialty restaurants on many of the ships in the fleet. Book a voyage on the Sun or the Star, they will be raising the bar compared to the rest of the fleet, similar to how the Excel Class ships raised the bar for Carnival. But I will infer that you have not sailed on the Celebration or the Mardi Gras.

Welcome to cruise critic, where reviews get criticized as well. 😉

Describe the two paid carousel shows and was one better than the other?

I would seriously look into getting your cabin changed to a HC cabin. The typical balcony cabin is 161 sq ft, with an extra 44 for the balcony. There are 28 balcony rooms for HC, covering four different categories, BR1, BR2, BR3 and BP. You also need to know how wide your scooter is from outside arm to outside arm and since you need to park your scooter inside your cabin to charge, it takes away floor space. If you can't get a HC cabin to switch to, I would buy a foldable rollator such as https://www.amazon.com/Medline-Standard-Folding-Rollator-Walker/dp/B08525QVBV/ref=asc_df_B08525QVBV/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=507663052233&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4275861752824881726&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9003837&hvtargid=pla-1260386467097&psc=1 It's 60 bucks.

The OP was deciding between a YIN and a Fantastica balcony on the Meraviglia. According to cruisedeckplans.com, the YIN cabins are 178 sq ft, while the balcony cabins are 161 sq ft, plus 44 extra for the balcony. So, your Teeny Tiny claustrophobic YIN cabin is actually 17 sq ft larger than the balcony cabin space. If you add the balcony portion, it's 27 sq ft larger, but I would prefer the YC deck, restaurant and other amenities if offered for a reasonable up charge. Unless of course you leave your balcony door open all of the time to take advantage of that extra 27 sq ft and lose your air conditioning in the process.

But the benefits of being in the YC FAR out weight the supposedly claustrophobic YIN cabin you'd be in versus a Fantastica balcony cabin. There are many people that will only cruise on MSC in the YC. There is a reason for this. With the YC you get your own dedicated restauant, your own dedicated sundeck, pool and hot tubs and spa access. Or, you can have your 44 sq ft balcony.

The lobster tail and filet with red wine sauce was excellent. Came with a few marinated onions in the same red wine sauce that it you sliced them thin and small enough you could add a sliver to every bite. The fingerling potatoes were also nice as a side dish, especially when they soaked in the melted lobster tail butter. The tale of citrus lobster tail appetizer was also good. Crab cake app was small and could have been hotter. This was on the Majestic.

Spirit debuted in 2001, so it's 22 years old and is currently the sixth oldest ship in the fleet and was the first of the handful of Spirit Class ships. Her inside cabins are 185 sq ft. And just to let you know, the balcony cabins are also 185 sq ft, plus the small balconies attached.

Chibang and Cucina are free for lunch on sea days only, not embarkation day. Chibang also has the up charge if you decide to go a second time during your cruise for dinner (this is on the MG only), not on the Celebration..

Yep, their old rate was 16 per day and their new rate is 20 per day, the highest amongst all main stream lines.

cruisedeckplans.com has YouTube videos listed on their site for cabins 3116 and 3139. They are both 4J cabins. You can also just do a YouTube search to look at the same videos.