gizfish

We have had a cabin above the theater. We heard the thump thump of the base whenever there were shows, and also whenever they used the theater for rehearsals. Early morning rehearsals may impact you if you like to sleep in, and afternoon rehearsals may impact any naps you want to take. You may also find the thumping to be generally annoying. I would not book a cabin above the theater again.

The daily schedule for embarkation day will have the time and dining room where the maitre'd will be to address dining issues. On our cruise I believe he was there till four. You can check there to see how many are at your table and try to change if needed. There was a line for us. But a staff member was checking people's issues while they waited. I am thinking she had a map of the dinning room and would be able to tell how many a table accommodated. She couldn't make any changes though.

Firstimer, I think I would only be worried if you happened to be on the cruise, considering the horrible and scary luck you have had 😉 But back to the OP, do you know how many cruise ships are in the ocean at a given time? What are the odds that even if a cruise ship were targeted, it would be the one your family was on. I would think if a ship were a target, it would more likely be a military vessal than a passenger ship that isn't even flagged in America. Nope I will just stick with my usual cruise fears of Covid, Neuro and having to be out of bed early enough for the room steward to clean my cabin.

You don't need to take your own photo. They usually just redo it anyway, and it's not like it saves any time at check in.

There were plenty of towels in the thermal area in September. Be aware that if you bring a towel from the spa to your room and leave it with your regular used towels, your room steward may not take it. Ours told us her supervisor said we had to bring it back to the spa so we wouldn't get charged. That obviously makes no sense since you don't sign for spa towels and they are not monitored. But, we ended up bringing them back to the spa where the attendants at the check in desk looked at us like we had two heads.

One way to deal with the hard sell on salon products is to say at the beginning of your salon service something like "I would really like to relax and enjoy my massage...hair cut.....facial, and would appreciate it if you don't try to sell my any products, as I have no intention of buying."

Your issue is actually with your own inability to say no, and based on what you've said here and also your post about cruise next certificates, it seems like you are more pissed at yourself for not being able to say no. I can't go anywhere these days without seeing the ever present "tip jar." Does anyone really think the person who hands you your McDonald's lunch should get a tip? Please do yourself a favor and work on saying no to things you don't want to do. It will make so many things that much less stressful for you. What's the worst that can happen when you say no to these situations? A stranger who in reality probably isn't even thinking about you at all may think poorly of you? To paraphrase Ru Paul "what anyone thinks about you is none of your business."

Since you are in YC, shortly after you board, let your butler know of the need for accommodation and I am sure they will be able to put your mind at ease.

If you are taking your own suitcases off you will have the earliest debarkation time. Self assist is pretty much the first group off. What time that happens depends on when the ship is cleared. Different ships and different itineraries have different estimated times for debarkation to start.

MSC is a real stickler for rules. They won't be changing anything on their schedule unless there is a valid reason to do so. This certainly does not fall in that category. When the ship decides it is time for muster drill you will need to go to your cabin and watch the video at that time. Then you call a phone number to verify the completion of the video. Then they call deck by deck to go to their muster station. Staff scans your card at the entrance of your station, and you walk through and are free to go. There is some leeway as to when you go to your station. They want people to go at the assigned times, but not everyone does. So you will hear repeated announcements, and ships services will remain closed until a certain percent of passengers have complied.

Most people buy travel insurance for the medical benefits. Medical evacuation is extremely expensive. Before you decide what to do, as with any contract, read the additional info. Also, many feel it is better to buy travel insurance from a party other than the cruise line itself.

The private tubs are not filtered like public tubs. The public tubs have chlorine or bromine added and would have those levels checked however often they are supposed to be monitored.

We found the food on Meraviglia to be better than the reviews. And, I am betting the kids would really enjoy the almost 24 hour a day pizza. The ship is beautiful, but less visually stimulating than the other ships you are considering, which I think would be a plus. There are some times where crowds can be an issue, specifically in the evenings when they have shows and dancers under the dome thing. However, I found that to be less frustrating than trying to get around Cindy's castle at Disney during a parade (no lie, I was almost in tears dealing with that once.) On our cruise there were no issues at all with rowdy people or anything like that. You should be able to get key cards for both rooms so you have access to the kids room, and no one cares who sleeps where. I have a feeling that you will not be able to have the door between the balconies opened since MSC seems to be quite rigid in following rules, and most cruise lines now prohibit it due to safety concerns.

I am betting this is due to the Legionnairs disease cases earlier this year. I'm assuming only housekeeping will have a key or something to fill it, and by limiting time in use maybe it will limit the chances of the bacteria growing enough to be a problem. Or maybe the hour limit will be so annoying that guests will use the tubs less meaning housekeeping will not have to clean them as often.

MSC will assign you a time without any input or concern to what might work for you. Not to worry. The time will randomly change, sometimes more than a couple of times between booking and boarding and will not even be checked whatever time you do arrive for.

I find it a little creepy that so many people are looking under the tables to see if I'm wearing shorts...

If you are willing to wait, you can also ask the buffet pizza makers to make one with your choice of toppings. The available types vary throughout the day as well.

MSC actually discourages tipping individual staff. https://www.msccruisesusa.com/manage-booking/before-you-go/service-charges.

The soda rule has nothing to do with security and everything to do with the cruise line wanting you to buy soda on board. There is no rule about bringing liquids on board. The cruise ship is nothing like an airplane. It would be incredibly expensive to have to purchase all the liquid things one normally travels with (shampoo/hair products, mouthwash, sunscreen, etc.,) on board, not to mention that those types of things have limited availability on board. The cruise line would make you aware of any changes in things that were newly prohibited. For the record, I was able to bring a bottle of water in my carry on through security in NY recently. I wanted to have the sports style bottle to refill during the cruise and was prepared to empty it out before boarding if need be. I think they would be more strict about any quantity of beverages though.

On our 8 day, the regular entrees included filet on surf and turf night, prime rib one night, and the NY strip two nights. So half the nights included a beef/steak option. With regards to the question from a different poster about if the charge is applied when a second entree is ordered due to not liking the original entree, while I have no personal experience, I am pretty sure they would not charge in that case. Also back to the ordering certain entrees as a starter thing, one night we had lasagna in addition to our regular main. All nights, there is pasta Bolognese, pasta with marinara, and pasta with olive oil and garlic available. There is always a pasta or risotto offered as a main. Some sort of salad is often offered as a main most nights, and I am sure you can order it as a starter instead.

Geez they really take Halloween seriously. On the topic of desserts, keep an eye out for the chocolate pana cotta at the buffet. It will look like a plain boring brown thing in a foil container. Do not be fooled by its appearance. It is delicious. Generally I found the buffet desserts appearances deceptive. They all looked like the usual tasteless things found on other cruise buffets but turned out to be quite yummy.

5 weeks ago Meriviglia 8 day had the changed comfort classics with the baby shrimp cocktail and no steak, but with the rotisserie chicken (not fried.) However, NY strip was offered on two different nights as part of the regular menu. The $5 for more than one entree was mentioned on the menu. We ordered the risotto or pasta entree numerous times as a "starter" in addition to our regular mains, which did not incur a charge. They always brought us a full size portion with our other appetizers.

This time of year, you will probably have warmer weather around the time you get to the Carolinas, sometime during your first full day at sea.

Keep in mind that you can order the pasta or risotto as a starter even though it's listed as a main. They will bring you a full size portion. We cruised Meraviglia out of NY about a month ago and did not find the portions small at all.

Cabin size is quite definitely a plus. To give you an idea of how large the regular balcony cabin is, the sofa easily could seat four normal humans. I would say the cabin is larger than NCL by far, and also larger than the other mainstream cruise line balcony cabins. Do be aware that the storage areas are lacking and not very well thought out. And about the pizza...a month later and I am still craving it. It's close to the wood oven pizzas we have in NY. They also make their own mozzarella.