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Thank you, Bird. Greatly appreciate the information. Noe hoping against hope I don’t need to cancel.

Alas, it is looking like I will need to cancel a cruise booked through casinos at seas that sails this Saturday. In addition to the $140 administrative fee, I paid the port taxes, prepaid Daily service charge, and the tips for the free at sea dinners. Am I correct that if I cancel I should receive a refund to my credit card of all of these charges with the exception of the $140 administrative charge? And this still applies even if I cancel on 2 days notice [will know for certain on Thursday morning for a Saturday cruise]. Many thanks in advance for your kind replies.

Unless they have changed it recently, embarkation and disembarkation in Port Canaveral occurs on Deck 7 on the Escape. Just take the stairs or elevator one flight down to make dinner reservations (typically in Le Bistro or Teppanyaki) and show reservations (they have recently moved this to the supper club on 6).

Thanks for the info, Bird.

Dined with the Captain and Spa Manager on the Escape recently. Lovely. I have a question for those knowledgeble as I only recently became Sapphire as was solo on this past cruise. Will you be permitted to bring a guest to the dinner with officers if the guest is not Sapphire but is your traveling companion? Thanks for any insight.

I was on the 4 day portion of the OP's cruise. It was my first time trying MSC. Realizing that a 4 day cruise is often not a good measure of what a line is really like, I am heartened to hear the OP's review. TBH, I was planning to post a largely negative review of the 4 day cruise, because in all honesty, it was not good in many respects [and to be blunt, some of the reasons for this were outside the control of MSC]. But now I won't do that, and I will give the benefit of the doubt to MSC until I take a longer cruise with them. One thing I will note is about the buffet food, as the OP went into depth about it. Compared to other lines, there is simply substantially less variety if the 4 day cruise was indicative of what they would do on a longer cruise. That was true at lunch and at dinner, but particularly at dinner. Most other lines often have a "theme" night at the buffet each night of the cruise, and you end up with the normal staples, including Indian, asian, grill, and salad stations, in addition to five to seven additional dishes centered around the theme of the night. Not my experience on this 4 day cruise with MSC. Substituting salmon or veal or roast turkey at the rotisserie section was about as varied as it got.

To the OP and anyone else with info: Are stateroom upgrades typically offered onboard? Sailing MSC for the first time this Sunday, and my experience with RCL, NCL, Princess, and Celebrity has been that no stateroom upgrades are possible onboard. Would appreciate any insight, as perhaps MSC does things differently? Thank you.

Related question: I status matched but have never taken an MSC cruise before. My voyagers numbrer has been entered properly with the cruise booking. Will my benefits be made available to me on the first cruise, or do I need to wait for a second cruise?

It still says 2022 on the signs. The whole main area is done. They are adding a separate shopping hall and they still need to finish work on the pedestrian exit. For those interested, monkey island is up and running.

We made it into Taino Bay on the Escape today. As far as I know, this is the first time Escape has ported here since last year’s accident. we just released lines about 1 hour 45 minutes after scheduled sail time. Taino Bay has come a long way since last year. Nice pool small beach area plenty of shopping and restaurants (and more under construction).

Recently, they have been asking that all drop offs be done by placing keys in the night deposit box, even when the store is open.

I see that at least some of the car rental agencies in Port Canaveral -- Avis and Budget at least -- tack on a 9.99 fee for rentals from port canaveral. I assume this is meant to cover the cost of the shuttle to their rental agencies in cape canaveral. But I've also been informed by said rental car companies that the shuttle will not be running the day of my arrival at the port and I should find other means to get to their rental counter. I also see this fee is not charged if I simply book a car in cape canaveral rather than port canaveral, at the same rental locations. My question is this -- are the rental car companies still entitled to collect that 9.99 fee even if their shuttles are not running and simply because you are a cruise passenger? Thanks in advance for any insight.

I was B2B this past summer on NCL Joy to Bermuda and then Oasis to Bahamas/Perfect Day, both in oceanview balconies, both 7 day cruises. Here are a few observations, YMMV: 1. Public Spaces: The Joy observation lounge is a great indoor public space. Oasis does not have something comparable. But the outdoor public spaces on Oasis (in particular Central Park and the Boardwalk) are far better than any public space the Joy has. The only thing that really compares is the Waterfront space on NCL Joy, which is nice but not nearly as big. 2. Entertainment: Obviously subjective, I give the nod to Oasis because of the aqua 80 show and ice show, though the NCL Joy production shows (Footloose and the Gift) were better than Cats and the headliners on Oasis. Oasis just has a lot more to like in this regard. 3. Food: The subject that launches a thousand ships. The quality is better on Oasis, the variety is better on the Joy. If you like Indian food (like I do), it is MUCH better on the Joy in terms of variety and taste. 4. Vibe (no, not the beach club on Joy): Two different cruise destinations, but a comparable number of sea days. Seemed like more first time cruisers on Oasis than Joy, if that matters to you, which it didn't to me nor did it affect me. Found the Joy to be a little subdued when it came to the partying, but you can find it if you look for it. Lots more of that right in front of you on the Oasis. If you are cruising during the summer, expect lots and lots of families with kids. 5. Check-in: A crap ton easier at Bayonne. Feel free to ask any questions.

Personally I like the higher decks on Escape -- 14 in particular. Quiet hallways and closer to the higher decks where I spend most of my time. But to each his own.

Hi there, Not looking to hijack the thread, but was wondering if folks had experience with gluten, soy, and dairy allergies (all 3) on apex? We are dealing with all 3, and our experience in the past on other ships is that the dairy allergy is the most difficult one to deal with, as we have never been able to find desserts made without some kind of dairy. Thanks for any advice.

I was in it in May. Great location, near the Haven restaurant, assuming no mobility issues you literally step out your room through a door to the stairs leading down to lounge and courtyard. Quiet as can be. Enjoy the Joy!

If you pre-purchased Vibe, the wristbands will be in your stateroom. Your card key is already coded. If you want to use Vibe before the staterooms are available upon embarkation, you can head to the area where they are selling any remaining Vibe passes (usually Teppanyaki) and ask the person selling them if you could please have your wristbands right away. Asking nicely helps. I suspect you could still get in without the wristbands on embarkation day, but doesn't hurt to have them.

Yes. Both the Joy and Bliss had them on cruises this summer in the Garden Cafe.

I was on the same cruise as the OP. Agree with their comments for the most part, though I thought the food was slightly subpar by Royal standards, particularly in Main Dining Room. Two other things of note on this cruise: 1. I was rarely greeted or acknowledged by members of the crew that I passed on the ship. It was almost as if they were told not to initiate conversation or acknowledge guests (I can't believe this to be the case, it just seemed that way). This was quite different than my experiences in the past on Royal ships. I made a point of saying Good Morning, etc. to all crew and generally received a friendly response after initiating the conversation. Just odd. 2. The amount of soliciting and hawking of various things to buy was at an all time high. Tough times for the industry so I understand, but be prepared for it.

You wipe your hands on your pants? LOL. No extra charge for washing your hands again. Yes, most people don't. I get it. They should. If more people did, we would have less norovirus on the ship. Texas Pete on my eggs! At the buffet on NCL? Now that's something I'd like to see. It's tabasco or bust these days (see point number 1 -- "It's the supply chain.")

I won't besmirch them by mentioning their names. They just weren't funny at all. About a quarter of the crowd walked out mid-performance. I do feel for comedians seeking not to offend these days, but these were just bad.

Rather than provide a trip report, thought I would report on some random chatter I heard on my recent Joy cruise to Bermuda. I had a great cruise, but recently you can see some of the bloom coming off the NCL rose, and that is sad indeed. 1. "It's the supply chain." Was told this on two separate occasions, once by a chef in the buffet trying to explain why they were not carving turkey on All American Dinner night in the buffet (something I look forward to), and instead substituted pork ribs. The other occasion was at one of the bars where they ran out of a certain vodka brand. To be honest, I was disappointed but not surprised. I survived. Yes, first world problems. But it's the little things that make you come back. 2. "Sorry, only two additional pillows available." So much for my request for a total of 4. Must have been rationing the pillows this trip. 3. "We need more people at deal or no deal." One of the more funny solicitations I have ever heard over the PA. Should have just charged all passengers an additional $1 to make up for the lost revenue. 4. "Please avoid crowding the gangway" Good luck with that. For some reason, everyone needed to get off immediately upon arrival in Bermuda. It was a mob scene. Strange for a 2.5 day stay. 5. "Get in the shortest line you see." Employees directing people in the New York City terminal at embarkation to check-in lines. So much for Platinum or CAS perks. Most people in those priority check-in lines had neither status. 6. "You get one appetizer or salad, one entree, two sides, and a dessert." Regardless of whether you are using Platinum dinner or Free at Sea dinner, they finally got all the waiters at the specialty restaurants to the same meeting to impose the same rules. But, rules are made to be broken -- no charge for ordering an appetizer and salad at Cagneys! 7. "Sorry, Platinum perks not available." Spoken in a matter of fact, I don't care manner by Next Cruise desk. They did the wine of the worlds event and nothing else. Honestly, the wine event was so poorly done, they would have been better off not doing it at all. No explanation of wines to speak of, and very poor quality wines poured. 8. "I'm training." Lots of new employees. But extremely friendly, everyone always greeted me in the hallways with an acknowledgement and friendliness behind the mask. Seems like happy employees. I hope so. Putting up with not particularly well behaved passengers must be very difficult. To that end... 9. "Washy, washy, except half the people ignore you." This is the lament of the greeters at the buffet, as one of them told me the final morning. There is a special place in hell reserved for those who don't wash their hands before going into the buffet. What's so hard to do? Sorry, but the 30 seconds you spend doing it is a good deed. 10. "The entertainment is lit." Heard this one from a passenger. I thought it was very good, particularly Elements. Comedians could really, really, use an upgrade.

All American Diner also open, usually by 11:30.

Thanks Sid_9169. I assume if we can't get into the room itself, I could always ask at the vibe sale point on the ship.

Does anyone know if vibe is open upon embarkation (NCL Joy if it matters)? If so,. and if you've pre-purchased, how do you access vibe if you want to go straight there before cabins are available? Thanks in advance for any insight.